The Power Of Words - Father's Day 2023

The Power of Words

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

June 18, 2023

We’re taking a 1 week break from James and we’re going to talk about men. I know, if I invited some women up here, we could make this a roast about men. We could make lots of jokes . . . . but I want to share some stories, some personal and some that I’ve read. The point of today is to look at the words we use. And hopefully in the process, I will encourage the men to be the difference makers I believe we’ve been called to be.

Now, of course I need to be careful here. It’s not that women’s words aren’t important, they’re very important . . . but men speak with a different tone and a different type of authority. This is not a put down on women, but I believe God created us male and female for a reason.

In June 1992, Jim Davidson & Mike Price climbed Mt. Rainier. On the way down, they fell 80 feet into a glacial crevasse: a pitch-black, ice-walled crack in the massive glacier that covered Mt. Rainier. As a result of the fall, Mike Price died.

Jim Davidson tells the story of his miraculous survival and courageous climb out of the crevasse, in his book, The Ledge. Throughout the book, Jim reflects back to his childhood and young adult years, describing his relationship with his dad. As early as Jim can remember, his father had shown what some considered an almost reckless confidence in his him.

As Jim stood, bloodied and bruised, on the two-foot-wide snow ledge next to the body of his climbing partner, he heard the encouraging voice of his father. With minimal gear and no experience in ice climbing at that level, Jim spent the next five hours climbing out, battling fatigue, crumbling ice and snow.

Throughout his ordeal, Jim kept recalling the words of his dad. And five grueling hours later, thanks to his father's words, Jim climbed out to safety.

Our words matter!! How we say them, why we say them and when we say them. Sometimes it’s not easy to not say what you want to say. And sometimes, I’ll admit, I didn’t handle everything as well as I could within my family. I think I’ve grown up as I’ve aged. Some would call that maturing.

After trying to impart fatherly wisdom to one of my children, I was told “he already knew what I was telling him.” My response was simply, “so tell me when do I stop being a dad?” That answer is never! I will always be a dad. I will be smothering, asking questions, wanting to know details and I will want to keep tabs on my boys whether they like it or not!

Now, I didn’t grow up in the most edifying of homes. It was not a Christian home. I had an angry and bitter father. I was told I was not smart - - - it wasn’t in those words either. You’d be shocked if I used the words, so I won’t. I say that, not to gain sympathy, but to help you understand the power of words (good and bad).

Because I was told I wasn’t smart, I tended to believe I wasn’t smart. I never thought I was good at much. And my sisters and I had pretty rotten tempers, which we learned from our father.

Finally, when I was working on my doctorate. Still not believing I was smart, and really didn’t think I could complete it. Debbie was a huge encourager. The power of words came through her.

Finally, I anxiously submitted my first 2 chapters and my mentor, was a man who was one of the nicest and scariest professors on campus, professor emeritus, Dr. David Larsen, who spoke with a mild Swedish accent and had a booming voice, responded with - - -

YOUR INITIAL DRAFT IS IN HAND - I LOVE IT!! YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB!! . . . . . . AGAIN, PRAISE GOD. I AM VERY PLEASED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.

Was he really writing that to me? I was astounded! Shocked, because I was conditioned to not believe in myself. So, this man’s words helped me believe in myself and actually think I have some intelligence.

Our success as fathers or men of God depends a lot on the words we speak to our children and others. Few fathers will ever have the value of their words tested so dramatically as Jim Davidson's father. For most of us, the test comes in small doses over a long period of time. But sooner or later, the effectiveness of our words will be evident.

On the one hand, we could say that our words aren’t as important as our actions. And there’s some truth to that. We need to live what we speak, especially if our words contradict our actions. Solomon wrote in Proverbs - - - -