1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 This is going to sound kind of weird, but I want you to imagine 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,720 that the past week that you've just had, we need to imagine 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:11,120 that a cameraman follows you around everywhere you went, 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:16,000 everything you said, everything you did, everywhere you went, it 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,160 was recorded and locked down in a camera. 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,960 And then today what's going to happen is in your street, a big 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,800 billboard with a screen on it is going to go up, or in your town 8 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,000 centre or in your home. Everything's going to go up and 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,080 it's all going to be played, everything you've done. 10 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,400 Would you be embarrassed or ashamed of anything you've said 11 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,560 about people behind their back this week? 12 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,760 I know that I would off. And so that's why today I want 13 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,920 to talk to you about gossiping. Well, if this is your first time 14 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,680 on the channel, my name's Joe Kirby and it's that time of week 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,560 where we have a nice warm cup of Joe with Joe. 16 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,480 So I'm going to make you a coffee. 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,400 I hope you're you all like coffee, so make sure you get 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,599 your kettles on. I've actually boiled mine this 19 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,200 week just because it can be a little bit noisy in the 20 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,960 background. I'm going to make a nice coffee 21 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,600 and then let's talk about gossiping. 22 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,600 As you can see we're we're getting a bit low on the the 23 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,200 coffee here. We'll have to get to the shop 24 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:29,480 and buy some more. So I just put, do you know what 25 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,320 I think I'm just going to dump all of it in. 26 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,920 There we go. They're like rocket, rocket 27 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:53,280 fuel. I don't know if I'm the only one 28 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,640 who will literally drink that much coffee, but I'll have it 29 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,880 all to myself if my wife. My wife only drinks decaf, 30 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,320 actually, because caffeine makes her a bit hyper. 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:08,440 So when it's a nice caffeinated coffee with the jar completely 32 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,200 empty, it's all for me anyway. I also, if you've got your 33 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,120 coffee there, I'd also like you to grab a Bible, because this 34 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,120 time we have actually got quite a few Bible verses. 35 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,560 But I make no apology for it because as you know, the Bible 36 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,400 is is the best thing that we can ever have and everything will go 37 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,240 downhill after I stop reading the Bible because it'll just be 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,160 coming from man. OK, so Ecclesiastes 10, verse 39 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,400 20, Please turn there if you're able to. 40 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:41,360 Verse 20 Do not curse the king, even in your thoughts. 41 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:46,840 Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom, for a bird of the 42 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,920 air may carry your voice and a bird in flight may tell the 43 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:54,600 matter. So in other words, you know that 44 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,680 phrase that we say? A little birdie told me so. 45 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,760 Well, that's exactly what's going on here. 46 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,120 It's this imagery that OK, everything I say in private, 47 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,480 there might be a little bird that eavesdrops and takes that 48 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,640 message out to the public. Now of course we know there 49 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:16,640 aren't such birds that exist, but we do know that very often 50 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,920 you might say to someone, you mustn't tell anyone this, keep 51 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:24,440 this a secret and then you soon realise that it wasn't kept a 52 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,200 secret. And what you said, be sure your 53 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,640 sins will find you out. They did find you out I'm not 54 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:36,400 American, but I hear in your history of a a president called 55 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,040 Richard Nixon who many people know very famous man. 56 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,640 And I also hear of a a terrible incident where he had some tapes 57 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,360 and these recordings were leaked right across the world. 58 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,480 And even Billy Graham was involved in in one of them where 59 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,160 he said some unkind things about Jewish people. 60 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,200 And perhaps Billy, he probably thought and and Richard, it's 61 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,520 just in private. It's just between these four 62 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,480 walls. And yet the word got out. 63 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,240 Now I'm not judging Billy in any way. 64 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,560 I think he was a tremendous man. And I'll tell you, if if some of 65 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,960 the things I've said went out in the public, I'd be even more 66 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,959 embarrassed because we're all sinners and we all make a mess. 67 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,040 But what do we need to learn from this? 68 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:22,520 Just be careful. If you don't want this message 69 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,000 to go out to the world, if you don't want everyone to hear it, 70 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,360 well, then don't say it, OK? The next verse is in Proverbs 71 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:34,720 17, verse 9. So as you can hear, we're we're 72 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,160 staying with King Solomon and his wise words. 73 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:48,440 He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a 74 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:53,360 matter separates friends. Now, in every family, in every 75 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,600 friendship, in every person's life, there is a a scandal, 76 00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,200 isn't there? There's something that's 77 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,720 happened, something embarrassing. 78 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:07,160 And you know, if we really ought to be loving people and we know 79 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:12,120 about this information, our job as Christians should be to keep 80 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:13,760 it quiet. You know, cover it. 81 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,280 It's more loving to to cover this up and not to let the whole 82 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,520 world know about it if it's in the past, especially if that 83 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,320 person's repented and turned from it. 84 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,920 Let's not keep raking up the dead, but let's keep it private. 85 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:29,600 And yet the Bible says, you know, that the person who does 86 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,600 this, who repeats the matter, you know, when people say, did 87 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,160 you hear about what what Derek did in in in 2004 or did you 88 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,640 know what her past is? Like that woman who lives down 89 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:40,200 the road. Do you? 90 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:41,960 You know, what are we doing there? 91 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,080 The Bible says we're separating close friends. 92 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:48,760 And as Christians, particularly mature Christians, we should be 93 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,680 seeking to shield one another from these painful things to 94 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:54,760 protect little eyes. Little ears. 95 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,960 Like that song goes, be careful little eyes What you see. 96 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:00,960 Be careful little ears what you hear. 97 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,240 Because the Father of above is looking down in love. 98 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,040 Be careful, little ears what you hear. 99 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,960 So let's remember that, and let's try not to be divisive and 100 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,560 as much as possible, keep these things quiet. 101 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:15,320 OK, here's another verse for you. 102 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:20,080 Proverbs 26, Verse 20. It says this. 103 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:25,200 Now this is quite powerful. Where there is no wood, the fire 104 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:31,200 goes out, and where there is no tail bearer, strife ceases. 105 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,120 So it's this imagery. Again, okay if I don't know if 106 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,680 where you're watching this from. If you've got a log burner and 107 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,000 you have a fire, of course it's it's obvious a fire cannot 108 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,080 survive without wood. The second you remove that wood 109 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,040 from the fire is the second the fire will go out. 110 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,720 And it's the same picture. But if you get that gossip, the 111 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,520 town gossip, the person in church who's a tail bearer, who 112 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,720 who likes to let secrets, the person who knows that loose lips 113 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,200 sink ships, that person. When you remove that person from 114 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,400 a friendship group, from a a church, from a situation, 115 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,400 suddenly all of the strife, all of the heat, all of the emotion 116 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:12,280 stops because that person is fuelling the fire to cause so 117 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,720 many arguments. A couple of weeks ago we talked 118 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,960 about Christmas and A Christmas Carol. 119 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,960 Well, one of my favorite scenes in A Christmas Carol, the one 120 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,640 with Patrick Stewart, is when once Scrooge has died. 121 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,040 The the Ghost of I've forgotten what it is. 122 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,000 But the Ghost of of Of the Future shows all of the 123 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,240 different things, all of the scenes that would happen after 124 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,680 Ebenezer Scrooge had had passed away. 125 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,360 And one of the scenes that we see is a mother and a husband 126 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,200 with their small baby, really, really happy. 127 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,360 You know, that they're weeping with joy. 128 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,200 Why are they so happy? Because this man, Ebenezer 129 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,000 Scrooge, they owe massive debts to him. 130 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:56,600 And they're thinking, oh, it's wonderful that he's gone. 131 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,040 Now I don't have to pay these debts. 132 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,320 And what does that woman say? She says something very 133 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,800 powerful. I never thought that a man's 134 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:10,800 death could bring so much joy. And that's what it's like when 135 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:14,200 you remove a tail bearer, A gossip, someone who's divisive 136 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,960 from a situation. As soon as they're removed, it's 137 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:21,680 almost as if I never thought that person could, you know, 138 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:23,920 bring so much joy that they're now gone. 139 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:25,640 Now I don't want to be that person. 140 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,280 That people are glad, boy. I'm glad to see the back of him. 141 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,240 He causes trouble. Now I want to be the person who 142 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,440 encourages people, who puts good into people, who puts joy into 143 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,559 the body of Christ. OK, it's time for some coffee. 144 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,760 When I used to make coffee like this, I used to push it down 145 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,600 really, really fast and I didn't realise that that actually ruins 146 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,320 the the texture of it. So I do it ultra slow. 147 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,680 Now I think I'm a bit overly slow, and I like my coffee 148 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:03,560 black. So we're going to be having some 149 00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:06,400 nice black coffee. Oops. 150 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,680 Filling it on the counter. Don't let the wife see. 151 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,320 No, I've made a right message. Sorry, one second. 152 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:22,320 I'll just get some kitchen roll on that. 153 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,400 Otherwise Emeril will be coming home and she'll be saying why 154 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,120 are you making a mess in me kitchen? 155 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,320 That's how we all speak up here in in the north of England. 156 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,360 I don't know where you're watching this from, but English 157 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:38,680 people in the north speak very, very different to English people 158 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:42,760 in the South and most of the films that you'd watch. 159 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:48,320 So when you've got actors like, let me think, Michael Gambon or 160 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,400 Benedict Cumberbatch or who else have we got? 161 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:53,640 Daniel Craig. They would be from the South. 162 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,240 Well, actually Daniel Craig, he's actually from Chester, 163 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,520 which is the north of England, but he has more of a Southern 164 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,880 accent. So that's just a moment of 165 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,840 truth. What's this old cup cup of Joe 166 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:08,080 like? That's what you call it in 167 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,360 America, don't you? A hot cup of Joe. 168 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,320 That's really good. What I didn't tell you actually, 169 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:24,320 is I actually filmed a video earlier, just before I did this. 170 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,120 And I thought instead of having a coffee where I just sort of, 171 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,600 you know, have it on my own because I always have a coffee 172 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,480 after I've filmed, I thought, you know what, I'll, I'll share 173 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,480 and have a coffee with you guys right now. 174 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,560 So the next, the next sort of passage I want us to look at in 175 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:45,840 a moment's time is in fact we'll look there now Ecclesiastes 7 176 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,520 verses 21 to 22. The Bible says also do not take 177 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,800 two hearts, everything people say, lest you hear your servant 178 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,520 cursing you. For many times also your own 179 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,880 heart has known that even you have cursed others. 180 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:08,200 So what's the Bible saying here? Now imagine if you like me, 181 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,080 you've probably been gossips about. 182 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:13,560 If you've got a YouTube channel, you have whole videos that 183 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,400 people make and people keep messaging me and saying are you 184 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:17,960 aware this man's making this video? 185 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:23,080 And I'm totally aware in the Lords grace, you know it doesn't 186 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,000 bother me because the Bible says, you know, blessed are you 187 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,760 when they call you all kinds of names and revile against you. 188 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,120 And it's actually a worrying thing is that it's it's it's a 189 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,920 bad thing if woe to you if all men speak well of you. 190 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,520 So I am aware people make videos about me. 191 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,720 And you know, sometimes these videos can humble you. 192 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,280 And you say is there is there some truth in this instead of, 193 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,920 you know, straight away defending ourselves and saying, 194 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,440 you know, this is wrong, this is wrong saying, well, is there any 195 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,240 truth in what this person's saying? 196 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,640 If there is, then I try and repent and I learn from it. 197 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,160 And if there isn't, then you just say, OK Lord, this is part 198 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,880 of the package and it's a privilege to serve you. 199 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:05,480 It's certainly a lot easier to serve you here than in some 200 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,320 countries around the world. But if you have been gossiped 201 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:12,840 about, people have said mean things about you, how do you 202 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:14,960 deal with it? Well, you remember what this 203 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,520 verse here says. Often you yourself have cursed 204 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,720 people. Often you yourself have said 205 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,920 mean things about other people, so try not to take it too much 206 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,720 to heart blade. The skull said something amazing 207 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:29,040 and I'm just going to paraphrase it. 208 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,280 But he said if everyone in the world knew everything that had 209 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,080 been said about one another, there wouldn't be 4 friends in 210 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,440 the entire world. So you know, often if if I knew 211 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,320 what some of my closest friends said about me behind my back, 212 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:46,080 I'd be like, are you really my friend? 213 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,240 But in the Lord's grace, a lot of it is hidden. 214 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,960 And I've said things about my friends behind their back that I 215 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,360 don't mean hurtful things. And we all do it, don't we? 216 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,840 So just remember that we're all sinners. 217 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,640 But the scripture also says that the tongue is set on fire. 218 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:09,720 By hell, who can tame it in? In England, recently there was a 219 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,320 newspaper published an article and it was about the last ever 220 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,680 lion tamer. You know, it was sort of a thing 221 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:17,120 that was well known over the years. 222 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,200 There was lion tamers who knew how to tame a lion. 223 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,720 And you know, there's people who are watching perhaps and they 224 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,480 know how to to break in a wild horse. 225 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,560 And then of course in Florida you've got Shamu, you've got 226 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:34,840 that massive big and orca whale and there's literally trainers, 227 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:40,200 C trainers, orca whale trainers who can stand on the nose of 228 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,360 that orca whale and come out of the water with it. 229 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:45,760 And you think, how can you do that? 230 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:49,160 How are you able to do that? If you see, we can train all 231 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,120 kinds of animals, all kinds of dangerous creatures, but this 232 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,720 little thing, this little, you know, 2 inch bit of flesh in our 233 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,320 mouth, We can't train it. We can't tame it. 234 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,960 It's so wild. And yet only the Lord, the Holy 235 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,400 Spirit can tame us. We need to take this issue to 236 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:17,740 him. When I was at primary school, 237 00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:20,260 that's, I don't know what you call it if you're watching from 238 00:14:20,260 --> 00:14:21,900 America. It might be Junior School, but 239 00:14:21,900 --> 00:14:26,960 it's basically we go to school from ages 5 to 11 years old and 240 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,560 that's called primary school. When I was there, I remember 241 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,120 things people said about me. I was actually bullied quite 242 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:38,160 badly there when I was at high school, which is ages 11 to 16. 243 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:39,960 I think that's middle school for you guys. 244 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:42,480 I didn't really get bullied. I was OK. 245 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,240 I had a lot of friends, but at primary school for a lot of it I 246 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:52,480 was picked on partly because my my dad was a Christian and, you 247 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:53,920 know, we didn't keep that a secret. 248 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,280 So we were quite different. In secular Britain, there's not 249 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,280 many people who are Christians who go to church at the weekends 250 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,520 and, you know, don't watch certain films and certain songs. 251 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,080 I had no idea what was going on in the music charts growing up, 252 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,320 so I stuck out like a sore thumb. 253 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:14,960 But also physically, people used to say things about me, you 254 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,440 know, they used to say how do you send Joe to the moon? 255 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,960 You press the red button Because I had a red spot in the middle 256 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,280 of my head. That sort of went, I've got one 257 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:28,200 here now, so it's just, you know, it's just migrated in my 258 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,440 in my imaginary hairline. And people also say just going 259 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,920 back to comments people write. One of the funniest comments 260 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,960 anyone ever wrote to me was they said this man's hairline has 261 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,760 been raptured. So tell me in the comment box 262 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,160 right now if your hairline's also raptured. 263 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,040 But people, when I was, you know, when I was a child, they 264 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,360 said things about me, They said things about my ears, about, you 265 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,960 know, my hair colour and you never, ever forget what they 266 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,400 say. And you know, I know I sound 267 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,840 like a bit of a wimp and obviously I have moved on from 268 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:02,400 it. I don't, you know, shed lots of 269 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,640 tears at night crying about these things. 270 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,080 But it is true, isn't it, That, you know, sticks and stones 271 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,960 might break my my bones, but words will never hurt me. 272 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,920 In fact, what I meant to say is that isn't true at all. 273 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,280 You know, you can give me a a black eye, you can punch me and 274 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,720 all of that, and I'll move on from there. 275 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,160 But if you say something really hurtful, we have a scar, don't 276 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,080 we? And it wounds us and it cuts us 277 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:28,680 deep. And as we get older, other 278 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:33,080 things might, you know, upset us and those words hurt us more. 279 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,120 So just be careful that you're not the person who's leaving 280 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,440 wounds or scars and other people. 281 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:43,400 It was a very godly man who I used to know, a man called Alan 282 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,280 White. He was the elder of our church. 283 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,080 And I I I know I say this online. 284 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,160 I've said it a few times, and I know Alan would be so annoyed if 285 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,960 you could hear me saying it, but there are only two holy, 286 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:59,920 righteous men who I've ever known in my life. 287 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,480 You know, when you get to see people's lives and you get to 288 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,880 know them and you see their sins and you see their flaws, we've 289 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,480 all got them. But there are two men who I can 290 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,079 honestly say those two men were holy men of God. 291 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,599 They love the Lord, and Alan was one of them. 292 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,400 And Alan used to say, I want to set you a challenge. 293 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:25,040 Now you go through all of the Gospels and you show me one 294 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,800 example of where Jesus Christ ever talked about anyone when 295 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,840 they weren't present, when they weren't in the room with him. 296 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:34,960 You'll never find an example of that. 297 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,400 And I think that's a fascinating thought, isn't it? 298 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,600 The Son of God would never talk about people when they weren't 299 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,240 present. Now, of course it's not wrong or 300 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,160 sinful to do that. We see other godly men like Paul 301 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,400 in the Bible. He would talk about people. 302 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,600 We see other examples of it. But it is an interesting 303 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,880 challenge, isn't it, to be very careful. 304 00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:59,600 What are we saying about people, good or bad, when they're not 305 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,360 with us, when they're not their present? 306 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,080 And then, of course, as you know, gossip. 307 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:11,680 Gossip has massive consequences. And gossip actually put the Lord 308 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,160 Jesus Christ on the cross. You know, they said about Christ 309 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,600 that he had an unclean spirit, which wasn't true. 310 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,760 They said about Christ, he makes false claims about himself. 311 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,040 He claims to be the Son of God. How dare he say that? 312 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,480 And of course that wasn't true because the Lord Jesus Christ, 313 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,800 he he was the Son of God. So it wasn't a false claim, it 314 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:34,680 was entirely true that he he was the Son of God. 315 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:38,520 They also said that Christ he wanted to start a riot, which 316 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,880 again wasn't true at all. And the Bible says, in the 317 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:47,120 Messianic Psalm of Psalm 22, it says Great bulls have surrounded 318 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,360 me, Great bulls of Basham. They've surrounded me and they 319 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:53,760 gaped their mouths at me on the cross there. 320 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,800 All these people were scorning him, saying him, him, If you're 321 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,920 the Son of God, bring yourself down from this cross. 322 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,560 All kinds of wicked things were said about Christ. 323 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,800 And yet on the cross he took all of our gossip, all of our lies, 324 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,960 all of our slandered slander and paid the price so that we we 325 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:17,480 could be forgiven. Let me leave you with one final 326 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,920 thought. I'm not sure if this is a true 327 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,760 story or a folklore story, but there was a Jewish rabbi who was 328 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:32,120 very well respected in the town. But one man, the young man, 329 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,080 didn't like him and decided to spread slander and lies about 330 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:38,080 him. He said all kinds of things. 331 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,720 And eventually this young man realised his error, felt a sense 332 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:44,600 of guilt. So he thought, you know what? 333 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:49,520 I need to go and confess my sins to the rabbi. 334 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:51,200 I'll tell him what I've done wrong. 335 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:53,280 Oh, Rabbi, you've probably heard. 336 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,800 I've said all manner of evil things about you. 337 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:00,360 Please, will you forgive me? And the wise old rabbi said, I 338 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:02,920 will forgive you. But I want you to do something 339 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:04,960 for me. I want you to. 340 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,520 Take a pillow, take this pillow in your hands and also take this 341 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,360 pair of scissors and I want you to go to the Market Square and I 342 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,920 want you to take the scissors and cut a hole in the pillow and 343 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,120 shake it everywhere you go. Just shake it as much as you 344 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:23,600 can. Will you do that? 345 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,360 For me and the young man kind of feeling a bit like this is a bit 346 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:31,320 of a a strange request. Sort of took the pillow on the 347 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:33,640 scissors and said, OK, I'll do it because, you know, I have 348 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,160 done a lot of wrong things to you. 349 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,560 So there the young man went and he took his scissors, cut a hole 350 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,560 in them and started shaking it wildly in the in the Market 351 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,720 Square. And then he returned back to the 352 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,920 rabbi. And the rabbi says, did you do 353 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:48,600 as I said? And the young man said, yes, I 354 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:50,880 did. And the rabbi said, would you 355 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,040 mind telling me what came out of the pillow? 356 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,920 And the young man said, oh, feathers, many, many feathers 357 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:04,520 poured out onto the ground. Good, said the rabbi. 358 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,720 Now what I want you to do is go back to the Market Square and I 359 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,000 want you to pick up every single feather that fell out and put it 360 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,400 back in the pillow for me and bring it back to me. 361 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,760 And the young man was speechless. 362 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,400 I can't, Sir. I don't know where they've all 363 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:28,240 gone, my dear friends. So it is with gossip. 364 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,880 Often it's too late. Some of these things, they've 365 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,600 spread out far. They've gone far and wide. 366 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,600 As I've said, they've wounded people and you can't put the 367 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,080 feathers back in the pillow. So what am I saying to you 368 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,840 today? I just want you and I in this 369 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:48,920 new year now to be very careful what feathers we drop in the 370 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:53,520 future and to let only good things, gentle things, loving 371 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,920 things come out of our lips because that's what the Lord God 372 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:02,480 would want us to do. I am grateful again if you've 373 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,480 stayed with me this long. Just to reiterate, if you want 374 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,160 to see more videos that are more high production value that are 375 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,640 even click baity if I can say you know as a fisherman, I'm a 376 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,960 fisherman, an evangelist, I use baits. 377 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,440 So that's why those videos might be a bit sensational and people 378 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,400 don't like them necessarily. But I'm trying to reach 379 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,960 unbelievers primarily on that Channel, and often they like the 380 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,840 clickbait. But I know Christians often 381 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,120 these kind of things might be of more value to you. 382 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:37,240 So I want to hopefully serve both while the Lord puts breath 383 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:38,920 in my lungs. So if you'd like to see more 384 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,480 videos like this, please do subscribe. 385 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,480 And yeah, I hope you've enjoyed your cup of coffee with me 386 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,680 today. God bless you all and thank you 387 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:48,360 for watching.