One day an old man wanted to teach a younger man on the damage. That gossiping words can do. So he handed him a knife in one hand and a pillow in the other hand. And he said, young man. I want you to go to the local Market Square and I want you to cut a big hole in this pillow and wave it above your head as quick and as fast as you can. So we went the young man. He took the knife. He took the pillow and he cooked a big hole in the middle of the pillow and waved it above his
head as fast as he could. He returned to the old man's office. He said I've done exactly as you said old man. What next Goods, tell me now. What is it that fell out of that pillow? When you cut a hole in it? Oh feathers, sir. Hundreds and hundreds of feathers poured out of the pillow everywhere. Very good young man. Now for you to really understand the damage that gossip does I want you to go back to the market square?
And I want you to pick up every single Feather, which fell out of that pillow and put them back inside of the pillow, but sir, that's impossible. I've no idea where all those feathers have gone. There's no way of getting them all bad. And so it is with gossip. Every time you spread a rumor, every time you say, a lie, every time I hurtful word comes out of your mouth. There's no way of getting it back. So I just want to warn you young, man.
Be very careful of the feathers that you drop going forward in the future. So that's really the number one thing that you and I as Christians should stop saying we should stop starting sentences like this. I don't mean to gossip. But have you heard the news? Have you heard what happened to her? Now? Don't tell anybody this. This is a big secret. But Mr. We really got to stop. This gossipin really is Christian and it is a problem in
the church. Sadly, but the Bible says this, a Whisperer Parades close friends. And the fact is this guy's, if you're someone who spreads rumors, if you're someone who is given to gossip, you're going to divide people. Second thing that I think Christians need to stop saying is we need to stop telling Bible
jokes. We've all heard them before with our Christian friends, perhaps your pasta, perhaps a famous preacher, you've heard really makes light of the word of God, but I don't think this is a good thing to do. You might think Joel come on, lighten up. You need to take a chill pill you. You're going a bit over-the-top here, but I do believe this. I do think the devil loves it. When we make a joke out the word of God. I mean, think about it.
If our non-Christian friends, if our neighbors, see a sort of making Bible jokes all of the time. Well, then they too will see this book as a joke. They won't take it seriously. And here's another thought for you. Did you know this book that you have in your hands? This very day came to on a sea of blood people died for this book, and we're going to make some small. See little jokes about it. Number three, we as Christians need to stop saying this is the
last time. God, I'll never do this again. Have you ever said that before? I know I am. I remember when I was 19 years old and I remember tears, streaming down my face, and I was just crying out to God, please Lord God, I will never do this. Again. This is the last time now, what do you think? Do you think I ever committed that sin again? I'm afraid to say I did actually. And is tempting, isn't it in the heat of the emotion when you feel so broken?
When you realize the sin has not satisfied you at all to make vows to God, to make promises to God, but instead rather we should say, Lord, God help me to never do it again. I need your help. I can't do it on my own, please. Would you help me to never do it? Again? Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verse 4 says this. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay. A paying it. But he has no pleasure in fools. Pay. What You vow, it is better that you should not vow than that.
You should vow and not pay. The fourth thing that the last thing we need to stop saying as Christians is, we need to stop preaching in our prayers now perhaps I'm the only one who's ever noticed this and maybe it's not a big thing. Maybe it's just something in my own head.
What have you noticed? When a pastor might preach a message and say the message is on how crucial it is to Share the gospel with others and then it comes to a public time of prayer at the end and different members of the congregation start praying. And one of them, praise something like this. Oh, Lord God. Thank you that you're going to save everyone. Anyway, thank you that. There's no need for us to share
the gospel. And here this pasta is just laboured this point that we do have a responsibility to share the gospel and someone's got an agenda. They've got maybe a theological position that they want to preach to everyone else. You know, how discouraging that must be for the preacher and not only that, it causes division in the church. What should public prayer be about? It's not about a devotional. It's not about a time for us to have a little soapbox to preach
all of our ideas. It's about lifting up, praises to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's about adoring God, so that the rest of the church might be up builds. It's about praying for that person who's struggling with something so that lady knows that you actually do care about the Fact that she's got a knee operation next week. Batman knows that you do actually care that his mother has cancer. That's what public prayer should
be about. So, let's just be very gentle and loving and not be divisive in our prayers, but seek to build one, another up and encourage one. Another just while we're talking about encouragement. Can I just say you guys at home? Are massively encouraged me. It's so nice to have so many new friends who've joined this ministry. So thank you for subscribing. And if you'd like to see my favorite message, Has that just
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