1."Fire in the h ______" is a warning that an explosive detonation in a confined space is imminent.

2.“__ __ e hole” is a person’s ______– (“Shutyour ______hole!”).

3."Fire in the pie hole" is the reality that an explosive detonation in a given space (mo______) is always looming.

4.James speaks brutally clear about the __ __ al “fire in our pie hole”.

*James 3:6 – Your mouthcan set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fireby hell itself.

*James gave us a lot of the downside regarding our tongue/words, but not much of the upside.Today we want to look at the upside.

James 3:9 – “Sometimes our tongue praises our Lord and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.”

… Because of that …

Psalm 141:3 – “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”

*As this prayer is continually answered, we are released to arm ourselves with words full of the “power of life”.

*Proverbs 18:21 –The tongue has the power of life …

*Isaiah 50:4 – The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary.

1.Our B ______of Words! We have tremendous possibility to bring words fullofthe “power of life” into our situations.

2.Now if Proverbs 18:21 and Isaiah 50:4 are true, and they are; then we each have a ton of ammunition ready to change our circle of influence:

*From the power of death in the words surrounding us …

*To the healing power of life in the words surroundings us!

Ephesians 4:29 – When you talk,don’t use foul or abusive language. But say what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. In this, God’s favor (literally: grace) is extended to those who hear your words.

1.Your words are the instr______of God’s favor/grace!

2.How can that be? It’s a phenomenal truth! Everything that ex______came about by words!

3.Genesis 1 is the most vibrant chapter in the Bible pertaining to our world.

*We read that God spoke, and all things came into being …

*God said, and it was so…

*God calledit, and it was good …

*Then God blessed it, and all things multiplied!

4.It is thever______activity of Almighty God that literally decrees our world’s existence.

5.Even more remarkable – the One whose voice/words spoke all things into being extends the invitation to us to be those who wield the “power of life” in our words.

6.The words we speak, by God’s design, are creative, dynamic, vibrant, and full of God’s favor and grace.

7.1 Corinthians 14:10 – There are many different languages in the world, and every language has mea ______g.