SOUL DETOX
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The Power
of Words – pic
“Words
which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.” – Mother Teresa
Sticks
and Stones
“….. may break my bones but words
will never hurt me”… NOT! Maybe it
should be more like Craig G says “sticks and stones can bruise your body for a
few days, but words can scar your soul for life’.. I think that is more
accurate. Cuts, scrapes and bruises will
heal in days or weeks.. even a broken bone. But words….some can stay with us
for a life time.
My 6th
grade story…
Like a bomb
that annihilates human life, words can devastate. Our body may remain unharmed,
but our heart suffers the deadly shrapnel of painful phrases/ words. King David
wrote in Ps 64:3 “They sharpen their tongues like
swords(A)and aim cruel words like deadly
arrows.(B)”
Everyone
in this room can probably recall the pain of someone’s harsh words scalding
your soul. Maybe many of us still hear messages from years ago, playing an
endless loop in our minds… our minds are like a computer.. they are like a
recording device.. however, nothing that goes in, ever gets removed/
deleted. Oh how I wish we had a delete
button for memories and hurtful words!
Picture
here
Words/
statements like:
-
you’ll
never amount to anything
-
I
wish I never had you
-
You’re
nothing like your brother
-
I’m
sick of you
-
I
never loved you
-
You’ll
never change
Even tho
we cannot hit the delete button for these statements… we CAN offset them by
words of truth, hope and love. The right words at the right time can be helpful,
healing, and life transforming. Prv 18:21
“The tongue has the power of life and death,(A)and those who love it will eat its
fruit.(B)
Words are
powerful beyond imagination… What has your experience been in offering
encouraging, hope-filled, complimentary words of blessing these last few weeks…
What has the impact been on those around you?
God
created the world – how? With His words! God said, “let there be….” And there
was… Words have power. Godly words can
revive, heal and change our lives. Ungodly words have the power to bind,
imprison, hurt, damage, literally destroy.
From Soul Detox:
Creative
words create
Destructive
words destroy
Hurtful
words crush
Helpful
words build up
Toxic
words poison
Soothing
words heal
Faith-filled
words bring life
Faithless
words bring death (death of hope)
We have
choices every day. When we hear the words of others, we can choose to ‘receive’
them as truth or reject them as lies – shield of faith we discussed a couple of
weeks ago – create the image of plexus glass in front of you. – guard your
heart.
Every time
we open our mouths to utter a word, we have the opportunity to speak life or
take it.. rob people of hope.. rob them of their dreams.. rob them of
truth.. How are you doing?
Thumper pic
- “Like Mama always says.. if you can’t say somethin’ nice.. don’t say nothin’
at all”. (paraphrase)
Both
Sides of your Mouth
Prv 12:18 “The
words of the reckless pierce like swords,(A)but the tongue of the wise brings
healing.(B)
What are
reckless words? They are the ones that as soon as they come out of your mouth
you wish you could take them back.
Pic of toothpaste
being squeezed out
They are
the words that are filled with bitter, painful, cancerous messages that leave
people sick and wounded. Prv 15:4 “The soothing tongue(A) is a tree of life,(B)but a perverse tongue crushes the
spirit.(C)
Pic of redwood
tree
The redwood tree can grow over 300 feet tall, and live for over 2000 years--but it cannot stand alone. Beneath the surface of every redwood is a vast, intertwining root network that connects each tree to its neighbor. When the storms blow against the redwood, it is able to survive and will continues to thrive because it relies upon the strength of the whole forest. TOGETHER, we are stronger! The beauty of God's message through nature!
Positive
words plant seeds for beautiful trees. Deceptive words poison others like weed
killer.
Some of
the phrases that impacted us negatively were not necessarily done with malice..
For example “Did you mean to do that that way?” “WOW.. who did your hair?”
“You’re not married yet – why not?”
“Hmmm.. I thought you would do much better than that”.
With all
the negative, joy depleting words we have all rec’d.. my hope and prayer is
that we can also remember some of the life-giving words that God provided just
in the right moment.. to help us hang on… maybe from a teacher, a coach, a
friend, a friend’s parent, a neighbor… healing, uplifting words like: “I
believe in you”. “I am so proud of you”. I am more thankful for you than you
could ever know”. “If I had the chance to choose all over again, I’d still
choose you”……. Healing, supportive words
spoken at just the right time…
Words that
are gracious words like honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones…
like it says in Prv 16:24.
Right
now.. I hope there are people in your life whose words keep you going – those
who remind you who you are and what you have in Christ. When others criticize
you, they bless you with words of life and encouragement. We have to make a
conscious decision to reject the toxic words of people and embrace God’s
affirmation by His Spirit – His truth – His word.
Pic of gal
being wrapped in God’s word
When
someone says something to or about you, train yourself to categorize the words
the same way we train our kids with the game – truth or trash.
Slide that
says truth? Or trash? Trash can and a Bible
maybe????
Analyze
the message and source before swallowing and digesting what someone else wants
to feed you.
Are their
words true? Go before God and ask for confirmation..
Are they
based on God’s word?
Is what
they are saying supported by data over time?
What do
you sense the person’s motives are in sharing this with you? – do you believe
they have your best interest at heart? – they genuinely care about you and your
personal growth? Or… do they have
something to gain? It’s more about them
and how they feel rather than the opportunity for your growth.
When I
talked about this 2 weeks ago, I talked about allowing people to speak into
your lives .. asking those close to you to challenge and confront you.. hold
you accountable. There are those that will come your way that want to do this
that have not been invited by you to do so… that does not mean that you
discount or disregard what they are saying to you.. it simply means you need to
take the questions above and put their comments to the test.
There are
times when God will use people very unexpected to convict us but more often
than not, it will come from those we have respect for and those we know
genuinely love and want God’s best for our lives.
Choose
Life..
The last
few weeks I have asked all of you to bless others with your words. When you
think something good.. say it. Bless others and even yourself for that matter
with positive words all day long. Make a quick call.. send a text or email…
simply saying “I was just thinking about you”. Say I love you’s… I appreciate
you.. I miss you…I admire you.. I adore you..
of course.. be careful you’re sending these things to the right person..
LOL! Can you imagine your boss getting a
text from you saying.. “just want you to know how much I adore you”.. ha.. We can NEVER offer TOO MUCH encouragement!
Everyone
here probably knows someone or maybe it is you.. who is struggling in a
relationship. If so.. I guarantee you.. it is filled with toxic words – maybe
even to the point of being verbal abuse.
Words
matter… either they are taking life or giving life. Choose LIFE!
As we
consider our self-talk we need to understand that what we say to ourselves
could literally be limiting our future. The words we speak to ourselves can
become our self-fulfilling prophecy.
Pic of
basketball player
It is a proven fact that…An athlete is more
likely to make the shot after visualizing making it… and more likely to miss it
after visualizing a miss. Our words – external and internal are absorbed.. and
they have the capability of shaping our future!
So.. start giving life-giving words to yourself – even out loud! Speak
God’s word out loud!
Then.. a
pic of a mountain
Notice how
Jesus emphasizes the power of what we say, In this case, to a mountain. Talk to
the mountain – maybe it’s time to stop talking ‘about’ the mountain and talk
‘to’ it! What’s your mountain?
Biblical
Example – David – remember Goliath?
1Sam 17:45-46 “45 David said to the
Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,(A) but I come against you in the name(B) of the Lord Almighty, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied.(C) 46 This day the Lord will deliver(D) you into my hands, and I’ll strike
you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses(E) of the Philistine army to the birds
and the wild animals, and the whole world(F) will know that there is a God in
Israel.(G)
If we are
facing a giant or a mountain in our lives right now… maybe it’s time to tell
our opposition, “You are not bigger than my God, with God’s help I WILL defeat
you”… Possible exercise here
Homework: Pastor CG gave this assignment to a man who
came in for pastoral care and counseling who was suicidal… I think we need to
take the challenge but I will go easy on you:
This week
– write down 50 reasons why you should live – not just exist – but really
LIVE! Pastor CG had the guy write 100
reasons… several months later the guy moved and he lost track of him. Many years passed and 1 day the man walked up
to him after church with tears in his eyes thanking him for that assignment..
reaching into his wallet handing him the list of 100 expressing the fact that
he did not need the list any longer.. God had written hundreds more reasons on
his heart.
Let’s
speak to our mountains.. let’s speak truth over our lives.. and let’s support
it with reasons to LIVE! Not settling
for mediocrity any longer… let’s choose to really LIVE! We have the power to create life through our
words… Let’s do it!
“I have
all that I need. Christ is my sufficiency”
I have all
the faith I need for this. This giant will be defeated by my God!
Today..
God will give me victory!
God is my
source of joy and peace! Etc etc etc
etc….
LIVE!
SOUL DETOX
– The Power of words
GROUP WORK
Toxic words are words that wound
and distort truth. Which relationships have been sources of toxic words in your
life?
Parent Teacher
grandparent sibling friend
pastor son daughter
boss colleague neighbor
spouse extended family
member other…
Of the above, which stand out the
most to you? Pick 3.. then share at least 1 with the group – what were the
toxic words and what is the impact those words have had on you? Take the time to work through the rest this
next week.
Share a time that you were given
healing words that changed your life.
What are some other phrases etched
in your memory that have shaped your life?
Good and bad…
Possibly Do the handout exercise
this week as homework and the 50 list
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