The Power Of The Tongue

It's in the nineteenth verse. "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord. The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:19-24) Reading from the Proverbs of Solomon we find in the twenty-first verse: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue:". In this twenty-first verse of the eighteenth chapter of the book of Proverbs, it tells us that death and life lies within the power of the tongue. You know when you read the Proverbs of Solomon sometimes they're a little bit baffling, unless you can get into the mind of the Lord. And then when you get into the mind of the Lord you find out that it is remarkable as to the great, wonderful hidden wisdom that there is in the sayings of this man Solomon. You remember Solomon was a king, the son of David. And he was taught many things by David and he accredited many things to his father David. He said, I was taught at the feet of my father. But then it was that Solomon prayed to God for understanding, knowing that he was to be king over Israel and that they were such great people in the sight of God. The Bible speaks of Israel as being the apple of God's eye. And knowing that they were such great people, Solomon felt so inadequate for this job or the purpose of the Lord, so he prayed sincerely to God, and he said, Who oh God, can stand before so great a people? So he pleaded for wisdom and he said, Give me an understanding heart that I may be able to go in and out among your people and know how to talk with these people. And so it was that it pleased God well, because Solomon did not ask for riches, nor did he ask for long life. He asked for understanding. He wanted an understanding heart. And God said, Solomon, because you have asked for this, I'm not only going to give you this understanding heart of wisdom such as no man before you has ever had or them that will come after you as a king. And it pleased God so well. He said, I'm going to give you riches and I'm going to give you the long life, and all these other things. Whereas the Bible bears this out, even in the New Testament teaching, that if we'll seek God first, that all of these other things will be added unto us. As to whatever there might be in life as to natural things as to things that are necessitated to existence or life, all these things the Bible said shall be added unto you. And so then it pleased God well. And here we find Solomon saying unto us that death and life is in the power of the tongue. And then you wonder what is this that he is saying? How is this great saying to affect mankind? What does he mean death and life is in the power of the tongue? You know the Bible speaks of the tongue in the New Testament, and it says that the tongue is a little member and that it is set on fire by the course of hell. And that no man has ever attained it. And that the man that can bridle the tongue, the Bible said, the same is a perfect man. And here Solomon uses the terms long before the coming of Jesus that life and death is in the power of the tongue. Now you know God just doesn't say things for naught, nor did great men like this king say things for naught, because his words being a figure of renown his words were powerful and strong and people placed great emphasis on the things he said. And so then he didn't just say things for naught. So when he spoke of these things, they were deep sayings that had some deep meaning to them that had to be saught out. And here is one of the deepest perhaps where he uses the terminology that death, think about that now. When you think about death, the hard thing of death, that terrible calamity that befalls all people, this hideous monster as we magnify it to be in our minds, death, every man trembles and shakes at death. No matter how great he is, no matter how much money he's got, the Bible said, all that a man hath he'll give for his life. And when this hideous thing begins to approach us as to what we call death, then it's like the train that goes through the land, the old train that use to run through the land you know, you could feel the vibration of the earth. Like a serpent it run along the track and it would get down near the crossing and cross over that crossing. We knew to stop and wait, because that meant death. And many a person has been killed at the crossing. All of these things being spiritually symbolic. So then death, the horrible thing called death. He said, Death is in the power of the tongue. Life is in the power of the tongue. This magnificent thing that we refer to as life. Everybody is seeking after life. Even medical science spend all of their time seeking after life. People seek after life, taking vitamins, they do all kind of exercises, they try to protect their bodies and their make up on the inside as to the organic parts of the body. They try to take care of these things. In different kinds of weather they dress differently. See, and they look for the best foods. Life, life, this thing called life. So magnificent it is. And you know God speaks of life. And Jesus says that I am the Prince of Life and that I've come that you might have life. That that's my mission in the world. This is why I came. He said, Now Satan is a thief. He's a robber. He comes but to steal and kill and destroy. That is he is the one that is the enemy of God and the enemy of life. And he hath power as to death. And Jesus says in one place that this is the purpose of the Son of God in the world that he was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Then he says in another place, he said, And I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. So then at Calvary Satan was defeated. Thus death was defeated. And this saying that Solomon has here is before the coming of Calvary, so then he speaks of life and death being in the power of the tongue. Then we see the magnificence of life, the Prince of Life, destroying him that hath power over death that we might have life. He said, I've come that ye might have life, for I am the Prince of Life, he said. And I've come that ye might have life. My concern is for you, my creation, so much that I've come that ye might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. The word meaning filled up and over-flowing. And David tells us that his cup overflowed. So when we think of this magnificent thing called life. Here it is so striking that this would rest within the power of the tongue. And yet when we consider that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And then when we consider that Jesus said, My words as to the tongue. He said, My words are spirit and they are life. And they that find these it shall be health, the Bible said, to their body and it will be life to their spirit. For my words are spirit and they are life. And when we think of what the Lord said about sending the Word, upholding all things by His Word, sending the Word. And the Bible said, By His Word He cast out the unclean spirits, by His Word He healed them. And it's faith of that Word that saves us. So we see there's power in the tongue. Jesus would say to an unclean spirit: Thou unclean spirit, come out of him and enter no more into him. And the unclean spirit obeyed. And the people marvelled. And they said, Never a man spake like this man. For His words are with power. For He commandeth the unclean spirits, and even they do obey him. And so then it was the same way with healing, when He forgave the man of his sins, the power of the tongue, he said, Man, thy sins be forgiven thee. And then when they marvelled and said, Who are you that you should forgive sin? God alone can forgive sin. And Jesus said, You marvel at that. He said, Man, take up thy bed and go thy way, or that is, Be made whole. And the man he rises up and he's made whole. See, I'm saying something here. And that is again I'm referring back to Solomon's statement. Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Did you know that Peter, when He spoke to Ananias and Sapphira, he said, Why hast thou allowed Satan to put this into thine heart that ye should lie to God or lie to the Holy Ghost? And the Bible said, Immediately they fell down dead. They wound them up and took them out. See, power of life and death in the tongue. My, can you imagine such a thing? And it tells you and I, you know and the Bible said, And nothing shall be impossible with God. And then we come to another Scripture and it said, And unto you as an individual nothing shall be impossible. So then we see again great words in which we place our faith and confidence, see, even God's Words of promise. So then we see here power of life and death. Peter spoke to Ananias and Sapphira, Jesus spoke to the man that needed healing. And then he tells you and I, he said, Whatever you say, if you don't doubt in your heart, but if you'll believe what you say and not doubt, the Bible said, Ask in faith, nothing wavering, for if you won't doubt, then you can have whatsoever you say. Think about that, whatsoever you speak or you say, if you believe in your heart and don't doubt you can do that. And Jesus said, Greater works than these that I do shall ye do because I go to the Father, that is I make it all possible. So he said, You go heal the sick, cast out devils, freely you have received, he said, freely give. And so then so it was, the Bible said, they went their way and they cast out many devils. So the power of life and death within the tongue. Not only is it as to these things that we're referring to, but it is also as to this manner. See, when you say, life and death, not only is it as to the promises of the spirit after this manner. See, it's not only that way, but it is as to using the terms that Jesus is our high priest. That is Jesus is our high priest. He is the high priest of my confession. Whatever I confess then that's what God is to me, the high priest of my confession. All right let's look at that for just a minute. The power of life and death within my tongue, that is that my victories depends on my confession. See, my victories depends on my confession as to what I say, what I believe, what I confess. If I confess defeat then am I defeated. But if I confess victory, then am I victorious. Now let me explain something. I'm not speaking of this power of positive thinking and this kind of thing. I know there's a lot in positive thinking. I know that. But beloved friend, there's one thing we need to understand right here. There is no such thing as positive thinking without God. You can think as positive as you want too, or as positive as you feel like that you can. And you know when you got a good sound brain and you got a good healthy body and everything's fine for you, you can do a lot of positive thinking. But you get into adversity and you lose your mind or you get a good case of amnesia, or something happens to you to where you're nerves are gone. See and when your nerves go down on you and you're just a nervous wreck, you're a feeble person, you're not going to do much positive thinking. See so positive thinking that's not the answer unless it's in God. There's only one positive thinking and that is the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if you've got the Lord Jesus Christ, you can think positive. But if you don't have the Lord Jesus Christ you can't think positive,for there is no such thing as positive thinking outside of God. So then when we speak of power of life and death, I make a confession, and in this confession, I accept the Lord Jesus as the high priest of my confession. For I've read the Bible or I've been taught the Bible and faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, so here I am with the Word of God and I'm praising God because I've come to the knowledge of the truth. Whereas the Bible says that you can ever be learning and never come to the knowledge of truth. So then I've come to the knowledge of truth. And here I am as we would say in a positive thinking. That is the Bible says as David referred to it, my heart is fixed and evil tidings shall not trouble me. That is to say as a man thinketh in his heart so he is. So then my heart is fixed and evil tidings shall not trouble me. Now as a man thinketh in his heart so he is. Whether he's negative or whether he's positive it's going to determine his life, it's going to determine his lifestyle. Whatever that is that's going to be his way of life. So then when I think about that I know that I must understand the Word of God, I must hear the Word of God. A lot of folks say, Well, you don't have to understand the Word of God, Brother Pike, as long as you've heard the Word of God and as long as you just believe what the preacher says. No that isn't right. There's someone mixed up there. There's something that they've got crossed up. The Bible said, The wicked shall not understand, but the righteous shall understand. And beloved, when you hear the Word of God and you don't understand the Word of God, then Jesus gave the parable see, that that which has been sown has been taken away by the fowls of the air. So then you must understand the Word of God and you can understand the Word of God. God has not given us a Word that cannot be understood. What profit would it be for any teacher to teach their student something that they're not going to understand? What kind of diplomacy do they hope to obtain unto with a thing like that? See, so we do understand the Word of God and we do know that it is God's Word and it can be understood; but the Bible says that the wicked shall not understand. The wicked shall not know when good comes. They're not going to understand it. But the Bible said the righteous shall understand. For they shall comprehend the heights, the depths and the width and the length. They're going to comprehend, they're going to know, they're going to understand because God has given unto them the mind of Christ. And if you have the mind of Christ the Bible says that we have an unction from the Holy One that we should know all things. So then we do understand. And he said, even the coming of the Lord the wicked shall not know. As a snare shall it come upon all of them that dwell upon the earth. But he said, Not so with you. He said, For ye shall know when it's nigh even at the door. So here we are again. We look at it as the power of life and death within the tongue. We understand so we believed and we make a confession according to this believing. I make a confession. I make my confession and my confession is this: I confess as to the promises of God. It is said that there's thirty-two thousand promises within the Word of God. And I'm told that these thirty-two thousand promises are given directly to you and I. So then I understand that there are promises that's given to me and given to you. And these promises are such promises as: Behold, I have given thee all things that pertain unto life. So then I think of this, I have all things that pertain unto life. God has given me all things that pertain unto life. So then I believe in that. So then I confess that. And whatever I confess, He's the High Priest of my confession. Anything that God hath wrought for me in the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is given to me by the simplicity of believing or by faith. So then I believe. I believe because God has told me that these are mine. The Bible says by His stripes I'm healed. David says that He said, Praise the Lord oh my soul and forget not all of His benefits. He's the God, David said, that forgiveth all of thine iniquities and He healeth all of thy diseases. So then I say, In Jesus I am whole. That is in Jesus I make a confession that if thou canst believe with thy heart unto righteousness and make confession with thy mouth unto salvation then thou shalt be saved. And so it is with my divine deliverance as healing. If I am under a curse because of my forefathers as Adam and Eve, in Adam all die as to our first birth, Eve being the mother of all living, if I am under a curse and this is sin, and because of sin there is sickness, because there was no sickness until sin came. So then if this be the case, then I know one thing and that is if Calvary ends the curse in that the Bible said, cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree, if Calvary makes an end of the curse, then am I free from sin and then am I free from sickness. Then am I free from death. I am free because I am free from the curse. And the curse ended at Calvary. Those that were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness when they looked upon the brazen serpent, all was gone and they were healed. So then I looked unto Calvary. And when I look unto Calvary, then I realize that I'm healed. And I realize the curse is gone. Because here the curse stops and sin stops. And then sickness stops, death is gone. You see what I mean. That is I am making a confession. He is the high priest of my confession. By His stripes I was healed. By His blood that was given at Calvary, freely given for me, I am free from sin. For Messiah came as the prophecy was with Daniel that He shall come and make an end of sin. So then my sins are gone. The writer says their underneath the blood on the cross of Calvary, as far removed as darkness is from dawn. And they're in the sea of God's forgetfulness. That's good enough for me. Praise God! My sins are gone. So then we are free from sin. But how? To believe what God has said. And in believing what God has said, I have worked my way unto righteousness through faith that is, not of my own works, but of His works. So then I believe unto righteousness with my heart. The Bible said, Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven. Blessed is the man unto whom God will not impute sin. For He that is born of God, the Bible said, He cannot sin. For the seed of God, even Christ, the hope of glory within you, He remaineth in you and you cannot sin because you are born of God. God will not impute sin unto you, but rather He imputeth righteousness by faith. He puts faith in your heart and He imputes faith as righteousness unto you. So then I make that confession. I believe in what He said. And then I confess it with my mouth. Remember, it's not effective until you make a confession. See, in your heart you believe unto it as to your spiritual being that's called the inner man, but it is not effective until there is confession with the lips. For the body to be partakers of this divinity, must of necessity make the confession.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christs Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord