Weapon – any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting, or war, as a sword, rifle, or cannon.
Dictionary.com
Consider this definition of the word weapon. Basically, a weapon is an instrument or device containing the power of life or death. By wielding a weapon, one has the choice of producing death by using the weapon offensively, or producing life by using it defensively or by restraining from using it offensively.
We learned in lesson 1 that words are an instrument of life or death; therefore, in your mouth lays a powerful weapon, a weapon of words. It is so powerful that it brings forth death if used offensively, or brings forth life if used defensively or if it is restrained from being used offensively.
Words are vitally important. Words set the course of life or death. Consider the following:
I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give account for every careless world they speak.
Matthew 12:36
Anyone who handles a weapon must be held accountable for its use. In similar fashion, God holds us accountable for how we use our weapon of words. This accountability further indicates how weighty our words really are.
And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he woud not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Mark 1:34
Even in those dimensions we cannot see or perceive, the spoken word is critically important. Here we see demons prevented from speaking out. Similar restrictions appear with men led by the Holy Spirit:
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
Acts 16:6
What you speak is a choice, and we must take great care when choosing. Just because you know something, feel something, or have a strong opinion about something, does not mean it needs to be spoken out. Paul makes this statement:
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience – by word and deed.
Ephesians 5:12
Paul knew a lot. This man spent 3 years out in a desert having revelation given to him at unprecidented levels. But for all his knowledge, he made a choice about what he would actually speak. He was not filtering out “bad” words or thoughts over “good,” he was choosing what revelation of truth he was to speak forth and what portions of this truth he would withhold, to best benefit the church.
…to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentile, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Titus 3:2
Paul admonished Titus to teach the church to speak evil of no one. At the time of this writing, the Jewish nation was under oppression from the Roman government and considered second-class citizens with obstructed civil rights. Evil abounded, and there was plenty of it to talk about. Yet, Paul did not say to speak evil of no “brother in Christ.” He firmly established that they were to speak evil of no one. Not the romans oppressing them, not the Jewish religious leaders persecuting them, no one.
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Jamess 3:6
Unconstrained fire causes untold damage that is not easily restored. When our tongue remains unconstrained, the damage can be deadly or repairable.
How quickly most of us speak about people who cause us inconveniences or discomforts! What thoughts escape our lips when someone stirs up anger or strife! Even within our own precious families, flippant words of sarcasm or crushing words of critism easily slither from our lips. We must restrain these weapons of destruction, bridling them to cultivate life instead of death.
This potent weapon of words is placed under your control. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to forbid him speaking (Acts 16:6). If we are led by the Spirit of God, we should also obey when He forbids us speak or commands us speak, no matter the raging emotions or the pressing circumstances. When you speak, speak life. When death rages in your tongue, drench that fire with living water.
But, of course, the choice is yours.
Lesson 3 – Coming Soon
Lesson 1 – Life or Death
Understanding the Kingdom Teaching Series
Power of the Kingdom as a free eBook or online teaching series
