What Are You Saying?*

 

     As the LORD appointed Joshua to the leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses, He gave this instruction to him: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:8-9). Do we keep the Word of God in our mouths, or have we succumbed to speaking as the world, which is at enmity with God, speaks?

     Psalm 19 describes the Word of God as being perfect, sure, wise, right, pure, enlightening, clean, true, righteous, warning, rewarding, and cleansing from secret faults. The Word of God is powerful and able to convert the soul and character of a person. (v. 7-13). David concluded his psalm, writing: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." (v. 14). David's words above reflect the instructions that the LORD gave to Joshua also. The Word departs from our mouths because we are not meditating on it.

     We see in Psalm 19 above that the Word of God is powerful, even to change the soul of a man. The Gospel of John opens revealing the Word (logos) of God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (take possession of) it not...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth...For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (Jn. 1:1-5, 14, 17). Sin and lawlessness continually try to have dominion over man as man allows them to, but the Word of God, the Word of life (zoe: the God-kind of life), light, grace, truth and glory, the Word who is Jesus Christ by whom all creation was made, cannot be overcome. The same glory that fills Christ, the glory of His Father, has been given to us. What are we saying? Are we saying this Word?

     What we say is powerful enough to affect matters of life and death: "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." (Prov. 18:20-21).

     Jesus said that we speak out of the treasure that is in our heart, whether it is a good treasure that brings forth good things, or evil that brings forth evil things. He assured those who were listening to Him: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Mt. 12:31-37, excerpt). If the Word of God is treasured up in our hearts, then we will speak grace, mercy and truth, but we will be judged either way by the words that we have spoken.

     Jesus also taught that we can whatever we say if we have faith and do not doubt in our hearts: "   For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." (see Mk. 11:12-14, 20-26). If we have treasured up the Word of God in our hearts, and meditated thereon, then the Word of God will be expressed in our prayers. That combined with faith and forgiveness (grace and mercy), will produce good fruit.

     The Lord expects to find good fruit from the treasure that we have been given. In the parable of the Pounds, while giving money to his servants, the master, upon his return, demanded to know how the money he had entrusted them with had been made to increase. All of the servants except one were able to report an increase or fruitfulness in what they had been given to their master. One servant, claiming fear, could only give back to the master the one pound that he had been given. He had hidden the pound in a napkin instead of increasing it. The servant tried to explain why he had not increased the amount citing his fear, but his master judged him by the same excuse that the servant had spoken. The servant had the one pound taken away from him and given to a servant who had been the most fruitful. (see Lk. 19:13-27, excerpt). We have been given the good treasury of the Word of God to keep in our hearts and in our mouths in order to fulfill our purpose in the earth, to be fruitful, to have good success as the LORD told Joshua above. What are we saying? 

     The prophet Malachi wrote of the Word of the LORD telling His people that their words have been against Him. They saw how the wicked prospered in the world and said to each other that it was of no use to serve the LORD. The LORD then added: "Then they that feared (awed reverence and righteous fear of) the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought (meditated) upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven...But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." (Mal. 3:12-18 and Mal. 4:1-2). Rather than those who resented their service to the LORD, those who had an awed reverence for the LORD and meditated on His name, and spoke of it to one another were written into a Book of Remembrance, and in the day of fiery judgment, they will be prospered and favored.

     Our purpose is not to think and speak as the world speaks, but to walk in fellowship with God in His Kingdom. 

*Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 8/9/26 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on the Facebook page of Kenneth E. Stevenson Jr. Dr. Stevenson's video messages are also found on You Tube at the Kenneth Stevenson channel. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, which is evidence of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook. Also the book NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling, written by Dr. Stevenson, is available on Amazon.