Glory Of The Story Series

Power of the Parables

Pastor Ryan Akers

Part 1- The Glory of the Story

James 3:4-6

(Read The Foot Book)

How many of you remember being read to as children?

(Story time in 2nd grade in Mrs. Imgarten’s class reading Where the Red Fern Grows)

Some of my most vivid memories or a time in my life where I was impacted the most was when I heard a story that really touched me. I always laugh when someone comes up to me after the service or even 3 years later and people will say how they loved that story I told. Where can they get a copy of that story, or “I remember 3 years ago you spoke and you told a story that really spoke to me?”

Stories are a big part of our culture. We are consumed with wanting to hear more stories whether real or fictional. We love it because it allows us to enter into a fantasy world where for a short time we can pretend to be a part of someone else’s life. We can feel their joy and struggle and hurts and successes. We can relate to stories that are similar to what we are going through in our lives or have experienced in our past. So from books, movies, magazine, television we are consumed with stories. I believe that the stories we hear or have heard in the past whether you know it or not have had and will have an impact on your life and how you live.

Stories are incredible at speaking to our emotions.

I will talk more about that in a little bit. What I want to look at today is the fact that without one key ingredient to a story there would be no story. This ingredient makes the story come alive. It is what fills you with the emotion. That ingredient is the word. Without words there is no story only a blank page.

Our words not only impact us but they impact everyone around else.

Now I want you to hang with me hear. We take it for granted that the words we speak is such an incredible gift from God. The ability to communicate with each other is probably bigger than anything that has ever been invented. The word is so simple yet so incredibly complex. Words can mend relationships and start wars. Words can express love and bring laughter or words can cause tears and anger. So the question I want to ask is…

What is in a word?

Power

Our words are powerful. They carry weight that can bring people to their knees or make people feel like they are flying on cloud 9. And it is an incredible gift that God has given but it is also an incredible burden. Because we have to constantly be watching ourselves to make sure we use wise words.

Words basically have the power to do 3 things in yours and others around you lives and you have to choose which of these you will use in your life.

Words have the power to…

1. Heal

What do I mean healed? Do I mean that when I pray over someone and say, “In the name of Jesus you are healed?” that they become healed. No my words cannot bring that kind of healing. Now my faith in God’s ability to heal and God’s Holy Spirit moving through that sick person is how someone is healed. Our words without God’s moving cannot bring healing. The type of healing I am talking about is an emotional and spiritual healing. Christ was a physical healer. Christ was actually all three physical, spiritual and emotional but a lot of what we read in the scripture and what people always demanded to see was more healings like it was a magic trick or something.

But Christ because he was God had the ability to heal on command and later God working through the disciples were able to do the same thing. But along with physical healing Christ through his words brought emotional and spiritual healing. Through people toughest times Christ forgave them.

Luke 7: 36-39, 44-50

Through our words we can bring healing to people’s lives. We can comfort them in their time of need. We can encourage them to keep fighting the fight and running the race. We can stand up for them when others put them down. We can let them know that everything will be okay.

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12: 18

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Prov. 16:24

Pleasant words bring healing. We can pray with them, uniting with them in faith that God will bring them through. We can share how in our lives we have gone through the same thing and bring comfort to them knowing that things will get better.