Quarrels, Deceitful Talk and Destruction

if you have your Bible please turn to Proverbs chapter 26. This is extremely relevant, it's real practical what we're going to look at. I'm gonna make some specific application, some general application and when I get to the end of what we're looking at tonight, you'll see where I'm going to go. So I think the golden application will be at the end. Now last week we looked at the first section which was kind of rare for us to take a big section. We looked at verses 1 to 12. In the night we're gonna look at a section and I'm gonna skip some of these. I'm gonna hit some of these and move on because it is a lot.

We're gonna be looking at verses 20, or excuse me verse 17 on down to verse 26 and some of the latter verses I'm not gonna be as in depth with. This leaves you homework, this leaves you some verses to study and like I always say just develop a habit of studying in the Proverbs. I promise you'll find it coming out in everyday life. Maybe read ahead, maybe read behind. So I wanna start with verse 17. I'm gonna read on down to verse 26. So I wanna read all of these and then we're gonna jump right into what we're looking at tonight.

"Whoever metals," and I looked at all of the translations in our study, same word, "metals." "Whoever metals in a coral, not his own, is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. Like a madman who throws fiery brands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I am only joking.' For lack of wood the fire goes out and where there is no whisper quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire so as a quarrelsome man for kindling strife, the words of a whisper are like delicious morsels.

They go down into the inner parts of the body like a glaze covering an earthen vessel or fervent lips with an evil heart. Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart. And he speaks graciously, believe him not, when he speaks graciously believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly." Now we've got a lot going on in these verses and you might not realize it at first. These are all really connected in many many ways. I mean we have quarrels, we have fights, I think everybody knows what quarrels means.

We have deceitful talk, deceitful whispers, we have hearts that are filled with hate, we see that later on in the verses. But also notice we've got some individuals. They're individuals, we don't know if they're men or women but they're people here. We have those who are prone to quarrel and fight. We see that right away. Those who meddle in quarrels and fights, they just can't keep their nose out, isn't that right? We have those who whisper and talk, they instigate and deceive and spread strife and quarrels, you see.

Then we have those who have hidden hate in their hearts but it comes out in their speech or their lips, it comes out in their actions. And then we see also they're exposed for who they are. And then also we have these descriptions. We have descriptions of what this behavior is like. Don't we see fire? I mean I think that is obvious. We see descriptions of their consequences. And then we have descriptions of how this destructive behavior it can be hidden and it can be disguised.

I guess as I was studying this all week, it's just a lot going a lot of different directions but if you read over it or as I read over it, it all seemed to be connected. Now I'm calling you to really, and I really want us to study these verses and I want us to be equipped in several ways. I'm going to mention a couple. You might can add to this. We need to be equipped in several ways. First of all, we can't commit these sins. We can commit these sins but we can't commit these sins. Let's don't make the mistake of saying, "Well, that's for somebody else." We can commit these sins and if we're committing these sins, we need to be repentant.

So first, we need to look at ourselves and then second, we need to be able to identify this kind of behavior because this kind of behavior can sneak up on us and it can be very destructive right next to us. And there are a lot of people that can be naive and not realize that certain people can commit these kinds of sin. And then third, we need to be equipped to deal with this behavior in different areas of life. We can think that this can go on in one area of life, maybe in our family, but not realize this can go on in the life of the church. So we need to be equipped.

First of all, we got to deal with it in our life, but then we need to understand it and see it and identify it and be equipped. I mean, this kind of stuff can destroy families. This kind of stuff can destroy work relationships. And this kind of stuff can really wreak havoc in a church. Go ahead and tell you, I'm going to make application in our family, in our work, and in the church. Now, I want to pause here. Rhetorical question. Have you ever had relationships destroyed because of gossip and slander? Have we had relationships that have been harmed because of gossip and slander, deceit, tricks, lies? Yes, I think we all have.

In our family, in our work, and in the church. We've all been hurt. Hopefully, we've not been guilty. Now, I'll be honest with you. I kind of struggled with what to title what we're looking at, and I think I yanked this right out of a commentary or a resource. I mean, sometimes I make so many notes it's just there, and I kind of forget where to give credit. I like to give credit where credit is due, and I think last night I was talking about this with Brother Keith, and I just blurted this out, and I think he said, "Man, that sounds good.

Why don't you just run with that?" But this is what I'm calling quarrels, deceitful talk, and destruction. I think the destruction is extremely important to see. What I mean, see in the title. Because quarrels lead to destruction, deceitful talk, it leads to destruction. We're going to look at four things. The first two major truths are there on the screen for you, and like I said, the latter portion, the last major truth, is going to be a little quicker. The first three kind of go together in a unique way, but you'll see that. So, let's get started. I want us to see, number one, it's kind of lengthy.

Be careful not, I put in my notes, not capitalized. Be careful not to get involved in a fight. Look at verse 17, "Whoever meddles in a quarrel, not his own." Now, this is where it gets strange. It's like one who takes a passing dog by the ears. Now, the lesson is real simple. It is a dangerous thing to get involved in other people's fights, and Solomon uses an example to emphasize the foolish behavior here, the dangerous behavior here, the dangerous nature of doing this. Now, this was all culture in their land. They didn't have domesticated dogs like we do. Their land in that day was full of wild dogs.

The land of Palestine and Syria, the land and region around, they were full of wild dogs. So, to take a wild dog, you could say really any wild animal like a dog. To take a wild dog by the ears would be a needless risk. You would risk injury, isn't that right? The wise, the mature, the level-headed individual would not grab a wild animal by the ears because they know the risk. Isn't that right? They know the risk. So, the lesson really is simple. When other people are quarreling and fighting, it's not wise to get involved. It is wise to let other sellers settle their own differences, otherwise we risk attacking injury. It comes back on us.

Isn't that right? Didn't we see that in Exodus, the story of Moses? Remember the story of Moses? He killed an Egyptian. Then he goes to the Hebrews who were his brothers and tries to be this peacemaker here. He wasn't invited and they said, "What are you going to do? You're going to kill us too?" See, it didn't work. They attacked him. But a question we need to ask. We see the lesson here. We see the warning here. But as Christians, can we ever get involved in conflict? Can we ever become a peacemaker? Yes. If you know or remember what we studied back in October, we studied blessed are the what? Peacemakers.

Specifically, I went back and looked at some of my notes even today. I think it was October the 13th is when we dealt with that message, that passage. We learned what it was meant to be a peacemaker simply if we are welcome in a circumstance. If we are welcome in a circumstance, we seek to bring peace to a circumstance. Now, I'm giving some of what we looked at. First, we do this by bringing the gospel. Lost people need the gospel first and foremost. That's what's wrong with our world. People are fighting about race and all of these other problems. The gospel is the first and only cure.

And then also sanctification and obedience to God's word. Yes, but they need the gospel. And then second, we seek to diffuse a conflict by revealing sin. If there's a sin involved or a guilty party. And then third, by using God's word as the standard of behavior. And then fourth, by urging repentance according to God's word. And then fifth, by urging grace and forgiveness. That is, grace and forgiveness to be extended to the one who sinned or the one who grieved the other. You see, we can be a peacemaker. We can't horn in. We can't get involved where we're not welcome or we shouldn't be. It can come back on us. But I think about our families.

I think about our workplace. Sometimes in our families and in the workplace, we're dealing with lost individuals and this can be hard. We might have to be careful how we get involved. But yet we are to be salt and light. Isn't that right? We need wisdom to know how to deal with these things. But I also thought about the church. And see, this is where healthy church discipline comes in. Because if we've got fights and quarrels within the life of the church, that can't be in the family of God. We have to deal with those things. And lots of times those things can be settled in private.

They're never dealt with in a business meeting or from the pulpit. Lots of that stuff goes on. I want to be careful with the time, but I want to tell you a story. It's about me. I remember serving on a church staff one time and I had offended someone on church staff. I just didn't want to operate the way they wanted me to operate. And they didn't want to operate the way I wanted them to operate. And it turned into a big fight. The pastor took me and the other staff member across the church facility to a private place and locked us in a room and said, "We're going to get this straight." And I was more guilty.

And then I realized what I had done and I humbled myself. I said, "I'm sorry." He was being a peacemaker. I mean, it was a quarrel. And I realized I had offended him. I said, "I'm sorry." As a matter of fact, I said, "I had so offended him that the pastor said he's trying to apologize." But guess what? Grace, mercy, forgiveness. We became closer after that and we walked out. The hatchet was buried. It can happen. And you know what? If I were to remain stiff-necked, I hope the pastor would have taken me out behind the woodshed. But I'm just showing you what we have here. We have to be careful.

But these kind of things can come up in the life of the church and we can't let these things go on. They do have to be dealt with. But we also have to be careful. So I think you see the lesson. I think you see where it can be applied in the family and in the workplace and in the church. And a lot of times this kind of stuff can cause us to ask a lot of questions. "What do we do here? What do we do there?" "Pastor, I got a situation. What do I do?" Sometimes we need further Bible study. We need counsel. We need wisdom. And sometimes we just need God to help us. We just need God to help us. All right, I want us to see number two.

Understanding the deceiver. And I think you're going to see how these are all related. Whoever meddles in a quarrel is not his own. It's like the one who takes that passing dog, that wild animal. They're nut-wise. They take them by the ears. They get attacked. They can easily get attacked. Then verse 18, "Like a madman who throws fiery brands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I was only joking.'" Now here we have a person who knowingly, knowingly deceives a neighbor, not a stranger. Now in that day, neighbors would have most likely been fellow Jews. I think we know that.

They could have even been blood-related, could have been family, but they most definitely knew one another. But notice, there was a destructive deception. There was a destructive deception. Solomon used weapons of war to describe what happens here. Fry brands were arrows used to destroy houses and barns and living things with fire. That's what they were. Arrows were used against any living thing to destroy as well. These were instruments of war, death, and destruction. So this deception brought about great harm. It brought about great injury, great destruction, and death to the one that they most likely knew, a neighbor.

Not a foreigner, not an enemy, a neighbor. So theirs was a destructive deception. Theirs was a pleasurable deception. Solomon reveals that the deceiver does all of this against their neighbor, and then they simply say, "I'm joking." They were getting personal pleasure somehow from this behavior. They are being dismissive. They are making an excuse. They are revealing the pleasure that they enjoyed from the matter. I thought about practical jokes. You know, we can perform practical jokes, and sometimes they're okay. Sometimes they cross the line.

You know, my nephew, when we go to the beach, he likes to take this plastic crab, and he has it on a fishing line, and he'll walk down the beach and let the crab be out in the surf, in the waves. You know, and he's got the fishing line, and people see it, and they think it's a real crab. Man, everybody starts grabbing nets and chasing that thing, and when he's found out, some people laugh and say, "You got me?" Oh, some people get mad. That's a practical joke. We understand a joke, but isn't that what he says here? Like a madman who throws fiery brands. I think about fiery arrows. That's what they were.

Arrows and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I'm only joking." But look at what we have here. We are gaining understanding into the actions and the attitude of the deceiver. You see? The deceiver brings about tremendous harm and destruction to a neighbor, not an enemy. I have to believe they would have known this individual. Arrows of harm, injury, destruction, death. Then they dismiss what happened with a joke or with an excuse. All the while, they are getting some kind of a pleasure from this awful behavior. Now, in application, we must understand how the deceiver works. Now, you might can add to this.

I think about how they use words. I think about how the deceiver uses gossips, how they use slander, how they use false accusations, how they use half-truths, lies, deceptions. Maybe this involved the land transaction. Maybe this involves some kind of commerce. We don't know. But no doubt, it involved gossips and slander, false accusation, half-truths, lies, deception. They gossip about another. They slander. They falsely falsely accuse. And it's all directed at the one that they would have known and could have been close to them, the neighbor. And then they offer some kind of an excuse. It was a joke.

I think about the fact that sometimes people make light of this kind of behavior. But I also think about the fact that they can use other excuses. Sometimes they can say, "Well, I'm trying to protect myself," or, "I'm trying to protect others." So what we need to see is, we need to be on guard. Listen, we need to be on guard. The deceiver will say they did all of this, maybe to protect themselves, maybe to say, "I'm more spiritual." And listen, many times this goes on in the life of the church. Many times their pleasure will not be humor, but it's to exalt themselves to make themselves look better. I've known people like this in the church.

I have. Maybe it wasn't humor, but maybe it was to exalt themselves. We're going to look at somebody at the end of the message who did this kind of behave like this to exalt themselves. I want to be careful with time. I want us to move on, and I want to see, we'll see how this all comes together. So number three, I want us to see reactions to the quarrels, reactions to fights to the quarrel. Notice verse 20 and 21. "For a lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisper, quarreling ceases.

As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife." Here, both verses, in both verses, we see the distinctive nature of quarrels and fights, or the destructive nature. And Solomon uses fire to illustrate that. I thought about the fires out west. I wish I would have written it down. I think it was at lunch when I was taking a break. I tried to turn my phone off today and just finish some things up like this. But I was looking real quickly, and there was an article about how many hundreds of acres had burned up in a 24-hour period.

I saw a news article where there was this orange glow, this orange haze in San Francisco, from the smoke that were 150 miles away. So we know how fire can be destructive. But notice the picture Solomon is painting here. We have quarreling, we are fighting, that can be and is as as destructive as a fire. Now there are two lessons out of here. First, how to stop it. It's verse 20. That's what that's all about. How to stop this. What does it say? "For a lack of wood the fire goes out, and then where there's no whisper, quarreling, it ceases. Solomon shows us that when folks quit whispering, the quarrel dies." What we have here is a whisper.

Oh, what we have here is a quiet gossip. See, what we have here is spreading the story with others just out of earshot of the main crowd. What we have here is accusations, which is only a few here. See, it's a whisper. It's off in the corner. So stopping the whisper kills the quarrel that can consume and destroy like a fire. And then second, how to fuel it. So first, how to stop it. And then verse 21 is about how to fuel it. "Solomon then shifts to show what feeds the fire." The quarrelsome person. You ever known someone like that? The one who likes the conflict. They like a fight.

They like getting in the fight for whatever reason other than peace. For whatever reason they like to get in it other than peace. They do not work for peace because look at the result. They are kindling for fuel. I think we all know what kindling is. They are kindling used for fuel. So fuel for the fight comes from those who like the fight who are quarrelsome who like to perpetuate the fight. So look what you have. Reactions to the quarrel. Some whisper and keep the quarrel going. You know, today we can whisper on text message. We can whisper on the telephone. We can whisper out in the parking lot. You know, this can be at work.

This can be in the family. This can be in the church. Some whisper to keep the quarrel going. Some are quarrelsome. They are the fighter and they get involved and they keep it going. But both keep the destructive fires of fights and quarreling going. And look, it burns and it destroys. And it destroys people. It destroys relationships. It destroys reputations. Let me say that again. It destroys people. It can destroy their reputation and their character and it destroys relationships. Now for us, we must see the destructive nature of both. Both. Sometimes we see the one who likes to quarrel first and we don't see the one who likes to whisper.

The whisper is just as destructive as the fighter. Both destroy. But the one who refuses to whisper and quarrel, they stop the great fire. How will this affect relationships at work? How will this affect relationships in the family? What about the church? I mean, can this go on in the life of the church? Can we be guilty? Have we done this in work in the workplace? Have we done this in our family? Have we done this in church? Now, I want to see, I want us to see one more lesson here and I think I've said it numerous times, we won't be as in depth here. I'm going to leave some for you. But just pause here. Look at all of the destruction.

Really, look at all of the destruction from the deception. The deceptive whispering words from the fights. The gossip, the slander, being devoured, being devoured like a wild animal, being attacked. Fiery arrows that wound and kill, fire that destroys and burns. You see? There's a lot going on here. And sometimes we overlook this and we don't realize it's a lot more commonplace. Sometimes I think we think it's harmless when actually it's really, really not. All right, number four. This is what I'm calling tastes, attractions, and disguises. This is a lot. Tastes, attractions, and disguises. Three verses, three traps.

And it all relates to what we've been studying. And to me, this all leads up to a warning about this kind of behavior. So real quickly, notice what tastes good. This is what tastes good. Verse 22. "The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels and they go down in the inner parts of the body." Solomon is using food, tasty food. And he does this to show what happened when we whisper. Solomon says, "The whisper, the gossip, the quiet slander." You can add to that. "The whisper, the gossip, the quiet slander. It tastes good to the flesh.

It tastes good to the sinful nature and it goes into the body." To me, he is saying that that sin gets into the person and it takes hold of the man. It's the wrong kind of nourishment. It's the wrong kind of nourishment. It feeds the flesh, not the spirit. So this sin of quiet gossip, slander, it's like that little tasty bite. The flesh loves it. The flesh loves the taste of it. The flesh loves it when it's eaten. And the flesh loves it when it gets into the body. And you're nourishing the sinful man, not the spiritual man. So notice what tastes good. "Then don't be fooled by the outside," is verse 23. "Don't be fooled by the outside.

Like the glazed covering of an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart." Here Solomon is using an everyday item. It's a teaching tool. We're not as familiar with this item. This is a basic clay pot, a basic clay vessel, and it would have been covered over with a nice finish. That's what the word glaze means. This would be a common pot with a veneer. I think we know what a veneer is. And the veneer covers over how common it is, how fragile it is, and it really covers it over. So Solomon is saying sinful speech that comes from a sinful heart is covered over to make it seem right. I need to say that again.

Solomon is saying that sinful speech that comes from a sinful heart is covered over to make it seem right. So the lesson is sinful speech which comes out of the sinful heart covered over with excuses and reasons to pretty it up and to make that sin not look like sin. And then the third lesson or lesson that goes together with all of this, verse 24, look past the disguise. Look at verse 24. "Whoever hates disguises, whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart." The third lesson here has to do with the heart, the evil heart, the deceitful heart. Here Solomon kind of says the same thing.

This is the one that disguises his heart with speech. Inside it's hatefulness. It's a hateful heart but their lips cover over that sin. So the heart is covered over. It's disguised with sinful self-preserving speech. So what do we have right here? The quiet whisper sure tastes good. The little gossip, the little slander, even when someone else is gossiping and slandering and we agree it sure tastes really good to the flesh and that gets into the body and it nourishes the sinful man. And then don't be fooled by the outside. Don't be fooled by the disguise.

The one who loves sinful speech, the one who has a hateful heart, they can pretty themselves up. They can disguise themselves with nice words, excuses, and labels. And we must see the warnings here. Don't fall prey. Don't fall prey to the tasty whisper of slander because it sure tastes good to our flesh. And then don't be fooled. You see the warning? Don't fall prey to the tasty gossip and then don't be fooled by the deceiver, the gossip, the one with the sinful heart because of their pretty exterior. They can be slick. They can be real pretty.

I couldn't help it today but I thought about the people I've known in the life of the church who fit this description. I've known people like this. I'm telling you I have known people and they had all of the spiritual reasons why they could gossip and slander. I'm talking about the life of the church. I'll never forget in my home church we had a particular individual. They just seemed so spiritual. They were several reasons in their life why people looked up to them and then they would overlook, guess what, the gossip. They would overlook the slander and they had some way to pretty up the outside.

They had a glaze, you see, but if you were mature enough you could look through it and it was just just downright sin. And I also think about how destructive they were. I never forget when that individual left. I had a friend that was a deacon at this church and he said to me, "You know what? When that particular person left a lot of the problems we were facing and dealing with left also and we didn't know they were the ones that stirred them up. Fires everywhere. So tastes, attractions, and disguises." Now I want to do a couple of things here. I want us to turn to a few verses.

I want us to make a little application here and a couple of you might know where I'm going to go with this. I want us to turn to Acts chapter 20 and I want to read a couple of verses. I'm going to tell you a story and then we are going to close. I'm very thankful that I've been studying this because I was able to use it in some counsel but I want you to look. I want us to read a particular portion of scripture or two. Acts chapter 20. Paul is speaking to the Ephesian church, the Ephesian elders, starting in verse 17. This is later on in his ministry and he is telling them that he will never see them again.

I want to read some of this scripture. It's rather long but I want to focus in starting on verse 27. Verse 17, "Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and he called the elders of the church to come to him." Elders of the Ephesian church, flagship church in the region, strong church, okay? Very influential. "And when they came to him he said to them, 'You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.'" In other words, you know how I've lived. You know who I am.

"How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house testifying to the Jews and to the Greeks of repentance towards God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit not knowing what will happen to me there except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of great of the grace of God.

And now behold I know that none of you among whom I have gone out proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all for I did not shrink or shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." What is he saying? I've done it right. I've done it right right in front of you. This is the leaders of the church now. Pay careful attention verse 28 "to yourselves and to all the flock to which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock and from among your own selves will men arise speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them." What was Paul saying? They're going to come in and set fires. They're going to devour and destroy. Men you know, you see, this would have been astonishing to them. What is he saying? I've done it right in front of you. You're a solid church. Look who I am as an apostle but I warn you men are going to come up from among you and they're going to devour like wolves. We've just studied wolf-like behavior people. That's what we've to study.

Gossip, slander, fires, arrows, that's what we've studied. But then I want you to turn to 3rd John. 3rd John chapter, well not chapter, verse 9. 3rd John verse 9. I say chapter because there's only one chapter or no chapter heading. But 3rd John, I guess if we said chapter 1 we would be right. Isn't that correct? So 3rd John, this is an individual. Verse 9, "I have written something to the church but Diatrophies who likes to put himself first does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come I will bring up what he is doing talking wicked nonsense against us." What is Diatrophies doing?

He is slandering John the Apostle in his group, his people, us, my people. And not content with that he refuses to welcome the brothers. There were these traveling brothers evangelists and prophets who would come in and out of the church. He refuses to welcome them and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. So what do we see? Wicked behavior, the same thing. Wolf-like behavior. Beloved, verse 11, "Do not imitate evil but imitate good." And he goes on to talk about imitating Demetrius who was the opposite of Diatrophies. What do we see with Diatrophies? The same behavior, wolf-like behavior.

A vicious wolf setting fires, gossips, and slanders and destroying people, arrows, brands. You see? I've been counseling a friend that's going through a difficult time in the life of his church. And you know what he described? Deacons, church leaders, people in positions, men and women. You know what they're doing? Everything we've studied. You know what they're doing? They're just fighting. They're deceiving. They're lying. Gossip and slander. What do we see? They just love the gossip. They love to destroy. They love to fight. And it's coming out of evil that's in their hearts. And you know what they're doing?

They're destroying the church and people are letting them do it. Now here's how I want to wrap this up. We can't let this come into our life. The little gossips, the slander. We can't. We must be peacemakers. And sometimes that involves saying, "No, if that's something going on over there, let's go over there and talk to that brother." You see? If I hear somebody gossiping and talking and whispering about one of you, it's my job to say, "Well, I love them. Let's go over and let's talk. Maybe there's something going on in their life we need to help them with." See? We can't participate in it. We can't allow it. We can't foster it.

None of us are immune to this. And see, we can't let this kind of stuff go on in the life of the church because ultimately it will destroy. And I'll tell you, sometimes the very people who do it are the ones who sit right on the front and they look good. They have a glaze. They have a good excuse. They have a reason. And a lot of times it's not a joke. A lot of times that's not the excuse. A lot of times it's for spiritual reasons. See? Oh, I'm so spiritual and I'm so concerned and I love you so much. Listen, folks. The scriptures never allow me to go rob a store to feed my family.

And the scriptures never allow me to do these kind of things and cover it over with spiritual reasons for the supposed benefit of others. Nine times out of ten when someone acts like this in the life of the church, they're exalting themselves with negative behavior. They're exalting themselves for a spiritual purpose and a reason and they're destroying others while they're doing it. And it'll be like cancer. It'll be like a fire in the life of the church and it'll destroy relationships. It'll destroy people's character. It'll destroy. I've been a victim and I'm sure I participated. See? Now, I know I didn't get into every word.

Some of you could add to what I've shared and probably do a better job. And I will say this. I'll probably come back to some of this teaching in the future because it'll happen. Now, here's what I want to leave us with. Let's go study this. Let's digest this because you'll find yourself in a place one day where somebody's whispering and gossiping and you can be the one who puts it out and head it off. You might find yourself in the middle of a big fire and you can be the one that can point out these scriptures and say, "No, no, no.

We're not going to be like this." Even maybe in your family, in your neighborhood, workplace, especially in the life of the church. Well, let's do this. Let's, I want to pray real quickly over this and then I do want to mention a couple of things, a couple of prayer needs, and then we will close.