Words – A Matter of Life and Death

Mes(19)15Jul2018

SCRIPTURE READING:

Proverbs 18:20-21 NLT
(20) Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.
(21) The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

TEXT VERSE:

Proverbs 18:21 NLT
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Spreuke 18:21 AOV
Dood en lewe is in die mag van die tong;
en elkeen wat dit graag gebruik, sal die vrug daarvan eet.

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste onto your toothbrush? And then have you ever tried squeezing toothpaste back into the tube? That calls to mind the old proverb, “Three things once released will not return again: an opportunity neglected, and arrow released from its bows, and a word spoken in haste.” We could spend the next six months drawing lessons from this familiar proverb. An opportunity neglected, an arrow released, a word spoken in haste. Sometimes we speak words in haste. Usually we immediately wish we could recall those words. Words spoken in haste are all those words we speak without weighing how each could be understood by the hearer, all those words we utter in jest, and everything we say without thinking. Video clip: Power in words – girl.

IDLE WORDS:

Matthew 12:36 NKJV
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak,
they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

The word idle here is Greek word 692 ‘argos’ and it means inactive, ineffective, non-working and unfruitful. So Jesus said that every inactive, ineffective, unfruitful and non-working word that we may speak, we will give account of in the day of judgement!
Every word you speak that is not working for you!
If a word is not working for me, it is working against me!
I had been saying a lot of these idle words in my life
and they were not working for me. They were working against me.

Maybe one day God will say: “If you have given to this missionary, more souls could have been saved.” And you will answer: “Yes I know Lord, but I didn’t have the money. I didn’t have it to give.” He will say: “It is true that you didn’t have the money. You were agreeing with the devil. You said what the devil told you when you were on earth. That is why you didn’t have the money.” Then He will show you a man and say: “Here’s a man who didn’t have the money either. But he said: ‘The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Therefore I confess, I have in abundance. I have no lack. I will have more than enough for the work of the Lord.” This man used his words wisely. He did not speak idle words. Let us look at:

Matthew 12:37 NKJV
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Jesus is not talking about condemning you to hell. He is talking of what you can have
in this life on earth and your rewards in heaven. We need to watch what we say.

Psalm 141:3 NKJV
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

We must not speak idle words. It is also not good enough to say nothing either.

WORDS OF FAITH:

We must say what God says.
We must speak the Word of God.
We must speak faith filled words.
What is the secret of faith?
The secret of faith is to continually say what God says!

Start with a faith building project in your life!
Start to train your spirit with the Word of God.
Where is faith? In your heart, in your spirit.
How does faith come?

Romans 10:17 NKJV
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God’s Word is filled with faith and that is how faith comes!
The Bible is true. Just keep on saying what the Word of God says until it becomes part
of you, and then it will be the highest form of reality for you. It will be true in you and you will have it when you say it.

Mark 11:23 NKJV
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

You should not be motivated or speak what you see in the natural.
You should be motivated and speak what you belief.
Speak the faith of God within you into existence.
Work the Word and the Word will work for you!
James 2:17 tells us that faith without works is dead!
There must be corresponding action! We must live faith, it must be a lifestyle.

Hebrews 10:38 NKJV
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

THE WORD OF GOD:

The Word is alive. The Word is life. The Word is a person.

John 1:1-4 AB
(1) IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ),
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.
(2) He was present originally with God.
(3) All things were made and came into existence through Him;
and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
(4) In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ!

Are you a born again believer? Do you belief in Jesus Christ?

John 3:16 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Did you know that you can belief in unbelief, that you can have faith in unbelief?
Let me give you an example: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13). If you say that you cannot, that you are not able, you are actually denying it. Then you are in unbelief. You are denying the Word of God.
Remember, Jesus is the Word of God! He is alive and He is life! Jesus said in:

Matthew 10:33 NKJV
(32) “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,
him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
(33) But whoever denies Me before men,
him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

We read in Hebrews 3:1 that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession. He is the go-between. He is making intersession for us. This means that Jesus confesses to the Father what we say as long as it agrees with the Word of God.
So Jesus actually said: “If you confess my Word before men, I will confess what you say before the Father. But if you don’t do it, I will deny you before the Father. It won’t be transferred to the Father.

CONCLUSION:

We must have the faith of God! Where will you find the faith of God?
In the Word of God! God’s Word is filled with faith. Jesus is the Word of God.
When the Word is absent, faith is absent. When the Word is present, faith is present.
God’s Word produces faith in your heart
and satan’s words produce fear and unbelief in your heart.

So speak life and not death! It is a choice. Be careful for idle words.
You are speaking death or life on a daily basis.

Video clip: Plants

Proverbs 18:21 NLT
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

The Word of God that became faith in your heart, formed in your mouth and spoken,
is a spiritual force releasing the life of God that is within you. Words are the most powerful force in the universe. Speak life!