The Slanderous Tongue Kills Three

Keep this in mind: whoever gossips TO you will gossip ABOUT you #ServeToLead

FB Page: https://facebook.com/LEGASI.tv/ 

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/LEGASI.tv/ 

IG: https://instagram.com/legasi.tv/ 

YouTube: http://bit.ly/LEGASItv 

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Lord, Heal My Tongue: 6 Diseases of the Tongue (Part 5/9)

We have studied an example from the Old Testament that illustrates how "death and life are in the power of the tongue." We learned that the right use of the tongue will impart life, and, conversely, the wrong use will impart death. Now we will consider certain specific diseases that affect our tongues. These six (6) diseases that commonly infect our lives through the misuse of our tongues can, in some cases, be fatal if left unchecked.

[This is a reading from Derek Prince's Does Your Tongue Need Healing? (1986) by Derek Prince Ministries International. Published by Whitaker House] #ServeToLead #HealMyTongue

_____________

FB Page: https://facebook.com/LEGASI.tv/

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/LEGASI.tv/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/legasi.tv/

YouTube: http://bit.ly/LEGASItv

Blog: https://www.richardangelus.me/

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Timothy, Tell the Wives to Be Faithful and Godly (1 Timothy 3:11)

"In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything."

(1 Timothy 3:11, NIV)

The word used here is sometimes translated as "deaconess," but it merely means "women." The qualifications mentioned should certainly characterize the wives of both bishops (the leaders) and deacons (the helpers). If you read "In the same way," it means it is very connected with the previous verse, and so, it is evident that "women" here refer and applicable to any Christian leaders' wives who may have or have no leadership positions in the church. There are four (4) qualifications given by Paul here:

1) Worthy of Respect

2) Not Malicious Talkers

3) Temperate

4) Trustworthy in Everything

To me, the last qualifications embrace the entire scope of her life and service – "trustworthy [or faithful] in everything." She is to be faithful to her husband, loyal in how she serves others, devoted to the ministry and family, and committed to God. Such a woman will not be malicious talkers or gossipers, having self-control, worthy of respect, and a place of leadership.

H.A. Ironside commented on this verse: "In as much as [the leaders] have to do with the temporal affairs of the church, their wives are likely to cause endless trouble unless they are wise, godly women. If the wife is a busybody, she can destroy very easily her husband's influence for good.” But if the wife has all four qualifications or characteristics like above, Ironside says, "A wife like this is a great asset to any man." So, women, wives, or wife-to-be, are you the husband's great asset or liability? A great supporter or hindrance to the ministry? A husband's helper or the Devil's instrument of slander?

Men or husbands – leaders – are you modeling
and exampling godly manhood to your partner?

It should start with you first.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Timothy, The Helpers Are to Held A High Standard (1 Timothy 3:8)

"Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere,
not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain"

(1 Timothy 3:8, NIV)

Deacon means "one who serves." I like to call deacons as "helpers" for the overseer, the same way the Holy Spirit is the Helper (John 14:26, not lower in position and power but different office) for the Lord Jesus Christ. The helpers were first created in Acts 6 when the apostles asked for seven men "who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom" to be selected to provide for "daily distribution of food" to the widows so that the apostles would give their "attention to prayer and the ministry of the word" (read Acts 6:1-7). This is the right kind of church organization! The bishop or elder or the leader is to focus primarily on the study, preaching, and teaching of the Word of God and prayer. Others are to be selected to care and help for mundane (but also important) matters that must be done.

The deacons or helpers are those who would serve in the work of the church and so these standards apply to all of them (1 Timothy 3:8-12). First, the helpers "are to be men worthy of respect" and "sincere" or as The Message puts it more plainly, they are to be "serious, not deceitful." This does not mean a false religiosity and poker-faced, but rather men who are served in all seriousness. Far from serving out of obligations, they ought to be joyful and sincere. And since their responsibilities require them to minister to those in need and therefore often involved in visitation among church members, they must keep their character (not gossipers or rumor-mongers) and attitude (serving rather than bossing) in check. In this way, they are "worthy of respect"!

Like the leader, the helpers must also "not indulge in much wine." Although wine was used as a common drink by the people in the Bible times, this historical truth cannot be used as justification for drinking today. A drunkard church helper is always bringing a bad image for the God that he is serving. In my culture, the Iban-culture, alcohol is the single greatest problem! Although there is no explicit prohibition of drinking wine or some sort of alcoholic drinks in the Bible, it did warn us about drunkenness and "indulging in much wine." To this issue, Paul elsewhere warned believers: "It is better NOT to eat meat [offer to idols] or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall" (Romans 14:21). Unbelievers expect Christians to show good examples.

One of the differences between the leader and the helpers is that the leader gets his financial need mostly from those he serves, the church (see Galatians 6:6) but the helpers are on their own. The helpers (all!) are subject to the same temptation concerning money as the leader – perhaps even more since they will be in the business world from day today. Thus, the helpers are commanded to "not pursue dishonest gain." The helpers also must be above reproach in money matters.

Dear helper, are you up to the standards above?

If yes, well done, good and faithful servant!

If not, ask God to show you in which area you should repent.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Don't Indulge in Gossips

Dear Annie,

I’m sorry for the things that people said about me that might hurt your feelings. It’s not entirely true. I’ll explain to you when I get the chance to see you face-to-face. I know you trust me, and I hope it will never change. As for now, I would like you to don’t indulge yourself in gossips especially about me… Let’s pray about this. “We are in a continual battle with the spiritual forces of evil,” write Shirley Dobson, “but we will triumph when we yield to God’s leading and call on His powerful presence in prayer.”

Face it Annie, gossip is bad – and the Bible clearly tells us that gossip is wrong. “A useless person causes trouble, and a gossip ruins friendships” (Proverbs 16:28). Don’t listen to them! I learned the hard way that: when we say things that we don’t want other people to know we said, we’re being somewhat dishonest, but if the things we say aren’t true, we’re being very dishonest. Either way, we have done something that we may regret later, especially when the other person finds out. Never let gossips break our relationship, never entertained it!

I also learned that as much I don’t want you to listen to other’s gossips, I myself have to discipline myself to not to gossip about others as well. Let’s do ourselves a big God-size favour: don’t gossip. It’s a waste of words, and it’s the wrong thing to do – both to listen and to spread it. We’ll feel better about ourselves if we don’t gossip (and other people will feel better about us, too). So let both of us not to do it, listen to it and spread it.

I love you. Believe me about this.

Let us build this relationship with trust and truth.

I love you. Annie, let us – Don’t indulge in gossip.

Hope to see you soon and explained everything to you…

I miss you,

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Master of Divinity (M.Div) in Tongue Ministry (Enrol Now!)

A prayer stuck up on my friend’s office table: “Lord, help me to keep my big mouth shut until I know what I am saying!” What a wise advice to follow. I think James, the half-brother of Jesus, was probably writing from the same kind of experience when he writes, “Beasts, birds, reptiles and all kinds of sea-creatures can be, and in fact are, tamed by man, but no one can tame the human tongue. It is an evil always liable to break out, and the poison it spreads is deadly” (James 3:7-8, J.B. Phillips).

If you think James’s reaction is a little extreme, ask Christian leaders how much harm is being done in their congregations, churches or fellowships by negative gossip, criticism, lies or part-truths being spread about, and how much time is being wasted by Christians in idle, useless chatter. Ask me. Ask yourself. In fact, ask anyone and they will testify that it is true.

The tongue is one of God’s most precious gifts to us. You can use your words – both spoken and written – to help, encourage, motivate and build up other Christians, and to bring the not-yet-Christians to a fuller understanding of the Kingdom of God and the relationship that God wants to have with them through Jesus Christ. We all should enroll to God’s school in Master of Divinity (M.Div) in Tongue Ministry, if you know what I mean, to learn how to control and use it for God's glory!

Do not let your words be a hindrance to God’s work rather than instrument for it. Let it be use “to bless our Father, God” and not “to curse our fellow-men, who are all created in God’s likeness” (James 3:9). Therefore, do not just be alert before you speak (or write post update on your Facebook and Twitter), think and be wise, and if possible, pray as well!

I think: It is better to ask God to control your tongue than to speak in tongue

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Doktrin tentang Mengumpat

“Orang jahat mengumpat; mereka menimbulkan pertengkaran
dan menceraikan sahabat akrab” (Amsal 16:28, BM)

“Umpatan sangat enak rasanya;
orang suka menelannya” (Amsal 18:8, BM)

Mengumpat memang seronok. Ia membuat kita merasakan bahawa kita tahu banyak ‘rahsia’ tentang orang lain. Malah, Alkitab mengatakan “umpatan sangat enak rasanya”.  Tetapi kita harus tahu bahawa umpatan adalah berdasarkan desas-desus atau khabar angin sahaja – bukan fakta dan kebenaran.

Salah satu perkara yang sangat bahaya tentang mengumpat ialah ia menyebabkan reputasi seseorang yang diumpat itu menjadi buruk dan tidak membawa apa-apa kebaikan kepadanya. Semua orang suka mendengar umpatan dan mahu tahu tentang perkara-perkara yang baru yang berlaku disekeliling mereka (mungkin sebab itu pagi-pagi lagi sebelum membaca Alkitab kita sudah membuka internet?) tetapi kita mungkin tidak sedar bahawa orang yang kita sedang bincangkan itu juga sedang mengumpat tentang kita.

Umpatan “menimbulkan pertengkaran dan menceraikan sahabat akrab”, ia “tidak sekali-kali dapat menyimpan rahsia” (Amsal 20:19), ia menyebabkan banyak hati yang terluka, dan menimbulkan pelbagai masalah. Mengumpat tentang orang lain meletakkan kita sebagai ‘hakim’. Semasa perbicaraan di mahkamah, desas-desus atau khabar angin dan pendapat peribadi tidak dibenarkan kerana ia tidak kukuh dan bukan fakta. Begitu juga sekiranya kita menjadikan kelas atau pejabat atau rumah atau Facebook atau Twitter sebagai ‘mahkamah’ tempat kita mengumpat orang lain –dan kita sebagai ‘hakim’ – semua desas-desus dan pendapat peribadi yang dibicarakan akan menyebabkan reputasi dan nama baik seseorang itu akan terjejas. Ianya akan menjadi lebih teruk lagi sekiranya orang yang diumpat itu tidak mampu untuk mempertahankan dirinya sendiri!

Oleh itu, kita harus menghindari diri kita daripada mengumpat tentang orang lain. Amsal 26:20 mengatakan, “Tanpa kayu, api padam; tanpa umpatan, pertengkaran pun berhenti” (BM). Cara yang terbaik untuk kita menghentikan keburukkan mengumpat ialah dengan berhenti mengumpat. Mudah, tetapi kadang-kadang sukar untuk dilakukan. Apabila ada orang mula mengumpat, kita harus cepat-cepat menukar tajuk perbualan atau berkata sesuatu yang baik tentang orang yang diumpat itu.

Dengan ini, kita bukan sahaja tidak menambah kayu ke dalam api malah kita memadamkan api umpatan itu. Kata-kata baik kita bukan sahaja akan mengubah persepsi orang lain tentang kita tetapi mereka juga akan sedar bahawa kita menghormati orang lain (termasuk juga musuh-musuh kita). Mungkin juga mereka akan bertanya, ‘Richard, kenapa kamu tidak lagi berbicara tentang dia?’ dan kita dengan kasih Kristus menjawab, ‘Sebab Yesus tidak suka orang yang suka mengumpat’

“Di dalam Alkitab tertulis, ‘Sesiapa yang hendak menikmati hidup
dan yang ingin mengalami masa yang baik,
tidak boleh memfitnah orang dan tidak boleh berdusta’”
(1 Petrus 3:10, BM).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Believe It or Not, I Met Gossip Girl

“Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you really want junk like that in your belly?” (Proverbs 18:8, The Message).

“Gossip needn’t be false to be evil
– there’s a lot of truth that shouldn’t be passed around” (Frank Clark).

Hi friends and good readers, believe it or not, I met Gossip recently. 3 days before Gawai celebration. She introduced herself this way, “My name is Gossip, I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.”

“Wow! You’re somewhat very powerful… but negatively powerful. If this is what you can do, you must be very dangerous too” I said to her, trying to avoid mental contact with her.

She continued, “I’m not finish yet. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no exact face [I said to myself, ‘No wonder I can’t see her face clearly’]. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I am nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and wreck marriages [Suddenly GE13 gossips and news comes to mind]. I ruin careers, and cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion.”

“Wow!” I said to myself. I stopped responding to her because I’m so displeased with her attitude.

Proudly she continued speaking and by now I already hated her for who she is, “I also spawn suspicion and generate grief. I make innocent people cry in their pillows. Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip. I make headlines and headaches…” Her voice tone decreased rapidly.

Suddenly, she disappeared. I can’t explain how – but she disappeared before I can say WAIT or GO AWAY. Both are longer to pronoun compare to her quick disappearance. She comes and goes but stayed in my mind for quite awhile, I guess that is what Gossip do. Now, I can almost hear you ask me question: ‘Richard, is the story above true and reliable?’ Well… depend. Before you believe this story or any news or any gossips at all, ask yourself, Is it true? Is it fact? Is it necessary? If not, stop believing it and shut up!

Oh wait… maybe that was why Gossip suddenly disappeared, I shut up and stop responding to her. So next time you meet her or him, try your best not to respond to ‘it’ – and shut up.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.