A Nugget from New Life Network
(excerpts from Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (November 20, 2018)
Proverbs 15:4 says, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”
What you say is important. In fact, it is so important that our lives are better or worse because of the words we speak. Our words are containers. When we speak, our words contain power — the power to build or the power to destroy. Our words can contain faith that builds, or they can contain doubt and criticism that destroys. The interesting thing about that is we control the words that come out of our mouths. We are the ones who determine whether we will build or
destroy.
There are several reasons why we as Christians should speak the Word of God. First, it’s the way we sow seeds. Many times Jesus talked about sowing and reaping. He said that what we sow, we would reap. And in Luke 8:11, Jesus made an interesting statement. He said the seed is the Word of God. We sow the Word when we speak it. Psalm 45:1 says, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
Secondly, speaking the Word causes faith to come. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). The only way to hear the Word is for the Word to be spoken by us or by God. We as Christians need to continually speak the Word, as well as hear it spoken through other avenues such as by going to church, listening to Christian music and teaching CDs, or listening to God speak to you personally. That is the way faith comes.
How can we be at peace concerning the promises of God and how can we even believe them in order to have faith, if we have never heard them? And, how can we hear them if they are never spoken? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. One of the best ways to hear the Word and get it deep in our hearts is by speaking it. When you speak with your mouth, you hear with your ears. Speaking the Word causes faith to grow.
Third, when we speak the Word, we keep the promise before us. Some people confuse positive thinking with speaking the Word. Speaking the Word is simply repeating what God said. You can never go wrong doing that and you will never lie or exaggerate. Speaking God’s Word will keep the promise in your mind instead of the problem, and that produces
peace.
Also, keeping God’s words in our mouths produces health. Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh.”
Speaking the Word will keep us from speaking words that will trap us. Proverbs 6:2 says, “You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the word of your mouth.” Have you ever said something and later regretted it? Well, if we follow the principles of God, that doesn’t have to happen. When we speak His promises and His Word, we won’t be trapped.
Satan tried to get Jesus to sin. He did this by tempting Him three different times (Luke 4). All three times Jesus did the same thing — He quoted the Word. When Jesus quoted the Word, He stopped Satan in his tracks. Satan could do nothing when the Word was spoken.
Today, God’s Word still has the same power. When the Word of God is spoken, Satan can do nothing. We must keep God’s Word in our mouths. Speaking God’s words instead of speaking words from our flesh is a type of submission. James 4:7 says in submitting to God we are able to resist or withstand the devil, “and he will flee from [us].”
