Have you ever noticed in the Bible that most of God’s champions who were facing a challenge or in the middle of a battle, commonly referred to as a “faith fight”, had to say something that sounded totally ridiculous to the natural mind before they received their victory?
Here are a few examples:
- Daniel 3:17-18: “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to “deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
- 1 Samuel 17:46: “This day the Lord will deliver you unto my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
- Luke 8:52-53: “Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.”
How about in the Old Testament where the only son of a couple had died? The mother took the son and laid him on the bed of the prophet who would stay in their home when he came through that part of the country. She didn’t tell her husband that the young lad was dead. In fact, she said, “All is well” (2Kings 4:26). Now if that didn’t qualify for a lie, I don’t know what does!
To the natural mind or intellect, their words were ridiculous. What would compel three young Hebrew men confronted with certain death in a hot fiery furnace to defy the king and declare their God would deliver them?
How could David, a young shepherd boy who was never trained for battle, fearlessly face a nine-foot giant whose armor alone weighed almost 125 pounds, and declare he was cutting off his head? David was probably no taller than Goliath’s waist! And how could Jesus say that the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue was only sleeping when everyone else had declared her graveyard dead?
Jesus said, “But since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke”, we also believe and therefore speak.”
What you truly believe, which is based on the image on the inside of you, will eventually be revealed by your words. Luke wrote, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
Here’s a kingdom principle that many Christians sometimes miss: To change our inner image, we often have to say the ridiculous before we believe the impossible. That is, we have to say what God says even when there is no physical evidence that it’s yet true. But the more we say it, the more we are making good deposits (treasure) in our hearts and changing our image. One man said, “Faith often puts you in a place of ridicule” …but not for long!!.
2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Temporary means brief, fleeting or subject to change. The change, however, is not automatic. As believers, we have a part to play in creating the change we desire. We must do, or more accurately, say something that may sound ridiculous or absurd. It doesn’t make sense, but it will eventually make FAITH, if we keep saying it.
Through words, we shape the unseen and change the seen. Many Christians don’t understand that their words have the power to bring life or destroy it and that the source of many of their problems, and conversely their answers, is an inch below their nose – their mouth.
The Bible says, “death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Notice, the verse didn’t say the power was in the devil or other people or the government. No! It said the power was in the tongue.
Words are the most powerful weapons in our kingdom arsenal to dominate this earth and to enforce the victory that Jesus died to give us. This is why the devil will try to put pressure on us to say wrong things (something God didn’t say) when we are in a faith fight.
For example, if you are believing God for healing in your body, don’t speak the problem or the symptoms, Don’t look at the things which are seen. This is what the woman with the issue of blood did in Mark 5:25-28: “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment; for she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Some translations say that “she kept saying.” Her words probably sounded ridiculous to those around her. I can hear some of her unbelieving friends now, “Girl, you think you’re just going to touch Jesus’ clothes and be healed? Are you crazy? You better stay inside this house before you get stoned.”
This woman had a “grow worse” image for twelve years. But she took faith-filled words and destroyed her negative inner image, shaping the unseen and changing the seen… “Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.” (verse 29) As long as she kept her new image, sickness could never again dominate her body.
Remember, what you believe is what you become…and where you will end up. To experience God’s redemptive plan for our lives (prosperity, peace, healing, wholeness), we must have the right inner image or belief system. Ask yourself, “Like this woman with the issue of blood, do I have a wrong self-image that is blocking God’s redemptive blessings in my life? Am I blaming the devil, other people or the government for the financial situation I’m in, instead of changing what I’m believing and speaking?”
As born-again believers, we are made like God, and God used words to create everything in and on this planet. Genesis 1:1-28 – Each time God created something new, we read, “Then God said.” God’s original purpose for words was more for creation than for communication. AND THIS PURPOSE HAS NOT CHANGED!!! Speaking God’s Word in faith first brings “Heaven to Earth” in our spirits, creating the image of what God has already created and provided in heaven. Then, when we speak based on that image, the Holy Spirit brings that word to pass in the earth.
Jesus had to teach this principle to His disciples in Mark 11:23, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
Jesus had spoken to a fig tree the day before, saying, “No one ever again shall eat fruit from you” (Mark 11:14). The Bible says the disciples were listening to His words. I can imagine that some of His disciples thought that talking to a tree was a little crazy. But they didn’t think it was crazy the next day when they saw the tree had withered from its roots.
I remember working this principle years ago when my car wouldn’t start on one very cold Chicago morning. I knew according to Mark 11:23 that I had the authority to speak to things. So I went outside, looked around to see if anyone was watching me (trying to avoid shame and ridicule) and told my car to start in the Name of Jesus. I went back inside the house and waited for a few minutes. When I came back out the car turned over like it was brand new. Praise God!!
Shaping the unseen and changing the seen is important for every believer to live a life of victory. Romans 10:8 describes how this God-given process works, “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach: For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (unto deliverance, unto healing, unto preservation and soundness.” In other words…say it until you see it. DON’T GIVE UP! The enemy might try to convince you that it’s not working when it is. Cast down the images that satan tries to put in your mind. We, as believers, are designed and expected to think and talk like God.
James gives further understanding as to the power of your words when he compares the tongue to bits in horses’ mouths and to the rudder of a ship. James 3:3-5 “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.”
He is saying, just as one can pull the reins of a horse and direct him or use a small rudder to turn a huge ship, you can use your tongue to speak God’s Word and control the destiny of your life, no matter how great the forces are that might come against you.
So, to get rid of the seen or what you don’t desire and replace it with what you do desire, God’s precious promises, you must get your mind and your spirit programmed with the Word of God that will reject anything that doesn’t agree with God’s Word. Now you’re ready to change the see. What you speak is what God will deliver. This is a spiritual law and it WORKS EVERY TIME. (See Mark 11:23)
Find a promise from God that meets a need you may have and begin to speak it. Say it until you believe it. Then decree it because you believe. “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” Job 22:28) And I might add…no matter how impossible.
Bill Winston Ministries
