Talking by Faith

"The words you speak can have a tremendous impact on your life. Your words literally determine your future. When you believed with your heart and confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus, you changed the eternal course of your life." (Kenneth Copeland, "From Faith To Faith")

SCRIPTURES:

Psalm 141:3:  "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." 

Hebrews 13:15:  "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise -- the fruit of lips that confess His name."

Matthew 12:34-37:  "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings forth good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil mans brings forth evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you are acquitted, and by your words you are condemned."

Proverbs 18:21:  "The tongue has the power of life and death...."

Exodus 8:9-10:  "Moses said to Pharoah, 'I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray. . .that you may be rid of the frogs. . .' 'Tomorrow,' Pharoah said. Moses replied, 'It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God."

Mark 11:23:  "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him."

TALKING BY FAITH

• Living by faith requires one to speak words of faith (Faith Words), and this is like trying to paddle upstream. The world resists and insists we "go with the flow," which is in a negative direction.

  • Even the traditional church world wants and teaches Christians to go with the flow. But we must be like salmon spiritually, going against the currents of the world and even the traditions of the church.

  • We meed to decide to keep a watch over our lips and determine to fill our mouths with the Word of God consistently. Then everything we say will take us further upstream!

• There's a deadly "killer" loose in the church today! It's a killer far more deadly than any cancer or heart disease. It's a plaque worse than any ever seen. It's called tradition! tradition is a thief that has the power to steal God's promises from you.

• Tradition says that God does not work today the way He used to. It teaches that we are under a "new dispensation."

  • Tradition says the Church has replaced the work of the Spirit!

  • Tradition says that prosperity is not God's will, and that it is not always God's will to heal people.

  • If you believe tradition, then you cannot pray in faith, believing you receive (Mark 11:24).

  • The Word of God says that God never changes! We must seek out what the Word of God says, and we must say the same things. Don't be killed by tradition!

• In many other countries of the world, where people are not bound by religious traditions, they don't argue with the Word of God. They simply believe the preacher/teacher and the Word that is preached or taught, that Jesus came to deliver them of sin, sickness, and death.

  • When we learn to hear the Word of God and believe it in the same way, then we receive the promises and provisions that Jesus came to bring and that are given in His Word.

  • God gets glory from delivering people of poverty, sickness, and disease. Don't let tradition keep God from being glorified!

• Speaking words of faith (FAITH WORDS) is good spiritual exercise. If we meditate on God's Word, and speak these words continually, faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17)-- even if we are hearing our own words, speaking Faith Words, the Words of God!

• As we continue to speak Faith Words, the truth will begin to take root in your heart and grow.

  • It's the words that come from the heart that produce results.

  • Then, no matter what we've been believing for, satan* won't be able to talk us out of it! (*Note: I refuse to capitalize the enemy's name!)

• Great things happen when we continually confess the promises of God! Faith rises up, if our confessions are Word-based, for faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

  • Actually, ANYTHING we confess (speak with the mouth) affects our beliefs.

  • So, we must ensure our confessions match up with God's Word!

• Put His Words continually on your lips, and speak psalms and praise from out of your spirit. Use God's Word, and you will begin to experience the joy of realizing that God's promises are true and that they're for you!

 CONFESSION AND TRANSFORMATION

• Just as we have to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), so that we think as God thinks, we must also ACT on the Word, and confessing agreement, speak as God speaks!

  • We must speak God's Words, and His Words are not words of doubt.
  • God's Words are Words of faith (Faith Words).
• Confession, literally translated, means "spoken verbal assent or agreement." We must speak words of assent or agreement with God's Word. We must make God's Words our words!

Are your words bringing miracles or messes?

• When you talk like the world, instead of talking like the Word, you end up with a MESS!

  • God's Word brings wisdom, spirit, life, and, of course, faith!
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to help you speak His Words of wisdom, spirit, life, and faith.
  • Don't use your tongue to make messes; make miracles, instead!
• If you want to activate your faith and live and active faith life, there are four (4) words that absolutely must become part of your daily speech: "I believe I receive." (Mark 11:24).
• Our words -- our speaking -- our talk -- must be transformed!
• If you want to live a life of victory and blessing, you're going to have to make your words agree with what God says -- ALL THE TIME! And you must put patience to work, hanging on until the Word of God is manifested in your life.
• Don't speak negative words of lack or defeat, for wrong words will ruin your harvest!
  • Just as it takes time for a crop to grow to harvest, so we need to keep believing right (planting seed) and speaking right (fertilizing the seed).
  • In time, you will receive your harvest.
• We must train our mouths to be obedient to God's Word. Our words are so imrpoatant that Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Our words are so important that our very life may depend on them!

A perverted, doubting, or contentious mouth is a disobedient mouth!              

Saying words that are out of line with God's Word is disobedience!

• Hebrews 3:1 tells us that Jesus is the Hight Priest of our confession. He puts into effect, executes, and carries out our confessions -- our very words we speak.
  • Therefore, don't speak words of defeat.
    • Speak words of victory!
  • Do not speak words of sickness.
    • Speak words of divine health!
  • Son't speak words of poverty.
    • Speak words of prosperity!
  • Do not ever speak words of doubt.
    • Always speak words of faith (Faith Words)!

Speaking words of faith (Faith Words) is simply to speak words that agree with the Word of God, instead of the circumstances around you. It is speaking from your spirit, instead of your mind. Stop "telling it like it is" and start speaking and believing the promises of God. God, Himself, calls (speaks) things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17b).* This is the supreme example of Words of Faith (Faith Words)!

When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, you believed, confessed, and received. Every answer you need from God will come in exactly the same way! We must learn to talk in faith!

*Note: I am aware that many skeptics would say that this is just mental or psychological "gymnastics." There are also those who mistake this for New Age "words of affirmation." No matter what the skeptics may say, this is God's modus operandi! If you are such a skeptic, then you are taking exception to God's revealed will in His Word! I don't want to "go there" personally! I'd rather believe, confess, and receive, according to God's plan. As for the New Age philosophy or theology charge, it must be pointed out that there is a measure of truth to all false doctrine. That's how false teaching becomes palatable to the masses. We DO need to postively affirm who we are and what we have IN CHRIST JESUS. There are no stronger "positive words of affirmation" than what Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8 (actually the whole chapter is chock full of positive affirmations of who and what we are in Christ . . . it's my favorite chapter!):

1. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." vs 1

2. "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship." vs 15

3. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." vs 28

4. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" vs 31b

5. "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." vs 37

6. "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." vs 38

SERMONS INDEX

Copyright © 1997 Faith Word Ministries.

Rev. Eugene Bolton. All rights reserved.