—THE POSITIVE SPEECH REVOLUTION SERIESMaria #433CM/FM 31854/98

"Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" (Mat.12:34b).—By Maria

Dear Family,

1. God bless you! Here is the first in a series which we're going to call the "Positive Speech Revolution"! Speaking positively and in a way that glorifies the Lord is an area we could all probably use some improvement in‚ and the Lord has been pouring out some very good messages along those lines, asking us to make a push to be more on guard about our words.

2. This first message is from Dad about foul language. I've been very saddened to hear about the use of such distasteful language in some of our Homes, and I pray that those of you who are guilty will be convicted by this GN and go on the attack to cleanse your vocabulary—and your hearts. As Dad brings out, it's not merely a bad speech habit, but one which pollutes your spirit as well. That's rather sobering when you think about it.

3. Now‚ I'm not necessarily saying that all those of you who have been guilty of using bad language have serious spiritual problems, because maybe some of you haven't realized its negative effects. Maybe the Enemy has been telling you that speaking like this is just a way to assert your independence, shock people, or relieve your frustrations. What the Enemy doesn't tell you is that with it come many undesirable attitudes and spirits. Dad makes it clear that by speaking such words you are letting the Enemy in.

4. So if you've been slipping in this area—whether it has become a full-blown bad habit for you, or whether you've just begun compromising in this area by listening to it from your friends and occasionally participating—I suggest you take Dad's message to heart and desperately ask the Lord to help you, and go on the attack against it!

5. The Enemy might tell you that we're trying to take away your "freedom of speech"—which I know is very important to some of you, especially you young people. But let's talk about our freedom of speech for a moment. What are we here for? In other words, what have we dedicated our entire lives to accomplishing?—Isn't it sharing the Lord's love with others, and helping them to know Him? A quote that comes to mind is, "The only Bible the world reads is the one bound in shoe leather—you and me!" (ML #208:10).

6. If we're representing the Lord to the world, not to speak of representing Him to our own children and to our younger brothers and sisters, that should give us a good standard as to what we're "free" to do! Dad once said, "You're free!—Free to love the Lord and free to preach the Gospel!" We have freedom that the Lord has given us to serve Him and to make our burdens lighter. But He expects us to use that freedom for His glory. That's what we in the Family are dedicated to doing—lifting up Jesus and bringing others to Him. So if we have given our lives and blood, sweat and tears to something, it's naturally disturbing when we see it being torn down.

7. Well, that's what the Enemy is trying to do. Through this foul language that has entered our Homes‚ bringing with it more negative and worldly attitudes and spirits, he's trying to tear down our sample, disgrace us in the eyes of those we're supposed to be ministering to, and ruin the beautiful sample that our children and young people can be. Like Dad says, we're not going to stand for it in our Homes anymore, because it's tearing down the work of God!

8. So please, let's unite to rid our Homes of this foul language, and go on the attack with this positive speech revolution to speak loving, uplifting, Godly words that will edify others! Praise the Lord? I love you!

The State of Your Mouth Shows the State of Your Heart!

9. (Dad speaking:) Out of the abundance of the heart‚ the mouth speaketh. So if you're filling up your heart with good, encouraging, strengthening, faith-building thoughts from God's Word, then you're not going to have to worry about what comes out of your mouth. If you're filling your heart to the brim with good spiritual truths and jewels and fresh wonders from Heaven, then you won't have to worry about your words or your speech being contemptible.

10. Sad to say, I've been hearing some pretty contemptible words and foul language coming out of the mouths of some of you! Let me tell you, that shows what's in your heart and what you're allowing to abound in your spirit, and it's not a very good sign! If your intake is not what it should be—inspiring, uplifting, positive and edifying—then the words that come out of your mouth aren't going to be encouraging, uplifting or positive either!

11. I'm sorry, but it's time for me to put my foot down and tell you what I think about this foul language that has crept into our Homes and is slowly gaining control and getting out of hand. I hate it! God hates it! I won't stand for it, and neither will God!

12. You'd better be a whole lot more prayerful about what comes into your heart and what goes out of your mouth! If you've got a problem with spouting off unwholesome, vulgar‚ crude‚ degrading, negative, ungodly words, if this has become a habit for you, then you'd better get down on your hands and knees and desperately ask the Lord to set a watch over your mouth and help you to guard your thoughts and words!

Bad Language Is a Bad Reflection on the Family!

13. Folks in the System watch their words too. It's not polite nor courteous to use such words in most places or with most people. If you do, they're apt to look down on you as a lower-class lout without enough education and vocabulary to know how to speak properly!

14. Even Christians in the world won't stand for foul language, cussing and swearing. If those in the churches can have conviction about such an elementary lesson as not swearing but being polite and Godly in their speech, how much more should we? You are they unto whom much has been given—so much Word, so much counsel, so many riches from the spirit world, so many uplifting word pictures, and so much freedom. Therefore, much is required of you.

15. The Lord requires a lot of you‚ and right now He's requiring—and I'm requiring—that you quit being a reproach to the cause of Christ! This foul–mouthing has got to stop now! Not only are you being a bad sample of pure, simple Christianity, but you're also reflecting negatively on the Family.

Let the Lord Control Your Spirit and Your Tongue!

16. You're not ruling your own spirit. You're not being prayerful. You're not keeping your thoughts and words in subjection. You're not controlling your anger. You're actually following after the world and its ways when you speak as they speak, cuss as they cuss, swear as they swear, pull down as they pull down, and mock sweet‚ good things and people, just like they do!

17. Ultimately‚ either the Lord or the Devil has rule over your spirit, according to the choices you make and which one you want to yield to. You're choosing what you want to have rule in your life—the good or the bad. It's as simple as that. In the case of foul language, you need to start ruling your own spirit by letting the Lord have control. You need to rule your own spirit by choosing to let the Lord take hold of your tongue.

18. All you have to do is make the choice‚ determine in your heart that you want the Lord to rule over your tongue, and then ask Him for the willpower to stick to that decision. Then He will give you the power to overcome the bad habit of badmouthing and using foul, dirty language to criticize things, people and situations. But it's up to the individual to choose—you choose what you want to rule your life, and in this case what you want to rule your tongue. The best way you can rule your own spirit is by yielding your all to the Lord.

Are You Damning the Devil's Dirty Works, Or Speaking Like the System?

19. Probably some of you are thinking, "But Dad, we thought it was okay to use this kind of language. We're just following your example. You used to say 'Damn this' and 'Damn that.' You used to say 'shit' and it was okay for you, so why are you getting so heavy on us?"

20. I'll tell you what, the only time I used those kinds of words was when I was filled with the righteous anger of God! I would damn the church system! I would call the Devil's lies "shit"! I called a spade a spade‚ and I exposed the machinations of the Enemy for what they really were! The Enemy is full of shit, and I'll say it again and again! God damn the System! God damn the Devil! God damn this inroad that has almost become a part of some of our Family Homes—this inroad of bad language, filthy language, vulgar language, unedifying language that has just got to stop!

21. If I heard you Family kids damning the System and all of its wickedness, or if I heard you calling the Devil's lies shit instead of listening to them, I wouldn't be getting on your case! You have my permission to call the Goddamned System what you damned well please! You have my permission to call the Goddamned Devil what you damned well please! But if you use that sort of language, you'd better use it with a purpose, not just because you think it sounds cool to damn the System and you want to use these words to impress your friends.

22. The Devil and his whole System are going to Hell one of these days real soon‚ so I'd actually be happy if I saw some of you waking up to what the System is really all about! I'd be happy if you woke up to what the Enemy's devices really are—and that's so bad that one word couldn't even describe it adequately!

23. But instead of damning the System‚ you're going along with it, like blind little sheep. You're speaking like the Systemites do in the movies. You're speaking like the people you meet out in the malls. You're speaking like the people you meet out witnessing. You've brought this System lingo into our once pure‚ Heavenly Homes, and you're polluting the sanctuary of strength! You're polluting our havens of love and peace! Don't you see what you're doing? Don't you see what you're allowing in your own life? Don't you see what an effect you have on others?

24. The Lord has given us the freedom to use some of these words that the System considers foul when they're used in their proper context. In other words, we use the word "fuck" as the brief Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the term "having intercourse with." It's more precise than saying "making love‚" because that includes all sorts of various lovemaking acts, not just fucking, and it sure sounds a Heaven of a lot less fancy and intellectual than saying "intercourse" or "copulation" or some of the other words the System has for the act!

25. If you're using fuck in the right way, then it's a perfectly legitimate term—although you still wouldn't use it around outsiders! But if you tell someone "fuck you" or "fuck off" or "fuck" this, that or the other thing, that's the wrong use of the word, see? Outsiders use it as a curse word, or because they want to sound cool or because others are using it, and it's used in anger rather than in love. Use it in the right way, or don't use it at all. And for some of these other dirty words I'm talking about, there is no right way to use them. So just don't use them—period!

The Spirits and Attitudes That Accompany Foul Language!

26. The spirits and demons that tag along with foul language are many! Along with foul language comes the spirit of lethargy. If you're speaking in such a crude ungodly way, then you are obviously pretty lethargic in spirit and aren't at all concerned about how your actions or words affect those around you. You basically don't care about your own spirit or the spirit of others around you.

27. Foul language brings in a spirit of wishy-washyness, because you no longer have the conviction to stand up against any of the evils of the System! If you can't stand up and resist this one System attitude that is so blatantly wrong and so completely against the Lord and His ways, then how are you going to have the courage and guts to stand up against any other ungodly System way? Most of you who have let your guard down in this area of language and have begun using rotten words that stink and pollute no longer have the strength to keep your guard up in any other area of your life either.

28. Foul language brings with it a spirit of anger. Most of the time when you swear it's because you're angry, and therefore you're not controlling your spirit. When you swear and cuss, you're not allowing the Lord to cover your life and mind and thoughts and spirit with His perfect love. You're not allowing Him to give you the grace you need, when your brother or sister rubs you the wrong way or does something that hurts or offends you.

29. Instead of asking the Lord to help you and give you the grace to lovingly work out your differences, you snap back in this ugly way and pour out all of these ugly words that have built up in your vocabulary. Folks, this has got to stop!

30. Foul language also carries a real spirit of murmuring and unthankfulness. When something doesn't go your way or when you're faced with a disappointment‚ instead of looking to the Lord for His Romans 8:28‚ your first reaction is to blame the Lord, blame someone else, or murmur in your heart with your words. If you swear when something goes wrong, you're basically saying you know better than the Lord, and if you were Him you would do things differently!

One Day You'll Have to Give Account of Every Word!

31. This foul language is bad news, folks, and it's gotta stop! Period! That's all there is to it! If you want to live like a Systemite and talk like a Systemite and act like a Systemite, then you might as well be a Systemite! If you're going to cuss and swear like a Systemite, if you're going to mimic the Systemites and do as they do, then you might as well go out there and become one with them! You might as well go and walk around their little rut with them.

32. We're dropped–out revolutionaries, and this Family was built on the spirit of the Revolution! We're iconoclasts, idol-smashers! We want to smash the idols of the System, not help them carve them! This army is full of revolutionaries! This army is full of disciples! And revolutionaries and disciples don't pull down the other members of their Home and pollute the children that they live with by their foul mouths.

33. Every one of you is a leader in some way, whether it be to your children, to your peers, to your sheep, to your younger brothers and sisters, or to your childcare group. Each one of you is responsible to the Lord, and one day you will have to give account before the Lord for every word that has come out of your mouth. Did you hear that? Maybe I should say it again in case some of you weren't listening.

34. One day the Lord is going to make you give account for every word that you speak‚ every word that comes out of your mouth! That's pretty heavy, if you think about it, isn't it? I'm sorry to say that some of you are going to have an awful lot to give account for one day, and if you're smart, then you'll get desperate with the Lord right now and ask Him to help you.

Ask for Prayer!

35. With some of you, speaking this way has almost become a part of you. You've let your guard down so drastically that the Enemy has really gotten in, and he's not going to give up easily and surrender the ground he's gained. It's gotten so bad in some cases that some of you are going to have to ask the Lord for a real miracle, a real turnaround, and a real revolution in your lives!

36. If you have a problem with dirty language, then I'd suggest you come before the body, come before the whole Home, and ask for prayer. Ask your friends and Home members to help remind you to be loving‚ kind and positive in your speech.

37. I know this will be pretty humbling for some of you, especially since foul language also carries with it a spirit of pride, rebelliousness and independence, but the humbling is part of the key to victory. The humbling is part of the breaking of the chains of this habit that have bound you. Humility, coupled with united prayer and a personal determination to fill your heart with inspiring, faith–building, encouraging things, will bring about the victory that you seek.

Foul Language Is Finito!

38. The final word from me is that I will not stand for this type of behavior and language any longer! Mama and Peter wouldn't tolerate it in their Home, and I never would have tolerated it either! Just think, if the Lord was right there with you throughout the day‚ would you say half the things you do now? Well, He is with you all day long, every day of your life!

39. Even though you think little of your contemptible speech‚ He sees it all, and one day He's going to ask you why. What will you answer then? Will you have a good excuse? I dare say you won't have any excuse, because there is no excuse!

40. There's just no excuse for this kind of language, this kind of foul speech, this use of vulgar, crass, unedifying sound bites, phrases and words! Did you hear me? There's no excuse whatsoever! Mama and Peter wouldn't stand for it in their Home, and they won't stand for it in any of our other Homes around the world.

41. You're all one Family, and what one does affects another. No man is an island, and everything that you do, whether negative or positive, affects someone else. So this bad language is finito! Done! Terminated! Outta here!

42. If you want to go and be an island, then that's fine. Go and do your thing somewhere else! You can go somewhere else and speak the way you want to speak and live the way you want to live, if that's what you want and if that's what you think will make you happy. But for God's sake, don't use such filthy language in our Homes of love! It's like filthy menstruous rags‚ and we don't want to even hear about it.

43. These are the cold bare facts. This is the law that I'm laying down right this very moment, right this very second, and from now on you have no excuse for not abiding by this. You've heard what I think about it, you know what the Lord thinks about it, and we don't want to hear about it anymore! That's all there is to it! That's the final word from me!

44. Yes, I'm pretty upset! I'm pretty disappointed in those of you who haven't had the conviction to stand up against this inroad of the Enemy that is so blatantly evil and wrong. I certainly hope this little talk will get you moving in the right direction, if you're one of the guilty ones.

45. If you're a young person, then you'd better pull up your britches‚ because you've got younger brothers and sisters following you and watching your every move. You'd better be a good sample to them and lead them in the right direction or you're going to be held partly accountable for their strayings. And if you of the older generation are still swearing and using bad language, then my, oh my, you'd better snap out of it right quick! That's a dandy bad example! Foul language is a dandy bad example to anyone that we're witnessing to, to anyone that sees us, as well as to our children.

46. This warning also goes for gestures that mean crude things, like giving someone the finger. In one Home in the States, I saw a two-year-old girl who already had this gesture down pat and was using it. Where do you think she got that? From her older brothers and sisters, no doubt! My, oh my, I can't do the subject justice! This out–of-it behavior has just got to stop! I ban foul language and I don't want to hear any more of it! Got it?

47. And don't go pushing the limits and trying to see what you can get away with by using other words that are disgusting, disagreeable and offensive, but which don't quite qualify as foul language. So don't go around saying something "sucks" or using other System slang words just because you think they're cool or you want to be a little rebellious and see how far you can go. Let me tell you‚ the thing that sucks is your spirit and your language! Clean up your act all the way! I don't want to have to list every variety of foul System term here. You folks should be eager to obey rather than eager to see how far you can go without it being direct disobedience!

48. I know that it's possible to make a U-turn! If I didn't think it was possible to have a turnaround, then I wouldn't be wasting my breath getting all worked up about this issue. I know it's possible to get rid of this bad habit that has almost become an ingrained part of some of you folks' lives. I know it's possible to rid our Homes of this ungodly, unedifying language—you just have to take a stand against it.

49. You have to take a stand against it on a personal level, and make a commitment before the Lord. You have to take a stand against it as a Home‚ and try to help lift each other up with positive words of encouragement and love‚ rather than pulling others down with the destructive words of the Enemy.

50. Follow hard after God and fill your heart up with all of His love. "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, honest‚ just‚ pure, lovely, and of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8). If you think on these things, then they're naturally going to come out of your mouth, because out of the abundance of your heart, the mouth speaks.

51. Let's have a positive speech revolution! Let's be iconoclasts and smash the idols of foul language! We'll burn this problem to the ground and it will be no more. It may take a little smashing‚ a little burning, a little hard work and determination, conviction and stick–to-itiveness, but the Lord's going to empower you. Praise the Lord!

52. Be a revolutionary positive-speaking iconoclast who isn't afraid to live in love and speak in love!—So that we can all live and love together—forever! (End of message from Dad)

53. (Mama:) Praise the Lord! Thank you, Dad, for delivering your soul and giving us the message! Even if it's a bit uncomfortable to receive it, we really need it! Lord, help us to shape up and be the samples You've called us to be!

Foul Language via Movies and Videos!

54. Following is another message from Dad, which he gave when we asked what we can do specifically about this problem with our children. We know we need to change and go on the attack—the Lord's made that very clear—but often human nature is such that if there is no consequence, we don't make the effort and thus don't make the progress that we should. Although this was given mostly with parents and shepherds in mind, there are good lessons for all of us.

55. Dad suggests cutting back on movies which contain any kind of foul language if those watching them are picking up on the bad language and not controlling their words. That doesn't just go for our children; it's a good recommendation for any of you who have compromised in your speech habits. Here's what Dad had to say:

56. (Dad speaking: ) A lot of the foul language is picked up through movies, or through older brothers and sisters who pass it on to the younger ones.

57. Foul language is something that needs to be nipped in the bud. It's a habit, and, like any other habit, it's extremely hard to break, especially when these words become a part of the kids' vocabulary. If the parents were to cut the problem off at the very beginning and solve the problem then and there by enforcing some kind of discipline for it and rectifying the situation, then it should never escalate into a full-scale problem. But if the parents let it slide‚ then it's bound to just get worse and worse, and pretty soon it's totally out of control and the parents don't even know what to do about it!

58. One thing that the parents could do if their children are starting to use bad language is really monitor the videos and movies that they watch, or take away some of these things unless the kids change their manners and word usage.

59. Unfortunately, sometimes the parents themselves have a problem with swearing and bad language, so it's almost hypocritical for them to order their kids to stop it when they have a problem too. In this case‚ it's a matter of the parents getting themselves right with the Lord first, and then their children will see that they're practicing what they preach and they're not expecting their children to do something that they're not willing to do themselves.

60. If the parents can't control their kids in this area, then it makes you wonder how they're doing in every other area of their life, or how closely they're following the Letters or the counsel in the Word. If they're letting their children get away with these disobediences, then chances are they're trying to get away with some things in their own lives too. Usually when people excuse someone else, it's because they want to be excused themselves, and they don't want to have to make the effort to change either. I'm not just referring to foul language here; it could be anything—any Huddersfield that they're not willing to give to the Lord.

61. Foul language is a subtle yet dangerous attack of the Enemy that creeps in slowly but surely. None of our folks or our children should ever be heard speaking in such an ugly way! It's a bad testimony and a very poor witness! We shouldn't allow this in any of our Homes. All of our children and adults need to fight against this inroad of the Enemy and not take it lying down! (End of message from Dad)

Verses on Cursing and Foul Language [Excerpts from Word Topix:]

Cursing will defile and corrupt you and others.

Psalm 109:17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

Matthew 12:36,37. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

1 Corinthians 15:33. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

2 Timothy 2:16. But shun profane [irreverent] and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

James 3:6‚9. The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of Hell. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. [See also Psalm 109:17,18.]

Cursing is a chink in your armor, an inroad for the Enemy.

Proverbs 15:4. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Take a positive stand against cursing, both in your own life and in your associations with others.

Psalm 17:3b. I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Psalm 39:1. I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle.

Psalm 141:3. Set a watch‚ O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

Proverbs 4:24. Put away from thee a froward [stubbornly contrary and disobedient] mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Proverbs 8:13. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Ephesians 4:29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Colossians 3:8. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath‚ malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Don't let others' cursing provoke you to retaliate or resort to foul language.

James 3:10. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

1 Peter 3:9,10. Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing [insult for insult]: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life‚ and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile [deceit].

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family