I believed in God, so I spoke

Only the life of the Lord within us is of any sustaining value and power.

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There is a saying “words are cheap” and that is so true. We all talk all the time, it`s one of the main thing’s we humans do. We meet up to talk to each other, to share our thoughts and experiences. We read books to hear what people have to say either about themselves or others, we watch television programmes or listen to radio broadcasts of people talking. There is a saying “they love the sound of their own voice” people often talk just for the sake of making themselves heard. A lot of what we hear can be good and informative etc. But there is also a lot of rubbish around too. It`s our job as Christians, to sort the good from the rubbish and concentrate on listening to the good. It is also our job to make sure our words mean something, that they are of value. I am reading through Pauls letters to the Corinthians at the moment, and he has a lot to say to them about their lifestyle and the way they are conducting themselves and how that relates to their faith in Jesus. But he also talks about us those who know the Lord having something worth talking about.

In chapter 4 of 2nd Corinthians Paul says “You see we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus` sake. For God who said “let there be light in the darkness has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ” (Verse 5&6 NLT) in other words Paul says, wow guys! we have something really worth talking about and its nothing to do with who I am or my standing in life, or what I`ve achieved (either in life or in God) and its not even about how great I am because I have been entrusted with the word of God or a ministry; but it is all about the Glory of God seen in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul is so grounded in Jesus, in the character of Jesus, in his life, his teachings, his love, his purpose, his sacrifice and much more. All of which he has gained by seeking the face of the Lord for himself, because it’s by seeing a face that we recognise people the most. And it is by talking face to face with someone we get their true expression and meaning which can often be distorted by other means of communication. Paul had spent many years seeking the face of Jesus without being influenced by anyone else`s teaching. He knew his Lord personally because he had spent personal time with the Lord.

But then he goes on to explain that even though we may have this amazing revelatory light in our lives, we ourselves are fragile – like clay jars that break so easily when dropped or put under lots of pressure - so we need to recognise that our great and only power comes from God. (2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT) And because of this we do have something worth talking about! Paul goes on to identify that our power (our words) needs to be an expression of Gods light in us, because we ourselves have nothing of worth to fall back on, to talk about. Only the life of the Lord within us is of any sustaining value and power. He confirms this further in verses 8-10 Though we experience every kind of pressure, were not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but we are not out. We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity (TPT). Paul clearly identifies that we are nothing of ourselves but the light of the Lord in us is everything. That Jesus can use our very frail humanity to show his amazing light and love to the world. But it is all to do with His light, His love, His resurrection life, and absolutely nothing to do with what we have done or what we can do to be right with him and live a righteous life. Our walk is solely by faith in Him and nothing else. It is the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus (that He is the Son of God, that he lived a sinless life, that he sacrificed his life to save us from the sins that separated us from God, that he rose again so we could be free) and we live by faith in what He has done. This is what Paul’s faith was built on and this is what our faith is built on. And this is why we have something of value to talk about. Faith in God and His Son Jesus!   

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Paul goes on to say in verse 13 “We have the same Spirit of faith that is described in the Scriptures when it says `First I believed, then I spoke faith`” (TPT) This is worth talking about. I think this why the song “I just want to speak the name of Jesus” is so popular at the moment because the premise of the song is based around knowing that there is nothing we can do that can affect change. It’s not a set of rules to conform to, or formulas for praying. It is all to do with Jesus.  The light and power in Him, what He represents and has achieved, and thankfully nothing to do with our status, knowledge or ministry. Just simply faith in the Lord Jesus.  

I was really challenged when I read “I believed in God, so I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13 NLT) Do I believe in God? Do I believe the gospel of Good News? (salvation through Jesus). Do I believe God loves me and has THE perfect plan for my life? Do I believe that He will keep me in and through all the difficult situations of my life, and will keep me until I see Him face to face in Heaven? If the answer is yes! I should speak! Both to others about Him, to the enemy of our souls when he comes to steal, kill and destroy my faith and the loved ones I hold dear. And to the confusing voices in my head that seek to distract me and rob me of peace. To anything that entices me to believe I am anything of myself and that my reliance is in anything other than Christ alone. And if having challenged myself and confirmed that I do believe in God, then I should be proactive. I should go into battle using the word of God as my foundation, to speak truth into the spiritual realm, defeating the enemy wherever he tries to raise his voice. 

Paul also encourages us to do this in 2 Corinthians 6:7 “We faithfully preach the truth; Gods power is working is us. We use the weapons of righteousness (His not ours/ his word not ours) in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defence” our sword and shield. 

Lord today, help me to have valuable words to speak based on faith in You and directed by your Spirit. And help me to speak the name of Jesus into every situation.

 

Author: Jan Pearson

May God bless and enrich your life

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