What a word.
"Some of us grew up with a loaded gun for a mouth," said Pastor Mark Ellis, of United Christian Faith Ministries in Baton Rouge. "Before we came to Christ, we abused this gift God gave us called the mouth, one that was designed by God himself to communicate love and truth."
Words can wound, but they also can heal and connect us to God, Ellis said in his message, "Word Connections," last week at the Springfest Impact Revival at Mount Zion Baptist Church Inner City's Baton Rouge location on Hooper Road.
Mount Zion Pastor Ricardo Handy also hosted the two-day revival/homecoming weekend at the church's Plaquemine location. Other speakers were Bishop Charles Wallace, of Oasis Christian Center, Baton Rouge; the Rev. Eric Williams, of Beacon Light Baptist Church, Baton Rouge; and the Rev. Clyde McNell, of Greater Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Plaquemine and New Light Baptist Church in Grosse Tete.
Ellis' message was based on Matthew 12:33-37, in which Jesus says in part: “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken."
"A man or woman's words expose what he or she is deep down within their heart and expose their motives, their desires, their ambitions," Ellis said.
Ellis offered a three-word solution to connect with God: praise, prayer and promises.
"Satan will do everything he can to discourage you and I from expressing gratitude and praise," Ellis said. "Frankly, he wants you and I to be grumblers, because grumbling is an expression of unbelief and ingratitude, two ways to short-circuit your connection with God. Praise, on the other hand, is an expression of faith and gratitude."
Prayer has to be continual, Ellis said.
"Why do you think God wants us to pray day and night always without ceasing because he knows its keeps us connected to him," he said.
And finally, Ellis said promises have to be spoken daily.
Ellis, 53, recalls being a 24-year-old "stone" alcoholic — like his father and grandfather — when he spoke the words from Romans 10 that set him free and saved.
"The word says that if I would confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead, I could go from natural to spiritual. I could go from death to life. I could go from hell to heaven," he said. "You got to open your mouth if you want something from God. It takes words. God doesn't need a 12-step program to deliver you. … He needs a heart that believes."