Anthony Wade Ministries

When I was a youngster we used to say a little rhyme that went like this:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.”

As a child I was endeavoring to keep the neighborhood bullies from getting an advantage on me by declaring that statement. Now that I am an adult I realize how untrue that ill-famed declaration is — greater yet — it is very unscriptural. It is true that sticks and stones can break my bones. All the same, names and unkind words do hurt — they can kill you — no matter who you are. Unkind and untrue words can and many times do serious harm. This is what I mean: As believers we are commanded to put a watch over our lips.

1 Peter 3:10-12 (NKJV)

{10} For he who would love life and see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.

{11) Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.

{12} For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”

The purpose of this topic is to uncover the truth. It simply is to put you in remembrance of what the Lord has commanded us all to do in relationship to our tongue and lips. The third chapter of James is dedicated to that little member in our body that gets many into trouble (James 3:1-12). In Proverbs we see another unforgettable scripture that causes us to think not only what we say about others — but ourselves as well.

Proverbs 18: 21 (NKJV)

{21} Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And those who love it will eat it’s fruit.

Either we are speaking death or we are speaking life — there is power in our words. Whether we are speaking life or death, we will eat the fruit of life or death.

My questions to you are: What are you speaking? According to Proverbs 18:21, what you are speaking you will eat it’s fruit — be it life or death. What fruit are you eating? Take a moment and do a little inventory. Inspect the fruit that is in your life. If you don’t like the fruit, put an axe to it’s root ( Luke 3:9). You may ask “how do I put an axe to the root” ? By changing your talk — you will change your walk.

Think back to 1 Peter 3:10 — For he or she who would love life, and also see good days — let him or her cease from speaking evil — and his or her lips from speaking untruth, dishonesty, deception or deceitfulness. “What We Are Speaking, We Are Seeking.” In other words, we are going to reap the harvest of what we are saying with our mouths. Therefore, what we say about someone else will in time be in plain sight in our own lives, one way or another.

WHAT ABOUT JESTING?

There are those who can’t seem to get along in life without a practical joke or making an unkind remark about someone else. When they are confronted with this type of behavior they usually come back with the old saying, “I was only joking” (Proverbs 26:18-19). Let’s see what the scriptures have to say.

Ephesians 5: 3-7 (NKJV)

{3} But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

{4} neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

{5} For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

{6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. {7} Therefore do not be partakers with them.

I did a study on foolish talking and jesting. Below is what I found.

FOOLISH TALKING
Offensive, abusive language, ridicule, or what tends to expose another to disrespect.

NOR JESTING
Artfully turned discourses or words, that can be easily inverted to other meanings; chaste words which, from their connection, and the manner in which they are used, convey an obscene or offensive meaning. It also means jests, puns, and humorous sayings of all kinds — which are not convenient. They do not rise to the proper standard; they are absolutely improper themselves, and highly unbecoming in those who profess Christianity. Now, before I am misunderstood, let me help you understand. If anyone loves having a good time, I do. What I am simply saying is that we, as God fearing people, need to be watchful of our words, and what we portray. Our manner of speech and the words we use should not have a hidden or two-fold meaning. We should never cleverly attempt to make fun of or take advantage of someone else by using words that would and could hurt them. The sad thing about this is we all, at one time or another, have either been villain or victim of this — it was, and is not proper.

FOOLISH TALKERS & COURSE JESTERS
Did you ever notice where the foolish talkers and course jesters are listed in Ephesians 5:4-5? They are listed among fornicators – those who practice extramarital sexual activity. They are listed with the unclean — unholy, defile. Covetousness is on that list of people — those who desire or lust for something that is someone else’s.

Case in point: If you purchase something and someone wants what you have, that is covetousness. They don’t want their own, they want yours. It could also be apparent as an individual wanting another person’s spouse or anything that doesn’t rightfully belong to him or her. Filthiness rounds out the list. All that is opposite to purity. Our words, if not put in the proper setting, can lead to more ungodly things. It is appropriate for us to take a good look at where we are, where we’ve been, and where we are going. If we don’t like where we are — admit that we are the one who is responsible for being there. If we don’t like where we have been — we can’t afford to park in the past. If we are not sure where we are going, then we, by the Power of ‘The Holy Ghost,’ can create the change, by changing our words. – AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All Rights Reserved. This material may not be rewritten or reproduced without the written approval of the author.

WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministries.com
EMAIL: pneumaman@hotmail.com

Father in Jesus’ Name, I Thank You that the Love of God has been shed abroad and poured into my heart by The Holy Ghost who was given to me. Your Love, Father, has been perfected in me and “Perfect Love” casts out all fear.

Father, I am your child and I commit to walk in the God Kind of Love. I endure long, I am patient and I am kind. I am never envious and I never boil over with jealousy. I am not boastful, nor do I behave arrogantly. I do not act improperly and I do not seek my own advantage. I am not easily irritated, touchy, resentful, or fretful.

I keep no account of evil done to me and I pay no attention to a suffered wrong. I am never glad about injustice, but I rejoice whenever truth wins out. I am always ready to believe the best of others. I never give up and I never lose faith. I am always hopeful and I endure through every circumstance.

Heavenly Father, I bless and pray for those who have mistreated me and are cruel in their attitude towards me. I bless them and I will not curse them. My love grows more and more in knowledge and all judgment. I embrace all things that are excellent. I am sincere and without offense until the day of The Lord Jesus Christ. I overflow with the fruits of righteousness. I am committed to plant seeds of Love everywhere I go. I Thank You Father, for preparing hearts ahead of time to receive this Love. I know that these seeds will produce “Your Love” in the hearts to whom they are given. Heavenly Father, I Thank You, that as I overflow in Your Love and Wisdom, people are being blessed by my life.

The preceding prayer/affirmation is based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8;Romans 5:5;1 John 4:18

It is a documented fact that unforgiveness is a very harmful character flaw that must be rooted out of the life of every believer. In fact, unforgiveness can stop you in your tracks. It can create more difficulty than many of us can anticipate. I’ve heard that hypertension – high blood pressure – is and can be a silent killer. People who have it, sometimes aren’t even aware of it’s dangers,
until it is too late, and serious damage is done to their blood vessels.

Well, the purpose of this article is not to give you a health lesson, but to warn you of the dangers of unforgiveness, and the other side of unforgiveness; bitterness. Both unforgiveness and bitterness can create disturbances in your spiritual well being. All too often people are not aware of the dangers that are deep within their mind, will, and emotions – their soul.

Unforgiveness and bitterness, are silent killers. What I mean by silent killers is that they can steal from the heart and soul of who you are. They can render you ineffective in your relationships with others. The intent of this article is to encourage you to do a check up, from the neck up. It is my goal to help you locate where you are in your walk with God, as well as your walk with others.

MOUTH FULL OF IT
Romans 3:14 (KJV)

{14} Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

One of the first things that a person should do to determine whether he or she is bitter is to locate what is coming out of his or her mouth. Whether we like it or not our tongues can reveal more about us than we may sometimes care to be revealed.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and he was in a very strange frame of mind. He had no idea what was deep within him until he took a good look at himself. When I say deep within, I am talking about the mind, will, and emotions – the soul (Hebrews 4:12 * 1 Thessalonians 5:23). He began to verbalize things that were shocking to him, as well as the others around him — things that were buried deep within his memory. He was wounded from injuries that had been inflicted upon him over the years. Instead of really dealing with it, he buried it. So he thought.

He knew he should not use foul language, because he had been a God-fearing man for more than two decades. Still, he had not taken a good look at himself to locate where he was. Although he knew that foul language was not acceptable yet he was cursing by allowing harmful communication to come out of his mouth (Ephesians 4:25-32).

SWEET WATER & BITTER
The Epistle of James is very graphic about what is coming out of our mouths. The third chapter is devoted to taking a good look at what we are saying. Space will not permit me to exhort you on every verse in this chapter, however there are a few things I would like to bring to your attention. James is making a comparison in this passage. He asks can sweet water and bitter come from the same fountain? The fountain that he is talking about is the mouth. In verse fourteen he puts bitterness, envy and strife in a cluster. This says to me that these three usually work together. How are they detected? You guessed it, by what is coming out of the mouth. One of the Greek definitions for bitter is something that is piercing and sharp. My question to you is are you allowing your tongue to be piercing and sharp in your interactions with others? If so, you are bitter. To be full of envy means to be full of jealousy. How can we know if we are in the middle of envy? By what is coming out of our mouth. If you are continually talking about what others possess in comparison to yourself, you could be allowing envy to be a part of your life without even knowing it. The last character trait I want to discuss in verse fourteen is strife. The word strife can be summed up with four words: debates, contentions, disputes, and arguments.

2 Timothy 2:23-26 (NIV)

{23} Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. {24} And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. {25} Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, {26} and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

BE NOT BITTER AGAINST THEM
In Colossians the third chapter the word bitter comes to the surface once more. This time it is in relation to husband and wife. In verse eighteen the wife is commanded to submit to her husband. However, her submission has a lot to do with how her husband interacts with her on a regular basis. If he loves her as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25), he can be confident that her submission will be intact. Her submission is not that she does everything he wants her to do at any given time, but it is her “attitude” towards him. If any husband will sow the right seeds towards his wife, she will for the most part, respond in a favorable manner. Even so, if he spews out bitterness her way, she is hard pressed to be submissive.

Colossians 3:19 (KJV)

{19} Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

Hebrews 12:14-15 (KJV)

{14} Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: {15} Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

It is possible to be at peace with all men if that is what all men want. However, we know that some want to quarrel about nearly everything. Life is too short. Verse fourteen says peace and holiness, without it, no man shall see the Lord. What a tall order! Remember, that if it is in the Bible, we can do it. God would not command us to do something, and not give us the power to do it (James 1:22). Verse fifteen tells us to look diligently. The word ‘looking’ connotes a continual observation on our part. Why? Because we don’t want to fail the “Grace of God.” Failing the “Grace of God,” simply means that we do not realize that He is the One Who will, and can put us over. He has a favorable regard for who we are. He has a favorable disposition towards us. Failing to understand the “Grace of God” will cause a root of bitterness to spring up, trouble you, and defile you. You might ask, “What could possibly defile me? You might be defiled with the root of bitterness that you chose to let come out of your mouth. The root of bitterness is produced because you have chosen to not ‘follow peace.’

The reason people don’t follow peace with others is, 1) They Don’t Want Peace. 2) They Are Not At Peace With Themselves.

This is what I mean: Let’s say you became sick to your stomach. It is impossible to keep in your stomach something you consumed, so you end up vomiting. Not only do you vomit, but that vomit is so abundant and forceful that it gets all over you. Your clothing, your shoes etc., is covered with the vomit that is projected from your mouth. Everything you have on is defiled. Even some of your undergarments are soaked with vomit. Not only are you covered with this defilement, but perhaps your associates and family members are standing near you. Some of your vomit gets on them. The smell is awful. You were anxious to get somewhere where you could take a shower bath and get yourself cleaned up. However, before you could get to a shower, you have another vomiting spell. Now you are so embarrassed that you cannot describe how you feel.

That my friend is what it means to be defiled by a “Root of Bitterness.” Not only does it affect you, but it has an affect on your associates and loved ones, as well. Everyone is affected when you choose to let bitterness come from your mouth. -AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All Rights Reserved.
WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministries.com
EMAIL: hgflow@gmail.com

Not to long ago it was brought to my consciousness that our words are like seeds. We must treat our words like a farmer treats his seed. If the farmer plants seed-corn he gets corn. If He plants soybean seeds, he will get soybeans. The same is true in connection with our mouth. If we plant negative we will get negative. If we sow positive, we will get positive. Our lives are on a principle called seed-time and harvest.

Genesis 8:22 (RSV)

{22} “While the earth remains, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that The Holy Spirit gives him. And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. Galatians 6:7-9 (The Living Bible).

We must get to the point that we understand that our words are containers. They will contain elements of belief or elements of doubt. According to Mark 11:23 we can have what we say. The choice is ours. If we say or sow negative, it is because we believe in the negative. Should we be surprised if that is what we are gettting? If we sow or say positive seeds should we be surprised when positive shows up? I submit to you that the farmer is not surprised when the crop he planted shows up. Why? Because He was cognizant of what he was sowing. We should be even more conscious of what we are saying—sowing. – AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All Rights Reserved. This publication may not be rewritten or reproduced without the written approval of the author.

EMAIL: hgflow@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministries.com

There is a spiritual law that is in the life of many that they don’t recognize, or have chosen to push aside. That law is the phenomenal “Power of The Tongue.”

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

{21} Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its
fruit.

In other words it is our choice what we have,what we can do and who we are by either speaking life to our life, or speaking death to our life. It is our choice to what end of the spectrum we are on. Proverbs 6:2 says that we are snared by the words of our mouth, as well as taken or captivated by our words.

Proverbs 6:2 (NKJV)

{2} You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your
mouth.

It simply is up to us what we will acquire. Why? Because this is a spiritual law that is voice activated. To be honest with you, you can tell a great deal about a person by what they choose to let come from their mouth. Without any supernatural gifting you can determine where someone is by paying close attention to what they converse about. Let’s face it, for the most part our future is determined by what we say. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.

Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

{23} For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

This verse puts a huge emphasis on what we say. Along with believing what we say, it makes mention of …whoever says, ….things he says will be done,…he will have whatever he says. Did you notice there is a tremendous amount of attention put on the word “say”? It is brought to light three times more than anything else in this verse. To me that means we need to say it three times more than anything else. If we will take the time, and have the the intestinal fortitude — spiritual guts — to say what God says about us, or any situation we may be in, I know that no doubting can overtake us. Believing will be paramount! Why? Because these things are “voice activated.” — AWM

Copyright © 2010 Anthony N. Wade Ministries — All Rights Reserved — No portion of this teaching may be rewritten or reproduced without the written approval of the author.

WEBSITE: www.anthonywadeministries.com
EMAIL: hgflow@gmail.com