Psalm 16:8-9 NAS says, I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter in his sermon referred to this scripture, but he quoted it using another phrase for ‘My glory rejoices’. Acts 2:25-26 NAS says, “For David says of Him, ‘I was always beholding the LORD in my presence; for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will abide in hope.”
“My Glory rejoices’ becomes ‘My tongue exulted’. This tells us something important: our tongues are our glory.
The Creator gave each of us a tongue for one supreme purpose; to glorify Him. This is why our tongues become our glory. It is the member which, above all others, we may glorify God. Now, when we read about Jesus warning us about every idle word, it takes on new meaning.
Romans 3:23 NIV says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All of us have misused our tongues and sinned against another, wishing that what we had said could be taken back. Therefore we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
James 3:6 NIV says, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”
This fire in the human tongue comes from hell itself, with its fruit, hellish. On the Day of Pentecost, another kind of fire came onto the 120 gathered together in prayer. This fire came from heaven, straight from the Holy Spirit. It operated in tongues in the upper room. The fire from hell was replaced by the fire from heaven. Acts 2:1-4 NIV says, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The fire from heaven gave them a new way to use their tongues, to glorify God. They were using their tongues for the purpose God had given them for, worship.
Ephesians 5:17-18 NIV says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, is saying that there are two kinds of drunkenness; one is with alcohol, and the other one is with the Holy Spirit, or the ‘New Wine’ of the New Covenant of Christ. This is what the people said about these 120 praying in tongues that day; “They are drunk.” Peter said, “They are not drunk like you think they are.” Peter didn’t say they weren’t drunk, but that they were not drunk with natural wine. They were intoxicated with worship of their creator. (Church was not meant to be boring. Take a walk through the book of Acts and see for yourself)
Ephesians 5:19-20 NIV says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul uses the word ‘speak’ right after the words, ‘be filled with the Spirit’. They go together, for out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Instead of evil and hate and gossip, will come forth singing and giving thanks. We overcome evil with good. It starts with the mouth expressing the fullness of the heart. The heart needs filled with the Holy Spirit instead of Hollywood’s garbage.
There is an interesting scripture in Hebrews 3:1 NAS, “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our ‘confession'”. Note that Jesus is the High Priest of our confession. It is our confession that links us to our high priest. If we just believe and never confess that belief, then He can’t operate on our behalf. We have to speak with the tongue our faith in Him to activate His office of High Priest.
The word ‘confession’ means to ‘say the same thing as’. In Hebrews 3:1 it is saying the same thing with our mouths as God says in the Scripture. It is making the words of our mouths agree with the Word of God in the Scripture. When we do this, it enables Jesus to exercise His high priestly ministry as our representative in the presence of God.
Hebrews 4:14 NAS says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
Hebrews 10:21-23 NAS says, “And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Each time it speaks about Jesus as our high priest, it says we must make, maintain, and hold fast the confession of our faith and our hope.
If you had to appear in court for a traffic violation, your attorney would advise you as to what is best to say and what is best not to say. If you listened to your lawyer, and if the judge was reasonable, you would get the lighter fine. If you insisted on saying something that was contrary to what your attorney advised you, you would frustrate your attorney, and you would force the judge to give you the maximum penalty of the law.
Jesus as our High Priest in His Word has advised us what is the proper use of our tongues. When we use them wrongly, we frustrate his ministry as our high priest. We need to confess the proper things before Him with our tongue, to enable Him to fulfill His ministry as our high priest and secure for us the desired result from the Judge of all the earth, ‘Debt paid in full’.
Romans 10:8-10 KJV says, “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God brings salvation, and activates the shed Blood of Christ over our hearts and consciences. We must say the same with our mouths that which the Word of God says. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19 ESV When you agree with the Word, you are agreeing with Jesus Christ, and He goes to work to secure that which agrees with His Word.
The right use of the tongue brings salvation and blessings from God. The wrong use of the tongue brings shipwreck and failure. The ship is steered by a small rudder. The life of man, by the tongue. Lets use our tongue to honor God and allow Him to bring blessings into our lives.
Click here to go to The Tongue of Man-Part Four