Two jiu-jitsu classes and one difference

Pastor Max opens with his son Levi's first jiu-jitsu class at age four. Overwhelmed by bear crawls and somersaults he had never done, Levi asked to sit out and watched the rest of the class from the bench. On the drive home Pastor Max first scolded him about the money they had paid, which backfired, then shifted gears and told his son he loved him, was proud of him, and only cared that he tried his hardest. At the next class Levi gave everything he had and ran out shouting that he had tried his hardest. The only difference between the two classes was the words spoken over him. The Bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue, and we need to choose our words carefully.

A world full of negative voices

People are twice as likely to click a negative news story, entertainment often speaks despair over us, and studies suggest it takes five positive comments to outweigh one negative. Even our own self-talk runs 70 to 80 percent negative, and Pastor Max suggests much of what we assume is our own voice is actually the enemy whispering. When we agree with a lie, we live under it, which is why Paul tells us to take every thought captive. We need to stop listening to culture and ourselves and start speaking God's word over our lives. As the church heads toward Heart for the House, the message looks at the kind of house God is building: a house of encouragement, with four truths we must speak.

Speak faith, not fear

In Numbers 13 God tells Moses to send spies into the land He is giving Israel, a land they still have to fight for; God gives the idea, the resources, or the open door, and we still have to work, steward, and prepare. All twelve spies saw the same land, but ten returned speaking fear about fortified cities and giants, while Caleb said, "we are well able to overcome it." Pastor Max warns against both ends of the spectrum: the no-faith Christian whose every answer is that life is hard, and the fake-faith Christian who pretends everything is fine. Full faith names the student loans, the marriage struggles, or the need for a permanent church building in expensive Naperville, and still believes God. Nobody remembers the ten spies; we remember Joshua and Caleb.

Speak life, not death

The longer the spies sat in negativity, the worse their report grew, from a strong people to a land that devours its inhabitants and giants who made them look like grasshoppers. Negativity compounds. Recalling the early days of Elan Church four years ago, Pastor Max contrasts people who came to point out everything wrong with those who noticed a gap and offered to help. He and Pastor Juliet see more problems than anyone, but there is a difference between speaking destruction and bringing a solution. No church is perfect, and sanctification is a journey, so the house of God needs people who say there is room to grow and who believe God can do it.

Speak encouragement

The bad report set off the whole nation, which wept and wanted to return to slavery in Egypt, while Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and urged the people not to fear because the Lord was with them. To encourage is to put courage into people. Pastor Max describes how a chronically negative person deflates a room while an encouraging person leaves everyone energized. He tells of preaching to a scowling group of Christian actuaries after years in a highly encouraging London church and finishing a twenty-minute message in seven. He hopes Elan Church is always a place where worship leaders and preachers are glad to see who is in the room because of the life they bring.

Speak into your future

God pardoned Israel but declared that none of the generation who despised Him would enter the land, except Caleb, who had a different spirit, and Joshua. The ten spies and the fearful nation literally spoke themselves out of God's promise. Pastor Max recalls almost quitting football as a high school quarterback after overhearing a teammate say the other quarterback was better. He chose to stop listening to negative voices, began speaking encouragement over himself, and that year his team won the league, beat its rival twice, and reached the state championship. Elan Church's vision is to raise up passionate disciples of Jesus who lead a global move of God that shapes generations to come, including planting a church in every state over thirty years. That is impossible in human strength, but the church chooses full faith over no faith or fake faith.

The check engine light

Pastor Max closes with the car whose check engine light he ignored until the engine failed. Our words are the check engine light: out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, so when our words are off, the heart is off, and we cannot fix that by trying harder. We bring it to God, the mechanic, and ask Him to do a work in us. He notes that Joshua lingered in God's presence in the tabernacle long before he gave his good report, and he invites the church to linger in worship and speak biblical truth over their lives.