Sunday 31 March 2024
What You Say Can Save and Can Destroy Life
by Rev. Daniel-Joseph
Father Lord, we’re alive this day to give you thanks and to praise your holy name. Thank You Father, for the gift of time and the life to know you and serve you. Please Lord, bless your people and the Black community in this nation and let Your Spirit use everything we discuss here to help us live our lives for Your glory, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Brethren, today, the Lord is telling us to keep watch on what we say to one another:
It is written; the tongue has incredible power. We can use our tongues to bring blessings and life or curse and death. The saying, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me” is simply not true. Our tongues can be the most difficult thing to control and can leave us with great regret if we use our words to insult, curse, abuse and to hurt one another. Your mouth is like a fountain of water. The same fountain cannot bring out bitter water and sweet water. It can bring out only one type of water; bitter or sweet and not both. I pray that you represent the fountain with sweet water all your life, in Jesus’ name.
It is only by the help of the Holy Spirit that we can have power and control over our tongues. Proverbs 10:19 states, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. Again, the soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Your words are like stones. When you speak harsh words, you’re nothing but a stone thrower with your type of words spoken each time. If your words contain beauty, people treasure them but if your words contain pain, people toss them aside, but not until after they have had to deal with the wounds you have caused them. Proverbs 11: 9, “Evil words destroy friends but wise discernment rescues the Godly.
Let me share a short story from a six-year old child with you:
“I immediately noticed the burnt toast …. And, I was waiting to see if he was going to complain about it, but my father started to eat them, smiling and asked me how I spent my day at school.
My mom apologized to my dad for the burnt toast. I will never forget his response to her: “Honey, I love burnt toast!” Later when I went to bed and my dad came over to kiss me goodnight, I asked him if he really liked the burnt toast. He hugged me and said, “Your mother has had a difficult day and she is really tired. She went out of her way to prepare this meal for us, why blame her and hurt her.
Burnt toast never hurts anyone; but words can be very painful! “We have to know how to appreciate what others do for us, even if it’s not perfect, because it’s the intention to do well that counts, and no one is perfect.”
In addition to crushing the spirit of adults, such as your wife or your husband or your colleagues or church members, our tongues play a great part in shaping and reshaping the world, that is the society. What that means is that we shape the lives of the young ones by what they hear us say. If you abuse people verbally, they hear that and may not know how to ask you, for fear of being put down but they will believe that you’re modelling the way to self- expression.
Words always have a way of forcing actions out of the speaker. Kind words are followed by kind overtures. Violent words promote violence. Whatever your mouth speaks comes from the fullness of your heart. Again, Proverbs 15:28, “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”
People of God, let us struggle daily to be thinking good thoughts for good thoughts will engender good words and good actions. In a family situation let us heed the words of Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Those who listen to your words, even when you’re not aware, include children and young people most of whom are looking for guidance, mentors and adults with whom they can build trust. Christians and non-Christians, those who love you and want you to do well, those who hate you and encourage you to fail and God Himself through His angels and the Holy Spirit who should be in your heart, soul and mind. I pray God will help those of us who may be struggling to speak good words even when they’re pressed by circumstances to do otherwise, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Please say this prayer:
1. Holy Spirit, revive me with Your fire today, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
2. My tongue, you will not make me speak myself into hell fire, my tongue, begin now to glorify God, in Jesus’ name.
I pray for you:
Father, Lord, by the power of Your Spirit, help Your people now and let them begin now to speak good things into the lives of their hearers, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Please continue to share the wisdom of the word of God. The Lord bless you mightily, in Jesus’ name.
It’s me, Daniel-Joseph, your prayer partner, Light Tabernacles Ministries in Ottawa . I wish you a great and wonderful week. Be blessed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Rev Daniel Joseph (formerly Bassey Ekong), Dip Ed, BSc. Ed, B. Ed, M. Ed., is an educator/teacher of science on the high school panel of the local board of education in the Ottawa-Carleton region. He’s a psychology of learning specialist. A scholar, always learning, a writer, teacher and trainer, adviser board of directors and pastor of the Light of the Nations ministry international, a non-denominational ministry with its headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.