Speaking Hope

 

We need to ‘speak’ hope.

Toby Mac has a great song titled Speak Life.

 I want to encourage us today to also Speak Hope.

How do we do that? Listen to what Psalm 35 and verse 28 says:

“My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.”

We have been learning a lot about our testimony, our words and our declarations. God wants us to recognize the power of what we speak. Not in the name it and claim it way but in those ways that genuinely honor Him and speak of the hope we have through Him.

We know of the events of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2 but let’s take a look at some of the verses not quoted as often.

Beginning with verse 5 and reading through 11:

 5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia...Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 

Let me ask you something: What ‘tongue’ do people hear you speak in? Do you declare the wonders of God and the hope of God in the ‘tongue’ and to the people He has given you as an audience?

Maybe you are a young person or have an audience to the young then speak the wonders of God in ‘their’ tongue. Speak His hope.

Maybe you are a business person and have an audience to them. Take the opportunities God has given to speak His wonders to the audience you have in their ‘tongue’.

How many of you know that many of the ‘sub-cultures’ in America have what seems like their very own language or tongue? Speak hope in their tongue to them. God will open those doors and those opportunities to willing, surrendered vessels, or perhaps in this case I should say willing and surrendered tongues.  There are many spheres of influence, tribes, if you will, where you almost need to speak a certain language or tongue to be included in that group. Infiltrate and saturate those tribes, cultures, or groups with a tongue that declares the wonders of God. Speak hope.

You know what – a wonderful thing happens when you declare that hope to others. It more deeply sinks into you and permeates your life with hope.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.