The Healing Power of Our Words

Introduction

Good morning, church. 1st — 5th graders, you are dismissed for BLAST. I want to say to all of the dads and grandads “Happy Father’s Day.”

Fathers, we have an IMMENSE responsibility. We carry an IMMENSE weight. Your influence, the way you lead your family, affects GENERATIONS. The words you speak to your wife and your children have power. There’s not a whole lot that’s more powerful in your child’s life than saying, “I love you.” Or…”I’m proud of you” or sharing biblical wisdom to shape their life.

ILLUSTRATION: James Earl Jones—one of the most recognizable voices in film history—was mute for eight years as a child. He had a severe stutter and barely spoke at all. Most people would have written him off. But his father told him, “Your voice will be your gift to the world.”

And it was. Darth Vader, Mufasa, award-winning stage performances—all made possible because someone spoke the right words at the right time.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Main Point: Our words have the power to speak LIFE.

This is the very reason God gave us the ability to speak and communicate. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter one that God made man in His image and according to His likeness. There are many different aspects to what being an image bearer of God means but one of the primary aspects is that we speak. The very first thing we see God do in the Bible is…SPEAK. He uses His word to create. He uses His word to give life.

We talk. We use our words to express our emotions, feelings, thoughts. Words are powerful and as we saw last week, sin and the devil hijack our words and weaponize them. Rather than honoring, blessing, speaking life to other image bearers…rather than worshiping and glorifying God, our words are used to degrade and curse one another and blaspheme God.

So, what is God’s design for our words? How can we speak life?

Well, the first thing we need to see is that Proverbs addresses…

1. The Timing of Our Words

You know, in Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that there is a time to speak and a time to be silent.

We’ve all probably opened our mouth at the wrong time. Just because you have something good to say doesn’t mean it’s a good time to say it.

Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

“Fitly spoken” (Hebrew: al-ofnav) literally means “spoken upon its wheels”—like a chariot rolling smoothly into place…or arriving just at the right time.

Listening to the Holy Spirit’s prompting in your own heart. You know what it’s like to have someone encourage you…speak a word of life into you/you get that text/call…and you didn’t go fishing for it. You didn’t go hinting. It just happened. They said, “You know, the Holy Spirit just laid you on my heart…” That’s the chariot arriving at just the right time. It didn’t come too early. It wasn’t too late. It’s like apples of gold in a silver setting. Two of the most costly and precious metals.

The imagery here is not accidental. Gold and silver in Scripture often signify that which is precious, pure, and refined (cf. Psalm 12:6, 1 Peter 1:7).

Don’t just react—respond with grace. Ask the Holy Spirit, “Lord, is now the time to speak… or be silent?” >> A big struggle in my life right now.

Ask the Spirit to guide your speech. Pause before you post. Pray before you respond. Wait for the right time. A right word spoken at the wrong time can do more damage than good. But a word in season? It can refresh the soul.

2. The Content of Our Words

If timing is about when we speak, content is about what we speak. Are our words lifting up or tearing down?

Proverbs gives us three main ways in which our words give life…

A) Encouragement

Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

Proverbs 15:30 “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.”

People are carrying around anxieties that we can’t see and we don’t necessarily know about.

B) Peace

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Israel’s defense systems // Matthew’s story

Proverbs 20:3 “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.”

Jesus said, in Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

C) Wisdom & Instruction

Proverbs 10:31 “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.”

Proverbs 15:2 – “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”

Proverbs 13:14 – “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.”

Your children don’t just need help with their homework. They need help with life. Teach them not just what to do, but how to think biblically. Show them the difference between foolishness and wisdom. Let your table conversations be a classroom for godliness.

ILLUSTRATION: Dad’s wisdom—“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” “Don’t let 5 minutes of fun lead to a lifetime of regret.”

3. The Effect of Our Words

We’ve talked about this for the last couple of weeks. Our words matter. Our words have an effect. They’re either going to hurt or their going to heal. They’re either going to be words of life or words of death. They’re either going to be toxic or their going to be true.

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “You reap what you sow.” What you plant is what you’ll produce. I don’t know anyone who would say, “I want a lot more strife in my relationships. I want more division in my church. I want more bitterness and unforgiveness in my family.”

Words erode trust. They fracture relationships. They divide churches. But, there is healing power in words, too.

Words hit deep. They hit to the very soul. You’ve been on the receiving end, haven’t you?

Proverbs 12:18 “… the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 15:4 “A gentle tongue is a tree of life…”

Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…”

Let me remind you of the verse we saw just a few minutes ago in Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

Why do you think this is? I mean…words—human words— in and of themselves don’t have the ability to heal or give life. I believe it is the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.

4. The Mission of Our Words

Now, we’ve talked about our words…

A) Evangelism

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

“Let your speech always be seasoned with salt…”

“God had only one Son, and He made Him a preacher.” – W.A. Criswell

God speaks through His people. Our mouths are part of His plan to save the lost.

Application: When’s the last time you told someone what Jesus has done for you? You don’t need a seminary degree to say, “Jesus changed my life, and He can change yours too.”

B) Worship

Hebrews 13:15 “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”

Our words are either glorifying to God or they aren’t. Now, I’m not saying that in order for our words to be worship we’ve got to go around singing worship songs and quoting scripture all day…even though that isn’t so terrible of a thing to do. But, what I AM saying is that when you speak words of love, encouragement, edification…you are speaking words that glorify God.

5. The Source of Our Words

This is the turning point in the message. Because let’s be honest—everything we’ve talked about so far would crush us if we were left to our own strength. If all we had was a checklist—“say the right thing,” “use a kind tone,” “speak wisdom not folly”—we’d walk out of here overwhelmed, discouraged, or self-righteous.

John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

This is a wonderful promise. Jesus says that the person who comes to Him in faith will have rivers of living water flowing out of their heart. That’s not mere human effort—that’s supernatural transformation.

In other words, if your words are going to be life-giving, then your heart must be life-filled. And only Jesus can do that.

You know what people need more than anything else? What we, as the children of God need most? The word of God. The word of God breathes life. It raises the dead. It heals the soul.

Paul says in Colossians 4:6 that our speech should always be seasoned with salt. We spend so much of our time as Christians talking about worldly things. Are we speaking THE words of life to one another? Are we sharing the word of God with one another or are we slandering? Gossiping? Meaningless/empty speech to one another?

CONCLUSION

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is God’s greatest Word to us. He is God saying “This is how much I love you.” He is God’s word of grace and mercy and forgiveness and salvation.

John 6:68 – “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Jesus speaks to the sinner: “Your sins are forgiven.” To the broken: “Come to Me, and I will give you rest.” To the dying: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Anchor point: Before our words can bring life, we must be made alive by the Word.

Invitation thought: “Jesus was wounded by words and nailed to the cross by wicked tongues, so that you could be forgiven, healed, and set free to speak words of life in His name.”