The Power to Bless - Currency of Blessing

Following through from last session on the Power of the Word, I want to walk through the the net output of blessing we have to impart to others with our Word. 

Part of the reference for this session is based on the following verses:

There is life and death in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21

(The Lord has given everyone an unlimited well of supernatural resource to be released intentionally by decree.)

For we have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in in Christ. Eph 1: 3

So we walked through the power of communication and the spoken word, that it is not just a vehicle for communication, but for creation/declaration something into existence. The atheist or humanist would laugh at this notion, and suggest science is the answer to speech, but that fails to explain it's origins, let alone the evolutionary study of ears, eardrum, voicebox, tone, mouth, brain to all work inexplicably harmoniously together to allow speech and comprehension, let alone the "evolution" of language itself.... but I digress.

I want to unpack this further, with a theme that has been on my heart for some months now about the power to bless with our speech.

If you are born of the HS, eventually, you can not live a life of being a net consumer, rather you are compelled (by Love, 1 Cor 13) to be a net producer, a net out-putter, so to speak.

Now this is not always the case, every minute of every day, I get that. But following JC's advice: For everyone who keeps their life will lose it, and everyone who loses their life for my sake will keep it (Matt 10:39), the objective of all that is God's character, is to bless.   To lose your life by giving it away to JC.  And JC doesn't mean, sit in a monastery for the rest of your life and sing hymns in a room. 

As an aside, as men, we need to dismantle that religious and atheistic spirit that on one hand put's God in a miserly, cranky corner who takes away, or on the other hand, says of course God's dead, which is the evidence of your miserable life, becuase if he did exist, you'd be better off!

So when we are in the office or on our way to a client meeting with a fellow worker and the topic of your boss comes up or a painful client or person at the client's, what happens to your speech?

Or here's a better one, you're in the kitchen at the office getting a cup of tea and your co-worker comes in all guns blazing about some other co-worker and you feel exactly the same way.....

Okay, not close enough for you, what about you're out for a drink or lunch with your co-wokers or mates and one of them starts subtely but pointedly slamming his wife and kids, pulling them down possibly for some seemingly justifiable reason in his eyes and you've had a similar experience with your wife...What do you do....

For me, a few things come to mind.

If I have every spiritual blessing in Christ, if Christ say's it's what's in my heart that bears fruit, and if life is in the power of the tongue, then what do I want to come out of this weapon of mass destruction or weapon of mass blessing?

As men, our words locate us, where am i then?

I want to speak life into another man, blessing, honor, riches, hope, love, encouragement, honesty, truth and grace. But mostly, my hearts desire is to speak life into another.

What do I mean by that? Well taking JC's example, sometime he spoke one sentence to a person, and they recieved new life - the robber on the cross, the Centurian, the woman with blood...  yes they all came to him for something, but he gave them words of life, he blessed them.   How could he not.

So what about us? Men can have this awful sourness and foulness that is like halitosis in speech form - every sentence has a foul word, it's degrading, whinging, pointing out faults, expressing dissatification, there's no gratitude.
And if there is something positive and good to say, it's conditional and restrictive.

Guys, I have been there, and at times are there depending on the siutaiton at the time.  I look back on it and I cringe.  I had a situation yesterday, I was sarcastic to a colleague about their job and even though I was trying be witty with a wry twist on it, I was downright rude or condescending.

My question is what about speaking life into someone today, your wife, kids, your boss whom you have issues with, your client that you find incredibly frustrating, your mother....

A good litmus test is to try and reflect on your speech, does it start or revolve around a negative or positive, when you speak with or about someone else, is it about what they haven't done or did do, but shouldn't... 

Bless them with your speech

Prophesy over them

Build them up

Speak their Father's words into their life

Pray: Lord, what is it that you want to say to this person that will bring life into their world?

I have to remind myself all the time, that the words i impart into another have the power of life and death.  Think about it.  Be a blessing. 

Words - The power of Speech.

To start with, here are some verses to give this topic come context: 

Wise words satisfy like a good meal;

the right words bring satisfaction. The tongue can bring death or life;

those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (Proverbs 18:20, 21 NLT)

 

Wise words are like deep waters;

wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook. (Proverbs 18:4 NLT)

Some people make cutting remarks,

but the words of the wise bring healing. (Proverbs 12:18 NLT)

The lips of the godly speak helpful words,

but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. (Proverbs 10:32 NLT)

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3 NLT)

In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created,

and his life brought light to everyone. (John 1:1-4 NLT)

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:9, 10 NIV)

"Curse" - noun

1. the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, doom, etc., befall a person, group, etc.

 

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:14 NLT)

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 NLT)

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
      “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
   ⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
      so my ways are higher than your ways
      and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.    ¹⁰ “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
      and stay on the ground to water the earth.
   They cause the grain to grow,
      producing seed for the farmer
      and bread for the hungry.
   ¹¹ It is the same with my word.
      I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
   It will accomplish all I want it to,
      and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 

Isaiah 55

 

Introduction:

Guys, i have been thinking for some time about creation and intelligent design and evolution etc. One of the fascinating aspects to life and earth is the way we communicate is with speech. Sound, language, grammar, phonetics, structure, letters, sentencing.... it goes on. 

The fact that I am able to write down letters to form words and sentences and you are able to read it, digest it and comprehend meaning and purpose that has an impact, a change, a difference in your emotions, thinking, demeanor, perspective, is astounding. 

As my former boss counseled me once, he said, the tools of a Salesman are words, and we have to be experts at crafting them.  

I have been meditating on this for some weeks now, that isn't it fascinating that we have 2 ears, a mouth, a tongue, a voice-box, a throat, we have tone, we have a brain that can decipher sounds via our amazing eardrum, and then comprehend those sounds into language and format it so the sounds have meaning and purpose and function. 

Then we take those sounds and make words from them that have meaning, we are able to write it down in a format that can be reproduced and comprehended. That we take pleasure and comfort in the way certain sounds are collected together and words combined, that it gives us pain or great comfort and feelings of elation. 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" - we read it and it brings comfort to our soul.

Martin Luther King, decries his "dream" speech and an emotional reaction rises up inside of us, and we react by wanting to yell "yeah!"

Julia Gillard states "There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead", and we cringe and feel a sense of being deceived.

Why is this?  Have we ever considered the package of power that is in the word? By that I mean speech, words, language etc. 

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". 

Gents, there are really 3 things that I want to draw out of this topic that will radically change our world: 

1. Words don't just communicate, they create: What was the result of God's first words? creation. 

What happens when Moses, Abraham, David, Jesus spoke something to existence: it was created - be it water from a rock, parting the Red Sea, water made into wine, bread multiplied.

My contention is that words do not just communicate a message to someone else, but they have the power to create something, it is in that communication that it tells that thing to be created. 

Which leads to the next point

2. Words declare the authority over a person, place or thing.  What was the result of Jesus words over the fig tree when he cursed it, it was destroyed.   How many commandments did Jesus give us?  'If you say to this mountain be though removed and not doubt in his heart, it will be done for him"

The Bible is littered with declarations of authority over a person, place or thing, and when I talk of a person, I also mean a spirit person like a demon. 

3. Words change the environment because of point 1 & 2.   If I am always inward looking, a victim mentality, sad, negative, looking for faults, then I would contest that words are creating that environment. 

You see, you can pay large sums of money to get life coaching to tell you to think happy positive thoughts, and to speak positive things "I am  winner" "I am a conqueror" "I am a champion". Which are good starting points and will go some way to help, no doubt. 

BUT! And a big but, words that come from God, have the ULTIMATE authority and when declared with FAITH, conquer all things. 

No longer am I reciting memory verses, and remembering what God says, but now I am declaring his Word, because it IS the power and authority over all things on earth .... 'your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. 

God's strategy is salvation via the church, the co-laboring of his desire for man, via the execution of the church - the execution of the church's role is to declare the Master's word on earth (as it is in heaven). Think about it. 

Application to today: 

- speak His word, declare it into every situation, every circumstance

- speak His word, declare it into every situation, every circumstance

- speak His word, declare it into every situation, every circumstance

 

yes it did write it 3 times. Let's not over theorize this, or over analyse it, because otherwise we give ourselves an out, "yes God is random, His word works some of the time and not others..." yes, follow that piece of string and watch your faith crumble. 

 

GUYS! this has SO MANY ramifications, it will transform your world - work, family, finance, health, sex, friendship, management, salvation,  faith, everything.

Pastor Phil said something that has pierced me, when he said: 

"Your words locate you" 

Where are your words locating you? In the victim boat?  Are you "an Aussie battler" always struggling and being the victim of big business or corrupt governments?  Are you a naysayer, always pulling down in speech the other person ? Are you a insecure man, always speaking negativity to your wife and kids, so that they won't amount to anything above yourself? 

Or are you someone that speaks Life, Faith, Hope, Love, Blessing, Honor, Gratuitous compliments and encouragement, Forgiveness?  Do you create the environment that brings forth greatness in others by your words?

Final personal comment

 

For those that suggest evolution is how we got here and where we are going, when you un-package speech and communication and how are bodies are designed, it's it just a galaxy too far to think that we evolved to have a voice-box, 2 ears, a mouth a brain that all works perfectly to be able to communicate via the spoken word, Wouldn't it have been easier to evolve so that we didn't have to, to evolve so that we didn't have to be social or have the need to be social, that way we could evolve individually and go it alone.  I mean, why bother with speech and communication, especially the kinds that wants to exchange the message of "love" - love complicates things and is beyond random evolution.

Enjoy life - it's a God thing!

So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne! Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 NLT) Can't add much more to the above, seeing as it came from the wisest man on earth besides JC. Why complicate and over analyse things? I love it - so simple.

"Girls"

I find it fascinating that watching on the SMH ipad app, there was an article and video on a new TV show that stated the following : "Girls behaving badly Lena Dunham's controversial hit comedy turns the world of Sex and the City on its head. IT'S Sunday afternoon and Lena Dunham is on her way to a deli in Manhattan's Tribeca neighbourhood. In five hours, the fourth episode of her HBO comedy Girls will air and in eight days she will start shooting season two. ''Wow, some really nice guy waiting for ice-cream just said he loves the show,'' she tells me over the phone. ''I love when it's a man. Whenever I have fans, it's always teenage girls and gay boys, which are my favourite kinds of people in the world. But when a 35-year-old guy is like, 'I like the show', I'm like, 'What? That's amazing!''' Girls, which begins here tonight on Showcase, is an electric, girly, shocking comedy about four affluent twentysomething girls living, (occasionally) working and having unglamorous sex in New York City. Dunham, who conceived, wrote and directs the show, is a 26-year-old New Yorker with messy chestnut hair, a pear-shaped body and a cracking, verbose way of talking that suggests a love child of Woody Allen and Tina Fey. She plays recently graduated Hannah Horvath, a self-declared ''voice of a generation'' and chronic oversharer with literary tattoos and a flaky boyfriend. In the first few episodes she has been cut off from her parents' financial teat, exposed her breasts, been sexually harassed at work and attempted sexual harassment of her own. Meanwhile, one of her best friends has checked in for an abortion, another tries desperately to lose her virginity and another has masturbated in the bathroom during a work party. "

The video was of 2 male critics, one who had long unkept grey hair and physically looked as though he was 95 in the shade,  conversing with another man of about 40,  criticing the TV show which is about 20 something year old women having unglamourous sex. Weird! Weird! Weird!  That alone is evidence that evolution is a theory! If that is what we are evolving to, then the future is not looking too good for us! ;) The TV show "Girls" is just what i want my 7 year daughter to aspie to be,  a confused 25 year old desparately trying to lose her virginity and masturbating in the toilet at a work function...  The really great bit is that 35 year old men are complimenting the show...  That's it men, we older guys love shows about 20 something year old women losing their virginity in unglamourous ways...  Sorry to sound critical, just calling it how i see it!  Or am i the only one not wanting to normise dysfunction?! :) Instead my daughter will have a spirit and beauty and presence of heart to know who she is as a woman and hold tightly her integrity.  The LORD detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity. (Proverbs 11:20 NLT)

Realmen 2012 Event

Gents, Come along to this great event http://www2.myc3church.net/category/realmen-conference-2012 It is really fantastic and great to be amongst other men. Friday night and most of Saturday. Only $65! July 27/28 This year the sessions will be panel Q&A style. Ben