Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 10: Joshua’s Formula For Success (Part 5). We have been studying Joshua 1:8 all week. I thought about closing out this verse today, but the Father wants me to keep going. We are not in a hurry. This year we are learning to build up our expectation for God’s best to manifest in our lives. In this message we will focus in on the importance of our words. Fatih has a language, and if we are going to experience God’s best, we must develop the language of faith and speak it daily.
Joshua was the newly appointed leader of the nation of Israel. God made it clear that it was time to take possession of the land promised to their forefathers. The land was expansive (millions of acres) and was inhabited by several nations with fortified cities and tested armies. To prepare Joshua for the assignment the Lord said, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). Today we will focus in on the words, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things about focusing on speaking Godly words.
- Your words matter to God. The very first thing the Lord instructed Joshua to get a hold of in Joshua 1:8 was his mouth. If you can control your mouth you will control your life.
- Your words are so powerful that they can literally unleash the power of death or the power of life (Prov 18:21). For Joshua to experience Godly success he was going to have to get a hold of his tongue. The same holds true for us today. We cannot speak failure and expect to experience success. Whether we speak fear (death) or faith (life) is up to us. Either way, we will have what we say.
- The words you speak are a litmus test for the condition of your heart. Jesus explained that whatever you have filled your heart with — good or bad, blessing or cursing — will come spilling out of your mouth. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:35). So your words are exposing what is in your heart.
- You are your words and your words are you. Daily, your words are telling everyone who you are. So ponder this question: what are your words saying about you?
- Your words are so powerful and important that Jesus said there will come a day when you will have to give account to God for every “idle” (or non-productive) word you have ever spoken (Mat 12:36). After He made this statement, Jesus said, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mat 12:37). Think about that the next time your open your mouth.
- Your words can bring about Godly change when they are spoken on purpose. God wanted Joshua to use his tongue on purpose. He wants us to do the same. Make sure your words are purposeful and not purpose-free. Purpose-free words are useless and non-productive. Angels are literally on standby, waiting for us to activate them with our words. I am convinced that when we waste words without purpose, angels are sitting around wondering why we don’t make the most of our words.
- When you speak words that are in-sync with heaven, you come in agreement with God and you position yourself to experience heaven on earth.
- We serve a God who calls those things that are not as though they are (Rom 4:17). This means God speaks what He desires (what He sees in the Spirit), not what He sees in the current situation in the earth. God speaks the future from the present. When He does, He is actually CALLING the future to come. He is speaking His will into existence. As children of God, we are called to imitate our heavenly Father. We too can call those things that are not as though they are, until they become what we declared. Calling something what it already IS, is not going to change anything. Acknowledge what it may be today, but then declare what you believe in your heart, not what you see with your natural eyes, and continue to do so until what you see with your natural eyes aligns with what you have already seen in your heart. This is part of speaking the language of faith.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. In this season I take control of my tongue. This is important for me to live in-sync with You. You made plans for me before the world began. Heaven is in sync with Your divine plans for my life. I live in the earth and You want me to live in alignment and agreement with those plans. I live ON EARTH in sync with HEAVEN. One of the ways I come in agreement with heaven is with my words. I know my mouth will only speak what my heart contains. So I fill my heart with good things. I meditate and medicate on Your Word day and night. I then speak ONLY that which is in alignment with heaven. Living this way, I get to experience HEAVEN ON EARTH every day of my life. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
