Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtWe just had our national election, and the result reflected the will of the people who voted. Their clear message was, "Fix our nation!"People want God to fix this world. Many, if not most, think it's messed up and His fault! Why doesn't God do something about it? The truth is God is working amongst all mankind. He is working through the prayers of men and women who love Him and are dedicated to helping others come to know Him. He has instructed us to manage this earth with His wisdom, direction, and through the touch of His love! Psalm 115:15-16 NLT says, "May you be blessed by the Lord, who make heaven and earth. The heavens belong to the Lord, but He has given the earth to all humanity." Having said that, one of the most critical and practical ways we are to represent Him and influence others in this earth, is through our words—all words, even those we speak that seemingly have nothing to do with the Lord. Listen closely to what I am telling you because it is critical to God and how He uses you in your life! Every word you speak matters more than you can possibly imagine and will, in some way, large or small, impact lives in some way! All words matter in all things and always! If you want the world to be a better place, let it start with the words that come out of your mouth! Is that an easy task? Absolutely not! At first, it will seem almost impossible. You will find very few that will join you in this call of God. So you must understand for yourself how true and critical it is. And you'll find out soon enough, that without the help of the Holy Spirit within you, this would be an impossible transformation in Christ to make!James 3:8-11 NIV instructs us of a profound truth. "… no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"
You know how it is. You've thought about it a million times. You know you shouldn't use your tongue to tear down others. If we have a conscience, then we will often find ourselves repentant over what this uncontrollable little creature called the tongue has spewed from our mouth. We will also find that despite the desire to speak the right words and our repentance for failing to do so, victory in getting our tongue to cooperate comes slower than we'd like. We find ourselves blessing and saying kind things to some, only to later spew inappropriate things to others, much to the regret of our conscience. We find out that the Word of God is true. "...No man can tame the tongue." James 3:5-6 (NIV) says, “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." "...No man can tame the tongue." If this is true, then what do we do? Do we just concede and let our mouths vomit words we regret? Do we just give up before we even try to make this transformation? No, the first step is to recognize this truth and come to grips with it. You can't fix your tongue yourself. God is not lying when He says, "...NO MAN can tame the tongue." That includes you and I. At the same time, we have to realize that God is not setting us up to fail. The answer to taming the tongue is recognizing that only with the help of the Holy Spirit can you restrain the tongue and your thought-life from feeding that little creature.Pray that God gives you a revelation of the truth in Proverbs 18:21 NIV. "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." You will know when God has given you this revelation. A revelation of this verse will create the desire from within for the need to curb your words. By that, I mean that you will understand that God can use your tongue. It can be used to be one of the most incredible instruments of blessing to you and to others and to benefit your life, or it will be an instrument of poison that will hurt—even produce destruction in your life and the life of others—in some cases quickly and in other cases over a period of time. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear the destructive phrases you say without thinking. Listen, and you'll hear yourself say things such as, He is never going to change! Or, I'm stuck with this situation and there's nothing I can do about it. Or, Nothing ever goes my way. Or, I am never going to find the right person for me —all the good ones are taken. Or, My kids are idiots! They listen to know one. Make no mistake in understanding this. Your mouth is the barometer of what's in your heart! The words that spill out expose your heart and your thinking and also reveal where your faith is at.Don’t destroy your life, and don’t destroy the lives of others with your words! Proverbs 12:18 says, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the power of Words. Connect that to your call and purpose in the earth—to help manage, bring blessing, and influence others with the touch of God's love through Jesus Christ. Your words are one of your greatest tools! They are to be a tool given by God to increase your influence so that others will see the love of God in you and want to know Him more. Would you drink from a contaminated well of water? Then don't let your mouth be contaminated words to those around you! They will interfere with God's calling and your influence to impact others for Him! That is every believer's high calling; because it is, pay attention to the words that come out of your mouth. Become dependent upon the Lord's help for what it takes to change the words you speak. Let Him help you begin to speak words that bring life, encouragement, and healing. You can't control your tongue yourself, but you can begin to transform that area of your life with the continuous help of the Holy Spirit. And when you do, you’ll be used by God in more significant ways imaginable and experience an entirely new life that is blessed and produces blessing—for yourself and the world around you!Ephesians 4:29 NIV "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 impart grace to those who listen."In His love,Pastor Tim Burt
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