City Life Starter

I. The Word:

James 3:12 “Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Rev. 19:11,15 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True…..out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations…”

Psalm 33:9 “For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Matt 12:36-37 “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matt 12:34 “Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”

Reflection Questions:

1. How do you feel about “white lies?”
2. What is the truth?
3. How often do you say or think “I am” statements about yourself? Are these “life” or “death” statements? (i.e., “I’m not good enough” (a lie) vs “I’m worth dying for.” (the truth – John 3:16)).

By Heather Mattingly

Genesis 1:3 says “Then God said, ‘Let there be light”; and there was light.” God spoke, and the universe was created. And you have this same power with your words. Isn’t that incredible?

One of God’s many names is “God of Truth” (Psalm 31:5), which in the original Hebrew is “El Emeth.” The Hebrew words “El” mean “God” and “emeth” mean “firmness, sureness, truth, reliability, stability, continuance, truth as spoken, faithfulness.” It’s not that God won’t lie, it’s that He can’t lie. To lie would be to defy His own nature, and He cannot do that.

The opposite of truth is a lie, and Satan is the father of lies. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says that “’…[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.’” (John 8:44).

Every word we say presents us with a choice: will we speak the truth and advance the Kingdom of Light? Or tell a lie and advance the kingdom of darkness?

The issue gets cloudy when we don’t know the Truth, and this happens because we are deceived (which means believing a lie is a truth). Satan is very good at this. It is foolish to underestimate him. Even though he is already defeated by our Lord Jesus Christ, we are living in Satan’s “occupied enemy territory” here on earth right now; he has been deceiving humans for a long time and is very good at it. As Pastor Chris poignantly said on Sunday, “the bad thing about deception is: you don’t know you’re deceived.”

So, what can you do? How do you know when you’re deceived, and how can you escape and know the truth, and then speak the truth? The answer is what Pastor Chris said: complete reliance upon Holy Spirit. Jesus said that “…when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13). He will guide you into all truth. He will show you the truth about yourself: both that you are bad enough that He had to die for you, and yet He is so in love with you that He was glad to die for you (Tim Keller ‘Gospel in Life.’).

Once this truth of the Gospel gets inside your heart, your mouth can’t help but praise Him! This isn’t about you fixing your words, this is about Him giving you a new spirit and a new heart! (Ezekiel 36:26). Will you let Him do this inside you? Once you do, Jesus’ words about “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34) will have a whole new meaning to you; you will praise everything and everyone around you because you will see God in everything and everyone around you.

Prayer:

“Father, make me a man/woman of Your Word; please give me a strong hunger for Your Word. Holy Spirit, guide me into all truth; please show me the lies I’ve accepted as true and teach me the Truth, which is Your Word (John 17:17). Remove my heart of stone, give me a heart of flesh, and let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all day long! (Psalm 71:8)”