Sunday Words of Encouragement February 26, 2017

This morning we had a great Sunday School message that confirmed a discussion we had with friends on Saturday. We had moving worship to glorify God and then the sermon was given by our new youth pastor, “J,” who did a very good job.

"J" continued the series on When Faith and Life Collide based on the book of James. James 3:1-12 admonishes believers to control their tongue.We need to watch our speech because the tongue can bring fire, it can be poison. Blessing and cursing should not come from the same mouth. Words are powerful as exhibited in Genesis where God spoke creation into existence.

Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” (NLT) Words have power. Words always put something in motion.

POINT: The words we say will always have a result.

We have the choice to speak positive (life) and negative (death) . Faith without works is dead.
Just as a small bit for a horse or a small rudder for a ship controls direction, so the tongue can affect our direction.

“J” was home schooled so had no reason like other students to dislike Mondays. Yet he grew up thinking Mondays were a bad day. Why? Because other people said so. “J” views negative word as a closed circle; holding the speaker in a rut. [I had a different image as I see the negative as a minus symbol that goes nowhere and detracts, while positive is a plus – like the cross — that adds or increases.]

Luke 6:45 says: “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” (NLT)

“J”’s mother told him when he was young: “If cuss is in you it will come out.” The real issue behind the negative tongue and the negative words is a heart issue. Until an individual has a heart changing experience with God they will remain in a rut. He gave the example of a nearby shelter during a storm: “It is not enough to know the shelter is nearby. You have to go into the shelter. You have to experience the shelter.

So is life – it is more than knowledge of what is good. You need to experience what is good, what is right, what God wants. We can choose life each day and speak life. Psalm 118:24 says “This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (NLT) We can speak this positive message to each day.

Our words effect not only us but those around us. Do your words reflect grace and love or do they contain negative words of death?

I found this song which fits today's message.

Verses for Today:
James 3:7-10 NLT
7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

Lord, please help me to to speak healing and not division; to speak love and not hate; to speak life, and not death.