VOUS — Faith Talks · Faith and Flow Bible Community

Amber Cruz

3d • General discussion

VOUS — Faith Talks

Proverbs 18:20–21

“From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.”

Your words, the things you speak, taste like something.
Are your words sweet or sour?
According to Solomon, you will eat what you speak.
It will either satisfy you or continue to corrupt and destroy you.

A lot of us say things every day without taking account of what’s coming out of our mouths:

“I can’t.”
“I won’t.”
“I’m unable.”
“Our marriage will always be terrible.”
“I’m broke.”
“I’m an anxious person.”
“I’m just that kind of person.”
“This is how it’s always been.”

He says the power of life and death are in your tongue.

It’s not just whether your words are sweet or sour, but what you say can build you or kill you.
A lot of people believe right but talk wrong.
How can we say we’re people of faith, but our vocabulary is full of fear?
You can’t worship Sunday and worry Monday through Saturday. You won’t make it.
If the only time you eat is Sunday, then you will starve.
You have to learn how to pray right and confess right.

You can’t hope to have a life that’s victorious if all you do is speak words of defeat.

You can’t just pray right; you have to talk right.
You don’t just walk faith, you talk faith.

Hebrews 11:1

It’s not someday faith, but faith for today.

Faith for your marriage.
Faith for your business.
Faith for your kids.
Right now and right here.
It’s looking at something invisible and being certain of it.
It’s certainty in the invisible.

Out of the heart, the mouth begins to speak.

What you believe in your heart shows up in your mouth.
You have to speak life.
Faith talks.

“I walk by faith, not by sight.”

There is a language to faith.

What Does Faith Sound Like?

1. Faith Talks Ahead

The fastest way to make something a reality is to make it a confession.
If you want to do something, start by saying it out loud.
Your words have to be said before they’re seen.
Faith says it before I see it.

2 Corinthians 4:8

Paul was a prisoner, but that’s not what he spoke of. He spoke of what was ahead.

“I might be going through some things, but I’m not in despair.”
“Yeah, I have been persecuted, but I haven’t been abandoned.”
What he sees is not what he says.
Faith speaks ahead of the situation.
Many of us kind of speak faith. It’s not that we don’t believe in God; it’s that we don’t believe in Him enough.
It’s not that we don’t know He’s good, but we don’t know how good He is.
Faith doesn’t deny what is seen, but it’s determined to not let it be the last thing that’s said.

We say:

“God is good, but this is hard.”

“The Lord is working, but I don’t know how I’ll get out of this.”

“God is a provider, but I have a lot of bills.”

It’s a version of faith, but it’s not enough.

Move your “but.”

“I’ve got a lot of bills. I don’t know how I’ll pay them, but my God is a provider.”
“This is a difficult thing I’m walking through and life has never been so hard, but God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.”
You have to move your “but.”
What you see doesn’t have to be the last thing you say.
Let your faith be the last word.

Faith is like a GPS. It speaks ahead of where you are going.

It’s a voice speaking ahead of my destination.
Faith gives language to where you’re going before you arrive.
You’re not the GPS — God is.
Your faith isn’t about getting God to agree with your directions. Your faith agrees with God’s direction over your life.
God’s voice is what’s leading you.
God’s voice is what’s telling you where you need to go. You just have to listen in.
Confession says you agree with God.

You can look at my current situation, but my current situation doesn’t speak about my final destination.

If you say it long enough, you will see it soon enough.

2. Faith Talks Through

The conversation requires process.

God is taking you to something, but it requires you to go through something.

Often, where you lose your vocabulary is in the middle.

God is taking you to a mountain, but usually you have to go through a valley.
God is taking you to the other side, but usually you have to go through a storm.
Glory always requires you to walk through suffering.
God will talk you to greatness, but we have to walk through service.
Our language gets messy in the middle.

Most of our confessions today are not of faith, but of complaints.

“I hate this traffic.”
“My boss is the worst.”
“My kids are crazy.”
“My spouse never listens to me.”

Complaining is talking about a problem without any intention of solving it.

Watch your mouth in the middle.
Don’t let the middle mess with your mouth.

How many miracles have you walked through that you complained your way through?

You were so happy about getting that job; now you’re complaining about going to work.
You always wanted kids, but now all you do is complain about them.
You wanted the promotion, but you complain about the pressure.
You wanted an opportunity, but now you’re surprised that there are obstacles in the way.

There is a cost to complaining.

It adds to your trouble.

Isaiah 43:2

God never promised you wouldn’t go through it. He promised you wouldn’t go through it alone.

God doesn’t say you won’t have pain, problems, or that life will be easy. But He says that He will be with you through it all.

We will face turbulence in life, but our Pilot has warned us so we can go through it with a different mindset.

Take courage and face the storm.

Don’t let the middle mess with your mouth. Watch your words.

3. Faith Talks Back

We don’t want to talk back with defiance, but with obedience.

We have to have a faith that talks back.

When fear is in front of you, you have to have a faith that talks back.
When doubt tries to lie to you, you have to have a faith that talks back.
When anxiety hits you, you have to have a faith that talks back.

You have to say:

“No. God hasn’t given me a spirit of fear, doubt, or unworthiness, but of love and power, and I have a sound mind.” You have to know a lie when you hear a lie.

The words spoken every day to us are words we either agree with or use our words to fight back against.

Sometimes you let the giant have the last word, but you can’t. You talk back.
It wasn’t that Jesus could stop the devil from speaking, but He could talk back: “It is written.”

If God is for you, there is no one who can be against you.

You have to have a faith that talks back.

You have to talk to:

Doubt
Worry
Fear
Poverty
Relationship destruction

Faith talks back.

Sometimes faith isn’t resisting, but returning.

You have to know how to return.
Gratitude is one of the biggest confessions you can ever make.

Luke 17

What good is it to get the gift but miss the Gift Giver?

What good is it to get the miracle but never get the Miracle Worker?

“Thank You” is the confession all of us need in every season.

You didn’t get here yourself.
It was God who did it, so we say thank You.

Faith talks back and says, “Thank You.”

Gratitude is saying, “I know who my Source is.”
I know how I’m still standing.
I know how I got through the wilderness and pain.

One of the clearest signs you’re growing in faith is when life is painful, but you’re still grateful.

The place that hurts the most is where healing is occurring.
A mature person can say thank You through it all.
“God, I’m hurting, but I’m thankful.”
“Thank You, God, for saving me and healing me.”
“Yes, it’s painful, but God, I’m so grateful. You’ve always been there through every season and every moment.”

Worship God in the midst of your storm and pain.

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VOUS — Faith Talks