The Power of the Tongue for a Long, Happy Life (Psalm 34)
This sermon delves into the profound impact of our words on the quality and longevity of our lives. It explores the biblical call to guard our speech, not through fear, but as an expression of our spiritual identity and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This sermon teaches that living a long, happy life depends on guarding one's speech, refraining from evil words, and actively speaking good. Believers, as royalty, exercise this authority through faith and the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, especially by praying in the spirit.
Overview
The sermon opens by posing a question from the Bible: “Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long happy life?” It immediately connects this desire to the crucial role of one's speech, emphasizing that “life and death is in the power of the tongue.” For believers, the true “fear of the Lord” is expressed not as a “slavish fear,” but as a careful watch over what one speaks, avoiding evil and deceptive words.
This careful speech is presented as a mark of royalty, reflecting how God created by speaking. Man, made in God’s image, was meant to rule with dominion, a power that diminished with the Fall but remains resident in believers through faith. The preacher highlights how creation itself responds to man’s righteousness or lawlessness, emphasizing the believer’s role as “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” in keeping things from corruption.
The sermon then transitions to the solution for taming the tongue: the gift of the Holy Spirit, birthed on the Day of Pentecost. Unlike the law given at Mount Sinai, which brought death, the Spirit given at Mount Zion brings life and empowers believers to speak in the spirit (tongues). This spiritual speaking fills the believer and leaves no room for evil words, offering a positive way to fulfill the biblical command to refrain from evil speech.
Through the vision of Ezekiel’s river flowing from the temple, the sermon illustrates the life-giving, healing, and fruitful effects of the Holy Spirit flowing from within believers, who are now God’s temple. Speaking in the spirit is presented as a way to release life, produce “food” for the soul, and access “medicine” for the body and circumstances, ultimately transforming barren areas into thriving ones.
Key points
- A long, happy life is connected to guarding one's speech, as “life and death is in the power of the tongue.”
- The true “fear of the Lord” for believers involves watching over one's mouth and refraining from evil or deceptive speech, not a “slavish fear.”
- Believers are royalty, made in God's image to rule and speak things into being, much like God created by speaking.
- The fall of man's dominion affected creation, causing it to groan, yet believers are called to be the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”
- The gift of the Holy Spirit, given on the Day of Pentecost (Mount Zion), empowers believers to tame their tongue through praying in the spirit.
- Praying in the spirit fills believers, leaves no room for evil words, and acts as a spiritual “medicine” for the body and a source of life.
- Ezekiel's vision of the river flowing from the temple, healing the Dead Sea, symbolizes the life-giving flow of the Holy Spirit through believers today.
In Joseph Prince's words
“Life and death is in the power of the tongue.”
“You're not an ordinary Christian. You are a Christian with a different spirit.”
“The letter the law kills, but the spirit gives life.”
Outline
- I. The Condition for a Long, Happy Life
- A. Desire for Life and Good Days (Psalm 34)
- B. The Mandate to Watch Your Mouth
- II. The True Fear of the Lord for Believers
- A. Not a Slavish Fear (Romans 8)
- B. Defined by Careful Speech
- III. The Mark of Royalty: Speaking and Dominion
- A. Created in God's Image to Rule
- B. The Loss of Dominion Through Adam's Sin
- C. Authority Exercised Through Faith and Speech
- IV. The Believer's Role in a Groaning World
- A. Creation's Response to Man's Lawlessness
- B. Believers as "Salt of the Earth" and "Light of the World"
- C. The Importance of Every Believer's Contribution
- V. The Gift of the Holy Spirit: Taming the Tongue and Giving Life
- A. The Birth of the Church and the Spirit at Pentecost (Mount Zion vs. Sinai)
- B. The Spirit Gives Life, Not the Law
- C. Praying in the Spirit as the Means to Tame the Tongue (1 Corinthians 14:14, James)
- VI. The Rivers of Living Water and Their Effects (Ezekiel 47, John 7)
- A. Symbolism of the River from the Temple
- B. Spiritual and Literal Fulfillment of Healing and Life
- C. The Impact of Praying in the Spirit on Life, Health, and Circumstances
- VII. Call to Salvation and Continued Spiritual Practice
- A. Invitation to Receive Jesus and the Holy Spirit
- B. Encouragement to Keep the River Flowing Through Praying in the Spirit
Scripture references
- Romans 8
- Psalms 34
- 1 Peter 3
- James
- 1 Corinthians 14:14
- John 7
- Hebrews 12
- Psalms 132
- John 1
- Ephesians 5:16
- Job 11:6
- Ezekiel 47
- Psalms 1
- Joel
- Zephaniah or Zechariah
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions:
2 How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Insights
The words you speak have power to shape your reality.
Knowing God intimately transforms your ordinary journey.
True authority is exercised not by doing, but by speaking.
Questions & answers
How does the sermon connect speech to a long and happy life?
The sermon states that “life and death is in the power of the tongue” and teaches that refraining from evil or deceptive speech is a primary condition for experiencing a long life filled with good days, as promised in the Bible.
What does the preacher mean by “the fear of the Lord” for believers?
For believers, the “fear of the Lord” is not a “slavish fear” or “vanilla fear of God.” Instead, it is expressed through a careful watch over one's mouth, avoiding evil words and deceptive speech.
Why are Christians described as “royalty” in this sermon?
Christians are seen as royalty because God made man in His image, not from animals, intending for man to have dominion and rule over creation. This royal nature grants believers the privilege to speak and see things happen, much like God created by speaking.
What is the significance of the Holy Spirit for taming the tongue?
The Holy Spirit, given on the Day of Pentecost, empowers believers to pray “in the spirit” (in tongues). This practice fills them with the Spirit, leaving no room for evil words, and acts as a positive instruction for speaking good.
How does the sermon interpret Ezekiel's vision of the river from the temple?
Ezekiel's vision of the river flowing from the temple, healing the Dead Sea and bringing life, is interpreted as both a future literal event and a present spiritual truth. Believers, as the temple of God, can experience this “river of living water” (the Holy Spirit) flowing from within them, bringing life, healing, and fruitfulness wherever they go.
What is the difference between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion in the sermon's context?
Mount Sinai represents the giving of the Law, which brought death (3,000 died), signifying “demand.” Mount Zion represents the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which brought life (3,000 saved), signifying “supply” and the characteristic of grace.
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