What You Say Is Important

Today I’d to share with you some things about the words that you speak.

Now usually when words and speaking are mentioned, there are those that pull away. They recoil and say that this is new age, or some kind of occult teaching… and they are afraid of it. However the reality is that the scriptures have quite a bit to say regarding the importance of the words that we speak and what we say.

Our words are actually quite powerful – although we often don’t take time to consider this fact. Many of us actually let our mouth run in a kind of autopilot mode, reacting to what we currently are seeing and experiencing, instead of using the God-given power of our words to shape our lives.

That’s right, I said that our words have God-given power to shape our lives. As I mentioned, many people do not believe this fact, and the enemy has been taking advantage of that oversight for far too long… so today we will be looking at the power of our words, as described in scripture, and how what we say, is actually important.

Understanding Spiritual Tongues (part 4)

Welcome back again to the fourth and final part of our series of studies on Spiritual Tongues, probably one of the most misunderstood, and as a result feared and disregarded gifts which the Spirit of God gives to us, His children.

By now, you should have a firm grasp of what Tongues are, and the three different types of Tongues which are described for us in the scripture, as well as the individual purpose and blessing of each of them.

Now in this final part of the study, we will finish chapter fourteen of 1st Corinthians, as Paul now lays out some rules of order for the public use of Tongues, and some final thoughts on the subject for all of us to see, regarding the gift of Tongues.

Speak Victory, Not Defeat

Many people have heard the famous quote from Proverbs 18:21, that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”, and countless sermons have been preached over the years about the power of positive confession – even the secular world understands that speaking (and thinking) positively can have a benefit.

The scriptures however take it deeper than what most people realize. Positive thinking and positive confession without a foundation on the truth of Jesus Christ, is empty. It is just words without substance, it is clouds without rain if we don’t understand exactly why we can speak and think positively – and have it be more than simply nice words or pleasant thoughts.

Many people, including believers that I have talked to, are trying to get the benefits of positive thinking and positive confession, without the foundation… putting the cart before the horse; and without the basis of Jesus Christ, it all falls flat.

So what I want to share with you today, are some examples of how this was used by the people in scripture, about the very specific positive confessions that they spoke, and how they actually obtained results… and by seeing this, you will be able to speak and think positively, with confidence and substance, because you will know why it is true for you.

The Real Sacrifice of Praise

A long time ago, there was a popular praise song that we always used to sing; the lyrics in-part were “we bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD.” This is a reference to Hebrews 13:15, saying that we should continually offer such a sacrifice to God. This phrasing has always puzzled me. Because in my human mind, the word “sacrifice” always implied cost, or some kind of a victim. Often times we hear preachers say that in order for our praise and worship to mean anything to God, it has to “cost us something”, and this left me even more confused because it really wasn’t costing me anything to praise God – as a matter-of-fact I enjoyed praising Him! So did this then mean that my praise was worthless?

I struggled with this thought for many years, and it led me into a performance-driven, merit-centered mentality where I was trying to give something of value back to God, which I naturally assumed was my own works and efforts; my performance and law-keeping. However, this idea is not actually supported in scripture. In-fact the Bible is very descriptive regarding what the real sacrifice of praise is which we are to offer, and this is precisely what we will be studying today.