SPEAKING WORDS TO BLESS (LENTEN 34)
I was very encouraged by the response to my last Lenten Journey blog, it is great to know that Believers are seeing the POWER IN PRAISE & THANKSGIVING, I trust more will as they mediate on this glorious truth, and it becomes an increasing daily reality in their lives.
Back in the 1970’s there was Minister in the U.S. by the name of Merlin Carothers who was greatly touched by the Charismatic renewal, and especially the truth of Praise & Thanksgiving. He wrote numerous books that all became best sellers, the titles of some are:
Prison to Praise
Power in Praise
Praise Works
These are still available today and can be purchased as e. books. Not only is the language of our heart and our lips horizontally to the Lord, powerful, but so is the language of heart and lips horizontally.
Solomon, the wisest man in the world declared in Proverbs 18:21 NKJV
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat it fruit.
MESSAGE Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit — you choose.
they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
So the message today is understanding the power of words that come out of our mouth.
Positively, the writer to Hebrews says in 3:13 HCSB But ENCOURAGE each other daily, while it is still called today,
everyone of us I am sure have been on the receiving end of words, that has killed the joy and peace in our hearts, and has left a scar on our emotions, that never seems to go away. Unless we deliberately do something about it.
How often have we been the one who has spoken out words that have killed the joy and peace in other people’s hearts. Often these words may have been festering in our mind for a period of time, or simply are an instant spoken expression of our sinful nature.
King David was very aware of the power of words, and prays in Psalm 141:3 NKJV
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.
N,LT. Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips
MESSAGE Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips
David realised.he needed help from the Lord to help him control his words. If we are honest, we too need all the help we can get, let this be a regular prayer from our heart and lips, so that what we say WILL ALWAYS BE A BLESSING.
As the mind is “The Battlefield of the soul” (and every battle is won or lost in the mind) we must learn to protect our minds as well, as the words could lay dormant there for a long or short time. The New Testament has so much to say about the mind, and thank God He has give given us WEAPONS to help us TO THINK AND SPEAK CORRECTLY.
Paul tells us 2 Cor. 10:4-5 AMP.N.T. For the WEAPONS of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the OVERTHROW AND DESTRUCTION OF STRONGHOLDS
[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and LEAD EVERY THOUGHT AND PURPOSE AWAY CAPTIVE into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)
N.L.T.We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, TO KNOCKDOWN THE STRONGHOLDS to of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We CAPTURE their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
MESSAGE The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for DEMOLISHING that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, TEARING DOWN barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
I trust you appreciate reading Paul’s words in various translations, I know it helps me to understand the truth better.
We create a lot of bad habits before we come to Christ, and if we come to Him in our teens or adulthood, we have most probably built STRONGHOLDS THAT NEED TO BE DESTROYED AND THAT NEED TO BE TORN DOWN.
I trust you agree the evil one is never far away when a situation arises where we could easily SHOOT OFF OUR MOUTH and cause hurt and kill a person’s joy and peace, so let us use the weapons God has given us against him.
One of the key verses that tells us what we need to do to initiate our attack on these sinful thoughts is found in James 4:7 NKJV Therefore SUBMIT to God. RESIST the devil and he will flee from you.
We must re-affirm afresh daily (constantly) the Lordship of Jesus over our lives and then use the weapons God has given us.
USE OUR DELEGATED “POWER OF ATTORNEY” IN THE NAME OF JESUS
CLAIM THE BLOOD OF JESUS OVER YOUR MIND
USE OUR PRAYER LANGUAGE AS A WEAPON OF WARFARE
USE THE POWER OF PRAISE AS A WEAPON OF WARFARE
CONFESS THE WORD OF GOD AGAINST THE THOUGHTS, TAKE THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT Eph.. 6:17 the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Rom.8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us
1 John 4:4 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
By the grace of God, EVERYTHING that comes out of our mouth can bless, encourage and edify God’s people amen.
Psalm 19:14 NLT May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord my rock and my redeemer.
