Categories
teachings

Power in Your Confession

Our words are powerful.  They literally have the ability to carry us forward to success or to hold us back and prevent us from seeing the blessings that God wants for our lives.

This subject is referred to as “The synchronized life” and deals with how our believing and our actions are lined up with our confession.

Our words begin with our thoughts! We only confess what our mind already believes so we must make sure that our mind is full of the promises of God rather than the negativity of the world.  This takes effort and purposeful thinking.

The next scripture is the focus of this teaching.  It provides the key principle to utilizing the power we have in our words and thoughts according to God’s Word.

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

It is our responsibility to filter what thoughts come into our brain. We can either be swayed by what we hear and see, or conditioned by the renewing of our own mind to the Word of God. This is where it all begins.  Our confession is determined by what we think.

Mark 11:23-24 – 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.   24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

This passage has so many points packed into such a small section of scripture:

  1. Notice that Jesus Christ says “whosoever shall say unto this mountain” he is talking about our confession.
  2. The second point is how he says “and shall not doubt in his heart…but shall believe” We need to literally believe what God says about us and act accordingly
  3. Then he concludes with “whatsoever you desire, when you pray, believe and you will have it” – Believe that literally!

Whatever “mountains” are in your life, begin speaking about them as if they have already been “removed.”  Instead of begging God for things, thank him that they are already accomplished.  Speak the things that God teaches, not the things the world teaches as noted in the next scripture:

Church Service in the 1940's
Church Service in the 1940’s including military service members

I Corinthians 2:13-16 – Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the [Holy Spirit] teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man [someone who has not become born again (Romans 10:9)] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

Another power packed section of scripture! We do not speak man’s wisdom, we speak God’s wisdom. We are spiritual people, not carried about with every wind of doctrine, but solid on the Word! [Also see Ephesians 4:14]  God wants us to know his Word so that we can trust Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God directs our steps as we put on the principles in the Bible.  In every category of life, we should be making Him our sufficiency and speaking forth the life-giving words He gave to us.  We live in a spiritual competition and we are either being pushed around by it, or we are operating powerfully with the gift of holy spirit he gave us when we were born again.  This is how God communicates to us as we operate His power.

As you operate the gift of holy spirit, God teaches your spirit, which teaches your mind, which results in a power-filled life.

If we do not study and apply the Word and allow God to speak to our spirit, then the adversary will make sure that he programs our mind for us instead.

Another Category that affects our confession is fear. Fear will keep us from speaking correct things and will hold us back from what God desires for us:

II Timothy 1:7 – For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear is subtle…it is not always obvious that we are afraid.  Often it is just a hesitation to act, or an apprehension of the future. That is why it takes diligence to align our confession with what The Word says about us and eliminate fear in our lives.

Matthew 12:33-37 – Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 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. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Think of when someone gets arrested – they can condemn themselves by speaking the wrong words to the officer.  That’s why the police say that “you have the right to remain silent

Likewise our words can either condemn us or justify us. It all comes down to what we confess.  “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” so this is why it is so important to keep our minds on the things of God.

Prov 18:20-21 – A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Here are some quotes from Dr. Victor Paul Weirwille that sum up this principle beautifully:

“Victory and defeat begin in the mind”

“The tongue is like the rudder of a ship”    (James 3)

Have confidence – take the Word of God literally, when God says it, he means it!

“How important is our confession? All of salvation hinges on it!” (Rom 10:9-10)

Let’s look at a record in the bible where using words of authority had a huge impact.  David used the power of his confession to not only defeat his opponent in battle, but to encourage God’s people who did not believe that he could defeat the enemy.  Just look at David’s confession in these verses:

I Samuel 17:26 – And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

I Samuel 17:32 – And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine

I Samuel 17:35-36 – Thy servant [David] slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine

And when David goes into battle here is what he says to this very intimidating man of war:

I Samuel 17:45-47 – Then said David to [Goliath] the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

David spoke forth the power of God and there was no doubt that his heavenly Father would deliver a victory for God’s people.  Here is the result as we read on:

I Samuel 17:48-51 – And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

David used the power of the spoken word to bring forth victory and this was a turning point in the military conflict which resulted in defeat for the enemy’s army.

It was believed that the word “forehead” referred to the layers of metal on the greaves that Goliath wore on his shins.  They covered up the knee and would have needed to flex there so he could run and walk.  When he was running, the layers would have been exposed as he brought his knee forward.  It is believed that the stone David shot from his sling penetrated the armor and locked up Goliath’s knee, sending him to the ground.  He was then able to kill him with his own sword.  Evidence also suggests that the head armor that the Philistines wore would have covered the face and forehead quite well and it would have been unlikely that a stone would have made a difference had it been placed there.

Metal Greaves with flexible Forehead
Metal Greaves showing flexible forehead

Goliath was estimated to be between 7-9 feet tall (depending on the modern day estimation of six cubits and a span) and once he was put on the ground it would have been difficult for him to get back up with all of his heavy armor, even for a man his size.  David used this to his advantage and took out his opponent once the Philistine was down.

David believed the promises in The Word literally and knew that God would take care of him. He said “I will go fight this giant” just as he fought against wild animals as a shepherd.

His confession and bold actions allowed him to secure a victory in what seemed to be an impossible situation.  Today we do not fight against a physical enemy in most cases, but a spiritual one.  It is a competition of the mind and heart.

Let’s read the scripture from Romans again:

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The application of the knowledge in the Bible transforms our minds as we prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect Will of God.  We have the responsibility to speak these words of life not only in conflict, but to edify one another:

Ephesians 4:15 – But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

As our minds are transformed by the Word of God, we will speak only good things and God will move mountains for us and give us the victory!

God Bless You!

From a May 2008 Teaching
[brackets indicate my comments]
All scriptures from KJV Bible unless otherwise noted
Inspired by the book “Hung by the Tongue” by Francis P. Martin
Image: Family photo from my grandfather who was a Pastor
Image (Greaves) courtesy of: http://www.123dapp.com/123C-3D-Model/Greaves-Armor-ver-C/597463