Foolproof Communication [Part 2]

Allen Wright, pastor, Bible teacher, and author of his latest book, The Power to Bless. Words are a mystery of deepest power and importance, so we should not be surprised that in the beginning God said, Let there be light.

He created everything that exists by speaking. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, Foolproof, as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Allen Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper if we're happy to send you today's special offer. Just contact us at pastorallen.org, that's pastorallen.org, or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. We'll have more on this special offer later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Allen Wright. It's just a piece of paper not worth much at all. It doesn't cost hardly anything to produce it, right? It's not that piece of paper that is valuable, it's what it represents. Maybe a better example, if somebody wrote you a personal check for a hundred dollars, you wouldn't tear up the check and say, well, it's just a piece of paper. You can't do anything with a piece of paper. That personal check, it may not actually be the hundred dollars, but it is to you a hundred dollars.

And so you deposit it. Words are like this. They are so powerful because they are so closely associated with the reality is to say that it touches upon that reality. That's the reason if someone were to utter a racial slur, we don't say, well, it's just words and words don't mean anything. No, we disdain it because we agree that the word is a symbol of a thought and the thought is something generated by the heart, which is the core of a person. And therefore, if you had the thought, the thought was real and your word is your thought and the thought is you. So your word is you. It's so important that in our home, I would say how you speak about yourself and about others. Was probably the most important foundational teaching and the subject of our strictest discipline. I remember one time when Bennett was young, just a little junior golfer, and this normally even tempered self-controlled little boy, like most people ever play golf, found it very difficult on the golf course when things started going badly to not speak ill of oneself.

And you must understand that if your words are really important about others, they're very important about yourself and how you talk to yourself. And after he had made a couple of bad shots and he was getting in a real bad mood and I could hear him. I'm walking along, spectating, I hear him, you know, saying things about how he stinks and how he can't make a putt and he can't this and all the can't, can't, can't, can't.

And the parents not even supposed to interact with the kid, but I couldn't stand it. So I just walked alongside him. I started trying to correct him. And it's famous now in our family because I ended up saying to him, I said, you know, the problem is that you don't even need the devil. I said, you don't need anybody to accuse you or put you down. You're doing it yourself. And somehow that got through to him and he still reminds me of the day that I told him, you don't even need the devil.

You're doing the job yourself. The power of our words, I believe in it so strongly. This year at the Masters Par 3 tournament that they have on Wednesday before the official start of the famous golf tournament. Jack Nicklaus's grandson was caddying during the little Par 3. And at one of the golf holes, they let all the caddies hit a shot. And Jack Nicklaus's grandson hit a shot and made a hole in one.

It was all over the news. And what was more interesting about it was Jack Nicklaus had told his grandson the day before, I think you're going to make a hole in one. Now you might say that's just a lucky coincidence of statements. You could say it's the power of suggestion.

He was just sort of encouraging him. Or could it be something even more? Could it be that even in a non-spiritual context like that through just everyday speech, something's being shaped. This weekend I will, next weekend I will, as I have done hundreds of times, officiate a wedding. And there will be two really important moments. A moment in which they exchange their vows. And he will say to her, I take you to be my wife.

And before God and these witnesses, I promise to be your loving and faithful husband. In plenty and in want. In joy and in sorrow.

In sickness and in health. As long as we both shall live. And she'll say the same. And I'll have a moment in which I'll say, you have shared your vows. And therefore, I proclaim you to be husband and wife. Now folks, you could put on a white dress and eat cake and have a big party and sleep together. And not be married.

And you could stand in the middle of a cornfield with a couple witnesses and a pastor and speak some vows and be married. The words, think about this, the words enact the covenant. Words are a mystery of deepest power and importance.

So we should not be surprised that in the beginning, God said, let there be light. He created everything that exists by speaking. The thought was in his own mind. But the thought was expressed through speech and through the speech it came into reality. In that sense, you could say God was in his word. His word is the essence of who he is. This is not magic the way sorcerers and witch doctors use incantations as if there are magic spells and formulas.

If you just repeat the words long enough, then the words themselves have power. No, what we see in God is that the words have power because they are God's own breath. They are so intimately connected with God that they are expressions of his deity and his creativity. And when he came to the pinnacle of creation, which is you, it's not a surprise then that the mark, one of the key marks of the pinnacle of his creation, a human being, is that the human being could speak. God said, let us make man in our own image after our own likeness. And so he created us in his image. And there are many ways that we're like God, but we are perhaps most like God in this we can speak. The Targum, one early Hebrew translation, rendered Genesis 2 verse 7, which normally reads, The Lord God formed the man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature, or a living soul. But one very early translation that was written by Hebrew scholars render it, and man became a speaking soul because it is our capacity to speak that sets us apart from all of the animals. You know, there's some scientific research about the DNA coding of a particular gene that separates us from all the other animals, and it's a speech gene.

It's extraordinary, really, if you think of it, and scientists are baffled and amazed by this, that human beings somehow are born into this world with a capacity to figure out by almost osmosis very complicated grammars in their native language and effortlessly store an unbelievably huge lexicon of words in their heads that come together to form speech, and any healthy child just is able to do this. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Ever feel like something's holding you back, as if you lack an important key that could change everything?

Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing? Blessing. We all need a positive, faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. You can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book, The Power to Bless, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release. Until now, the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales, but this month, Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation. When you give this month, you'll not only receive the bestselling book, but you'll also receive a free five-session video course in which Pastor Alan teaches how to bless and covers content not found in the book.

The video course includes a detailed study guide perfect for personal growth or small group discussion. Make your gift today and discover the power to bless. The Gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. There's something that one of the most prominent scholars in the field has called a language acquisition device, known as Chomsky. It's written, language is a uniquely human gift. When we study language, we are uncovering in part what makes us human, getting a peek at the very nature of human nature. Listen to this. One of the things that makes you human and makes you like God is that you can speak words. It's astounding. They study the animals and they have their forms of communication.

But there are such limits on it. For example, I read this week the prairie dog has a call to warn other prairie dogs and the call is saying essentially, I see a hawk. And it has another call that's different from that one that is, I see a coyote. So prairie dogs can do that. But what they can't do is what scientists call displacement.

And that is where they displace it in space and time. So the prairie dog can't say, hey, you guys remember that hawk down by the river last week? That was pretty scary, wasn't it? But human beings have the capacity to put together an endless, infinite combination of words with meanings inside of meanings inside of meanings. It is so mysterious and powerful that it is like life itself. When the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller was tutored by Ann Sullivan until she discovered language. She didn't feel like she was alive until then.

Keller wrote, for nearly six years I had no concept of nature or mind or death or God. I literally fought with my body. But then suddenly I awoke to language, to knowledge of love, to the usual concepts of nature of good and evil.

Listen to what she said. I was actually lifted from nothingness to human life. The fact that you have words makes you like God. It makes you human.

It makes you alive. So there's no, there's no surprise when you come to the book of the Bible that is about how to live wisely. That the biggest theme in this book is how to wisely use your tongue. There are so many scriptures in Proverbs about guarding the tongue because it has such capacity for destruction. Avoid quarrelsome speech, Proverbs 26, 20. For lack of wood, the fire goes out and where there's no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal, verse 21, to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

Words that are quarrelsome create strife. There is much in the Proverbs warning against slander and gossip. Proverbs 11, 13, whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets or could be rendered here, gossip reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. I suppose slander is maligning someone about something that's untrue, but gossip is not necessarily untrue.

It's just something that didn't need to be said. Proverbs 17, 9, whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. Do you believe your words have the capacity to separate people? Proverbs talk about how one of the best ways to master your tongue is to learn to be more quiet. Proverbs 17, 27, whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise. When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

I've used this one many a time in the school classroom. It was Abraham Lincoln credited with saying, better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. One lifelong sales trainer has helped me understand sales is not about talking, talking, talking to someone.

It's about listening, listening, listening, and then you connect. And the Proverbs are just full of the incredible power that is available in our speech. There is just so much good that can be done through your words.

Let me give you some examples. Your words can lift anxiety. Wow, Proverbs 12, 25, anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

You know, your words can either cause or lift anxiety, can bring sadness or make a heart glad. Proverbs say that good words feed many. Proverbs 10, 21, the lips of the righteous feed many.

The word here has a sense of shepherding, but fools die for lack of sense. Like a shepherd who guides his sheep, your words, righteously spoken, shepherd's souls. Can turn away wrath, Proverbs 15, 1, one of the most important Proverbs you could ever take to heart. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Could you imagine how powerful it would be if you could master your tongue so that when someone is angry with you, instead of you speaking harshly to them, which then throws fuel onto the fire of wrath, instead have a gentle word.

It calms. We're talking about power of words. They can avoid calamity. Proverbs 21, 23, whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Healing to your bones. Proverbs 16, 24, gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Prosperity linked to our words. Proverbs 18, 20, from the fruit of a man's mouth, his stomach is satisfied. He is satisfied by the yield of his lips. The prosperity of your life is linked to your words.

Life itself. Proverbs 18, 21, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Death and life are in your tongue. God doesn't just ask you to have a mastery of your speech, but He has come to make it possible. Let me talk to you about the mercies of God in His redemptive work for our speech.

Here's what happened. In the beginning, God fellowshiped intimately in paradise with Adam and Eve. When Satan entered the scene through the symbolic presence of a serpent, the conversation of the temptation centered around what God said or didn't say. And God had told Adam and Eve they could eat of any fruit tree in paradise, except there was one tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they weren't to eat of. But the serpent came in and said, did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? He talked about God, he talked about trees, he talked about eating, and he talked about the garden, but he turned the words all around.

So the primal temptation was a word that was unfitly spoken. Alan Wright. And today's teaching, Foolproof Communication.

It's part of our series on foolproof. I encourage you to stay with us. Alan is back here in the studio as he shares his parting good news thought for the day in just a moment. Ever feel like something's holding you back, as if you lack an important key that could change everything? Is there someone you love who seems stuck? You'd like to help them, but how? What's missing? Blessing. We all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives. You can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through Pastor Alan Wright's new book, The Power to Bless, which quickly became an Amazon number one bestseller after its recent release. Until now, the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales, but this month, Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation. When you give this month, you'll not only receive the bestselling book, but you'll also receive a free five-session video course in which Pastor Alan teaches how to bless and covers content not found in the book.

The video course includes a detailed study guide perfect for personal growth or small group discussion. Make your gift today and discover the power to bless. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Back here in the studio, Alan, our parting good news thought for the day related to communication that words have power, they can also be misconstrued unintentionally and intentionally, which is a little bit of what we were talking about just a moment ago. If a word fitly spoken, Proverbs 25 says, is like apples of gold in a setting of silver, then words that are not fitly spoken, the words don't fit, they're the wrong words.

Well, it produces the opposite, that which is not nourishing, that which is not beautiful, that which is harmful. And what we're just seeing there, Daniel, is the primal temptation right at the beginning is to twist God's word and to use words in the wrong way. But what we're going to be seeing tomorrow is all of the good that can come from the way that we use our words. This is a very, very important theme in Proverbs, and I think sometimes we know this, but it just helps me so much to just be immersed in these Proverbs that tell us over and over about the power of our words. God created the whole world by speaking, and He's made us in His own image, and we shape our environment as well with our speech. Today's Good News message is a listener-supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.