June
23, 2013
James
3:2-12
READING
- James 3:2-12
INTRODUCTION
- Have you ever been told something that hurt?
- Perhaps it was yesterday when your husband or wife said something that crushed you
- Perhaps your dad once said you were a no-good loser who would never amount to anything, and you might as well quit now because you sure weren't going to get anywhere in this life, and you would make life miserable for a lot of people, in the process, as a matter of fact, you are a waste of space.
- On the other hand, perhaps there was someone who praised you or encouraged you, someone who said they believed in you, that you would do great things
- Perhaps your mom said that you were so helpful, so giving, so understanding, you would make someone a wonderful husband or wife
- Words can make us or break us
- A long time ago, people used to say: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me
- While this sounded great, and helped develop a macho image, it is not true
- Because words can and do hurt us, and the imprints they leave can stay with us for a lifetime!
- Today we are going to discuss the subject of blessing and cursing, the power of words
Words
can be a blessing
- Do you remember a teacher at school who encouraged you?
- I remember in the 6th grade, Mr Murray was such a person
- He would encourage me, told me that I did good work, and tried to prepare me for high school
- This teacher had a good impact on me, and helped me in my approach towards my future education
- When you are riding a horse, sometimes you will just let the horse have its head, and allow it to fololow the trail without your interference
- I had a boss like that once, who let me loose, with a little direction, and I was astounded at what I was capable of
- He built me up
- The words we use can build people up (Rom 14:19, 1 Thes 5:11)
- God encourages us, builds us up, gives us hope and a future (Jer 29:11)
- Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
Words
can be a curse
- The words people speak to us can damage deeply
- We internalize the words
- I remember one time I was standing out on the front lawn, and my dad told me I was lazy, and that the desire to do a good job was just not there.
- I internalized this, and I believed it
- These words became a curse spoken out over me, and I saw myself that way
- Though I made a choice at age 19, to be a hard worker and a good employee, and I followed through on that choice, those words still followed me around like a shadow
- Proverbs 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
- We can complain and criticize as much as we want, but the effect will be to destroy whatever good there is in the marriage
- Saying negative things to people is a curse
- A curse has an impact, just as surely as sticking pins in a voodoo doll will cause sickness and death
- The same thing applies to the words we say about ourselves
- When we tell ourselves we are useless, it is prophetic, we will live in a way that brings these words to pass
- When we tell ourselves we cant possibly do something, we will find it impossible to do
- On the other hand, positive words are prophetic as well, we will live up to them as well
The
words we say cannot be recalled
- The words we say cannot be recalled
- Once those words are out of our mouth, they cannot be changed
- We so often say things carelessly
- We think we can always say sorry later
- But once the words have been said they are out there
- They are a reflection of how we feel inside
- Matt 12:34 Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
- We think what we just said is merely some carelessly chosen words
- But it shows how we feel inside, and the person who listens recognizes this – that is why our words have such impact
- Often of course, we may not intend the words to have the meaning that actually came across to the other
- "When J. Edgar Hoover ran the FBI, he was boss and everyone knew it. As a result, almost all of his subordinates were on the lookout for ways to impress their powerful boss.
- A young FBI man was put in charge of the FBI's supply department. In an effort to cut some costs and impress his boss, he reduced the size of the office memo paper. One of the new memo sheets soon ended up on Hoover's desk. Hoover took one look at it, determined he didn't like the size of the margins on the paper, and quickly scribbled on the memo, "Watch the borders!"
- The memo was passed on through the office. For the next six weeks, it was extremely difficult to enter the United States by road from either Mexico or Canada. The FBI was watching the borders. "
- The Bible tells us to watch what we say
- Matthew 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
- The word idle here does not mean intentionally hurtful, it comes from the greek word that means lazy! It speaks of the casual, careless words we throw out there like hand grenades, killing and maiming for life
- We forget what we said, but the person who receives them has a long memory
- And words stick
CONCLUSION
- The words we say are so important!
- They can damage and hurt, or they can heal and bless
- Part of my task as a pastor is to point damaged souls towards the path to healing
- Healing is possible
- We may have had innumerable negative things said to us, by the people in our life, or even by the enemy whispering them in our ear
- These words can be broken, and changed and turned around for good
- We do not need to live under the curse of negative words spoken to us long ago
- Jesus died so that we could live in freedom
- He came to heal the broken-hearted and to to give us life, more abundantly. This signifies positive change in our outlook on life.
- So there is hope for the future!
- Next week I will be continuing this subject, considering how we receive words and actions we consider to be negative
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