His Words, Not Mine

Author - Jauhmar Ellick

Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow, and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

‭‭Walking as a disciple is difficult in every aspect of your life. It’s even harder when you don’t know what to say or how to move. It’s like any type of sport: if we don’t learn the language and rules of the game, we won’t be very successful.

This week, I am talking about learning Jesus’ words. As a disciple, we are supposed to match what our Teacher says, does, thinks, and even how he sleeps! Walk with me this morning. Let’s talk about how as a disciple we learn the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

First, when you are learning something new, it can be a challenge. Think about the 12 disciples when they started to follow Jesus?! Each one had their own mannerisms, how they spoke, the way they thought, etc. How does one learn these things, what is natural to them? Well, we do it all our lives, just being around parents, friends, and even teachers. The disciples learned in their synagogues. Many of us learn at our church.

We, as humans, usually pick up on what others say and do. We pick it up and twist it with our own flavor to make it ours. For the disciples, that’s what it was like during the three years they followed Jesus. Being around Him made them change the way they talked, walked, and even thought. They were still themselves but with a twist. They had their flavor, and Jesus had His. It’s the fact that His flavor rubbed off in them so that they then speak with power and life instead of death.

Words are very powerful, as it says in the Word, “Life and death is in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21)." I believe we don’t sit and meditate on the fact that what we say matters. The God of the universe spoke, and existence as we know it came to be. Do you think God was spewing out verbal garbage?! Of course not. If He had, He wouldn’t have said after everything He created, “This is good."

The words of Jesus bring life and life abundantly. They are words for your soul when you feel dry and run down. They are words that are like a spring of water that hydrates you when you’ve been thirsty all day. That’s what the disciples were learning AND practicing. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, taught the disciples and the rest of the world how to speak His language and how to speak life into things that then come alive. As disciples we should STRIVE to learn every word Jesus has spoken. We should  STRIVE to learn how to say things to their fullest potential. We should STRIVE being around Jesus so much that He rubs off on us until we have no choice but to speak with the flavor of Jesus.

Now this ain’t no walk in the park. Changing how you speak is very difficult when you are alone. It is easier when you have a crowd around you speaking the same way. I’ll give an example. I was about 8 years old when I moved to Florida. I was a very “proper talking child” for my age. However, when I moved down south and started hanging around different people, suddenly my vocabulary changed! The way I spoke and how I relayed messages became totally different! Why?!? Well, it’s because of who I was hanging out with. I picked up on their words and mannerisms and made them my own. Many things you might hear me say have been from others who had a big influence on my life. I used and twisted what they said and did, putting my flavor on it. I’ll definitely say that I do talk a lot cleaner compared to the past. However, I still put my own flavor on things as I come to know them.

Now, the question for me is how has Jesus had an influence on my life, your life, our life today?

The only way to change what we have learned so naturally throughout all of our life is:
1. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord AND Savior. Giving you, me, and all of us the guarantee of an inside change through the power of The Holy Spirit.
2. Once this happens, it’s not you living anymore. It's Christ living inside of you. He speaks life rather than death at each and every turn.

I’m not saying you’ll become a robot. We have the right to choose... should we let Jesus speak through us, or should we speak through us (speaking death rather than life through the tongue). As a disciple of Jesus Christ we should want Him to speak through us each and every second of of every day.

Jesus said “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what and how to say it.” We should be just like Jesus in the fact that, we don’t say ANYTHING unless The Father says to. We know that when He speaks He speaks life! The only way to know what life is and how to speak it is if we settle and rest in and hang out steadily with Jesus.

To close the message for this week, speak to Jesus and ask The Father to change the way you speak, to go from speaking death to speaking life, and that’s life with abundance. How can we activate that new vocabulary residing inside of us through The Holy Spirit? We never know who needs a drink of eternal water or an eternal meal. Be led by The Spirit, the reminder of Truth; He will help guide your lips in every situation.

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: SPEAK LIFE
Spirit, I pray that You guide everyone this week and the days after to speak through each person in whom You reside. Speak using our lips. Speak The Truth, speak Life and speak The Way using each and every person who is willing to be used this week. I love you. In Jesus' name, we pray.

Amen!!!