When we were going through this week the Lord very clearly had me write something for the church and I wrote an article entitled, "On the issue of Suicide". I knew through the week that we were dealing with the loss of a young man that attended our church. I know that in my life we had just dealt with this last month, a friend of mine who had taken his own life. So this issue of suicide has been very strong throughout the community. I don't believe that the Lord is leading me to completely change my message this morning but I want to encourage you to make sure that you get a copy of this article that I wrote. We serve a God who gave us a really good life. He has given us life, health and strength and I do feel it's very important to address this. If you're in this room and you are dealing with the issue of suicide, if that is a thought that is going through your mind, if that is something that you have been struggling with personally then I want to tell you that we serve a loving, wonderful God who cares deeply for you. I also want to tell you that there are people in this room who care very deeply for you as well.
Last night as I was praying in my office in church I felt very strongly that there might be someone in this room who even over the weekend have been thinking about taking their own life. There are many questions that come with this. I want to say this and I want to remind you of this one word and I want you to hear me, not only is the love of God so very important but the one word that I want you to remember is "temporary". The thing that you are dealing with I know weighs very heavily on you and the truth is throughout this room there are probably many of us that truly at some point really thought about taking their own life. Just so you're not ashamed if you're standing here having thought about it, I will tell you as your Pastor that there were days, I remember one day in seventh grade. You say, " Well Pastor, you were just a kid". Yes but I still knew how to do it. There was a moment when I thought about taking my life but I want to tell you that we serve a God who is able to take those things that seem like there will be no end and he is able to bring an end to them.
We serve a God who is able to make something so very beautiful even if we made the mess ourselves. I want to tell you that there's not one person in this room that is not precious to the Lord. You may think that there's not one person who cares about you in this whole world but I'm going to tell you right now I love you, I care for you. The person sitting next to you right now in this church, as shy as they might be and whatever difficult situation they might be going through, right now would stop whatever they're doing to spend time with you and to care for you. I want to tell you that if you will just trust the Lord your life will be more beautiful than you ever thought it could be. Everyone of us, you may be surprised, you may be thinking everyone else has got it together but my life is going through so much turmoil. They just don't understand, I can't handle it anymore. Here's the good news, when you can't handle it God will. I'm living proof when I said, "God, I will give you my life and I won't take my life". Listen, if you're a Christian I want you to remember this, can a Christian commit suicide? Yes. Listen, you already gave your life to Jesus so without trying to make you feel guilty let me help you understand that your life belongs to him so hear me now, before you do anything remember the commitment that you made, It's not yours to do with what you want anyway. We already gave our life to Jesus. How many know that's pretty helpful? That will help us make the choice. Now here's what I want us to do as a church, I know some of us have known someone who has taken their life and I know that you're going through many questions and you're wondering where they are or what they're going through. Again, I don't want to preach this today but I want you to take that article and read it and I believe it will help you find great comfort when you're going through heartache like you're experiencing now. God will heal you. You know there are some things that will never make sense but there are things that God will bring peace to when they don't make sense. That is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Here's what I want us to do, I don't want you to raise your hand, I don't want you to come forward but we're going to bow our heads and pray because I have this feeling that somewhere in this room there is someone who has wanted to take their life. If that's you, then after church I want you to come and see me and I'll spend as much time as it takes to walk you through and to talk with you and to help you get help. Everyone of the staff, Pastor Rick, Pastor Ralph, Pastor Troy, which ever one you feel more comfortable with, you come and talk. How many believe that that spirit of suicide must be bound in the name of Jesus. Let's bow our heads as we come into agreement over that.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for your presence in this room. Father, we can sense in this room right now the real witness that there is something very strong that you are doing in our lives. Father God, we come into agreement that you are a God of life, a God who is good and you have been faithful and you have never been unfaithful. Holy Spirit, right now I pray for that one in this room who may be struggling whether to keep their life or take their life. Holy Spirit I pray right now that the comfort of the living God would touch their hearts and touch their mind. I pray Father that the words that are going through their mind would stop, the turmoil of their heart would be soothed by the very balm of the healing Savior who is able to touch so deeply and heal so completely and so Father I pray that today they would know your touch. Jesus we take authority over the enemy. Your word says that whatever things we bind on earth would be bound in heaven. Jesus today we bind and we speak to that spirit of suicide, Father we command it to stop and be silent and to leave now in the name of Jesus. Father, that stirring must leave and I command it to go. Jesus now I thank you that he whom the son sets free is free indeed, free to live, free to enjoy, free to have peace. I pray Father for the families who very recently are going through this issue of suicide. Lord we pray that the peace that surpasses understanding would come and soothe their hearts and their minds. Lord in the midst of being numb and not even being able to feel that they would know that you are near. Jesus we just pray that over our communities from the edges of Palm Beach County all the way up through the Treasure Coast that every one of our families that are represented in these areas, we ask that you would cover this area with life. Father, as we read the papers over the holidays and over the coming year that there would not be one more person that is lost to this but that there would be help and healing in the name of Jesus, Amen. How many know the enemy just got defeated in this place?
What I'm about to preach on goes hand-in-hand with so many issues. I want to preach to you this morning about the importance and the power of words. Turn with me In your Bibles to Job 34:3. This is a verse that I don't know if you are very familiar with but I believe that when you read it it will help you. I could preach to you an entire message on the issue of suicide but how many know there is power in words and our words make all the difference. Job 34:3 says this, " For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food".
Father, we thank you again for the word of God. Jesus, you are doing major things in this place, give us ears to hear. May we decrease and may you increase in Jesus name, Amen.
Words are powerful, the words that we say and the words that we think. I want to speak to that one that we just prayed for that God is working in your heart and are being set free from the idea and the desire of suicide. Words that we think and words that we say are very powerful. God has said that we can control the things that we think and the things that we say. Words are important, they are life changing. If you don't believe me you just go and encourage someone and speak life to them. The truth is that we know the difference between good and bad just as your mouth is able to taste some food and you know whether you like it or not. The ear is more than an instrument that God gave us to hear sounds, it is a part of our mind where God helps us to discern between what is right and what is wrong. Just as the mouth will taste food, that ear will hear and discern of whether what is being said is not only right or wrong but whether it is God or not.
Words reveal our character. Words reveal our thoughts and our attitudes and those that choose their words carefully in public are also some of the same that might be very careless with their words in private and that reveals the true condition of their heart. Words reveal what we truly believe, what we believe about God, what we believe about are situations, and what we believe about people. You can be saying one thing and mean another and it could come across just as easily even when you're saying the words.
"Hello" can be said so many ways and reveals a lot about a person. There is so much you can say with your words by the way that you say it, by the way that you communicate it. Words are important, they can communicate sincerity. The timing of your words are important and the attitude, so much can be communicated.
Words have the power to create or to tear down, to bring life or to bring death. I want you to hear me Christian because one of the places that the body of Christ has gotten very careless in is our words. The more I live for Jesus the more I want to be very careful with the things that I say, not only when I'm standing before you in the pulpit because it will carry weight and I'm representing God but even in my everyday life with my kids, with my wife and in the office. It's so very easy to become careless with our speech, the way that we joke, the things that we watch. Proverbs 18:21 says,
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat of its fruit". What you say, when you say it, has the power to create. I think as believers this may be one area of life where the church needs to have a revival, I call it the revival of the mouth.
I believe this, that as one grows in wisdom it is impossible for the wisdom not to affect the tongue, because true wisdom understands how much power the tongue has and the care that must be given with the power that God has given us. Listen to me, everything that exists came into being because of words. God spoke and everything was made that has come into existence. I want you to notice this, God only spoke life, he never spoke death. When he spoke, things came in to order. His words didn't bring confusion. His words were so powerful that in the midst of the creation everything that has been made has fallen into place. Think of how precise the word of God is, if our earth was off its access just a little bit we would be very cold today. The human body when God's spoke it into existence is one of the most marvelous miracles that man is still trying to figure out and truly doesn't even understand. As a matter of fact those who look at DNA have just realized that even those strands of DNA have more DNA inside of them and those things have more inside of them.
How many know that we will never be able to understand the power of words? Some people when they speak are so gracious, so loving and wherever they go they create an atmosphere of joy and of love all around. There are some other people who seem to make a raving mess wherever they go. How many of you have ever known someone like that? Some people have a knack for it. Some people have a knack for helping you feel so comfortable and you don't even realize what they said, you try to figure it out and it just seems so plain but it's because of how they were. The Bible says that those who love and understand the power of words will eat of its fruit. When you love something you'll take care of it, you'll treasure it, you're careful with it, you'll recognize its value and you won't treat it less than the value that it has.
I want to say this again, we must understand the power of words, the words that we allow to go through our mind. How many know that when the enemy speaks he creates death and when God speaks he creates life? That is why our mind must choose what to receive and our ears must discern those things that we allow ourselves to hear and to say, even to ourselves, whether it comes out of our mouth or whether it flows through our mind. Is it creating life or is it creating death? Is it creating order or is it creating a mess? Words have the power to teach and they have the power to heal. My son, when he came up here today, you probably noticed that he was real nervous, he couldn't even get the words out. He looked back at me and I said "I'm right here". How many know he was able to say the pledge of allegiance. He looked back at me and I told him "I'm here son" and he said "OK". How many know that I just created life? It was cool, we had a real father-son moment right in front of you and you didn't even realize it. We were bonding, it was beautiful.
We can encourage or we can deceive. Through words marriages are made right. Through words marriages can be ended. Through our words we can lead people to Jesus and help them to grow in faith or we can gossip and curse. How many believe that a Christian should know how to bless and praise? We were created in the image of God and the same capacity that God has we have and that means that the words that we speak are creative and dynamic and they determine the world that is around us. We need to understand that God gave us the capacity to will and no matter how weak our will is, just when God makes up his mind and is decisive, in the same way when we make up our mind and we speak those words our will be comes enforced.
It was funny, I was watching a movie the other night. You know how they do this positive imaging and positive believing and you can take it or leave it but there is some truth to it. The guy would get in the mirror and say, "I am good, I'm good looking, I'm powerful and I'm successful". He would repeat that and repeat that and he went and made something out of himself. You know the same thing happens when you look at yourself and you allow thoughts like, "I'm no good, I'm nobody, God doesn't notice me, nobody loves me, nobody cares for me". How many know those words hold just as much power? What we say determines our destiny. Now I'm not going to get all wierd on you and get into all this Midwestern theology. How many know the word of God is the word of God. I want you to write this down, what you say is what you get. Why? Because you will live what you believe. That is the issue.
The Bible says that out of the heart the man speaks. I have heard men that talk about their wives and they say nasty things and they wonder when they go home why in the world their wife treats them so bad. I know wives that have called their husbands "no good, lazy and a hypochondriac" and they wonder why they have a slug for a husband. I've looked at parents who have praised their children and have loved them and cared for them and their children have grown up to be strong and successful. I've also seen parents who would look to their kids and say, " You don't measure up and you can't get it". They just give them little negative words and they wonder why their son instead of excelling in college can't even seem to bag groceries at the grocery store because you have what you say.
The truth is this, if we will let the life of God work and if we come into agreement with the word of God, powerful things take place. Our destiny is chosen by our words because they reflect and enforce what we believe. Luke 6:35 says, " A good man out of the good treasure in his heart brings forth good and the evil man out of the evil treasure in his heart brings forth evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks". You see now that the mouth issue is really a heart issue. I can be around people who are making sexual crude jokes, even if they seem to be a loving Christian person, the truth this I know that they're dealing with some form of lust or something is going on in their life. Why? Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If they are always cursing then I know that there is a part of their life that has yet to be surrendered to Jesus. I know that those who are kind and just seem to be so gracious and no matter where they go their mouth just seems to flow with all kinds of love and kindness then I know that God has done something powerful inside of them and that there is something greater than themselves that is working in them that is being the greater blessing.
Let me ask you, what is abundantly filling your heart? I want to speak this even to those of you that are contemplating the issue of suicide. What fills your heart? Life or death? I want to speak this to you, "choose life". The issues of the heart become a choice to allow the Lord to come and do a marvelous work inside of us. Those words that come through your mind, you may need to take authority over them and begin to purposely speak things that you know the word of God says is true so that it begins to fill you. Listen, that is why it's good to read the word, that's why it's good to say the word because this word is like food and like water and it will fill you up. Our words effect our destiny because they are a key component of our faith.
Do you realize that you are Christian because of two things: 1) because of what you believe and 2) because of your confession. The Bible says that even the demons believe in God and they tremble. You have to understand it was because of their own words and their own choices that they are no longer angels but demons. Romans 10 :9.10 says, " If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved for it is with the heart man believes to righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". Now how many understand that it is important that the mouth and the heart come into agreement with what the word of God says?
There are a lot of people who believe in God but what they are saying and how they are living it is not indicating that they are a Christian who belongs to God. There are a lot of people who will say that they are Christian but their hearts are far from the Lord. You have to have both of these things in order to know that you are in good relationship with God. When the heart comes into agreement then the mouth will come into agreement as well because what you believe is what you will say. You can say one thing and not believe it but you can't believe something and say something else. You're saved because of what you believe.
If salvation means deliverance than if you are in bondage, if you are in sickness, then you need to speak to it and come into agreement with what God's word says about it. The thing that interested me when Jesus began his healing ministry, he started with Peter's mother. When he walked in to see her he didn't say to the woman, "get up and be healed". He spoke to the sickness to leave. When he spoke to the blind man he asked him, "Do you want to be healed?" How many know you have to believe and come into agreement with what God wants? Then God spoke to the blindness to go. How many understand that we can speak to things? So if you're sick you can speak to the sickness.
As a matter of fact the other day I had some kind of rash going on on my arm and I dealt with it for a week. How many have ever put up with something that you didn't need to put up with? I couldn't figure it out and I was scratching and scratching and then I was sitting in my chair at home and I'm thinking that this is really uncomfortable. Now I've been to enough doctors in the last year that I don't want to go anymore. I was sitting in my chair and God said to me, "Why are you putting up with that? You didn't ask for healing and you didn't speak to it to go. You've been so busy that you didn't come into agreement with my word". Don't you love it when God speaks to you and you're just sitting in your easy chair with your feet propped up and God's got to get all spiritual with you? And I thought, you know that's right. I sat there and put my hand on my arm because God said you shall lay your hands on the sick and they shall recover. It doesn't say you can't lay hands on yourself so I layed hands on me. I said, "Father I thank you that healing is mine and I speak to this rash, Go in the name of Jesus". Five minutes later I'm sitting there with my arm back on my leather chair and I'm thinking, "Hey, it's not itching". God is saying, "Yeah, why didn't you think of that about a week ago?"
Listen, we must speak to our area of need. Marked 11:23 says, "Surely I say to you who ever says to this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes those things he says he will have what ever he says". Speak to the mountain and if you will believe you will receive and that's the word of God. Your heart and your words must come into action. What we say determines what we have because it is a reflection of what we believe.
The truth is that even when my life is going through hardship I speak what I am. How many know Christ in this room? I want you to repeat this after me: I am blessed. If you're saved, you have Christ as your Savior and even that one that may be thinking about suicide I want you to understand that you are blessed. If you are blessed then that means you are not cursed and life is a blessing and death is a curse. The truth is you must speak the blessing. I remember when I've gone through the hard times there are moments when you want to just indulge in the depression. Some of you know what I'm talking about, " I don't want to feel good today". You laugh but you know it's true. "Today I'm just going to allow myself to be miserable". What is up with that?
There is a story that Paul Harvey tells about a little boy. He went into a grocery store and the mom before going in said to the little boy," today you are not allowed to have any chocolate chip cookies. We're going in and we're going to get done and don't ask for any chocolate chip cookies because you're not getting any". The little boy was doing fine and he was going through the store and doing great until he got to the cookie aisle. He was walking through and doing the best he good. Now remember manufacturers do this on purpose, they put one thing on this side of the aisle that mom needs and other stuff on the other side of the aisle that Jr. wants. So Mom was looking on this side of the aisle and junior is looking on the other side of the aisle doing the best he can. Finally when he was about halfway through he said, "Mom can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?" "Son I told you when we came in you don't need any cookies ,you had enough sweets, we're not buying cookies, we're getting in and getting out". The boy said, "Yes Mom". The boy was walking through the store and doing a great job but then the Mom has to go back to that aisle. How many of you as parents have hated it when you had to go back to that aisle? So the boy was just sitting in his cart, not a problem child, doing a great job, very nice and behaved, he just wants some chocolate chip cookies. He asked again very loud so all the other parents could hear, trying to put Mom on the spot so she'll feel bad. "No son, you can't have any chocolate chip cookies, not today". As the mom was getting up to the cash register and going to pay, the son could just sense he's got one last chance to get some chocolate chip cookies and so with all he can he stands up in the cart and with the loudest voice he says, "Please in the name of Jesus, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?" Some of the parents in the store began to laugh and some of them began to clap and don't you know because of the generosity that boy went home with 23 packs of chocolate chip cookies. How many know God cares about a boys chocolate chip cookies?
Our confession is important. Proverbs 6:2 says, "You are snared by the words of your own mouth, you are taken by the words of your mouth".
Hebrews 10:23 says, " Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful". Listen, God would not put that in his word if there wasn't something out there trying to steal your confession, to get you to say something differently. Why? Because you say what you believe. Some people will teach that you just need to say these things, to say it and you will have it like what you say is some kind of magic formula. That is not the issue, the issue is the faithfulness of God and what we are believing in our heart. Some of you are going to go outside and stand in a parking lot and say "my Maserati is coming now".
I want to tell you that at Oral Roberts University there were a bunch of freshmen that went out and spent all the money they had because they were listening to this and they went and bought brand new cars with no job. They had about 20 kids at this college that had to be expelled because they were too stupid not to understand the truth of the word of God and just try to work it like it was some kind of magic formula. Someone say a good amen.
God has no reason to tell us to stand firm or to hold fast unless someone or some circumstance is going to try to get us to believe something else. Listen to me, let your mouth stay in agreement with the word and if it does it will help keep your heart strong. Your heart and your mouth are supposed to work together. Your heart will tell you what to believe and what to say and you will say it to help make your heart even stronger. That's why it's OK to speak the scripture, to speak the word. Listen, you are righteous, you may have made mistakes in the past, you may have done some awful things, you may have gotten involved in some really horrible stuff but once you gave your life to Jesus Christ your past is now under the blood. Instead of saying,"I am a drug addict", this is the problem when people stand up at AA and they've been saved for 20 years and say I'm still an alcoholic. No, you were an alcoholic, you've been set free by the power of God. Listen, either the power of God works or it doesn't. Stop saying what you were and speak what God says you are. You are strong in the Lord, the Lord is guiding your steps. You can say things around me don't look good and I don't understand. You can speak truth but your truth shall also be followed up with "but my God is faithful". If you commit everything to Him he is able to keep it. That's why it's important to commit your life to Jesus.
I want to speak this in closing, understand that we will be held accountable for every word that we speak. There are times when we're in the office praying before church and I'll look at the guys and say, "stop talking, don't say another word because were going places we don't want to go before we go out to minister". I want to tell you there's a reason why many times as a pastor you'll see me hide in that room because I know that there's conversations that go on. One of the things that I want to do before I come out, I'm not trying to be super spiritual and make the grand Marvin appearance, what I'm trying to do is make sure that I'm keeping my mind and heart in line with God because the truth is someone could say something or do something that would get me distracted from the things of the Lord. I want to tell you what happens in this room is so vitally important, that lives are changed and the word is imparted and things that are spoken stay aligned with the word of God. That's why when you come in to church on Sunday morning you should watch your speech. Speak what you want to see, speak those things believing God, knowing that he will do it because he said he would.
But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. When I look back at some of the things that I've said I'm glad that there's not a spiritual CD that is recording everything that I've ever said or done. I want you to know that there is a spiritual record of every word I've ever spoken and there are some things that I've asked for forgiveness for that I know are under the blood of Jesus.
And many of you are thankful for the blood of Jesus? Words are more than sounds. People say, "Well, they're just words". They'll cuss and say they're just words. No, everybody knows the words, the ear knows knows the words that are right to the heart.
Words are powerful so treat your words like they're precious possessions. Make sure that you cherish them. The Bible says that he who guards his lips guards his life but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. Listen, refuse to let emotions rule your tongue. That means when you're angry be careful what you say. The Bible says you'll be snared by your words. How many men have told a woman in a moment of thinking that it was great that they were going to marry them and now they think they're getting married. Be careful what you say, don't say what you don't mean. When you say"I love you" you better mean that. How many know what I'm saying?
Proverbs 17:27 says, "A man of knowledge uses words with restraint and a man of understanding is even tempered". Lastly this, when in doubt just be quiet. If you're not sure what to say don't say anything or at least admit that you don't know what to say. Better to remain quiet and thought a fool then to open your mouth and remove all doubt. I was watching the Wizard of Oz last night and one of the greatest things that they ever said was by the scarecrow who said, "you know a lot of people without brains do an awful lot of talking". A person's life largely reflects what they say. Why? Because the Bible says that you will eat the fruit of your tongue. Let me ask you, how is your mouth?
How many have recognized that God is doing something in this place today? Let me ask you Christian, do you understand the power of your words? Some of you have been dealing with some stuff in your life. Even things you've been saying about yourself reflect what you believe. Some of you have given your life to Jesus but your mouth needs to get saved all over again.
Father, I thank you for your word, that it's pure and good. I thank you for one of the greatest gifts you've given us is the ability to speak. Right now this morning we surrender our lives back to you, we surrender our mouths to you, that Father they would be agents of life instead of death. You've given us the ability, we ask for the wisdom to control our tongue. Lord help us to train it. James has a lot to say about it, there's so much that we didn't talk about today. Father again, I pray for that one who is struggling with life or death, that Father today you would speak your life into their heart and they would be encouraged and they would be blessed. Amen
