DAY 9

NO NEUTRAL WORDS

ROB MCCORKLE, AUTHOR & EVEANGELIST

What kinds of things are you speaking? I cannot get past the importance of the words that come out of our mouth. I've dealt with this topic before, but it’s so vital to our walk in the Spirit; therefore, I want to address it again.

Words are rarely, if ever, neutral. By that I mean every word spoken from our mouth contains either life or death (Proverbs 18:21). In Proverbs 10:11 it says, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.” But in Proverbs 11:9, we’re told that the mouth of “the godless man destroys his neighbor.” Proverbs 11:11 goes on to say, “By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn apart.” What is the condition of your city? More specifically, what are you declaring over your city?

I remember the first time I ministered in Las Vegas. Looking at the city as I drove over the crest of the mountain brought me to tears, because Las Vegas has traditionally been described as “sin city”. Did it become what people declared it to be? What could happen if the righteous of that city began to speak different words over Las Vegas? What would your city look like over the next ten years if your mouth became an instrument of God’s prophetic decrees instead of the enemy’s pathetic complaints? My point is that words are not neutral.

Jesus boldly stated that the flesh profits nothing. That means anything done in the flesh has no benefit including speaking. He went on to say the Spirit gives life. And then Jesus said, “the words that I speak are life” (John 6:63). If His words are life, then His words must have been governed by the Spirit—because only the Spirit gives life.

That means Jesus never spoke a word in the flesh. Think about that, every word uttered from His mouth was generated by the Spirit. Little wonder, then, that when Jesus spoke, demons fled, sickness left bodies, crippled body parts were made normal, elements were transformed, and even dead bodies arose. How was that possible? I would like to suggest it was possible because Jesus never spoke in the flesh but only in the Spirit. Jesus obviously demonstrated the fact that words are not neutral.

Just imagine if every word that you spoke was generated by the Holy Spirit. Not only do I believe that’s possible, but we’re going to be held accountable for every word not spoken in the Spirit. Jesus said, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

A careless (argos) word is barren, lifeless, and dead. It’s a word that doesn’t have the capacity to generate life in those who hear it. That’s the result of speaking a word in the flesh. I’m challenged by the kinds of things that I say or even write on Facebook. Even political rants, if we’re not careful, can become a lifeless venting of the flesh that leaves wounded and divided people in the wake of our frustration.

One word, spoken under the direction of the Holy Spirit, can have enormous results. When Ezekiel was told to prophesy over dry bones, his words carried the unction of God within them. The Bible says of Ezekiel, “So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise” (Ezekiel 37:7). No doubt that when bones rattled and shook, they were noisy, but this word noise (kole) is translated as the voice of God in many other Old Testament passages. Perhaps when Ezekiel released his God-inspired declaration, the voice of the Lord was heard in his words.

This makes me ask: whose voice is heard in our words if we’re speaking without the inspiration of God? The Bible commands us to never speak a word that is rotten in Ephesians 4:29. We are told, rather, to edify people with our mouth—which can only happen if we’re speaking in the Spirit because only the Spirit gives life. Additionally, we are commanded to impart grace with our mouth (Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6). Grace is essentially an impartation of the Spirit; therefore, we would have to be speaking under the impulse of God to release grace through our words.

I’m truly challenged by the kinds of things that come out of my mouth because I’m realizing that my words are not neutral. I’m releasing either life or death every time that I talk. I am still on the longest fast of my life, a “grumble fast,” which in some ways is more difficult than going without food. I wrote a book called Life and Death: The Power of Words that talks about my grumble fast and other issues concerning the words we speak.

Grumbling and complaining are idle words released from an ungrateful heart that if not repented for, we’ll have to give an account. Grumbling was so serious to God that some of the Israelites were destroyed because of it (1 Corinthians 10:10). When I started my grumble fast, I began to recognize just how deeply embedded ungratefulness was within me. Truly, as Jesus stated, my mouth speaks out of the things that fill my heart (Matthew 12:34). This has caused me to repent, die a deeper death, and to ask the Holy Spirit to fill my heart with His words. It also caused me to steward my ears by what I listen to on a day-by-day basis.

Beyond those things, here are a few practical suggestions. Be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). Learn to give thanks in all things because it’s truly the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Give praise to God every day (Psalm 145:2). Encourage other people every day (Hebrews 3:13). Most of all, learn to speak as the Spirit gives you utterance. What you say really matters to God and to people because your words are not neutral.

PRAYER

Jesus, transform my mouth and sanctify my tongue. May the Holy Spirit source every word that proceeds from my mouth.