The Power of Words

Joel 3:10 says '...let the weak say, I am strong', which is an Old Testament preview of the concept of 'calling those things that be not as though they were' (Romans 4:17). God lives by calling things out of nothing; that's how we ought to live. Instead of voicing the problems we seem to go through, we're to speak the opposite. We're to live as though everything is good around us which of course is the truth! Nothing goes wrong with us, for "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We're in charge! We find out from Malachi 3:13, how God judges the backslidden nation because their words were "stout against Him". God records the words of His people in a book of remembrance (Malachi 3:16). So what kind of words do you speak; what goes out when you open your mouth?

According to the Bible, Jesus cleanses a leper with a command of faith (Matthew 8:3); a similar faith command brings healing to a Roman military officer's servant (Matthew 8:5-13). Notice the officer's request for Jesus to "...speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed" (verse 8). Jesus stills a storm by speaking to it (Matthew 8:26), His Words bring deliverance to a demon possessed man (Matthew 8:32). A similar command brings healing to a crippled man (Matthew 9:1-7). Jesus casts out another demon by speaking to it (Mark 1:25) and a dead man rose by Jesus' words of faith (Luke 7:14). Jesus' words bring healing to a woman with an 18 year disability (Luke 13:10-17), and in John 4:50, Jesus heals the nobleman's son through a faith command. Jesus did these and other miracles by speaking to them, which shows how our words carry power.

No wonder He told us, "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." Mark 11:22-23. Just as God exercised His own power by speaking into nothing and creating the universe, we can use the "faith of God" within to speak to the "mountains" or other obstacles of life and cast them out of our way! Note that Jesus didn't simply say we should pray that the mountain be removed. Our spoken words are the means by which we release our faith, and are an often overlooked facet of having a victorious prayer life. Do you know that the words you speak are backed by faith? Sometimes you say, "I didn't mean what I said" but you've spoken it.

In the spiritual realm there's nothing like "I don't mean it." Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13, "...I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." In Hebrews 3:1, Jesus is called the "High Priest of our profession", i.e. our confession. This is the reason why Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the profession (or confession) of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)" or, as another translation words it: "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Learn to use your tongue to speak the right words into your life, for "a man who can bridle his tongue is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body" (James 3:2). Matthew 12:37 puts it plain that you shall give an account for the words you speak: "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

How did you get born again? Romans 10:9 says "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Notice that even our salvation is received in this same manner: by believing in our hearts, and confessing with our mouths. This shows how powerful our words are. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:10-13, "We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."

Making a confession of the Word is not simply ignoring the realities of life. Here the Apostle Paul vividly describes some of the many difficulties he faced. Are we going to accuse him of making a "negative confession?" Of course not! Faith is not denial. Faith acknowledges that negative circumstances do exist, but through our faith in God's power within us, we can overcome them. I've said a lot about what the Israelites faced in the wilderness as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Paul also admonishes us to learn from their experiences as a result of their way of life. He said, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Corinthians 10: 1-11. A sober reminder of the sufferings the Israelites endured in the wilderness.

Although normally, this journey would have only taken a matter of days, it wound up taking forty hellish years (Numbers 32:13). Among the reasons for this was misuse of the tongue, or "murmuring" (verse 10). Proverbs 6:2 says "you are snared by the words of your mouth". You have to be careful about the words that proceed from your mouth. We are also given another warning in James 1:19 which says, "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath". God is telling us to pay attention when things are happening, but at the same time think before we speak wherever we find ourselves. Never rush or say anything in haste because you might regret saying something which of course, you can't take back. When you say something negative to someone, you can apologize and he or she might forgive you but they won't forget quickly.

God put it plain that His 'people are destroyed for lack of knowledge'. Hosea 4:6. What we do not know can hurt us; so it really pays to learn to come to the knowledge of God. 'A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.' Luke 6:45. A similar thing is recorded in Matthew 12:34. Whatever is on the inside will eventually come out, whether it be faith or unbelief. Notice it's not what the people did that made them but what came out of their hearts. This scripture is telling us that it's what you put in you that you produce, that come out of you. If you do not have the Word of God in your heart, there's no way you can bring it out of your mouth. The more Godly or life stuffs that you take in, the more Godly or life stuffs will manifest in you.

Remember scripture says, 'Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.' James 3:11-12. So you bear what you put into you! If you put negative or death issues in your mind or heart, they're what will manifest out of your mouth. If you watch a lot of TV shows which portrays some kind of bad things, how do you think you can do away with them? You'll realize your life begins to conform to the things in you than you cut them out. If you watch a lot of negative things or hang out around a lot of negative people, then negativity is what will manifest in your mouth. You might find it difficult to get this but that's the principle; it's a fact! It's just like being born again. When you receive Jesus into your heart, though you may continue to make mistakes, your spirit (heart) is cleansed by God so there's no way you can be counted a sinner.

Soon, you'll begin to live the Christian life as you discover more in Christ. This is possible because you have righteousness in your heart! Suppose someone was infected with an 'incurable" disease like HIV. Day in day out, you find this person reading magazines and other stuffs that tells him the consequences of this sickness. Do you think that such a person can live a happy life despite the fact that he's diseased? Or do you think he will get any better as a result of the kind of material he's reading? Of course not! Let me tell you; he'll only grow worse. I'm not cursing him but it's true. If you are such a person, I came to give you a hope and a solution. I present to you the infallible Word of God; if you'll only read and listen to it, I promise you'll get better and better! I'm confident in telling you this because it's been proven; I've put it to work. God cannot lie.

Bible says God's Words "are life unto those that find them, and health (medicine) to all their flesh" (Proverbs 4:22). As you allow your spirit to imbibe the Words, soon enough you'll speak in line with His plans for your life. So can we actually control our tongue? James 3:8-10 says, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Herewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." From the starting part of these verses we get to know that no man can control his tongue, but the latter part tells us these things ought not to be so. The latter part is truly encouraging; it makes us realize we can do more no matter the circumstance. If the Word of God which is true, says that we should not be cursing and blessing out of the same tongue then we can do something.

Sometimes I hear Pastor Chris Oyakhilome say, "I can't say I'm afraid I cannot meet you; I'm afraid I cannot make it; this thing is killing me" and so on and so forth. And I asked, "How?" But he always said it's possible to program yourself, such that you'll speak nothing than such things that are in agreement with the Word of God. That's how to live the victorious life dear. Without functioning in the Wisdom of God, there's no way we can live the successful life. See, the God who created us knows how he formed us so why should you ever think about arguing with Him? It doesn't make sense! After all, He's the all wise and He doesn't just have it as a character, it's His nature! James 3:17 says "...the wisdom from above is the Holy Spirit." Notice it doesn't say the Holy Spirit has wisdom but He is wisdom Himself.

The Holy Spirit cannot direct you to say anything negative because the fruits of the spirit are all good (Galatians 5:22-23). Wisdom is also actually the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When you learn to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance through the Word, you may go ahead and do your own thing but don't give up. The more you work at it the better it will get. You have to work the word; be a doer of it. When you find yourself speaking something contrary to the Word of God, ask forgiveness and ask God for wisdom. There are some who are living by the "wisdom" laid out by men, other than that of God. But Bible says "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness" (1 Corinthians 3:19) and He "hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

We will not be able to have God's help unless we ask for it and that's the kind of attitude we should have. Some think they can make it in life without God so why seek Him? After all they have the cash and the best things life can offer. If no one told you, let me tell you this: "If you live your live for anything, other than for the glory of God, it's nothing than vanity! You can have all the cash but if you're living out of the glory of God it's useless." That's where a lot of people are going wrong in today's world. Where your tongue goes is where you go. Bible says, "Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.

Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" James 3:4-5. Just as a helm steers a ship, so do our tongues steer our lives. Use your tongue and everything you have to the glory of God. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15. If God abides in our praises and we praise out of our mouth, then our tongue is powerful. The fruit of our lips is the sacrifice of praise. God would rather we give him words of sacrifice than any other type of sacrifice. Wow! Let's find out how the Psalmist uses his tongue as an instrument of praise to God. He said, "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing: Then said they among the nations, Jehovah hath done great things for them" (Psalms 126:2); "...O God, thou God of my salvation; [And] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness" (Psalms 51:14);.

"I cried unto him with my mouth, And he was extolled with my tongue" (Psalms 66:17); "And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness [And] of thy praise all the day long" (Psalms 35:28). There's more you can do with your tongue to the glory of God. Do you know that you activate the power of God whenever you praise Him? I'm preparing a message about the power of praise so constantly visit. If you do not know how to get the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, it is very simple. James 1:5 says that "if anyone of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives liberally and without reproach, it will be given to him." So today if you want to change the way you speak and have the wisdom to speak life into every situation, it is just that simple: ask God for it. The infallible Word of God says it shall be given liberally, meaning that he will not just give you a little bit. He will give you a lot of wisdom and he will not fault you for asking.

Decide right now how you would use your tongue. God bless you as you use your tongue as an instrument of blessing. God's Word never comes back to him void so work the Word!

God bless you!