God is continually pierced by the foolish things that come out of our mouths. Rather than grace and supplication (Zech. 12:10), we tend to speak the words of Herod–eloquent arrogance (Acts 12:23). We fall in love with the sound of our own voice and believe the flatterers who tell us we speak like a god. He who perseveres in his own words for his own glory ends up getting eaten by worms, as happened to Herod. By contrast “the word of God grew and multiplied” (v. 24). Men are fools and God alone is wise (Jude 25). One’s folly is most evident when he opens his mouth and speaks. It is for this reason (the folly of people expressed in words) that God intentionally links the filling of the Holy Spirit with divine control of the tongue. Inescapably in Scripture, when man or woman is filled with the Spirit, there is an immediate effect on the tongue. We know God is in control of His vessels when their most unruly member (the tongue that is set on fire by hell) is now kindled by heaven (James 3:1-8). God’s intention for the mouth is not that it should pierce Him or others in its folly, but that it should magnify the Lord in fiery praise. The human tongue magnifies himself and distorts God; the holy tongue magnifies God and diminishes humanity.
To speak of the empowered tongue is not to imply that only soft things emerge from the mouth. Our tongues are commissioned to proclaim the whole counsel of God. The Spirit fills us that we speak God’s words, and God’s words pierce even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow (12" class="scriptRef">Heb. 4:12). In Cyprus Paul encounters the sorcerer Elymas who withstood the words of God. Paul, “filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him, and said: ‘O full of deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness. Will you not stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:9-10)? This too is empowered speech, the piercing words of heaven that cut through all the fraud and lies of man and devils. The filling of the Spirit leads us to both magnify His name and to defend it. There comes a time when the wisdom of God is so provoked by the foolishness of man that empowered speech issues from His vessels with the authority of the Spirit. These rebukes are witness, too, and often lead to belief. The consul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord (Acts 13:7, 12).
God intends our words to pierce–just not to pierce Him. God fills us with His Spirit that our words would pierce through all the clouded confusion of humanity, cut through all the lies and deceit, and stab the heart of the matter. Because our mouths are swords, they can do great harm or great good. Only the repeated infilling of the Holy Spirit ensures that we pierce with grace for God’s glory.
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Dick Brogden ( - )
I was born in rural East Africa, just north of Lake Victoria. My dad and mom are my heroes (still missionaries on the field, they went out in 1966) and taught me to love Jesus and love his passions in the earth. I married my best friend, Jennifer, and she is stronger and wiser than anyone will ever know. I have two joys in life—my sons, Luke and Zack. Together we have treasured Jesus among Muslims since 1992, first in Mauritania, then Kenya, then Sudan for the past 15 years. The next treasure stop is Cairo, Egypt.Jennifer and I love to pioneer, we love working among unreached Muslim people, we love taking the gospel where it has not yet gone. The picture Jenn has had for our lives is that of a team on an obstacle course. We run to the wall first and get down on our hands and knees so others can spring over the wall. We do believe the great opportunity of our age is to engage the world of Islam with our magnificent, divine Jesus. We do consider the Arab world to be the heart of Islam. As Jesus is enthroned in the Arab world, we will be that much closer to every tribe, tongue, and people in worship, that much closer to Jesus coming back to take us all home. Whatever that costs us, Jesus is worth it.