Words Influence Love (40 Days Of Love)

Words Influence Love

Psalm 1:1-6 Acts 2:1-20 Pentecost 5/31/09

We are in the midst of 40 Days of Love as we celebrate Pentecost. Pentecost is the day the Holy Spirit fell down on the church. There were about 120 men and women gathered together in prayer. Jesus had told them, do not leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. They had no idea what exactly Jesus was talking about, but they decided to pray for it to happen.

There they were in the upper room, when all of a sudden it felt as if an earthquake was shaking the building. There was a sound of a whirlwind up above their heads. They looked up and saw this huge tongue of fire. This fireball immediately split into parts and started to settle on top of them. Some of us would have probably been trying to put out the fire or at least keep it out of hair.

But when the fire hit them, it immediately changed the way they were speaking. They immediately started preaching in other languages. The noise from the building shaking inside and out must have sounded as though a bomb had gone off, so people came running to the area to find out what had happened.

They probably expected to find dead bodies from the explosion, but instead they find these people preaching about Jesus in their own language. Since it was a big feast time, there were Jews from all over the world who spoke various languages. They could not believe that these uneducated Jews were preaching in their languages from Asia, from Africa, and from Europe. God placed within his people on the day of Pentecost, a language that people could understand wherever they were from.

Some people who didn’t understand some of the languages claimed the disciples and believers were just drunk and making up funny sounds. But Peter got them straight, and said, “no way are we drunk. It’s only 9 in the morning. This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that God said would happen. The Holy Spirit had been promised to the old, the young, the men, the women, the rich the poor, and everybody in between. The people were speaking a universal kind of language.

God has a universal kind of language today and it is the language of love. I find it interesting that the first change the Holy Spirit made on the day of Pentecost in the lives of God’s people was in their language. Their words took on a whole new meaning. God changed the affect and the power of their words, by connecting the words in their mouths to the ears of those who heard them.

If you had been from Africa that day, you would have heard somebody speaking an African language. If you were Cappadocian , you would have heard someone speaking the Cappodocian language. God uses our words to reach others for Himself.

When we talk about 40 days of love, we have to be aware of how words influence love in a negative and positive way. God used words on the day of Pentecost to demonstrate his love. God is still using words to change people’s hearts. One of the instruments we have to love others with is our mouths. On the day of Pentecost, God used the mouths of his people. The mouth is a powerful part of the body because words come out of it..

There are three things I want us to recognize about our mouths. The first is my mouth, my words direct where I go. The words that come out of my mouth determine, which direction my life is about to take. How many of you have said something, and immediately said or thought, “Ooh I wish I had not said that.” Those words that came out, are about to direct us to the principal office, to the unemployment line, or downstairs to sleep on the couch or out the door. My mouth, my words direct where I go.

The second thing is my mouth, my words can destroy what I have. Have you ever had somebody say something to you that hurt your feelings so bad, you gave them up as a friend and quit hanging with them? They lost the relationship they had with you. Have you ever said something where somebody was going to do something for you, but you lost what you had because of the words you used? Nothing causes us to lose the love of other people quicker than our mouths and saying things that truly hurt them.

The third thing is my mouth, my words tell everybody else what kind of person I really am. Have you ever seen a guy or girl that you thought were pretty attractive until he or she opened his or her mouth? Their words displayed they were not the kind or sweet person you thought they were. What we are on the inside is eventually going to come out on the outside in the form of our words. The Bible tells us that our words even tell others how dumb or smart we are. It says, “even a fool is thought to be wise until he opens his mouth”. If you want people to think you’re smart, just don’t talk to much.