#1526. Stewarding our words (28/5/26)
- Matt Beaney
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (posted, at present, every weekday) as we continue our Stewardship series.
Words are one of God’s most powerful gifts that we need to respect and learn to use effectively.
To watch this devotional, please select the link below:
‘For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.’ (Romans 12:3-8)
As I think about our use of words, I’m reminded of a particular conversation that I once had with a particular Christian. Throughout the conversation, he showed little interest in hearing my thoughts, but instead filled the air with cynical and critical words. It reminded me of the truth that what we focus on becomes magnified. This is especially true when we continually focus on - and use our words to magnify - everything that is wrong with the church and the world.
In our text, Paul speaks of seven specific gift in the body of Christ:
i. Prophesying (prophéteia) - Speech that’s inspired by the Holy Spirit.
ii. Serving (diakonia) - Acts of serving and assisting others in the church
iii. Teaching (didaskó) - Communicating information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body.
iv. Encouraging (parakaleó) - Coming alongside to minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement, counsel or admonition to other members of the Body
v. Giving (metadidómi) - Contributing material resources to the work of the Lord with exceptional liberality and cheerfulness.
vi. Leading (proistemi) - Providing God-given direction, or management, to the body.
vii. Mercy (eleeó) - Feeling and serving out of God’s compassion.
Today, I want to focus on how we can use our words as powerful tools in the body of Christ. Whether it’s prophesying, teaching, or encouraging etc. we can all put our words to good service.
How can we steward our words well?
i. Respect the power of words
Recognise that our words have great power to build or to tear down. Therefore, we must use them with great care and wisdom. This is why Proverbs tells us:
‘The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.’ (Proverbs 12:18)
ii. Fill our hearts and minds with truth
If we want to be those who effectively counsel, pray, prophecy, encourage… others, our minds and hearts need to be filled and shaped by God’s truth.
iii. Study word gifts
Let’s study so as to understand the nature of the different spiritual gifts that relate to speech so as to pray and seek how God may want to use us.
For example: Our text speaks of: Prophecy, Teaching and Encouraging; however, the Bible also speaks of Evangelism, Words of knowledge, Words of wisdom, Prayer for healing and miracles, deliverance, intercession, Tongues and Interpretation of tongues, Pastoral care (this involves a lot of words!) etc. - All gifts that emphasise the use of our words.
Response
Words are a powerful tool and gift for us to use in service to God.
James gives us this startling image:
‘….the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.’ (James 3:5-6)
The tongue is a powerful force for the greatest good or the greatest foolishness.
Like Isaiah, may we be able to say:‘
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.’ (Isaiah 50:4a)
Today, as we reflect on stewarding our words, let’s be prayerful and full of faith as to how God wants to use each of us through our words.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:
Community Group Study
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.
On Sunday, we continued our series:
Stewardship - A teaching series on how we are to use the good things that God gives to us.
Please read Romans 12:3-8 and discuss:
Personal Reflection – What did God speak to you about through Sunday’s message?
How would you define a spiritual gift and what they are for?
What are the ways that we can have poor ‘sober judgement’ and so can hinder the use of our gifts?
How do we find our gifts - Could one of you retell the oil illustration used by Lucy?
How would you like to grow in the use of your gifts?
Notice - If you are not already on a team, why not think about joining a serving team - this is the greatest way to find and grow in your gifts.
SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite)
Why will a church that pursues the use of spiritual gifts be effective at bringing the gospel to their community?
Share Stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.
Practical Next Steps – Who is God putting on your heart to reach? Are there any ‘people of peace’ (*see note) in your life—those who are receptive to you and spiritual conversation?
Let’s pray together:
Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.
Pray for one another's SIV opportunities and boldness in following the Spirit's promptings.
Pray specifically for the “people of peace” in our lives—asking God to open hearts and provide opportunities to speak life and truth.
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