WHERE THE WORD

OF A KING IS

THERE IS POWER

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. UNTYING THE IMPOSSIBLE KNOTS OF LIFE

2. CHRIST, NOT PROBLEMS, MUST DOMINATE OUR THINKING AND OUR SPEAKING

3. INNER THOUGHTS BECOME OUR OUTWARD LIFE

4. ABIDING IN THE WORD RESULTS IN POWERFUL PRAYER

5. MEDITATION OF THE WORD – THE SECRET TO JOSHUA’S SUCCESS

6. WORDS, THE RUDDER AND PILOT OF YOUR LIFE

7. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING ABOUT JESUS WAS HIS WORDS

8. THOSE WHO BELIEVE WILL SPEAK

9.  WE ARE SET APART BY GOD’S WORD

10. THE CERTAINTY OF OUR WORDS

11. THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REDEEMED

12. SPEAKING WHAT YOU WANT, NOT WHAT YOU HAVE

13. GOD IS WITH YOUR MOUTH

14. THOSE BOLD STATEMENTS OF JESUS

15. ALL CREATION HEARS AND RESPONDS TO GOD’S WORD

16. WHAT GOD SAYS IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE

17. PROVERBS – INSTRUCTION FOR YOUR MOUTH

18. ACKNOWLEDGING GOOD THINGS

19. SLAYING GIANTS WITH YOUR MOUTH

20. GOD’S COVENANT WITH OUR LIPS

21. JUSTIFIED AND CONDEMNED BY YOUR WORDS

22. HOLDING FIRMLY TO OUR BOAST

23. GOD HAS SPOKEN SO THAT WE MAY SPEAK

24. PROPHESYING TO DRY BONES

25.    BECOMING SOBER MINDED

26. A RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED HISTORICAL CHALLENGE AGAINST AN EMPHASIS ON THE WORD OF GOD

1. UNTYING THE IMPOSSIBLE KNOTS OF LIFE

In ancient Macedonia, a poor homeowner named Midas lived in an area of Asia Minor called Phrygia. The Phrygians, after years of civil unrest and aimless wandering, called a meeting of their high council to decide which of their warring factions would be the next rulers. Many years previously a prophet had foretold that a man with a wagon would eventually come and end their relentless quarreling. On the very day of the decisive meeting, who should wander into town but poor Midas with his ox-cart in tow? The council unanimously agreed that the prophecy had come true and so Midas was appointed king.

As a reminder of this happy coincidence, Midas erected a shrine and dedicated his wagon to the Greek god, Zeus. Instead of being yoked to an ox, Midas placed his wagon in the center of the temple yoked to a pole with a large complex knot to symbolize that both Midas, and the Phrygians, had finally ceased their aimless wanderings.

As time went by stories grew up around the shrine. It was eventually moved and housed near the temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Gordium, ruled by Midas’ father Gordius. Gordius encouraged the growing superstitions about his son’s now famous shrine. Eventually, a soothsayer predicted that whoever loosed the “Gordian Knot” would be lord over the whole of Asia.

No one knows how many visitors attempted the puzzle of the “Gordian Knot.” One thing is certain. Only one man solved it. We know him as Alexander, The Great. He did go on to conquer the world and rule all of Asia. Reportedly, Alexander regarded his victory over the “Gordian Knot” as the most decisive battle he ever fought.

For people the world over, the term “Gordian Knot” has come to represent the difficult, the stubborn and often the unsolvable problem.  Many of us have at least one in life.  There is some stubborn habit, attitude, fear, insecurity or disease that has constantly thwarted us and eluded being eliminated from our lives.  We have tried therapy, inner-healing, deliverance, counseling, fasting, begging, pleading, prayer lines and prayer chains and “altar calls,” all to no avail.  We have had hands laid upon our heads until we thought we would go bald.  We are the determined ones.  Many have given up, believing that there is no answer this side of heaven.  But, the Bible holds the key to solving that Gordian-Knot-like problem you are facing in your life.

For many Christians there is a prevailing sense of hopelessness in their lives.  They feel out of control and powerless.  The reason they feel this is not because of the variety of contrary circumstances and situations they face, but because they have failed to be continuously conscious of all that Christ has already done for them.  They have failed to continuously, consciously lay hold of and bring to bear on the present situation, the greater reality of the concrete redemption they have within them through the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ.  The believer has freedom, provision, life and health dwelling on the inside of them in the person of Jesus Christ[1].  This is not just empty theory or theology, this is a reality established on the very promises of the One who “cannot lie.”  God indwells the believer in all his fullness.[2]  He is not there by degrees or bits of his person.  He cannot divide himself up or be there in less than what he is without not being there at all.  God is always fully present wherever he is.  There is no such thing as a ½ or a ¼ God.  God is a person not a gas that gets thinner or less concentrated as it seeks to fill an ever larger area.  God cannot be diluted.  He is all he is or he is not at all who he is.

And yet, why is there so often so little evidence of this immense, fathomless provision of power in the Christian’s life?  It is in our thinking, and consequently in our words, that God’s power is diminished.  He dwells unchallenged in all his fullness in our spirits.  It is in our heads and our mouths that his power is challenged and restricted.

2. CHRIST, NOT PROBLEMS, MUST DOMINATE OUR THINKING AND OUR SPEAKING

All solved problems have something in common; they all look trivial from the perspective of achieved victory.  As believers we are called to live from victory and not toward it.  We must live from freedom and not toward freedom, from healing and not towards healing.  Christ has already vanquished whatever you are facing, for you and as you, on your behalf.  The Bible teaches that we are the forgiven, the delivered the transformed and the healed in Christ Jesus.[3]

We are to minimize the problem by maximizing Christ and his victory in our minds.  Being overly impressed or having your mind overwhelmed with the problem is in fact a major part of the problem.  It is the mental idolatry of giving something other than God the dominance in our thought lives.  Idolatry is the elevation of what should remain a secondary concern, to a position of absolute dominance; to where it crowds out the one legitimate concern or consideration – God.

This problem-dominated thought-life must change or we will never be able to break free into what is already ours through Jesus Christ.  The inherent treasure of Christ within the believer will lie dormant and unused.  Even though the believer has everything he will ever need through the indwelling Christ, he may act as though he has nothing.

Here’s the truth.  Our thinking will either give dominance in our minds to the problem or we will exalt the Lordship and unchallengeable power of Jesus Christ above every problem.  We have the power to decide which will be bigger in our minds.  We should not allow situations to minimize or dwarf Christ in our thinking.  For this is what they must do in order to guarantee their ongoing survival.  If the problem does not captivate our thinking, then the solution can be found.  Obsession with the problem paralyzes the solution, not through real power, because that is only in Jesus, but through obscuring The Answer.  This situation is often referred to as the “paralysis of analysis.”

This assumes of course that you believe that Jesus is the answer to all of life’s problems.  Some may have a problem with the answer.  This is undoubtedly their greatest problem.  But for us who believe, we have to learn to apply the answer or we will live like there is none, despite our claimed faith in Jesus.  It is not for the Christian to lie down and whimper that he does not have the answer.  To say such a thing is to deny the all-sufficiency of Christ.  Under such circumstances there can be no freedom no matter how greatly it is desired.  We all know that great desire is not enough to ensure victory.  Almost every Christian on earth wants to live free, but most do not.  We must not only desire but we must lay hold of what we desire.

Victory does not lie in getting others to see whom we are or in getting others to bolster our internal insecurities with their external voices of adulation or praise.  Victory does not lie in getting people to see who we are, but in remembering who we are even when people do not see it, and especially when others do not believe it and even speak the exact opposite.

I am told that we dream in pictures, however we interpret what we see with words.  In the life of every person there is an inward conversation, an internal self-commentary, which is perpetually going on in all of us.  The subject matter of this inner conversation is of primary importance because it shapes the way we view and so respond to the world of circumstances we face.  In this conversation is the inner vision of our own selves, incubated in our minds, stirring our emotions and being hatched through our actions.  We live out our inner thoughts.

All outward actions are our response to, and the expression of, our inner thoughts.  The problems that surround us are not what sink us.   The problems we face are nothing compared to the problematic responses we make fueled by our inner conversations.  The people who truly succeed in life are not those with less problems than other people, but those with an inner vision, an inner conversation that sustains them even in the most troublesome times.  These are those who have learned how to respond well to those problems.  Outward problems are either exacerbated or minimized by our reactions to them. Outward problems become unmanageable because of inward problems.  Those who have learned to react well are those who have learned how to live well.  In fact, these are those who have learned not to react at all but to act out of what is within them and not on what surrounds or threatens them. These are people who are mindful of the Answer – Jesus and not their fears.

We think by using words, and words are thoughts made audible.  Whatever a man perpetually thinks about is what he will habitually do.  Our emotions lie within the scope of the power of our thought life.  We cannot control our emotions but we can control the thoughts that produce them.  We experience feelings of fear because we think fearful thoughts and have conversations of defeat with ourselves.  We experience feelings of despondency because we think about despondency causing things.  Furthermore, your mind must listen to your mouth.  No man can think against what he is saying, forever.

Some may feel that they have a right to be miserable and overwhelmed.  They have worked hard at it, they deserve it and no one is going to take it away from them.  These people still only have what they want.

I believe in this book is the key to overcoming your biggest problem, the way you see yourself and speak about yourself, not just to others, but to yourself.  Those words, which are spoken to us, and the judgments that other people make about us in our hearing, may be harmful, but no words are quite so damaging as the negative ones we care enough to repeat in our inner conversations with ourselves.  Words are powerful things, and the whispered words of our thoughts are extremely powerful, and the ones we care to repeat verbally are the most powerful of all.  Our words rule us.  Our words direct our lives.  Our words influence our emotions and determine our expectations and decide our responses.  Our words influence other people’s interactions with us.  Our inner words affect our sense of well-being and our sense of value.    Our daily lives consist in acting out this inner vision of ourselves.  Our words are the predictors of our experience.

3. INNER THOUGHTS BECOME OUR OUTWARD LIFE

The whispered words of our thoughts have the power to transform or to mar our lives.  Solomon observed this great truth when he said:

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.    (Proverbs 23:7)

Words are how we express both our faith and our doubts.  The verbal expression of our faith or of our doubts reinforces them.  We are becoming more persuaded of the veracity, or truthfulness, of our faith or of our doubts each time we repeat them.  Words are tools of persuasion and reassurance.  Even the repetition of a lie can sometimes reassure despite its lack of truth.  We must never underestimate the power of repetition.  Inward thoughts have a way of becoming outward realities. Our thoughts are the seeds of the harvest of our future experiences.  Bad thoughts are bad seeds.  If we are tired of the current harvest of our experience we must change the way we think, the inner-conversation, which will change the way we speak audibly.  This includes thoughts of regret.  Regret of the past is the thief of present joy.  Regret is the unspoken admission of the ongoing authority in our lives of a past event.  It is the tacit acknowledgement of its ability, and right to continue to dominate our thinking and feelings, and so to run and ruin our lives.

Those who have been born again have been absolutely forgiven and cleansed of all sin and have no past to regret.  All that remains is a memory of something that no longer has substance and a real right to exist.  It remains for every believer to fully embrace the finality and absoluteness of Christ’s cleansing and forgiveness in their life, and not to give dominance to that which has already been erased and defeated.[4]

Whenever a temptation registers in our minds, its mission is to win our voice in order to win our vote. Its aim is to entice us to agree that its persuasive appeal to our five senses is irresistible.  Its desire is to blind our minds to spiritual reality, the reality of the truth of God’s word and the triumph of Christ’s sacrifice, so that what is ours in Christ and who we are in Him seem vague and irrelevant in the face of the present assault!  But God has given us a way of escape, not to flee, as in running from, but to confront and overcome by being fully persuaded and identified with the victory of Christ on our behalf.[5] The voice of joyful faith is our strongest weapon in the confrontation of every seeming contradiction to our total victory.

So, if we will vote together with the voice of God and not with the voice of the stranger in temptation, if we will throw in our lot with the One who loves us, we will experience the blessing of God’s government in our lives.  If we will not, our life is bound to be miserable and it will not be God’s will nor will our misery be God’s fault.  In life, pain is inevitable, but misery is still optional.

Intertwining with this temptation, agreeing with it or acknowledging it, ignites and adds further fuel to its poison, whether it be sickness, sin, disappointment or frustration or shame! Agreeing with it will strengthen its effect.

The agreement of your inner voice, your inner conversation is so pivotal to the strategy of the enemy that he cannot accomplish his goal without your aid.  He is not all-powerful, no matter how strong or strongly he may represent himself.  You can only become the victim of your own choosing.  Victim-hood cannot be thrust upon you.  It can only be yours by your personal consent.

A continued refusal or rejection of the ideas inserted by temptation means that the fight is still on.  Agreement with it means that the fight is over and you have lost.  To agree with the enemy is to set the seal on your defeat.  The strategy of the enemy is to drive a wedge in your mind between your thoughts and God’s thoughts.  To have your mind set at variance to His.  Having a mind at enmity with God’s mind is the source of all depression, disobedience and death and, as the Scripture says, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.[6]

One of the biggest lies any contradiction to your new nature or the promises of God for your life could try to sell you is the idea that what you are going through is something quite unique, and that there is no way out. The reality of your conviction of the truthfulness of the unquestionable victory of Christ on your behalf, and your inclusion in his triumph over all the power of the enemy will inspire and fuel your conversation, inwardly and outwardly. Your words are your “strategy and power for war.”  It is because of this that Satan constantly wants to play down their effectiveness in our minds and make them seem like empty foolishness.  Hear Satan’s boast and challenge in the voice of the enemy of Israel:

"Then … (the king of Assyria’s chief spokesman) said to them, "Say now to Hezekiah (the king of Israel), 'Thus says the great king (he will always boast of his presumed power in any given situation), the king of Assyria, "What is this confidence that you have? {5} "I say, 'Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.' Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?" (Isaiah 36:4-5)   Words in brackets are mine.

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The devil’s contention is that our strength and strategy for victory are “only empty words.”  We do well to remember that the devil has no vested interest in ensuring that we have no delusions in our lives.  He has never been an agent of truth.  However, we do not live to placate his concerns nor to satisfy or validate his misgivings about what we are doing.  His are the words of a deceiver.  If he says our words are not strength and strategy for war, you can rest assured that they are and that he fears our use of them.  Why else the big fuss?  Why else this constant attempt to discourage or silence our words of triumph in Christ?  The devil knows it and we know it also.  Our confession is everything where victory is concerned and we will not be silenced.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

What an awesome promise, what a misunderstood principle!  You can confess your sins until the cows come home and it will not result in freedom or victory in your life; not even the feeling of forgiveness that the heart of man so desperately craves after.  If confession of sins were the basis for forgiveness, then only those with perfect memories, and faultless recall of their failures, would make it into heaven.  Thankfully such is not the case, so you can put down your pen and stop making your list.

The Bible word “confess” does not have the limited modern meaning of “admit to sin.”   It is far deeper than that.  It means, “to profess” and “acknowledge.”  The word is a combination of two words in the Greek, meaning “the same” and “computation or reasoning.”   The word “confess” in the Greek, homologeo, is broken up into two parts.  Homos means, “the same” and lego means, “to speak or reason.” The full composite meaning is, “to think the same and compute (calculate) and reason the same and so to speak the same thing,” as God.  It means to think, compute and reason about things the same way God does, and therefore to say the same things about them as God says.

We must say, compute and reason the same thing about our sin that God says.  This means not merely admitting to sin, but confessing what God has to say about our sin through his justice and his mercy already extended to us in Jesus Christ.  This is not merely telling God about our sin, but affirming our faith in God’s remedy for our sin in the person of Jesus Christ.  Those who have only told God about their sin need to also begin to tell their sin about their God.  This is the power of identification or association.  We identify or associate with Christ’s victory through our words, which express our faith.  Our faith filled confession is not in the fact that we have sinned, but in the fact that Christ has died for us and has fully paid the penalty.  Only this deliberate and verbal association of our lives with Jesus’ victory and success can bring the real sense of cleansing required by the one who wishes to draw near in unbroken fellowship with God.

The Bible is a record of God’s thoughts concerning us.  We have the thoughts of God in the Bible in print form.  This is God’s invitation for us to think divine thoughts, to think his thoughts after him[7], so that we may experience a greater life, the Greatest Life.  The abject sense of powerlessness that often pervades our lives will be dispelled through the power of thinking God’s thoughts together with Him[8].  There is awesome power in this convergence of minds, the agreement of our thoughts with God’s thoughts.  This is the foundation to all intimacy and divine provision.  Having his thoughts as the inner conversation of our lives connects us to limitless resources and power to overcome, no matter what.  As Solomon also observed:

Where the word of a king is, there is power…   (Ecclesiastes 8:4 KJV)

Only when the word of the King is given its rightful and intended place is the power of the king experienced and felt.  It is not those who know the truth, but those who abide in it and let it abide in them that are truly free.

4. ABIDING IN THE WORD RESULTS IN POWERFUL PRAYER

If the word of the King abides in us, as the Scripture says, we may ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us.  In the authority of the word of a king, representing his stated will, even the most humble among us may act with boldness and with power.  We may boldly live every act that is sanctioned by Divine Royalty.  We may boldly live and communicate aloud whatever is specifically endorsed by God in his word.  Such confidence springs from more than just guesswork or empty wishfullness.  It springs from knowing that it is the word of a King, the King Himself, and that he has the power on earth to enforce his will which is his Word. A king may say whatever he wants and his lawful subjects are compelled to act upon whatever he says. The king’s word is law and it is the power that upholds the kingdom.  It is the means by which his authority and his will are communicated.  Jesus said it this way:

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.   (John 15:7)

This is more than just power; this is an invitation to a super-natural life.  When my thoughts and God’s thoughts match seamlessly so as to be in perfect unity, prayer becomes truly effective.  My wishing (literally, what I determine) being schooled by God’s word, becomes the foundation of answered prayer.  Through thinking God’s thoughts in his word, my will and God’s will become truly one.  We are in perfect agreement and I truly walk with God and more than that – I walk like God in this world.  When the word of God abides in a man’s heart his speech is affected and he speaks with divine authority.  Speaking the word of God means that the will of God is expressed through my lips.  God’s word, in the lips of faith is just like he himself speaking.  Is this not the cry of every man’s heart that is born of the Spirit of God, to be like Jesus?  Through abiding in the word of God I experience Divine empowerment.  I say things the way God himself would say them.  I sound like my Father.  My expectation is adjusted to the will of God.  I anticipate eagerly God’s will to be seen in my life and I speak his will as the powerful fact that it is.  Prayer that gets results must be prayer that speaks the will of God in words inspired by the word of truth that I abide in.  This is real prayer; this is real power.  Less than this would be aimless mumblings void of promise and loaded with self pity.

5. MEDITATION OF THE WORD – THE SECRET TO JOSHUA’S SUCCESS

This promise for successful prayer is not unique to the New Testament.  Even in the book of Joshua we find God’s promise for success linked to letting his words dwell in us richly.

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”  (Joshua 1:8)

Joshua was told to meditate in the word.  The Hebrew word for meditation has as one of its meanings, to murmur or to mutter under one’s breath.   Essentially, this is talking to one’s self in a soft yet audible voice.  Unlike Eastern meditation, where the mind is emptied of all thoughts and is placed in neutral, Biblical meditation is where the mind is actively filled with the word of God and his word is the subject of our speech with others[9], but especially in this instance, with ourselves.  This again reinforces the fact that it is what we say to ourselves that is the single most important factor for success in our lives.

The principle is clearly stated.  Meditating in, that is, repeating to yourself, the word of God, day and night, makes your way prosperous and successful.  The repetition of the words “your” and “you” show us whose responsibility it actually is to take a hold of success.  It is ours!

If we do not fail to do our doable part, God will do His.  If the above verse is true, and it is, then not meditating in the word of God would obviously be grounds for failure.  This would not be God withholding things from us, but us failing to lay hold of things that are given.  God would not be able to violate his clearly set forth principle and bless us if we refused to abide in his word.

Joshua was about to take over the leadership of the nation after the death of Moses.  Moses had been a spiritual giant of a man and he was a tough act to follow.  What was the secret of his power and success and what would be Joshua’s secret for success? Would it be personality?  No, God founds success on his word and is no respecter of persons.  The instruction to Joshua is that the Word should permeate the whole of our conscious being and should be the focus of our thoughts both day and night.  Our thoughts become the inspirations for our speech and that determines the direction of our lives.  Like Joshua, you have in your hands the key, what will you do with it?

6. WORDS, THE RUDDER AND PILOT OF YOUR LIFE

James writes and tells us of the awesome impact of our tongues upon our lives.

“For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. {3} Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well. {4} Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. {5} So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.”  (James 3:2-5a)

Amazingly, James begins by telling us that, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, He is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”  If we are seeking perfection in our experience, clearly the key lies in our lips. We stumble in what we say before we stumble in what we do.  We are tripped up by our mouths long before our feet repeat their mistake.  An unruly tongue will rule over an unruly life,[10] no matter how well intentioned one may be.

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)

Behold how powerful and far reaching is the deception of the unbridled tongue.  It reaches to the very core of our beings; it deceives even our own hearts.  Unruly lips distract us from the true desires and feelings of our innermost being which are to worship and glorify God.  These godly impulses are crusted over to the point of apparent insensitivity through the constant empty prattling of unruly mouths.  They deceive and obscure the reality of even their own hearts.

Some may believe that any experience of the desire to do something is proof of who they really are.  The person who has homosexual desires sees these desires as proof of his/her homosexuality and that the only proper course of action is to pursue these desires because their desires are indisputable “evidence” of what they are.  They reason, “I desire, so I must be.”  Those who reason this way, that their feelings are what legitimizes their actions and give them their identity, ought to think about those who have strong desires to beat up their wives or other people.  There are those who desire to steal, to kill and to gossip, and these desires may even seem to be uncontrollable at times, but that does not make them right.  They may even claim to have been born with these desires.  But there is no way that we as the church can agree that acting on these desires is a legitimate expression of the life of Christ within the believer.  Desires spring from thoughts and words interrupt and change thoughts so that desires may change.  Those who are dealing with strong, seemingly almost uncontrollable desires, must change the way they think before they may change the way they feel.

The Christian looses his sensitivity to God through his mouth but he may regain it the same way he lost it, by saying what is Scripturally true of him and not just what his body feels at any given moment.

The key to bridling even the whole body is our mouth.  According to James, carnal lips precede a carnal life.  To keep your life, you must learn to keep your mouth.

“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”  (Proverbs 13:3)

In the Second World War one of the watchwords of the day was, “Loose lips sink ships.”  For us, loose lips sink lives, especially our own.  If we can take control of our mouth, we can take control of our lives.  The way to exercise the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is to quite simply to “shut your mouth and trust God.”  An out of control mouth is the sure sign of an out of control life.  With our mouth we “direct our entire body.”  No part of our flesh is outside of the scope of the power of our lips.

We have an awesome tool, to cause ourselves trouble, to bring ourselves harm, or to steer our lives into God’s full will for us.  Through our mouths we control our whole body together with its passions and desires.  Our lips govern our thoughts.  For, we cannot think against what we are currently speaking, forever.  Our lips can and will direct our thought lives.  We can direct our minds with our mouths.  We can interrupt undesirable thoughts with the pure statement of God’s word with our lips.  We have in our mouths the God given opportunity to “direct our entire body.”  Grab hold of this!

Despite the strong winds of circumstances and the contrary currents of life, we are not at the mercy of our surroundings nor of our circumstances, though these may buffet the boat, with our tongue we may yet direct the ship of our life “wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.”  It is time for you to step up and be the pilot!  Your ship is rolling in the sea with flapping sails going downwind fast.  It is the inclination of the tongue that sets the direction and not the prevailing winds or currents or violent weather, but only if this influence is exercised.

Our tongue is the pilot of the ship of our lives.  A skilled pilot is not only able to avoid shipwreck, but also to bring the ship into the desired port.  Through the correct use of our tongue we navigate safely the many shallows and pitfalls in our lives that seek to sink or maroon us.  It is the job of the pilot to steer the ship into a safe harbor.  It is the job of the pilot to take his queue from the navigational constants of compass and charts and not to go by feelings or even by sight.  So too we must steer by the navigational constant of the word of God.

When our tongues are instructed by the word of God as to what they should say, and not by our feelings or current experiences, then we start to walk in victory.  Victory is in your mouth and so is defeat.  The power of joy or depression is in your lips.  You can ignite, sustain, increase or loose your motivation for life with what you say with your lips.

It is with our lips that we make final the surrender of our lives.  The certainty of every commitment is made clear with our lips.  We speak words of defeat before we finally surrender or succumb to our problems.  Or it is with our lips that we begin to fight back despite our misgivings and feeling of inadequacy.  Our tongues determine the whole course of our lives.  Our words change wrong attitudes and strengthen the right ones.  Our words strengthen our resolve and secure our determination to win. Through our lips we may speak our fears and misgivings about our tomorrows or we may speak the promise and desire of God for our lives accurately set forth in the Bible.  Whatever we perpetually say with our lips becomes set in our minds.  Set thoughts produce sustained emotions that give rise to corresponding actions which result in habits that set the course of life.  We cannot un-think our thoughts, we must replace them.  Change your thinking by changing your saying.

"He kisses the lips who gives a right answer."

(Proverbs 24:26)

This is a truly interesting verse.  At the risk of seeming to teach you how to kiss, let me make a few observations.  When someone gets ready to kiss they get their cue from what the other person’s lips are doing.  The slightest hint of  a pucker, is the indication that you must pucker up also.  Those who would kiss, must form their mouths to correspond to the mouth of the one they are to kiss.  There must be compatible agreement in the shape of their lips, or it will not be a kiss, but something else entirely different and very unsightly.

To every great challenge and question in life there is a right and a wrong answer.  God wants us to form our lips with the words that are in agreement with the form of the words on his lips.  When we express the same shape of the words on his lips, we truly kiss his lips.  To kiss the lips is one of the truest indications of intimacy and affection and it is one way we may express our affection toward God.  Let us kiss him again and again by saying the same things with our mouths that he does with his.

7. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING ABOUT JESUS WAS HIS WORDS

Though we are never given a physical description of Jesus anywhere in the Gospels, we are given people’s reactions to Jesus’ words.  “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks,” (John 7:46) was the outstanding and lasting impression people had about Jesus.  Even in his death, it was the way Jesus spoke that brought the battle hardened, unsentimental centurion in charge at the cross to exclaim, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

In a land full of religious teachers and zealots and false prophets, there was one thing that stood out concerning Jesus.  It was his bold confidence in the words he spoke.  He spoke as a man persuaded.  He spoke as if what he said came directly from the throne of God, and it did.  “And they [all the people who heard him] were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.”  (Luke 4:32)

Not only were they amazed at Jesus’ words and authority alone, these characteristics rubbed off onto his disciples also, “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”  (Acts 4:13)  This attitude of speaking with authority must rub off on us also if we are to faithfully represent Jesus.

“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.  And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”  (John 12:49-50)

8. THOSE WHO BELIEVE WILL SPEAK

“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; {10} for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

According to the book of Romans, we may believe all we want, but it is only that believing which inspires speaking, or confession, that results in salvation or deliverance.  Believing alone will not cut it.  Speaking alone will not cut it.  But faith that speaks what it believes will give the desired results.

The watchwords of the Reformation from the year 1517 onwards were, “sola fide,” faith alone!  But the Bible has much to say about this saving, delivering, and healing faith[11].  The parents of the man born blind that Jesus healed in John chapter 9, were convinced of the miracle power of Jesus Christ and that he was the Promised One, but that was as far as it went for them.  They refused to say it with their mouths.

When asked who had done this miracle, they did not use the opportunity to say what they believed, but they instead passed the buck.  They said, “‘Ask our son, he is old enough to speak for himself.’  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” (John 9:22)

Notice that the Jews didn’t mind what people believed silently, but what they were willing to say was of great concern to them because it indicated a real faith.  What they believed quietly could be safely ignored. But what they were willing to say – now that was dangerous.  That had to be stopped at all costs.  That could not be allowed to be spoken.

John continues this same emphasis later in his Gospel in John chapter 12.  Again we find people believing, but as the context implies, it was not saving faith because it lacked a confession.  “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”  (John 12:42)  The threat of being ostracized, excluded from the crowd was sufficient to silence most of them.  They rethought their conviction and because they dared not speak it, it died unborn.

Faith that does not speak is faith that will not work.  It is faith dormant, faith inactive and faith powerless.  The uninterrupted inner conversation of our full conviction will always produce an irresistible verbal expression.  This was the testimony of a convinced Peter and John, even when threatened by the authorities to keep silence.  They could not keep quiet,  “…We cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.”  (Acts 4:20)  This is the very same “spirit of faith” spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4:13.  “But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore also we speak.”  (2 Corinthians 4:13)

“For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

Notice in the verse above that it is the confession of the mouth that results in salvation.  Through the agreement of the mouth with what is believed in the heart, comes the reality of the experience.  The heart and the mouth must agree.  What the heart truly believes will be expressed through the mouth.  What the mouth refuses to stop speaking the heart will eventually believe.  What the mouth will not speak is what the heart does not truly believe, is only marginally persuaded of, or is soon to give up on.

This principle for receiving is not only true when it comes to receiving salvation alone, but is true for all our receiving from God.  The maxim, “Confession equals possession” is undoubtedly true.  The man who will not speak what he believes does not truly believe it.  It is the hint of life, but it is not yet life.  It holds promise but it is not yet a possessor.  “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips.”  (Proverbs 16:23)  If a man’s heart cannot persuade his own mouth how is such a man persuaded?  How does such a man have faith?

9.  WE ARE SET APART BY GOD’S WORD

When the whole nation of Israel was conscious of their destiny and the unchanging blessing of God upon them there was no curse that could work against them.  No curse that could interfere with their future success and unmitigated blessedness.  No threat of mishap or word of man that could dislodge them from their inheritance.  God’s word, God’s promise, dominated their daily lives.  They were focused on what God had to say about them as a nation.  There was neither observable misfortune nor trouble among them, but what is more, as Balaam observed,  “…the shout of a king is among them.”  (Numbers 23:21)

What set them apart was not that they were untroubled and blessed.  What set them apart were the kind of words that held true authority in their lives.  They were truly sanctified, set apart by the word of truth – the words of a King – the words of the only King.  And when his words were among them, his rule and authority and will were felt in their midst.  It was not present in the half persuasion of a whisper.  It was there in a full throated shout.  The sound of absolute confidence and authority.  His word in their mouths made them different, set them apart from all the rest of the nations round about.  Our words have the power to do the same.

Jesus prayed and said,

“Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.”

(John 17:17)

It is the thoughts of God, his very words in the lips of a man that enables him to walk in the purifying influence of the truth.  David had asked how a young man could keep his way pure and the answer he found was,

“Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against Thee.” (Psalms 119:11)

However, the purpose for laying the word up in your heart is so that it may be ready upon your lips and result in bold and positive statements that reflect the fact that God is ruling and reigning in the affairs of those who put their trust in him.

“Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; {18} For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips.”

(Proverbs 22:17-18)

What a promise:  “It will be pleasant if you keep them within you.”  Who of us does not desire pleasantness?  But we must keep them within us.  We must “apply our minds” to God’s knowledge.  This is not he knowledge of God but what God himself knows!  What is in God’s mind.  We may know what is in his mind by reading his word.  But the end result is not just that his thoughts are within us but that they should be “ready on your lips.”

Those who willing affirm the truth, stand firm.  The rest are tossed about by every chance wind.  They check the weather before they speak.  They consult the circumstances and adjust their words accordingly.  They are reporters of facts and not declarers of truth.  God has made your mouth for far nobler words than that.  He made your mouth for lofty words, great soaring promises, that will dominate eternity no matter how threatening the puny railings against them of the present challenges may seem to be.  God seeks mouths who will align themselves with the eternal and unchanging truth.  Men of fiber and men of substance.  Men who are out to change the world and not to conform to it.  Men who have little time for the frailty of the present assaults of the contrary facts, but instead have their vision firmly fixed on the eternal unchanging truth that looms big on the horizon and will dominate all challengers.  Men with heartfelt, heaven inspired words who live eternity in the present and do not shrink back.  Men who live as big, because they speak as big, as the God who spoke all things into existence.

10. THE CERTAINTY OF OUR WORDS

The modern day lack of certitude about anything to do with God and the Bible produces no bold or persuaded speech. The idea that the Bible is only the general will of God and not God’s specific will for all men, regardless of what time they happen to live in, has relegated much of the Bible’s promises to a time already gone by.   This pervasive sense of uncertainty, expressed by large parts of the church, is the child of our modern day so-called “humility.”  We are lead to believe that bold speech is to be equated with arrogance and that it is not godly to speak in this way.  However, we do not find this uncertainty of attitude in the apostolic experience, but instead we find the very opposite.  One outstanding fact about the apostles was that they were very bold.  Which means this modern invention of so-called “humility” is not an authentic expression of Christianity. It is a modern invention of men who are submitting to the spirit of the age and it is a deviation from the authentic faith once delivered to us.

It is not presumptuous for us to boldly state with our lips what the hands of those who were moved by the Holy Spirit have already written.  It would be presumptuous to speak otherwise.  To boldly speak what comes from the mouth of God is both honorable and honoring to God.  What did Jesus die for if it was not to deliver us from our uncertain position under the law and to bring us into a place of rock solid certainty?   If the promises were made more certain through Jesus[12], why would we settle for wavering and uncertain speech in claiming and proclaiming them?  Has the passage of time dulled Jesus’ ability or willingness, or is he still the unchanging God?  When God makes it clear what he wants to do he also makes it clear that that purpose is an inviolable constant.  Anything less than this could not evoke faith in anyone.  Nobody could lean their whole weight upon and place full reliance in anything that was even remotely uncertain.  All uncertainty must disappear in the face of a certain God. God himself has gone to great lengths to persuade men of the certainty of his promise.  The God who cannot lie has even submitted to the method which inconsistent men use to pledge their faithfulness.  God too has sworn an oath concerning his promises as if his character alone were not enough to ensure his unchanging faithfulness.

“In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath.”

(Hebrews 6:17)

And again as if that alone were not enough…

For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes….  (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Our religion is not one of maybes.  We have left that old religion behind.  Let us therefore abandon it once and for all in our thoughts and in our speech also.

For this reason it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants...

(Romans 4:16)

The promise is certain to all the descendants who are such by faith.  That means you and me and all who call upon the name of the Lord.  Let us with our speech lay claim to what we have already embraced with our heart.  Let us not deny it or reflect any lack of conviction in our voice to pacify others lack of persuasion.  They must rise to your level for you will not sink to theirs.  Let them know that unbelief is a choice, and let them know that you have chosen otherwise. As one great American statesman and president once said, “Never for a moment have I had one doubt about my religious beliefs.  There are people who believe only so far as they understand – that seems to me to be presumptuous and sets their understanding as the standard of the universe.”  — Woodrow Wilson.  God’s promise and not our understanding governs our universe.

11. THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REDEEMED

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,

(Psalms 107:2)

It is the primary responsibility, the very first responsibility, of the redeemed to say that they are in fact redeemed.  There can be no real change in life or thanksgiving prior to such an acknowledgement.  There is no real faith that will not make such an acknowledgement.  If we believe, we must speak, and the entire world cannot keep us silent.

As we have noted before, what we say with our mouths spotlights our faith’s focus and reinforces and reassures us of its validity and truthfulness in the midst of many contrary voices.  What we say with our mouths puts the spotlight on our faith-filled expectation, even while we are yet in a dark place.  In this way our mouths become a tool or an accessory for faith and focus our attention on the answer, which is where the victory lies.   Your mouth may be an accomplice for doubt and defeat or a supporter and encourager of your faith.  The choice is still yours.  The choice is always still yours, as long as you have breath in you.

We are to speak what we believe and not just what we are able to perceive with our five senses.  We walk by faith and not by sight.  Some have interpreted this as denying the obvious.  But the Christian does not deny what he can see; he affirms what he cannot see.  And he affirms that what he cannot see is far greater than what his physical eyes are able to detect.  Again, faith is not calling things that are as though they were not, but it is calling things that are not as though they are.  The focus is not in denying the problem, but in affirming the solution in the very face of the insistence of problem that it is the final reality.  In fact, what we see is temporary, what we do not see is eternal.  We affirm through our words the final, enduring reality not the current, temporary one that we can see. In this way we agree with God.  Just as the Scripture itself says:

… God, who … calleth those things which be not as though they were.   (Romans 4:17 KJV)

… Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."

(Joel 3:10)

Those who feel weak (and who of us doesn’t at times?) are not to allow that feeling to dominate their conversation.  The above verse is a commandment and not a good suggestion.  Without violating those who have weak consciences too much, let us make it plain, to speak otherwise than what you have been commanded to speak, is a sin.  If we only ever agree with the way that things are or with the way that we feel, how is that faith?  Faith is embracing unseen realities with our hearts, and with our lips, despite contradictions.  Even in the midst of weakness, we are not weak.  Those who have embraced Jesus may feel weak, but they are never so in reality.  What is felt or what is merely visible to the naked eye, is never the final word concerning the believer.  Listen to what Paul himself says on this subject…

… For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Corinthians 12:10)

12. SPEAKING WHAT YOU WANT, NOT WHAT YOU HAVE

Let us look at an interesting account of the story of Elijah and the woman from Shunem who, after having received a child by a miracle, had just watched him die after he came in from working in the field complaining of a headache.  She had held him on her lap until he had died in her arms.  Then she arose and went to get Elijah to raise the boy from the dead.  Here follows the rest of the story:

So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came about when the man of God saw her at a distance, that he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, yonder is the Shunammite. {26} "Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" And she answered, "It is well." {27} When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, "Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me."   (2 Kings 4:25-27)

Note the woman’s remarkable response in verse 26!  When given an opportunity to say what was wrong, she instead affirmed what she believed rather than what she had just experienced.  She practiced the same boldness of speech she observed in the prophet who spoke[13] those years before and which words had resulted in the birth of a son. Now she speaks what she does not currently have but what she believes belongs to her.  She speaks it as if it were her current possession, even though it has just been cruelly ripped from her.  Can we not do the same?  Did Elijah rebuke her for lying?  No! The results of her actions speak for themselves.  God calls such speech faith and not delusional activity.  [By faith] “Women received back their dead by resurrection…” (Hebrews 11:35)

The woman who had a hemorrhage that she had suffered from for twelve years is another great example of this unshakeable faith that gets results.

And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; {21} for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I shall get well." {22} But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." And at once the woman was made well. (Matthew 9:20-22)

She was saying to herself…  and what was she saying to herself?  These were not complaints of suffering or of self-pity, though who would begrudge her that?  These were not statements of resignation or hopelessness.  These were bold affirmations of expected, positive results.  She did not say them just once and then give up.  The verb “saying” is in the present continuous tense and may be translated as “incessantly saying.”  When she heard about Jesus she incessantly said, “I shall get well.

Twelve years of suffering and hardship could not overrule her confidence in Jesus.  The history of her disease did not outweigh the reality of Jesus ability, neither in her heart nor in her mouth.  Yes she was desperate, but far more importantly, she was convinced, and her mouth reflected that conviction.  Jesus called that faith.  He told her simply, “Your faith has made you well.”  Your faith in Jesus’ finished work can and will make you well also.  If it worked for her, it will work for you.  God is not a respecter of persons.  He has no favorites.  He is fair and he is consistent.  If her faith worked for her, your faith will work for you.  If you use the same ingredients and the same method, you will have the same cake, the same end result, every time.

Jesus himself used peculiar words when describing impossible situations.  Some may interpret these words of his as a denial of the problem, but we know that it was the affirmation of a higher reality than what was currently visible that fueled his language.  Jesus was focused on the permanent, unseen and unchanging realities when he commented on these situations, and yet both his disciples and his critics alike misunderstood him.  They thought that he was either ill-informed or mad.

Jesus’ words contradicted their assessment of the situation.  This much is obvious.  But what is not obvious is that Jesus was the only one in touch with reality here.  Jesus was not the one in denial.  He knew more about God and his power than he cared to know about the problem.  I have highlighted the following, seemingly outrageous, statements Jesus made prior to raising two people from the dead.  Those who criticized his words, his assessment of the situation and even his sanity, were unable to criticize his results.

“This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.” {12} The disciples therefore said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” {13} Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. {14} Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.”

(John 11:11-14)

“And when Jesus came into the official's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd in noisy disorder, {24} He began to say, "Depart; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.”  (Matthew 9:23-24)

When things seem dead and that there is no hope, Jesus is still the resurrection and the life.  Jesus never spoke of himself as being the resurrection and the life at some future date.  He was careful to state that he was whatever he was right now.  “I am the resurrection and the life.”  We can afford to say now, what we know will be true, no matter what, later.  And we can afford to say it despite the misunderstanding of our friends and well meaning people and the heartless criticism of our enemies.

It is because we are in touch with reality, unseen, but reality nonetheless, that we speak against circumstances.  Foolishness to some, but faith to us who believe.

13. GOD IS WITH YOUR MOUTH

When Moses was called upon to deliver his people out of bondage in Egypt, God gave him what at first seems to be a strange promise…

"Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say…"

"And you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do.   (Exodus 4:12,15)

God doesn’t say here that he will be with Moses, but God promises to be with Moses’ mouth.  Not only with his mouth, but also Aaron’s mouth and any mouth for that matter that has God’s words in them.  God is with your mouth, but only if your mouth is speaking what is in His mouth.  God will be with your mouth if your mouth will be with him.

The believer has a regenerated, saved spirit, but now we are challenged to have a saved mouth also.  A saved mouth is one that speaks God’s words.  It is possible, and occurs far too often, that people who are recreated in their spirits, still have unsaved mouths.  Not only those who use four-letter words have perverse mouths.  One of the meanings of “perverse” is “contrary.”  It is possible to have lips that are at odds with God’s purposes.  Lips that speak against and contrary to what God says.  These lips God also calls perverse or devious.  “Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put devious lips far from you.” (Proverbs 4:24)  For us to be useful to God, we must have his word ready on our lips.

“…If you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my spokesman.”

(Jeremiah 15:19)

Notice God’s command to the young man Jeremiah in the preceding verse.  To be God’s mouth, God’s spokesman, we must “extract the precious from the worthless.”  There is often too much mixing in our words.  Too much that is worthless in our conversation.  Too much that is a distraction from the power and victory of God on our behalf.  We talk defeat, disaster and destruction, poverty and death and joylessness.  When we speak like this we are not spokesmen for God but for the enemy.  Only those who are willing to extract the precious from the worthless, are his mouthpiece.

Many Christians have progressed from an unsaved mouth, but they still have a confused mouth.  There is no true sound of faith in their lips, but a conglomeration of both useful and worthless words.  As we have pointed out, the way to change our words is to change what is going on in our mind that inspires them.  It is only by thinking differently that we are enabled to speak differently.  The body will not come into obedience to those who are unwilling to control their lips by focusing their thoughts on the truth of God’s word.  Obedient lips precede obedient bodies.  If you cannot control your mouth, you cannot control anything.

Without a doubt, feelings are great motivators or de-motivators as the case may be.  What we must recognize is that we cannot control our feelings, but we can control our thoughts.  To feel differently, we must think and speak differently.  Feelings are the children of our thoughts and we can take control over our thoughts by the words we choose to speak as an act of our will.  Your emotions are in your mouth.  Your future emotions are in your mouth.  What you say will eventually influence the way you feel, no matter what you may be currently thinking.  Taking control of your life begins with taking control of your mouth.  Those whose lives are out of control have mouths that are out of control.  Just as Proverbs says…

“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3)

A loose tongue will be the heir of a defeated and unhappy life, every time.

14. THOSE BOLD STATEMENTS OF JESUS

Jesus always spoke very boldly of who he was, what he must do and where he was going.  These statements characterized his ministry and his commitment to fulfilling his purpose.  If he was to shrink back on boldly stating them, it is clear that he would quite probably shrink back on boldly pursuing them.  One of the outstanding things about Jesus was the way he spoke.  His critics remarked this about him: “…Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.” (John 7:46)  Confessing these same things about your life preserves your direction and purpose and strengthens you against setbacks and disappointments.

The following are some of the bold I am statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John:

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48)

“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever;” (John 6:51)

“I know Him; because I am from Him, and He sent me.” (John 7:29)

“I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

“I am He who bears witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me.”

(John 8:18)

Let us examine this last one somewhat more closely.  Do you bear witness of yourself?  And what is that witness that you give testimony to?  Does it agree with what God’s witness of you is or is it merely based upon your own feelings, experiences or circumstances?  Are you a faithful and truthful witness when you bear witness to yourself?  When the Pharisees asked John the Baptist who he was, “They said then to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”” (John 1:22)  There was plenty of opportunity for John to rehearse the facts surrounding his birth, the barrenness of his mother, the fact that his father was struck silent by an angel etc.  But, instead, he chose to reach to Scripture for his real identity.  He quoted Scripture and, “He said, ‘I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.’” (John 1:23)  John did not even reach to his amazing experience for his testimony but instead associated himself with what the Scripture said about him.

Let us ask the question again, “Are you a faithful and truthful witness when you bear witness to yourself?”  Or are your words misleading because they call God a liar and speak against what He says about you and has done in your life?  Look closer with us at the bold affirmations Jesus made about his own life.

“You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.”  (John 8:23)

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)

“I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he shall be saved,” (John 10:9)

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  (John 10:11)

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me shall live even if he dies,” (John 11:25)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me.” (John 14:6)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” (John 15:1)

“…I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

(John 16:32)

These bold affirmations are not to be viewed as evidence of a lack of humility in Christ.  Humility is rightly defined as an accurate assessment of your true identity.  This is not spiritualized egotism, but a faithful and appreciative assertion of who you are.  To deny who you are in the name of “humility” would be to insult, in the name of “humility” the one who is responsible for your position in Christ.  Humility before men is often unconscious blasphemy before God.  Especially when, in the name of humility, we speak against or belittle what God has done in us.

15. ALL CREATION HEARS AND RESPONDS TO GOD’S WORD

Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus, “upholds all things by the word of His power.” This should give us a better appreciation for his words.  The whole universe is held together and functions in an orderly manner through the sole instrumentality of his verbal command.  Nothing in the universe can resist his voice or rebel against what he has spoken.  They must all fulfill his verbal bidding and await his word of their final dissolution. “But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

(2 Peter 3:7)

Not only does all of creation fulfill his bidding, but also all of creation has been fashioned by his very words.  “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)  God’s word is the invisible stuff out of which every thing that is visible has been produced.  It is God’s word that fashioned it, it is God’s word that directs and sustains and upholds it, and it is God’s word that will ultimately dissolve it.  All creation is a slave in obedience to the Word of God.

“The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve, And strips the forests bare, And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”” (Psalms 29:9)

16. WHAT GOD SAYS IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE

The Old Testament gives us two great promises about the inevitability of every situation coming into line with the will of God.  No matter how long it takes, God’s will, His Word, will be the final and lasting reality.  Nothing can stop this if we cooperate with God and hold fast to His Word.

“So shall my word be which goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

(Isaiah 55:11)

“…“You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”” (Jeremiah 1:12)

God lives to make his word a reality in our lives.  He is ever alert to perform his promises to the full.  God will not let anyone of his good words fall to the ground concerning you.  Just as we know that God never sleeps, is never distracted and never forgets, we may know with full assurance that what he has said will be as he has said it, since he is the one who is watching over his word to perform it, and not some lesser servant or being.

Consider with me in the following verses the power of the word of God:

“And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank you that you heard me. {42} "And I knew that you hear me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that you did send me." {43} And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth.”

(John 11:41-43)

Jesus did not speak in a small and timid voice.  He was a man convinced.  Words of conviction are words of power.  Faith words are never soft and timid.  Jesus spoke, and even a dead man hastened to obey. Lord knows, he had a far better excuse than all of ours for his continued disobedience.  Jesus was conscious that God heard his words, always.  And if God heard them, even the dead could not fail to hear them also.  There was no begging in Jesus prayer life.  This would have been demeaning.  Not to him, but to the God who is eager to do great things.  Begging would have indicated that God is somehow reluctant, and we know that he is not.  So, let us not be those who use a low volume because we expect nothing and wish to hide below the radar screen by trying not to be too conspicuous.  Let us boldly speak what God has spoken.

And no resident will say, "I am sick".

(Isaiah 33:24)

This is an incredible promise.  Amazingly enough, the context is not that this situation will only prevail in the Millennial Kingdom, when Christ comes to reign for a thousand years, but in the current Kingdom of God.  The condition for this promise is found in the verses:

“He who walks righteously, and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain, And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; {16} He will dwell on the heights; His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him; His water will be sure.”  (Isaiah 33:15-16)

The context proves that this is not “in heaven one day” that the prophet has in mind here, since there is no “evil” in heaven to prevent our eyes from seeing and no “unjust gain” in heaven to reject.  The Scripture simply says, “And no resident will say, “I am sick”. (Isaiah 33:24)  This promise does not say that they will never be sick.  It simply states what they will say in the kingdom of God.  It is so important what we say.  Sickness, like sin comes with the temptation to give in to it.  “I am sick,” is a statement of defeat, of someone having given up.  Never speak words of defeat over your health or any other area of your life.  Speak words of life.  Even if you are sick, you are still the healed in Christ Jesus.  Speak words of victory.  Even if you are yet experiencing bondage, you are still the delivered of the Lord.  You are not living towards victory; you are living from victory.  Victory is already yours.  It is not earned, it is received and believed and spoken and therefore lived.

17. PROVERBS – INSTRUCTION FOR YOUR MOUTH

The Book of Proverbs is the great book of the power of the tongue.  It is filled with so many references to what we say and the effects of what we say.  The fruit of our words and the produce of our mouths are crucial to a fulfilled life.  The book of Proverbs says that they produce “satisfaction” and “enjoyment.”  There are many who have no lack of things but enjoy nothing or very little of what they possess.  With their lips they destroy their sense of contentment and enjoyment.  The permanently cynical, negative and fearful lipped person has no enjoyment in anything.  He talks himself out of any kind of satisfaction.  Though he has much, yet through his lips he lives in a vacuum as though he were devoid of all.

Read the promises again for the blessings of having a right mouth and not just right actions.

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a man's hands will return to him. (Proverbs 12:14)

From the fruit of a man's mouth he enjoys good, but the desire of the treacherous is violence. (Proverbs 13:2)

With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. {21} Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:20-21)

A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul. (Proverbs 18:7)

Let us look again at the preceding verse closely.  A man may do everything right and good, but his mouth will destroy all the expected fruit from the work of his hands.  His mouth becomes the ruin of him.  He may blame it upon others, but it is what he has said and not what they have said that is the problem.

With his lips he is self-defeating.  More than that, his mouth ensnares his soul.  He has brought himself into bondage with his own words.  The soul is the area of the mind, the will and the emotions.  It is also the area of our conscience.  Our lips ensnare or paralyze our minds, or they release our minds.  Our conscience is not an instrument of truth, only the word of God is.  The conscience only functions based upon what it knows and what it believes.  If the conscience does not know the word of God, it will not back up the word of God in its pronouncements over our lives.  The conscience may condemn us even though we are forgiven and cleansed in Christ.  Only a conscience that has been educated in what the word of God says will be your friend.[14]

We cannot find an answer while we are talking defeat and destruction and death.  We lack time because we keep wasting time with saying, “I have no time.”  You may object that saying that you have time when you do not have time will not give you more time.  But consider this, saying that you do not have time will often obscure the places you could find time and the actions that would save time.  True, each of us has only twenty-four hours in a day, but isn’t it amazing how much more some people can do with their twenty-four hours than you can?  While we are speaking failure and destruction with our mouths there is no creativity that can spring forth because we are making our thought processes captive to a self-defeating mouth.  Similarly, our emotions are bound into depression by the same lips and our will is sapped of any kind of determination or strength leaving us directionless, without momentum, in the midst of a life-sapping problem with no hope of escape, and all we can do is walk around and affirm that there is no answer.  This should not be.

We may speak satisfaction and sufficiency over our lives even in the face of lack itself.  Things are not the source of enjoyment.  God is the one who gives us the ability to enjoy things.  We may enjoy what we have even if it seems too little to another.  We may rejoice in the fact that we have what we do have.  Appreciation does not come from how much we have, it comes from our attitude and nothing directs an attitude as much as the words we speak.

18. ACKNOWLEDGING GOOD THINGS

Faith’s effective expression is tied to the acknowledging of every good thing that is in us.  Some may feel that there is no good in them.  These should ask themselves if Christ truly indwells them.  If he does, they are full of all the fullness of God just as the Scripture says.  Hear Paul’s admonition to his good friend and convert, Philemon:

“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing, which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

(Philemon 1:6 KJV)

Conviction within the heart precedes the confession of the lips.  This we have determined at length already.  If you acknowledge failure and defeat in the interests of “truthfulness,” remember that to be truthful you must state what is real.  And what is real is what is enduring.  What is real is what you have left when everything else has disappeared.  What is really real is what is eternal.  All other things only appear real or pretend to be real for a time.  But there is no lasting truth in their pretense of reality.  Truth is found only in God’s perception of things.  Nobody else’s perception of any situation can be as free from error and as accurate as God’s conception of it. For the purpose of encouraging our faith, God’s assessment of us is accurately reflected in his word.  Only what God perceives to be true can be considered really real and lasting.  Truth is not in your current experience, not in your history, not in your feelings or circumstances   “… Truth is in Jesus,” (Ephesians 4:21) what he represents in us, and what he has done for us.

19. SLAYING GIANTS WITH YOUR MOUTH

The world says, “Never send a boy to do a man’s job.”  But, what if he only appears to be a boy and yet holds within his small frame the fullness of the divine stature of a man in covenant relationship with God?   What if his face says “pretty boy,” but in his heart there is the voice of a lion?  Can such a man lose to brute strength?  Can such a man be intimidated by the words of his enemy to the point of not even trying to overcome him?  Will such a man run away in the face of such a challenge, or blame someone else for it and excuse himself?  Not so with David.  Though most agree that David was only seventeen years old when he took on Goliath.  The children of Israel had listened to Goliath say the same thing, again and again, for the past forty days when David heard him make his boast.  Instead of cowering like the rest of Israel, he challenged the words of the accuser with the reality that they were the people who had a covenant with the Most High God.  And who was this uncircumcised man, a man ruled by the flesh, to say otherwise?

The strategy which Goliath used he had learned well:  intimidate your opponent by getting him to see himself the way you see him.  Paint a picture in his mind of his imminent defeat and its awful consequences.  Get your enemy to agree with your words and say them often enough so that he will begin to repeat them within himself.  This is exactly what Goliath did and what the devil still does to the children of God to this very day.

“The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” (1 Samuel 17:44)

The worst thing you can do at this point is to remain silent and to try to weather the storm.  You must respond to the hail of destructive words.  It is imperative that you speak.  You are permitted to talk back to the devil and anything that threatens to destroy you.  “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from me,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:17)

Goliath painted a picture of defeat but David painted a picture of victory and invoked the name and reputation of God, the covenant keeper, to fulfill it and not his own strength or skill.  David was not relying upon the arm of the flesh and the first place this showed up was in his words.

“Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. {46} "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, {47} and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

First the Philistine “said” but that was not the final word, then David “said!”  And, as we see in the next verse, “then it happened.”

“Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:48)

It was when David said it that the groundwork was done for his faith to be put into action.  What David said is what David ultimately had.  Of course there were those who criticized him.  Especially from his own brothers, but David said it anyway, because he knew and believed what he said was true, because he knew and believed what God had said about his covenant with him was true.  It was the covenant that fueled David’s expectation and not the circumstances.  He had a covenant driven mouth because he had a covenant filled heart.  The fearful soldiers that surrounded him had the same covenant.  They were part of the same nation with which God had made the covenant.  But they were not covenant minded people and the were certainly not covenant mouthed people.

David was propelled to greatness, not by skill, not by careful political maneuvering, but by his faith filled words.  He gained a kingdom and a name for all eternity, because of a heart full of the covenant of God and a mouth ready to speak it, even under criticism.  Greatness lies in our mouths also.  Our next great victory lies in our mouths.  A life changing, destiny defining victory lies in your heart and in your mouth, just like it did in David’s.  This is your moment to not cower with the masses in fear in your tent, to not run and hide, to not wish somebody else could face it and deal with it.  This is your moment to set the course of your whole future and the tool is the very words of your own mouth.

20. GOD’S COVENANT WITH OUR LIPS

Like David, God has also entered into a covenant with us.  A covenant is a sacred agreement, in which God promises to fulfill all his obligations in the deal, if we will fulfill ours.  God’s covenant is with our lips, just as the following verse says.

“And as for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever.” (Isaiah 59:21)

Here’s the condition of the covenant.  We will have all of God’s provision, delivering power and blessing if we hold fast to and do not let his word depart from our lips.  This is a small thing for us to do in order to secure such a great blessing and support.

Our mouths let things into our lives.  Our mouths can take things out of our lives.  Our mouth is the door to our lives. Your mouth inclines your heart to whatever it wishes.  No wonder the psalmist asked for God’s assistance in this area.

“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalms 141:3)

But these words are not just for our personal benefit, though that is where they must necessarily begin to have their first effect.  Even so, they are for a far wider audience and for a far greater effect.  God intends our words to bring heaven down to earth and to declare to people whom they rightfully belong to.  God through our mouths wants to establish a heavenly claim upon an earthly people.  All of mankind lies within the scope of the life changing ability of God’s word.

“And I have put my words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, 'You are my people.'” (Isaiah 51:16)

God is enlisting your mouth into his service.  He has called you to hear a clear sound so that you may make a clear sound of the truth with your own lips.  No more confusion or wondering.  Conviction, faith and life changing words!  Only the lips of the fully persuaded can fully persuade.

“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 SAYS shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he SAYS.” (Mark 11:23)

Mark assures us of the promise of Jesus, that we can “have whatsoever we say.”  Consequently, the converse will also be true, we will not have what we refuse to say.  The emphasis in these verses is clearly on saying.  The word(s) “say(s)” are repeated three times.  Not just saying, but believing what you are saying, will result in the desired end.  Many people say many things, but it is the things we say and really believe that have their effect in our lives.  Say – believe what you say – have whatsoever you say.  This is the simple formula to receiving given by Jesus in the above passage in the Gospel of Mark.

Prophets who had a grasp on this truth were used in great acts of power even in the Old Testament.

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’” (1 Kings 17:1)

Wow!  There will be no rain or dew unless I say so!  “except by my word.”  Now that is real boldness.  Elijah told them in effect, “Without my words, it isn’t happening.”  This was Elijah.  He was no spiritual giant.  James 5:17 tells us that he was subject to all the same difficulties and questions that we ourselves face on a daily basis.  He was not immune to contradictions and doubts.  These all came and attempted to overwhelm him.  When Jezebel was after him he did become depressed and wished that he could die.  But that is not what we want to focus on, his greatest failure, but upon his greatest success.  Elijah changed the climate of Israel by his words and would not let it go back to the regular influences of weather except by his word.  He did this as a man subject to the same passions as us.

We are not told in James that this was the product of a uniquely holy and powerful man, that has no equal in our times since he far exceeded all other mortals.  No, James is careful to explain that Elijah was a man just like us in every way, even to the point of having the same passions and weaknesses as we have.  James encourages us to have the same effects as Elijah had in our own lives by saying:

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16b)

If the clincher to this level of power is righteousness, let it be known, that through Christ we are partakers of unlimited righteousness, eternal righteousness.  Righteousness that is a better righteousness, than what we would have had if we had lived all of our lives without a single sin.[15]

Elijah got his cue from the little boy who heard God and grew into the greatest prophet of all Israel, Samuel.  This boy who had learned to hear God, grew into a man who was willing to speak like God.  Samuel wasn’t just accurate 80% of the time, but all of the time.  His secret was that he knew that he wasn’t speaking as Samuel, nor with Samuel’s resources, nor with Samuel’s ability, but with God’s.

“Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail.” (1 Samuel 3:19)

This fact is what inspired the future King Saul to go to him for help.

"And he said to him, "Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out."" (1 Samuel 9:6)

Perhaps you are objecting that you could also speak like that if you knew what God’s will was.  But you do know what his will is.  It is the same will that he has for heaven that he has for earth.  Do the words “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” ring a bell?  Does God have two separate wills?  One for heaven and another for the earth? He would not be one God if he did.  Every promise of God in the Bible is his will for us.  If it is promised in his word, it is his will or he would not have promised it in the first place.

The following verse was Joshua’s testimony, after they had entered the Promised Land and defeated its biggest cities, against seemingly insurmountable strength and impossible odds.  They accomplished the unthinkable and achieved what certainly looked like the impossible.  But listen to the heart of the conqueror revealed through these great words of faith, uttered through lips of gratitude, even at the end of his life:

“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)

Not one of them has failed!  What an awesome record of unimpeachable consistency!  Did Joshua have some special something that we do not know about?  Or did his stunning success have something to do with what he was directed to do at the very beginning of the book of Joshua?  I think so.  Let’s look at God’s instructions to him once again.

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”  (Joshua 1:8)

Joshua was to meditate in God’s word and then not to let that meditation depart from his mouth.  This would result in the success he and the whole nation needed and desired.  Some may say that it happened because it was the will of God.  But the Bible reveals an additional principle, and that is that it happened because a man was willing to believe it was the will of God, and to speak it out as being such, even when there were some glaring setbacks and threatening defeats on the way towards the fulfillment of that word.  It was not automatic success for Joshua.  He had to discipline himself for that purpose.  The word of God was his day and night focus.

Do I have to get up during the night to meditate on the promises of God?  Not necessarily, but when you are up at night because of the threat of great distress or loss and you cannot sleep, that is certainly the time to meditate on God’s words and not on the fears that the enemy is trying to insert into your brain.  Don’t let the word depart out of your mouth.  Meditate on the promises of God and then speak them boldly and fearlessly.  God is with your mouth.

21. JUSTIFIED AND CONDEMNED BY YOUR WORDS

Words will be our final proof of faith in judgment and will be the criteria by which we will be deemed acceptable or not to God.  It is by our words that we are justified.  The mouth that claims what Jesus did for him and is not and does not allow himself to be silenced in his confidence, this is the one who is justified.

“For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.”

(Matthew 12:37)

Jesus took this a step further and clarified it for us when he said:

“Everyone therefore who shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. {33} "But whoever shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

Jesus will say with his lips about us only what we have said with our lips about ourselves.  The margin literally reads: “Everyone therefore who shall confess in me before men, I will also confess in him…” This means that those who have with their lips claimed to be in union with Jesus, he shall claim with his mouth that he is joined inseparably with those who have said as much with their own mouths.

22. HOLDING FIRMLY TO OUR BOAST

The book of Hebrews lays out the principle of speaking throughout its chapters.  The recipients of the letter were about to give up their faith and the writer has written to them to encourage them to hold on.  They were about to throw away their “confidence.”  Interestingly enough, this “confidence” is a reference to the Gospel.  He calls the Gospel, their “confidence.”  But not only that, he calls their verbal response to the Gospel, their “confidence” and “boast of our hope” also.  Hear what he says to them,

“Christ was faithful as a Son over His house whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)

The word “confidence” comes from a Greek word meaning “all out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication assurance, boldly, boldness, boldness of speech.”[16]  This is an unadorned, uncompromising, unadjusted for present company, kind of speaking.  It is unrestricted speech.  It is frank, truthful, and even blunt and it is public and open, not hidden.  It is equated with being “the boast of our hope.”  Confidence is boasting about the future expectation that the finished work of Jesus inspires.  We are told to hold fast to this manner of speaking if we are to remain as beneficiaries of Christ’s household.  The writer to the Hebrews uses this word no less than four times in the book of Hebrews.  Here is another one of them,

“Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Note, please, that we draw near with “confidence.”  And, as we have seen, this confidence is verbal, public and unrestricted speech.  Christianity is not the old religion of uncertainty.  It is a bold and confident faith.  One which makes powerful and unashamed verbal assertions, which sound like madness to those yet unconvinced by Christ’s success on their behalf.  Notice that we are to draw near to God with this attitude.  Not with apology or self-conscious uncertainty, nor with fear and trepidation.  Those who pleadingly beg for mercy in their liturgy, because it is all too often viewed as a forlorn hope to be longed for but never to be really enjoyed, do not receive mercy and grace.  The writer in Hebrews tells us that it is only those who come with great boldness in their speech fueled by confidence in the finished work of Jesus Christ that truly enjoy mercy and grace in their lives.  The following two references both carry this same idea of unrestricted speech.

“Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.” (Hebrews 10:19)

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Hebrews 10:35)

It is noteworthy that this is the manner in which we enter into the Holy of Holies.  Not in silence or unsure hesitancy, but by a bold affirmation of Christ’s victory.  In addition we are told never to give this attitude up, knowing that it has a great reward.  It seems that the enemy would love to silence this boldness of our faith, to take the words right out of our mouths.  To cause us to withdraw and shrink back.  But the writer reminds us that there is a “great reward” for those who do not let this happen to them.  For those who will not lend their mouths to the voice of uncertainty.  If you throw away your confidence, your bold boast of the truth of what Christ has done for you, you will fail to enjoy your reward.  If the enemy can steal the boast of it from your lips he can steal the reward of it from your life.

Many Christians live marginally victorious lives because they only speak marginally victorious words.

23. GOD HAS SPOKEN SO THAT WE MAY SPEAK

“…For He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ {6} so that we confidently say, ‘the lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?’”

(Hebrews 13:5-6)

God has said so that we may say and that we may say it confidently.  The normal response of a faith filled heart is to say with our lips what God has said with his own.  The One who made the mouth has also given us the words that ought to be in it.  We speak the words that God’s promise promotes.  The words that fear calls for on our lips we choose not to let them see the light of day.  We are masters of our mouths and so we are masters of our lives.  We speak the words of our master.  If we speak the words of the enemy, he will master us.  If we speak the words of God he will be our master.  We honor his purpose for our lives with our lips.  Our words are a response to his words.  We choose not to respond to the words of the stranger, no matter how enticing he may make them.  We speak the Spirit given word that we may live the Spirit given life.  Just as the Scripture says,

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, {13} which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”  (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Spiritual thoughts, concepts and realities deserve spiritual words to express them.  The Holy Spirit has made known to us the things freely given to us.  We have not earned them; they are a gift given in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  We cannot pay for them; they are freely given. This is something to rejoice in.  But the Scripture goes on to say, “Which things we also speak.”  It is not enough to know what we freely have, we must speak what we know that we have.

What side of the Red Sea will you sing on?  Will you sing while the enemy is at your back and the sea is raging in front of you and you are surround by what looks like absolute hopelessness and inevitable defeat?  Miriam and the children of Israel sang when they were safely on the other side of the Red Sea after God lead them through as if they were on dry ground.  Perhaps you have told yourself that you too will sings and rejoice on the other side when you finally see the results; when you have all you have been waiting for.  But this is not faith, for even the faithless can sing when they experience deliverance and rejoice when they have the answers they have longed for.  It is noteworthy that although these came out of Egypt, out of their slavery, they were unable to enter into the land of promise that God had for them.  With most God was not well pleased except for two men, Joshua and Caleb.  All the rest perished in the desert.

But what of those who actually entered in?  They shouted before the walls of Jericho fell.  They raised up their voice and made a mighty sound of rejoicing before there was any evidence of Divine intervention and an answer as they faced the walled city of Jericho; impossibly high walls and no natural resources to overcome them.  When will you shout, before or after the walls of Jericho have fallen down?

24. PROPHESYING TO DRY BONES

“And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.” {4} Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ {5} Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. {6} And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’” {7} So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.” (Ezekiel 37:3-7)

It is clear from the above passage that God wants to use your mouth to accomplish miracles, to establish his will upon the earth.  Ezekiel tried to leave it all up to God when he answered the question with, “O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.”  But God would have nothing of such an attempted cop out by Ezekiel.  He made it clear that if it was to be, that it was up to Ezekiel’s obedience to speak God’s word, and not up to God.  If Ezekiel would not speak, then positively nothing would happen.  It is clear that he had to say what God would do before God did it.  It was not until he spoke the will of God in verse seven that things began to happen and that the dry bones became a mighty living army.

We are faced with many “dry bones” situations in life.  These are things that once lived.  Things that once thrived and enjoyed the blessing of God, but are now without any promise of life whatsoever, we must speak life back into them.  We are not to write them off.  We are to speak God’s will in his word to them.  Declare what the Scripture says over them.  If we will speak God’s will for them, we will see God’s will at work in them.  No matter how much of a long shot it might seem.  No matter how hopeless the prospects of those dry bones are in themselves.  They have a God who wants to quicken them.  Make them alive and restore them to their former greatness and glory.  Put back what has been decayed and eaten away by death and the passage of time.  Restore what was lost and resurrect what was dead.  And all of this he will accomplish through the words of an obedient mouth – your obedient mouth.

The call to us is for cooperation with God’s mouth in order to be his mouthpiece.  We cannot simply say as Ezekiel wanted, “O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.”  This will not do.  He has commanded us: “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’” The onus of responsibility is not on God; it is on us.  Like Ezekiel, we must speak, for He has already spoken, and if we do not speak it will not happen.  What awesome power he has entrusted to us to bless the world with the word upon our lips.  This is our calling and this is our privilege and this is our responsibility.

There are many “dry bones” in peoples lives.  Broken marriages, estranged relationships, prolonged illness, protracted disappointments, failures, unrealized opportunities, unsaved family members, financial lack, spiritual stagnation, hard heartedness and moral weaknesses are just some of the many.  But we may speak life back into all of them.

They will not come together all at once, but as we faithfully speak to them God’s word, they will start to come together, piece by piece and “bone to bone.”  Breathe God’s life back into them.  Say what God says they will be.  To merely describe their current condition requires no faith at all.  We are not called to be reporters of how things are, but enforcers of how God determines for them to be.  We must speak what they do not yet  look like, but what God intends, what God expects for them to look like.

This is bringing heaven’s will to bear upon earth.  It is enforcing a heavenly reality on an earthly challenge to that will, knowing that heaven will ultimately prevail.  Time is not our enemy.  The passage of time cannot make less powerful the word of God.  We know that when the fullness of time comes it is heaven’s will and not earth’s challenge to that will that will be standing tall and victorious.  Through faith, we live the future now.  Through faith our attitude springs from the ultimate victory and not from the present challenge.  We believe that the way things are is not sufficient authority for them to remain that way when confronted with the will of God in his unchanging word.

Through faith, we are demanding them to change.  We are demanding that they come into line with the will of God.  We serve notice on them that they cannot continue to rebel against the authority of the one who upholds all things by the “word of his power.”  We are bringing eternity to bear upon time.  We are focusing in on the timeless, the eternal and the temporary things don’t stand a chance.

25.    BECOMING SOBER MINDED

We are all surrounded by a multitude of events and situations that seek to become distractions.  The distractions that are the most effective, are the ones we submit to and give our minds to.  A distraction is only a distraction if we permit it to be one, otherwise it is just yet another event that fades into insignificance.  Only we can give it life beyond its moment.  Only we can permit it influence beyond its brief instant in time.  We are never victims.  We cannot stop everything that happens to us, but we always have the power to permit events to have influence or to forbid them to do so.  Our attitude is our weapon against every thing that seeks to dominate our minds and in so doing, to dominate our thoughts, influencing our feelings and our words and inspiring our actions.

Some thoughts are far more worthwhile than others.  They deserve our attention.  They deserve to be kept alive.  Some thoughts deserve no attention at all.  We decide what is valuable, and through the attitudes of thanksgiving or regret, we give our thoughts influence and longevity.  It is not lesser people who are neutralized or lose the battle of life, it is those who permit themselves to habitually think lesser thoughts.

As we have already noted, we cannot un-think our thoughts, but we can replace them.  There are more important things, more valuable things that can overwhelm the fascination of negative events and their ongoing influence.  I refer of course to the power of the grace of God revealed in Jesus supreme act of love even to a stubborn and rebellious world.  This truth alone contains within it the power to so captivate that it is the dominant influence in our lives.  We must of course focus our minds upon it and permit it to dwell in us.  Not living under the influence of the intoxicating thoughts of fear and negativity.  The message of mental sobriety is abundant in the New Testament.  We are admonished to keep ourselves sober.  Mental sobriety is a choice.

“Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13)

The above scripture begins with a “therefore,” which refers back to the previously stated motivation for a sober mind, the revelation of the grace of God brought to us in Jesus Christ.  This is something that angels eagerly long to look deeply into and understand.  This subject, which excites such a level of heavenly interest, ought to be high on our list of priorities of things to look into also.  Peter encourages us to gird our minds with faith in God’s absolute deliverance and unlimited success in Jesus Christ.  Anything less than such a truth will not be able to keep our minds girded up and ready for action.  Inaction is the result of an un-girded mind.  We are challenged to remove every impediment conceived in the mind and acted out in the body.

Peter challenges us to “fix your hope completely,” because a partial focus or mixed focus will not deliver the desired result.  Our mind must be so dominated with the reality of our redemption, our legal release from all guilt and condemnation and our freedom from all the power of the enemy, that our speech is saturated with faith.  This is what makes us ready for action.  Anything less than this leaves us paralyzed and ineffective, living as if Jesus had never died and dying as if Jesus had never been raised.  We were born for far greater things than this.

26. A RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED HISTORICAL CHALLENGE AGAINST AN EMPHASIS ON THE WORD OF GOD

This may seem like an unnecessary and perhaps even boring chapter, but I believe it will arm the reader with a powerful weapon against one of the most insidious attacks against an emphasis on the word of God within the modern church.  I present it therefore without apology, since I believe the best defense is a well armed offense.  The modern believer is assaulted with many contradictions and criticisms and needs to know why he believes what he believes.

Some have regarded our modern day emphasis on the reading of the word of God to be a recent and therefore unhistorical innovation since, as it is assumed, the majority of the early church was uneducated and therefore would have been illiterate, making such an emphasis impossible in the earliest centuries of the Church.

In stark contrast to the assumption that most people were illiterate, every Jew of the first century was taught to read the Scriptures by the age of 13, including Jesus.  This was regarded not only as a privilege, but as a religious duty to be conformed to.  Rabbi Ken Spiro says that the “Jews had literacy rates unheard of in the ancient world.”

The Jewish emphasis on the ability to read the Bible would have carried over to the first century Christians who were initially almost entirely Jewish. In fact, this emphasis on reading the Bible continues throughout the Epistles, making the Christians the most literate peoples of their day and consequently ideally suited to being in positions of government later, which they readily assumed, after the edict of tolerance by Constantine in 313 AD made them no longer outlaws within the Roman Empire.  Those who could not read would not have remained illiterate for long, though they could still hear the word read at church each Sunday by someone who could.  As we find in (1 Timothy 4:13)  “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.”

Literacy rates only plummeted much later in the late fifth century, when Rome was overrun by barbarian hordes and, as the reading of the Bible was increasingly reserved for a smaller group of the religious hierarchy and no longer for the common people. This change also coincided with the final disappearance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the early Church and a greater emphasis on works for salvation.  This latter neglect of the Bible also resulted in a rapid loss of spiritual power and truth within the Church.

Such was not the case though in the primitive Church.  The fact that the Bible was translated into common Latin and called the Vulgate (Latin for the “vulgar” or “common” people) by the late 300’s is further proof of this continued attempt at Bible literacy within the early Church.  The Vulgate Bible was partly revised (yes the first modern translation that sought to improve readability) and partly translated by Jerome in 382. It takes its name from the phrase versio vulgata, i.e., "the translation made public", and was written in a common 4th century style of Latin in conscious distinction to the more elegant literary Latin of the educated classes.  This was done for the simple purpose that it was intended for the everyday or common person to read and not just for the more highly educated few to read.

The workers of the Roman Empire, to whom the Gospel came, were also considerably more literate than what has first been thought.  The large amount of graffiti found at Roman sites such as Pompeii, shows that, at the very least, a large minority of the Roman population would have been literate.  Even among the ordinary laborers, people whose jobs did not require them to read, we find high percentages of literacy.  For example, of the 83 bits of graffiti found at one work site in Pompeii, these included the work of the architect Crescens, and most of his work crew for whom he acted as foreman.  There are even graffiti examples of gladiator’s being literate.  Since Pompeii was destroyed suddenly and unexpectedly by a volcanic eruption in AD 79, it is an accurate snapshot of the early life of the Roman Empire and its literacy rates.

Literacy is of little importance when there is nothing important to read.  Hence the dismal literacy rates during the dark ages when books were kept beyond the reach of the common man.  But when something as important as the printed New Testament came along, there would have been great motivation for literacy as more modern history proves.

In New England the literacy rate was over 50% during the first half of the 17th century.  Not bad for a primarily survivalist, pioneer people.  But it rose to 70% by 1710 when things got more settled and was up to around 90% by the end of that century.  This jump is explained as the natural effect of the Puritan belief in the importance of Bible reading.

Whether it was in Wales in the 1750’s, when the Welsh had the highest literacy rate in the world, because of the efforts of Griffith Jones, who wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible, or in Lutheran, Northern Europe, where the reading of the Bible was prized (especially when contrasted with Catholic, Southern Europe), literacy rates have always followed the concept of the importance of reading the sacred texts.

The idea that Christians of the first century would have had a lesser desire to read the Scriptures for themselves, and therefore would have been or remained largely illiterate, is preposterous, especially in the light of their conviction that the Bible was in fact “God’s Word.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13.)  This would have been the greatest incentive for them to become literate.  It is precisely this desire to read the word or at least hear the word read regularly that ensured an attitude that preserved so many handwritten copies of the Bible, despite great danger and rabid persecution of the earliest Christians and their letters.

There are over 40 000 hand written manuscripts of the New Testament currently in existence from this period alone.  This is an amount unheard of in any ancient literature.  And who can tell of how many manuscripts were destroyed or are yet lost?  It would not be a stretch to say that most of them did not survive and have been lost to us, but this is proof of what great numbers they must have originally existed in to ensure such a high number of survivors..  This should be proof enough to any outsider of the apparent “obsessiveness” of the early Christians with the written word of God and the level of importance ascribed to it by them.

This conviction has continued unabated throughout church history and thus it is found that whenever Christian missionaries arrived they brought with them learning and literacy to the peoples they sought to convert.  Even, as in one case in Eastern Europe, forming an alphabet out of Hebrew, Greek and Latin letters in order that their spoken languages could be read languages for the express purpose of reading the Bible.  Most notably in the case of saint Cyril, responsible for the conversion of Eastern Europe (circa AD 1000) and the founding of the “Cyrillic” or the Russian alphabet to fulfill the greater ideals of Bible literacy.

Perhaps the most truthful accounts of what is most important in our lives comes from our critics and not from our supporters.  It is notable, that the Muslim book, the Koran, reportedly written from 609 – 632 AD, refers to the Christians as “the people of the book.”  To outsiders it was quite apparent what was of the greatest importance to the Christians and what was one of the objects of their greatest focus, to the point that it became an identifying feature of common knowledge to all who observed them.  This is perhaps the strongest testimony in support of the early churches emphasis on the Bible, and that from a people who were in strong opposition to them.

As to the testimony of the Bible concerning first century literacy among believers consider the following verses.

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.”  (Acts 17:11)

“For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end;” (2 Corinthians 1:13)

“And by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,” (Ephesians 3:4)

“And when this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.” (Colossians 4:16)

“I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren.” (1 Thessalonians 5:27)

“Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13)

“And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. {29} And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." {30} And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" {31} And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:28-31)

This account is even more amazing when we realize that Philip was a commoner, just an ordinary man and Jesus’ disciples were mostly common fishermen, yet all of them were able to read and write and did.  What is startling is that Philip is instructing the Ethiopian eunuch, a highly educated royal official, about the meaning of the sacred texts.  Not bad for an uneducated commoner.

The assertion that in the time of the early church no written Bible existed for decades and the majority of the people were illiterate, is just that, an assertion that has little factual basis except empty speculation and does not measure up to the archaeological and cultural facts of the first century.

[1] "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"

(Romans 8:32)

[2] "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." (John 1:16)

“And in Him you have been made complete (lit. ‘filled full’).”

(Colossians 2:10)

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves;”

(2 Corinthians 4:7)

[3] "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,"  (Ephesians 1:7)

"For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,"  (Colossians 1:13)

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

"And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."  (1 Peter 2:24)

[4] "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

[5] "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

(Romans 6:4)

[6]   "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8 KJV)

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. …purify your hearts, you double-minded." (James 4:8)

[7] "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)

[8] "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

[9] "You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. {19} "And you shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. {20} "And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates," (Deuteronomy 11:18-20)

[10] "When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise." (Proverbs 10:19)

[11] "And after He had come into the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." {29} Then He touched their eyes, saying, "Be it done to you according to your faith.""

(Matthew 9:28-29)

[12] "For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us."

(2 Corinthians 1:20)

[13] "Then he said, "At this season next year you shall embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant." {17} And the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her." (2 Kings 4:16-17)

[14] “We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, {20} in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”

(1 John 3:19-20)

[15] Please read my book “Such A Great Salvation” for a fuller discussion of this great truth.

[16] Strong’s Dictionary Of New Testament Words.

Table of Contents

1. UNTYING THE IMPOSSIBLE KNOTS OF LIFE

2. CHRIST, NOT PROBLEMS, MUST DOMINATE OUR THINKING AND OUR SPEAKING

3. INNER THOUGHTS BECOME OUR OUTWARD LIFE

4. ABIDING IN THE WORD RESULTS IN POWERFUL PRAYER

5. MEDITATION OF THE WORD – THE SECRET TO JOSHUA’S SUCCESS

6. WORDS, THE RUDDER AND PILOT OF YOUR LIFE

7. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING ABOUT JESUS WAS HIS WORDS

8. THOSE WHO BELIEVE WILL SPEAK

9. WE ARE SET APART BY GOD’S WORD

10. THE CERTAINTY OF OUR WORDS

11. THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REDEEMED

12. SPEAKING WHAT YOU WANT, NOT WHAT YOU HAVE

13. GOD IS WITH YOUR MOUTH

14. THOSE BOLD STATEMENTS OF JESUS

15. ALL CREATION HEARS AND RESPONDS TO GOD’S WORD

16. WHAT GOD SAYS IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE

17. PROVERBS – INSTRUCTION FOR YOUR MOUTH

18. ACKNOWLEDGING GOOD THINGS

19. SLAYING GIANTS WITH YOUR MOUTH

20. GOD’S COVENANT WITH OUR LIPS

21. JUSTIFIED AND CONDEMNED BY YOUR WORDS

22. HOLDING FIRMLY TO OUR BOAST

23. GOD HAS SPOKEN SO THAT WE MAY SPEAK

24. PROPHESYING TO DRY BONES

25. BECOMING SOBER MINDED

26. A RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED HISTORICAL CHALLENGE AGAINST AN EMPHASIS ON THE WORD OF GOD