THE SUPERNATURAL HABITS, PAUL & NUALA O'HIGGINS [red novels .txt] 📗

little education on the proper use of the tongue. Right use of the tongue is much more than being polite and pronouncing our words properly. By learning to use our tongues properly we are learning to use the steering wheel of our destiny. To educate people without teaching them about the tongue is like teaching road rules without teaching how to use the steering wheel. This right use of the tongue is the key to embracing the promises and destiny of God and to keeping ourselves aligned with His purposes.

Blessing & Cursing
The New Testament instructs the supernaturally empowered believer on the importance and power of the tongue. James says “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. But no one can tame the tongue; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. By this we bless God, even the Father. And by this we curse men, who have come into being according to the image of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:5-10) He urges believers not to permit negative, bitter or cursed words from our mouths because they are consecrated to speak forth the praises and blessings of God.
People usually think of cursing as unclean language and expletives but it is much more than that. To curse means to pronounce negative words on ourselves, others or on situations. A curse brings us into agreement with the negative it pronounces and creates a highway for the evil one’s negative plot. To bless means to speak forth positive and hopeful words on ourselves, others and our situations in line with God’s revealed plan and benign attitude. Blessing creates a highway for God’s benign plan.
James says, “No man can tame the tongue.” (James 3:8) However, the Holy Spirit can tame our tongues when we surrender them to Him. Our tongues are not only connected to our minds, they are also directly connected to our hearts. Through the tongue we can control what we permit to lodge in our hearts. Through it we can direct what goes into our hearts. Truth does not reach the heart until it is placed in the mouth. As food goes from the mouth to the stomach and then to the blood, spiritual truth goes from our mouths to our hearts and then throughout our lifestream where it translates into energy. The heart renews the tongue and the tongue renews the heart.
The dynamic connection between the heart of man and his spirit is one of the reasons that speaking in the heavenly language is such a vital and life-giving blessing for supernaturally empowered believers.
With the new heart of love that comes from the Holy Spirit we can train our tongues to speak love and only love, blessing and only blessing. Effective disciples learn to put cursing away from their mouths and to bless everything about themselves and others. This is a faith discipline that enables us to remain in abiding union with God’s benign plan. “Speaking the truth in love, we grow up in all things, to Him who is the Head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15) As we speak in this way we are maturing to become more like Jesus.
If we have cursed ourselves, our situations or others in the past we can ask the Lord’s forgiveness, cancel the agreement we made with the negative, and begin to bless ourselves, our situations and others. We can use the blessing to undo the effect of the curse.

Using our Tongues to Rule & to Decree
Our tongues, as we have seen, can be used in prayer, in coming into agreement with God’s plan, and in rejecting any other plans or directions of our lives out of line with God’s highest and best for us or others.
We can also use our tongues to speak forth the plan of God and to speak against natural forces, illegal spirits and even inanimate objects that hinder the plan and purposes of God.
“You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.” (Job 22:28)
“For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be moved and be cast into the sea’, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said. Therefore I say to you, all things, whatever you ask, praying, believe that you shall receive them, and it will be to you. And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive it so that also your Father in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:23-26)
Before we use the prayer of authority, command and decree, we should first ascertain that this situation is not a providential circumstance, permitted so that we can overcome evil with good. If we attempt to rebuke situations that God has providentially permitted for our growth we will fail to overcome.
The authoritative use of our words requires that we be without unforgiveness, anger or bitterness towards anyone. It is unthinkable for a Christian to try to harm others with negative words. However, there are occasionally demonically engineered circumstances, where it is appropriate to take dominion and speak words of command over the illegal spirits operating in the circumstance. In these cases we can speak forth in prayers of authority against obstacles that hinder the will of God in our spheres of responsibility and influence.

Words Keep the Life of the Spirit Active in Us
“Be filled with the spirit speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Eph. 5: 19)
Here Paul urges us to use our tongues to continuously speak the praises of God and celebrate His goodness. This keeps us built up in the Lord and the life of the Spirit flowing in our hearts and lives. This kind of wholehearted praise connects us in such a vital way with the throne of God that it releases the operation of His miraculous power and the activity of His angels.
We see this in Paul’s life, when on one occasion after he and Silas had been severely beaten and locked in jail they began to praise God loudly at midnight. As they did this God sent an angel to unlock the prison doors and Paul won the jailer to Christ.
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison-house were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” (Acts 16:25-26)
A similar story is recounted in Chronicles when Judah was invaded by a vastly superior coalition of three armies in the days of Jehosophat. Though vastly outnumbered Jehosophat began to look to God and sent out choirs praising God before the army. As they did this, God released the angelic hosts to overcome and confuse the enemies of Judah.
“And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures for ever.’
And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.” (2 Chronicles 20:21-22)
Praise releases the power of God into our situations. On the other hand, negative fear-filled and complaining words quench and dampen the life of the Spirit within us. When we turn the switch of the tongue from whining and complaining to praising and thanksgiving we hook up with the supernatural power of God, and heaven breaks in.

The Heavenly Language
No discussion of the supernaturally empowered believer’s use of the tongue would be complete without mentioning the “gift of tongues” so often referred to in the New Testament writings.
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues…” (Mark 16:17)
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)
“Now I want you all to speak in tongues but even more to prophecy.” (1 Cor. 14.5)
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up by your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, eagerly awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to everlasting life.” (Jude 1:20-21)
The supernaturally empowered believer knows how to use his tongue in the heavenly prayer language. This language enables him to pray beyond the limits of his mind and intellect.
The heavenly prayer language is one of the greatest tools of the spiritual believer as through it we can pray beyond the limits of the understanding. It opens a way for the wisdom of heaven, which is superior to natural wisdom, to flow through our hearts. When we pray in our own language we voice the concerns of our minds and pray about matters we are aware of. When we pray in tongues, on the other hand, we pray in mysteries that are beyond the reach of the intellect.
God has made this gift available to all supernaturally empowered believers as a means of recharging our spirits. It is unfortunate that this link between our spirit and the unseen realm has been neglected by so many. The most supernaturally empowered believers of the ages have known the importance of this tremendous supernatural resource.
Chapter 7: THE HABIT OF SERVICE/MINISTRY

CHAPTER VII
THE HABIT OF SERVING/MINISTRY


The supernaturally empowered believer is a servant through and through. They know that God who saved us, not by our own works, has sent them out to do good works. “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) These good works are not just any acts of service but works which have been supernaturally set up by God through which we serve and advance His kingdom.

Serving in Two Directions
Everyone will serve something: self, idols, money or dead works. Believers have been rescued from slavery in empty, dead and futile works to serve the living God.
Believers see themselves firstly as servants of God and then as servants of others as God directs. A servant is one who seeks the Master’s will above everything. His delight and only responsibility is to do the Master’s will. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” (Mt. 4:10)
Believers