We have already seen that God desires all men to come to the full knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4); this is God’s heart’s desire. A second desire of God’s heart is that we would speak for Him. Everyone must speak. Everyone “may” and everyone “can”; that is, everyone has the right and the ability. We cannot say that we do not have the ability. God created us with vocal cords and a tongue, and with two lips and a mouth full of teeth. These are not only for our eating but also for our speaking. But we fail God according to His creation because we continually speak senselessly, criticizing, lying, and spreading rumors.
In America I incurred the displeasure of the sisters by saying to them, “Sisters, you have a particular characteristic: when you are on the telephone, you seem to be glued to the phone, and you are not able to put it down.” In this way we have wasted our time in gossiping. We must thank the Lord that He created man with a mouth, and that, in creating man, He did it in a very fine and complex way in order that man can speak. That the mouth can speak and produce sounds is truly a miracle. Furthermore, the male speaks in a strong voice and the female speaks in a beautiful voice. But God did not create the mouth for us to speak idle words. The Bible says that “every idle word which men shall speak, they shall render account concerning it in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). I would like to warn the sisters that their words on the telephone are all recorded, and one day God will play them back for them to listen to. This is not a joke; therefore, we must be warned.
Our mouths must speak the words of grace as the Lord Jesus did. Out of His mouth came forth the words of grace (Luke 4:22). Ephesians 4:29 tells us, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good...that it may give grace to those who hear.” Grace may flow out of our mouth; this is the word of God. Brothers and sisters, let us use the time we waste in telephone conversations to call someone we know and preach the gospel to him. We must also visit our relatives to speak the word of the Lord, to speak the truth, and to speak the gospel to them. Not only in the meetings, but also in our daily life, we must speak everywhere and at every time.
In 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul said, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” Moses in the Old Testament said, “Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets.” Paul in the New Testament also said, “You can all prophesy one by one.” Again Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel...if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward” (1 Cor. 9:16b-17a). You may say, “Brother Lee, you quoted the Scripture improperly; in 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 Paul was talking about preaching the gospel, not about speaking God’s word.” Actually to preach the gospel is to speak God’s word. Paul did not say that if he did not preach the gospel, he would have woe, or he was about to have woe; rather, he said that woe was already “to” him.
Please consider your own experience. After you were saved, time after time when you came to the meeting, were there not many times when you felt that you should speak, but after some consideration you eventually did not speak? Every time that you felt to speak but did not speak, did you not feel miserable after the meeting? I myself have had this experience; often when I was moved to speak but did not speak, after I went home I suffered for three days and three nights, and I was very disappointed. But if I spoke immediately when I was moved to speak, I felt comfortable after speaking.
God’s desire is that we speak, and the most pleasing thing to God is our speaking. Parents love to hear their children speak, and whenever the children speak, the sound of their speaking is pleasant, even if they do not speak well. Similarly, in the meetings whenever the newly saved ones speak, the sound of their speaking is very pleasant. Even if they do not speak well, they still sound pleasant.
Dear brothers and sisters, try to be silent from morning till evening. If you do, you will commit a gradual suicide. Speaking is so healthful! I am not a physician or a nutritionist; I say this completely from human experience. Sixty percent of my health comes from speaking for the Lord. When I do not speak for the Lord, I cannot sleep well; I become deflated and have no joy.
We all know that none of us is without anger, for we are all human. Human beings are not wood and stone. Then, how can we not be angry? If an angry person is not able to release his angry words, he will burst. My doctor told me that every time a person speaks in anger, he destroys more of his blood cells than when he has a cold. However, when a person is angry but does not speak, he may not destroy many blood cells; but if he keeps silent a number of times and then gets ulcers in his stomach, what shall he do?
We, the saved ones, have a most excellent way, that is, to speak with the Lord and to speak for the Lord. You may say, “Speak for the Lord? My husband makes me angry, the children are gone to school, and no one is at home. Then to whom should I speak?” It is wrong for you to say this, because you have many objects to speak to. The cats and dogs are your objects; the birds are also your objects; and the grass and the flowers are also your objects. First, you must speak to the Lord. Then you must speak to the cat, to the dog, to the birds, and to the flowers: “Little flowers and little grass, I really love you. I can be angry, but you cannot. But you must know that you do not have the Lord’s life. I have the Lord’s life. Hallelujah!” Speak to them. I am not joking.
What shall we Christians do when we are angry? Shall we be angry at our wives? Shall we lose our temper at our children? No. The best channel through which to let out our anger is our Lord. He will never be angry at you and will never blame you. You may say, “O Lord! Look, I am angry again. O Lord, You see that the wife You gave me is so unreasonable; she forces me to be angry.” I am not joking; every time you speak this way to the Lord, your anger will be gone.
We must see a principle, a fundamental, a law: you must speak if you want to be healthy. You will be the most healthy person if you speak unceasingly each day. But you must speak the word of the Lord. When you speak the Lord’s word, you have joy. People may oppose you, but everyone has a conscience within him; there is an element of fairness in the human heart. A brother who once worked in the telegraph company spoke Jesus whenever he met his colleagues; that is, he spoke for God. Then the others looked down at him, saying in a derogatory way that he was Jesus. But when they had difficulties or when they needed someone to take care of certain important documents for them, they all came to him. Whenever these colleagues faced difficulties, the gospel they had heard operated in them.
Therefore, you must know that the most healthy way is to speak for God. Speaking not only makes your heart happy, but it also is beneficial to your body. This is because human physical health needs deep breathing. When your mouth is closed, you do not breathe deeply, but when your mouth is open, even though you may not intend to do so, you will still breathe deeply. This morning I spoke for more than an hour in the first session, and now I am speaking again for another hour. Even though I did not try to breathe deeply, I have breathed deeply already. If I am tired, I will have a nap this afternoon. Then, tonight after dinner I will come to speak again, and when I am exhausted by speaking, I will go home quickly to sleep again. In living this way surely I will sleep well and be healthy. You sisters who shut your mouth and do not speak, let me advise you that this will damage your health. But you must not gossip or talk idly; rather, you must speak the Lord’s word anytime and everywhere. When you speak the Lord’s word, the more you speak, the happier you will be; the more you speak, the healthier you will be.