The Power of Life & Death
At “new birth”, you receive the authority to become a child of God.
Authority is effective only if it is exercised. The potential of the
“new birth” at salvation is unlimited! However, the actual results you
see in your life depend on the exercise of authority that goes with it.
In other words, what you will become or see released in your life is
determined by the extent to which you exercise your God-given authority.
In verse 1 and 2 of Deuteronomy 19, Moses deals with the cause of blessings:
“If you diligently obey the voice of the
Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments… all these
blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the
voice of the Lord your God…”
More literally, the first part could be translated, “If you will
LISTEN LISTENING to the voice of the Lord your God…” The repetition of
the verb “to listen” gives added emphasis. Simply stated, the
conditions for enjoying the blessings are:
FIRST: Listening to the voice of God
SECOND: Doing what He says.
Blessings are promised to those who hear and obey his voice.
In Deuteronomy 28:15, Moses states the primary cause of all curses:
“
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto
the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments
and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses
shall come upon thee, and overtake thee…”
The cause of curses is exactly the opposite to that of blessings.
They result from not hearing God’s voice and not doing what He says.
The refusal to hear and obey God’s voice can be summed up in one word:
REBELLION.
The meaning of curse in the Hebrew, as it is used here is “vilification.” Let’s really process what this word means:
To
vilify is:
1: to lower in estimation or importance;
2: to utter slanderous and abusive statements against : defame.
The main vehicle of both blessings and curse is WORDS!
What
you speak is a result of who you believe you are! What is in you, will
eventually come out! In Hebrews 11:3, God’s Word declares that “the
worlds were framed by the word of god.” If creation would have remained
in the heart of god and never proceeded out of the mouth of god, there
would be no world today. Say what you want not what you see!
“ An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
but through knowledge shall the just be delivered”
Prov 11:9 KJV
“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:
but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
Prov 15:4 KJV
“ Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Prov 18:21 KJV
“Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth –
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth”
(Prov 6:2)
The Apostle James had much to say about the use of words. He points
out that the tongue is a small member of the body, but the hardest of
all to control:
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:
so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body,
and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
James 3:5-8
James emphasizes the tremendous power that words have to affect people….
either for good or for evil.
You hide yourself from the enemies in your life by speaking His Word.
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit..put it in your mouth and
speak it!
“Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips,
I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer”
Ps 17:4
When you speak the Word of God over yourself, you are establishing yourself. His Word causes you to be
stable and not waver.
Our mouth gives expression to what we think, feel and want. Your
words reveal what you believe. What you speak is a result of who you
believe you are! I’ve talked with you about how the main vehicle of
both blessings and curses is WORDS!
You must exercise your authority to choose what you speak – whether you will “vilify” or whether you will “kneel.”
God wants to transform you into His original intention – a mighty
vessel of honor, used to bring heaven to earth in His mighty name!
