I believe the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ provides a level ground of play for everyone who has been redeemed. Jesus had already paid the ultimate price for us.
There are some things that should not be. They are aberrations. Both things we engage in and the things we permit in our lives, relationships, and marriages.
Let me zero in on today’s topic on the negative use of our tongues.
Our tongues are very powerful. We are created in God’s image, and we know that God is a speaking God.
We change the course of our lives and destiny by the proper use of our tongues
Our text this morning admonishes us to use our tongues positively.
If you are in a relationship and your fiance or fiancee has a bad mouth and tongue, that’s a red flag.
Don’t take this lightly, trivialize, overlook, or dismiss them, as they will change after we are married.
Putting a ring on someone’s finger does not change anybody. Put your feet down and let him/her be schooled about the proper use of the tongue.
James 3:9-10 [TPT ]We use our tongue to praise God our Father and then turn around and curse a person who was made in his very image! Out of the same mouth we pour out words of praise one minute and curses the next. My brothers and sisters, this should never be!
To the married, Jesus was speaking through James, that the negative use of the tongue ‘should not be’
It is not permissable. In other words, ‘don’t allow it’
As Christians, there are things we should not permit. We should say no to mean words, demeaning words, hurtful words, and abusive words spoken to us, our children, about our marriage, career, finances, health, etc
We have the authority to refuse it. When we rebuke that spirit, it has no choice but to flee from our marriage. We need to take responsibility; Jesus won’t take that responsibility on our behalf.
Remember, this should never be in your relationship and marriage.
By now we all know the scripture God gave us and are standing on it for manifestation. The little we know is all that is needed.
While meditating on this scripture, the Holy Spirit told me that this scripture also relates to the family.
Isa 60:22 (KJV) A little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time
When we become truly united in the family, ‘our little’ becomes a thousand. God has designed it so that our interdependence with each other will produce far more than our individual effort, grace, anointing, strength, influence, and productivity.
In God’s arithmetic of marriage, one plus one never equals two. One Plus one equals three. It goes on and on until our one plus one equals ten and multiples of ten. It will always start with the little – husband and wife.
When husbands and wives walk in unity, bringing their unique ideas, graces, and anointing to the table, we don’t have a better idea, we have a completely new idea that is better than either the husband’s or wife’s initial idea.
Unity is not just sameness but complementary. You don’t have to be the same but complement one another. That’s humility and preferring one another to ourselves.
This is the atmosphere for thriving, blossoming, and flourishing. There is a powerful principle in the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. That’s the power of effective listening, first seek to hear before you are heard.
Effective listening brings unity which is necessary for us if our little is going to become a thousand.
Let’s work towards agreement in our marriages. The devil will challenge our agreement and unity. We should be wiser than the devil and not let go of the unity in our marriage. Our fight should be against the devil, for ourselves to defend ourselves.
How beautiful would it be if all marriages could strive and work at attaining this stage where they truly become a thousand?
Great victory will be won for the kingdom of God and great disaster done to the devil’s kingdom.
Abigail is one of the women in the Bible, with rich lessons to teach and wisdom to glean from.
Her story is in 1 Samuel 25: 1 – end.
Her story teaches us how to handle any difficult relationship. Whether it is a relationship with an employer, an associate, a colleague, a child, a mentor, a mentee, a spouse, or a family member, it’s the same principle and it can be applied for success.
1 Samuel 25:3 [KJV] Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
Emotional intelligence, people management, and good understanding were virtues that Abigail possessed. Abigail had a good understanding of herself, her husband, her situation, and her household.
Our focus is not on Nabal’s behavior but on her ability to beautifully manage and navigate the situation.
It is our year of supernatural growth and our emphasis should be growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 [KJV] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The more we learn to develop the fruits of the Spirit, the better our relationships will be even if the persons are “churlish and evil in their doings” like Nabal
We can see her good understanding being displayed in her attitudes, speech, actions, and the quality of her inner life.
Her good understanding helped her to know the times and seasons and how to salvage a situation that would have led to the murder of every life associated with Nabal, both young and old.
The story of Abigail is not just for wives but also for men, who want to know how to manage people. People are ladders, especially those relationships God brought into your life.
Don’t discard people because of offenses and unforgiveness. You need to understand that not every man has developed fully in the fruit of the Spirit. They might just be the help you need at certain junctions in your life.
There are some things we have control over and some we don’t have control over. You don’t have control over other people’s behavior but you have control over your attitudes.
It’s all about how you react when others treat you badly.
Being married to Nabal was a lot, but Abigail was a woman who had a good understanding.
Isaiah 11:2 tells us that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and understanding.
I pray the Holy Spirit will impact our lives with Good understanding in Jesus’ mighty name amen
Storms are a part of life. They are inevitable. It’s either you have just faced a storm, you are presently facing one or you will face a storm in the near future. Storms are also called challenges. As believers, God wants us to face and overcome whatever storms life throws at us because He has equipped us. Victory comes after overcoming challenges, and that’s where we get the crown.
In life, no one ever gets a crown without overcoming something.
There are, however, strategies for overcoming our peculiar storm. Storms may come in the form of financial difficulties, barrenness, health issues, misunderstanding, etc.
Let’s look at the scripture
Isaiah 40:31 [KJV] But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
God wants us to be like eagles that soar when the wind is contrary. The eagle does not flap its wings to fly but uses the wind to its advantage to soar.
This singular ability distinguishes the eagle from all other birds. It’s the ability to soar.
But the secret to soaring above whatever challenges we may be facing is our ability to wait on the Lord.
Waiting on the Lord is not worrying, it’s not complaining, it’s not thinking about problems, it’s not crying, it’s not getting depressed. It is spending (by discipline) quality time praying in the spirit and worshipping God, then He gives us the supernatural ability to soar above the storm.
Don’t concentrate on the storm. Take your eyes off the storm. The storm was mentioned once. So the focus should be on you. You mount up with wings as eagles, you, run and are not weary…
As you focus on yourself and what the Holy Spirit can do in and through you, you begin to receive strength, strategies, wisdom, and divine favour and before long, you will overcome whatever challenges life throws at you.
There is no shortcut to a life of victory. It is a praying life. Jesus said, “Men ought to Pray always”. Praying in the Spirit or praying in tongues works like magic. It generates miraculous power that the devil cannot master.
I encourage you to do this and victory is on the other side of the storm.
There is one key that I know works for every relationship. It works on the principle of being proactive rather than reactive.
When you are proactive, you are intentional, and that’s what we all have to do in our relationship. Every relationship has benefits to offer. God created man not to be an island but to leverage relationships in such a way that your weakness finds strength in the other person or partner.
Our relationships offer a complimentary advantage. One can only chase 1,000, while two will put 10,000 to flight.
Being proactive in relationships involves taking initiative, showing responsibility, and consistently making efforts to strengthen the bond. It also involves not allowing the weaknesses of others to determine your actions or feelings.
Many people have a hard time coping with the inadequacies of their partners. Their response to their partner is based on whatever their partner does.
Our response should be based on our core values, understanding of our purpose, and that of our relationship.
Anytime we are proactive rather than reactive, we become the bigger person- walking in love as against rendering evil for evil and tit for tat.
Let this be your rule in whatever relationship you are in.
