Joyce Meyer - Your Words Affect Your Future (08/24/2019)
This sermon focuses on the power of words, drawing from Isaiah 6 where the prophet's lips are cleansed. The key point is that our words have creative or destructive power and directly impact our future. The preacher urges listeners to align their speech with God's Word, using positive confessions to prophesy a blessed future and fulfill their divine calling.
The Conviction of Unclean Lips
Today I'm going to talk to you about how your words affect your future. In Isaiah chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, it says, "In the year that King Uzziah died, in a vision, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the skirts of His train filled the most holy part of the temple." That's speaking about the glory of God filling the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim, angels, and each had six wings. With two they covered their face, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. One cried to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory." The foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of Him who cried, and the whole house was filled with smoke.
Now that looks like a pretty awesome event, doesn't it? Angels and the glory filling the temple, and smoke, and angels crying out, "Holy, holy, holy." Then Isaiah said, "Woe is me, for I am undone and ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." I love that when Isaiah was in that awesome presence of God, the one major thing he was convicted of was being a man of unclean lips. He said a lot of things that he shouldn't have been saying. I believe we should have more conviction in that area than most of us do.
Cleansing and Calling
The only way that's going to happen is by hearing teaching like this and studying this area ourselves, so we realize how important words are. God created everything that we see with words. Words have creative power, but they can also carry destructive power. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from off the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity and guilt are taken away, and your sin is completely atoned for and forgiven." Is anybody here today glad that even when we recognize sin in our life, God can cleanse us and give us a brand new start?
There are times, probably several times a year, when I'm praying about my mouth and I will say, "God, send one of those angels from your altar with a coal of fire and cleanse my lips, forgive my iniquity, and give me a fresh start." Then I also heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I, send me." I remember even when I was still in my denominational church, we had Mission Sunday once a year. They would talk about missionaries and sing mission songs.
Prepared for Purpose
Long before I fully realized there was a call of God on my life, I remember lifting up my heart to God on Mission Sunday and saying, "Here I am, God, send me." I wanted to do something for God. But He definitely had to do a work in my mouth before I was able to do it. "Here am I, send me." And He said, "Go and tell this people." What I get out of that is Isaiah was being called as a prophet and he was going to be speaking to a lot of people. God said, "Whom shall I send?" And Isaiah wanted to go.
When he came into the presence of God, the one thing that had to happen was his mouth had to be cleansed before he could use it in God's service. I want you to take this seriously today because many of you have a call of God on your life. It may be to do some kind of public speaking. It may be to carry a strong anointing and be a witness in your school or neighborhood. But we all have the call of God on our life. Everyone who is a Christian is anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Working Out Your Salvation
That means you're set apart for a special purpose. You're not your own. You belong to God. You've been bought with a price. Amen. God needs you, but we have to get rid of the mixture in our lives. James says out of the same mouth we bless God and we curse men. I want my words to have power when I speak to you. My words have to be strongly anointed. If I expect you to sit there and listen and even come back again, my words have to be anointed.
My words are not going to be anointed if I'm trying to preach the Word of God in public, but behind closed doors at home I'm using my mouth for ungodly purposes. So I am pleading with you today to take this seriously because God needs you. He wants to use you. He wants to increase the anointing, the power of the Holy Spirit on your life. But you need to cooperate with Him. In Philippians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul said in verse 12, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
Then in verse 13 it says, "Not in your own strength, for it is God who is all the while at work in those who believe." What does that mean? We don't work for our salvation; we know that. We're saved by grace and not by works. When you're saved, God does a great thing in your spirit. In the deepest part of your being, God comes to live and you're born again, made new. You're made holy in that inner part of your spirit. That's why the Bible says you are holy.
From the Inside Out
We are holy; now we have to learn to live a holy life. After the new birth, after you receive Christ as your Savior, you spend the rest of your life growing in God. "Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling" is a better way to say it: get it from the inside of us to the outside where it can be seen. People can't see my spirit, but they can hear what I say. They can see the way I behave and act. They can see my body language and hear my voice tones.
They can feel whether I'm lifting them up or putting them down. God is calling us to be bright lights shining out in a dark world. Amen? So I plead with you to study this more after you go home. I believe hearing someone else preach is only one level of learning. In some ways it may be the very basic bottom level. I heard so many sermons and listened to so many cassette tapes back in the early days. I went to every seminar and had so many books.
Turning Information into Revelation
I lived in church meetings, and my life was a mess. An absolute mess. I was hearing about the promises of God, but I didn't know how to make them work. One thing I learned was that I needed to take what I had learned and go to God with it, asking Him to put it together and make it work. Don't think that I can fix you. God is the only one that can fix you. I'm teaching you truth, and I believe the gift of teaching is very important.
Hearing an anointed message can definitely change your life. But what it usually does is renew your mind, and then you go to God and ask Him to make that information revelation in your life. Trust me, when something becomes a revelation to you... Last night I gave you information about the dangers of complaining. Some were getting it, and some were like, "Can this really be that important?" I can kind of tell how people are receiving.
You believed me, but if you're not careful, you could leave here and forget all about it. But if you go home and study what the Bible says about complaining, it's going to drop from your head to your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit, "God, bring conviction on me when I'm saying things that are damaging my life." Bring conviction when I'm saying things that are hurting You, hurting Your cause, or hurting other people. I think a lot of times in our rush, we hurt people with our words unaware.
Your Words Prophesy Your Future
We have to slow down and be more careful about how we live and talk. The first area I want to talk about that affects your future is this: your words do affect your future. You literally can prophesy your future if you want to. How many of you have things you want to see happen? You need more increase. You want to carry a stronger anointing. How many want more favor? You want to be promoted in life. Well, God wants great things for you.
The Bible clearly says He has a good future planned for us, but it won't happen automatically. Just because God planned something doesn't mean it's automatic. He's telling us His will, and now He wants us to cooperate. We're partners with God. He always does His part if we do ours. To live fully in the wonderful future God wants, you must learn how to talk about yourself and to yourself in a right way.
The Power of Speaking Over Yourself
What you say about yourself to yourself and others is possibly one of the most important things in your life. You are never going to progress beyond your own opinion of yourself. How many of you say negative things about yourself out of your own mouth? Hmm... Well, stop it. I'm serious. Don't do that anymore. That is a dangerous thing to do. You better go read Psalm 139 and see what God thinks of you.
He created you in your mother's womb with His very own hand. "Wonderful are your works, O God. That my soul knows very well." So if you're going to say anything, say, "God has created me wonderfully. He has done an amazing thing in me." Now, obviously, you don't need to go around saying that to people. But you can talk to yourself out loud in the privacy of your home or automobile. If you don't start, you're making a big mistake.
Crafting Your Confession
You talk to yourself anyway; you might as well say something worth hearing. So, let me ask you a question. What do you think would sound better? Take a few minutes every morning. Maybe write them down on a confession list so you don't forget. A couple times a day, get your list out. "God loves me. I'm growing daily. I am anointed. I'm blessed. I have favor everywhere that I go today. I bear good fruit."
"Something good is going to happen to me today. And something good is going to happen through me today. God promotes me in life. I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. God is not mad at me. God is pleased with me. He doesn't like everything I do, but He knows that I'm growing and I'm on my way. I am a blessing to other people. All of my needs are met." When you talk to yourself like that, the words get in your ears and fall right back down into your spirit.
You need to learn how to talk to yourself. If you learn how to talk to yourself right, it won't make any difference what anybody else says. Amen? I had a woman ask a question the other day. She was part of an audience where I was teaching, and we let them ask questions. She said, "What do you do if you're married to somebody who constantly puts you down?" Obviously, first you're going to pray and try to have a conversation with them.
Counteracting Negative Words
But if that does no good, you can negate everything they say by going in another room and saying the exact opposite. "I am full of wisdom. I am God's child. He loves me. I am wise. I do many things right. I am gifted and talented and I am loved by God." You can undo the effects of things spoken to you in childhood by saying what God says. My father told me for years that I would never amount to anything.
"What he said over me was affecting me until I learned how to say what God said." There's no word more powerful than the Word of God. So who are you going to get into agreement with, God or people? I want you to listen with your two ears and your two spiritual ears. What I'm telling you is absolute truth. I can prove it in Scripture. I am living evidence that confessing the Word of God out loud, getting into agreement with God's plan, will make amazing changes.
Choosing Your Words Wisely
So don't be lazy about it. "I'm going to feel funny walking around talking to myself." Well, would you rather feel funny or be destroyed? You could talk like this: "Nobody loves me. I'm a mess. I'll never change. Just a big goof up. Everything I do is wrong. I have no special abilities. Nothing good ever happens. Nobody likes me." You can all tell that's wrong. You're even glad for me to shut up. You can almost feel it.
So it's up to you. You need to say, "I have discipline and self-control. I don't procrastinate. I'm a person of action. I hear from God. I'm led by the Holy Spirit." Now, I don't believe you can just get anything you say. I'm not talking about the "name it, claim it" doctrine. I'm telling you that you can have whatever God says you can have. Not what you say, but what God says. If you don't get in agreement with God, don't expect to have what He wants.
"If any two of you on earth agree touching anything, it shall be done." Just get in agreement with God. See what happens. I started with scripture from Luke chapter 1, where Zachariah and Elizabeth had never had a child. An angel said they would have a baby, John the Baptist. Zachariah said, "How shall I know this?" The angel said, "Because you will not believe, you will be mute until the day the child is born."
The Danger of Doubt and Unbelief
There's a lesson there. Zachariah could have messed up the whole plan with doubt and unbelief, so God supernaturally shut his mouth. We could all say, "I wish He would supernaturally shut mine." You might not like it; he didn't get to say anything for nine months. I would rather learn how to say what's right and keep my voice. Doubt, unbelief, and negativity don't get us the will of God. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul said an interesting thing to the believers in Corinth.
These believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and operated in spiritual gifts, yet they were immature. Operating in gifts doesn't necessarily indicate spiritual maturity. Verse 1 says, "However, brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of the flesh, as to mere infants in Christ." The Amplified brings out "unable to talk." Obviously they knew how to talk, but Paul meant they didn't know how to talk *right*.
Growing Up in Speech
They were saying things indicating spiritual immaturity. "I have to keep preaching to you like babies. I can't give you the meat of the word." God wants us to grow up and become spiritually mature. He wants us to know who we are in Christ and not let the devil boss us around. He wants us to know when the devil is lying and be smart enough to say, "You're a liar. It is written," and quote the Word back, like Jesus did in Luke 4.
In Ephesians 6, we are given armor for spiritual warfare. One piece is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We are to wield it—get it out, speak it out of our mouth, and use it. The word spoken out of a mouth of faith is more powerful against Satan than anything. What have you been doing with your mouth? What do you say when you have problems? How do you talk about yourself? Let's look at Hebrews 5:12.
"For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you the very first principles again." What's the problem if somebody has been in church 10, 15, 20 years and still must be told to be careful about their words? Or to give generously? Or not to gossip and be critical? Paul is saying these things should have been settled long ago. We have to get rid of the mixture in our lives.
The Creative Power of God's Word
In James it says, out of the same mouth we bless God and curse men. I want my words to have power when I speak. My words must be anointed. They won't be anointed if I preach in public but use my mouth for ungodly purposes in private. I plead with you to take this seriously because God needs you. He wants to use you and increase the anointing on your life, but you need to cooperate. Words carry amazing creative power.
Let's look at Isaiah 55:10-11. "For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return but water the earth, making it bring forth seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so shall My word be that goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please." When I speak the Word of God out of my mouth, it waters the seed I have planted and makes it grow.
Speaking Life Over Finances
For example, if you're a diligent tither and giver, be careful how you talk about finances. If you have seed planted in God's kingdom, don't kill it by saying, "I'll never get out of debt." Say, "I tithe and give, and God takes care of my needs. I am the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. I lend to many and never borrow." You can think this is impossible, but I know it's not. I have a confession list from 1977.
I was very negative, and God told me to stop. After six months I said, "I've stopped, but nothing's changed." He said, "You haven't started saying anything positive yet." It's not enough to shut up; you need to say the right thing. Amen? Nobody taught me this. God led me to make a confession list, back everything with Scripture, and confess it twice daily. One thing I started saying was, "I'm the head and not the tail."
Personal Testimony of Confession
"Amazingly, God has given us a worldwide ministry. We preach through television to two-thirds of the world, with offices in 18 countries, and we have never paid one cent of interest. Everything we've gotten, we've paid cash for." You weren't there when I had no money and bought kids' clothes at garage sales. I was a broken woman believing God for healing. I felt a call to teach a little Bible study of 25 people.
I would walk around saying, "I'm the head and not the tail." I believe that's fruit of years of confessing Scripture. One thing on my list was about my son David: "He has a sweet personality and is not rebellious." I actually rejoiced when he left home at 18. Now he runs our world missions program. Be careful what you say about your children. Don't say, "You'll never amount to anything." Stop it. Don't say, "You're a bad boy."
Prophesying Over Your Children
Say, "What you did was bad, but you are good. You are full of good things." Tell your kids, "You can do all things through Christ." Teach them they are special and have abilities from God. Teach them things maybe your parents didn't teach you. My daughter Laura—I said, "She operates in godly wisdom and discipline and is full of energy." She was the laziest, sloppiest. Now she helps take care of me. Start saying right things over your kids, even when it's not happening.
You can call things that are not as though they are. We serve a God who speaks of non-existent things as if they exist. Stop calling everything as if it will always be that way. "This is never going to change." I hope you can see what I see for you. But you must be consistent. Do it over and over. Dave and I still do this. Dave has a book of confessions he says daily over our family and ministry. We confess good things over you while teaching you.
Specific Confessions and Results
This one is special to me because I wanted somebody to ask me to speak. I was doing a 25-person Bible study. One confession was: "I receive speaking engagements in person, by phone, or by mail every day." Now that's a reality. This one was good: "I am an obedient wife, and no rebellion operates in me." Dave was glad I started confessing that. I had a mouth that wouldn't quit. No man was going to tell me what to do.
Then I saw that "wives adapt to your husband" thing in the Bible. I finally got around to it. One confession was: "I am a teacher of the Word of God." This reminds me of so many things. I wish you knew my condition when I started. I wish you understood what the Word has done. That's why I preach with fervency. I know there's power in the Word to change your life if you live by it, speak it, confess it, and meditate on it.
The Word Does Not Return Void
One thing I said was, "All my children are married to Christians." None were married then; now they all are. Praise the Lord. The Word works. "The word that goes out of my mouth shall not return void." I remind myself of this every time I preach a series. I believe the Word I speak will accomplish something in your lives. I'm planting it in your heart, and it will not return void. You will grow, change, and God will receive more glory.
Begin to prophesy your future. Isaiah 46:10 says, "Declare the end from the beginning." Isaiah 42:9 says, "Old things have come to pass. I now declare new things before they happen." Whatever you want to see, start talking about it as if it's already done. Say regularly, "God is working in my life. I may not see it, but God is working." Every time you say that, maybe God adds another angel to your case.
Activating Angelic Assistance
The Bible says angels hearken to the Word of God. We have angels assigned to us: guardian angels, angels that help, assist, and protect. But they don't hearken to complaining. Come on, some of your angels are bored. Put them to work. Say, "Angels, it's time to get up. We're going to work. I'm the head and not the tail. I'm a blessing everywhere I go. God meets all my needs. I walk in the fruit of the Spirit."
Ezekiel 37. You're getting a little fire stirred up now. The first thing you must do is go home and do homework. Get out a piece of paper. Don't just buy my book and use my list. We've already put an end to laziness. Yeah, buy the book. You can use my list as a sample, but do your own homework. Write down what you need and want changed. Put Scripture after it and confess the Word. "The hand of the Lord was upon me."
Prophesying to Dry Bones
"He brought me out in the Spirit and set me down in a valley full of bones, very many and very dry. He said, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'O Lord, You know.' He said, 'Prophesy to these bones: O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.'" So I prophesied as commanded. There was a noise, a shaking, and bones came together, bone to its bone.
Suddenly, those dry bones stood up, a mighty host full of the Spirit. I don't care how many dead, dry bones are in your life. Everything could look dead. But if you begin to prophesy the Word of God to those bones, there's power in your mouth. Amen? You can affect your future by how you talk about yourself and your future. How you talk in trouble has a lot to do with your future. When Jesus was nearing the crucifixion, He told His disciples.
Choosing Silence in Suffering
In John 14:30, He said, "I will not talk much more with you." In Isaiah 53, it says, "Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He opened not His mouth." I never understood that until I understood this. Even Jesus, in intense pain, chose not to say anything. Why? Because when we're hurting, if we open our mouth, we're likely to say the wrong thing. So don't do what you normally do. As soon as you have a problem, don't run to the phone.
"Now you won't believe what happened. Every time I get a penny, the devil takes it. I'm sick and tired. I hate my life." Stop asking someone who doesn't know what to do. Go get hold of God. Shut your mouth and don't say anything unless you can say something good. Choose sometimes to be quiet. Amen? When we have trouble, we want to tell it, talk about it. If I said, "Tell me all your troubles," how many would be wise enough to say, "I'm blessed"?
Keeping Your Word
Another thing affecting your future is keeping your word. If we're word people, we need to believe, speak, and keep our word like God keeps His. If you tell somebody you'll call tomorrow, call them. If you can't, have someone call or call as soon as you can and explain. If you tell your kids you'll do something, do it. Keep your word and commitments. In Ecclesiastes 5, it says if we don't keep vows to God, He can destroy the work of our hands.
It's so important. Today it's hard to find people who do what they say. How many realize that's a rampant problem? It can't be a problem with us. Our words also affect the future of our relationships. Many are divorced simply because of wrong words spoken or right words not spoken. If your marriage is rocky, I believe if you go home and by faith start saying right things, you can see it turn around. Well, clap louder than that.
Restoring Relationships with Words
"He never says anything good to me, so I'm not saying anything good to Him." Come on, don't be silly. You're the spiritually mature one with the Word. Whoever is most spiritual does what's right first. Amen? Swallow your pride. Start finding positive things to say. When nobody's home, walk around and say, "I bless this home. I kick out the demon of strife. This is a house of peace." Keep it up. Don't let the devil steal your family.
Don't let him steal your marriage, your kids, your identity, or your future by dumping garbage thoughts you then speak out. Amen? Say something on purpose. Let's look at 2 Timothy 2:23. "But refuse—shut your mind and mouth against—trifling, ill-informed controversies over ignorant questions, for they foster strife." It amazes me what Dave and I used to argue about—the stupidest stuff, like who an actor was on TV.
Avoiding Strife and Nagging
Or me trying to give him directions. Trying to tell a man which way to go is useless. I would say, "We're supposed to go to the hardwoods." "I am going." "No, you're not." Learn, ladies. I finally stopped, and I'm still married. I can't remember the last time I got mad at Dave. If you knew where I came from, you'd shout, "That's a miracle." Don't make mountains out of molehills. Don't be a nagging wife. The Bible says it's better to live under a dripping roof than with a nagging woman.
Come on, guys, you aren't perfect either. I hope God has impacted you with the understanding of how important your words are. You won't leave here and never make a mistake. But when you do, say, "God, send that angel again to cleanse my lips. Give me a fresh start." When you say something wrong, apologize. Have enough maturity to say, "I was out of line. Will you forgive me?" Be a good example. Let's get out and be bright lights shining for God.