Podcast Summary: "The Future Inside You – Word Power"

Bill Winston Podcast – Audio

Host: Bill Winston Ministries
Date: February 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In "The Future Inside You – Word Power," Dr. Bill Winston delivers a powerful teaching on the life-changing influence of words. Focusing on "word power," Winston explains how believers can shape their destiny and manifest God's best by aligning their speech with God’s promises. Using vivid analogies and scripture, he emphasizes the importance of controlling the tongue, reinforcing the idea that each person is the captain of their own ship—steered by the words they speak.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Tongue as the Steering Wheel of Your Life

• Analogy of the Ship & Rudder: Winston details how a small helm (steering wheel) controls a large ship, drawing a direct comparison to the human tongue’s control over the direction of one’s life.
• Quote:

  “Substitute this right here [the helm] for your tongue. If I want to go another way, turn your tongue.” – Bill Winston [08:02]

• Point: Changing your speech changes your path. Regardless of circumstances or how you feel, your words direct your future.

2. Biblical Foundation for Word Power

• Scriptures Cited: James 3:2-4; Proverbs 18:20-21; 1 Peter 3; Matthew 12:35
• Significance: Speaking from both the King James and NIV versions, Winston stresses that maturity in faith is indicated by one’s speech and self-control.
• Quote:

  “You can tell a mature saint by how they talk.” – Bill Winston [06:58]

3. Life and Death: The Power of the Tongue

• Key Verse:

  “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” – (Scripture read aloud) [13:55]

• Interpretation: Winston emphasizes that spoken words carry the potential to bring forth blessings or curses. Purposely speaking blessings, not curses, over oneself and others is God’s desire.

4. Personal Testimony: Faith, Confession, and Manifestation

• Winston shares: His real-life experiences using confessions to grow his congregation despite obstacles. He recounts moving to a new location with fewer people and no money but using daily confessions of faith to fill the church.
• Quotes:

  “If you can say it, you can see it.” [19:11]
  “I’m the captain of my own ship now.” [19:05]
  “Your destiny can be changed with your tongue. That’s a powerful truth.” [24:54]

• Lesson: Others do not control your future—God has placed it within you to speak into existence.

5. Rejecting Limiting Beliefs and Victim Mindsets

• Advice: Winston urges listeners to avoid blaming others for a lack of progress. He challenges the congregation to take ownership, specifically referencing societal and racial barriers.
• Quote:

  “Black folks just need to stop putting it on some other race.… It didn’t come out of them, it came out of me. And if God be for you, who can stand against you?” [20:32]

6. Guarding Your Speech in Everyday Life

• Application: Encourages listeners to speak life over finances, family, work, and relationships, reiterating that persistent, faith-filled speech—even without physical evidence—will eventually produce the desired result.
• Quote:

  “When you change what you’re saying, you’ll change where you go.” [24:54]
  “Words will kill you faster than that medicine. Words are powerful. The most powerful Word filled with faith is the most powerful thing in the universe.” [23:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Faith Beyond the Senses:

  “When you start out believing you’ve received it, you got an enemy there whose job it is to prove that you don’t have it… the more nothing you feel, the more it’s working.” – Bill Winston [04:10]

• Illustration of Limited Results from Hard Work Alone:

  “I’ve seen people work hard all their life and at the end of work they get 40 years to get a Timex and go home and get on Medicare. But you are going to be different… you going to watch your mouth and turn your tongue and get life.” [13:05]

• Exhortation to Bless, Not Curse:

  “God wants us to bless people, not to curse them. You got what I’m saying? So that’s what you can do with your tongue.” [15:29]

• On Controlling Outcomes:

  “If the enemy can keep your tongue where he’s got it, you will stay down the same street… But you take that steering wheel and dare to turn it… life for you will have to take a turn.” [22:45]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:24] – Introduction of the ship and rudder analogy; setting the theme.
• [06:16-07:40] – Reading and discussion of James 3; spiritual maturity measured by the tongue.
• [08:02-12:57] – Extended explanation: comparing the helm/tongue to the direction of our lives.
• [13:05] – Hard work vs. the power of the tongue.
• [13:55] – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” – main verse emphasized.
• [19:05] – Winston’s testimony of speaking growth into his congregation.
• [20:32] – Addressing victim mentality; responsibility for one’s future.
• [24:54] – The destiny-directing power of the tongue; concluding exhortation.

Takeaways for Listeners

• You control your destiny through your words. Don’t wait for circumstances or others to change—align your speech with God’s promises.
• Faith requires speaking what you do not see. The less “evidence” you feel, the more you must persist in faith-filled words.
• Blessing, not cursing, is your purpose. Use your words to uplift yourself and others.
• Practical application: Begin and maintain positive, scripture-based confessions. Expect change, even when you see nothing happening.

Final Encouragement

• “Get the steering wheel of your life—your tongue—right, and you’ll go places you’ve never thought you could go just by speaking right words.” – Bill Winston [25:53]
• “Words are powerful. Word power can change everything. Add your tongue to your work, and watch your life take a remarkable turn.” – Bill Winston [24:54]

End of Content Section.

This summary covers core teaching content and omits promotional announcements, advertisements, and altar call sections. For the full teaching series, visit billwinston.org.