04-06-26 - ‘Let’s Get Serious: Gossip’

Continuing the Let’s Get Serious series, Hayley Gutmann examines the often-overlooked sin of gossip and its destructive impact on relationships, churches, and communities. Drawing from Proverbs, Romans, Ephesians, and other Scriptures, she highlights God’s concern for the words believers speak and the importance of guarding the tongue.

The message challenges Christians to pursue holiness not only in visible actions but also in conversation, attitudes, and motives. Emphasising unity, love, and personal accountability before God, Hayley encourages viewers to use their words to build others up rather than tear them down, reminding believers that faithful discipleship includes careful stewardship of speech.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Amen. Thank you so much, my love. That is lovely. Would you like some water for the front of the carry on, man? I've got a I've got a glass here, I can slide it along. No, I won't really. Let's not upset our producer by having spilt water everywhere. Um, it's such an honour that to um that I get to bring this, you know, I never take it for granted as um somebody that gets to come into your lives and speak to you. And, you know, as Tim and I uh get to do this ministry here, it's such a blessing, and thank you so much for tuning in. Now we are in the middle of a series called Let's Get Serious, and it's really all about holiness, and it's talking about different subjects that the church often doesn't talk about because our observation on many different um, you know, it's kind of the sound of the church. It sounds um very life coaching and things like that, and we just thought, actually, we're just gonna be uncompromising about the scripture and we're gonna talk about some subjects that we don't really go into quite a lot. So we have already done um sin and wrath, obedience, and enduring suffering. So this week I'm gonna be talking about gossip. Now, gossip is one of these things where it's like, I feel like everyone thinks they're not a gossip, but everyone knows a gossip, and it's everyone knows a gossip, am I right? We all know that gossip person. Um it's it can be in all of us.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

I assume you're asking me then, Mom.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Absolutely. Um I don't I wasn't asking if you were a gossip, my love. I know you're looking at me now, Melanie. Yeah. But it's kind of the the the world that we live in is um there's no shame in being a gossip. There's no shame in being a gossip in this world that we live in because it's um, you know, we have celebrity gossip, it's so it's sold as a good thing. Magazines, a lot of it is about rumors and gossip, tabloids, social media, um, celebrity commentators on on like celebrity culture, influences, you know, the world makes money from gossip, don't they? And it's no different in the church. You know, we were talking about this before um before I came on here, and you know, you go back 20 years or so in the church, maybe not even that far, and to to be a person, a Christian who was divorced was is was pretty shameful. It was difficult, it felt um shameful for a Christian to do that. It was often people were the subject of rumours and talking about, oh, did you hear? Uh you know, they're a divorce they're divorced and blah blah blah, chit-chit-chat. But at the same time, they would be absolutely fine with being a gossip and being somebody who says, Did you hear? Did you know? Or um, you know, I heard this, that, and the other.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Just telling you so you can pray.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Yeah, I mean, that's the worst one, isn't it? It's that kind of like that disguised gossiper who's like, Well, I'm only telling you so you know, so you can pray about it. But let's look at what the Bible says, because it's not just an innocent thing. Gossip isn't just one of those things that happens in life. You know, we take adultery seriously. We all try not to murder, lie, steal, but actually, gossip is something that God takes very seriously. And I just want to look at what um the Bible says in Proverbs 6, 16 to 19. It talks about six things, no, seven that the Lord detests. It says here, there are six things the Lord hates, hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that despises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. And I'm kind of taking that one, the last one, as kind of a gossip. Because gossiping is never a good thing, is it? Did you want to say something, my love?

SPEAKER_01 4:20

I was gonna say that. Such strong words.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

The Lord hates stir up trouble in the community.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Think about the church as a community.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

That's right. And no, please jump in. You know, unity is so important to God, and it's so it's so key to the body of Christ for us to be united in one heart, and so gossip is something that is so inherently destructive, and it's something that I feel like God is just wanting to call us to be people that are holy, that actually take it as seriously as guarding our marriages against adultery. Actually, that we would guard ourselves so strongly against gossip, because I feel that too much of the time we don't, we don't take it seriously because it's kind of in the list of sins, you've got the big ones that people kind of say, Oh, that's really wrong, and then the ones at the bottom, which this one often is just slid in there. Um Proverbs 1628 says a perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. And just keeping that up there for a minute, a perverse person. So many people would describe other things as perverse, but this is actually the Bible tells us that it is perverse to stir up conflict. That is how seriously he takes it. And so I feel like it's just a call to the church, it's a call to the disciples and followers of Yeshua, Hamashiach, that we are ambassadors for Christ, that we are expected to live to a standard of holiness that includes guarding ourselves against gossiping, and it's one of those very easy things for anyone to fall into. And so, really, tonight is an invitation. I feel just wanting to invite you in to kind of search your own heart to see, is there any area in me? And this whole point of the entire um sermon series is for us to be able to ask ourselves, Lord, is there is there any part of me that is displeasing to you? Is there any part of me that, like the scripture says, is perverse? Am I guilty of this? Because I want to get it right, and I just want to walk in holiness so much with you, especially that we're living in the end days, we're living in the last days, aren't we? This is not the time to be messing about with our Christianity, messing about with our faith.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Did you want to say my love?

SPEAKER_01 7:12

No, I was just agreeing with you. I was going, Amen, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Yeah. Um and so much disunity, so much disunity is is caused by gossip. And sometimes we feel justified, we feel justified and entitled to gossip because we might have been wronged. And it's so important as followers of Christ that our core, our centre, and how we respond to things is very much driven by what the Bible tells us to do, which is often countercultural, isn't it? Often, you know, you feel wronged, you want to react, you want to do something about it. That's right. But actually, the Bible says it's actually to your honour when you overlook a matter.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Wow. That's so good.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

So it's just about the fact that God takes our speech seriously, and we want to remind ourselves and everybody who's tuned in that, you know, one day, all of us, no matter who you are, every man, woman, and child will stand before God on that day of judgment, and we'll have to give an account of everything that we said, everything that we thought, everything that we did, and everything that does just doesn't line up with God's will for us is just gonna be burnt up, or he's gonna judge and look at that and say, you know, why did you do that? There are we are gonna have to give an account, and it is serious. And so it would be remiss of any minister to not say, guys, you know, this is serious, and we have to make sure that we are people that are careful with our words. My um growing up, my I had a memory verse in the back of my um Bible. I um it was a good news bible for any of those who read the good news. And um there was a uh evangelist called Louis Palau. Do you remember Louis Palau?

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yes, of course. Of course.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

So that's where I got born again in New Zealand at a rally with Louis Palau. Because he was back in the day, wasn't he?

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Back in the day.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Back in the 80s.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

90s. I think he's still acting. Oh, he's still active fairly recently, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Is he?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Louis Palau, yeah. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Um anyway, they were giving out these Bibles, and my mum wrote a Bible scripture at the back of it, and she she wrote the scripture which is talking about life and death are in the power of the tongue. And she explained it to us like this when we were kids. You have to be so careful what you say and how you say it, because your words have the power to tear down and build up. Can we have Ephesians 4 verse 29 up, please? And it and it talks about this. It says, 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. And what we say, what we talk about, and the impact of our words, it really, really matters. And that's the point. You know, we have the power on our words to literally tear someone down internally. We have the power with our with our words to create division and conflict in our families, in our churches, in our workplaces. And it's important that we keep a guard on our mouths, we are careful what we speak about, we are careful what we say, and not falling into gossip, which in Romans 1, 29 to 30, Paul includes gossip and slanderers in a list of behaviors that result from a debased mind. This is what it says. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, god haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil and they disobey their parents. So it's important. It's important, it's important that we're aware how seriously God takes gossip and slander and disunity and make a decision to be people that do better. And not from a religious point of view where it's we're better than anybody else because we're really not, but in a position of I want to really be so careful how I live my life in front of God, and I want to live within these boundaries because I know that they are set for my good and for the good of others.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

So um like your mumma said, you know, if you've got nothing nice to say, don't say it. I think that's good advice, isn't it? And um, you know, letting other people's business be their business is really important. And just just doing everything in love, remembering wherever you live your life, whether you work or whether you don't work and you're at home, in all of your interactions, remembering that you are, if you are a believer in Jesus, in Yeshua, you are an ambassador here on earth for him. And that is the best witness you can be by being a good ambassador.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

That's so good. That's so good. You know, uh want to give you an opportunity to respond to that. Um, the idea is not to feel condemnation.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Definitely not.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Because the best thing you could do with your tongue is to praise Jesus, and if you've never done this, actually to put your faith in Jesus and to say, Jesus, I believe you. I believe in you, I believe you died for me on the cross, I believe you rose again, I believe that you are the King of Kings, and I want to follow you. That's the most powerful thing you can do with your tongue. Confess the Lord Jesus. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, the Bible says you're saved. Why don't you just pray this prayer? If you've never asked Jesus, or you know you need to come back to Jesus, or maybe you just need to lay some things down and say, I recognize some things Hayes been saying, Haley's been saying, I need to lay that down at the cross. Just pray with me right now. Father, I thank you that you love me so much that Jesus, the gift to uh the universe, Jesus, you were sent by the Father for the Lord God, loved the world so much he gave his only begotten Son. Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sin, for gossip, and everything else I've ever done. And I believe that you didn't stay dead, I believe you rose from the dead. You didn't cheat death, you beat death. I want to follow you, Jesus. I want to obey you, and I want to glorify you with my tongue. Help me to do that, Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. Why don't you just speak to the Lord now in your own mind for just a few a couple of brief moments? Amen, and we thank you, Jesus, for everybody that's reaching out to you right now. Wherever we are in this nation, around the world, actually, I pray your hand and your blessing, your comfort, and salvation on whoever's praying and reaching out to you, Jesus. Yeah. Amen. Amen. Thank you for that great word, my love, and it's so important. Gossip is one of those things that we seem to allow uh. Like have a whole pass for it. And uh, and you said it's the last days, and we will give an account. RevTV family, the Bible says we'll give an account for uh how we live our life and the things we say, and actually, we will sit stand before the famous seat of Christ, which means it's a judge, it's a judgment for rewards, absolutely. But we want to live the best life eternally, and uh and we want to make sure that we are on fire for Jesus. It's the last days, no one knows the day or the hours, they say, but it's probably next Wednesday. Anyway, let's worship the king.