We are continuing our series on B-Wise. This is a series that we’ve taken out of Proverbs, learning how to grow in wisdom, and Pastor Kevin has been in this series for a few weeks. If you’ve missed some of the previous messages, I want to encourage you — you can go on YouTube, you can catch up and watch the previous messages that we’ve heard on B-Wise.

Last weekend specifically, Pastor Kevin was talking about being wise with our words, and knowing that I was going to be preaching this weekend right after “Be Wise With Our Words,” I wanted to be like, “to be continued” on last week’s message. You know, like when you’re in the middle of a show and there’s this thing and they don’t give you the full story, right? And then I just want to be like, “to be continued,” because today is part two of “Be Wise With Our Words.” We’re going to talk about the power of our words today, and I’m excited because I feel like there are obviously biblical principles that we can pull out of the Word of God and apply it to our life, and also some really practical things that I hope will be helpful to you. I know that they transformed my life when I learned them several years ago.

So we’re going to go through an exercise today — not like a physical exercise, calm down — but like a mental, emotional exercise that I pray will be helpful to you like it was helpful to me. Are you ready? All right, so we’re talking about “Be Wise.” We’re going to start where we ended off last week, and that is Proverbs 18:21: The tongue has the power of life and death. The tongue — the words that we speak — we can either choose life with our words, or we can choose death with our words.

Last week we heard that our words are like seeds that create a harvest in our future. And a lot of times, people don’t see that connection between our words and our harvest. We miss out that our words are actually seeds that we are planting that are going to create a harvest in our future, and all of a sudden we’re in that harvest, and we’re looking around saying, “How did I get here?” It was probably the words that we spoke a year ago, six months ago, ten years ago — the words that we kept sowing into our life to the point where we didn’t just say them, but we started to believe them. And then, because we were believing them, we started to act in that way, and those words became seeds planted in the soil of our life that now we are living in the harvest of those words.

So our words are powerful. Our words have meaning. Our words matter. The tongue has the power of life and death. And so we get to choose with our words if we’re going to sow seeds of life into our future, or sow seeds of death into our future.

So today, in this B-Wise Part 4A of “Being Wise With Our Words,” or however you want to look at it, we’re going to take it a step further. We’re going to challenge ourselves in the words that we use, the words that we speak over ourselves, over others, over our future. And I hope and I pray, and I encourage you, to go deeper as we go deeper today to change your words, because when you change your words, you will change your life, and you can start speaking to the highest level of your faith.

Today we’re going to talk about someone who had a major issue with his words — Gideon. You may have heard of Gideon before. Gideon we find him in the Book of Judges, chapter 6. But before we get there, let me give you a little context of where we are in the Bible timeline when we find Gideon. You may have heard of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — they are the fathers of our faith, the beginnings of the tribes of Israel, the chosen people of God in the Old Testament. That happens, and then there’s a span of time before we get to the kings of Israel: King Saul, King David, King Solomon. Right? And so the Judges era is in between Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the kings. That’s kind of where we find this point of time when we learn about Gideon.

In the era of the Judges, Israel didn’t have a formal king. God was their King. God was their leader. And they went through this vicious cycle over and over again that we see in the Book of Judges, where the people of Israel, the chosen people of God, would love God, serve Him, worship Him, and have a good life. They would have a judge or somebody who was leading them on the ground, but their King, the ultimate say, was God. They listened and they followed. And then the times would be almost so good that they would forget God and His goodness and start to rebel, worship other gods, and do all the wrong things. Then their enemies would come, and oppression would happen for 20, 40, or more years. And the people of Israel would cry out to God: “Save us, rescue us, we’ve done wrong, please come and save us.” Every time, God would come and rescue them. And then they would worship Him again and do good things again, and over time forget, and then rebel. This cycle repeated over and over again.

We find Gideon in one of those times when they were in oppression. The Midianites were coming after them, trying to get all their grain and the good things they were producing. Gideon we find in Judges 6. The angel of the Lord came and sat under a tree that belonged to Joash, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press — just put a bookmark there, we’ll come back to that — he was beating out wheat in the wine press to hide it from the Midianites.

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor.” And I can imagine Gideon, maybe the youngest in his family, maybe an angsty teenager, didn’t even look up. He’s like, “Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonderful deeds?” Can you hear the sarcasm in his voice? “Did He not bring us out of Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him again and said, “Go in the might that you have and save Israel. Did I not send you?” Gideon said back, “Please Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Gideon had a major problem with his words. He was not choosing life at this point in his story. The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” This guy Gideon was hiding in a wine press, threshing wheat. To help understand why this was a problem: threshing wheat is done out in the open, with the help of wind. Modern threshing uses fans if there’s no wind, to separate the grain from the chaff. Gideon was hiding, trying to thresh wheat without the help of the elements because he was scared. Maybe that was all he knew.

Still, the angel of the Lord came to him and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” We see the difference in Gideon’s reality versus God’s truth in this moment. Gideon was hiding in fear, but God still called him mighty. Gideon’s self-perception and his own words did not match God’s truth. His mouth was arguing with God’s call. God said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel,” and Gideon said, “I’m weak, I am the least.” His reality was not matching God’s truth.

This is the “wine press mindset.” When our perception of reality, how we think about it, how we filter it through our life, is very different from God’s truth about our reality. Gideon faced this. Many of us are stuck in a wine press mindset, speaking fear and doubt over our lives while God is calling us to step out in faith. Gideon was stuck because he was fearful, full of doubt, hiding. God said, “You are a mighty warrior. I can help you change this situation.”

Years ago, my counselor taught me the difference between little t truths and Big T truths. Little t truths are lies we have said or thought so much that we believe them, even though they are false. Big T truths are God’s truths that we can and should believe. In Gideon’s life, little t truths were: “I have to hide in fear, I’m the least.” Big T truth: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Go in the strength that you have and save Israel.”

Gideon could choose to believe the lies or God’s truth. Many of us are hiding in emotional and mental wine presses of doubt when God is calling us to step out in faith. The big question: Are you speaking your limitations, or are you speaking to the highest level of your faith? Speak to the highest level of your faith.

Jesus name. Amen. Come on, let’s welcome everyone to the family of God. Jesus’ name, name.

Now as we step into worship, I want you to remember what we talked about today—the power of your words, the seeds you are planting, and the choice you have to speak life instead of death over yourself, your family, and your future. The words that come out of your mouth are more than just sounds; they are spiritual seeds that can either bring blessing or destruction.

Take a moment, reflect on your week, and consider the things you’ve spoken over yourself. Have they aligned with fear or with faith? Have they aligned with doubt or with God’s truth? Now is the moment to replace those lies with Big-T Truths. Speak the promises of God out loud. Declare your victory. Declare your purpose.

As we continue to worship, let the lyrics of the songs you sing reinforce the Word you just received. Let your mouth align with your heart, letting God’s truth saturate your soul and overflow into your actions.

If you have believed little-t truths like “I can’t change,” “I’m not enough,” “I’ll never be used by God,” now is the time to declare the opposite. Speak out the Word of God: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God has called me and equipped me for His purposes. My prayers are powerful and effective.”

Remember, the tongue has the power of life and death. The moment you begin to speak to the highest level of your faith, the spiritual climate of your life begins to shift. Just like Gideon, you may be hiding in fear, but God calls you a mighty warrior. Stand firm, step out, and declare life over your circumstances.

As we close, I encourage you to write down your littl‑t truths, pair them with Big-T Truths, and begin a daily practice of speaking God’s promises over your life. Watch as your words transform your thoughts, actions, and ultimately your harvest.