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Faith Chapter 6

The Ingredient of Speaking The Word

“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13).

The spirit of faith is identified as speaking what one believes.

Why do we speak the Word?

God and man both rule with words.  God created with His words, and He recreates with His words.  However, He no longer has the authority to speak His words into the earth except through a human being.  Demons have the same restriction, which is why they try to get humans to speak their words.  This earth has been created to be ruled and dominated by words.

He gave Adam dominion.

“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels [Elohiym, God], And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalms 8:2-6).

 “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S; But the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psalms 115:16).

Look at some examples of God accomplishing His work by speaking.

 “Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3).

“Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters'” (Genesis 1:6).

“Then God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so” (Genesis 1:9).

“Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth'; and it was so” (Genesis 1:11).

“Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years (Genesis 1:14).

“Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens'” (Genesis 1:20). 

“And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth'” (Genesis 1:22).  

“Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind'; and it was so” (Genesis 1:24).

Notice that in the above Scriptures, nothing argued with God's Word; it always was "and it was so."

Then God rested after He gave man dominion.

“Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'” (Genesis 1:26).

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth'” (Genesis 1:28).  

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (Genesis 2:2).  

God spoke this mighty word which resulted in the resurrection of Jesus.

“ will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” (Psalms 2:7).  

Satan distorts truth with twisted excesses in two directions.

For centuries, people have misunderstood the "speaking of faith."  Some have never discovered that God gave mankind dominion over the earth to rule it with words.  They have just felt that they should say how they feel.  While we do need to be real with God on how we feel, we also need to get beyond our feelings and believe His Word.

Others have missed it to the other twisted excess, believing that speaking in a positive sense is the entire responsibility of a disciple, and that they, not God, may choose what to say and therefore what to claim with their words.  This is a form of witchcraft and selfishness.  Many cults promote this type of "positive confession."  While positive is better than negative confession, we as disciples must always recognize Jesus as our Lord instead of our own wants and desires.

We need to avoid extremes which miss God's truth and can create shipwreck in our lives.

The truth is, that God desires us to fellowship with Him and allow Him to give us the words to speak.  He wants to give us His Words of faith to accomplish His purpose.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam was to fellowship with the Word, the Tree of Life, daily, and then have dominion with his words over the earth.  God gave him dominion, however his dominion was to extend only God's will over the earth and mankind.  Adam decided that he could have dominion without the Tree of Life, and that he could speak the word that he decided needed to be spoken, The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

After Adam did that, Satan began to convince people to speak his words, and the world fell into chaos.  Spiritual beings have been competing to control the words of man ever since.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21,  says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

James explained the scientific and spiritual value of words.

“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh” (James 3:2-12). 

Brain scientists have discovered that the speech part of the brain has dominion of the entire brain.  Why?  God knew what He was doing!  The tongue turns the entire course of your life like the small rudder of a large ship determines its course.

God told Joshua that success would come as he spoke the word.

Entering into the rest of God.

Angels hearken, demons flee.

Jesus is the High Priest over our confessions.  When the Word of God is confessed and prayed over a person or a situation, it is powerful!  Jesus created everything by His Word.  Jesus IS the Word.  Jesus gave us the authority to use the Word as if it were He saying it!

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.”

When the Passover was administered to Israel in Exodus 12, the Israelites were told to put the blood of an innocent lamb over their doors and the death angel (demon) would “pass over” and not hurt them.  Jesus is the Lamb of God, and we can put His blood over our doors and over the doors of our loved ones and those that we pray for.  How?

Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony.  And they did not love their soul to the death.”

The words of our mouth will apply the blood.  Notice in Exodus 12 that as long as the lamb’s blood stayed in the basin, it did no good.  But when they took the hyssop, dipped it in the blood and applied to their door, then God and the devil could see it.  The hyssop was a common weed that did not seem to have much value. The words of our mouth do not seem to have much value, but when we dip them into the Word of God (Who is Jesus Himself) and apply them as blood, God sees it and the devil sees it!

Jesus takes our confession and makes it powerful.  Hebrews 3:1 says, ”Therefore, holy brothers, called to be partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”

When we speak God’s Word, Jesus takes it to the Father and asks Him to perform it.  John 16:23 says, “And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you.”

Then we can enter into rest and let the Word do the work.  Hebrews 4:1 says, “Therefore, a promise being left to enter into His rest, let us fear lest any of you should seem to come short of it.”

His work was finished from the foundation of the earth, therefore we can believe.“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3, KJV).

“For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Angels go to work when they hear God’s Word.  “Bless the LORD, O angels of His, who excel in strength, who do His command, listening to the voice of His word” (Psalms 103:20).

Demons flee! Psalms 149:5-9 says, “Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to carry out vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, (representing our spiritual enemies) to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with iron-bands, to carry out on them the judgment written; this is an honor for all His saints. Praise the LORD!”

Jesus gave us the example.

“Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,  Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.   Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,  that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses'” (Mark 11:20-26).

Jesus did not say that only He could speak to mountains. He told the disciples whatever things you ask when you pray, believe.  Mountains often refer to obstacles in Bible tradition.  Look at the process that Jesus spoke:

1.  First He said, "Therefore I say to you…"  If Jesus said it to us, then we have the right to believe what He said.  Jesus told them, whosoever will receive whatsoever.  We are in the image of God, and God needs us to speak for Him here on earth.

2.  He did not just say you should say what you want.  He said whenever you pray and believe that you receive those things that you ask, and then you can say to the mountain.  Therefore, we must first fellowship with Jesus in His Word by the Holy Spirit so that we can hear what He says to us.  When we hear what He says, faith comes for what He wants for us, not just what we may want for ourselves.

3.  When we know that we have received His word, and faith comes as a seed into our heart, then we must speak that word that we have received to bring it to pass.

This is not a formula for claiming selfish requests.  Having said that however, there is a law about our speaking that often works for unbelievers and believers alike.  The law will eventually catch up with everyone.  We usually get what we speak, unless what we have spoken is confessed as sin.

4.  In the above Scripture, Jesus used the word say four times and the word believe one time.

Personal testimony.

Many times since I was saved in 1979 God has given me promises for desperate needs.  He always instructed me to water the seed by speaking the promise out loud, continually.  In some cases I spoke the promise for over five years before seeing the mountain removed.  My wife and I speak many generic words continually when we pray, including Psalm 91 and Psalm 23.  There are many others.  We have a seventeen-page prayer list with dozens of Scriptures that we pray over others and ourselves many times every week.  They have to do with enemies, blessings and curse, financial issues, children, ministry, and other issues.

Caution, the way is narrow.

I believe that in this passage of Scripture that Jesus was teaching people how to live in the Kingdom of God here on earth.  He, in my opinion, told them to ask, seek and knock as the way to pray in order to establish His Kingdom.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus was teaching the same ask, seek and knock lesson in Luke Chapter 11 while He was teaching His disciples about prayer.  Then He ended that teaching with:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”(Luke 11:13).

When we ask, God gives us the revelation of His will by the Holy Spirit as we seek His will on the matter.  Then when we receive His will, His mind and promise, we may begin to knock, or speak that word that He gives to us.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it  (Matthew 7:7-14). 

Speaking the Word effectively is simply the fruit of intimacy.  However, I submit, that Jesus was stating in the above Scripture that there is a very narrow process for the bearing of fruit.

Notice in the above Scripture:

1.  The narrow way, in my opinion is described in the "ask, seek and knock" idea. 

2.  Asking God is akin to begging.  We have a need.  We come to him and let Him know that we are unable to meet a need.  We begin by "begging."  This is all in the environment of intimacy and knowing Him. 

3.  Seeking is discovering God's will, God's solution, or God's revelation and/or promise.

4.  Knocking is being persistent and speaking the Word.  Speaking the Word without intimacy is not God's narrow way.

Apparently Jesus knew that not many people would choose this way of living life, that is the ask, seek and knock process.  It will lead to abundant life!

Jesus endured the Cross by speaking the Word.

In my opinion, Jesus quoted many passages from Psalm 22 perhaps even the entire Psalm that spoke of His suffering on the Cross, centuries before it took place.

Psalm 22:31 (Amplified) says, They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people yet to be born--that He has done it [that it is finished]!  Pause here and read the entire Psalm to see how this brought Jesus through the Cross.

We have a resource available at our website for downloading.  It is a prayer guide with dozens of Scriptures that may be quoted and spoken over very practical issues in your life.

http://www.isob-bible.org/abf/prayerbook.htm

Larry Chkoreff April 2008