James 3:2-4 (NKJV) 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
Yesterday we made the case that God’s word in believing hearts is a tool that he has given us to release the power of God’s possibilities. God’s word are not just philosophical or even theological statements of truth. Jesus said the words that he spoke are spirit and life. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the word of God is alive and powerful. Proverbs 4 it tells us that they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:22.)
Yesterday we found from Proverbs 18 that the right words bring a satisfaction to life. In the next verse we find that words release either life or death. I do not believe this is talking about physical death, although can also be true. I believe it is talking about spiritual death or the power of sin that came into the world through Adam’s rebellion. That force transformed the Garden that God meant to be man’s home into the place of strife, suffering and death it has become. In this verse the Lord is giving us insight into a way to stop the force producing death and release the force of life.
Words have power. The words we choose to speak matter. That is not at issue. It is clear in the Bible. One of the problems people have accepting this is they do not feel it can be as easy as just speaking the right things. They are right. It is not just speaking the right things.
First, it is speaking the Word of God. That sometimes gets lost in the debate. It is not positive words alone that have power. Both positive and negative words do have the power to create atmospheres and mindsets in the natural. However, I am talking about making a connection with the world where God lives. To do that we must speak his words.
Even if we speak God’s words, we must speak them in faith and according to the principles he lays out in the bible. We cannot live ungodly lives and expect speaking the word of God to change everything. I pointed out early in the study of “all things are possible” that one of the most powerful statements that will release God’s possibilities is the statement made by Jesus in Gethsemane.
He did not want to face the cross. He did not want to bear the sin of mankind and the separation from his father that it would bring. He declared that all things were possible but then he made the statement for which the devil has no answer. “Nevertheless, not my will but your will be done.” If we want life to be released as we speak God’s Word, that must be the place from which we speak it. God’s will must be more important to me than my will.
Today we read one of the ways that speaking the Word of God will release life in us. What James says uses some very natural illustrations to express a spiritual truth. Let us remember that the truth itself is spiritual and works in the spirit not so much the flesh. The result on our flesh is a result of what happens in the spirit.
The illustration James uses is of a bit in the mouth of a horse and the rudder of a ship. The purpose of both rudder and bit is to set a course. We tend to think of steering in terms of driving a car. Although the steering wheel serves the same basic purpose as the rudder and the bit, our minds tend to think in terms of the action of steering. We always have our hands on the wheel ready to make adjustments that keep the car on the road. We know if we take our hands off the wheel we risk disaster at any moment. Bits and rudders do not quite work that way.
The purpose of both is to set the direction. Although adjustments may need to be made they are not as constant as those we make in a car. We must keep the car on the road. If a car goes off the road it usually means a wreck. A ship has a whole ocean to navigate. The boundaries are not set like they are on a road. The idea is to keep the right “heading.” That refers to a compass reading. As long as we head in the right direction we will get to where we need to go. If we have to change headings slightly to avoid a storm or something else, we have to get back on course but the emphasis is on the heading not the moment to moment direction.
The same is true of a horse. I have done some riding. Horses may need to follow a road but there is a difference between a horse and a car. The horse can see. It does not want to go over a cliff. It follows the easiest path unless there is a real reason not to. Once you get the horse on the path you can hold the reins loosely. The horse will continue on the path. If the path turns, the horse will turn. Not so with a car.
Our words set the course of our lives. The picture here is not the minute and continuous corrections made by the steering wheel of a car. Once we set the course we simply need to continue on it. If we find that we are “off the desired heading” we make corrections to get ourselves back on course. It is not about every little word we speak but about the course we a setting.
When we choose to speak the Word of God over our lives we set a course that leads us to God’s possibilities. When we choose to speak doubt and unbelief or when we choose to declare what we see as the highest truth, we set a course that limits us to man’s possibilities. Which course are you going to set?
I say this because of some of the misunderstandings that arose concerning the power of words. We should speak the Word as much as possible when it comes to the circumstances and situations of our lives. That does not mean that we should not express our needs or ask for help. Some took the teaching about the power of words and made it a message of bondage for themselves and others.
I had one lady who would always come and ask for prayer but would never express the need. The reason she gave was that she did not want to make a “negative confession.” She was so afraid to say the wrong thing that she could not even ask for help. This woman never got any freedom from the bondage in her life. That is not what the bible is teaching.
If you need help, you have to express what the need is or no one can help. You need to understand what is wrong to know what words from God’s Word to speak in order to change the course. It is not about the moment to moment confession of our mouths. It is the pattern of what we say that sets the course.
Let me put it this way. One right “confession” of the Word of God will not negate a life of wrong speaking or wrong living. One wrong “confession” of doubt, fear or unbelief will not negate a lifestyle of right speaking and right living. Our pattern of speaking the Word of God by faith will get us on and keep us on a course that will produce God’s possibilities.
Use your words! God says they have power. Set the course towards God’s possibilities. Do not allow this tool to become bondage. If you find you have been speaking contrary to God’s word, just give the bit a tug. That is all it takes to get the horse back on track. Sometimes they do not like it. Sometimes you have to be a little insistent and keep up the pressure until they go where they should, but they will eventually go where you need them to.
It is the same with the way our words set the course of life. Sometimes we need to take control of the rudder and make the ship change course. If we do, we will get to where we need to go. Just do not let the horse or ship go wherever it wants to go. Then you may never get to God’s possibilities.
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