What You Say Matters
MESSAGE SUMMARY
Pastor Brian Charles opens a new series, "What You Say Matters," on the principle that what we say flows from what we think and from what is stored in the heart. Starting from Proverbs 23:7, "as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (he cites it as Proverbs 3:7), and Luke 6:44-45, he describes the heart as an internal storehouse where we can deposit faith or doubt, and he points to Israel's evil report as thinking contrary to what God had already said. The believer is in charge of his own mind. Thoughts will come until the day we leave this world, but 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to cast them down and bring every thought into captivity to Christ, and Ephesians 4:27 warns against giving the devil a place.
He shows how a thought that is entertained, spoken and then acted on becomes a stronghold, using examples of hidden sin in ministers and in homes, and he shares his own testimony of being set free from lust and from embarrassment about worship, when the Lord told him to dance for Him as he once danced in bars. Matthew 12:37 and Romans 8:1-3 contrast words of condemnation with life in the Spirit: feelings can lie, and the believer is a king who takes authority over the enemy whatever he feels. Romans 12:1-3 is the center of the message: present your bodies, do not be conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and remember that everyone has received the same measure of faith, which you must develop for yourself. He illustrates speaking and believing with the woman with the issue of blood, who prophesied her own contact point, and with people healed at a large healing meeting after saying for months that they would be, set against a man who left the same way he came because of unresolved offense. He also cautions against criticizing how others worship, using David and Michal, and encourages believers to be themselves and free in worship.
He closes with Joshua 1:8, explaining that "meditate" means to murmur the Word to yourself day and night, and with Psalm 2:2-4: the world will always oppose the church, but the Lord laughs last, and the church is a restraining order on Satan. He declares that believers are in charge, calls anyone watching who is wrestling with depression, bondage or a physical attack to cry out to Jesus, and says he will pick the series up again on Sunday.
SCRIPTURES REFERENCED
- Proverbs 23:7 "as he thinks in his heart, so is he"; cited as "Proverbs 3:7"
- Matthew 12:34 out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; reference not stated
- Luke 6:44-45 read (NLT); a good person brings good from the treasury of a good heart
- Numbers 13-14 the children of Israel's evil report and their murmuring; reference not stated
- Ephesians 4:27 "neither give place to the devil"
- 2 Corinthians 10:5 read; casting down imaginations, every thought into captivity to Christ
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 "we have the mind of Christ"; reference not stated
- Luke 19:13 "occupy till I come"; reference not stated
- Psalm 127:4 children as arrows; reference not stated
- Proverbs 22:15 the rod of correction drives rebellion far from a child; reference not stated
- Philippians 2:12 working out salvation, working from salvation and not for it; reference not stated
- Matthew 12:37 read; by your words you will be justified and by your words condemned
- Romans 8:1-2 read; no condemnation, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
- Romans 8:3 read; what the law could not do, God did by sending His own Son
- James 1:25 the perfect law of liberty; cited as "like James says"
- Romans 12:1-3 read; present your bodies, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, the measure of faith
- Proverbs 26:11 a dog returns to its vomit; reference not stated
- Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you"; reference not stated
- 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 the man in sin removed from the church so his soul may be saved; reference not stated
- John 16:13 the Spirit will guide you into all truth; reference not stated
- 2 Samuel 6:14-23 David dancing before the Ark and Michal's mockery; reference not stated
- Psalm 100:1 "make a joyful noise to the Lord"; reference not stated
- Mark 7:13 the traditions of men make the Word of God of no effect; reference not stated
- Colossians 2:8 philosophies and the rudiments of the world; cited as "as Colossians said"
- Romans 10:17 faith comes by hearing; reference not stated
- Mark 5:25-34 the woman with the issue of blood touches the hem of His garment; reference not stated
- Joshua 1:8 read; meditate on the book of the law day and night, then you will make your way prosperous and have good success
- Matthew 16:26 what if a man gains the whole world and loses his soul; reference not stated
- Psalm 2:2-4 read; the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and His anointed, and He laughs
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 He became sin so we could become righteous; reference not stated
- Romans 10:13 whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; reference not stated
- John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life"; reference not stated