Special Topic- Words of Encouragement

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Special Topic- Words of Encouragement (Proverbs 16:24)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, May 3, 2026

I have adapted the following from Timothy Keller-

You know the Grimms’ fairytale about the three women who came on by, and there was some little elf or dwarf who asked them for food, and the first girl said, “No, I don’t have it. I’m not going to share my sandwich with you.” So he snapped his fingers, and because she was a foul-mouthed girl, from then on, every time she ever opened her mouth, a toad sprang out.

Then her sister came on by, and the elf came and said, “I sure am hungry. I sure wish you’d give me some of your food,” and she said, “Of course. I’d be happy to do that. How are you doing? You look like you’re very tired.” She just said wonderful things to him, and he snapped his fingers, and from then on, every time she spoke, she was able to speak, but at the end of the thing she said, out would pop a gold coin. That’s how the fairytale goes.

Timothy Keller adds:

Ultimately, your words have power of their own. They have a life of their own. My question is … When you open your mouth, do people yawn, do people cringe, or do they treasure what you say? Go to him and say, “Lord, I need a heart full of wisdom. I need a heart close to you so I will have a tongue that’s articulate.” People looked at Jesus and said, “His words are so gracious.” Are your words things of beauty?[1]

What do you think? Do our words have power? What are they communicating? Are we encouragers?

My theme is: Let’s have gracious words.

  1. Context
    1. We are going to look at Proverbs 16:24 and what the verse says about our words.
    2. First, what are the Proverbs?
    3. The Proverbs are a book of the Old Testament that addresses general principles of wisdom. They are not promises.
    4. God has placed an order in creation to which we should pay attention in order to live wisely.[2]
    5. Other ancient cultures had proverbs, but the biblical Proverbs are different. As one source shares:
    6. …it would be a mistake to treat the Biblical texts as just another version of ancient wisdom. In grandeur of scope, internal complexity and theological profundity, the Biblical texts of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes are in a class by themselves.[3]
    7. Secondly, what about the context?
    8. Though I usually teach that we must put passages in context, Proverbs are short, pithy statements. They do not flow together like normal prose. The Proverbs is an anthology, more of a scrapbook.
    9. Still, we can see that, starting in Proverbs 16:20, the author, most likely Solomon, is referring to our words.
    10. The idea of our words is spread out throughout Proverbs.
  2. Gracious words are like honeycomb.
    1. Proverbs 16:24 (ESV) Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
    2. The verse is simple enough. When our words are gracious, they are like honeycomb.
    3. This is something with cavities, made by bees and filled with honey. What is the point? Honeycomb is filled with honey, and honey is sweet.
    4. Solomon writes that these words sweeten the soul.
    5. Is he talking about the spiritual soul? Or is he using the soul to refer to the emotional part of the body?
    6. I favor the latter. He is generically talking about the soul to mean that gracious words encourage us emotionally.
    7. Further, they give health to the body.
    8. In Solomon’s day, there were not many choices for sweets. They needed the sweetness that honey would offer.
    9. He could say that “as honey gives health to the body, so do gracious words.”
    10. These verses commend the speech characteristic of the wise of heart (vv. 21a, 23a): the wise consider their words carefully (vv. 20a, 23a) so that their words are both persuasive (vv. 21b, 23b) and good for body and soul (v. 24); they exhibit faithfulness to God (v. 20b) and are considered discerning by others (v. 21a). Such wisdom is a fountain of life, and foolish speech is empty of any such benefits (v. 22).[4]
  3.  Applications:
    1. Gracious words impact the Gospel.
    2. I don’t think people become Christians by mean people.
    3. [I have adapted this from Timothy Keller]: Benjamin Franklin did not like Christians, and he especially didn’t like George Whitefield, who was a great preacher.
    4. One day, he found that every single time he went to hear Whitefield preach, he got so persuaded by the power of his words, he kept giving money to the orphanage. George Whitefield used to raise money for an orphanage in Georgia, and Benjamin Franklin really didn’t like all of his stuff, but every time he went, he found himself giving money, so one day he says, “I’m going to go hear Whitefield preach because he’s an amazing orator, but I’m not taking any money with me, because his words are so powerful that I might give it.”
    5. At the end, when Whitefield asks for the offering, Franklin turns to the guy next to him and says, “Can I borrow $10?” It’s true. Some people are better with words than others, but why?[5]
    6. Our words spread the Gospel, don’t they? They do. We use words to represent the Gospel and we use words to spread the gospel.
    7. We use words and so does God.
    8. [Adapted from Tim Keller]: It’s very interesting to contrast Christianity with Eastern religions at this point. Very interesting. Because Eastern religions believe God is impersonal, that he is not a he; he’s an it. He’s a force, and therefore, he doesn’t speak. As a result, you’ll find that in Eastern religions, words and speech are not as important. As one Buddhist once said to me … I said, “Do you pray?” and he said, “Of course I don’t pray. I meditate.” It’s an utterly different thing. In prayer, you are reaching out. You’re trying to understand and be understood. You’re pouring out. You’re trying to express. Actually, most of the Buddhist writings I have read say speech is something we need to suppress in order to become one with God. We have to intuit. We don’t analyze. In fact, there is a whole pile of people who say the only way to really reach enlightenment, satori, or nirvana is to stop speaking altogether. In Eastern thought, God is not personal. Therefore, speech is denigrated, but in Christianity, your speech … Not only is this a mark of God … We have a God who speaks. That’s what’s so wonderful about the Bible. We have a God who speaks. That’s why we have a Bible. And it’s also the reason why your own speech has such incredible power.[6]
    9. Our Lord communicated to us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit.
    10. Proverbs 16:21 (ESV) The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
    11. Are our words sweet?
    12. Are our words encouraging?
    13. Are we able to give grace?
    14. That doesn’t mean we don’t speak truth.
    15. Can we embody love?
    16. Next time we feel like we need to correct someone, or speak out, can we pause and think, “How can I do this with grace? How can I do this in a sweet way?
    17. Proverbs 15:1 (ESV) A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
    18. Maybe, just maybe, we need to think, do I really need to say this? Maybe we should simply encourage and love.
    19. Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
    20. Proverbs 17:28 (ESV) Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

There’s a place in Perelandra, the second one of Lewis’s Space Trilogy, where the lady looks at the human and says, “How often your race speaks. You had nothing to say, and yet you made the nothing into words.” Somebody once said to Benjamin Franklin, “You talk so quickly that nobody feels that they can disagree with you, and therefore you’ll never learn anything more than you know now, which isn’t much.”[7]

Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to help us with our words.

Prayer

 

[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[2] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1056.

[3] Archaeological Study Bible; intro to Proverbs

[4] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1163.

[5] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[6] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[7] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

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