MOANING MINNIES MISS THE MARK

26th February 2012

No. 367

Last week I shared something special the Lord showed me on my way back from Whangarei. The reason why I really believe it was from the Lord was that He told me He would speak to me significantly on the 7 th day of my break and also that it would be in a still small voice and it happened just as He said. I had heard Him speak in some unusual ways during the week but this was really powerful. The gist of it was that His children (including me) are being kept out of our inheritance (our Promised Land) because we grumble and moan too much. In other words its our tongue that is keeping us from being blessed. He reminded me of how the Children of Israel were disqualified from Canaan Land for this very reason.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert .. do not grumble, as some of them didand were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 They came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, What are we to drink? Exodus 15:22-24 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Exodus 16:2 The Israelites started wailing and said, If only we had meat to eat! But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. Numbers 11:4,33 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. Numbers 14:1-4, 22-23 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Numbers 21:4-7

Here are just some of the times that Israel moaned in the wilderness and so many never entered in because of their attitude and their words. I think we need to reconsider what comes out of our mouths.
Proverbs 10:19 - 21 The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words. The speech of a good person is worth waiting for; the blabber of the wicked is worthless. The talk of a good person is rich fare for many, but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.

One of the things that make us vastly different from the rest of creation is our ability to use intelligent creative speech. Its that part of us that makes us very much like our maker for we are all made in the image of God. When you listen to dogs bark there is little difference between their excited bark to their telling you off bark. There was a little dog down the road from us that used to bark incessantly when he is taken out for a walk. As I pass by hed bark at me too and it sounds exactly the same as his excited bark. He needs one of those electric collars to tell him to shut up. Id put it on full volume and end up giving him a perm as well. Im afraid that we Christians should have one around our necks too at times. We have been given by God this wonderful gift of intelligent speech which can be used or abused. The Bible is virtually brimming with warnings on the misuse of our words. In fact it says that one day we will be judged by God on what we have said.
Matthew 12: 26-27 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Most people today dont even consider regulating the words that come out of their mouths and feel its their God given right to have Verbal Diarrhoea. When you listen to many people today you can be shocked by what comes out of their mouths: all the profanity, nonsense, anger and criticism flowing from their lips, bucket loads of verbal trash. There was a time when children were to be seen and not heard, but those days are long gone and its now the be seen and heard generation. So many children speak such profanity that it would make milk curdle. When I was young I never heard my non-Christian dad use the F word and I was clouted if I was heard swearing. Those days are long gone. The Bible has many warnings for us Christians, not only to watch our words but regulate their use, for in the multitude of words there is much sin. Our words can affect our health, our relationship with God, our spiritual condition and the wellbeing of all those around us.

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna (Hell). v10 Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

We Christians are called to be different from the world especially in the area of our speech. Blessings and encouragement need to be coming out of our mouths and not moaning and grumbling. We are a New Testament Prophetic people who are called to encourage, exhort and comfort.
James 3:1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.

The higher up the ladder we go the more we are judged by the words we speak. Just look at any Politician and see how the words they speak are scrutinised by the press. They can even lose their jobs by a few careless words that others would get away with. It is also the case with us Christians. When we first came to faith God winked at some of the things we said but as we grew up, more was required of us. We are called to be different and examples to this dying world. Our words are to be salt and light to stop the rot. Not just in swear words but lying, profanity and careless talk, grumblings and moanings.
Eccl 8:4 Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

In days of old the decrees of Kings could not be reversed once they had been uttered, even if they wanted it changed. Look at the decree of the King that accidentally put Daniel in the lions den. Their words were full of power and did not return void. We too are a called to be Kings and Priests unto God and our words should be full of authority like those of a King. They should be words that count, full of authority and not just be used to fill the air with the sound of our voices.
Proverbs 17:7 Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

I think that this authority is lacking in the Church today and demons dont tremble at the sound of our voices for we have lost the spiritual power of our words through there misuse. We dont realise what we have been given by God and misuse it through over use, watering it down or polluting it with profane padding or lies. We dont send out spiritual arrows anymore but spray our watery words all over the place. A wise man was once asked why we dont have authority in our words anymore and he said that when you leave the oven door open too long you lose all the heat and the bread doesnt cook. Its when we speak too much that we lose our power. Just to show you their power, look at the words of Jacob over the life of Rachel in Genesis 31:34. Jacob didnt know that Rachel had stolen her fathers idols and said.
Anyone you find your gods with shall not live. Before our relatives, discern what is yours with me, and take it." For Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen them.

Rachel was not caught with the idols but was dead within 4 chapters even though she was the one that Jacob loved the most. This generation is in self-destruct mode through verbal diarrhoea and bad attitudes. What we are saying is ruining our lives and bringing a curse down upon us. Our grumblings are keeping us out of Canaan. If our tongues are a rudder that is to steer our ships to a safe haven then we need to start today calling upon God to help us change course. We must stop just saying what we feel and begin to live by the word. We need to ask ourselves; What does God say on the matter? We are called to have the faith of God and speak out creative faith filled words just like He did.
Mark 11:22-24 Jesus answered them, "Have (the) faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.

Have you ever tried a non-grumbling and criticism fast for a whole day? Try not to say anything negative for a day and see how often you speak profane useless words. The world would still go on without our enlightened comments and wed end up feeling so much better at the end of the day.
James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. http://ghotter.blogspot.com