Christian Living
I had an interesting experience a few days ago. Woke up way before dawn to find that among other symptoms, I was struggling to breathe. Now, considering the current global situation, let’s just say that my heart raced a bit, but not for too long. I immediately recognized what was going on and who was trying to send me this load of deadly feelings. I had no room to accommodate them…so back to sender! I prayed for about an hour, felt better, then went back to sleep.
Here’s the interesting part….in my sleep, I could hear myself still praying and making declarations (praying in the Spirit and in my understanding). Actually I continued to pray in my sleep until I was fully awake by morning.
While I prayed, there was a feeling of wellness springing up from within me to parts of my body as I slept. I could feel it.
And in all my babbling, John 7:38 came out so loud, that in the days that followed I’ve been meditating on it.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:38 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.7.38.NKJV
Lessons Learnt…
1. Words are Life or Death.
James 3:6…
“The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.”
James 3:6 ERV
James 3:6 is not exactly a faith confession anyone wants to be making, but look at the power of words and how our words can influence our body (and life experiences)
Words are not something to play with. Words are not jokes, not games, not toys. Words are Life/Fire/Death.
I recently caught myself saying to a trader ‘I don’t have money o’ as a hangling scheme. My intention was truly to say ‘look I am not as rich as you think I am so please sell your goods to me at a cheaper rate.‘ Thank God that immediately the words dropped from my mouth, I heard in my spirit, ‘Grace, did you just say that? Infact I repeated the same saying to another trader in the same market, same day, and yes, you’re right, I got the reprimand a second time. Yours truly spent the rest of that day confessing that I am rich and I have the power to make wealth….. . I believe I said it long enough to cancel the previous declaration…. . Lord!!
If ungodly words can impact us as much as James 3:6 says, then imagine what effects Godly Words, inspired by the Holy Spirit can have on us…
Words spoken by inspiration of the Holy Spirit are Life.
2. Words do not emanate from our tongue, they flow from our spirit.
The tongue is simply a tool or medium for speaking ourselves into victory or defeat/failure.
Matthew 12:34 …
“…. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Matthew 12:34 NKJV
Now, I have cited 2 scenarios of me speaking life and speaking poverty under different circumstances. Question is ‘what happened’? ‘Am I not filled with God’s Spirit at all times? ….
In Romans chapter 7, Apostle Paul talks about being saved by grace instead of by trying to keep the law. Brother Paul, is what in present age, social media folks will term a ‘natural‘. No airs! Paul often recognized and clearly differentiated when he operated and spoke as a vessel of God and when he aired his personal opinions. Great guy! Great vessel!
In Romans 7 we see this great Apostle lamenting about his weaknesses and struggles.
“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Romans 7:22-25 NKJV
We see 2 forces begging for expression in Paul. The law of God and the law of sin. One influenced by his inner mind (spirit), the other by the flesh. In verse 25, Paul kind of heaves a sigh of relief, recognizing the presence of Jesus, even though he seems to succumb to the 2 influences.
Call Paul unspiritual or carnal, telling oneself the truth is probably the first step in getting help when in a bad state. Everyone, one way or the other experiences what Paul described.
Going back to my market escapade, haggling is not a crime, the prerogative to sell or not lies with the seller. The unusual occurrence in that scenario is the nudge from within me to speak differently….as an ambassador of Heaven. And that’s the turning point….when we can hear the Spirit and yield.
3. Rivers have headwaters, the new man in Christ have the Holy Spirit
Every river originates from somewhere; a lake, spring, glacier, marsh, etc. And many times the quality of water of a river is determined by it’s source…..assuming we allow for some level of sedimentation in its course.
See James 3:11-12..
“Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.“
James 3:11-12 ERV
According to John 7:38, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ should have a reservoir of living water (words of life), streaming freely from within him because of the indwelling Spirit.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38, NKJV.
To constantly have the words of life flowing through our tongues, we have to be diligent in depositing these words in our hearts until they form a reservoir we can draw from when the need arises.
Sometimes we miss it, but thank God we have the Holy Spirit to remind us of the right things….
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16 NKJV
As often as we yield, a cleaning process takes place and increasingly we let out clean waters.
