Text: Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Theme: Declaring God’s Word and promises over our lives
Introduction
- This morning as we gather in the Presence of God, let us each examine our lives [e]
- Let us each list the thing and situations we find ourselves in this morning [e]
- I have always wondered why the Word, prayer, encouragement and advice seem to bounce of people, without making much difference their lives [e]
- The reason for this is that many of us are waiting for things to happen to us without taking the first steps.
- Today, in this service, we are going to take those first steps and start making some declarations over our lives [e]
- We are going to start making some declarations over our homes [e]
- We are going to start making some declarations over our husbands [e]
- We are going to start making some declarations over our wives [e]
- …………………………………………………..over our children [e]
- ……………………………………………… over our bodies and our health [e]
- ………………………………………………….over this church [e]
- ………………………………………………….over our church building project [e]
- ………………………………………………….over our financial situations [e]
- …………………………………………………..over our future [e]
- As our text teaches us this morning the power of life and death is in our tongues [e]
- We need to make a choice this morning
- There are 2 choices we can make….firstly:
• We can speak curses over our lives [e]
• We can speak negativity over our lives [e]
• We can speak doom into our future [e]
• We can speak failure into everything [e]
- Or, we can choose this morning to start declaring God’s Word over our lives:
• We can declare the promises of God into our lives [e]
• We can speak His Word over every situation in our lives [e]
• We can declare brightness into our future because according to Jeremiah 29:11, God holds my future….not the devil [e]…..not the economy [e]…..not any politician [e]
• We can speak blessings into our lives [e]
- Everybody can bear me out, I am quite tolerant of lots of people [e]
- But, I refuse to be part of negative people [e]
- Today, we are going to make a start to begin to declare God’s Word over our lives and over any situation that may arise [e]
- When trouble comes…..
- When sickness comes….
- When the enemy attacks…..
- No matter what happens…..
- Let us as a church learn that we must start declaring God’s Word over them
- Lets begin right here in church this morning:
- We going to learn to start using our tongues for life [e]
- I believe that there are 3 parts to every Christian’s life:
• The spiritual
• The physical and material
• And the future
- We are going to deal with these 3 areas as we start declaring God’s Word and His promises over them.
- Lets start with the spiritual
1. Sin
- Before we tackle any area in our lives we must first deal with sin [e]
- Sin is a sermon….in fact a whole sermon series on its own [e]
- But we will just acknowledge what sin does:
- Sin:
• Alienates us from God [e]. Isaiah 59:2 – “But your iniquities have separated you from God; And your sins have hidden His Face from you.”
• Separates us from God and He does not hear our prayers [e] John 9:31a – “Now we know that God does not hear sinners…”
• Produces feelings of guilt [e] [The Apostle Paul in Romans 7 stated that he was troubled because the things he wanted to do, he did not, but what he did not want to do, he did]
• Brings curses [e]
• Opens us up to the attack of satan [e]
- I want to lead you before we do anything in a confession of sin and a declaration of repentance.
- Please stand with me this morning
- Repeat after me :
- Heavenly Father, in Jesus Name, I stand before You. Today, I confess that I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I ask for forgiveness and I repent of all my sins. I now declare with my tongue that…I am forgiven and that I am now a child of the most high God. Amen!
- What we have done is the starting point for everything God wants to do today [e]
- You see, it would be pointless making any other declarations over our lives if we have not confessed our sins and asked for forgiveness.
- The Bible says in Psalms 66:18 – “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”
2. My Spiritual growth and my ministry
- We need to declare that we are going to grow in Christ [e]
- We are going to make a statement into the atmosphere this morning that we are not going to remain stagnant, but we are going to move forward for God [e]
- God does not call us to stand still [e]
- God does not call us to turn backwards [e]
- But He calls us to move forward [e]
- Moving forwards call on the believer to pray…to study His word….to be involved in ministry.
- Many of us have been stationary for far too long [e]
- Lets stand and make this declaration into the heavenlies:
- Heavenly Father, according to your Word in 2 Peter 3:18, I declare that I will do all I can to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Your Son and my Saviour, Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
3. My support of God’s work and His servants
- When we make a declaration of support for the work of God and for His servants, we are in essence saying: “God Your work is important to me and I agree with You in using certain people that You have called”
- When you don’t support God work, you are saying that your work and your life is more important than God [e]
- When you don’t support the people who God places in ministry, you are saying that God is wrong in calling certain people into certain ministries [e]
- Today we are making spiritual declarations [e]
- Everything to do with God work is spiritual [e]
- John 18:36 teaches us that God’s Kingdom is not of this world [e]
- Stand with me as we make this declaration:
- Almighty God, I stand before You to declare that Your Kingdom is more important than my work. I declare that I will support the Kingdom of God before anything. I pledge hard work to you to see the church grow, to see the Gospel spread and the sick and needy ministered to. I also pledge to stand with the leadership of the church whom You have ordained to be here, to support them and to pray for them. Amen.
4. My home and my family
- We now are going to make some declarations over the physical and material
- We are going to speak the Word and God’s promises over our homes and our families [e]
- How many of you are ready for that? [e]
- Our homes are a blessing from God [e]
- Our families are blessings from God [e]
- Our husbands…our wives…our children…our families are blessings from God [e]
- I don’t know about you, but I am tired of the devil playing havoc in our homes and trying to destroy our families.
- Today, we are going to declare God’s Promises and His Word our homes and families [e]
- Stand and declare with me:
- Father God, in Jesus Name, I present my home and my family to You. I declare that in Jesus Name, that my home shall be blessed with the peace of God. I declare my home to be Your home, because all that I have is Your’s. Father I release the power of the Blood of Jesus over my home that it shall be protected from the evil one. Father I ask for Your Presence to be in my home so that my household shall be blessed like the household of Obed-Edom. I declare that every person in my family shall be blessed, anointed, happy and peaceful in Jesus Name. Father let not any worries come to my family, because you are in control over all our situations. I declare that the priesthood of the father shall re-established and re-inforced in my home. I declare that the mother of my home shall have honour and happiness. I declare that my children shall be called blessed. I declare that the God of Heaven is now in control of my home. Amen.
5. My good health
- Today as we look into God’s Word, we see that He has promised to keep us in good health [e]
- God’s Word teaches us that He is our Healer [e]
- Psalms 103: 2 – 3 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,”
- God promises to heal all our diseases…all our sicknesses [e]
- There is nothing too difficult for Him [e]
- Healing is in God’s nature…He is even called Jehovah Rapha…God our Healer [e]
- Today I want you to declare God’s Word and promises over your body [e]
- Stand with me :
- Lord Jesus, I thank you that by Your stripes, we are healed. I declare over my body, over my illnesses, over my disease that I am healed in Jesus Name. I break the power of sickness over my body in Jesus Name. I declare good health, strength, and vitality over my body. Every disease…high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, pains, dread disease shall be loosed out of my body now in Jesus Name. amen.
6. My money and my job
- Money is a big part of our lives [e]
- We need it for everything [e]
- Yet we somehow cannot seem to have enough to buy and to do the things we want to [e]
- Satan wants you to live in poverty [e]
- Satan wants you to be tied down with debt [e]
- Satan wants to make you a borrower [e]
- Satan wants to keep you below the breadline, so you can never discover that God has also destined you to be a blesser [e]
- Wow! God created you to be a blesser and a blessing [e]
- Satan never wants you to reach that potential [e]
- Satan never wants you to get a good job or receive a promotion [e]
- He wants to keep you as part of the general workforce and he wants to keep the unemployed…unemployed [e]
- Yet God created you to be blessed [e]
- How many of you are ready to declare financial blessings into your lives? [e]
- However, here I must mention that if you are not faithful to God in your tithes and offerings, no amount of declarations will break that curse that you are calling upon yourselves [e]
- For those of you who are battling with this area of tithing, take a decision this morning to honour God [e]
- Not next month, not in 2 months time, but at the end of this month [e]
- Lets now stand together and declare God’s promises of financial blessings into our lives:
- Heavenly Father, in Jesus Name, I thank You that You are the Creator of heaven and of earth. Your Word declares that You are the Owner of the cattle on the thousand hills. Your Word teaches us that You will command a blessing over our lives. I declare that I am financially blessed because Your Word promises that You desire that I be in good health and prosperity as my souls prospers. I declare Your financial blessings over my life because You promised to supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory. If I have robbed You with my tithes and offering, I repent. Please remove the curses that are associated with robbing You as I know pledge to faithfully honour You with my full tithe. I thank You even for my job and I declare open door of employment and promotion into my life in Jesus Name. I now declare that I am blessed. amen.
Conclusion
- Finally, we are going to declare God’s Word and promises over our future and over our family’s future [e]
- We are all afraid of the future for various reasons:
• Our kids
• The economy
• Employment
• Safety and security
• Education
• The direction this country is heading
- Today, I want to say : “Calm down…God is in control!”
- How do I know?
- Jeremiah 29:11 – “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you’ , declares the Lord ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’ “
- Isaiah 41:13 – “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you’ “
- God will never leave His children destitute or desperate [e]
- Lets stand as we make our final declaration:
- Father I thank You that my future is secure in You. Even though I don’t know the future, it does not matter because You do. I declare that my future is bright and blessed because I give you control of everything. I know that in the future my children will be well and blessed because I commit them to You now. I now that You will bring me to an expected place that You have prepared for me. Let me now rest assured in You. amen.
