How many of you are excited about what God is doing here at Harvest Community? Good things. I make this promise to you, what this church is about is winning souls and discipling people. It's not about raising money and building buildings, although buildings are tools and are necessary. However, if that ever gets in the way of winning souls we're doing the wrong thing so we'll make sure that doesn't happen.
I want you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the Book of Judges, chapter 12:5-6. The title of my message this morning is "What are you talking about?" Judges 12, 5-6 says, "The Gileadites took the passages of Jordon before the Ephraimites arrived. When any Ephraimite who escaped said, "Let me cross over", the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?"and if he said "No", then they would say to him, "Say Shibboleth"and he would say "Sibboleth"for he could not pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the passages of Jordon; and there fell at that time 42,000 Ephraimites".
Father, we thank you for your word this morning. Lord, we are excited about the things you're doing in this church but Father we're also excited about the things you're doing in each one of our lives. Lord, have your way as this word is given. I ask you that you would annoint me just one more time to speak and that your spirit would do the work. May we decrease and you increase in Jesus name. Amen
What are you talking about? This word has been so strong in my heart since the Lord began to talk to me about this message. I think that it goes without saying that our words are very very important, how we say them and what we do with them. The truth is that what we say and how we say it says alot about us. Words are powerful. As a matter of fact every word that we say makes a difference one way or the other. The Bible puts a great deal of emphasis on what we say and how we speak.
Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit". How many of you like to eat something that tastes good? I don't know too many of us that like to eat something that tastes bad or to eat something that's going to do damage to us. But I want to ask you this morning, what are you talking about? How are the words that are in your life? How are they affecting those around you? How are they affecting you? All of us have grown so comfortable with talking, this is a talking society. Everywhere we go there is some kind of voice going on whether it's us having a conversation or listening to talk radio or music, tv or movies. There almost is never a time of silence. But I think we neglect to remember how important every word that we utter really is.
We're in the political season. It's interesting to find out that people will be listening to every word that the candidates say, everything. If they make one little mis-step we're going to let them know about it. But I believe that as Christians, if we would be that attentive to how we speak and what we say, to bring our mouths into surrender to what God would have us speak, that the difference would be absolutely incredible in our lives.
Words are powerful. If you don't believe me just look at this Bible. Think of how this has changed your life. Look at the Declaration of Independence, how those words written down changed the course of the entire world, not just the course of this continent. The Bible says that words are so important that we will give an account for every word that we speak.
Matthew 12:36-37 says, "But I say to you, that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned".
I want to speak to every one of us this morning because it's amazing how the Holy Spirit will apply a message to each life so purposefully to the things that we need. I want to ask you, how is your speech in every way? Are you a negative talker or are you a positive talker? Are you someone that breathes life into other people or are you one that takes life away from other people? What are you talking about? What are the words that you speak? Every time we speak we communicate something, every time. Every time we are also communicating more than we say by our body language, by the attitude with which we say it, even the words that we choose to use as we communicate say alot about us.
I've come to realize that as a pastor, one of the things that I do the most is communicate, not only on Sundays from the pulpit but everyday in the office and on the phone. I've come to realize more and more how important every word really is. The Word of God speaks so strongly to the things that we say because our words create the life that we have. There's power in a word. We could even go back and talk about how all creation came into being, it was spoken. God spoke and everything came into being.
One of the greatest works of salvation is not only how God changes a life but how God changes the mouth of a believer. How many of you found that when you got saved God changed the way you talked? I'm not only talking about the cessation of cussing but our overall ability to control our destiny by our mouth. We are what we speak, we become those things that we say.
James 3:4-6 says, "Look also at ships, although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire by hell".
You see, your tongue makes all the difference in the world. What we say, how we say it, when we say it, the things that we utter make all the difference. I've never really been a boater but I was amazed how small a rudder really is, even on those huge ships. The things that we say, that little tongue, can make the whole difference for your life. How many know when you finally got up the nerve to ask your husband or wife to finally marry you, how that changed the whole course of your life forever? When you decided to come into agreement to buy certain things, your life was changed by those things. The way that we do and say certain things can make all the difference in the world.
I believe that Christians realize that the little taster in their mouth does more than tasting. The tongue is a deeply spiritual issue. If you don't believe me watch what happens to your children when you encourage them or when you yell. Just watch what will happen if in the grocery store someone runs into you and they didn't mean to, and instead of getting angry at them you say, "It's alright, I hope you're doing fine". It changes the way everything begins to flow. There is no such thing as a meaningless word. They've got dictionaries full of meanings. You can even make up words but they have meaning. Every week my wife critiques how I preach the service. She says I am a "Wordsmith", that I create more words in the english language than anyone should ever say. Listen, that's ok, how many can follow anyway? There's never a meaningless word. Some of you are english teachers so I just want you to know that my wife is on the ball and she'll let me know when I've used poor english but that's alright.
The truth is this, the Bible even challenges the authenticity of a believers salvation and their spiritual maturity by their words. James 1:26 says, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this ones religion is useless". I think that is one of the greatest, powerful statements in all the word of God. If you think that you're a Christian but your mouth isn't under the control of your own self and surrendered to the Holy Spirit then God even questions your salvation. That's challenging and convicting because I believe this, when God comes in, the speech of a believer changes.
I want to ask you, what are you communicating? What do you communicate to your husband or your wife? What are you communicating on a daily basis to your children? What are you communicating to your friends? What are you communicating to your family members? Are you a negative talker? Every time something comes up, are you downing it? Every time that something comes up in your life that's just a little bit negative, do you begin to come into agreement with it fully? Do you talk yourself down more than you declare that "I am a new creation in Christ and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Do you walk around talking about how stupid you are and how bad life really is? Listen, you become those things that you say. Do you build other people up or do you belittle them? Do you have a critical spirit or are you helpful? Do you gossip or do you know how to hold a confidence? Are you argumentative about everything or are you teachable? Let me ask you, do you pour into people's life with the words that you speak or do you suck them dry by not saying things that are wholesome and loving?
People notice what you say, the words make a difference. The measure of good speech is not simply the absence of cussing or negativity but it's the absence of ungodliness and of carelessness. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupt or unwholesome words procede out of your mouth", ever. Not just sometimes when you're angry and it's ok to let it go but don't ever let that happen. "But that which is good and edifying that it might impart grace to the hearers".
Words build up or tear down every time you open your mouth. As a matter of fact, your words will create the atmosphere of your home faster than anything else. Words will create the atmosphere of your workplace. There is still creative power in everything that we say. There's a reason when God spoke that things came into being.
Our words tell us a great deal about where we've been and about where we're coming from. How a person talks reveals a great deal about them. We even read that here in Judges, how in the midst of battle, the one way they discovered who was the enemy and who wasn't was by the very way that they talked. The Ephraimites couldn't pronounce the ?H' in the word ?Shibboleth' so it came out "Sibboleth". It was a very simple trick. As a matter of fact in WWII when America was dealing with the Japanese, the Japanese could not pronouce ?L' very well so they used the word "Lollapaloosa" and when the enemy would use it all those L's would become R's and they immediately knew who was the enemy or not. Even those who were in America for a long time, they made sure were trained to speak properly.
How many know you can spot a New Yorker pretty far away? You can find an Italian pretty easy, when he's talking he can't ever keep his hands still. You can always spot someone from Boston, there's a lot of good Boston people. What you say says a lot about where you've been. You can disguise your identity, you can change your looks, you can hang around a lot of other people but eventually how you speak will give you away every time. You can always measure a man by his words because they will reveal his heart. A person can put on a show for a long long time and try to hide how they really feel but if you are around them pretty soon what is inside is going to come out the mouth, guaranteed.
Luke 6:45 says, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks". That's why husbands, when you say certain things to your wives, they get really upset. You may not understand why but they have a keen sense of understanding that if you actually said it, even if it was only once, that you've been dealing with that a long long time. That's why they have an issue with it, they know. That's why ladies, when you speak in a certain way, you may cover it up for a long time but when you get disrespectful toward your husband and finally it just comes out in the heat of the moment, the man recognizes that's something you've been carrying for a long time. That's why it means so much. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks".
What you think becomes what you say eventually.
The Psalmist made it his prayer that even his thoughts would be pleasing to God because he knew that they would eventually become his words.
Psalms 19:14 says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight". Listen, Christian, that is why God doesn't just measure a man by what he says but by what he thinks.
I want to challenge you, Christian, not only does God require a sanctified speech, God requires a sanctified thought life. How many understand that God knows what you're thinking anyway? I used to think it was ok as long as I didn't say things, as long as I didn't do things, that it really didn't matter what I thought. But what I found out and as I've counselled many people, that eventually what they thought, because you think in words, became what they were. Eventually it would come out one way or the other. I love the heart of David because David didn't just want to be pleasing to God outwardly, he wanted to be pleasing inwardly. His prayer became, "Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart (the things I think about) be acceptable to you".
That's probably one of the most powerful lessons that you and I could ever begin to read. The truth is that if we'll do that, the life that we see and the life that we say would be transformed because our thoughts would line up with God. How a Christian speaks really is a true ?Shibboleth' of their faith because your words will eventually reveal who you are. When I see Christians that will let cussing become a normal part of their life every once in awhile, I know there's dark parts in their heart. When I hear spouses downing one another, it reveals what's really going on in the heart. When I see Dad's that talk a good game but then they're not loving to their kids, it reveals what's in the heart. What we say becomes the Shibboleth, the way we test what's going on in our life. Listen, how many believe that through our mouth we should be bringing glory to God?
When we're out of harmony with the Lord it effects our mouth. Doubt will begin to creep in, negativity will begin to come out, sarcasm will become a way of life, meanness will replace gentleness and kindness. In God's economy you get what you say. That's why we must make sure that we come into agreement with God's word, not only with how we confess it but with how we think about it.
Listen, God tells us to speak to our mountains and they will be moved. How many know that many of us speak more about our mountains than speaking to them? If you've got something going on in your life that you're not happy about you can complain and complain but complaining never got you out of where you were. The Bible says to speak to the thing that's in your way. I have faced sickness in my life and I could walk around saying, "I feel so bad". That doesn't deny the fact that If I'm sick then I'm not feeling well. You don't deny the truth but you also begin to speak the truth, "I am the healed of God", "By his stripes I am healed". I'm going to begin to live that, it's not just a positive confession, that's declaring with your mouth that your heart is in agreement with what the word of God says.
I have found that when I am in financial trouble, if I will go to the Lord and pray declaring what his word says that he is my provider then I can begin to speak to that mountain to move out of the way. How many know God says he will supply all our needs according to his riches and glory? I'm not talking about the weird ?name it and claim it' type of faith where if you decide you want to have a Mazzerati and don't have money in the bank but you buy it anyway and hope God will provide it. That's just stupidity. I'm talking about when you find yourself in the normal course of life, God's word will always be faithful so we begin to speak it. We are saved because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and we confess it with our mouth that He is Lord. Our thoughts and our words begin to come into agreement.
When I was laying in the hospital bed going through some surgeries, I began to speak what the word of God said. I didn't deny what I was going to have to go through, God used doctors to bless my life, the cancer is gone. But I declared it wasn't coming back and I've been cancer free for 20 years. God is faithful. He said I'm the healed of the Lord. I don't have to walk in fear, God said he would take care of me.
God told Joshua, meditate on this word and then you will be prosperous and successful. God's word in Joshua began to effect everyone around him and they became victorious. I want you to hear this, if your mouth speaks a mixture of agreement with God and the filth of the world or of doubt, you will get the meddled mixture that you are speaking. But if you will just come into agreement with what God wants, I'm not saying that you should say it when you don't believe it. You don't say things that you don't believe, you have to have them come into agreement together and pretty soon that word will come out.
James 3:10 says, "Out of the same mouth procede blessing and cursing, my brethren these things ought not be so". Blessing and cursing is not just saying nice things and then slipping in cuss words. You can curse things while still saying socially acceptable words. The Bible say that this shouldn't be so, our life needs to come into agreement with the word of God.
I want you to listen to me, I believe so strongly that this was a word that God was saying people needed to hear today. Let me ask you, what are you talking about? How are your words at home? How are your words with your spouse? How are your words with your children? How are the words that you are speaking? Sometimes the enemy makes us think that these things don't really matter but the truth is I have found more Christians in trouble because of the way that they speak and the words that they say, and the enemy uses that as a tool to cause us to be cut off from the blessing of God. How many know God wants you to walk in the blessing but you've got to come into agreement.
Our words have been the undoing of many of us. Like a small flame, one wrong word that is said in the heat of a moment can burn a life. It can burn your spouse, it can burn your marriage, it can burn your children. 1st Peter 3:10 says, "For he who would love life and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil and lips from speaking deceit". Your mouth is a great barometer of where you're going in your life. Those who want a good life and good days will become wise talkers.
Let me ask you, where is your mouth taking you today? Where is your mouth taking your children? Do you speak into their life or do you refrain because you want them to be your buddy instead of your child? Where is your mouth taking your marriage? Where is your mouth taking your reputation? Where is your mouth taking your business? Are you loving life? The Bible says that those who love life will eat the fruit of the tongue. "For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil". Let me ask you, are you loving your marriage? Are you loving your children? Are you loving your business? Because those who love it are those who have their mouth in agreement with the word of God.
The Bible tells us that we need to be good talkers. Church, I want to encourage you today to guard your tongue. Guard it like your tongue is precious gold and guard your tongue as if it were unstable dynamite. Hold it. Proverbs 21:23 says, "Whoever guards his mouth keeps his soul from troubles". That's powerful. I want to encourage you, let your mouth work for you and not against you. How many know your mouth can be your own worst enemy? I put my foot in my mouth many times and I'm here to tell you that toe jam never tastes good. It never has a pleasant taste and never goes down well.
I've recognized this, the more that you speak the easier it is to get in trouble. Listen, I'm a preacher and I do a lot of talking. That's why when I get up here I pray Lord, if you would just anoint my mouth one more time because I recognize that I will give an account for every word that I will say. When I'm with my wife I'll give an account for every word that I say. I want to say this again, there are no words without consequence. It's not just what you say but how you say it. Let me ask you, when you're speaking, how is your attitude? Do you say it because it's the right thing or do you mean it? You can communicate a whole lot more than what you're actually speaking.
James 3:2-3 says this, "For we all stumble in many things but if anyone does not stumble in word he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed we put bits in horses mouths that they may obey us and we turn their whole body". If you're not happy with where your life is, begin to examine what's coming out of your mouth. I've ridden on horses, I'm not a cowboy, but I know when you put the bit in their mouth and you pull hard that they're going to go in the right direction. I found the same thing, every morning when pray, as I put on the armor of God, one of my prayers is this, "Lord not only would you wash my mind with the blood of Jesus but Lord I pray that you would wash my mouth, that every word that I say would be sanctified, that the very way that I communicate would not only be dignified but would help you to be glorified. Father, take that over". Because I know that If God would have control over my mouth and I will allow the Lord to help me guard the things that I'm saying then my whole destiny will turn out right.
Listen, I want to close with this idea. I want us to remember that our words not only determine our future but it determines the future of those we speak to and those who are around are affected by what they hear. Your words, husband, will determine the future of your family. How you speak to your wife, how your speak to your children, how you speak to those that come into your life will affect everything around. Mom, I want you to hear me, the words that you say will affect your children so deeply. The words that you say, wife, will affect your husband so completely. They determine the future. Christian, the words that you speak may be the difference between someone saying, "I am so glad I finally met someone who really loves Jesus" or someone saying, "The church is so full of hypocrites that I want nothing to do with anyone that calls himself a Christian". The words make all the difference in the world.
I want to ask you this morning, what are you talking about? How are your thoughts? How is your speech? What are you communicating? Because what we speak is a choice and how we're doing in our life is a result of the choices that we make, by what we say. Some of you in here are sick this morning and you're trusting God for healing. You need to begin to declare that the word of God is true and that you're ready to receve what he has. Some of you have a marriage that's in trouble and you can talk about how bad the other one is or you can declare, "I'm going to love them like Jesus loves me. I'm going to care for them the same way that God cares for me. I'm going to speak to them in the way that Jesus would speak to me". Some of you have kids that are running from God. Listen, you speak the living word of life into their life, you encourage them but you hold the standard. How many know you can do the same all at once? It will make all the difference in the world.
Let me ask you, what are you talking about?
