Latest / Men's Morning Devotional / Your Words Become Your Harvest
Transcript
- 0:01SPEAKER_00: Gentlemen, every day is a battle.
- 0:04SPEAKER_00: A battle for your faith, your family, and your purpose.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: The men who stand strong don't prepare when the battle arrives.
- 0:12SPEAKER_00: They prepare before it begins.
- 0:14SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the men's morning devotional.
- 0:17SPEAKER_00: Let's get into God's word.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: It's time to man up.
- 0:27Chris Alessi: Welcome to another day of the Men's Morning Devotional.
- 0:30Chris Alessi: I'm Chris Alesi, and I'm very glad you're here.
- 0:32Chris Alessi: And look, at this midway point of our week, it's probably a great time to start sending this to somebody you know.
- 0:38Chris Alessi: It'd be a great way to give them a boost in the middle of their week.
- 0:42Chris Alessi: We know men are looking for information like this.
- 0:45Chris Alessi: So if you found it, share it.
- 0:48Chris Alessi: Today we're going to look at two different verses because they belong together.
- 0:51Chris Alessi: At the beginning of the week, I said we were going to hit six verses over five days, which meant one of these days needed two verses, and that day is today.
- 1:00Chris Alessi: We're going to look at verses 14 and 18 separately.
- 1:03Chris Alessi: They are very powerful, but together they build a very convicting picture of a man's mouth.
- 1:09Chris Alessi: Here's our man up moment.
- 1:11Chris Alessi: Every man's mouth is sowing something.
- 1:15Chris Alessi: The only question is, what are you reaping from it?
- 1:18Chris Alessi: Here are the two verses.
- 1:20Chris Alessi: Verse 14 says, From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.
- 1:28Chris Alessi: Now look at 18.
- 1:30Chris Alessi: There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- 1:37Chris Alessi: Verse 14 opens up with this image of a farmer.
- 1:41Chris Alessi: It says the fruit of his mouth.
- 1:43Chris Alessi: Fruit implies a process.
- 1:45Chris Alessi: You don't get fruit the moment you plant.
- 1:47Chris Alessi: It develops over time, it grows in seasons and eventually produces a harvest.
- 1:52Chris Alessi: I remember I was asked for our church co-op to do a gardening class.
- 1:56Chris Alessi: And there wasn't really much I could teach them because really all you can teach them day one is how to sow, because it takes time.
- 2:04Chris Alessi: Solomon says that that's actually what's happening with our mouth, and it works the same way.
- 2:09Chris Alessi: Our words are seeds.
- 2:12Chris Alessi: So we see our words go into the ground, the ground of our marriage, our kids, our friendships, our team, and they grow.
- 2:21Chris Alessi: The harvest comes later, but it always comes.
- 2:24Chris Alessi: Then verse 18 tells you what the two possible harvests look like.
- 2:29Chris Alessi: Rash words.
- 2:30Chris Alessi: They look like sword thrusts.
- 2:33Chris Alessi: The image is visceral and intentional.
- 2:35Chris Alessi: A sword thrust isn't an accident.
- 2:42Chris Alessi: Rash words do exactly that.
- 2:44Chris Alessi: They move quicker than wisdom.
- 2:46Chris Alessi: They land harder than you intended, and they leave wounds that don't close quickly.
- 2:51Chris Alessi: Every man has said something in anger, something he can't take back, and you know what Solomon is describing here.
- 2:59Chris Alessi: But then we have the contrast.
- 3:04Chris Alessi: Notice it's the same instrument, the mouth.
- 3:07Chris Alessi: That mouth can wound like a sword, but it can also heal like medicine.
- 3:14Chris Alessi: The wise man's words don't just avoid damage, they actively restore.
- 3:19Chris Alessi: They speak life into the discouraged, they encourage somebody, they speak truth into the confused person, they bring courage to the person who's dealing with fear.
- 3:31Chris Alessi: His mouth is farming healing.
- 3:34Chris Alessi: And that crop is growing in the people around him right now.
- 3:39Chris Alessi: So here's what I think you should sit with today.
- 3:42Chris Alessi: Your mouth has already been farming something in the people closest to you.
- 3:46Chris Alessi: Your parents, your wife, your kids, your team.
- 3:49Chris Alessi: They're carrying a harvest of your words right now.
- 3:53Chris Alessi: Some of it, I'm sure, is pretty good.
- 3:56Chris Alessi: Some of it may be producing some wounds that need healing.
- 4:01Chris Alessi: The man-up question isn't just what you'll say tomorrow.
- 4:04Chris Alessi: It's whether you're willing to look honestly at what your mouth has already produced and take responsibility for the crop.
- 4:11Chris Alessi: So here's your man-up challenge.
- 4:13Chris Alessi: Think about the three people closest to you, not just your friends or your buddies, the three most important relationships in your life.
- 4:21Chris Alessi: What has the fruit of your mouth produced in each of them?
- 4:25Chris Alessi: Be honest with yourself.
- 4:27Chris Alessi: Then identify at least one seed you can sow with your mouth towards those three relationships.
- 4:35Chris Alessi: Not some grand gesture, just a true intentional, life-giving word, and give it to them before the day is over.
- 4:43Chris Alessi: Let's pray.
- 4:45Chris Alessi: Father, let the fruit of our mouth be good.
- 4:48Chris Alessi: Slow our tongue when it wants to move like a sword.
- 4:51Chris Alessi: Give us the wisdom to speak healing into our marriage, our kids, and the people around us who need it most.
- 4:58Chris Alessi: Let our words farm something worth harvesting.
- 5:01Chris Alessi: In Jesus' name, amen.
- 5:06SPEAKER_00: All right, gentlemen, you've heard God's word.
- 5:09SPEAKER_00: Now go live it.
- 5:11SPEAKER_00: Lead well, stand strong, honor God in everything you do.
- 5:16SPEAKER_00: Share this devotional with another brother.
- 5:18SPEAKER_00: Remember, every day is another opportunity.
- 5:22SPEAKER_00: It's a man up.