THE MIGHTY TONGUE (1)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)
i) The words that you speak are they life or death? Do they give you hope or discouragement? Since you are held responsible for every word you speak, it is better to listen very carefully to what you are saying, not just to others, but to yourself.
ii) Jesus said, "36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” The word be acquitted" means you are freed from all blame, you are without guilt and you are shown or proven to be right. Whereas, "condemned" means to be pronounced unfit for use, guilty.
iii) By your own words you can be free from blame and without guilt, or you can pronounce yourself guilty and unfit for the use of God. If it is the Word of God, it is life, it is freedom. If it is yourself speaking, it is death, and words of death will destroy, kill everyone that hears you; and not only they who hear you, but yourself as well. That's why Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit."
b) We shall look at the topic of "Self-fulfilling Prophecies" ...
1. Self-fulfilling Prophecies
a) In our every day lives, we have said a lot of things. Sometimes good, sometimes bad! Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies.
b) If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That's why you need to be extremely careful about what you think and especially careful about what you say! Your words have tremendous power, and whether you want to or not, you will give life to what you are saying, either good or bad.
c) Sadly, many people are living discouraged lives because of their words. They say things to belittle themselves or negative words about themselves and others. Sometimes they even call themselves names! "What an idiot! You never can do anything right." They don't realize it, but their own words are paving way for failure.
d) Words are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in your subconscious mind, and they take on a life of their own; they take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. If you speak positive words, your life will move in that direction. Similarly, negative words will produce poor result. You can't speak words of defeat and failure yet expect to live in victory. You will reap exactly what you sow.
e) The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship in James 3:4.
i) 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. (James 3:4 NIV)
ii) Although that rudder is small, it controls the direction of the entire ship, and, in a similar manner, your tongue will control the direction of your life. If you habitually speak words of failure, you are going to move in the direction of a defeated, discouraged life. If your conversation regularly includes negative comments, you are setting yourself up for defeat. Those negative words will keep you from being the person God wants you to be.
f) When you say something often enough, with enthusiasm and passion, before long your subconscious mind begins to act on what you are saying, doing whatever is necessary to bring those thoughts and words to pass. Sadly, most people insist on saying negative things over their lives. They continually denigrate (defame) themselves with their own words. They don't realize that their own words will decimate (kill) their confidence and destroy their self-esteem.
g) In fact, if you are struggling with low self-esteem, you need go overboard in speaking positive, faith-filled words of victory about your life. Get up every morning and look in the mirror and say, "I am valuable. I am loved. God has a great plan for my life. I have favor wherever I go. God's blessings are chasing me down and overtaking me. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. I'm excited about my future!" Start speaking those kind words, and before long, you will rise to a new level of well-being, success and victory. Truly, there is power in your words, the mighty tongue.
h) You have to be particularly careful about what you say during times of adversity or hardship, when things aren't going your way. How you respond in the adversities of life and what you say in the midst of your difficulties will have a great impact on how long you stay in those situations. As a rule, the more positive your thoughts and words, the stronger you will be and sooner you will get over whatever ails you.
i) Admittedly, when times get tough, our human nature tends to want to complain, to talk about the problem, to tell everybody who will listen how badly life is treating us. But such conversations are self-defeating. To get through a tough time quicker and with better results, we must learn to speak as positively as possible.
j) Too often, we make the mistake of adopting negative attitudes and complaining. When you start doing that, you become your own worst enemy. If there is ever a time you must guard what you say, it is in times of trouble. When you feel overwhelmed, when you are stressed out, when everything in the world has come against you, that's when you need to be on high alert. That's when you are the most vulnerable and the most likely to slip into a negative attitude, speaking negative comments. Your subconscious mind picks up your words, treat them as true, valid statements, and then sets about trying to fulfill them. When that happens, you have nobody else to blame but yourself; you have been under-mined by your own thoughts and words.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)
i) The words that you speak are they life or death? Do they give you hope or discouragement? Since you are held responsible for every word you speak, it is better to listen very carefully to what you are saying, not just to others, but to yourself.
ii) Jesus said, "36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” The word be acquitted" means you are freed from all blame, you are without guilt and you are shown or proven to be right. Whereas, "condemned" means to be pronounced unfit for use, guilty.
iii) By your own words you can be free from blame and without guilt, or you can pronounce yourself guilty and unfit for the use of God. If it is the Word of God, it is life, it is freedom. If it is yourself speaking, it is death, and words of death will destroy, kill everyone that hears you; and not only they who hear you, but yourself as well. That's why Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit."
b) We shall look at the topic of "Self-fulfilling Prophecies" ...
1. Self-fulfilling Prophecies
a) In our every day lives, we have said a lot of things. Sometimes good, sometimes bad! Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies.
b) If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That's why you need to be extremely careful about what you think and especially careful about what you say! Your words have tremendous power, and whether you want to or not, you will give life to what you are saying, either good or bad.
c) Sadly, many people are living discouraged lives because of their words. They say things to belittle themselves or negative words about themselves and others. Sometimes they even call themselves names! "What an idiot! You never can do anything right." They don't realize it, but their own words are paving way for failure.
d) Words are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in your subconscious mind, and they take on a life of their own; they take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. If you speak positive words, your life will move in that direction. Similarly, negative words will produce poor result. You can't speak words of defeat and failure yet expect to live in victory. You will reap exactly what you sow.
e) The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship in James 3:4.
i) 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. (James 3:4 NIV)
ii) Although that rudder is small, it controls the direction of the entire ship, and, in a similar manner, your tongue will control the direction of your life. If you habitually speak words of failure, you are going to move in the direction of a defeated, discouraged life. If your conversation regularly includes negative comments, you are setting yourself up for defeat. Those negative words will keep you from being the person God wants you to be.
f) When you say something often enough, with enthusiasm and passion, before long your subconscious mind begins to act on what you are saying, doing whatever is necessary to bring those thoughts and words to pass. Sadly, most people insist on saying negative things over their lives. They continually denigrate (defame) themselves with their own words. They don't realize that their own words will decimate (kill) their confidence and destroy their self-esteem.
g) In fact, if you are struggling with low self-esteem, you need go overboard in speaking positive, faith-filled words of victory about your life. Get up every morning and look in the mirror and say, "I am valuable. I am loved. God has a great plan for my life. I have favor wherever I go. God's blessings are chasing me down and overtaking me. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. I'm excited about my future!" Start speaking those kind words, and before long, you will rise to a new level of well-being, success and victory. Truly, there is power in your words, the mighty tongue.
h) You have to be particularly careful about what you say during times of adversity or hardship, when things aren't going your way. How you respond in the adversities of life and what you say in the midst of your difficulties will have a great impact on how long you stay in those situations. As a rule, the more positive your thoughts and words, the stronger you will be and sooner you will get over whatever ails you.
i) Admittedly, when times get tough, our human nature tends to want to complain, to talk about the problem, to tell everybody who will listen how badly life is treating us. But such conversations are self-defeating. To get through a tough time quicker and with better results, we must learn to speak as positively as possible.
j) Too often, we make the mistake of adopting negative attitudes and complaining. When you start doing that, you become your own worst enemy. If there is ever a time you must guard what you say, it is in times of trouble. When you feel overwhelmed, when you are stressed out, when everything in the world has come against you, that's when you need to be on high alert. That's when you are the most vulnerable and the most likely to slip into a negative attitude, speaking negative comments. Your subconscious mind picks up your words, treat them as true, valid statements, and then sets about trying to fulfill them. When that happens, you have nobody else to blame but yourself; you have been under-mined by your own thoughts and words.
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