“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

I believe this is the key to be able to be saying, as did the Psalmist King David, “I shall not want.” It is because he was drawing upon the abundance of God Almighty.

One thing about God–and there are many things about God, so many in fact, that it shall take an eternity to come to know and understand them (and then you will ever get to the end of them)–is that He does not lack anything. Instead, He possesses everything. He owns it all; the silver and the gold, and “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). And, “no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). He “stores up wisdom for the upright” (Proverbs 2:7). He rewards the righteous with prosperity (Proverbs 13:21).

I am inspired this morning by the word of the Lord–I always am! It is the one thing, above all other things, that breathes life into my soul, that enlightens my mind, that quickens my spirit, and that gives me the wherewithal to keep on keeping on. I love the word of God. I am so inspired I hardly know which to be focusing on, but I choose this because it is what at first moved upon my heart.

In Psalm 34, David writes, “O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing” (34:9-10).

I shall never forget Derek Prince’s teaching on this subject. It was Memorial Day weekend, 1978, on Mackinaw Island. The church (New Covenant Christian) had a retreat there and Derek Prince, who more or less oversaw our fellowship, gave this message. We were not there; instead, we were in East Lansing and having a baby–Mary Beth was born that same weekend. It was only later that we listened to the recording. I even recall where I was when I listened to it; it was across the street from our duplex where a sister in the Lord lived along with her son David.

So Derek taught on this theme, and he first expounded upon God’s abundance, and then gave us three keys to experiencing it. Drawing upon Psalms 34 and 84, he taught us the following.

1) Fear the Lord. It is those who fear the Lord who do not want. Time would not afford me the ability to expound upon the value of fearing the Lord. Not only is it the very first and most appropriate heart-response to encountering God, it is a quality to be treasured and cultivated. There is so much to be said, and had, concerning the fear of the Lord, the reader will have to pursue it himself. I have done fairly in depth studies on the subject and learned of the countless blessings upon the person who fears the Lord–this being one of them: No want.

2) Seek the Lord. If, when first coming to know God you leave it at that, you not only miss out on the depth and height and width and length of His goodness and love, but you more or less remain an infant in God, never growing, and maybe even withering away and dying, as it were. To grow in God, to know God, He must be sought. In so doing you come to know Him more and more, and the more you seek Him the more you know Him, which results in your wanting to seek Him the more. It just grows and grows; you never get to the end of Him; you never want to.

3) Walk uprightly. The first two keys come from Psalm 34; this one comes from Psalm 84, both already quoted above–but here it is again: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (verse 11).

Now I think you can look at walking uprightly in a variety of ways. It would, of course, mean living your life in an ethical and moral way, in accordance with the word and will of God. It would most certainly mean living by faith. And it would surely entail doing what is good and right in the sight of God and men. It would mean walking–not in your own righteousness (which is filthy in God’s estimation), but in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And most definitely it would be accurately summed up in an obedient lifestyle–keeping the commandments of the Lord.

Again, I think one could elaborate further on this, but I think the picture is clear; God is a God of abundance, He lacks nothing. For the person who trusts in Him, who fears Him, seeks Him, and walks uprightly, God’s abundance becomes his. And then you can say along with the Psalmist, “I shall not want,” because you’ve everything you need and even desire. It’s because God is good, and He is this way toward those of character qualities such as these. Let us, then, live and walk this way, and experience the abundant provision of God.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 18:1-4)

Since entry into God’s kingdom is predicated on it, the words of Jesus here should be considered very carefully.

The context is the disciples arguing about who is the greater, and our Lord, to quell their wrangling takes a little child and says, “Hey guys, look here. This little one, the person like him, he is the greatest.” So it is, we had better take a look-see, and determine to be as our Lord has said.

While children without discipline can be quite nasty, they are also innocent of what we grown ups are guilty of; namely, the lust for position and power. Yes, kids think mostly of themselves, and want to be first. But they do not possess worldly ambitions. They have not yet moved into the grosser sins of the love of money, a lust for sex, and a self-exaltation. They are, as it were, precious little sponges, ready to absorb the world around them, be it good or bad.

I cannot help but think of my grandson, Milan. How we love Milan! He is three years old, and Jesus is here saying, “Become like Milan.” Oh! I was thinking for him to become like me!

The Lord uses the word “humble” in describing the kid before him. Humility, while I don’t know as I have much, I understand. In a state of humility, you know your need. You know who is greater than you. You know you need help. You are always looking up and not down. You not only like to be coddled, but you need to be coddled. As much as you hate it, you know you need to be disciplined, and when you are you have this sense you are loved. You know you need to be loved. You know you need to be cared for. As with all these things, you are not inhibited nor weighted down with the cares of life. When afraid, you know who to run to. You are happy because you have not yet learned to be sad. You are free because you have not yet come to be bound by sin.

Honestly, I don’t know as to all that Jesus had in mind when He said what He said; the above is only what comes to mind. I do know this: it takes a man a measure of humility to come to Jesus and acknowledge he needs to be saved. I think of all the greats in the kingdom, great men and women of prominence and power, godly ones. And then here comes a poor sinner to the altar of God’s grace. “Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner!” Perhaps what the Lord is saying is that this person, he is greater than the others. Or, maybe it is a man like me, fairly well-versed in the Scripture, somewhat aged in the Lord, having a little wisdom and knowledge, on his knees more or less begging for mercy, unable to continue without the Lord’s help. I don’t know.

What I do know, is that if a person wants to enter God’s kingdom, he must become like a child. If a person wants to be great in God’s kingdom, he must become like a child. Childlikeness, then, is something every believer, young or old, ought aspire to.

I remember the Lord speaking to me once. At the time I was serving as an elder at Mt. Hope Church. He said, “You may be an elder in the church, but you are a child to Me.” This is worth not only remembering, but acting out. I am like a child before My Heavenly Father, and I shouldn’t be thinking otherwise.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

The thing is, if you are born again you are already transformed–on the inside. It just needs to show up on the outside. That Christians need to get this is what Paul is after.

I recall landing upon this verse years ago sitting on the deck of my in-law’s cottage. It was early morning and, with coffee in hand and an earnest desire to be different, I read this section of Scripture. A light went on and I realized then and there that key to transformation was learning to think differently. That was likely thirty-plus years ago and I’m still in process.

Paul is here not speaking of the new-birth experience, but of Christian living. The entire chapter of Romans 12 is devoted to how we as Christians are to conduct ourselves. We’re even instructed how it is we are to think: “think so as to have sound judgment.”

So much–if not all our outer behavior stems from what goes on in our heads. “As a man thinks in himself, so he is.” You are what you think. You’re not what you eat, you’re what you think. So it is that if we’re to live as God wants, and if we wish to be different, we’ve got to think different than we do.

Here’s the deal: if indeed we have become God’s by virtue of being born again; and if by this we are by nature then children of God; it stands that our outward behavior should reflect that. If we are completely new on the inside–which we are (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17)–then our outward manner of life ought be completely new.

This takes an effort on our part; hence the admonition by Paul to be transformed. It’s more or less an imperative.

Conformity to the world is a natural thing. It happens almost by osmosis. We’re in the world, and we live and breathe and work in the world. Everything that is in the world, “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life,” these are not of God but are constantly impinging upon us from all sides at all times. It is the world’s spirit, and it is always after you wanting you to conform to it. This is possibly the Christian’s greatest temptation because it is real, it is powerful, and it is continual. That’s why I said it takes effort.

If there is a battlefield, and if there is a war to be won, it is in the realm of the thinking.

Everything that God has to say about you as His son or daughter is absolutely true. Yet so many of us live sub-par lives–way below the standard of the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10. And it’s not God’s problem but ours. It’s as if He puts the challenge to us: “I’ve done everything I can do, the rest is up to you.” I mean if God did everything, what need would there be for the New Testament? For Jesus’ teaching? Paul’s? James’ or John’s or Peter’s?

A certain and real amount of change shows up in the newly born again child of God. He has forsaken his life of sin and dedicated his life to Christ. That alone is huge. Yet real transformation, total transformation comes by way of mind renewal. You learn–by practice–to think as does God; you begin to replace your old, natural and the world’s way of thinking, with God’s way of thinking. You think thoughts that are in harmony with God’s Word; the thoughts contrary you reject.

This is a lifelong and daily thing. It is a constant struggle. It is a fight you must fight, a battle you must engage. Otherwise, at best you’ll never experience all that God has for you; at worst you are doomed to the trash heap of shipwrecked Christians, those who never got off the ground as to their Christianity.

Total transformation is God’s perfect will for each of us who name the name of Jesus. It comes about in one way and one way only: a renewal of the way we think. It takes practice, it’s work, but it is worth it.

I have taken the time this morning to do a little Bible study on the impact of our words, what we say. Confining my search to the book of Proverbs, I found the verses listed below as a reference. Confirming what I already knew, the lookup has convinced of how little I practice what I know. It is good however to review these things with a view to reinforcing them in my mind and heart, and especially to be guiding my mouth. If a man is able to tame his tongue, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his entire body as well. And, of course, I am nowhere near that.

Drawing from the Scriptures as mentioned, here are a few take-aways:

What you say can either trap you or liberate you, and you get to choose. How many of us are imprisoned by our own words!

There is no way you will not sin if you talk too much. If you are smart, you will keep your words to a minimum.

Closely associated with the quantity of words you speak, is guarding what you say, controlling what comes out of your mouth. Why? Because you are going to say one of two things: life, or death. If you do this the Bible calls you wise.

How you respond to people will determine the outcome of the conversation as well as make or break the relationship.

Gossip is destructive.

Much good can come from what you say, both in your own life and in the lives of others. Your words, if chosen and spoken correctly, can

1. Be a fountain of life to others; your words can give life to other people

2. Feed many the very thing they need most. This can be words of encouragement, love, good counsel, even correction. The way you feed a person spiritually is through words.

3. Flow with wisdom, bringing forth what is needful and acceptable.

4. Deliver you and others—by which is meant from anyone or anything that may be holding you captive, such as demonic influence, bad habits, evil thinking, generational curses, sickness, infirmity, and so forth.

5. Bring satisfaction to your soul.

6. Bring healing to yourself and others.

7. Make your heart glad.

8. Bring good to you.

9. Protect you.

10. Turn away anger.

11. Spread knowledge and make it acceptable.

12. Persuade others as to the truth, what is right and just.

13. Earn you a good living.

14. Garner the love of others for you.

15. Please the King of kings.

This is just a short list; much more can come from a more comprehensive approach. What I have written though is sufficient to make the point as to just how vital are our words to our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health. And not only ours, but others as well. “How delightful is a timely word!”

Here are the Scriptures I looked up from Proverbs:

If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

(Proverbs 6:2 NASB)

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

(Proverbs 10:11 NASB)

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,

But he who restrains his lips is wise.

(Proverbs 10:19 NASB)

The lips of the righteous feed many,

But fools die for lack of understanding.

(Proverbs 10:21 NASB)

The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom,

But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

(Proverbs 10:31 NASB)

The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable,

But the mouth of the wicked what is perverted.

(Proverbs 10:32 NASB)

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

(Proverbs 12:6 NASB)

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,

But the righteous will escape from trouble.

(Proverbs 12:13 NASB)

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,

And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

(Proverbs 12:14 NASB)

He who speaks truth tells what is right,

But a false witness, deceit.

(Proverbs 12:17 NASB)

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,

But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

(Proverbs 12:18 NASB)

Truthful lips will be established forever,

But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

(Proverbs 12:19 NASB)

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,

But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

(Proverbs 12:22 NASB)

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,

But a good word makes it glad.

(Proverbs 12:25 NASB)

From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,

But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

(Proverbs 13:2 NASB)

The one who guards his mouth preserves his life;

The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

(Proverbs 13:3 NASB)

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,

But the lips of the wise will protect them.

(Proverbs 14:3 NASB)

A gentle answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

(Proverbs 15:1 NASB)

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,

But the mouth of fools spouts folly.

(Proverbs 15:2 NASB)

A soothing tongue is a tree of life,

But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

(Proverbs 15:4 NASB)

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

(Proverbs 15:7 NASB)

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

(Proverbs 15:28 NASB)

A man has joy in an apt answer,

And how delightful is a timely word!

(Proverbs 15:23 NASB)

Righteous lips are the delight of kings,

And he who speaks right is loved.

(Proverbs 16:13 NASB)

The heart of the wise instructs his mouth

And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

(Proverbs 16:23 NASB)

He who restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

(Proverbs 17:27 NASB)

Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;

When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

(Proverbs 17:28 NASB)

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

(Proverbs 18:4 NASB)

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

(Proverbs 18:7 NASB)

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

(Proverbs 18:8 NASB)

With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;

He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.

(Proverbs 18:20 NASB)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

(Proverbs 18:21 NASB)

There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

(Proverbs 20:15 NASB)

He who guards his mouth and his tongue,

Guards his soul from troubles.

(Proverbs 21:23 NASB)

And my inmost being will rejoice

When your lips speak what is right.

(Proverbs 23:16 NASB)

He kisses the lips

Who gives a right answer.

(Proverbs 24:26 NASB)

Like apples of gold in settings of silver

Is a word spoken in right circumstances.

(Proverbs 25:11 NASB)

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

(Proverbs 29:20 NASB)

Movement:  “A series of organized activities working toward an objective; also, an organized effort to promote or attain an end <the civil rights movement> ” (Mirriam-Webster).

I am reminded of the late Jim Russell who, troubled by the lack of biblical truth in the secular media, decided to do something about it.  He bought a typewriter (this was in the mid-70’s), took a trip to Florida, and undertook to write an article with the goal of it getting published in the local press.  While there he never wrote anything; instead, he conceived the idea of a national writing awards contest, where he would give out cash prizes for those authors writing thought-provoking articles which included Scripture, published in their hometown newspapers.  This was to become the most popular writing awards contest in the nation, known as The Amy Writing Awards.

What this inspired was an army of known and unknown Christian writers, emboldened to come out of the closet and address current affairs from a biblical point of view.  Because the word of God is living, active, and full of power, each qualified article was required to use Scripture in a skilled, relevant way, underscoring God’s position on matters of interest to the reader.  Each year $35,000 was awarded to the top 15 writers, the first prize being $10,000.

I tell this story because something on this order is what is needed at this hour. The Amy Writing Awards became a movement, and the national media would never be the same as a result of it.  What followed was not only the proliferation of Scripture in newspapers and magazines across the country, but also a renewed effort to produce television shows and movies promoting the good news.  One such example is Movieguide, whose efforts and awards program have resulted in a huge increase in faith-based films.

Jim Russell was a businessman with a laser-like focus on the Great Commission.  He advocated Christians to have a vision, a mission, and a strategy, in alignment with that of the heavenly Father.  The vision, he said, was “Your kingdom come and Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.”  The mission—or, the central work required to fulfill the vision, was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”  And the strategy, he taught, was a Holy Spirit-inspired action, or activity, which would constitute the work needing to be done.

All three are needed to be employed by the church if it is to be God’s agent of change in our day.

To a degree, I think the vision and the mission are largely in place—at least among committed, full-Gospel churches.  What is lacking seems to be a cohesive strategy for impacting our world.

The world is awash with movements—virtually all of them evil.  What it needs is a Christian movement, a “series of organized activities working toward an objective.”  Inspired, orchestrated, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, a strategy such as this would begin with an impartation of God’s vision and mission into the hearts and minds of Christians.  It would start with a picture of something so large, so grand, and so attractive, that the masses of believers would flock to it to become a part.  (As a side note, this is how the communists attracted such numbers of young people to its evil agenda.)  And then it would include opportunities for involvement.

Author Elton Trueblood likens the church to a military band in his book, “The Company of the Committed.”  Here, he presents evangelism to be the “unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs, even in the most modest way, to the Company of Jesus” — that is, the church.  He goes on to write about “The Strategy of Penetration,” how it is that Christians are to engage every aspect of secular society—similar what we know of as the “7 Mountains of Influence.”

Activities would most certainly include events, both large and small scale.  Publishing and distributing written materials such as small books and tracts would be an effective contribution to the movement, as would be coordinated radio, television, and billboard advertisements and presentations.  Free health clinics, similar to the medical tents that often accompany missionary efforts in third-world countries, would attract those unable to afford a doctor.  Medical professionals, inspired by the vision, would volunteer their services to treat and minister to the poor (Note: this is being done en masse in the city of Detroit).  Ministry teams could be put together and sent out to those places where people congregate, not the least of which would include impoverished areas of the city.  And Christians could be taught in the churches how to develop and share their testimonies, how to share the gospel with their families, neighbors, and co-workers.  Those practiced in this area could train in actual experience those who are not.

The idea is a mass mobilization of church resources, people, financial, and material, to do what we’ve prayed about doing for years, to reap a great harvest of souls for the kingdom.  It would not be something we do, it would be all we do, everything contributing to the objective.  The socialists are doing it; the gay-lesbians movement is doing it quite successfully; Islam is doing it, on track to take over the world.  Where is the church—by nature the most powerful body of people on the earth, where is she in the mix?  Where are we?