Four letter Words

(Sermons, List 4)

Preamble

Although my sermon is entitled “Four Letter Words,” the title does not describe the content adequately. What I really want you to hear, and to think about, is that Christianity is not a spectator sport. All obedient Christians will work for the Lord in one-way or another. They simply are not obedient otherwise. All of us need to know how to witness effectively – and that’s where the four letter words come in.

All of us, preachers, teachers, or otherwise, should be able to share what we know about Jesus - with lost sinners to lead them to Christ, with errant Christians who need to be admonished, and with discouraged Christians who need to be encouraged. Let me encourage you now to get prepared, if you aren’t prepared already, so you get out of the pew and into real life. The eternal future of some of your relatives, friends and neighbors may depend on it.

Introduction

Many of the words we hear in public today do not qualify as “good.” Shamefully, some of them don’t even sound good. You’d think, with the proliferation of knowledge in our day that our use of our language would have become more and more sophisticated but it simply hasn’t happened. Actually things seem to be getting worse.  If we can believe what we hear, the vocabulary of the average individual has not kept pace with our increase in knowledge.

Perhaps you know people who don’t seem to be acquainted with words of more than four letters, some of which should not be used in polite society? I don’t mean to imply that all four-letter words are bad; that isn’t true. But some of them are terrible, and the more acceptable ones are often misused. If you pay attention you are bound to hear people utter popular words (four letters or otherwise) that simply do not convey real meaning in the context in which they are used.

Question     

Are you an effective communicator? Are you able to express your ideas well? Good communication is a learned art. Those who want to improve their skills should work at it. While it may not be convenient to pursue an accredited program in a formal school it is possible to improve on your own. Try using a dictionary, read good literature, and look for ways to use unfamiliar words correctly (after you have researched their meanings in your dictionary). But remember, “practice makes perfect” is true only when the “practice” is both good and appropriate. So learn to do the job right.

Solomon’s injunction

Now, what did Solomon mean when He said,  "And a word <spoken> in due season, how good <it is>?”  He referred to using appropriate words of correction or encouragement for speaking to people who need to be either corrected or encouraged. The words are “good” to the hearer when they address his needs appropriately. They seem good to the speaker when he realizes they have been helpful to the hearer. Ephesians 4:29 cites a practice designed to assure that goodness: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

Guard your meditations

I have envied people who always seem to know exactly what to say and when to say it. Their ability may have begun with talent but it was surely honed by study and practice. Christians should direct their study, and their preparation for speaking for God, by choosing good topics to think about (or to meditate on).  The Apostle Paul said it like this: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things <are> noble, whatever things <are> just, whatever things <are> pure, whatever things <are> lovely, whatever things <are> of [good] report, if <there is> any virtue and if <there is> anything praiseworthy; meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8).

Acceptable

Proverbs 23:7 warns us: “For as” a man “thinks in his heart], so is he.” Since men are very apt to say what they are thinking, their characters are often revealed in their speech. So learn to guard your meditations, being sure to resist the temptation to think about activities that would be inappropriate for Christians. Psalm 19:14 tells how: “[Let the words of my mouth] and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

When our meditations please God, we are “in position” to work for Him. Then He can direct our words, where they need to be heard in order to minister effectively to His people. Think about it!  How much good would you be to someone who is hurting when your thoughts have been about revenge or rebellion? Wouldn't you be worth more if you had been contemplating God's grace, His mercy, the way He forgives forgivers (Mark 11:25-26), and how He supplies your needs? (Philippians 4:1).

Words to edify

That gets me back to four-letter words. I won’t bother to mention any I consider bad; I’m sure you are already familiar with most of them. But there are four-letter words that can edify both speaker and hearer. Consider these five closely related ones: “love,” “hope,” “heal,” “care, and “give.”

1.   Love.

      The word “love” can be meaningless when used incorrectly. For instance, a man may say, "I love my wife", "I love pizza", "I love ball games", and "I love my dog." And he might say all of that in a single conversation. But if you check to discover what he meant, or perhaps didn’t mean, you’ll discover he had several different things in mind. This man may "love" his wife by neglecting her, show his "love" for pizza by the way he devours it, "love" ball games by watching them to the point where he neglects his family, and "love" his dog by kicking it when it displeases him. The truth is, the word “love” cannot be used accurately to describe all of those activities. In fact, it may not fit any of them.

Bible Love

      The KJV New Testament translates at least three Greek words to “love.” They are eros (for erotic love), phileo (for brotherly love), and agapao (or Agape) for God’s love. Erotic love and brotherly love are often fickle, not able to survive unsatisfactory relationships and being subject to sudden changes in allegiance. Agape is as steady as a rock. It is selfless and it is giving. It both promotes relationships, and sustains them, by demanding nothing in return. 

Agape is an action word

Jesus used Agapao to describe God’s attitude toward us when He acted to give “His only begotten Son” in order to save “the world.” (John 3:16). God decided to love us, and acted accordingly, not because of our worth but because of His character. He is love, you know. (1^st John 4:8). So Agape is about actions based on decisions. It originates in the heart of the lover but doesn’t stop there. It finds some way to express itself in a manner that benefits the “loved” one. “Agape caused God to give His only begotten Son to die in our place. It caused Jesus to leave heaven, live among us and pay for our sin.  It should cause men (and women) to treat “loved” ones with dignity and respect.

Real love

God’s love is expressed well in the Greek word “agape.” He loved and gave in the same breath, not waiting to determine whether men might actually reciprocate either action. Romans 5:6 says, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Which means He decided to pay   for your sin before you even began to sin. So “agape” loves and gives freely, without need for return. And “agape” is the kind of love God expects from Christians, both for Himself and for people He loves.

Matthew 22:37-39 sums up “all the law and the prophets,” where Jesus commanded us to “love God” with everything in us and our  “neighbor” as our selves. When we do that properly we too will love and give in the same breath, perhaps choosing to give up whatever it takes to please God and directing our charities where He wants them to go. Meanwhile, men who love God will love their families by keeping them safe from spiritual and physical harm, even when their actions might be perceived as “tough” love. It certainly is not love that allows a child to become incorrigible. Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”

2.   Hope

“Hope” is another good word, even though some people have insisted otherwise. They think mistakenly, that faith eliminates any need for hoping. But that isn’t true. Men who have no hope for improvement are tempted to succumb to circumstance when hope is essential for survival as well as for betterment.

Paul said, “Hope does not disappoint.” (Romans 5:5). Peter said God has “begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1st Peter 1:3). David said, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices. My flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in Sheol.” (Psalm 16:9-10). John said, “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1st John 3:3).

It’s nice to have faith too, of course. In fact, we cannot please God without it. (Hebrews 11:6). But faith and hope work together. (1 Peter 1:21). And hope usually precedes faith. Real faith, of course, is not some nebulous thing; It is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).

3.  Heal

      Our world is sick. It needs input from you and me to contribute to the only possible healing process. Effective Christian influence is sadly lacking in so many places. People with sin-sick minds and sin-sick morals produce sick humor, sick literature, sick movies and sick television programs. There is no healing virtue in those things. Minds that ingest them become worse and worse until it seems there is no reason to hope for any kind of improvement ever. Fortunately, help is available but you and I must deliver its message to people who haven’t heard it. Then they can seek Jesus Christ and allow Him to rule their lives.

The Balm of Gilead

Jesus is, as George Beverley Shea often sang, “the balm of Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.” (Jeremiah 8:22).  Jesus wants to heal your mind and help you avoid re-contamination by the world. But you must “seek Him with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). You must be willing both to learn His rules for a Christian life-style and to obey those rules consistently.

Seek Jesus as the healer of your mind as well as the healer of your body. When you have found Him, begin to nourish your relationship with Him regularly. Spend time with Him in prayer every day. Allow Him to become the center of your life so He can keep you healthy spiritually. That will require you to study the Bible.

Ephesians 5:25-27 speaks of the sanctifying and cleansing action wrought through the “washing of water by the word.”  Allow God’s written Word to wash you clean, from the inside out. As you read the Word, pause to think about what you have read and how you might apply it to improve your life-style.

4.    Care

       Jesus told us to love our neighbors. When someone asked him to define the term “neighbor,” He compared the actions of a compassionate Samaritan to some religious people. (Luke 10:30-37). Luke tells how Priests and Levites ignored the plight of a man who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead. The Samaritan stopped to help and arranged for his care. Based on Jesus’ parable, “neighbors” include human beings in need of help we might possibly supply. And ‘neighbors” are to be loved as self. (Mark 12:30-31).

The actions of the priest and the Levite in Jesus’ parable were not unique. Many Christians are not willing to be bothered with other people’s problems. They limit their concerns to friends and family members, as did the old farmer who used to pray: “God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife. Us four. No more. Amen.”

Be careful

I can understand the old farmer’s attitude. Involvement in other people’s problems can become an awful bother - and it is wise to avoid obvious traps. I have faced very difficult situations when trying to help people who wanted more than I was willing to give. Some of their demands seemed totally unreasonable to me.

I remember one man who awakened me from a sound sleep asking for charity. I did not believe his story but I told him he could spend the rest of the night at the parsonage. On reflection, my offer was not based on wisdom. I agreed to accept a stranger, sight unseen, into our home when I doubted his veracity.

Although the issue was pressing, I should have taken time to pray before responding. I may have endangered our lives. And I did commit my wife to feeding and cleaning up after him. Do you think the man appreciated our offer? No! He refused it, saying, “I’m not going to stay at your house. I want you to meet me at a motel and pay for my room.” So what did I do? I told him he needed to find someone who had the money and was willing to go to so much trouble to give it away.

Squirrelly people

Helping some people encourages them to depend on your generosity regularly. They will hound you again and again, like the greedy squirrels my wife and I fed just to please our granddaughter. We regretted it when they became serious pests. They wanted to eat on their schedule. They almost destroyed our screen door before we broke them of scratching on it to get our attention. I could tell you worse stories but don’t let my experiences turn you off. Be cautious and ask God to help you discern between legitimately needy and squirrelly people.

Primary care

Be particularly concerned about the lost. Jesus Christ is the real answer to their problems. No matter how successfully you satisfy their desires, they must submit to Jesus’ or remain lost eternally. Being a successful witness can be difficult, especially with those who seem to need it most, witnessing should always be your first priority.

5.   Give

      “Giving” is akin to “caring.” The ways, in which we give to people as well as to organizations, are usually related to our care for them. However, acting without God’s leading may cause us to either over-give or to under-give, either of which could be detrimental to the welfare of the recipient. When our giving is misdirected it can interfere with God’s plans for the receiver. Men who expect you to give them what they aren’t willing to work for don’t need money. They needed a “good word in due season,” one that might convict them of their taking ways and inspire them to get a job. (2^nd Thessalonians 3:10).

God is love

God loved and God gave. We can do the same but we should do so carefully. Always ask yourself these questions: What is the real need here? Is this a cause God wants me to support? Although He loves cheerful givers I cannot afford to waste my resources.

Love as God loves, hope in His promises, point to Him as the healer of sin sick souls, care for people, and give as He prompts. But the paramount need here is for speaking good words in due season. Only when the thoughts of our hearts please God consistently can we expect to minister effectively to His people.

- - - -

David E. Beneze, 1006 Fairview Ave, Canon City, CO, 23 October 2006.  See outline on page 96 of Minister’s Manual for 1983.