Faith Talks
That’s right. The devil is putting pressure on you in order to steal your confession of faith. He's trying to get you to talk yourself out of your healing, or your prosperity or whatever else you have been trusting God to give you.
Why is the devil so interested in your words? Because he understands something most Christians don't. He knows that if he can't get your words, it is all over for him. If he can’t stop you from speaking words of faith, those words will blast away the mountains in your life.
Words are crucial and the devil knows it. Words of faith are your connection with the supernatural power of God. Words of unbelief cut off your source of power.
Jesus said, “...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" (Mark 11:23).
Jesus connected speaking with believing. Faith and words. They are inseparable.
Faith is a supernatural force from heaven that flows into your heart, comes out of your mouth through your words and changes this natural world. Faith gives birth to words of power. And the Word of power gives birth to faith! Faith isn't born in your heart until you find out what God says about something. As Romans 10:17 says, “...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Once you hear God's Word and believe it wholeheartedly, the supernatural force of faith is generated inside you. And, believe me, it is a powerful force. Jesus actually called it “...the faith of God" (Mark 11:22, KC Ref. Edition cross reference).
When you take God's Word for something and believe it for yourself, the faith which belongs to God Himself comes into you. Think about that! We're not talking about some religious feeling here. We are talking about the same supernatural power that created the universe coming alive on the inside of you!
Faith is the original creative power That's why it can change the things you see. It is the force that created everything you see in the first place.
Some people try to disconnect the power of faith and the power of words. They say, “Oh, I believe in my heart all right, but I don't like to talk about it."
According to the Word of God, you can't do that. For faith to work, it must be coupled with words.
Romans 10:8-10 leaves no question about it.
...The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Real faith always shows up in two places: in the heart and in the mouth. Faith talks! That is one of its distinguishing characteristics. The apostle Paul put it this way, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;...” (II Corinthians 4:13).
It is only when faith comes out of your mouth that it begins to change things in the natural world.
There are always people who don't want to hear that. They don't want to speak by faith. They don't want to say something is true unless they can see it with their eyes. But that kind of speaking will not change anything!
You might compare the process to a thermostat. If you have the thermostat set on 75 degrees and you want the room to be cooler, you have to change the thermostat. If you leave it on 75 degrees, nothing is going to change.
Your words work like that. They act as the thermostat in your life. If you want to create something different, you are going to have to change them. You're going to have to make them reflect what you want, not what you already have!
“Well, Gloria," you say, “I don't like that."
Like it or not, it is a spiritual law and will not change. Words rule your life. You don't have any choice about it. You can, however, choose which words you want to rule you.
If you're smart you'll choose the words of God. Why? Because His Word is big enough to handle anything. His Word has all the answers.
The people of the world have run out of answers. They have created problems so great they can't solve them. They don't even know what to do with their garbage anymore!
In God's realm, though, there is always an answer. You won't ever go to God with a problem and hear Him say, “Oh my, this is too much for Me. You've messed things up so badly I can't figure out what to do." No! God knows exactly what to do about your problems. To Him they look simple.
But remember, your connection with God depends on your faith. And faith has to be in two places--in your heart and in your mouth. You cannot talk unbelief and faith out of the same mouth and expect results. Unbelief negates your faith.
You need to recognize that every word you say is a word that will change things. Like a spark setting off a forest fire, James says words set in motion the whole course of nature. (See James 3:6.) When you come to the realization, “If I don't want it, I'd better not say it," you will start getting your words straight.
I’m not promising it will be easy. Some of the negative words you have been speaking have been in your family for generations. It can be tough to break word-habits like that.
There are people who for years have said things like, “I just know I’m going to end up with cancer. It runs in my family, you know."
That kind of talking over a period of years builds a stronghold in your life that can't be knocked down in just a day or two. It takes some time and effort, but it can be done.
For better or for worse, your words are building a fortress in your life. So you had better start examining them. You'd better start speaking them like you expect them to come to pass.
It is not just what you say in public that counts either. It's not what you say when you pray or when you're talking to other believers at church. It is what you speak continually as you go about the daily affairs of life that ultimately will carry the most weight.
In fact, it's when you're among friends you really have to watch yourself most. When you are alone with your wife or your husband, you “let your hair down"--and many times, you let your faith down too.
In Malachi 3 God talks about some people who let their hair down with each other. They got together and complained about how poorly God was treating His people. “What good does it do to serve God?" they said. “The wicked are the ones who prosper!"
Do you know what God said to them? He said, “Your words have been stout against me,..." (Malachi 3:13). Their words were stout or hard against Him.
But in that same chapter of Malachi, you read about another group of people. While the first group complained, this group spoke something else. They spoke in reverent fear of the Lord. Verse 16 says, “...the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him...."
Do you know God hears you and your spouse when you speak words of faith to each other over the kitchen table? When you talk together about His faithfulness, He says, “I am going to write that down and remember it. They fear My name and believe My Word and they are going to have what they say."
Let's read those two verses in Malachi again:
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Don't ever think your words aren't important! Your very future with God depends on the words you say. Your eternal destiny was settled the day you said with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life. Your life--both in the here and now and in the hereafter--is still being built by the words you say.
When you say words of faith, it thrills God because those words open the way for Him to move in your life and bless you. That's what He loves to do.
Personally, I love to be blessed by God, so I pay close attention to my words. I'm also quick to be corrected. When I let down my guard and allow the devil to get hold of some of my words, I don't let him have them for long. As soon as I realize what I have done, I command those words to fall to the ground and I reinstate what I believe, what I want to come to pass.
You can do the same thing. If you start speaking words of doubt and unbelief, just stop the moment you realize what you are doing and repent. Change your thinking and get your words back in agreement with the Word of God.
If we couldn't repent, none of us would make it. But we can repent, thank God! Much to the devil's dismay, we can repent and repent and repent until good words become a habit with us.
Start developing that habit today. Start getting God's Word inside of you, believing what He says and putting it in your mouth.
Get in the habit of having prayer every single morning. Get in the habit of reading the Word every day. Get in the habit of watching the daily Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast and listening to tapes as you drive to work.
That's the way to keep your faith level strong, by keeping your Word level high. Exhort one another daily, as Hebrews 3:13 says. You cannot live a life of faith and speak words of faith if you don't make time for the Word of God. It just won't work.
You have to keep your mind thinking God's thoughts if you want to walk in faith and victory. You have to remain centered on the Word. “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power..." (Hebrews 4:12, The Amplified Bible). And it has a way of getting the job done when nothing else can do it. In fact, God says it cannot fail.
He says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
Just remember, for your faith in that Word to work effectively, it has to be in TWO places: in your heart and in your mouth.
When you put the Word of God in those two places, miracles begin to happen in your life. When you speak God's words and refuse to let go of them, no mountain the devil builds will stop you anymore.
So if you are under pressure right now, remember that. Don't give the devil what he wants. Don't give him your words. Without them, he's sure to lose.
With them, you are sure to win.
Gloria Copeland
www.kcm.org
That’s right. The devil is putting pressure on you in order to steal your confession of faith. He's trying to get you to talk yourself out of your healing, or your prosperity or whatever else you have been trusting God to give you.
Why is the devil so interested in your words? Because he understands something most Christians don't. He knows that if he can't get your words, it is all over for him. If he can’t stop you from speaking words of faith, those words will blast away the mountains in your life.
Words are crucial and the devil knows it. Words of faith are your connection with the supernatural power of God. Words of unbelief cut off your source of power.
Jesus said, “...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" (Mark 11:23).
Jesus connected speaking with believing. Faith and words. They are inseparable.
Faith is a supernatural force from heaven that flows into your heart, comes out of your mouth through your words and changes this natural world. Faith gives birth to words of power. And the Word of power gives birth to faith! Faith isn't born in your heart until you find out what God says about something. As Romans 10:17 says, “...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Once you hear God's Word and believe it wholeheartedly, the supernatural force of faith is generated inside you. And, believe me, it is a powerful force. Jesus actually called it “...the faith of God" (Mark 11:22, KC Ref. Edition cross reference).
When you take God's Word for something and believe it for yourself, the faith which belongs to God Himself comes into you. Think about that! We're not talking about some religious feeling here. We are talking about the same supernatural power that created the universe coming alive on the inside of you!
Faith is the original creative power That's why it can change the things you see. It is the force that created everything you see in the first place.
Some people try to disconnect the power of faith and the power of words. They say, “Oh, I believe in my heart all right, but I don't like to talk about it."
According to the Word of God, you can't do that. For faith to work, it must be coupled with words.
Romans 10:8-10 leaves no question about it.
...The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Real faith always shows up in two places: in the heart and in the mouth. Faith talks! That is one of its distinguishing characteristics. The apostle Paul put it this way, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;...” (II Corinthians 4:13).
It is only when faith comes out of your mouth that it begins to change things in the natural world.
There are always people who don't want to hear that. They don't want to speak by faith. They don't want to say something is true unless they can see it with their eyes. But that kind of speaking will not change anything!
You might compare the process to a thermostat. If you have the thermostat set on 75 degrees and you want the room to be cooler, you have to change the thermostat. If you leave it on 75 degrees, nothing is going to change.
Your words work like that. They act as the thermostat in your life. If you want to create something different, you are going to have to change them. You're going to have to make them reflect what you want, not what you already have!
“Well, Gloria," you say, “I don't like that."
Like it or not, it is a spiritual law and will not change. Words rule your life. You don't have any choice about it. You can, however, choose which words you want to rule you.
If you're smart you'll choose the words of God. Why? Because His Word is big enough to handle anything. His Word has all the answers.
The people of the world have run out of answers. They have created problems so great they can't solve them. They don't even know what to do with their garbage anymore!
In God's realm, though, there is always an answer. You won't ever go to God with a problem and hear Him say, “Oh my, this is too much for Me. You've messed things up so badly I can't figure out what to do." No! God knows exactly what to do about your problems. To Him they look simple.
But remember, your connection with God depends on your faith. And faith has to be in two places--in your heart and in your mouth. You cannot talk unbelief and faith out of the same mouth and expect results. Unbelief negates your faith.
You need to recognize that every word you say is a word that will change things. Like a spark setting off a forest fire, James says words set in motion the whole course of nature. (See James 3:6.) When you come to the realization, “If I don't want it, I'd better not say it," you will start getting your words straight.
I’m not promising it will be easy. Some of the negative words you have been speaking have been in your family for generations. It can be tough to break word-habits like that.
There are people who for years have said things like, “I just know I’m going to end up with cancer. It runs in my family, you know."
That kind of talking over a period of years builds a stronghold in your life that can't be knocked down in just a day or two. It takes some time and effort, but it can be done.
For better or for worse, your words are building a fortress in your life. So you had better start examining them. You'd better start speaking them like you expect them to come to pass.
It is not just what you say in public that counts either. It's not what you say when you pray or when you're talking to other believers at church. It is what you speak continually as you go about the daily affairs of life that ultimately will carry the most weight.
In fact, it's when you're among friends you really have to watch yourself most. When you are alone with your wife or your husband, you “let your hair down"--and many times, you let your faith down too.
In Malachi 3 God talks about some people who let their hair down with each other. They got together and complained about how poorly God was treating His people. “What good does it do to serve God?" they said. “The wicked are the ones who prosper!"
Do you know what God said to them? He said, “Your words have been stout against me,..." (Malachi 3:13). Their words were stout or hard against Him.
But in that same chapter of Malachi, you read about another group of people. While the first group complained, this group spoke something else. They spoke in reverent fear of the Lord. Verse 16 says, “...the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him...."
Do you know God hears you and your spouse when you speak words of faith to each other over the kitchen table? When you talk together about His faithfulness, He says, “I am going to write that down and remember it. They fear My name and believe My Word and they are going to have what they say."
Let's read those two verses in Malachi again:
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Don't ever think your words aren't important! Your very future with God depends on the words you say. Your eternal destiny was settled the day you said with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life. Your life--both in the here and now and in the hereafter--is still being built by the words you say.
When you say words of faith, it thrills God because those words open the way for Him to move in your life and bless you. That's what He loves to do.
Personally, I love to be blessed by God, so I pay close attention to my words. I'm also quick to be corrected. When I let down my guard and allow the devil to get hold of some of my words, I don't let him have them for long. As soon as I realize what I have done, I command those words to fall to the ground and I reinstate what I believe, what I want to come to pass.
You can do the same thing. If you start speaking words of doubt and unbelief, just stop the moment you realize what you are doing and repent. Change your thinking and get your words back in agreement with the Word of God.
If we couldn't repent, none of us would make it. But we can repent, thank God! Much to the devil's dismay, we can repent and repent and repent until good words become a habit with us.
Start developing that habit today. Start getting God's Word inside of you, believing what He says and putting it in your mouth.
Get in the habit of having prayer every single morning. Get in the habit of reading the Word every day. Get in the habit of watching the daily Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast and listening to tapes as you drive to work.
That's the way to keep your faith level strong, by keeping your Word level high. Exhort one another daily, as Hebrews 3:13 says. You cannot live a life of faith and speak words of faith if you don't make time for the Word of God. It just won't work.
You have to keep your mind thinking God's thoughts if you want to walk in faith and victory. You have to remain centered on the Word. “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power..." (Hebrews 4:12, The Amplified Bible). And it has a way of getting the job done when nothing else can do it. In fact, God says it cannot fail.
He says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
Just remember, for your faith in that Word to work effectively, it has to be in TWO places: in your heart and in your mouth.
When you put the Word of God in those two places, miracles begin to happen in your life. When you speak God's words and refuse to let go of them, no mountain the devil builds will stop you anymore.
So if you are under pressure right now, remember that. Don't give the devil what he wants. Don't give him your words. Without them, he's sure to lose.
With them, you are sure to win.
Gloria Copeland
www.kcm.org
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