Today, from guest teacher Kyle Eidelman. And
the question that Ezekiel asks is the question,
is it too late? Can these dead bones live again?
And God promises Ezekiel that he's going to put
flesh and skin on the bones. He's going to breathe
life into them. And then he tells Ezekiel, okay,
here's your part in it. Ezekiel, I want you,
here it is, to speak, to say some things out
loud. And I would argue there's supernatural
power when you speak God's word out loud. Are
you speaking death over your marriage, your future,
yourself? Every time you say, I always mess things
up, or things will never get better, you're planting
seeds that bear fruit you'll have to eat. But
God's Word, spoken out loud, has the power to
change that. Welcome to Living on the Edge. I'm
Dave Drewy, and today Chip Ingram welcomes back
guest teacher Kyle Eidelman to contribute to
our larger series called God's Dream for Your
Life. And to get us set up for today's lesson,
here's Chip. Well, I'm super excited today to
welcome a special guest to Living on the Edge.
He's a friend, and I could introduce him in a
lot of ways, like, you know, a famous author
that wrote Not a Fan, sold over a million copies,
or he leads a big church called Southeast Christian.
And those are nice things. But I want to introduce
my friend, Kyle Eidelman, the lead pastor at
Southeast Christian. thought captive. And Kyle
and I have both passionately wanted to learn
and pass on how does Jesus really change our
lives. And in this series, I've asked Kyle to
step in, be our guest teacher, and you're going
to love what he has to share. Okay, thanks, Jeff.
Now here's Kyle with a message titled, Say It
Out Loud. God's truth spoken out loud has the
power to break strongholds in your life and bring
dead things back to life. Proverbs 18, 21, death
and life are in the power of the tongue and those
who love it will eat its fruit. Your tongue has
the power to destroy or to build up. After teaching...
group of men a couple of weeks ago on Strongholds,
a man came up to me afterwards, was telling me
about his marriage. And he said, I don't know
why my wife puts up with me. He said, I don't
know how to be a good husband. I find myself
just doing the things my dad did. It didn't work
for him. It's not working for me. She deserves
someone who actually knows how to make her happy.
I went to visit a man in the hospital a number
of months ago, and he said, God's punishing me
for something. And each time, what I want to
say is, don't let yourself hear you say that.
Don't let yourself hear you say those things.
It might seem harmless, but there's a difference
between thinking a thought and speaking a thought.
And when you speak a thought out loud, your brain
pays closer attention. What's fascinating is
modern neuroscience has just discovered just
what the Bible seemed to acknowledge long ago,
that there's something remarkable that happens
in your brain when you speak your thoughts out
loud versus just thinking them. When you speak
words out loud, your brain processes the information
through multiple channels that more regions of
the brain get used when you speak your thoughts
out loud. I could spend 30 minutes talking about
how some of this works, but the point is that
speaking your thoughts out loud engages more
neural networks to create stronger and more lasting
neural pathways than just the thoughts you think
quietly to yourself. Like the neurological bottom
line is that speaking truth out loud can literally
rewire your brain more effectively than just
thinking something silently. Let me give you
an example. Our culture tells us one way to deal
with your anger or frustration would be to vent
your feelings. That's healthy to vent. Some of
you are so good at it. Like you are a venter.
And you think to yourself, the more I vent, the
better I feel. I just get it all out. Or maybe
you're a complainer. You think, if I just complain,
if I just let people know all the things that
I find wrong with whatever's going on in my life,
I'll start being content. I just need to get
it out. I just need to complain about it a little
bit. But consistently, research is being done,
some research out of Ohio State University recently
by Brad Bushman was just affirming the fact that
that's not how it works. Like when you vent,
your brain hears you saying things out loud and
your brain wants to look for reasons why what
you're saying is true. So whatever words we speak,
whether words of life or death are programming
in our mind. Now, as we saw in Proverbs 18, we'll
look at it again in a minute. Words are like
seed that get planted. And we don't always recognize
the impact of the seed that gets planted because
there's a lag time between the time the seed
gets planted and the time fruit starts to show
up. And so we don't always make the connection.
Like, oh, these words are building up this garden.
These words are creating this fruit in my life.
And whatever words you speak are creating fruit
that you have to eat. Now, we tend to listen
to that and wanna use it as a warning. Like,
hey, be careful with what you're saying because
of this, like words of death. But it's also a
promise. It's an invitation to use the power
of words, specifically God's word out loud to
bring about transformation. So I wanna talk to
you about that, but look, I'm not encouraging
you to speak your own words. This isn't a self
-help. It isn't a power of positive thinking
message. It is the power of God's word message
that when you identify God's word and you speak
that word out loud, it has power over your life.
Proverbs 18, 21. The tongue has the power of
life and death. Second part of that is those
who love it will eat its fruit. Maybe you've
heard the phrase, you're gonna have to eat your
words. This is where it comes from. It's this
idea that your words are seeds. Those seeds create
fruit and that's true. You're gonna have to eat.
That fruit is gonna have to be consumed by you.
And so you have the power with your words to
plant seeds that will create fruit that you'd
love to eat or fruit that will create poison
in your life. And so our promise then from scripture
isn't about, I mean, again, just wanna be so
clear about this. It's not about our words or
our wisdom or our positive thinking. It's about
God's word that we speak out loud. So Isaiah
55 speaks about God's word as seed. The rain
and snow come down from the heavens and stay
on the ground to water the earth. that cause
the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry. And it's the same,
God says, it's the same with my word. This is
how my word works. I send it out and it's supernatural.
It always produces fruit. It will accomplish
all I wanted to. It's not just any word, it's
his word. And it will prosper everywhere I send
it, he says. So what's that mean? Well, it means
instead of speaking and saying, I don't have
anything special to offer. I'm not gonna make
a difference. You speak out loud Ephesians 2
.10. You say, I'm God's masterpiece. God's prepared
good things for me to do in advance. He's gonna
use me to make a difference today. You say it
out loud. Instead of saying, I'm defined by my
worst sins, you speak Romans 8 .1 over your life.
There's no condemnation for me because I'm in
Christ Jesus. I've been set free by God's grace
and his grace is enough for me. Instead of saying,
I'm just too tired and it's just all too hard.
You speak Matthew 11 and Philippians 4 over your
life that when I get tired, I can go to Jesus
and I can find rest for my soul. I can be renewed.
And I know in him, I'll have everything I need
to do everything he's called me to do. Instead
of saying, I'm always worried, always anxious.
You say 1 Peter 5, 7, today, I'm not gonna be
worried or anxious. That's not who I am. I live
above fear because I cast all my cares on God.
I know he cares for me. And you say that out
loud. Instead of saying, I'm all alone and no
one cares, you say Hebrews 13, five over your
life. I'm never alone because I know God will
never leave me or forsake me. And when you say
it out loud, you say it with conviction. And
when you do, your mind leans in and says, oh,
is that what we believe? Is that what's true?
I'm gonna start looking for evidence that that's
true. And you speak it out loud. Go back to Ezekiel.
After he spoke the first time, the bones come
together, muscles and flesh mold and are formed,
but there's still no breath. So God says to Ezekiel,
okay, now here's what I want you to do. I want
you to speak again. Look at verse nine and 10.
Then he said to me, speak a prophetic message
to the winds, son of man. Come, oh breath from
the four winds, breathe into these dead bodies
so they may live again. Ezekiel says, so I did
it. I spoke the message as he commanded me. I
heard what God said and I said what God said
and breath came into their bodies. They all came
to life and stood up on their feet, a great army.
And so there's this vision that Ezekiel has that's
driving home this rhythm that God wanted for
Ezekiel's. ministry and life and God wants for
you that you listen to what God says, you speak
what God says, you watch what God does. You listen
to what God says, you speak out loud what God
has said. With conviction and authority, you
speak it out loud. With faith and confidence,
you speak it out loud and then you watch what
God does. You listen, you speak, you watch. And
God brings life to a place of death and he's
not done doing that. I believe he still wants
to do it today. I know some of you are skeptical.
I know some of you think this seems too simple,
but again, Ezekiel is told to prophesy. Prophesy
means that you're not speaking your word, you're
speaking God's word. That Ezekiel is a transmitter
for what God is wanting to speak into the world
and to speak over what he sees around him. Prophesy
means that you speak with authority. You don't
speak as a question like, well, I think so, or
wouldn't it be great? It's speaking with authority.
Like you believe it because of who God is. I
just wanna be practical about this for a couple
of minutes here is I wanna challenge you. I know
it's gonna be simple enough that you're gonna
feel resistant to it. I just wanna challenge
you to choose a specific place where you're gonna
practice it this week, where you're gonna identify
something God has said that applies to your life.
You're gonna speak it out loud. and then you're
gonna watch what God does. I don't know how Ezekiel
felt when God gave him the instructions, but
I do think he probably thought, this isn't gonna
work. This isn't gonna work. This is all too
simple. You're talking about something really
complicated. You can't just speak words over
something so complex, but he listened to what
God said. He said what God said and he watched
what God did. You're listening to Living on the
Edge, and today's teaching from guest teacher
Kyle Eidelman continues in just a minute. His
message is available anytime at livingontheedge
.org. Listen again, share it with a friend, or
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free, all online. You can even search for specific
topics like parenting, personal growth, and unchangeable
truths. Plus, find small group resources and
practical tools to help you live the Christian
life every day. It's all waiting for you at livingontheedge
.org. Now let's get back to today's message.
I know some of you have been playing prophet
over your life, but you've been prophesying death
instead of life. You've been speaking death over
what God wants to bring life to. in your life.
Stop speaking death over your marriage. To the
couple sitting here, you barely spoke on the
drive to church this morning. You can't remember
the last time you laughed together or were affectionate
with one another. And every time you say, I just
don't have those feelings anymore. Or I think
I married the wrong person. You're speaking death
over something that God wants to bring life to.
Stop speaking death over your future to the single
mom working two jobs, wondering how you'll ever
get ahead. To the dad who lost his business and
can't see a way forward. To a student who's drowning
in debt and loneliness. You find yourself saying,
it's just not gonna work for me. I can never
catch a break. You're speaking death over a future
that God has not done writing yet. Ezekiel spoke
the word of the Lord. He prophesied over dead
and dry bones. And I wanna do that for you. and
over you. I want to speak prophetically the way
that Ezekiel does based in the word of God. But
before I do it, I know I need to address something
for a few of you. I know a lot of you don't.
This won't apply. But I know some of you might
think, Kyle, I'm a little uncomfortable with
this message. This is starting to sound like
a name it and claim it gospel, a name it and
claim it theology. And I get that concern. I'm
not telling you you can speak your dream car
into existence. I mean, you can try. I don't
care if you try. But I'm not telling you that
that's how this works. I'm not telling you that
positive thinking is the same as biblical faith.
I'm saying that in this world, you will have
trouble. That's part of living in this world.
Jesus said it and it's true. But I'm also telling
you that's not the end of the verse. Jesus said,
I have overcome the world. And so my concern
for some of us, and I put myself in this category,
is that our fear of the word of faith extremes
and of preachers who seem to promise sports cars
and a life free of sickness, and our fear of
that, we've swung so far the other way that we
have forgotten the power of speaking biblical
faith out loud. We've become so afraid of claiming
something inappropriate that we've stopped claiming
anything at all. We've become so worried about
presuming upon God that we've stopped declaring
our faith in God. And so what I wanna do here
is not about manipulating God's hand. It's not
about speaking things into existence through
some human willpower. It's about agreeing with
what God has already said in his word. It's about
aligning ourself with what he has said around
restoration and redemption and resurrection and
renewal. It's about speaking God's heart over
our circumstances and then trusting him with
what unfolds. Word of faith says, I can speak
my will into reality. Biblical faith says, I
will speak God's will over my reality. So when
Ezekiel spoke to these bones, he wasn't making
up his own prophecy. It wasn't wishful thinking
or positive thinking. He was simply declaring
what God has said. And so I just wanna speak
some of that over you. I just wanna give you
some of those words because you don't have them
for yourself and nobody ever said them to you.
It's not presumption, it's faith to speak this
way. It's not hype, it's hope in who God is and
what God has said. It's trust that even if things
don't go the way we want them to, our confidence
is in him and his promises and in eternity. So
to marriages hanging on by a thread, you're still
married, but you've given up. I wanna speak breakthrough.
I wanna speak laughter back into your kitchen.
I wanna speak romance back into your routine.
What God has joined together, let no valley of
death separate. To broken parent -child relationships
in this room, to the mom whose teenager won't
talk to her, to the dad whose adult son won't
return his calls, to the parent who feels like
a failure, I wanna speak God's heart of restoration
over you. I wanna speak phone calls that end
with I love you. I wanna speak family dinners
where everybody wants to be there. To those battling
addiction, to the person who's hiding their bottles,
deleting their history, who makes promises to
themselves that they can't keep. So many promises.
They don't believe their own words when they
speak them. I want to speak freedom over you
in the name of Jesus. I wanna speak chains breaking.
I speak a day when you look in the mirror and
you see who God created you to be instead of
who the enemy has convinced you you are. To those
of you who are living with spiritual dryness
where your Bible has gathered dust and your screen
time is 10 times more than your prayer time.
To those of you who came to church here but you
don't really care and you're just going through
the motions, I just wanna speak renewal and revival
over you. To those battling depression and anxiety,
You put a smile when you came in here to church,
but you cried yourself to sleep last night in
your bed. And you feel like you're drowning,
even though everything looks fine on the outside.
You wonder if darkness will ever lift. I just
wanna speak God's word of light over you. I wanna
speak his joy and his peace. I wanna speak Jesus
into the darkness to those who are carrying shame
from your past. The person here who's haunted
by mistakes you made years ago, and you still
live with the enemy's accusations. Every morning
you wake up, the accusations are there and the
guilt and the shame feels heavier than you can
bear. And every time you try to move forward,
you feel disqualified from what God wants for
you. I speak forgiveness over you in the name
of Jesus and redemption. He wants to make all
things new. He wants to work for good in your
life. I wanna speak beauty from ashes. I wanna
speak a future so bright that your past ends
up becoming the very thing God uses to help others
experience forgiveness. I want to speak God's
word over you. And my prayer is that you would
believe it, that you would believe what he says.
And I hear people say things that are so contrary
to what God wants for them. And I'm like, that's
not true. Stop saying that. It's not true. And
so I want us to close by practicing this out
loud together. I'm gonna lead us through some
just... Speaking out loud some biblical truths
together. And so I'm gonna ask you to stand up
for this. And I'm gonna read the first, there's
gonna be two statements that come up on the screen.
I'm gonna read the first part and then we'll
read the second part, which is just scripture.
Scripture is what we're reading out loud. We're
gonna declare scripture together. I just wanna
challenge you to read this out loud with me and
do it with some conviction. So I'll read the
first statement, then we'll read the second together.
When anxiety tries to overwhelm our thoughts,
all of us together, we cast all our anxiety on
God because he cares for us. When discouragement
whispers that will never change, he who began
a good work in us will carry it on to completion.
When distraction tries to pull us away from what
matters, we set our minds on things above and
not on earthly things. When offense tempts us
to hold grudges, we forgive each other just as
in Christ God forgave us. When fear threatens
to paralyze our faith, God has not given us a
spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound
mind. When lies about our identity try to define
us, we are chosen, royal, holy, and belong to
God. Today and every day, We will not be conformed
to this world, but we will be transformed by
the renewing of our minds. God, I pray that you
would give us a deep conviction in our hearts
that what you say is true. Maybe it's different
than what we've heard others say. It's different
than words we've spoken over ourselves. God,
would you let us hear what you say and love what
you say and speak what you say and then watch
what you do. God, would you give us faith? I
pray in this sanctuary, just like in that valley
of dry bones where there's a noise of rattling
bones coming together. I pray, God, that we would
experience that together, that we would experience
your power at work, not because we say so, not
because of our own thinking, our own words, but
because of the power of your word. So God, let
us have faith. Give us faith. God, where we...
Want to believe more? I pray that you would help
our unbelief. But God, would you move in the
sanctuary the same way that you moved in that
valley of dry bones? I pray for a rattling that
would be true because of your power and because
we have declared what you said to be true over
our lives. It's in Jesus' name. Amen. This is
Living on the Edge with special guest teacher
Kyle Eidelman. Kyle is a pastor, author, and
gifted communicator, and a good friend of Chip
Ingram's. Chip will join us in just a moment
for some final thoughts on today's lesson, so
don't go anywhere just yet. Kyle reminded us
today that our words carry extraordinary power,
and modern neuroscience is just now catching
up to what Proverbs declared long ago, the tongue
has the power of life and death. And when you
speak God's Word out loud over your marriage,
your fears, your future, your identity, something
remarkable happens. Your mind leans in. Neural
pathways are rewired. And God moves. Speak what
God says. Watch what God does. That's the heartbeat
of Living on the Edge, helping Christians live
like Christians. Not just on Sunday, but Monday
through Saturday, in the real trenches of life.
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And one more thing, have you subscribed to the
Living on the Edge podcast? There you can hear
full -length messages from start to finish and
take them anywhere you go. Well, now here's Chip
Ingram. The vision of Ezekiel speaking to dry
bones, well, I've preached that passage before,
but I feel like Kyle brought such powerful application
today about God's heart for restoration. You
know, God told Ezekiel to speak, not pray, not
work, not fix. Just speak God's word out loud
over dead circumstances. And maybe you've been
prophesying death over your marriage. You know,
like, this will never work. Or your calling,
I'll never amount to anything. You know, you
can think those thoughts. You can say them out
loud. Here's what I want to tell you. Stop speaking
what you fear and start speaking what God says.
This isn't a name and claimant theology. Biblical
faith isn't speaking your will into reality.
It's speaking God's will over your reality. When
you align your words with Scripture, you're not
manipulating God. You're agreeing with God what
He has already said about restoration, redemption,
and resurrection. So here's the rhythm. Listen
to what God says in His Word. Speak what God
says with conviction. And then watch what God
does. You know, I came across a little pattern.
It was from an NFL football player who used to
do prison ministry named Bill Glass. And I learned
from him to write down truth on little cards.
I still have them. I mean, I'm holding a card
right now. I wish you could see it. It's about
30 -some years old. And I found I had a negative
attitude, so I read this out loud every day.
I'd like to become habitually thankful as a matter
of unconscious response to all life circumstances
and relationships in light of the goodness and
the sovereignty of God. 1 Thessalonians 5. 16
through 18. And you know something? As I said
those out loud, little by little by little, I
became a thankful person. Speak the truth over
your life and watch what God does. How you start
your morning sets the trajectory for your entire
day. Well, next time we'll discover how to make
morning habits that lead to a stronger, healthier
walk with God, right here on Living on the Edge.
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
Living on the Edge.