“Big Fat Mouth Series” Week 2 *Rotten Tomatoes*
April 18, 2021 / Pastor Jimmy Hargrove / Matthew 7:18 / Harbor City Church
Rotten Tomatoes
PD opened big fat mouth series last week
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
🌏 God created the world by speaking it into existence
🌳 Jesus cursed the fig tree and it died
Words can build and heal
Words can hurt, and tear down
Fault finder
Look for the bad
🫒 “We won’t talk about the technobabble inelegantly cited in a bid to hold it all together – the equivalent of taking out an airplane’s jackscrews and replacing them with chewing gum.”
Encouragement = the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope
Hope dealer
Find the good
🍅 “The movie is touching and emotional, with great action, friendship, unconditional love and farewell scenes.”
Being critical takes confidence away from someone
Being encouraging gives them confidence and hope
🎬 Avengers Endgame 94% rating. #5 on RT
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
⛹️ Good teams who do poorly because they destroy each other
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Important to focus on being encouraging
Paul encouraged Timothy
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
⭐️ Find the good, focus on the good
🎤 Story of Wes encouraging me in my preaching, pointing out what I did good.
Even when he gave constructive criticism he always followed it up with double the encouragement of finding more good things
Finding the good and focusing of the good can bring healing
“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
🗣 We can be fault finders or Hope dealers to our selves as well. Speak negative things about ourselves
Often we focus on our faults or our deficiencies
I’m not good at singing, I’m not good at organization, I’m not athletic, I’m not good at technology, I’m not good at speaking
🏌️♂️ Logan “I am the worst golfer ever, I’m not good at putting”
Maybe thinking of this very concept
I’m not good at being encouraging I am just a critical person
I have a hard time seeing the good
Spend time with God
““No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
🌿 Remain in God (the vine) and you will produce good fruit. You will be an encourager if you spend time with God.
The more time you spend with God who is good the more good and encouraging words will come out of you
You will start seeing the good in others and in yourself because you will start seeing people and yourself as God sees them and you
Stay away from critical people critical
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”
Surround yourself with encouragers
“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Maybe 👇
This doesn’t mean that you must never say anything that will offend someone. The truth offends sometimes but it must be spoken in love.
Jesus offended many by what He said. But He said them so change would come in them.
It’s all about your motives. Are you trying to build yourself up and make yourself feel good or are you trying to build someone else and help them grow.
We can’t just give people lip service to make them feel good when there are issues to be dealt with but check your motives.
Luke 11:37-41 NIV
“When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”
These are the teachers who should know better. Not ignorant of what they are doing.
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Pray for those who have critical words spoken over them that they may believe still to be broken off
Pray for those who struggle with being encouraging