Have you ever stood in front of someone in church that needed voice lessons? The answer to that question is always, ‘Yes”, because this question has nothing to do with singing. We all need voice lessons, because you, me and everyone around us has a problem with what is coming out of our mouths. Most ruined relationships are the result of something someone said, not what they did. The manifestation of our root problem is explained in the third chapter of the book of James. James 3:2-12 “2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this
way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. Wow, OK, maybe we should all just pray for forgiveness right now and then go back home. Cause that is plenty for us to work on this week. But maybe I’ll give you some thoughts on how to overcome this challenge. And rest assured, it’s a vital issue that we need to be aware of. According to Proverbs 18:21 “Life and death is in the power of your tongue.” Before we start talking about how we should be talking to everyone else, we need to discuss what we are saying to the person we talk to more often than anyone else. Ourself. You constantly carry on conversations with yourself, in your mind. Studies show that this self-talk occurs at a rate of about 1,300 words per minute. But does what you're telling yourself reflect the truth? You can destroy your life and spiritual growth by your words. What are we saying to ourselves and about ourselves? So like I said earlier, our words are just the manifestation of the real problem. We have to dig deeper to get to the root of the issue and begin to understand that our words are the result of something deeper. Matthew 15:18 “18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.”
What’s going out of your mouth is coming directly from your heart and mind. We have to get control of our thoughts if we are going to attempt to get control of our words. This is how our brains work. When we think the same things over and over, our brain is designed to make a solid path so that thought is easier and faster the next time. This is how we are able to learn to do things and remember them faster the next time we need to do them. However, this design can work against us when we consider negative thought patterns. Essentially every time you think about something, you make connections within your brain that make it more likely you’ll head down that same thought path again and soon. So, when you think “I can’t do this,” pretty soon you’ll be hearing that a lot more often in your head. Your brain behaves as though you’d like to access that thought quickly and makes a path for you to do so. However, “I can’t do this” is not the most helpful thought to think on repeat, especially when you’re trying to be obedient to God. Let’s look at what the word says about how to deal with these thoughts. We’ll start with something that we can all relate to. Worry and anxiety seem to be a constant companion for a lot of believers. But according to the bible, that’s not supposed to be happening to us. Philippians 4:6-7 “6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” Verse 6 gives us the entire list of things that we can be anxious about...nothing. It says we are not supposed to be anxious about anything. But that is easier said than done isn’t it? There are a couple of keys to how we can do that. We have to shift our focus from the problem to the solution. It says we are to bring our requests to God in prayer. But did you see what else we are supposed to bring? Thanksgiving. As we bring our requests to God in prayer, we are to be thankful to Him for the answer He’s already paid for and provided for us. When we follow that process did you notice what the result will be? The peace of God will guard your heart and mind. Where did we say a minute ago that your negative words come from? That’s right...your heart and mind. The next couple of verses actually provide a list of things we can shift our focus to instead of continuing to focus on our negative thoughts. Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. I knew someone who had a very difficult struggle with anxiety. It was debilitating to the point of not wanting to even leave home. Once they got ahold of these verses it changed their life. The way they did it was by doing exactly what these verses say to do. They made a list of things in their life that were true,
honorable, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Then they made copies of that list and put in places around their house so they could constantly be reminded to think on these things. It wasn’t overnight, but as they developed this habit of focusing on the right things the anxiety broke off of them. Thinking about the right things and focusing our mind on God’s goodness is basically preaching to ourselves. That’s why I say it’s not enough to just come and listen to me once a week. When the Bible talks about meditating on God’s Word, preaching to yourself is what It’s talking about. One of the first times the Bible mentions meditation is in Joshua. Joshua 1:8 and it reads, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” In these verses, the focus of the meditation is on the words of Scripture. The Psalms also mentions meditating God’s unfailing love Psalm 48:9 "We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple.” God’s works and all his mighty deeds Psalm 77:12 “I will meditate on all Your work And muse on Your deeds.”
God’s precepts and his ways Psalm 119:15 “I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.” Meditation is the practice of saying something over and over until it becomes your natural first thought concerning that topic. When a difficult situation comes against you, what is your first thought? Is it “What am I going to do?” Or is it, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” Do you struggle with words to yourself? If you do, do they take you down a path that’s hard to recover from? Do you believe that you’re going through something so bad that gives you a reason to be down on yourself? I know it can feel that way sometimes, but I believe today will help you know how to turn to God who can turn things around. Here is a verse with a question to memorize that will bring you back. Psalm 42:5 “Oh my soul why are you downcast?” This is the question the Psalmist asked himself when his thoughts went the wrong way. When I read this, I thought, of course David who wrote most of the Psalms would have plenty of opportunities to be downcast. His father-in-law had tried to kill him, he had an adulterous affair and had the woman’s husband murdered and later in life his son betrayed hm and led a revolt against him. But as it turns out, this psalm, Psalm 42 was not written by King David. It was written by the sons of Korah. Allow me to chase a rabbit for a couple minutes, because this is fascinating.
OK, so who was Korah and why would his sons be downcast? Korah was an Israelite who lived during the time of Moses. He was one of the guys who had the job of moving the tabernacle as God was leading them through the wilderness. The Tabernacle was the portable church that God instructed Moses to create and every time God moved Israel to a new location, the tabernacle had to be disassembled and moved with them. Moses had designated 3 specific groups of men for this job. There were three groups of movers. The first and second groups moved the tent coverings, tent poles and the ropes. Moses gave these first two groups carts and oxen to move this very large portable building. The third group of movers were special because they were in charge of moving the holy things of God...like the Arc of the Covenant. Yes, the Ark of the Covenant, that gold box that Indiana Jones was after in the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. It was real and it held the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses along with other high holy things that had to be protected and treated with reverence. This is why the third group of movers who had the job of moving these things sacred items weren’t allowed to move them with carts and oxen. They had to carry them on their shoulders using special poles.
As an added bonus, they were not allowed to actually touch the items...if they did, they would die. Obviously, this was a lot more work than the other movers had to do. Now remember Korah? He was in this third group. Because their task was so much more difficult, Korah gathered 250 of them and decided to revolt against Moses and Aaron. They wanted to be priests instead of movers. Priests seemed to have a much easier job and Korah got them together to challenge Moses for who should be in charge. Well, when Moses found out about this, he was pretty unhappy to say the least. So he called them all together to stand before God and burn incense to show everyone who God had called to be a priest. When they had all come together, Moses made a little speech. Numbers 16:28-30 “Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. 29 If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.” It’s probably about this point when Korah and his buddies might have begun to have second thoughts about challenging Moses. What was he talking about...the ground opening up and swallowing them? And not just swallowing them, but sending them straight to Sheol. Sheol was understood to be the place for the wicked when they die.
Moses was basically, asking God to kill these men if what they had done was rebel against what God put in place. Numbers 16: 31-33 “31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.” That’s who Korah was. He was the guy who led a rebellion against Moses, and so God caused an earthquake to open up a fault line along the ground right under him and his rebellious friends...and that was the end of that. Korah’s sons were the authors of Psalm 42. So yeah, they understood what it was like to be downcast over a family problem and reputation. And yet they did not allow their backstory determine their future. You see, Psalm 42 doesn’t stop with the question of being downcast, the psalm continues... Psalm 42:5 “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.” There is no reason for us to be downcast, we should be praising God, because He has a different opinion of you that is not based on your past! It doesn’t matter what your family past is or even what happened to you this morning.
So how do we reverse directions in our mind when we start having negative self thoughts?
Here are a few steps to get you started changing your thoughts:
Ask yourself: Is what I’m thinking agreeing with the truth of God’s word?
If it doesn’t: Don’t let those thoughts continue to run through your mind unchecked. Notice your negative thought loop, and then mentally call it out every time you realize it.
Memorize Scripture to meditate on to replace your negative thought loop with truth. As you meditate on and repeat that Scripture you will begin to rewire your mind.
You can start by using this passage that tells you how much God thinks about you. Psalm 139:17-18 “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” Can you number the sand at the beach? No, That’s how many thoughts God has about you. Who am I according to God? Am I valuable to Him? Consider the 23rd Psalm. Psalm 23 “1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” That is why God deserves our praise. The praise and thanks you give God is not based on your circumstances. He is worthy of our worship regardless of your situation, so focus on who He is, what He’s done and what He thinks about you. Just remember the 23rd Psalm. You don’t have to fear evil, even when you’re walking through it’s territory. The rod of the Good Shepherd is always there for your protection. He is actually preparing a table for you to celebrate right in front of your enemies. You are anointed and your blessings overflow! The goodness of God is running after you all the days of your life!
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