Sun am 11 November 2018 – Riaan Sinden

Jas. 1:19 TPT; (Prov. 18:21); Jas. 3:2-12; Rom. 12:1 -AMPC; Gen 1:26; Gen. 11:1-9; Psalm 127:1; John 12:49-50 – AMPC; (Matt. 16:18); (Luke 6:45); John 1:1

Most of us are very good at speaking. Statistics state that on average a person speaks about 7,000 words each day – 49,000 words each week or 210,000 words each month – more than 2,5 million words per year! We are releasing these words into the atmosphere. We are saying things that will remain forever. Sound never stops travelling. We are releasing words and then we are surprised that things are the way they are. You may say, “Oh this country is in such a mess” or “That person will never come right.” We proclaim that yet we expect something different.

You have two ears, but only one mouth. We should listen more than we speak (Jas. 1:19-TPT). Unfortunately with some of us it is the other way around: words just fall out of our mouths without us thinking. Words are extremely powerful. In fact, our lives have been shaped by the words that have been spoken to us and over us. Words have changed the way we think and the way we act. The words we speak to our children are so important. When we tell our child, “We love you,” there is immediately a security in that child that is building up a knowing that this person will never hurt them, never disappoint or leave them, but always be there for them. They have security in themselves just by knowing that they are loved.

I have seen people with no confidence receiving amazing confidence just by words being spoken to them. Then I have seen people with a lot of confidence and their confidence is being broken down also by words spoken to them. Some words weigh more than others and some phrases will mean more than others. The sources of the words will also have different weights. The person releasing the words also determines the weight of the words. That is why, when we proclaim the word of God, the Source of that word is God – then it means so much more and it has so much more affect! Before we say something, we should ask ourselves who the source is of what we are going to say. Where is it coming from? Some people sound like they talk without even thinking. It may seem like that, but it is not true. Whatever we say is coming from a certain place. So, we can either speak life or we can speak death (Prov. 18:21). 

If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body (Jas. 3:2-4). Even when there are fierce winds and storms, the part of the ship we do not see hidden under the water, that little rudder, steers the whole ship, not the wind. Back in the day they had those massive sails on the ships and that little rudder would take the ship wherever the pilot steered it (Jas. 3:5a). Look at the comparison with our tongue, hidden away in our mouths, so small, almost insignificant, still it steers our whole destiny. It takes you places where you do not really want to go. There is an interesting fact about the tongue: it only has eight muscles but, most amazingly, those eight muscles never get tired! They never wear out or cramp up! You can just keep on talking.

We have seen how one fire can destroy acres and acres of land. It starts with a very little flame, maybe even a spark (Jas. 3:5b-6). We can burn down relationships with our words just by saying the wrong thing. I can burn down God’s plans for my life just by saying the wrong thing. When we say something that hurts someone and get confronted with it, we will say for example, “I did not mean it,” “I was only joking,” “I was being sarcastic,” “I was just being honest” or “I was just so mad.” That does not really solve anything. If you started a fire, even if you only started it with a little spark, you are responsible for everything that burns down. If you say something that breaks somebody else down, you are responsible for the end result – not just the words spoken. That is how powerful words are.

We have tamed some of the fiercest animals, we have put them on display in circuses to do trick for us, but we cannot tame the tongue (Jas. 3:7-8). One moment we praise God and then we curse the person created in His likeness (Jas. 3:9-12). What James is saying: if you are going to be a vessel for God then let God pour out of you. Do not be lukewarm. Surrender everything to God! We cannot tame the tongue, but He can! We cannot predict what we are going to say, but if it is in surrendered to God, He will use it to His glory.  If we start by surrendering our tongue, I believe the rest of the body will follow; everything else will come into alignment (Rom. 12:1 AMPC). Words are not just what you speak, they are also what you write down or what you text – all those little faces (emoji’s) have meanings. 

We read in Genesis that everything was created by God saying, “Let there be.” It was either said to create something or to make what He created obey His commands. That is how it will operate for the rest of eternity. That is why nothing has ever stopped working. The sun and moon are still there. Even creation is still bringing forth after its own kind. Every day new stars and planets are being formed. God created by His word. That sound is still travelling and it is still creating. God said, “Let us make man in Our image”(Gen. 1:26). “Let us give them the same ability that We have. Let us make them like Us. Let us make man to be an accurate reflection of who We are, so that when they speak they will create. The words that will come out of their mouths will create something.” What are we creating? Nature is doing exactly what it is supposed to do; the universe is in perfect order, doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Why are we so different? Everything in creation is making a sound, even rocks. The sound it releases is praise unto God. God spoke, and it is vibrating at that same frequency. Everything in creation is vibrating at the same frequency as God. But in Proverbs it says that in our mouths there is an ability to create death or life (Prov. 18:21).

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar (Gen. 11:1-3). They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4). But God was not in the picture. Then the Lord came down and what they feared actually became true (Gen. 11:5-9). They were scattered abroad. 

Whenever we speak we are creating. We are putting something in place by whatever comes out of our mouth. The biggest fears that people have were put there by somebody who told them to fear.  A baby is born without fear, but by the words we speak the child becomes fearful. When the child grows up, he teaches the same to his children. We have created a generation and a people who are fearful yet there are many Scriptures in the Bible where God says, “I am your protection” and “I will take care of you.” “If you walk through the valley, do not fear; I am with you.” Yet we are fearful.

What we say we create and if we leave God out of the picture, we are creating something that is void of His presence. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it(Psalm 127:1). A church’s programs can be running smoothly with no problem, but with no Presence! Jesus said, “I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). We are participating in the plans of God, but if we do not follow the blueprint, we are going to get lost. We have a pattern Son to follow – Jesus Christ. If we do not follow His example, we are going to get lost! This is because I have never spoken on My own authority or of My own accord or as self-appointed, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me orders [concerning] what to say and what to tell. And I know that His commandment is (means) eternal life. So whatever I speak, I am saying [exactly] what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His instructions(John 12:49-50 AMPC). We should just read the instructions before we speak! If we read and fill our mind with the word of God, if we can fill ourselves with worship, then what will flow out of us will be His word. The mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45). What is your heart filled with? What is flowing out? Jesus only spoke what He heard His father say and those words which He spoke changed the lives of everyone who heard it. There were twelve men who changed the whole world. They were willing to lay down their lives because of a word that was spoken to them, a word that changed them.

If God is the Word and we are sons of God, then we are speaking God – we are speaking Spirit (John 1:1). Those words which we form with our mouths are vehicles for the Spirit of God to be released. Whenever we speak the word, we release the Spirit of that word over people. We can transform our families, our communities and the world by what we say, by the power of the word of God. We can feel a frequency and we are coming to that same frequency that God is on – it is like tuning forks. When we are in the same Spirit that God is, then we start vibrating at the same frequency with the whole of nature. We need to know that what we create with our words is either life or death – there is no middle ground. We need to build one another up; we need to speak Christ to one another. What we say and even the names we give our children are important. The way I speak to my wife is important because it does not only affect her, it affects the children and me; it affects everybody we come into contact with. Do not think you will make an impact if you do not treat your wife well or if your children do not know who you are.

We may have said things in the past which we did not mean. There are things which we have released which we did not know would have such impact. That is not the end of the road. The source of the word matters and if we proclaim the word of God over our lives, over our families, if we proclaim the truth of the word over our government, God is true to His word. Do not allow negative words to leave your mouth!