Tongue Talking (Pentecost Sunday)

I know being Pentecostal you think I am going to refer today to the gift often called glossalalia. Tho I may refer to that phenomenon, I really want to refer to the more natural use of the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21NCV

21 What you say can mean life or death.

Those who speak with care will be rewarded.

NKJV21    Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit

1.     The tongue is an organ that is used for tasting and talking. When it comes to talking people have found, since the tower of Babel, hundreds of ways (languages and dialects) to express the concepts of their particular culture. The study of linguistics is an amazing study.

A.    There is street language, colloquialisms, and slang…which can all be pretty close to the same thing.

B.    Many words have taken on a stigma of vulgarity or even obscenity and Christians need to be careful if and how and when and where they use such words if at all. There is no place in the Christians language for profanity!

2.     But no matter which language you speak, there are some things that are similar to them all. Of course we speak English. In English you can curse by using by-words, euphemisms, and certain slang expressions. Some of what we call “cussing” is also referred to as swearing.

A. Christians should avoid the questionable use of words and expressions and should abstain from vulgarity, obscenity, cursing, swearing etc.

C.    But you can curse someone without a cuss word. When you unjustly and wrongly criticize a person, slander a person; gossip about a person…you are cursing men. When you are unkind with your remarks of sarcasm, cynicism, and skepticism, you are cursing men. These men are drunk on new wine…cursing. He cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub…. cursing etc.

D.   But what we don’t realize is that we can curse ourselves. One principle that escapes Christians at times is that of loving yourself. The Word says to love your neighbor as you love yourself. In other words you must first do to yourself what you want to do to others…(careful not to misunderstand this). If you curse yourself…you are too hard on yourself…you will probably have your attitude tainted toward others. Remember Elijah….there is none left but me Lord…you might as well kill me. Even Job’s wife said to Job, “Why don’t you curse God and die?” She was cursing Job there. She wanted him to curse his own life.

1)     When you malign, unjustly criticized, and assign unscriptural professions over your life. You are cursing yourself. If you hate yourself, you will hate others. If you curse yourself you will curse others.

2)     Know that Jesus took the curse for you…on the tree. Swear not!

3.     Blessings are scripturally based pronouncements that impart spiritual power with them.

A.    You must first bless yourself. The Bible says no man yet hates his own flesh but nourishes it and cherishes it. You should take care of your body, soul, and spirit. This is part of holiness. Say I can do all things…You bless yourself when you bless the Lord…. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Let the weak say, “I am strong”…and on and on we go.

B.    After you have convinced yourself that you are blessed and highly favored of the Lord, then you can bless others. Because your blessing to them is delivered with power. You can say be blessed and it be more than just words (Victory Over Darkness-I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am a child on the King etc)

4.     James (which is the proverbs of the NT) says that no man can tame the tongue. So therefore we are left with a dilemma…We can’t bless ourselves, so we can’t bless others. What is the solution? Bless God.

A.    James says with the same tongue bless we God and curse men, my brethren, these things ought not so to be. This of course is a facade. Because once the sweet waters of blessing God become your lot…cursing men becomes harder and harder. If you curse men…blessing God becomes harder and harder. The solution is become a God chaser, a worshipper of God.

B.    When you Bless God…He will Bless your tongue. Let the meditation of my mind and the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight of Lord my redeemer.

C.    Perhaps that is why he chose tongues as a supernatural sign of the Holy Ghost. I want to encourage you today to become a tongue talker. Speak the right kind of language…allow your native tongue to be filled with fruitful and wholesome utterance. Let your tongue be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Have an altar call for the yielding of the tongue. Have people bless one another.