4/7/14 - "STOP CURSING YOUR LIFE"

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Words, they are powerful containers. God used words to create the earth in which we live. Words have defined some of the most important events in history. Words have destroyed and words have restored. The Bible has much to say about our words. If you had to name one thing that has the most impact on a person’s life when you look to what scripture says you would have to recognize that words are without a doubt one of if not the most important factor in our life. What many don’t realize is that their own words are often doing more harm to their life then good. The reason is because through our fallen nature we have been accustomed to speaking words that bring defeat instead of victory.

James states that for some out of their mouth proceed blessing and cursing, and this for the believer should not be so. Once we are born again we should begin to change how we speak. Realize that what we are saying on a regular basis will in fact according to scripture have an impact on your life. If you want to see your faith in what Christ has done for you work, you must not only walk by faith, but you must then stop saying things that circumvent your faith. When you begin to walk by faith and not by sight, God’s ability goes to work in and through your life, but you can stop your faith through a wrong confession. I know there are those who don’t think your confession is very important, but the Bible does tell us otherwise.

Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].

In light of a verse such as this one I don’t see how people can make light of words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. If you consistently speak words of death in your marriage, words that are destructive and harmful, you will bring death to your marriage. I have seen it happen all to often. If you speak words of death to your body, your body will respond. Even doctors are beginning to find out that this is true. Notice here it states that those who indulge in words, whether death or life, they will eat the fruit of their words. So if you want to experience the life of God, the blessing of the Lord, His goodness in your life, you should be speaking words of life. Do you desire to be blessed or cursed? I am sure the answer is blessed, but for that to happen you are going to have to watch what you say.

Words are carriers, just as a seed is a carrier. Every seed has within it the ability to produce the fruit of whatever it carries. If you have an apple seed it has the ability to produce and apple tree, and of course eventually apples. If you have watermelon seeds they carry within them the ability to produce watermelons. So it is with thorns, weeds, and things that are not good. They begin as a seed. Whatever is within that seed is what it will produce. Your words are seeds, carriers, and whatever you speak is what those words carry forth to produce. So what you consistently plant with your words is the type of fruit you will produce. If you want apples you don’t want to plant thorn seeds. If you desire God’s blessing in life, which is defined as being happy, fortunate, to be envied, then you are going to have to speak words of life consistently and stop cursing your life with words of death.

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
James 3:3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
James 3:4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
James 3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

James here in the first part of chapter three describes in more detail the power of the tongue in our life. He starts off by stating that we stumble in many things, but if anyone does not stumble in their words, they are perfect, which means mature and able to bridle the whole body. The word stumble means to error, make a mistake, or sin. When we say things with our mouth that line up with death instead of life we are speaking against God’s Word. When we do we are speaking words that are leading us into error, or sin. But if we stop speaking contrary to the Word of God we are able to bridle the body, which is not saved, and bring it under the control of our tongue.

He goes on to use the analogy of a horse that is controlled by a little bit in that horses mouth. James also shares the example of a ship, which in size compared to the rudder is very large, and yet it is that little rudder that determines where that ship will wind up. Think about that. Your tongue is like that rudder or the bit, which is going to determine the direction your life takes. He goes on to tell us the tongue is also like a fire, which once lit it sets on fire the course our life will go. Notice James states that the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we may bless our God, but with that same tongue we bless God with we can curse man, including ourselves. So what do we do to deal with our words and stop from cursing our life?

First of all recognize that James also states here in verses 7-8 that man has been able to tame many different types of wild animals, but no man can tame the tongue. The word for tame means to control or restrain. So it almost sounds like a lost cause, but it is not. What James is saying here is that you cannot just go through life and not address the issue of your tongue. You must pay attention to your words and how to change those words. If you do nothing to address what comes out of your mouth it will bring forth words that are in fact harmful to your life and to others. This is because when you were born again the only thing that changed initially was your spirit man, the real you. Your soul, made up of your mind, will, and emotions did not change. Nor did you body, so you have to do something more than just get born again to change the course of your life and to start seeing the blessing of God manifest instead of the curse that is in the world.

Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Here we have the most important key to changing our words from death to life. Notice Jesus is referring to fruit here and He says that every tree is going to be known by its fruit. If there is bad fruit planted, then bad fruit is going to come forth, but if good fruit is planted then of course it will bring forth good fruit. Then in verse 45 He tells us that out of a good man from the good treasure of his heart he will bring forth good fruit, but an evil man will bring forth evil fruit. Notice He then states out of the abundance of one’s heart the mouth speaks. The word for heart here is referring to the seat of your will, mind, and emotions, which is your soul. Don’t get confused here for your soul is not the part of you that is born again, that is your spirit. What makes the soul full of good or evil? What we put in our soul.

In James 1:21 we find out that our soul is not saved, for it is through the Word of God being implanted in our souls that our soul gets delivered from evil thoughts, words, and therefore evil ways. Evil refers here simply to that which is contrary to what God says about us. So back to what Jesus said in Luke 6:45, whatever you are putting into your soul in abundance, that is what comes out of your mouth. If you feed on things daily that fill your soul, your thinking with words that are in line with death, that is what will come out of your mouth. If you for example watch things filled with words that are contrary to God’s truth and ways, if you listen too or read things that are filling your thoughts with words filled with death, not the word of life, this will come out of your mouth. You must pay attention to what you are reading, listening too, and who is speaking into your life.

So if you want to stop cursing your life you must change your words. To change your words you must pay attention to what influences your thought life. Are the things you are listening to and being influenced by bringing a greater awareness to God’s Word and what He says about you, or are they bringing an awareness of what is a part of the curse in the earth? Change what you listen to, read about, and what is influencing you, and your words will begin to change. As they do life comes forth not death.

See You Again Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”

May God’s Best Be Yours!

Pastor Darryl Baker