Twelve Stones - Lesson 3 - Communication

Joshua 4:21-22, ‘…When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know…’

The Lord has taken us from captivity and allowed us to enter His Promised Land. We have been in turn handed the awesome responsibility of walking differently of loving differently and teaching differently. Have we forgotten where we came from? Have we forgotten where we are going? Let’s not forget our foundation and let’s certainly not forget to pass the torch to the next generation.

Last week we reviewed commitment and how
we are going to give our petitions to the Lord sooner.
The small and the large things.
And we read in Psalm 31:5, ‘into thine hand I commit my spirit…’

Can anyone give testimony of how they incorporated that practice this week and how it helped?





Some synonyms for communication:
Message, communiqué, announcement & statement.
Letter, e-mail, phone call and contact.

These are all forms of communication,
But we need to go to the scriptures to learn how we are to communicate.
How we can communicate better.

We expect children to act a certain way,
We expect children to talk a certain way.
Hopefully we even communicate our thoughts and ideas
better now than we used to.
We also need to keep growing in this area.

1Peter 1:14-15, ‘As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;’

We used to be ignorant,
We can’t use that as an excuse after we have read enough of His word,
After we have heard enough sermons.

Can you talk about your growth in communication up to this point?





Our conversation is more than the words that come out of our mouth.
Our conversation is how we live our lives.
Our body language,
The way we behave when no one is watching.

Philippians 1:27, ‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;’

With one mind.
If we are all of one mind we should argue less.

What are your thoughts on this verse?





We can get a good assessment of someone by how the talk.
We can even get a good look at their heart by their words.
How would others think our heart looks?

Psalm 19:14, ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.’

So it really doesn’t matter what others think,
As long as we know our heart is right.
As long as the Lord knows the contents of our heart.

How acceptable are your words in the sight of the Lord?





Matthew 15:18, ‘But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.’

How can our words defile us?





We can’t take our words back.
We can say we are sorry,
But after we say them they are out there.
Others can forgive us, but they will still remember.

The tongue is like a sword.
Words can hurt and leave wounds.
Yes they will eventually heal.
But they leave scars.
Scars that are visible.

Proverbs 18:7, ‘A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.’

There is already enough working against us.
We don’t need to heap any more hindrances against us.

What does this verse say to you?





Even if we aren’t speaking as fools,
I sometimes think we talk too much.
Maybe we don’t speak as fools,
But maybe we mislead.
Maybe we withhold certain information to evoke a response.

Matthew 5:37, ‘But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.’

How can this verse help us lay a solid foundation?





Sometimes we speak just to get things off our chest.
Sometimes we hurt others to make ourselves feel better.
Sometimes people’s words hurt us and we want them to know how we feel.

Ephesians 4:29, ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.’

How edifying are your words?
How can our words be more edifying?





What about rehearsing what we are going to say.
We rehearse it over and over.
We plan their responses and our rebuttals.

Matthew 10:19, ‘But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.’

Last week we spoke of committing our affairs to the Lord.

Shouldn’t we also expect Him to guide our conversations when we commit them to Him?





Just like children growing and learning how to talk,
We have to go through that some process.
If we allow the Lord to guide us we will grow.

Colossians 4:6, ‘Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.’

How can this verse help us grow?





Like a child we have to gradually encourage them in their speech.
When they say something wrong we have to correct them.
If they pick up a bad word we may have to discipline them.

As for our selves,
We need to grow in our conversation.
We need to say thank you to His guidance,
And understand that he will correct us at time.

Next week I will ask for a report for how we have grown in this area.
Having said that,
I still want you to come next week even if you have not grown.
When I ask that question you don’t have to give a report
Just remain silent.
But do show up.

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