Talk Back

1 Sam 17:3, 10-11, 16

The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

10 And the Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together." 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

What was happening in this story?

Goliath is trash talking: Psychological edge

Creates Fear

Doubt, self-doubt

Intimidation                                                       

Loss of Faith in God

Confusion

Imagination

What does our opponent (enemy) say to us?

What he’s going to do to us

How bad it’s going to be

How incapable (weak) we are

Won’t win (be healed, delivered…)

How our God will not deliver

Even – shouldn’t follow leadership

Enemy defeats us with words & images – Self Talk

We must learn to talk back!

45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."

We have yet to realize the power of our mouths:

Get Saved

Get Married

Blessing God – Eulogize (Worship)

“Tell it like it is…”

Prov 12:18

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,

But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

God judges us by our mouth

Matt 12:36-37

I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

We are most like God when we are using our words properly

Every Word God speaks has the power for its own fulfillment

Isa 55:11.  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

He gives our words creative power and life

·       Life and Death are in the power of the tongue – Prov 18:21

·       We shall have what we say – Mark 11:23

When I speak the Word, I speak Jesus into my situation

Matt 18:19-20

"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

Agree: Symphonious. to speak together; blending of voices in a sound of unison

That’s why the enemy works to create different sounds

          Stop what’s in the imagination – Babel (Gen 11:6)

If it’s a sound of murmuring, it brings the destroyer

1 Cor 10:10

Neither do you murmur, as some of them also murmured,

and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Our words must be more than a reaction to or description of the situation

We know how to talk back to people

We must learn to talk back to situations

When I speak the Word, it changes my view of things

          It reminds me that there is a greater “Truth”

Our words must be creative (life giving)

Words that work (not idle or destructive)

Words in concert (agreement)

We must learn to talk back with the Word

We must know the Word to know what to say

Weak                      Let the weak say I am strong – Joel 3:10

Sick                        By His stripes I am healed – Is 53:5

Sinned                              He is faithful and just to forgive – 1 John 1:9

Dumb                     Wisdom is my sister, understanding is my cousin – Prov 7:4

Failure                              I am more than a Conqueror – Rom 8:37

Ugly                        I am going from Glory to Glory – 2 Cor 3:18

Poor                       He gives me power to get wealth – Deut 8:18

Alone                      “I will never leave you nor forsake you” – Heb 13:5

Useless                            I can do all things through Christ – Phil 4:13

You’ll never be…     I am a masterpiece, created for good works – Eph 2:10

Just like…               I am conformed to the image of His Son – Rom 8:29

Too hard                 Is there anything too hard for God? – Gen 18:14

Never make it         I am an overcomer – John 16:33; Rev 12:11

You can’t                It’s not by power nor by might... – Zech 4:6

Too few                            One can chase a thousand, Two - 10,000 – Deut 32:30; Josh 32:10