Today we continue to teach on our overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” Within this series, we have been honing in on the importance of your words. We will flow in that vein today. The main scripture we have been looking at is 2 Corinthians 4:13. We will look at that again today and also look at some things Jesus said.
(2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV)
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak.
A few messages ago we looked at Luke 6:45, where Jesus said, “Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart.”
Matthew’s account reads, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:33-35).
If we keep reading Matthew’s account, we see that Jesus went on to say, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36,37).
Today I am going to focus on the fact that Jesus said we would have to give account for “every idle word”. The New International Version reads, “every empty word”. The English Standard Version reads, “every careless word”. The Good News Translation reads, “every useless word”.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Your words are so powerful and important to God that Jesus said there will come a day when you will have to give account to God for every idle/empty/useless/non-productive word you speak or 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” (Matthew 12:37). Think about that the next time you open your mouth.
2. If you read Jesus’ statement in context, the message is quite simple and straightforward. Whatever you have filled your heart with — good or bad, blessing or cursing — will come spilling out of your mouth.
3. You must carefully manage what you watch, hear, and read, in order to protect the treasure of your heart, which is the reservoir of your soul.
4. Your mouth will only speak what your heart contains. Don’t fool yourself. If you said it, then good or bad, it is IN your heart. It only CAME OUT, because at some point it WENT IT!
5. The reason why God goes to such great lengths to talk about what gets down in your soul is that He wants what comes OUT of your soul to be words and actions that align with His will. If you fill your heart with the wrong things, the words you speak and the actions you perform will not be pleasing in God’s sight.
6. God wants your words to be purposeful and not purpose-free. Purpose-free words are useless and non-productive. They mean nothing to you, so they mean nothing to God. Purposeful words that align with God’s will, spoken from a believing heart, can actually activate the supernatural realm and unleash God’s power in this world.
7. Your words can bring about Godly change when they are spoken on purpose. When you speak words of faith, from a believing heart, on purpose, you come in alignment with your divine assignment. You set things in motion in the earth that actually align with heaven. This is how you experience heaven on earth!
8. I know most believers know they will have to stand before God one day. I think most of us are cognizant of the fact that we will have to give account for our actions. But remember, you will also have to give account for every idle/empty/useless/non-productive word you speak or have ever spoken! Think about that as you enter this day.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, 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 Your Word day and night. And then I 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 SPEAK THE WORD ONLY! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
