Pt. 1 - Never
I. Introduction
I am literally surrounded by words . . . maybe even millions of words. But I'm not the only one. Did you know that the average person uses 60,000 words daily! That is the equivalent of writing a 60 page book every day! Words are common. Words are everywhere. However, just because they are common and everywhere doesn't mean that words aren't important. In fact, according to Scripture . . .
1. Words matter!
Remember what Solomon said in Proverbs 18:21? There is the power of death and life in the tongue. Wow, I think we forget just how much words matter. And it isn't just the words we say, but also the ones we listen to as well. I have discovered that whoever has your ear has your soul and your destiny. That is why we are told in Scripture that as man thinks in his heart so is he. The words we listen to and entertain set up in our heart. Can anyone else remember the lyrics to a song that you learned when you were 15 or 16 years old? The lyrics linger. Words linger. That is why it matters who you listen to.
By the way the power found in words is not determined or based on whether the words are true. Untrue words have the same power of life and death in them. The power is in the words. That is why God can use words to create and the enemy can use words to destroy.
2. Learn to discern!
That is why it is absolutely essential that we learn to discern. We are told that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd. But how many of us choose to listen to another voice that is speaking death and because we don't discern the source of words we see the fruit of those words come to pass in our life? We are tasked with discerning who is saying what! Our life depends on our ability to learn to discern. The perfect example is found in Genesis. If Eve would have never listened to the serpent, then she would not have fallen. If she had learned to discern who's voice she was listening to, then it would have made all the difference.
We know that God is always speaking, but what we need to learn is that the devil is always speaking too. The Genesis account also shows us that discerning when the enemy is speaking isn't always easy. So, we must listen carefully and prayerfully. That is why I think it is so important to identify the words that devil has in his dictionary. I am convinced that the devil only uses a few words to keep us defeated. He knows how to leverage these words and he reuses them century after century. He repeats these same words and they are dangerous words we live by.
3. One of the most dangerous words the enemy uses is the word "never".
I think one of the most dangerous words the devil uses against us is the word "Never."
Let's go to the story of Abraham and Sarah. The enemy uses one word . . . never to impact history.
Genesis 15:1
After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”
Genesis 15:5
Then he took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!”
Genesis 16:1-3
Sarai, Abram’s wife, hadn’t yet produced a child. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai said. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.
Genesis 18:9-12
The men said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “In the tent.” One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man. Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?”
Abraham receives a promise from God. However, because time passed between the promise and its fulfillment, Abraham and Sarah become convinced that they will never see God's promise come true. Sarah comes to the conclusion that she will never have a child. So, they make a choice based on the word "never" that has created decades and centuries of war, hate and death. That one word has impacted the world.
The same word can impact your world too. What has the enemy said would never happen in your life? What promise has God made to you that hasn't come to pass and all you can hear now is "never"? The word never is dangerous because if you believe that "never", then like Abraham and Sarah, you will take matters into your own hands and make long lasting mistakes.
By using the word never, the enemy often convinces us that the temporary is eternal. So, we make mistakes that have permanent consequences. It is clear from Ecclesiastes that everything happens in seasons. In other words, what is happening in one season may not necessarily be happening in the next season. But the enemy uses the word never to convince us that our season will always remain the same. He uses the word to try to convince us that what we face today we will always face tomorrow. Even though what we face is only temporary and possibly even for our good often, because it’s uncomfortable undesired and unwanted, we become convinced it will never change. We allow the enemy to cause us to mistake a "not now" for never.
4. We must decide who gets a final word.
You must determine who gets to give you a final word. The word never is a final word. It speaks to impossibility. It speaks to a life sentence. It speaks to permanence. It literally means "under no condition." It speaks to forever! Some words are open ended like "maybe: or "perhaps". But never is a final word. The enemy would like to give you a final word. We must determine that the only final word we will believe and embrace is a final word that comes from God. The truth is God can break the power of the enemy's final word by simply changing one letter in that word. In your life, He can set you free from the finality of never by giving you a life giving final word like ever. He can change "I will never be free" to "I won’t ever be bound." "I will never have enough" can become "I won't ever be without." "I will never be happy" can become "I won't ever be downcast." I will never change" can become "I won't ever be the same!"
God’s word never changes but He will change the enemy’s word if you let Him.
What final word from the enemy have you believed? What final word from the enemy has caused you to give up hope, take matters in your own hands, make permanent mistakes in a temporary season? It is time to listen closely to the "nevers" in our and lives and ask God to turn those nevers into evers!
Prayer!
