WWUTT: There’s Power In Our Words?

John Gray of the Code Orange Revival Elevation Church said in September, 2016:

“Words do three things.  I want you to write these down:  

Words create.  They create your reality.  ‘Speak that which is not as though it is.’  

Words convene.  When you speak what’s on God’s mind, everything connected to that has to show up. 

Words create, words convene, and finally words conquer.  It was the sound of a shout that made those walls fall at Jericho.”

Okay… so first he said that words create reality; and then he butchered Romans 4:17, which says:

…as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that don’t exist. 

God does that.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say we declare reality.

Second, he says “words convene and when you speak what’s on God’s mind, everything connected to that has to show up.”

Where is he getting that?  The Bible says nothing of the sort.

Third, he says “Words conquer, like a shout brought down Jericho.”

…By the miraculous power of God, not the powerless noise of Israel.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.” (Joshua 6:2)

Do you know what kind of power the Bible does say our words have? It says:

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members, staining ht whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast has been tamed by man, but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (James 3:5-9)

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the Day of Judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:34-37)

So, let us surrender to God as David did:

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth

Keep watch over the door of my lips 

Do not let my heart incline to any evil (Psalm 141:3-4)

…when we understand the text.

(Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don’t! When We Understand the Text is an internet-based video ministry committed to righting some of the wrong understanding of scripture, all while advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Check out more at WWUTT.com!)

And, for more engaging and encouraging videos and podcasts, check out the E-Squared Media Network!