Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
Welcome to the fourth week of discussion on the topic of how Christians can easily overcome HARD TIMES. As you know we're considering twelve particular ways to PURSUE victory even in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances. We should not be passive about pursuing it either. Indeed, Christians ought to be victorious in life. We've been prepared for overcoming HARD TIMES, in fact we've been EQUIPPED for it and we just need to learn how to RECEIVE what Jesus has ALREADY made available to us so we can use it.
And so, as we begin the fourth part in this series, here's an important question for you: did you know that the Bible says your tongue has the ability to actually CAUSE both death and life (Proverbs 18:21)? Many Christians encounter this verse and think: "Yes, I know that by what I SAY I can cause someone to either feel hurt or encouraged, angry or happy, despised or loved. I can see that my speaking has power over OTHER people." But most of us fail to consider verse 20 and the second half of verse 21 which clearly establish that the death and life this scripture is talking about are for the PERSON DOING THE SPEAKING, not the one who's hearing.
Friend, if you really believe the Word of God and are serious about wanting to live in VICTORY, it's absolutely vital that you pay attention to the words you're speaking. Why? Because this scripture is telling us that what we SPEAK is one of the main factors that determine the quality of life we're presently experiencing. Is your life characterized by retreat and insufficiency and defeat OR by increase, prosperity and VICTORY? The reality is - wherever you find yourself today is largely the result of the words you've SPOKEN over the course of your life and especially during the last few months and years: "the tongue is a fire which (defines) the course of our life" (James 3:6).
How It Works
Have you ever pondered the fact that God created the entire universe just by speaking words? Whatever God says happens and the born again Believer has been re-created, a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) in His image with many of the same attributes and abilities. The Bible says that God breathed the Spirit of life into Man and Man became a living being, or in the nuance of the original Hebrew "a speaking spirit" (Genesis 2:7). A born again person today is a "speaking spirit" re-created in the image of God. When God speaks He always speaks life; but Man who inherited corruption from Adam is effectively bilingual: we can speak LIFE like our Father God always does or we can speak DEATH like our former father Adam once did and as Satan still always does. When God speaks, something positive ALWAYS happens: LIFE is created. When Man speaks, something ALWAYS happens as well; but it can be life OR death depending on our choice of words. It's important to come to the understanding that ALL our words ALWAYS produce consequences; there are no neutral words; there's NO possibility of speaking in a way that fails to produce some kind of consequence: either life OR death.
Moreover the Bible says that DEATH is the result (the wages) of sin (Romans 6:23). Sin occurs when Man disobeys or disagrees with God. Therefore when Man speaks words that disagree with what God has said (i.e. the Bible), it's sin and those words of disagreement ALWAYS produce death in one form or another as the consequence. But when Man speaks in AGREEMENT with the Word, the result is ALWAYS life. There are no exceptions; agree with God and produce life or disagree (disobey) and produce death. By agreeing with God you ALWAYS produce increase, prosperity and victory. By disagreeing you ALWAYS produce retreat, insufficiency and defeat.
Now when Adam sinned by disobeying God, he suddenly came under the Curse (Genesis 3:16-19) where before he had lived under the Blessing of God (Genesis 1:28). God had clearly told Adam he would surely DIE if he disobeyed His commandment (Genesis 2:17). So when Adam ultimately sinned, he DID die and he died immediately. But the Hebrew word translated DEATH in this verse conveys a condition of being SEPARATED from something instead of physical death. Adam also experienced physical death but hundreds of years later. Before the physical death though, he first died by SEPARATION; but separated from what? The tragedy is that Adam was separated from the Blessing (the Garden) AND his right standing (righteousness) with God; and by consequence of sin he came immediately under the effects of the Curse and the authority of Satan. It was thus for Adam a SPIRITUAL death; but in addition to that, by the disobedience of one man sin and its Curse entered upon the earth where they STILL reside today ever growing in strength and influence.
The significance of this for us now is that when we speak words that disagree with God, the consequence is that we make ourselves subject to the Curse. We open a door to it. Indeed, the consequence of our words of disagreement is always DEATH by separation from the FAVOR of God. It's NOT God who withholds His favor. No, Jesus died on the Cross so that those who receive Him as Lord could be REDEEMED from the Curse (Galatians 3:13). God's favor in the form of GRACE is always available to the born again Believer but WE MAKE OURSELVES VULNERABLE TO THE CURSE by our own words of disagreement. That's the way the system works now; it's already set up that way.
When you have a moment take a little of your busy day to review Deuteronomy 28 starting in particular with verse 15 where you'll read about many of the same consequences that Believers are experiencing today by allowing the Curse to attack their lives. Toward the end of the Chapter the Bible describes the condition of living in DREAD (Deuteronomy 28:66-67) when one longs for "assurance of life" to escape doubts and fears. How many people do you know these days that are experiencing DREAD in the current World environment? Perhaps DREAD has even come upon you. But friend, you do NOT have to continue experiencing the Curse. Among other things, you can change the way you've been SPEAKING and start speaking in agreement with the Word of God.
How to Guard Your Tongue
The Bible confirms that although the tongue is a very small part of our physical bodies, it's a VERY powerful part that will defile the entire body if it's not controlled. Conversely, when the tongue is controlled and used constructively to agree with God, according to scripture that same tongue has the power to PURIFY the body and produce victory and abundance. And so the Bible uses the analogy of the tongue being like a rudder that sets the course of a large ship and has to be controlled to keep the "ship" moving in the desired direction (James 3:4-6).
If you're one of the majority of Christians who have trouble with their speaking, there's a process you can consider to bring about change. You'll have to work at changing your patterns of speech though because many of us have been making counter-biblical statements for decades and habitually we say things that cause us death and destruction. For the most part we don't even think about what we say; we just say what comes to mind forgetting that THERE'S SUPERNATURAL POWER BEHIND EACH WORD. Change takes determination and commitment, a desire to experience the very best God has to offer and nothing less. Following then are some major steps in a process to bring about the change you'll be hoping for:
1. The first step is to make an irrevocable decision to change your confessions (agreements), i.e. to start controlling your words. You must accept the idea that there are no neutral words and that everything you say will produce a consequence, either blessing or cursing (James 3:10). Nothing can be done until you decide that this is an important enough subject to do something about.
2. Secondly, you'll need to talk to the LORD about it. This involves thanking Him for the forgiveness Jesus ALREADY secured for you that washed away the sin of speaking in disagreement with God. And part of that process is to REPENT which means you purpose to turn the ship around and start going in the direction of the Word agreeing with God instead of disagreeing. You'll also need to exercise the authority you have in Christ and by faith CANCEL all the words of disagreement you've ever said and the negative consequences that came from them. By FAITH close the door to the Curse. Then you can begin to build a new foundation of biblical speaking that WILL produce prosperity for you and your family.
3. Next, commit to stop speaking in disagreement with the Word. You'll need to ask the Lord for help because success doesn't come by your own strength. Most Believers have been speaking in disagreement with the Bible for so long they'll need to learn new habits. It's not biblical to say you're broke even though your bank account is negative because the Bible says Jesus has given you abundant life (John 10:10). It's not biblical to say you HAVE a sickness even though you're feeling the symptoms because the Bible says you've ALREADY been healed (1 Peter 2:24). By faith those symptoms are attacking you illegally because Jesus ALREADY took them on Himself (Isaiah 53:4) and by the Name of Jesus you have total authority over them. By faith you can refuse to receive them even though you may be feeling them. Feelings don't define faith; faith defines feelings. Let God help you learn to speak in agreement with His Word by faith.
4. Fourth, ask someone close to hold you accountable. You'll need someone reliable who agrees with what you're trying to do, a spouse or a friend, to remind you when they hear you say words that disagree with His Words. You have to NOT get angry with them when they remind you of your misspeaking. And you have to resist trying to rationalize your way out of your negative confessions when they occur. Admit your mistakes, cancel the negative consequences and keep trying.
5. Then, whenever you pray, speak out the Word of God in your prayers. When your prayers agree with His Words, they'll get answered (1 John 5:14-15). Also, by practice you'll begin to learn to speak the Word in your daily conversation.
6. Finally, release your faith over the idea that your improved speaking is constantly working to produce improvements in your quality of life. By correcting your speaking, you'll begin to see the manifestation of "shalom" prosperity in your life with nothing missing and nothing broken. Be on the lookout for improvements, expect improvements and be thanking God for improvements even before they show up. In sum, Psalm 39:1 describes the end result you'll be trying to get to by going through this process: "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle."
The longer you work to control your tongue, the more you'll want to resist your adversary who wants your mouth to continue speaking out of control and the more successful at it you WILL become. You won't be perfect at it and you need God's help to improve. But this much is guaranteed: by working to control your tongue and by speaking in agreement with God, you set your life on a new course toward success and victory that you'll be able to enjoy even during HARD TIMES.
Some Final Thoughts
Our speech tends normally to be led by our emotions and we use words that express our feelings of the moment without thinking, reflexively, carelessly just as the World does and even using their words and their ways of saying things. If we're happy we speak happy words. If we're angry we speak in anger. The result is that we routinely speak words that are in disagreement with the Word of God. And in that process, we inadvertently, ignorantly open a door to the enemy and bring his Curse upon ourselves, our families, our homes, our health, our businesses and our money. Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary so we could be redeemed from the Curse (Galatians 3:13). But to actually receive what He accomplished, to actually change the way we're living during HARD TIMES, we must make it a point to speak in agreement with God's Word. Make a commitment to do it and watch your life change for the better as you leave the HARD TIMES behind and find total VICTORY in every area of life.
Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on August 17. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing, compelling you to PROSPER in every area of life!
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx
Donations
If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1
About Prosperous Life Newsletter
PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries domiciled in Miami, Florida. It is in its 17th year of distribution and has been published continuously since January 1998. It's an e-publication about life in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of MINISTRY MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you to the list.
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