Do Not Speak Against Your Blessing

Do Not Speak Against Your Blessing

Scripture: Proverbs 18:21; James 3:3-10; Mark 3:28-29;

Introduction

This message came to me a couple of weeks ago while I was watching TV. I began working on it while I was on an airplane coming home from Phoenix which led to me having a Spirit-filled discussion with a young lady on the plane. From the time that I first received this message, I have heard example after example of people speaking against their blessing. I have even done it myself to which I was quickly convicted as I thought about this message. It has become such a habit that I do not think we think about what we are saying and its consequences. Let me give you a few examples:

• Spouse: I started with this one because it is very common. Our spouses are a blessing to us for the Lord – whether we realize it or not. When we degrade them or talk about them to their face or behind their backs we are speaking against our blessing. Those words are alive.

• Ourselves: God has blessed us with many gifts and talents, yet we find ways to speak against them. We may not want to believe that there is anything special about us so we never step out and realize our potential.

• Our Possessions: We have houses, cars, clothes, TVs, jewelry and everything else that a person could ask for – yet we are not satisfied. Whenever we are not satisfied with our blessings we begin to talk about them. The house is not big enough; the car is two years old, etc. Thing type of talking changes our perception of the blessing.

We have all said things that we regret but this morning in this message I just want you to consider the impact of speaking against your blessing. I am not sure how many of you are aware of this, but there is a movement in America that states that we are only blessed when we are walking in financial prosperity. For those individuals, the thought of prosperity centers only on financial prosperity or material gain. This extra emphasis on prosperity has taken the focus off of what it really means to be blessed. When we lose that focus we easily get into a situation where we actually begin to speak against the blessings that God places before us. God may be answering our prayers but because those answers may not be “earth shattering” we fail to recognize that the prayer has actually been answered. Our blessings do not come across as blessings any longer because they do not measure up to what the world say a blessing should be. God desires that we stop speaking against our blessings; all of our blessings from the smallest to the largest, the cheapest to the most expensive should we receive with gratitude. This is the season for thanksgiving.

I. The Power Of Words

You have heard me speak on the power of words before. The words that come forth from our mouths are often spoken from our heart. Even though we may be smiling and laughing when we speak them, there are times when there is truth behind the words spoken, even when they are spoken in a joking manner. The Scriptures tell us that our words carry power and we should be very careful how we use them. For example, Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” What the writer is saying here is that we reap the seeds that are sown by the words we speak. Once our words are spoken they become a living force on their own. It matters not how many times we say we are sorry, those words will continue to live in the heart of the one that they were spoken to.

In the 3rd chapter of the book of James, James says: “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James 3:3-10