Your Words Hold a Miracle: The Power of Speaking God's Word (5 page)

Look at David as he faced Goliath. He said something! David
said
, “This day the L
ORD
will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you” (1 Samuel 17:46).

The woman of Canaan (a Gentile) came in desperation to Jesus for her demon-possessed daughter, and Jesus wouldn’t listen to her there (see Matthew 15:22–27). He wasn’t being rude; His purpose was to increase her faith. As she followed after Him, He wouldn’t answer her pleas. The disciples said, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” She
said
, “O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” The mother of this daughter
was coming after Jesus, crying out for help, wanting a miracle for the little daughter who was at home in need. Finally, Jesus turned and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she
said
, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Now listen to this! Jesus said,
“O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire”
(Matthew 15:28). Think about it! This Gentile woman could speak words of faith and bring deliverance and wholeness to her daughter. Because of what she had said in faith, Jesus told her that her daughter was free!

In contrast, how many of us get ourselves into trouble because of things we
say
. When we say that we just can’t believe, when we say we don’t receive, when we say we do not yield, and when we say we’re going to do this, that, and the other thing that is contrary to God, we are agreeing with the powers of darkness.

This lone woman of Canaan came to Jesus, worshiping Him and
saying
. Her daughter was many miles away from her. Jesus said that the declaration of her words was so powerful that she possessed healing for her daughter.

It really is that important what you say!

T
HE
M
IRACLE
I
S IN
Y
OUR
M
OUTH

Did you know that you are now a composite of what you’ve been saying? You possess in your body, in your mind, in your physical being, and in your spiritual being what you’ve been saying. If you’re weak and defeated, check yourself. You are the product of what you have been saying, because you receive what you say. If you want to become different, you must change what you are saying. If you want to change your life, you have to change your words to align with God’s Word.

The miracle is in
your
mouth. No minister can help you if you persist in agreeing with the messages of this world. No one can help you if you will not speak what God has said in His Word.

I
F YOU WANT TO BECOME DIFFERENT
,

you must change what you are saying.

Reflections from
            JOEL

O
ur words have tremendous power and are similar to seeds. By speaking them aloud, they are planted in our subconscious minds, take root, grow, and produce fruit of the same kind. Whether we speak positive or negative words, we will reap exactly what we sow. That’s why we need to be extremely careful what we think and say.

The Bible compares the tongue to the small rudder of a huge ship, which controls the ship’s direction (see James 3:4). Similarly, your tongue will control the direction of your life. You create an environment for either good or evil with your words, and if you’re always murmuring, complaining, and talking about how bad life is treating you, you’re going to live in a pretty miserable world.

Use your words to
change
your negative situations and fill them with life.

CHAPTER FOUR

The ABCs
of
Faith

T
here is no limit to what a Christian can do for God no matter where he or she is, if he or she will learn the ABCs of faith, dare to believe God, and just act on His Word.

However, our problem often starts when we think we can understand God’s principles with our intellect. While the intellect is certainly important, know this: You understand spiritual principles
by faith.

Hebrews 11:3 tells us,
“By faith we understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” What is seen? The stars, the moon, the sun, the
earth, the trees, the flowers, the clouds, etc. And what we see was made out of invisible things. We believe in an invisible, unseen God who made all that we see, and we believe by faith. Our minds can never comprehend God or His creation of all things.

One day my daughter Tamara asked me, “Daddy, where did God come from?” I answered, “Darling, don’t trouble your mind about that. You may learn that in eternity.”

There are a lot of things you are not going to understand with your mind. It is through faith that you understand.

You may say, “I just don’t know how I will ever be successful or obtain financial blessing. I don’t see how it can happen.” It is through faith you can understand.

A lot of people want to
try
faith. But faith is not a formula to try in emergencies. Faith is a way of life. And as we read in Hebrews 11:7, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” this is not a chance statement. It is a fact of God’s Word that it is not possible to please God without faith. It makes no difference what you do, what you say, or how good you live, you cannot please God unless you are functioning in faith.

If we have just a grain of the God-kind of faith, Jesus said nothing shall be impossible to us (Matthew 17:20)!

Do you dare to believe that?
Jesus sees the possibilities of our lives. You do not have to be a spiritual giant and have a lot of faith. But you must learn to exercise your faith.

“A”—A
GREE
W
ITH THE
W
ORD OF
G
OD

After what I have just said about faith, this statement may confound you:
Do not worry about having faith.
Don’t look all around trying to find faith as so many Christians do. They make faith so mechanical and complicated that they miss it.

Just as you cannot analyze love, you cannot analyze faith. I love my wife, Dodie. I remember when I first fell in love with her. I saw her standing out by the church where I was pastoring. I had known her for a long time, but at that time I said to myself, “That little thing doesn’t know it yet, but I am going to marry her.” There were choices involved, of course, but I could never dissect or analyze why I felt so wonderful when I saw her. Why did my heart turn over three times and pat, pat, pat, real fast? Where did the emotions come from? Why did I want to be with her all the time? Why?

I found that I could not analyze love. Love was just there. I merely had to enjoy it!

It is the same with faith.
Don’t worry about having faith.
Just start with the basic element of faith…
agree with the Word of God.

Get rid of the notion that faith is a strange or mystical thing. Agree with what the Bible says: God has given you the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Accept it as fact, and go on to grow in the principles of God.

This is just as true for me as it is for you. Over and over again, I have to be reminded of how faith works. In my life, often when I have been “down in the valley” of discouragement, Dodie has looked me right in the face and said, “John, declare the Word of God! Open your mouth and say…”

If you do it, it will work for you! You must agree with what the Word says about you.

What do I mean by that? Here are some familiar scriptural examples for how you can agree with the Word of God.

•
“I believe and agree with Romans 10:9–10, which states, ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ Whether I feel saved or not, I agree with the Word of God. I confess Jesus as my Lord, and God says that I am saved. Therefore, I agree with His Word: I am saved. I have peace with God.”
The greatest miracle in the world is wrought by believing in your heart and saying with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and that God raised Him from the dead!

•
Agree with God that you are a new creature in Christ Jesus. “I agree with 2 Corinthians 5:17: ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.’ I am a new creature in Christ. My past is forgiven, and I am a child of God. I agree with the Bible. I thank God I am a new creature.”

•
Agree with God that you are delivered from the power of darkness. “I agree with Colossians 1:13: ‘He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.’ No matter how it looks, or how I feel, or what the enemy accuses me of, I declare that I have been delivered from the power and the authority of the kingdom of darkness. I agree with God. He says that I am delivered from Satan’s power, and I agree.” That will put the enemy on tranquilizers!

•
There was a time in my life when if I did something wrong, I felt so badly that I would go for days under a cloud of condemnation. I didn’t feel worthy to preach or pray. Finally, after days of feeling condemned, I would accept my forgiveness. But I didn’t have to wait, and neither do you.

When you make a mistake and you sin, just say, “Father, I am guilty. Your Word says, ‘If I confess my sins, You are faithful and just to forgive my sins, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness’ (see 1 John 1:8–9). I agree with that scripture. I have confessed my sins, and You have kept Your end of the bargain. Therefore, no matter what I have done, I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus from all unrighteousness. I will not be under a cloud of condemnation about it. I agree with what Your Word says, and I am cleansed!”

Faith is not a formula to try in emergencies.

F
AITH IS A WAY OF LIFE
.

•
In regards to physical, emotional, or mental healing, you can agree with 1 Peter 2:24 that “by [Jesus’] stripes you are healed.” No matter what your body says, you can say, “I agree with God. By Jesus’ stripes I am healed.” When you are sick and hurting, it is hard to try to feel healed.
Do not worry about having faith.
Look at the scriptures and say, “I agree.” When you hear a voice saying, “You will never be well,” point to the Bible and say, “No, I agree with God. He cannot lie. His Word says, ‘By His stripes I am healed.’ And I simply agree with God.”

The “A” of Faith Is Agree With the Word of God.

“B”—B
ELIEVE THE
W
ORD OF
G
OD

When you believe the Word of God, you must act like it is so.
This does not mean I do some foolish thing to prove that God will take care of me. For instance, just because God says He has given His angels charge over me, doesn’t mean I must jump off of a building as the devil tried to get Jesus to do in the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). Don’t let the enemy push you into some foolish area.

When you act on the Word, you act like it is so. James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” The only Word that will do you any good is that Word you act upon. It is better to take only one scripture and act like it is true than to do nothing. If you diligently read and study the Word of God, get it into your spirit and put it into practice,
it will work.

This truth has brought health to both Dodie and me. Dodie was diagnosed with metastatic cancer of the liver in 1981 and was given only a few weeks to live. She did not get well by agreeing with the medical verdict that she would not recover. She got well when she took the Word of God and declared that what it said about healing was true.

In my life, at one time it seemed as though I had lost my ministry. I was so sick and discouraged that it looked as though I was not going to make it. I am telling you that
doing the Word
—acting like it is so—brought me out and set my feet on solid ground.

I am not talking about this in theory. I am talking about something that I know works.

You may say, “Well, how can I act like the Word is so?”

Consider what Noah did when he heard God say, “There is going to be a flood.” He didn’t say, “I’ve got faith. I am the greatest man in the world, and I have faith.” No! Noah did not worry about having faith. He just agreed with God that there was a flood coming, and then he acted like it was so and started building the ark. Noah did not have to say, “I have faith that a flood is coming.” The very fact that he was sawing timbers and hammering on the boat told his story. Noah demonstrated his faith by his works.