WEBVTT

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The verse that comes to my mind here

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as I was thinking about what I might share

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in a practical way,

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with not only the two couples,

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but everyone else here that's married,

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is taken from Ecclesiastes 3:7.

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It says, "There is a time to be silent,

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and a time to speak."

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And I'm thinking of this in the realm

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of the necessity for communication.

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There's a time to be silent,

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and then in my application here,

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that silence is the silence of listening.

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Listening skills.

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And there's a time to speak

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which would be the communicative skills.

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There's a time for both of those

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in the necessity of communication.

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And in the Bible, the word "speak"

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is used 454 times.

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So that's a lot of communication

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advocated in the Bible.

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And in the realm of a living, vital,

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working marriage,

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communication is so important.

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You know, we can fall to silence -

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maybe as a defensive mechanism.

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We withdraw.

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But silence just builds walls, doesn't it?

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We've used those terms before, surely -

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a wall of silence?

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We don't want that.

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Sometimes silence can 
be simply self-centered.

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It's about me.

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And I withdraw at other times.

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It can be defensive.

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Oh, just pulling back as a mechanism

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to defend myself in silence.

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Other times, it can actually be

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an offensive weapon.

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You know, the cold shoulder of silence.

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But when we need to speak,

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there's a positive duty

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to talk things out.

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You've got problems that 
need to be addressed.

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You've got to listen.

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You've got to speak.

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You've got decisions that need to be made.

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You've got to listen.

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You've got to speak.

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You need to express needs and desires.

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You've got to communicate that.

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And yes, sometimes, 
dissatisfaction's, right?

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You've got to know when 
to be silent and listen,

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as well as when to speak,

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because no one's telepathic.

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We can't read minds.

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Sometimes, I think my 
wife is almost there,

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where she can,

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but the reality is,

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we can't read each other's minds.

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We've got to communicate, right?

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And so that's the thought on my mind

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here this morning.

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There's a time to be silent,

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and there's a time to speak.

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And so from this day forward,

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going forward from here,

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you guys have got 
to get together and talk.

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Talk about things.

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It's so vital.

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Think about this.

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It's worthwhile to note.

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With the Tower of Babel,

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all God did was break 
down their communication.

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That was all He had to do.

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He changed language,

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and so now, they're no longer

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able to communicate.

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And whenever you're not 
able to communicate,

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then anything constructive

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goes out the window.

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So, a time to be silent

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and a time to speak.