Recording:

Continuing from the last session on The Tongue's Power Over Life and Death, we know that complaining brings curses and death. Let us reflect on how much we have complained. Record the complaints you have made, renounce them in the name of the Lord, and cut off the curses they bring. Life and death are in the power of the tongue; a life of flourishing or ruin is related to one's speech.

Managing our tongue, our ability to speak, is key to living. Work in the world requires speech, making talking important. A smart person may not necessarily be a good speaker, but a good speaker is certainly smart. Begin to learn how to speak; everyone should practice. If you're not good at it initially, draft a script and practice reading it.

Speaking Well in the Bible Differs from the Secular Understanding

The world often mistakes smooth-talking for speaking well, but that is not what the Bible means. In the Bible, speaking well means articulating life, causing life to radiate glory. The world's speaking well doesn't consider the outcome. If things go wrong, they don't realize it's due to their speech and live in confusion. The key is the result; learn to see things from their outcomes, discerning the essence from the result. Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit.

In the Bible, a person who speaks well gains life for themselves and imparts life to others. The right outcome means giving life; otherwise, it is meaningless. For example, if someone builds an airplane that cannot fly and then boasts about how busy they were, working day and night, putting in so much effort... No matter how much they did, it's useless without results.

For instance, when I was studying in Beijing, my roommates were locals. I admired their eloquence; they could talk for an hour without repeating themselves. But their exam results weren't good, and I realized it was futile and stopped envying them. People often mistakenly equate smooth-talking with speaking well.

In Beijing, the top beer salesman was a stutterer because most Beijingers tend to be smooth talkers. He, however, couldn't be because of his stutter. When he visited clients, he wouldn't talk much but would help sweep the place clean. His stuttering often made people laugh. They found him genuine, though he knew very well that he was doing it for sales. Later, I understood that smooth-talking is not necessarily an advantage.

By worldly standards, Zhao Benshan might seem like the best speaker; he can talk about anything. Relying on his mouth, his Shenyang face, an old farmer's hat, and his expressions, he made the Spring Festival Gala a great success and earned a lot of money. However, this kind of speaking well is not what the Bible means.

My study of speaking began after believing in the Lord. I used to be a man of few words. After becoming a pastor, I began to study what speaking is all about. The result of speaking well is—to impart life. Later, someone told me, Pastor, after talking with you, I feel much better. He came with a heavy heart, said a few words, and left feeling comforted and joyful. This is imparting life, unlike some who seem eloquent but leave you feeling troubled.

Some with immature spiritual lives feel troubled after talking to certain people. When I first believed, I avoided Chinese people because they'd immediately say, So-and-so made a hundred million. After hearing that, I'd feel anxious and say to God, I'm only making a little money, when will I see your blessing? But now I am unfazed because I understand what is happening. What comes out of a person's mouth is crucial.

Speaking with authority can command evil spirits to depart, bringing healing and deliverance to many. That is what speaking well means. For example, those with colds, numbness, sore throats, neck and back pain, etc., we pray, and they recover. It really is miraculous! I discovered that speaking with authority to resolve people's issues is a higher level. Everyone should continually improve their speaking skills, to the point where they can set the captives free, those who are oppressed.

You'll notice that evangelism, preaching, and Bible study all rely on the mouth. The mouth is a very spiritual organ, so it’s important to learn how to speak. Some don’t understand how a few words from our mouths can heal. That’s because they don’t know speaking is a spiritual matter. The Bible says our words can determine life and death, a spiritual principle.

Start applying this in life. Your words can edify others, releasing them from the control of the devil. When we experience this, what could be more convincing? Yet, some still don't respect the facts, denying the possibility of healing even after experiencing it. Remember to look at the results. Whether it's speaking, praying, or working, the result is what matters. We live for a result. Many focus on the process, saying, I don't care about forever, just the experience. This is foolish; don't say that.

Results are important! Do not do things that have no results; do not do ineffective things; do not do things that have no returns. The Christian faith is practical. If believing in Jesus has no result, wouldn't that be laughable? Many do ineffective, fruitless, and unrewarding things, even believing without result. Starting today, change. Believing must have results, meaning God's promises must be fulfilled in our lives.

The Highest Level of Speaking: Not Complaining

Many can speak but end up complaining. Complaining brings no reward; a wrong decision can cost everything, like a car accident. Making a wrong decision is worse than not deciding; not deciding is worse than making the right decision. Making the right decision brings rich rewards. Idle talk brings curses, complaining brings destruction. The highest level is a life without complaints.

Many live miserably because they complain. For example, many complain on the streets of Hong Kong; I don't participate in those things. To do something, one must have clear vision. The Christian faith can transform a nation into a beautiful one, where all citizens live in happiness. If half the country is complaining, how can that country thrive?

And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:10-12)

Reading the Bible, Read the Admonitions

Some read the Bible only to find fault, which is fruitless. Take the lessons in the Bible as warnings. For example, the Bible tells of people suddenly splitting open and dying. Don't take the path they took. The high-voltage wire is there; don't touch it. Often, we don't need to try the high-voltage wire ourselves. Complaining is like touching that wire, so never go down that road; there's no need to try it.

I first read the Bible in college, including the stories of Adam and Eve, but I didn't understand. I thought the Bible should teach principles like the Analects or the Three Character Classic. I couldn't read the New Testament either. For example, HF shared how he evangelized to his parents by sending them Genesis in electronic form. His parents were surprised, asking, Did your church write this? Is this what you write about? It was just like me before I believed.

This is because people have preconceived notions. Chinese men like reasoning and explaining everything, a habit I spent years changing. Actually, reasoning often doesn't work, especially between couples. For example, Chen Ming, a champion debater in China, said, I am unbeatable in debates, but there is one woman I can never win against—my wife. Because he reasons, and she doesn't reason with him. The Bible also clearly tells us that reasoning doesn't solve problems.

Complaining stems from reasoning, because things do not align with one's own logic, leading to feelings of injustice. For example, asking a non-believer to read the Bible, if they read it according to their own inner logic, they will find it unreadable. From nations to individuals, everyone holds their own views and principles, basing their actions on what they deem reasonable, even if others find it unreasonable. Even someone committing violence in the streets can justify it with their own twisted logic, making it impossible to reason with them; reasoning alone cannot solve the problem.

However, this pursuit of reasoning cultivates a habit of complaining, because others do not heed your logic. The church should emphasize love, not reason, not right or wrong, good or bad, but love. Mutual love edifies lives, whereas complaining leads to death. When we read the Bible, we must pay attention to the events within and learn from them as warnings.

Complaining Leads to Death

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:1-12)

The Corinthian church at the time was full of complainers, their complaints arising from their belief that they were right. Why did they think they were right? Because they distinguished between good and evil, leading to confusion. But we must have a clear understanding: complaining brings death. A Christian title does not guarantee God's promises. Those Israelites were chosen by God, but most were not pleasing to Him because they complained.

From Exodus to Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, we see constant complaining, and as a result, these complainers died in the wilderness, never receiving the promise. Brothers and sisters, we must understand that even if there is a reason to complain, do not complain.

Complaining Stems from Lack of Faith

I often tell everyone that faith creates the future; without faith, there is no future. If a person has faith, God's power can be manifested through them, accomplishing what seems impossible. God, through those with faith, can make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19). The things God has done through me amaze even me, and they were not achieved through discerning good and evil or through reasoning.

For example, one person had a bone growth the size of a soybean. I asked them to hold it, and I prayed for an hour and a half. When they released their hand, it was gone! Even an ice cube melts into water, but how could something disappear so quickly? I cannot explain why, but it is what God does through people's faith. Take TY's mother, for instance. She once told me remotely, My arm has been numb and painful for years. This was not a good sign, quite dangerous, but after attending our gatherings a few times, she was healed. That was not solved by reasoning, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

With faith, a person can turn the impossible into possible; without faith, they seek reasons, and if those reasons do not align with their own, they are deemed wrong. At the first sign of difficulty, they begin to complain, unsure of where the future lies. When things go smoothly, they thank God; when problems are unsolved, they become unhappy. There is no faith, only the ability to complain.

The heart changes with the environment, but I want to train you so that your inner environment is unaffected by the external one. Even when the winds and waves rage outside, you remain calm and secure inside. This is the kind of person God is looking for. Therefore, those who believe in God because of their circumstances are problematic. If God heals you, you believe; if God does not heal you, or if healing takes a week, you begin to doubt after three days. Acknowledge Him as God, so I trust in Him. Living is for serving God, and all difficulties will be under your feet.

Those with Faith Do Not Sin with Their Mouths

Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). If a person refuses to complain or blame God when facing difficulties, that is the highest level of speaking. For example, Job and Joseph did not sin with their mouths. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that God seeks those with faith. Faith is a choice within you: I choose to believe, I like to believe, I am willing, no matter what. People with this mindset are not easily swayed.

With faith, God can work with us and accomplish extraordinary things. Because of faith, we refuse to complain when facing difficulties. Job had faith, not when he was living well, but when he lost his children and possessions, and was covered in sores from head to toe. It was a tragic sight. His wife even said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9-10)

The Bible describes that In all this Job did not sin with his lips. In such difficult circumstances, Job's wife had every reason to say angry words, but Job chose not to. Job knew that if he spoke angrily like his wife, he would sit in ashes until he died. But his later condition, his oxen, sheep, children, etc., God doubled them all. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that the future is in your faith. Complaining has no future.

Joseph did not sin with his mouth even in prison. The most remarkable was David, who did not complain about Saul. His worst boss wanted him dead, but David did not sin with his mouth and did not complain, even saying, I am but a dog.

Do Not Think You Stand Firm, Be Careful Lest You Fall

People have a natural tendency not to walk the path of faith, but to walk the path of reason, the path of distinguishing good and evil. For example, You did this to wrong me, You should not have said that, You should not have done this, saying many such things. This is called falling, so be careful not to complain. According to reason, it is unreasonable; but according to faith, nothing is unreasonable.

There is one way: Hold it back! Swallow the words that are about to come out. This is very difficult and not easy, and that is why we need to pray and seek God for a long time, asking God to give us strength.

Conclusion:

Why does Chenming always lose to his wife? He says, My wife is the judge, I am the debater, and also says, Actually, it's not because of these things, but because of love. Love can endure many things. I want to ask you, do you love God? If you treat God as the most important treasure in your life, and you know that God loves you, such a person will not complain. If you love God, you will say:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Only one thing matters: because we love God, we do not count the cost of these sacrifices, knowing that God will fulfill His promises in us. That is the key to not complaining.

Let us pray together: Lord, let our mouths always utter words of praise to You, and let the heart and mouth of complaining be far from us. Lord, grant us wisdom to know how to follow Your words, and let us stay away from this destroyer in our days. Lord, let us live out Your nobility, Your glory, and Your beauty. Lord, also let Your will and Your plan be fulfilled in us. We thank and praise You, Lord Jesus! We pray in Jesus' name. Amen!