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Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
I would like thoughts on what this means to you.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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For me, it simply means words have the ability both to hurt and to harm, to tear people down or to build them up as Ephesians 4:29 states. What it doesn't mean to me is the ability to create through speaking my words, as in creating prosperity through the power of positive affirmations, etc...
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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What it doesn't mean to me is the ability to create through speaking my words, as in creating prosperity through the power of positive affirmations, etc...
.........Totally agree Amanda
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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I was hoping for more responses, perhaps later. But I went home and started to study this last night. I have heard all my life "speak those things that are not as though they are." And I discovered last night, that IS NOT scriptural!!! Never add to or take away from the word of God! It made me quite angry finding this. Romans 4:17 KJV states "even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." MAN has turned that into WE are supposed to speak things into existence.
I read a lot of similar verses and some commentary on Proverbs 18:21. There IS the power of life and death in the tongue. We can tear each other down, tear ourselves down, etc. We can talk ourselves out of things we know we should do (death) or talk ourselves into things we need to do (life). We can tear others down with our words, ESPECIALLY when we make them feel there is something wrong with them and that they don't have enough faith when they speak the word and do NOT get healed or get out of poverty, etc.
And those who love it will eat its fruit: We reap what we sow. Those who love to tear others down with their words will eat the fruit of that. They will reap exactly what they've sown.
Now does God want us to be negative? No. But then HE is the only one who can heal us of something that didn't happen overnight and won't go away overnight. And when someone lapses into negative self talk or they state what all is happening bad in their life, the LAST thing they need is for someone to tell them that now God can't do anything for them. That makes me angry there as well because if you believe God CAN'T do something, you need to examine your own negative talk. God can do anything He chooses. God weighs our hearts. The doubting father asked "help my unbelief", and Jesus in no way told him no since you doubted. People really do need to watch the words that come out of their mouths, even when they're admonishing others to watch theirs.
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Thinking on this further last night and this morning....
I see nothing wrong with stating what you want to see in the natural. It's like prayer. It's letting God know what you're asking. And God does say if we seek Him first, He WILL give us the desires of our heart. So we state our desires, to be healed, be out of poverty, etc.
I think by stating such things, affirming, we are actually increasing our own confidence to step out in faith on things we might normally hold back from trying. Things that God can work through to meet those desires.
I read a list of affirmations based on scripture daily. It has helped me to gain more confidence. It's helping tremendously. I've been doing it for about a month. However, I don't do it to say I'm a little God or that I command God to do these things. I know God says He will and it's all in His time. I do it to build my own faith in God and build my confidence.
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Permalink Reply by a servant (Chris) on
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Seek
I guess what you speak you get. Like any fruit it may take time, yet for us to speak about Life in Christ we gain everything. To speak against that life would and is deadly.
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But that's where I'm having trouble Chris. Does that mean if I say I have a million bucks over and over and over, I will ultimately end up a millionaire? This is what some teach.
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That is just it Seek, that is where so many fall short. We are not Promised a million bucks per-say. We are however Promised Love and Life in Christ. Yes, the scratch would always be nice. Yet, our True Hope is not in this place. I do understand we have to live here. And, it is Difficult at times. Yet, when we focus on Him and in Him, we do discover Peace. {Not that have perfected all of it yet, I still struggle at times as you know}
Love ya Sis so many are pulling for you.
Chris
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Thanks Chris but I'm doing ok. Still got a lot going on. But had something said to me Sunday that amounted to this stuff that upset me and I've been trying to figure out where I stand on it.
Some say we're told we will be a lender and not have to borrow, that we'll prosper as our soul prospers...using scripture to claim God promises us financial security. They also say God will give us the desires of our heart and therefore if we desire a million bucks, just keep speaking it into existence. And those who speak and speak and these things don't happen to them, others will use such words to condemn them and make them feel as if they're doing something wrong or don't have enough faith...they tear down with such talk. This is what this person was doing Sunday. He wasn't meaning to tear down, but that's exactly how his words were affecting me. He wasn't using discernment in my opinion.
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Sounds like you Were using discernment as you should. What you we must to do is Trust. To put our Hope in Him. To know that He has THE PLAN for us. Does that means it takes turns we may have to figure out why? In my case YES AT TIMES. Yet, what we go through, and how we go through things, shape us into His Design. The biggest and the hardest things we have to do is TRUST. To know we are Loved does ease that burden.
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Permalink Reply by bg on
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You have the power when you speak to others to either lift them up or put them down. Jesus says its not want goes in your mouth its the hatefull words that come out of your mouth.
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Permalink Reply by JB on
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What it doesn't mean to me is the ability to create through speaking my words, as in creating prosperity through the power of positive affirmations, etc...
Whether or not we believe words have any effect on the unseen, we are living it every day. The more we talk about our problems, or situations, the bigger or worse they get, ever wonder why? Because of the very fact that you are getting exactly what you are confessing. When we confess that we are depressed, fearful etc. we are feeding that problem, depression depends on and is fed by fear. If we want to get fat, we eat more bad foods, if we want to get smarter, we read and study more about that which we want to know more about. If we want more of God then we need to confess what we are, and who we are in Him, and what He says about us, If you are afraid to confess your oneness with Him, that His life is your life, that His ability is your ability, that His strength is your strength, that His wisdom is your wisdom, if you are afraid to confess it, than it isn’t yours, it is what you can boldly confess that will defeat your enemies, and build courage and faith in yourself. You see, your faith can never rise above your confession. A true confession comes from your heart, your spirit and not from your intellect. This is why He says to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth. Otherwise it is only a hope, and not faith. We usually speak what our emotions are dictating to us, and we will believe them before we believe the Word of God. This is being led by the senses, and not by the Word “Spirit” and unless we allow the Word to gain the ascendency over our thinking, we will be led by those emotions, and will fall into worrying and fear. We don’t deny the existents of the situations, we just remember God’s Word that says, greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world, submit yourselves therefore unto God, resist the devil and he will flee from me, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I am a believer and according to the Word, there is nothing impossible to me. It is when the Word becomes reality and not theory, that we can confess it and eat the fruit thereof.
I know there are a lot of preachers that tells us to, just confess it and you will get or have it, Well… I say, unless it is a promise of God; you can confess it all you want, but until you can believe it, (and that faith comes by hearing the Word) they are just empty words. This is what leads people into doubt and frustration, they want to believe that preacher because he makes it sound so simple and easy, but when we try it and it doesn’t work for us, we will conclude that it must not be for me, or it just isn’t God’s will for me to have it etc. We must remember that the New Testament is the Will of God for the new creation.
Some even think we are trying to command God to do this or that, We are not commanding or asking God to do anything; but we are commanding the forces of darkness to become obedient to the authority of the Name of Jesus, as Peter and John did at the gate beautiful, when they raised that crippled man up in the Name of Jesus. The Word of God spoken in faith; and no doubting, will bring forth the desires of your heart.
It is strange to me that some will say “I believe every word of the bible from Gen. to Rev.” yet we deny the very things that God says will happen if we say “speak” certain things. If we don’t or can’t confess what the bible says about us, then why don’t we just tear out the parts we don’t believe or agree with? Our body and emotions are speaking to us at all times, usually contrary to the promises of God, but we listen to those voices and repeat what they are telling us, I’m depressed, I’m fearful, I just can’t do this or that, instead of turning to the Word and let it speak to us and believe what it says, rather than the negative influences, so when we speak God’s Words over the situation, those words are Spirit and we are speaking as if it were God speaking and it will produce the same results, because they are spoken by faith, the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember it is no longer I that liveth, but Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live in this flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
All of this can be resolved by the renewing of the mind to the Word.
Ro.3:4 God forbid; yea, Let God be true and every man a liar…..
Ja.3 says…the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
I say again, The Word MUST prevail over our thinking!!!
God Bless.
JB
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