God Is...

Intro:

There’s an old adage that people don’t always remember what you do but they always remember what you say. It’s interesting that I have always remembered the negative things that people have said to me and about me, but one thing that keeps me going in the encouraging things that people have said in my darkest moments.

The things we had the ability to do pre-pandemic have been altered tremendously but one thing that has not changed is the ability to give an encouraging word. Look around on Facebook, Instagram and other live streaming platforms such as YouTube, there are many people taking time out of their day to engage in encouraging speech.

Paul in the letter to the church at Ephesus, in chapter 4 verse 29 states “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification”. One of my favorite displays of words is hip hop. Today we recieved some tough news, Fred the Godson a very talented lyricist died due to COVID-19. One of my favorite bars from him was “they tell me every verse great, they call me underground until they feel the earthquake”. This line was on a song called Picture Bars, here’s the connection, your words paint a picture for people’s lives. Granted your words won’t cause physical scars to appear or limbs to fall off.

Nonetheless your words can tear someone down emotionally to where they don’t feel like themselves.

The word corrupt in this text means bad, rotten, decayed, having no value, harmful, unwholesome, evil talk.

Corrupt speech isn’t always cursing someone out. Sometimes you can hurt someone worse without using 4 letter words. Nonetheless, when your heart is filled with a four letter word called “hate” you end up causing more damage than good.

Paul says that words of edification are necessary, edification is ESSENTIAL. The same idea is promoted in Romans 12:13 “distributing the needs of the saints given to hospitality”.

Hospitality is essential

Love is essential

It’s funny that even in society we don’t realize what is essential until something beyond our control shakes our world up. We disrespected essential workers, our city officials and citizens continued to come up with reasons why minimum wage shouldn’t be raised. But now the same people we disrespected are the same people who are value to our society.

Our words work the same way, using your words to tear people down is never the move family, We don’t realize how important edification is until we need to be built up.

So in effort to under the power of edification and encouragement we must be thankful for the Holy spirit. We have to let go of wrath, anger, and evil speaking. These things do nothing but tear down.

Being kind to one another, tenderhearted to one another, forgiving to one another even as God in Christ forgave you.

Fred The Godson released an album called God level, and I’m encouraging us to strive for the things that are of God. Love is of God, your ability to be tenderhearted or compassionate is a reflection of your inner man.

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

See with me, I was fortunate out of all my friends growing up I always had my mother and my father. We were from a shelter but we were always together no matter what. In the beginning it was rough, real rough. My father was addicted to crack and used to sell everything in the house.

(Fred the Godson speaks on his family) 35 years old. Life is fragile

He’s clean now, for over 20 years. Him and my mother still together they live in Florida. But I always had that so I always seen no matter what it is you got to take care of the family. I got a beautiful wife and she’s real supportive of me and she just so happens to be the best mom I know. Like, she’s really a hands-on mom and I’m a dad that will do everything that I can possibly do and I’m so busy but she fills that in.