Do you realize your environment is largely a result of your own words?  It is, and today I hope to show you how to make your own little part of the world a better place.  We all know people whom we would rather not be around.  Don’t look at me like that, you don’t love EVERYONE, nor do I.  There are people who just seem to “get on our nerves”, and it isn’t because of the way they look, it’s because of things they say and the way they act.
   Some people absolutely drain you to be around them, because all they do is talk negatively about themselves, or about others, or about their circumstances.  You know the kind; they always see the glass of water “half empty” instead of “half full”.  Did you know they are some of the most miserable people in the world?  And they love company, and if you hang around them long enough, you’ll be just like them.  So, what’s the solution? Do you just avoid them?  No, they need to be taught to change.  After talking to one of them and finding out how miserable they see things to be, I realize how TRULY BLESSED and wonderful my little part of the world is! I feel all better, but that doesn’t help THEM, does it?  You see, they have what they say, and I have what I say.  They obviously aren’t happy, but I am.  Why is that?  The difference is our words.  Theirs are negative, and I speak God’s Word over my part of creation.
   Does that mean I never have problems because I speak God’s Word over my life?  Goodness no, I’m not immune to problems, but how I deal with them makes all the difference.  Let’s say the car breaks, I could go kick the tires and cuss up a storm and complain about everyone from the President of the car company, down to the janitor, but that wouldn’t fix the car, would it?  I could say that all they make is junk nowadays and go on about how nobody does anything right anymore, and I could let it ruin my day.  After all, it will disrupt my day to deal with whatever the problem is, plus most likely cost me money, and nobody likes spending money fixing stuff that shouldn’t be broken in the first place.  Of course, you can see the dark cloud and lightning flashing around my head.  Grumble, grumble $%^%^!!!! 
   Or, I could just keep my peace and deal with it and keep negative words out of my mouth, because one way or the other, I still have to deal with the problem anyway.  It’s all about ATTITUDE AND WORDS. But if I omit the negativity, then my day isn’t spoiled, nor the day of whosoever happens to be around me.  Negativity turns a small speed bump in your road of life into a cliff that you just drove over.  Ohhhh  Noooooooo!!   THUD!! 
   Even after nineteen years in the ministry, I still have to keep asking myself, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?  I still have to keep myself in line, because my old fleshly man will try to rise up and ruin the day if I let him.  You see, we can look at every difficulty with an attitude of gratitude, or we can grumble and complain.  No matter what, the problem still has to be dealt with anyway, regardless of our attitude, right?  If Jesus had a car and it broke, He wouldn’t throw a hissy fit, so if we consider ourselves His disciple, then we shouldn’t either. But what about other types of problems, say financial troubles, or a troubled marriage, or health issues?
   Every problem we face can be changed by our attitude and words; EVERY problem.  Let’s say you have difficulty in your marriage, and all you do is talk ugly to your mate.  Your mate may be trying to respond to you kindly, but sooner or later they get a snoot full and let fly with a few choice words, and then it REALLY gets going, doesn’t it?  I remember the cure, for it says in Proverbs 15:1-4;
Pro 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Pro 15:2  The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
Pro 15:3  The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Pro 15:4  A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
   Ok, that addresses the marriage matters rather well.  Husbands, always speak pleasant words to your sweet wife; remember that the next time you see her with a frying pan in her hand, it can be used not only to cook your food, but can also be applied upside your head to adjust your attitude….and wives, don’t nag your husband, remember he is doing the best he can to provide a nice home for you.  And if he isn’t, well THEN maybe you can provide him with a little motivation with the frying pan…(a little humor there).  Moral of the story is, if you have to eat your words, make them pleasant ones.
    I’ve been around people who seem to take pride in being poor.  They say they are “so broke they can’t pay attention”.  Do you know why they’re broke?  It’s all because of their attitude and their words.  Don’t try to tell me it isn’t!  I know, because I was once homeless without a penny in my pocket and had only the clothes I was wearing.  But I didn’t STAY homeless, because I had an attitude to come out of it. And I did, too.  Later, after becoming a child of God and being filled with the Holy Spirit, I saw how attitude and words determine exactly how we will live.  We can CHOOSE to lose, or we can CHOOSE to win, but we all make choices every day.  We can try to blame the job market, or someone or something else, but ultimately, it is we ourselves who decide whether to feel sorry for ourselves, or to turn to God with our whole heart and start using the Word of God to change our life.
    Does everything change the moment we decide to do things God’s way?  Yes and no.  For some it took fifty years to get their lives all messed up, and it may take more than a few hours to straighten things out.  But the INSTANT you turn to God, it starts changing for the good.  Fleshly habits are hard to change, and they need a good dose of God’s Word daily to make progress.  You see, God loves you even while you’re a work in progress.  Your heart may be full of guilt and condemnation, but the very instant you confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you, THEY ARE FORGIVEN!  You aren’t telling God anything He didn’t already know about you, and yet He still chooses to accept you as His very own.  GLORY TO GOD!!
   Your old attitude has to be nailed to the cross alongside your sins in order for your life to change.  You must stop seeing yourself as a loser, as one who can never seem to change or get ahead.  You must stop seeing yourself as one who is sick, who never seems to get well, for your healing IS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED by the stripes the Lord Jesus took upon His body for you.  You must learn to see the sickness you’ve been dealing with, removed from YOU and laid upon JESUS, for it has been.  The sum total of all the punishment due you for your sins was laid upon Jesus, and YOU have been set free, and now your heavenly Father sees you as holy and righteous, without blame, without guilt, and without sin, because of Jesus making substitution for you, and you are granted salvation by your heavenly Father!  Do you see that?  If you don’t, you’ll never get past the devil trying to condemn you. 
   Once your attitude is changed, your words will line up with your new attitude.  And your words will change your world.  Some people try to play that down, saying it doesn’t work.  Let me tell you something; if ANYONE knew how God created things to work, it would have been Jesus, and HE said in Mark 11:23-24,
Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

   Jesus revealed a secret here that had been kept hidden from the foundation of the world, in order for us to start enjoying the “life more abundantly” that He spoke of in John 10:10.  And yet many give excuse that “I tried it for a while and it doesn’t work.”  Well, look at that statement again.  They didn’t believe in their heart it would work for them, SO IT DIDN’T.  And they got EXACTLY what they believed in their heart and SAID.  As for me, I’m not going to argue with the Lord Jesus, and if you’re smart, you won’t either.  Just take what He said and run with it.  Just look at all the miracles Jesus did.  Look what happened before the miracles occurred…He said….He said…what did He say?  He said what He wanted to see happen.  And everything happened just like He said.
   You notice Jesus never said, Oh, boy, that just tickles me to death….Why? He had such faith in His words that He would have dropped dead on the spot.  Do you have faith in YOUR words?  Apparently not; else you would be using them to change your world for the better.  But beware…you words can and will work either FOR you or AGAINST you.  So choose VERY CAREFULLY what comes out of your mouth.  It is written in Matthew 12:34-37;
Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
   Don’t waste any more of your words agreeing with the devil; start using your words to agree with God’s Word, and just watch how your life starts becoming days of heaven on earth.  Remember, the eyes of the LORD are running to and fro throughout the earth, looking for someone to show Himself strong in behalf of, so it might as well be YOU, right? If you don’t like what’s going on in your life, then CHANGE IT with God’s Word.  His Word works for Him, and it will work for YOU.  How long do you have to keep speaking His Word?  Until you’re satisfied with the results.