BIBLICAL THINKING & CONFESSION. Part 4 of 4.
Continued.
How is this accomplished?
1. First, you must set a watch on your lips, and guard your mind.
If we expect to walk in health, prosperity, and victory, then we must, first of all, pray as David, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Psalms 141:3), saying also with him, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle." (Psalm 39:1). In order to develop a correct vocabulary, we must first learn how to be quiet, before we try to learn to speak effectively. As infants we struggled, slowly learning how to speak. After we have spent years developing our vocabulary, we now need to recognize that much of what we have learned must be unlearned, for it is a primary cause of many of our problems and failures, as well as our sicknesses and infirmities. Much of what the average Christian talks about is negative and serves no useful purpose, either to himself or to others. Instead, this clutter of negative thoughts and speech robs himself and others of health, happiness, prosperity, and victory. As the Scriptures urge, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29). A Biblical statement begins with a sanctified silence. The Lord admonishes us to stop talking about our doubts, symptoms, and fears, as well as our uncertainties, and to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). In Ecclesiastes 5;2 He warns us: "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God...therefore let thy words be few." Learning to be quiet, or to speak only those things which edify both ourselves and others, is the secret .
Likewise, you should REFUSE entrance into your mind anything of a negative, blasphemous, contrary to scripture, resentful, or depressive nature. Guard your heart and mind, for this is the place the enemy usually works the hardest, knowing that you will generally say what you think and believe, for "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Failure to guard the mind against Satan's depressive and negative suggestions is one of the major causes for the Christian's fear, oppression, sickness, and defeat. Therefore, we are admonished to "keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
There is a continual warfare going on between God and Satan for the control of your mind and thoughts. If Satan can gain the ascendancy here, he knows that he can largely determine what you will say, which in turn will affect the course of events in your life. In this way he can limit or destroy your effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. So, then, the secret in keeping your words in harmony with scripture is first of all to set a watch on your lips and to guard the door of your mind.
2. Refuse to state doubt or anything of a negative nature.
Admitting doubt, even in a small way, will paralyze faith and withhold God's blessings from you (James 1:6-7). You must absolutely refuse to speak doubt, fear, defeat, or anything of a negative nature. We have found time and again that Christians talk themselves out of their faith, as well the answers to their prayers, by what they say and believe after believing some promise from God's Word.
"I have a hearing problem," someone says. Can you tell me why I can't keep my healing?" asked a concerned individual. I have received prayer for this condition several times, and although my ears are opened after prayer, yet I find that I cannot maintain my healing for more than two days. Can you tell me why?" That is very easy to answer. You yourself just revealed why you cannot keep your healing more than two days. It is because you are saying 'I can't keep my healing more than two days.' So when Satan seeks to afflict you with those symptoms a few days after receiving prayer for your healing, you begin to believe your symptoms instead of resisting Satan. You then say that you have lost your healing, and, as a result, you have. Never talk symptoms-- believe and speak the Word of God then resist symptoms just as you would any temptation from Satan. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
"How is the problem concerning your teenage son?" asks one woman of another. "I remember you committed him to the Lord several months Ago." "Well, I'm afraid things don't look very promising," is the negative reply, "I'm about ready to give up if things don't improve soon." One man greets another saying, "You sound like you are catching a cold. You don't look too well." "Yes. I've asked God to heal me, but the old devil has put one on me this time for sure. I think I better not plan to go to the office for a few days, but just stay home in bed and see if I get any better," comes the listless reply.
And so on, ad infinitum, go the endless negative statements of today's defeated and discouraged saints, who apparently have never been taught God's warnings that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21); that you can be "snared by the words of thy mouth" (Proverbs 6:2); or that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
One of the greatest causes for defeat in the lives of Christians is the tongue. Stating defeat, or doubt, is your own admission that you are defeated and that Satan has the victory. Never allow yourself to use negative or doubtful expressions in your speech, for it is a luxury in which you cannot afford to indulge, Develop a vocabulary of faith from God's Word.
Furthermore, you must refuse to listen to doubts, disbelief, skepticism, and uncertainties coming from others, for this can seriously undermine or weaken your own faith in the promises. Never discuss the problems which you have asked God in faith, with those who do not believe that God answers with a "Yes” every prayer of faith based upon His Word. For example, if you are believing for healing from some illness, Satan often seeks to use the unbelief and skepticism of others to implant doubts in your own heart. Many of his tares are sown in just this way, and as a result, the seed of God's Word is choked and becomes unfruitful. It is actually possible to forfeit healing once obtained by faith if you allow doubt to affect your faith and allow fear or unbelief to enter.
3. Harmonize what you say with God's word.
God deals with us on the basis of what we say. You can easily confirm this for yourself by determining to bring your speech into harmony, not with what you feel or see, not with what others may say, not with what the circumstances might appear to be, but with the Word of God. Study, and then begin to repeat, the promises found in such Scriptures as Exodus 15;26; Psalms 37,91, 103:1-5 and 121; Matthew 6;33, 1;19 and 21:22; Mark 11:22-24; Romans 8:28; I Corinthians 3:21-22; II Corinthians 1:20; Philippians 4:13,19; Hebrews 13:6; James 1:2-4; and III John 2. These are just a few of countless promises God has made to the believer which, if spoken consistently, from a believing heart, will enable you to live victoriously 365 days a year.
Keep in mind that the term translated "to confess" (homologeo in the original Greek) means "to agree with," or "to speak the same language." Your speech must agree with God's (that is, it must agree with what He has said in His Word), if you are to receive an answer from Him. You say, "I prayed for the healing of my condition, and I hope that God will heal me some time, if it is His will." But based on that statement, you cannot expect to be healed. Why not? Simply because it does not agree with what God has promised about your physical illness, for He has said that "by Jesus' stripes ye were healed" (I Peter 2:24), that "the prayer of faith shall heal the sick" (James 5:15), that He "heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:3), and that "what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Biblical faith must extend even to our praying and saying , or we cannot expect God to answer our prayers.
God never works in advance of the level of your faith, for your faith is the channel through which He works to answer your prayers. God's answers always keep in pace with your testimony. Therefore, you must not say what you feel and see, or what the circumstances may appear to be, but what God has said in His Word. Do not expect God to bless you in spite of your negative speech, for He has promised to help those who are willing to speak by faith what He has said and promised to do (I John 5:14-15). Read about Abraham and his example of faith, not testifying to his circumstances but what God said in the face of contrary and even impossible circumstances. (Romans 4). Yet he believed God, probably ridiculed just as people today will think of us, not understanding how to bring impossible things God has promised to pass. Without faith it is impossible to please God so be that person of faith, pleasing to God, believing His promises in contrary circumstances.
4. Confess victory before you see it.
Gideon and his small band of 300 men shouted the victory beforehand, and as a result the Midianites became so frightened that they destroyed one another in their confusion. The Israelites did not wait until the walls of Jericho began to crumble before believing that God had given the city into their hands, but they shouted the walls down by faith. The Apostle Paul tells in Hebrews 11:1 that "faith is the evidence of things not seen." Faith is not sight. Faith can only operate in the realm of the invisible, concerning those things which we have prayed for, but which we do not see yet to our natural sight.
This is where most Christians run into difficulty. They have lived so long in the visible realm of the senses that it is hard for them to believe and say that they have the answer to their prayers before they see or feel some evidence of it. For instance, we have often found that an individual will believe a promise of God for the healing of some ailments, and then, if the condition does not seem to improve immediately, he will begin to reason in his mind, saying, "Well, I must not be healed, since I don't feel healed, and I still have my symptoms." Then he will be even more firmly convinced, upon looking at his appearance in the mirror, that God has not answered his petition. We must see that healing never depends upon how we feel, nor on what we see, but entirely upon what we believe and say if in harmony with God's promises, for we are told that "as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he," and that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Until we learn that the manifestation of healing always comes after our faith and testimony of healing, we will be trying to put the effect before the cause. Many Christians are trying to believe with their "eyes," and with their "senses" or "feelings," when the Scriptures say that man believes with the "heart." We must first believe and sincerely speak in faith that we have received, or the answer will never be seen. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24 to believe that we have received when we pray, and then we shall have it. (cf. I John 5:14-15).
We dare not depend upon feelings or appearances, for Satan works through the realm of the senses. He can manipulate the feelings with symptoms and pains, and he can also deceive us by what appears to be true to our sight. Appearances can deceive. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, His word of faith destroyed it immediately. Although it did not appear to be dead until later, it definitely was dead, regardless of appearance. The sun "appears" to rise and set each day, but it is really the earth which turns in relation to the sun's position in the heavens. Sometimes when driving, the car begins to "feel" as if a tire is going flat. How often have you stopped to investigate, only to discover that there is nothing wrong? On numerous occasions, those who receive prayer for healing have found that they did not "feel" or "look" healed immediately after prayer. But in every case, when they have continued to believe and to say , not what they feel or see, but what the Word of God says ( I Peter 2:24; Mark 11:24), they have found that ultimately did come to pass as they believed.
On one occasion, prayer was made for healing of a small child whose nose was broken. After prayer, the nose still appeared bruised and broken. However, the parents continued to believe that God had answered their petition, and to state their faith in God's word. In two days, the child's nose was perfectly healed and once more straight, without a mark or bruise. Had they relied upon what we could see, or upon how the child felt, Satan would have robbed them of the victory.
A young man who had a cyst on his back received prayer. Several weeks after prayer his condition seemed to get worse. The cyst began to increase in size, and then commenced to drain. "It was quite alarming," he confided, "and I was tempted to get medical treatment. However, I remained steadfast in my confession of faith, believing that I was healed in spite of appearances and feelings. After thirty days, the cyst drained and disappeared."
God often uses bodily processes (our glands, for example) to facilitate healing. It is nonetheless supernatural when He heals in this manner, for it is without the use of medicine or other remedies. In this case He caused the cyst to come to a "head" much as a boil does, thus causing it to drain and leave his system. After prayer, conditions may not seem to improve for a time, or may even appear to get worse, as God works the poison or disease out of the body. Thus, if we rely only upon appearances or feelings, Satan will deceive us and rob us of our healing.
Faith is speaking the victory ahead of time; it is saying you have the answer when you pray, believing God to give the manifestation in due time as He has promised (Hebrews 10:23, 35-36; Numbers 23:19). You are only entitled to that which you boldly speak is already yours by virtue of God's faithfulness in what His Word promises.
5. Hold fast in faith without wavering.
Often things will look no different after you are believing some promise and testify your faith in it. It is at this point that you must be very careful to guard what you say, as Satan, who is a deceiver, will try to get you to testify to your feelings, symptoms, or circumstances. Once you believe a promise of God, you must absolutely refuse to take a word of your testimony back, regardless of the circumstances, or how long you must wait to see it. Why? We are told in Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised." We are to maintain a daily, constant testimony of faith in the promise until it is seen to our natural sight. Many can believe a promise in prayer initially; but if the answer is not seen soon enough, they begin to waver and doubt, giving up their faith. As a result they receive nothing.
Healing, for instance, is always in response to the promise of God and your testimony of faith; but a testimony that can only persevere for a day, week, or a month is not endurance. Many fail to receive what they ask from God because they cannot hold fast their testimony without wavering in the midst of trial, testing, pain, or symptoms. Sickness is often overcome only by maintaining a scriptural testimony believing God's promises in the face of all apparent evidence to the contrary. When you pray for healing or any of God's promises, you have therefore challenged Satan's oppression on your life. You have, as it were, entered his domain, and a battle often ensues. He will contest every inch of ground. Often he will not withdraw his symptoms until the last moment that God allows him, as he knows from past experience that if he can maintain his hold long enough, he can ultimately discourage most Christians and break their faith. This is why a constant speaking and believing the promise of God will eventually overcome Satan's oppression, and he will have to release his hold on you and "vacate the premises." Satan's power to afflict and oppress you increases or decreases in direct proportion to your faith in the Word of God.
When Satan discovers that you have learned the secret of using God's Word to overcome him (Revelation 12:11), he will eventually be forced to release his hold on you or on your circumstances. But often he will not withdraw until he has exhausted his resources in an attempt to break your faith in the integrity of the Word of God. He will try to implant fear and doubt into your mind to confuse you. At times he will cause persecution to come upon you for your faith. On occasion he will oppress you with new symptoms and pain, or cause the old ailment to appear to return. He will, if possible, surround you with contradictory advice from your friends. Or he will cause your family to think that you have become a religious fanatic because of your stand on the Word. But he knows that your testimony based on scriptures, if maintained without wavering, will ultimately defeat him and his work in your life. Therefore, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised). Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of endurance, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:23, 35-36.
6. If Satan tempts you to doubt, boldly take the initiative away from him.
After believing some promise in God's Word, Satan will frequently challenge your decision, and you may find yourself undergoing a period of trial. If, for example, a promise of healing for some physical ailment, Satan will attempt to get your attention on your symptoms in an effort to cause you to doubt and break your testimony of faith in God's promise. When tempted to doubt in such instances, a bold reaffirmation of your faith in God's Word will generally kill doubt as its roots. Holding fast to your confession of faith without wavering (Hebrews 10:23) is a defensive measure whereby you keep faith in the promise of God until the manifestation of the answer. However, it is also necessary many times, especially during a period of trial, to take offensive measures against the powers of darkness. There will be times when you must boldly move deeper into Satan's territory by faith when he challenges your confession. When Goliath threatened David, saying, "I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field," David immediately replied, "And I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee!" Then, when the giant arose and drew nigh to meet him, we are told that David did not retreat in fear, but that he "hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:44f.).
If the enemy comes against you to challenge your faith in some unusual way, then, instead of retreating in doubt and fear, as so many often do, advance like David against him. Act your faith, boldly reaffirming your confidence in God's Word and asserting your authority over the powers of darkness. Every time Satan advances one step against you in an effort to break your faith, resist him in faith, and boldly advance two steps against him. The Scriptures assure you that, if you will resist the devil, "he will flee from you." When tempted to doubt, a bold step of faith is one of the most effective weapons against Satan that the believer possesses, for it takes the initiative away from him, and keeps you in control of the situation. Doubt or fear concerning the outcome is always an admission that Satan, not you, has the initiative. The devil will flee if you resist him with a bold reaffirmation of your faith in the Word of God when under attack by the forces of darkness.
Conclusion.
Realize not many Christians today welcome this message of keeping our minds and speech free from doubt and negative testimony dismissing it as wrong teaching and even warning against it. Many religious skeptics are arising condemning the very message when Jesus said,"have faith in God" and speak to the mountains of oppression. Mark 11:23-24. We are commanded to be followers of those who "through faith and endurance inherit the promises" Hebrews 6:12. Not the religious critics, skeptics, mockers of our day who despise this teaching. Remember Joshua and Caleb who in the face of impossible circumstances, facing giants, said we are well able to overcome. (Numbers chapter 14). They were met with the same ridicule and doubt from the religious majority just as today. Yet they were the only ones to enter into the promised land and the others died under God's judgment. Be a person of faith and discipline believing and receiving the promises of God getting free from all oppression of the enemy.
If Christians could be made to realize just how much of their own illness, depression, problems, and defeat stem from emotional stress that results from wrong attitudes and thoughts, as well as from their negative statements concerning these matters, they would never again allow such attitudes and expressions to rob them of their health, joy, peace, and victory, but would begin each day with a Biblical expectation, saying; This is the day which the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Too many Christians allow their trials and circumstances to depress and defeat them. A victorious faith can be developed through trials, if our attitude toward those trials lines up with the Word of God (James 1:2-4). It was because of his attitude and speaking God's promises based on his absolute confidence in God's care for him, that the Apostle Paul was able to keep his courage and walk in victory through his many hardships and trials. His attitude and victorious testimony are an inspiration to all. Instead of taking his trials, persecutions, and hardships to heart, and instead of complaining or grieving over them, he joyfully stated: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. --II Corinthians 4:8-10.
It is only through trial and tribulation, when the powers of darkness seek to overcome us, that the life and power of Jesus Christ may truly be made manifest in us. Then, as a result of our absolute confidence in His Word, His life and resurrection power will be released in us! Edited. Shared.
God willing. more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
❤️BIBLICAL THINKING & CONFESSION. Part 4 of 4.
Continued.
How is this accomplished?
1. First, you must set a watch on your lips, and guard your mind.
If we expect to walk in health, prosperity, and victory, then we must, first of all, pray as David, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Psalms 141:3), saying also with him, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle." (Psalm 39:1). In order to develop a correct vocabulary, we must first learn how to be quiet, before we try to learn to speak effectively. As infants we struggled, slowly learning how to speak. After we have spent years developing our vocabulary, we now need to recognize that much of what we have learned must be unlearned, for it is a primary cause of many of our problems and failures, as well as our sicknesses and infirmities. Much of what the average Christian talks about is negative and serves no useful purpose, either to himself or to others. Instead, this clutter of negative thoughts and speech robs himself and others of health, happiness, prosperity, and victory. As the Scriptures urge, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29). A Biblical statement begins with a sanctified silence. The Lord admonishes us to stop talking about our doubts, symptoms, and fears, as well as our uncertainties, and to "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). In Ecclesiastes 5;2 He warns us: "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God...therefore let thy words be few." Learning to be quiet, or to speak only those things which edify both ourselves and others, is the secret .
Likewise, you should REFUSE entrance into your mind anything of a negative, blasphemous, contrary to scripture, resentful, or depressive nature. Guard your heart and mind, for this is the place the enemy usually works the hardest, knowing that you will generally say what you think and believe, for "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Failure to guard the mind against Satan's depressive and negative suggestions is one of the major causes for the Christian's fear, oppression, sickness, and defeat. Therefore, we are admonished to "keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
There is a continual warfare going on between God and Satan for the control of your mind and thoughts. If Satan can gain the ascendancy here, he knows that he can largely determine what you will say, which in turn will affect the course of events in your life. In this way he can limit or destroy your effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. So, then, the secret in keeping your words in harmony with scripture is first of all to set a watch on your lips and to guard the door of your mind.
2. Refuse to state doubt or anything of a negative nature.
Admitting doubt, even in a small way, will paralyze faith and withhold God's blessings from you (James 1:6-7). You must absolutely refuse to speak doubt, fear, defeat, or anything of a negative nature. We have found time and again that Christians talk themselves out of their faith, as well the answers to their prayers, by what they say and believe after believing some promise from God's Word.
"I have a hearing problem," someone says. Can you tell me why I can't keep my healing?" asked a concerned individual. I have received prayer for this condition several times, and although my ears are opened after prayer, yet I find that I cannot maintain my healing for more than two days. Can you tell me why?" That is very easy to answer. You yourself just revealed why you cannot keep your healing more than two days. It is because you are saying 'I can't keep my healing more than two days.' So when Satan seeks to afflict you with those symptoms a few days after receiving prayer for your healing, you begin to believe your symptoms instead of resisting Satan. You then say that you have lost your healing, and, as a result, you have. Never talk symptoms-- believe and speak the Word of God then resist symptoms just as you would any temptation from Satan. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
"How is the problem concerning your teenage son?" asks one woman of another. "I remember you committed him to the Lord several months Ago." "Well, I'm afraid things don't look very promising," is the negative reply, "I'm about ready to give up if things don't improve soon." One man greets another saying, "You sound like you are catching a cold. You don't look too well." "Yes. I've asked God to heal me, but the old devil has put one on me this time for sure. I think I better not plan to go to the office for a few days, but just stay home in bed and see if I get any better," comes the listless reply.
And so on, ad infinitum, go the endless negative statements of today's defeated and discouraged saints, who apparently have never been taught God's warnings that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21); that you can be "snared by the words of thy mouth" (Proverbs 6:2); or that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
One of the greatest causes for defeat in the lives of Christians is the tongue. Stating defeat, or doubt, is your own admission that you are defeated and that Satan has the victory. Never allow yourself to use negative or doubtful expressions in your speech, for it is a luxury in which you cannot afford to indulge, Develop a vocabulary of faith from God's Word.
Furthermore, you must refuse to listen to doubts, disbelief, skepticism, and uncertainties coming from others, for this can seriously undermine or weaken your own faith in the promises. Never discuss the problems which you have asked God in faith, with those who do not believe that God answers with a "Yes” every prayer of faith based upon His Word. For example, if you are believing for healing from some illness, Satan often seeks to use the unbelief and skepticism of others to implant doubts in your own heart. Many of his tares are sown in just this way, and as a result, the seed of God's Word is choked and becomes unfruitful. It is actually possible to forfeit healing once obtained by faith if you allow doubt to affect your faith and allow fear or unbelief to enter.
3. Harmonize what you say with God's word.
God deals with us on the basis of what we say. You can easily confirm this for yourself by determining to bring your speech into harmony, not with what you feel or see, not with what others may say, not with what the circumstances might appear to be, but with the Word of God. Study, and then begin to repeat, the promises found in such Scriptures as Exodus 15;26; Psalms 37,91, 103:1-5 and 121; Matthew 6;33, 1;19 and 21:22; Mark 11:22-24; Romans 8:28; I Corinthians 3:21-22; II Corinthians 1:20; Philippians 4:13,19; Hebrews 13:6; James 1:2-4; and III John 2. These are just a few of countless promises God has made to the believer which, if spoken consistently, from a believing heart, will enable you to live victoriously 365 days a year.
Keep in mind that the term translated "to confess" (homologeo in the original Greek) means "to agree with," or "to speak the same language." Your speech must agree with God's (that is, it must agree with what He has said in His Word), if you are to receive an answer from Him. You say, "I prayed for the healing of my condition, and I hope that God will heal me some time, if it is His will." But based on that statement, you cannot expect to be healed. Why not? Simply because it does not agree with what God has promised about your physical illness, for He has said that "by Jesus' stripes ye were healed" (I Peter 2:24), that "the prayer of faith shall heal the sick" (James 5:15), that He "heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:3), and that "what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Biblical faith must extend even to our praying and saying , or we cannot expect God to answer our prayers.
God never works in advance of the level of your faith, for your faith is the channel through which He works to answer your prayers. God's answers always keep in pace with your testimony. Therefore, you must not say what you feel and see, or what the circumstances may appear to be, but what God has said in His Word. Do not expect God to bless you in spite of your negative speech, for He has promised to help those who are willing to speak by faith what He has said and promised to do (I John 5:14-15). Read about Abraham and his example of faith, not testifying to his circumstances but what God said in the face of contrary and even impossible circumstances. (Romans 4). Yet he believed God, probably ridiculed just as people today will think of us, not understanding how to bring impossible things God has promised to pass. Without faith it is impossible to please God so be that person of faith, pleasing to God, believing His promises in contrary circumstances.
4. Confess victory before you see it.
Gideon and his small band of 300 men shouted the victory beforehand, and as a result the Midianites became so frightened that they destroyed one another in their confusion. The Israelites did not wait until the walls of Jericho began to crumble before believing that God had given the city into their hands, but they shouted the walls down by faith. The Apostle Paul tells in Hebrews 11:1 that "faith is the evidence of things not seen." Faith is not sight. Faith can only operate in the realm of the invisible, concerning those things which we have prayed for, but which we do not see yet to our natural sight.
This is where most Christians run into difficulty. They have lived so long in the visible realm of the senses that it is hard for them to believe and say that they have the answer to their prayers before they see or feel some evidence of it. For instance, we have often found that an individual will believe a promise of God for the healing of some ailments, and then, if the condition does not seem to improve immediately, he will begin to reason in his mind, saying, "Well, I must not be healed, since I don't feel healed, and I still have my symptoms." Then he will be even more firmly convinced, upon looking at his appearance in the mirror, that God has not answered his petition. We must see that healing never depends upon how we feel, nor on what we see, but entirely upon what we believe and say if in harmony with God's promises, for we are told that "as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he," and that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Until we learn that the manifestation of healing always comes after our faith and testimony of healing, we will be trying to put the effect before the cause. Many Christians are trying to believe with their "eyes," and with their "senses" or "feelings," when the Scriptures say that man believes with the "heart." We must first believe and sincerely speak in faith that we have received, or the answer will never be seen. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24 to believe that we have received when we pray, and then we shall have it. (cf. I John 5:14-15).
We dare not depend upon feelings or appearances, for Satan works through the realm of the senses. He can manipulate the feelings with symptoms and pains, and he can also deceive us by what appears to be true to our sight. Appearances can deceive. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, His word of faith destroyed it immediately. Although it did not appear to be dead until later, it definitely was dead, regardless of appearance. The sun "appears" to rise and set each day, but it is really the earth which turns in relation to the sun's position in the heavens. Sometimes when driving, the car begins to "feel" as if a tire is going flat. How often have you stopped to investigate, only to discover that there is nothing wrong? On numerous occasions, those who receive prayer for healing have found that they did not "feel" or "look" healed immediately after prayer. But in every case, when they have continued to believe and to say , not what they feel or see, but what the Word of God says ( I Peter 2:24; Mark 11:24), they have found that ultimately did come to pass as they believed.
On one occasion, prayer was made for healing of a small child whose nose was broken. After prayer, the nose still appeared bruised and broken. However, the parents continued to believe that God had answered their petition, and to state their faith in God's word. In two days, the child's nose was perfectly healed and once more straight, without a mark or bruise. Had they relied upon what we could see, or upon how the child felt, Satan would have robbed them of the victory.
A young man who had a cyst on his back received prayer. Several weeks after prayer his condition seemed to get worse. The cyst began to increase in size, and then commenced to drain. "It was quite alarming," he confided, "and I was tempted to get medical treatment. However, I remained steadfast in my confession of faith, believing that I was healed in spite of appearances and feelings. After thirty days, the cyst drained and disappeared."
God often uses bodily processes (our glands, for example) to facilitate healing. It is nonetheless supernatural when He heals in this manner, for it is without the use of medicine or other remedies. In this case He caused the cyst to come to a "head" much as a boil does, thus causing it to drain and leave his system. After prayer, conditions may not seem to improve for a time, or may even appear to get worse, as God works the poison or disease out of the body. Thus, if we rely only upon appearances or feelings, Satan will deceive us and rob us of our healing.
Faith is speaking the victory ahead of time; it is saying you have the answer when you pray, believing God to give the manifestation in due time as He has promised (Hebrews 10:23, 35-36; Numbers 23:19). You are only entitled to that which you boldly speak is already yours by virtue of God's faithfulness in what His Word promises.
5. Hold fast in faith without wavering.
Often things will look no different after you are believing some promise and testify your faith in it. It is at this point that you must be very careful to guard what you say, as Satan, who is a deceiver, will try to get you to testify to your feelings, symptoms, or circumstances. Once you believe a promise of God, you must absolutely refuse to take a word of your testimony back, regardless of the circumstances, or how long you must wait to see it. Why? We are told in Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised." We are to maintain a daily, constant testimony of faith in the promise until it is seen to our natural sight. Many can believe a promise in prayer initially; but if the answer is not seen soon enough, they begin to waver and doubt, giving up their faith. As a result they receive nothing.
Healing, for instance, is always in response to the promise of God and your testimony of faith; but a testimony that can only persevere for a day, week, or a month is not endurance. Many fail to receive what they ask from God because they cannot hold fast their testimony without wavering in the midst of trial, testing, pain, or symptoms. Sickness is often overcome only by maintaining a scriptural testimony believing God's promises in the face of all apparent evidence to the contrary. When you pray for healing or any of God's promises, you have therefore challenged Satan's oppression on your life. You have, as it were, entered his domain, and a battle often ensues. He will contest every inch of ground. Often he will not withdraw his symptoms until the last moment that God allows him, as he knows from past experience that if he can maintain his hold long enough, he can ultimately discourage most Christians and break their faith. This is why a constant speaking and believing the promise of God will eventually overcome Satan's oppression, and he will have to release his hold on you and "vacate the premises." Satan's power to afflict and oppress you increases or decreases in direct proportion to your faith in the Word of God.
When Satan discovers that you have learned the secret of using God's Word to overcome him (Revelation 12:11), he will eventually be forced to release his hold on you or on your circumstances. But often he will not withdraw until he has exhausted his resources in an attempt to break your faith in the integrity of the Word of God. He will try to implant fear and doubt into your mind to confuse you. At times he will cause persecution to come upon you for your faith. On occasion he will oppress you with new symptoms and pain, or cause the old ailment to appear to return. He will, if possible, surround you with contradictory advice from your friends. Or he will cause your family to think that you have become a religious fanatic because of your stand on the Word. But he knows that your testimony based on scriptures, if maintained without wavering, will ultimately defeat him and his work in your life. Therefore, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised). Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of endurance, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:23, 35-36.
6. If Satan tempts you to doubt, boldly take the initiative away from him.
After believing some promise in God's Word, Satan will frequently challenge your decision, and you may find yourself undergoing a period of trial. If, for example, a promise of healing for some physical ailment, Satan will attempt to get your attention on your symptoms in an effort to cause you to doubt and break your testimony of faith in God's promise. When tempted to doubt in such instances, a bold reaffirmation of your faith in God's Word will generally kill doubt as its roots. Holding fast to your confession of faith without wavering (Hebrews 10:23) is a defensive measure whereby you keep faith in the promise of God until the manifestation of the answer. However, it is also necessary many times, especially during a period of trial, to take offensive measures against the powers of darkness. There will be times when you must boldly move deeper into Satan's territory by faith when he challenges your confession. When Goliath threatened David, saying, "I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field," David immediately replied, "And I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee!" Then, when the giant arose and drew nigh to meet him, we are told that David did not retreat in fear, but that he "hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:44f.).
If the enemy comes against you to challenge your faith in some unusual way, then, instead of retreating in doubt and fear, as so many often do, advance like David against him. Act your faith, boldly reaffirming your confidence in God's Word and asserting your authority over the powers of darkness. Every time Satan advances one step against you in an effort to break your faith, resist him in faith, and boldly advance two steps against him. The Scriptures assure you that, if you will resist the devil, "he will flee from you." When tempted to doubt, a bold step of faith is one of the most effective weapons against Satan that the believer possesses, for it takes the initiative away from him, and keeps you in control of the situation. Doubt or fear concerning the outcome is always an admission that Satan, not you, has the initiative. The devil will flee if you resist him with a bold reaffirmation of your faith in the Word of God when under attack by the forces of darkness.
Conclusion.
Realize not many Christians today welcome this message of keeping our minds and speech free from doubt and negative testimony dismissing it as wrong teaching and even warning against it. Many religious skeptics are arising condemning the very message when Jesus said,"have faith in God" and speak to the mountains of oppression. Mark 11:23-24. We are commanded to be followers of those who "through faith and endurance inherit the promises" Hebrews 6:12. Not the religious critics, skeptics, mockers of our day who despise this teaching. Remember Joshua and Caleb who in the face of impossible circumstances, facing giants, said we are well able to overcome. (Numbers chapter 14). They were met with the same ridicule and doubt from the religious majority just as today. Yet they were the only ones to enter into the promised land and the others died under God's judgment. Be a person of faith and discipline believing and receiving the promises of God getting free from all oppression of the enemy.
If Christians could be made to realize just how much of their own illness, depression, problems, and defeat stem from emotional stress that results from wrong attitudes and thoughts, as well as from their negative statements concerning these matters, they would never again allow such attitudes and expressions to rob them of their health, joy, peace, and victory, but would begin each day with a Biblical expectation, saying; This is the day which the Lord hath made; I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Too many Christians allow their trials and circumstances to depress and defeat them. A victorious faith can be developed through trials, if our attitude toward those trials lines up with the Word of God (James 1:2-4). It was because of his attitude and speaking God's promises based on his absolute confidence in God's care for him, that the Apostle Paul was able to keep his courage and walk in victory through his many hardships and trials. His attitude and victorious testimony are an inspiration to all. Instead of taking his trials, persecutions, and hardships to heart, and instead of complaining or grieving over them, he joyfully stated: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. --II Corinthians 4:8-10.
It is only through trial and tribulation, when the powers of darkness seek to overcome us, that the life and power of Jesus Christ may truly be made manifest in us. Then, as a result of our absolute confidence in His Word, His life and resurrection power will be released in us! Edited. Shared.
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God willing. more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
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