Faith and Confession
By
Lee Vayle,
Teacher
1965
The
message last night on “Faith And The Mind’ is often not well received or
accepted by many people, because they feel that it seems to knock down a lot of
their “strong-holds” that they once had concerning faith; and also to some
people it smacks a little bit of Christian Science. It’s just a little
difficult for people to realize that God’s Word has laid down certain laws.
Now,
religion is not just emotion. I believe
we are an emotional people, but often—times we fail to realize even that
“peace” is an emotion.
Years ago,
when I was born again.... I was saved in an Independent Pentecostal church, and
I think you’ll admit that they taught a lot of what the same people teach
today, that is that the Spirit of God brings “power.” But the teaching is remiss in this: they emphasize that the
“experience is powerful.” And so they’ve got everybody wound up like jet planes
to take off and they sure do, but they don’t have propellers or something and
they are sure to hit mountains or some thing and go up in smoke.
What would
a nervous fellow like me want with a high powered, jet plane experience? I
don’t need it. That’s the one thing I don’t need and shouldn’t have; but I was
taught to go in there—tiger in your tank and a wild-cat under your hood—”ROOMPH!”
I don’t
need that and nobody needs that in this 20th century Laodicean Age. What we
need is a “sand-bag” experience to quiten us down so God can get ahold of us.
So, when I talk many times about “Faith And The Mind,”
people don’t realize that this message is calculated to tone people down so
that God can deal with their minds.
And “IN QUIETNESS AND IN CONFIDENCE SHALL BE YOUR STRENGTH:...” (Isa, 30:5),
and He said, “STUDY TO BE QUIET (1 Thess.
They said,
‘Either worship
the king or get burned up! (Daniel 3:6,11).
“Oh, whoopee, good! We’re gonna
get burnt up! Whoopee!”
Do you
think they did that? The prospect, my Brother, my Sister, was horrifying.
What do
you lay awake at night for anyway? Because you are worried
over a teensy, weensy, little thing that might cause you a little trouble,
embarrassment or something? But those men were facing death by burning.
Now, let’s
get some of that kind of “tiger in your tank,” or “wildcat
under your hood. “ Huh? Oh, no! They stood in fear and trembling. One
step ahead was, “If I must burn, I will burn.” Now where is your big “whoopee,”
running all around, climbing a wall, cutting a rug, screaming? Suddenly goes
down the drain doesn’t it?
If the
mind is not under control the actions will be erratic, because you can only do what
your mind indicates. Therefore we need to put on the mind of God if we are
going to walk and act like Jesus Christ. We are going to have to think like He
thought concerning every circumstance, and then act as He would have us act.
The mind must not be overcome by emotions.
Our
message tonight follows last night’s message, and it has to do with “Faith And Confession.” It has to do with our “talking,” and the
Word of God says just as much about our “talking” as It says about our “thinking,”
and maybe more so.
I never
took a text last night but tonight I will, and we’ll read It and you’ll miss
It, but don’t feel bad, I’ll explain It; because If God doesn’t show It to you,
you’ll never get It... it’s just that simple. Hebrews 6:16-18.
Hebrews 6
“Faith And Confession,” or the positive confession of
the Word of God as having to do with the out-working of your Faith.
“FOR MEN VERILY SWEAR
BY THE GREATER: AND AN OATH FOR CONFIRMATION IS TO THEM AN END OF ALL STRIFE.”
Now, let’s
just talk a minute about that. Did you ever stop to think about the implication
of that little verse where It says here that “MEN...SWEAR BY THE GREATER: AND AN OATH FOR
CONFIRMATION IS TO THEM AN END OF ALL STRIFE”? Now, ii you just
walked up and gave your word to somebody, do you think he’d take it? Why, he’d
laugh in your face. You can’t even trust a contract because of the fine print,
and then with the fine print you still can’t trust the contract, because the
law can break the law and defeat the law, But It says here that all men used to
do was give their word and that was it. Now can you feature the 20th century
accepting that?
Now listern all God did was give
His Word. But men don’t accept each other’s word, Well, first of all, why
should they? You’ve got the Hebrews. Let’s look at these Jews,
If you did not know it, you know it now. At least once a year they have an
“oath revocation day.” jn other words, they revoke their oath. So they know
that today, the next 24 hours, they can revoke every single oath they made. So
they can skin you and skin you good, and rejoice, because they are very
re
ligious doing it, “Hallelujah! Glory to God!’
Now the Catholic, he finds it “divine”. God approves it if he will skin a Protestant.
What about the Protestant? Their word is not worth a nickel because they are
the ones I deal with.. .not Jews,
not Catholics, but Protestants. Wouldn’t it be nice if a man’s word was
worth something?
You see,
that’s why we have a time believing God’s Word because we just can’t believe
anybody’s word; because, generally, it’s not worth believing. We can’t even
believe our own word, because even we may renege or sneak out the back door.
I’ve had that happen to me so many times that it’s not easy to have too much
confidence anymore.
But, see,
that’s what destroys faith in God’s Word, because how can you say you love God
when you hate man made in the image of God? So nobody even puts too much faith
in God’s Word on the ground that he’s already gotten out of the systematic habit
of believing God’s Word, because he sees all that’s going on in the lives of
men.
You know
what the word “faith” means in the dictionary? It means: “To accept on the
grounds of personal testimony, without further proof, the word of a man, or to
give credit to the word without any proof.”
That’s the
same with God, God doesn’t have to prove any thing to
you. He said it and that’s it, You say, “God, give me
a sign. God doesn’t have to give you a sign, that’s it!
Well,
let’s read some more, because that’s not my message, that’s just a thought. (Hebrews
God is
immutable and His Word stands fast. Man is God’s only earth creation that can
both reason and speak.
“THE HEART
OF THE RIGHTEOUS” (the mind of the righteous) “STUDIETH TO ANSWER. BUT THE
MOUTH OF THE WICKED POURETH OUT EVIL THINGS.”
A true believer
will stop and think before he talks. But a wicked man is characterized by the
fact that he doesn’t think for any length of time. He just lets it roll. That’s
what the Bible teaches, so we will have to believe and accept it.
With this
in mind we will study faith in relation to the confession of our thoughts, or
the speraking out of our thoughts. Now,
let’s get back to our text. Notice, FOR MEN VERILY SWARE BY THE GREATER : AND AN OATH OF CONFIRMATION IS AN END TO ALL
STRIFE.” That’s the initiative. WHEREIN,
(notice) GOD, WILLING MORE ABUNDANTLY TO SHOW UNTO HEIRS OF PROMISE THE
IMMUATILITY OF HIS COUNSEL, CONFIRMED IT BY AN AOTH.”
Now,
listen! With whom did God take counsel? With man? No,
sir! With the angels? No, Sir! God took counsel with
himself. Then what is the counsel of
God? The counsel of God is the thoughts of God. Now, notice, It says, “God
confirmed His counsel with an Oath.”
Listen to
me carefully. Were the counsels of God confirmed, or the thoughts of God
confirmed, until He spoke them to man? No, sir! Until God spoke His thoughts to
man and made them known by speech, He could have had other thoughts. That is
right. He could have thjought other thoughts; He could have changed His mind.
Of course, we know that God doe4sn’t do that, but He could have and man would
niot have known one thing about it. But the minute God revealed His thoughts to
man by speaking them, He couldn’t take it back, they were confiirmed. God has
identified Himself.
And,
Brother-Sister, when you and I speak, we confirm our words Do you get it? Speaking
has something tremendously important to do with your thinking. What you say is
what you think And when you say it, you have confirmed it, You
have put the stamp upon it. That Is It You have
identified yourself.
Now, turn
to 2 Corinthians 4:i3 and let me read It to you:
“WE HAVifiG THE SAME
SPIRIT OF FAITH, ACCORDING AS iT IS WRITTEN, ‘I BELIEVED, AND THEREFORE HAVE I
SPOKEN’; WE ALSO BELIEVE AND THEREFORE SPEAK.”
According
to the Word of God, Faith talks, It thinks, and It
speaks. As we showed you last night, Faith thinks in a certain way, so also Faith
talks in a certain way.
Now, how
does Faith talk? The Word of God tells us; but in order to stress it and to
make it clear, it first of all tells us how Faith does not talk Turn to Romans,
the 10th chapter, verses 6 thru 11:
“BUT THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF FAITH SPEAKETH,. .“
There It is speaking. As Moffatt’s translation says”
“FAITH-RIGHTEOUSNESS
SPEAKETH.”
Faith-healing
speaketh. Faith-provision speaketh. Faith-any thing speaketh. It talks! That
settles it! The Scripture agrees doesn’t it? It said in Corinthians It talks,
It says over here It talks. The Holy Ghost can’t make mistakes. Can’t say one
place and turn around and say another thing in another place. That’s
Now,
listen:
It “SPEAKETH ON THIS WISE,...”It’s going to to tell you how faith talks. Then it
brings in the negative to emphasize it: “SAY NOT IN THINE HEART, WHO SHALL ASCEND
WTO HEAVEN? (THAT IS, TO BRING CHRIST DOWN FROM ABOVE:) OR,
WHO SHALL DESCEND INTO THE DEEP? (THAT IS, TO BRING UP CHRIST AGAIN FROM THE
DEAD.) BUT WHAT SAITH IT?”
How
doesn't Faith talk? It never, never, never, never asks questions I They say,
"What's all this about righteousness - God doing something for us?" And
the answer came back, "God came down in human flesh and died upon the
cross, and He rose again for our justification, making us righteous."
And, of
course, the philosopher said, "Well, isn't that strange? How did He come
down? Who brought Him down?" And they said, "Now that you've got Him
down and they killed Him, who raised God?"
Big yap, yap, yapl Questions. Where did they come from? They came from the
reasoning mind that never thought God's thoughts; and thinking their own
thoughts, said their own conclusions. But the Scripture says Faith does not ask
questions. (Romans 10:8-9):
"BUT WHAT SAITH IT? THE WORD IS NIGH THEE, EVEN
IN THY MOUTH, AND IN THY HEART." (That's where it is - the heart.) "...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, ... “
There it is again. Faith has to do with what?
Talking, and thinking, and raising the deadl You see
how these messages dove-taill You couldn't, if you tried a million years, pull
this Word of God apart. You couldn't do it because It all dove-tails. Here it
is again right here in this Scripture. I haven’t told you one thing but that I
can point a thousand times in the Bible to the laws of Faith.
Faith says
what God has already said about the condition. Do you see? (Rom.
"FOR
WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS; AND WITH THE MOUTH CON FESSION
IS MADE UNTO SALVATION."
Notice
there again the heart and mouth, mind and mouth. Remember in the Hebrew and the
Greek "the heart" signifies "the mind" almost in every single
instance, and I looked through over 500 single places and traced them down.
Now,
"FOR WITH THE HEART MAN BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS;_"
And what is the heart in this case? The whole moral being of
man. But it doesn't get down here (heart) until it gets here (mind) first. It's got to come by way of the Mind; and as the moral intelligence of
man accepts it, it then becomes a part of him, and It says: "...WITH THE
MOUTH CONFESSION IS MADE UNTO SALVATION." Now notice, It
says, if you will believe and confess you'll get it.
That's
what people have to believe about healing to get healed. You've got to confess
it to get it. You can't teach people that. They think you're Christian Science
or something else. They think they've got to feel it, like the woman down in
I've heard
everything and I've heard too much now. It is not your feelings! Your feelings
can betray you. The time - that you think you're a hundred percent right, you
could be one hundred percent wrong. The time you think you're going North, you find you're going Routh. Sure! You don't go by
your feelings – you go by what God said concerning the conditions.
You're not
to waste time on what you think - you're not to waste time on what you talk.
You are to think what God has thought, and talk what God has said.
Now
listenl God said don't question or you'll never use your Faith. Let me prove it
to you by illustratioin. Turn to Matthew, chapter 13. That's the chapter on the
parables, but we are not going to talk about parables, we're going to read
further over than the parables, and that's Matthew 13:53-58:
"AND
IT CAME TO PASS, THAT WHEN JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE PARABLES, HE DEPARTED
THENCE. AND WHEN HE WAS COME INTO HIS OWN COUNTRY" (His own town),
"HE TAUGHT THEM IN THEIR SYNAGOGE, INSOMUCH THAT THEY WERE ASTONISHED, AND
SAID:" (#I) "WHENCE HATH THIS MAN THIS WISDOM" (#2) "AND
THESE MIGHTY WORKS?" (#3) "IS NOT THIS THE CARPENTER'S SON?"
(#4) "IS NOT HIS MOTHER CALLED MARY?" (#5) "AND
HIS BRETHREN, JAMES, AND JOSES, AND SIMON, AND JUDAS?" (#6)
"AND HIS SISTERS, ARE THEY NOT ALL WITH US?"
(#7) "WHENCE THEN HATH THIS MAN ALL THESE THINGS?"
Seven
questions - the complete folly of man; and He didn't do one mighty act. He
walked off from them. You start questioning God and how He's going to do
things. Okay. He'll walk right off !
Preacher
says, "God gave me a revelation. We're going to have some great missionary
something. We're going to invade the
island, or build a church, or do something; but where is alll the money coming from? “ You lost it right there YOU lost it! You cut your throat.
You don't believe in a "revelation.
Noah said,
"It's going to rain!" "Where's the rain going to come from?
Never heard of, it. No rain around here." They all died! They all died!
Faith talks; but it never asks questions. It says what God says.
Remember
the women who came to the tomb that morning - the
three of them? "Who shall roll us away the stone? Who is going to roll away
the stone?" The stone was already rolled away.
God has reserved to Himself the
right to be a dictator. One thing you never do is to question God. The minute
you question you, God, you cut your life-line of Faith. Forget it; you've lost
the answer. Then you've got to go down to the bottom of the ladder and start
over again; because Faith does not question. It talks, but it doesn't ask
questions. It says what God has said.
Now, let's
begin to look at this a little more closely. Turnto II Corinthians, the 4th
chapter again, and let's look at this picture. Now remember) YOU can't talk
except you think. Your talking confirms your thinking, and that means you'll go
in the direction you think and talk. (II Cor. 4:8-10): WE ARE TROUBLED ON EVERY
SIDE, (and I'm sick and tired of the whole stinking mess.) WE ARE PERPLEXED " (and I've had it. I’m finished.) PERSECUTED.
(They’ll not do it the second time!)
Is that
the way it reads? Then why do we read it that way? You say, “brother,
I don’t; I read it the way it is written.”
Then if
you read it the way it is written how come we are not living it; because we
read to live? Man shall live by the Word of God. It doesn’t say man will read
the word of God. He’ll memorize the Word of God; talk about the Word of God, It
ssays, He’ll live by the Word of God. Well, do we not do it?
Paul said,
"WE ARE TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE." So whatl?
That’s normal. What does he think about, and what else does he say?
"WE
ARE NOT DISTRESSED."
Huh! I We're like this old song, "Nobody Knows The Sorrow I've
Had. No, nobody gives a rip because
everybody else has them too. They don't want your troubles plus theirs.
I made my
mother so mad one day she could have beheaded me. I said, "Ma, you never
have been disappointed."
"What
do you mean?" she said.
I said,
"You've always looked for trouble and always got it." (That wasn't
original, I read it somewhere; but it sure fits the case here.)
"WE
ARE TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE.11 So whatM
"So what? That's
what's getting me down. Why is it coming? Who cares? It's here, isn't it?"
Huh! What
if you went down the road and found a roll of bills? You'd do your best not to
find out who they belonged to, wouldn't you, because you'd like to spend those
dollars? I just mean that to illustrate "human nature" -we're a little
greedy. Oh, we'd do our best to think that God was in it, wouldn't we?
"Oh, my, my,, let's not question .. don't look the gift horse in the mouth," just grab all
the teeth, so to speak.
God sends
these troubles:
"WEIRE
TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE, YET (we're) NOT DISTRESSED; WERE PERPLEXED, BUT (we're)
NOT IN DESPAIR; (we're) PERSECUTED BUT NOT FORSAKEN; (we're) CAST DOWN, BUT NOT
DESTROYED."
That's why
I said the other night, and kept drilling you, that if God raises the dead,
somebody's got to die. Somebody's got to get cast down, so God can lift him up.
But we do not want that.
We say,
"Lord, keep me from being cast downi"
Then
you'll never get your Faith into action, because Faith has to move mountains
and raise the dead. That's what it does. I don't try to eat soup with a fork, I
use a spoon. So why try to make your Faith a "feather-bed, " when It's a powerful instrument with which to
engage in battle, and to do business for the King of kings? See, it says, sure:
"WEIRE
CAST DOWN, BUT WE'RE NOT DESTROYED; ALWAYS BEARING ABOUT IN THE BODY THE DYING
OF THE LORD JESXFS-, THAT THE LIFE ALSO OF JESUS MIGHT BE MADE MANIFEST IN OUR
BODY."
In other
words, we can see this death all around us, but Faith raises the'dead. And so
the Living Power of Christ becomes manifes4 because we've used our Faith.
Think it,
say it but think what God said and say what God said. This is what the Book
teaches. I don't know what you've been taught in various Bible schools, in
seminary or anything else, but if you were taught like me, you have tried a lot
of short-cuts: the "do it faster" method; the "whoop-it-up"
method; the "fasting" method - this . method and that method; the "money" method, and
the "business" method. Come on! Let's get back to God's method.
If you
think I'm fooling, read the 11th chapter of Hebrews and see what Faith really
is. They went through battles. It saysthe women received their dead, and some
were sawn asunder. They met death with Faith. These all died in Faith. They all
died in Faith I See?
Now let's
go back to Psalms 138:7, because we want to stick with the Word, because that's
all that counts. If we preach anything else but the Word, then you'd better not
believe. But if Ipreach the Word, you've got to take It. Psalm 138:7, listen:
"THOUGH
I WALK IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLEP THOU WILT REVIVE ME:" (See?)"THOU
SHALT STRETCH FORTH THINE HAND AGAINST THE WRATH OF MINE ENEMIES, AND THY RIGHT
HAND SHALL SAVE ME."
What is
David saying? David is saying to God, "It is alright if I'm deluged by the
forces of the enemy; You're with me, so that takes
care of ft." Well, isn't that what he said?
What's the conditions?
He's got trouble, he's got a problem, he's got an
emergency. What does he say about it? Well, what I read: "THOUGH I WALK IN
THE MIDST OF TROUBLE, THOU WILT REVIVE ME."
"Lord,
when can I get away from this thing, and have a good sleep, and nobody bother
me, and I'll feel so good, I'll be revived?"
NOI NO! He
says, "I'M IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE; GOD WILL BE MY STRENGTH, " because Faith raises the dead pressed out of
measure so God can do something.
We've got
this thing so rotten and messed up because of the Laodicean-living we're
engaged in. (Revelation
"...I
AM RICH, AND INCREASED WITH GOODS, AND HAVE NEED OF NOTHING:" (and don't
know that we're) '"NRETCHED,... MISERABLE,... NAKED AND BLIND. “
And these
people going around thinking because they talk in tongues, and have a few
demonstrations, they've got the Holy Ghost! The Bible distinctly says (Rev.
3:17):
“...
ANOINT THINE EYES WITH EYESALVE, ft (the anointing of the Holy Ghost.)
If they
had It, He wouldn't be telling them to get It! Well,
come on nowl I didn't write the Book. I didn't write It!
It's not my fault It's written this way. But I'd
better do something about it. And I've looked long enough to know that many who are saying that they have the Holy Ghost, haven't
got It. Many are swindlers, but they talk in tongues and carry on like they had
something.
If I seem
rough, don't let it bother you, because there is a God Who is a whole lot
rougher than I am, We're not called here to live in
sin. We're called here to live right before God.
I like
what David was able to do here. He said, film in
trouble." But he also said, "God, You're with me
" And he also said, "It's in this troubie I will get
revived." See? "I'll see God work."
They don't
see Him work when there's no trouble. God goes to work for us in the midst of
our troubles. That is when He makes His Word alive to us. So let us not fail to
see God in the dark clouds and in the day of battle !
Talk about
seeing God in the day of our battle I Yes, sir! Did you notice the message thus
far literally makes God our Supreme Commander, our Four-Star General, and we
the soldiers? He issues the orders and we take theml
Let's just
follow this thought out by going to a great soldier of the King! Here it is in
Joshua, chapter 1, verses 1-9:
"NOW
AFTER THE DEATH OF MOSES THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, IT CAME TO PASS THAT THE LORD
SPAKE UNTO JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN, MOSES' MINISTER, SAYING, MOSES MY SERVANT IS
DEAD; NOW THEREFORE ARISE, GO OVER THIS JORDAN, THOU AND ALL THIS PEOPLEY UNTO
THE LAND WHICH I DO GIVE TO THEM, EVEN TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL EVERY PLACE
THAT THE SOLE OF YOUR FOOT SHALL TREAD UPON, THAT HAVE I GIVEN UNTO YOU, AS I
SAID UNTO MOSES. FROM THE WILDERNESS AND THIS
Here is a
soldier who was under a vindicated message. He is called a "minister of
Moses" (vs. 1). Now he must go forth by the Word and under the Word of
Moses.',,,-,
And we can
take Joshua and apply him right to this hour, because our vindicated prophet,
with the Elijah' ministry, placed Joshua and Caleb right at the end-time as
leader and true Bride. Notice what the Bride has to follow, because She follows Joshua, and Joshua is motivated by the Word.
"THIS BOOK OF THE LAW SHALL NOT
DEPART OUT OF' THY MOUTH; BUT THOU SHALT MEDITATE THEREIN DAY AND NIGHT, THAT
THOU MAYEST OBSERVE TO DO ACCORDING TO ALL THAT'S WRITTEN THEREIN: ... " Notice what It said? It says what you think about,
and what you talk about, you will do, Now if you want
to live God's Word, you've got to think and talk it, then you'll do It. Huh?
It's what It said.
... THAT
THOU MAYEST OBSERVE TO DO ACCORDING TO ALL THAT IS WRITTEN THEREIN: FOR THEN
THOU SHALT MAKE THY WAY PROSPEROUS,, AND THEN THOU
SHALT HAVE GOOD SUCCESS.
HAVE NOT I
COMMANDED THEE? BE STRONG AND OF A GOOD COURAGE; (don't be afraid to do it,)
NEITHER BE DISMAYED:..." Oh, Brother, sometime
you'll have a problem right here. You can be dismayed if you're not careful.
"How
am I going to think God's thoughts? How am I going to say what God said? I
don't know if this is really what is meant. Oh) let's just stand back and just
pretend we don't see anything."
Huhl Nol
"...FOR THE LORD THY GOD IS WITH THEE..." He's with thee. He's not
even standing afar off, He's right with you. Why? Because
He's IN you. (1 John 4:4):
"...BECAUSE
GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD."
Peter and
Paul ... (the mouths of two witnesses -2 Cor. 13:1) saId the very same thing
Now let's
turn over here to Hebrews 10:23, and I'll read it to you:
"LET
US HOLD FAST THE PROFESSION OF OU FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING; (FOR HE IS FAITHFUL
THAT PROMISED,-)"
Now turn
to 1 Peter 4: 11:
"IF
ANY MAN SPEAK, LET HIM SPEAK AS THE ORACLES OF GOD;” Peter said, "If any
man talk , let him say what God said or shut up.
"What have you got to say about this?" said some nua"
"I
haven't got a thing to say; let's find out what God said." Huh? That's rightl
Let's find out what God said.
Let's go
back to the Book of Hebrews, the 10th chapter. I'm going to show you something
here. The King James translators, I am sorry to say, made a very, very glaring
mistake. in this verse, first of all, the word is not
"PROFESSION,” It is “CONFESSION".
The word "con" means "together " and "to speak Together.” "LET US HOLD FAST TO THE
CONFESSION OF OUR FAITH,…“
But they
made another glaring error. The word is not “FAITH”, and I can prove it. I've
got my Hebrew-English-Greek Concordance out here in the trunk of my car and I
can bring it in and show you. It's not "FAITH” at all, it's
"HOPE." So It should read.
"LET
US HOLD FAST TO THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE'..."
But what
is "HOPE"? The "earnest expectation."
What's "earnest expectation"? Whatever God said we could have. So
what do you hold fast? You constantly confess Gods Word in the face of every
problem. But you can't talk without thinking. So now you're thinking and
talking what God said about every condition. Do you follow me?
Why do
people want to wiggle out of this? Because, like Eve, they
want their own way. They don't care about God's way; it's, what they
want. And they'll even do as Brother Branham taught, so thoroughly, thinking
they do God a service, but it is apart from His Will.
You can't
convince one woman preacher out of a thousand that God never called her to
preach, because she's in there trying to "bat a thousand" for God
-when God didn't even send her. But she'll swear she's doing a good job for
God. And a lot of men, if you can call them men, will get around her and come
under her authority and do the same thing, and say it's got to be right because
"we see the anointing .. we
see this, we see that."
Brother-Sister,
if you don't see it in the Word you had better forget it. Forget the whole
thing, because you're being deluded. If God said she can't take authority (1
Timothy
And He
says, "I can't hear you. It's impossible because you have exalted your
word above My Name. And it's only My Word That’s exalted."
(Psalm 138:2).
Whose Name
do you pray in? Jesus' Name. Is that right? So
whatever you say above that Name, like you sign a letter, is exalted above the
name - right? And you've put your own word, -and say, "Jesus, I know you
didn't say this but, You see, this is what I
want." And you use just the Name, "in Jesus' Name.” And you won't get
a thing; you won't get a thing! You've got to use His Word, what He said you
could have. And you petition Him by, the way of your prayer, and say, "In
Jesus' Name," and that's it.
Then
concerning the conditions, until it comes to pass, until you get God's good
Word fulfilled, you continue to think on His thoughts and say His Words. Why?
Because you are "CONFIRMING", see? - confirming
what the thought is - you are making it "Yes." See? You're giving it
strength; you're literally bringing it to pass. The thing is, to be holding
firm, strong and steadfast, because that's what it means.
Now, let's
look in the Ilth chapter of Hebrews, verses 13-14:
"THESE
ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, (they couldn't receive the
Promise of the Messiah because it wasn't time.) BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF,
WERE PERSUADED OF THEM, AND EMBRACED THEM, AND CONFESSED THAT THEY WERE
STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON THE EARTH. FOR THEY THAT SAY SUCH THINGS DECLARE
PLAINLY THAT THEY SEEK A COUNTRY. "
Now in
this case they were seeking a country. What are you seeking tonight? Are you
seeking healing? Well, are you? Are you seeking a home that's better to live
in? Are you seeking help from God because you are financially down? Whatever
you are seeking, It says that you say plainly what you
are seeking from God. That's what It says.
Now, let's
read the next verse: ,,AND TRULY) IF THEY HAD BEEN
MINDFUL OF THAT COUNTRT-F-ROM WHENCE THEY CAME OUT," (kept in mind and
talked about
Abraham
would have gone back. He would have back-slidden, and that's what's wrong with
people that are Christians today -so-called and really. They
back-slide because they think their own thoughts. But God has already
thought It. And yet they say what they have thought in
their own minds. And then they go right back. They lose the Promise.
Do you
want to get God to give you something? You want to be healed? Then you better
think what God said about you, and it shows plainly that you're after it, and
you'll get A.
You say,
"What if I have a failure?"
You show
me a person that didn't have a failure, and I’ll show you the only One Person
Who didn't, It's God. You are not God. You're
fallible. There'll be times when you'll be discouraged and you'll miss it. But
go right back and start over again and follow the steps through. And you can't
confess anything but what you think. And He said, "Don't you dare confess
anything but what I have said;" so don't you dare think anything but what
He thought.
"David,
what do you think about these conditions out here since God told you that you
were going to be King?"
"Well,
" he said, "I'll tell you what I think; I
think God's one hundred percent right. I think I'm going to be King. In fact, I
know I'm going to be King. " And he was.
"Hannah,
what do you think about these conditions - you are barren?"
"Well,
I'll tell you what I think. I think God's thoughts. God said to ask and He
would give me. So, therefore, I'm thinking that I am going to have a son, and
I'm confessing I will. " And she did.
This is a
Law laid down. And I'm not worried about prayers being answered once in a
while, but "AN OVER-COMING LIFE" where God is abundantly manifested
by our walk, and His good and precious gifts given to us. I'm not talking about
a people who are hit and miss; I'm talking about a people who are a solid
phalanx army as they go forward; and everyone of them
is getting results from God. And this is the way it is done.
Since we
have come this far, we are now willing to describe again this outworking of our
Faith. And that is, we are to confirm our thoughts with words even as God
confirmed His thoughts toward us. We are to thlnk Faith thoughts, and we are to
confirm them by confessing those same thoughts. As the Scripture said, (2
Corinthians
"...WE
ALSO BELIEVE, AND THEREFORE SPEAK."
What do
you believe? I believe that God is my Healer (say it). I believe that God is my
healer (say it). I believe God is my Provider (say it). I believe God is my
protection, my deliverance (say it). I believe God is my Righteousness (say
it). See? You've got to say what He said. Think what He thought.
"Yes,
but I'm not very righteous; I'm not doing so good."
Think what
He thought and say what He said. God warns you: Don't you dare think more
highly than you ought to think (Romans 12:3; 2 Cor. 10:5). In other words,
don't you dare say, "I'm an independent thinker.” There's too much of that
today; that's anarchy. Because what you think you will say, and you will
confirm what you think, and if it's against God, you'll ,
destroy yourself. Because you'll never lick God.
Nebuchadnezzar
tried it. God brought him so low; and when he snapped out of it, he said,
"Let there be known this: He doeth what He will in the armies of the
Heavens and earth; He setteth up whom He will; He bringeth down whom He will. 11 (Daniel
And even
Moses began looking around at circumstances, and he went back to God crying.
And he said, "Oh, God, You didn't only not do it, but things are
worse."
And God
said, "Be quiet. I told you what would happen. I AM the LORD; this is how
I do things, and you get in line. 11 See?
My Brother,
my Sister, if we don't do this, we always end up trying to persuade God, trying
to please God some way, trying to tease God, trying to beg God. Or. we just try to work on Him suddenly, somehow, to get Him to
do it. Then, oh, my! We're happy.
Listen,
this is a Law that God laid down, and that God listens to and only this: Cut
yourself off from men; cut yourself off from your own mind; and above all, cut
your tongue unless it says what God says.
This Law
of confirming our thoughts, making them real, making them powerful, is proven
by Scripture. In the Book of Proverbs, chapter 18, verses 20-21; let me show
you horwthis works:
"A
MAN'S BELLY..."
Now, to
the old, ancient people, this is what they termed "the belly": the
solar plexis mind, and it referred to the "inner
man" or the "conscious man himself." In other
words, in contra distinction to the body. See?
You might
look at a picture of a man, or you might look at a man and say, "What kind
of a man is he?" You don't know, unless you know the inner man, what kind
of a man he really was. You could look at Abraham Lincoln, you could say,
"Look at that ugly looking fellow, he could not
be a great man." But he was one of the most wonderful men God ever raised
up in all of the world's history. But, as it were, looking at him you'd never
know it. So also the Word is talking about the real man inside.
Now,
notice what It says:
"A
MAN'S BELLY SHALL BE SATISFIED WITH THE FRUIT OF HIS MOUTH;" (What's the
fruit of your mouth? The words that come out of it.)
"AND WITH THE INCREASE OF HIS LIPS SHALL HE BE FILLED. DEATH AND LIFE ARE
IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE: AND THEY THAT LOVE IT,
SHALL EAT THE FRUIT THEREOF."
What's He
saying? He's saying that what you say with your mouth will get bigger and
bigger. And you'll love it. You'll love it. And it'll kill you or heal you.
It's that simple.
Now let me
illustrate. Remember the story about the fellow that caught the little fish?
Well, he went out fishing one day and caught a little trout about, 10 inches
long, or some kind of a fish 10 inches long, and went home and told it. He
said, "'You know that thing sure had a fight. Oh, my, that was a
fight!" And by the time he got involved talking about what a fighter he
was, the fish grew two inches. He said, "Yes, that was a 12 incher I got. Oh, what a fight!" And you know the funny thing was,
the words went out of his mouth and into his ears, and he heard it, and it went
down in here and he liked it. And when it came out again, it was 14 inches;
went thru his ears, down inside and got bigger (it was about 16 inches); it
went into his ears, down in here, and again came out bigger - got up to 18
inches.
And that's
exactly the way we are. If you hear gossip and do not say it, it dies. But the
minute you say it, just once ... uumm uuml You love
it, now that you've heard it. And it goes down in here, and it comes out
bigger. Slurp!! You liked it. And it goes in here, and gets down here, and it
comes out bigger. And pretty soon it's just a great big tale.
And you
know something? That's the way people are when they talk about their symptoms
and their troubles. You start talking troubles you hear it, that confirms it;
then it gets bigger.It gets in here, down in here, comes out again.... And it
gets bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER, and pretty soon all you can talk about is
troubre-s. And the fumy thing is, you're happy and
satisfied in a morbid sadistic manner. And that's pure psychology. So, if you
will, dare to s!!y what God has said, which is LIFE.
Remember: any other word but God's is DEATH. His Words alone are LIFE GIVING
(John 6:63):
"...THE
WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU., ARE SPIRIT, AND ARE
LIFE."
And
remember the Spirit alone quickens, so therefore, THE WORD OF GOD ALONE HAS
QUICKENING POWER. Now It says: "Do you want this
Word of God to become real, and rich and living, and increased, and make you a
real Word Christian? Here's how it's done. Think what God said about the
situation, say what God said; keep thinking, keep saying.
You say,
"Brother, I've been doing a little bit, and of course it didn't get like a
mountain."
Listen, my
friend, it's just like...if you're going to live by It, It's BREAD to you. It's
going to be like developing a muscle the first time you began working a hard
job. Oh, boy! It aches the next morning. Ohl Wow! I've exrcised, and I know
what I am talking about. After riding a horse the'first time, you can't sit down, it seems, for a week. But you just keep it up, and
pretty soon the stiffness goes, and the muscles begin to come. And you get more
adapted to it; and the more you work at it, the greater it is.
So when
you apply your mind to God's LAW OF FAITH, BY THINKING HIS THOUGHTS concerning
the situation, and SAYING WHAT GOD SAID, It'll get bigger, and when you hear It, that will confirm It, and out It comes bigger. Confirm
It again and It will come out BIGGER and BIGGER, . until It' s so big It works. Because, remember, this is
called a grain of mustard seed Faith, but It moves mountains (Matt.
If you
think you can make your Faith work without talking... well now, there it isl
Are you going to believe your own word? Now, I didn't write the Bookl But I've
done a little bit of studying along this line, and It
says here "THAT A MAN'S BELLY SHALL BE SATISFIED."
You say,
"I'm going to be satisfied when I get this answer from God."
Here's how
to get it: Don't talk hardship and poverty; you talk God's goodness and
provision - see? - talk God's Word.
Look! We
know today that marital problems between husband and wife are based 90 percent
upon finances. That is the concensus by study. Now, what do Christians need to
do when they are going broke? Pray?
No. you
don't pray!! It says (Luke
"GIVE
AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN..."
Right? You think anything
but those thoughts, and say anything but those Words, you will never get
anything from God, because It says, "GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO
YOU:"
"...GOOD
MEASURE, PRESSED DOWN, AND SHAKEN TOGETHER, AND RUNNING OVER, SHALL MEN GIVE
INTO YOUR BOSOM. FOR WITH THE SAME MEASURE THAT YE METE WITHAL IT SHALL BE
MEASURED TO YOU AGAIN."
You give
dollars, you'll get dollars: you give tens, you'll get tens; you give twenties,
you'll get twenties; you give fifties, you will get fifties; hundreds, you'll
get hundreds. Not because you want to be greedy, but it's because God's Word
said so. And when the chips are down and the time is rough, that's the time to
examine yourself and start giving.
Tithing is
not giving, because the tithe is God's in the first place. Start giving and
confess it? I don't mean going around telling people that you're giving. But I
mean confess that this is the way:
"GIVE
AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO THEE."
See? Every
Promise in the Word of God must be meditated upon and must be confessed in the
midst of the condition for which the Promise was given.
You don't
need a Promise except for an adverse condition. Why would God Promise you
healing, if you never got sick? Why would He Promise you provision if you never
got broke? Why would He Promise to take care of the widow if some man didn't
die and leave a widow? Why would God say He fills the empty, if somebody does
not get empty? Every Promise has as Its foundation an
adverse condition.
Now,
what's an adverse condition for? To point you to God... and when you're pointed
to God, what do you do? You fill your mind full of the Words on that subject,
and say, "Hallelujah! I'm waiting now; He's going to give it." And
that's exactly what happens.
Do you
want to increase the use of your Faith? Then you have got to talk It,
Brother-Sister; and you've got to say what God said. And you've got to say It,
Brother-Sister, in the face of everything that looks
just like it shouldn't be that way. But remember (Rom.
"ALL
THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD..."
It says in
Proverbs 12:14: "A MAN SHALL BE SATISFIED WITH GOOD...
Listenl
"A MAN SHALL BE SATISFIED WITH GOOD..." Remember, God's a good God,
giving good things, the High Priest of good things. "A MAN SHALL BE
SATISFIED WITH GOOD BY THE FRUIT OF HIS MOUTH:-"
Do you
know why most of us have trouble? We got fat mouths and thin ears! We need
thick ears and a thin mouth. That's right! The only time our mouths should be
fat is when we're saying what God said, and then you can't say enough. The Bible distinctly men-tions that, too. Proverbs 13:2-3:
"A
MAN SHALL EAT GOOD, BY THE FRUIT OF HIS MOUTH."
Notice!
"...EAT GOOD ... " See, you're eating,
partaking of Lif e.
.HE THAT
KEEPETH HIS MOUTH KEEPETH HIS LIFE; BUT HE THAT OPENETH WIDE HIS LIPS, SHALL
HAVE DESTRUCTION."
That's
exactly what the Bible teaches. Turn to Psalm 109, and in verses 17-20 It says:
"AS
HE LOVED CURSING, SO LET IT COME UNTO HIM." (It
will, it will!) "AS HE DELIGHTED NOT IN BLESSING, SO LET IT BE FAR FROM
HIM. AS HE CLOTHED HIMSELF WITH CURSING LIKE AS WITH HIS GARMENT, SO LET IT
COME INTO HIS BOWELS LIKE WATER, AND LIKE OIL INTO HIS BONES. LET IT BE UNTO
HIM AS THE GARMENT WHICH COVERETH HIM, AND FOR A GIRDLE WHEREWITH HE IS GIRDED
CONTINUALLY. LET THIS BE THE REWARD OF MY ADVERSARIES FROM THE LORD, AND OF
THEM THAT SPEAK EVIL AGAINST MY SOUL."
That's
exactly true, it happens. See? Remember: God must condemn every tongue in
judgment that rises up against people.
We must be
careful. Proverbs 15:1 says:
"A
SOFT ANSWER TURNS AWAY WRATH, BUT GRIEVOUS WORDS STIR UP ANGER."
And
Proverbs
What did
James say? (James 3:11). A well is not to give forth bitter and sweet water, is
that correct? What was he talking about? The tongue. Right? Certainly. Certainly!
"THE MOUTH OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN IS A WELL OF LIFE."
Proverbs
Notice-it! THE LIP[OF TRUTH...
What-is Tmth? John 17: “THY WORD IS TRUTH." What 'will be established?
God's Word, not yours and mine. Proverbs 12:19: "BUT A LYING TONGUE IS BUT
FOR A MOMENT."
What's a
"LYING TONGUE"? Anything but what the Word of God is, because (Romans
3:4): "LET GOD BE TRUE, BUT EVERY MAN A LIAR;...
Anything
we say about a thing when God has not said it, is a
lie. He alone has the Truth. Proverbs 12:18: "THE TONGUE OF THE WISE IS
HEALTH.
There it
is! Do you know what makes us sick? Our tongue makes everybody else sick too.
Correct? Absolutely! The greatest curse today, and the
greatest problem today is our tongue! Do you know what7 That's
another sign of the Laodicean age! Why? Because the Laodicean age is where
Jesus said (Revelation
"THOU
SAYEST... "
They're
not saying what He says, they're Saying what they say, and what they want to
say. We've got to get back to saying what God said and leave it there. Cut out
any other talk. Peter said: "IF ANY MAN SPEAK, LET HIM SPEAK AS THE
ORACLES OF GOD.” Say what God said or shut up! Our pulpits are full of the
thoughts of men, everything but what God said. Let it not be in our midst. Let
it alone; do what God said.
I read to
you awhile ago in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 how Paul spoke: WE ARE TROUBLED."
he said, "but that's okay. WE'RE NOT DISTRESSED." He said,
"We're CAST DOWN, but we’re NOT DESTROYED.” He said, "WE’RE
PERSECUTED BUT NOT FORSAKEN." He said, "That's okay." That's how
to talk!
Now, is
this the way that the Old Testament people talked? To find out, turn to Psalms
118:8 to 15:
"IT
IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN."
If that's
what you want to say. See? We don't trust man, we trust God. Here's a nice
confession. Here's what this Psalmst is saying:
"IT
IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD, THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN PRINCES."
Now
princes are bigger than people, or just ordinary men. Do not even trust men
that have great ability.
"ALL
NATIONS COMPASSED ME ABOUT: (notice) BUT IN THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL I DESTROY
THEM. "
Notice his
confession: "I am compassed about, but I am still victorious. “
That's
what Paul said (Philippians
Psalms
118:11 says: "THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT: YEA, THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT: …
Make no
mistake about it. This is not Christian Science that says, "Oh, they're
not there; I'm not sick. There's no disease, no sin." NONSENSE! They're
there! (I can see them). But don't let it bother you!
"THEY
COMPASSED ME ABOUT, BUT IN: THE NAME OF THE LORD I WILL DESTROY THEM."
(See?) "THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT LIKE BEES; THEY ARE QUENCHED AS THE FIRE
OF THORNS." (Just “ssst,” they're gone.) "FOR IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
I WILL DESTROY THEM. THOU HAST THRUST SORE AT ME THAT I MIGHT FALL: BUT THE
LORD HELPED ME. THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND SONG" (I'm going to sing),
"AND IS BECOME MY SALVATION. THEVOICE OF REJOICING AND SALVATION IS IN THE
TABERNACLES OF THE RIGHTEOUS: THE RIGHT HAND OF THE LORD DOETH
VALIANTLY..."
Now, our
speaking confirms us in the right or wrong paths, whatever path we are in we
will be confirmed in it by our speaking. And we turn to Psalm 140:1-3:
"DELIVER
ME, 0 LORD, FROM THE EVIL MAN: PRESERVE ME FROM THE
VIOLENT MAN; WHICH IMAGINE MISCHIEFS IN THEIR HEART;" (Notice
"IMAGINE:" that's where they're thinking of it.) "CONTINUALLY
ARE THEY GATHERED TOGETHER FOR WAR. THEY HAVE
SHARPENED THEIR TONGUES LIKE A SERPENT; ADDERS' POISON IS UNDER THEIR LIPS.
SELL4,H11 (pause-think on this).
How do you
destroy a man? What's the best way? Start a story about him. Do you want to
kill a man's ministry? Start a story. You want to wreck a man in politics 'or
any position? Start a story. That's what it says here. He said: "DELIVER
ME ... FROM THE EVIL MAN: PRESERVE ME FROM THE VIOLENT MAN." Notice! The
violence is what? The imagination of the heart being wicked, the thinking is
wrong, they're gathered for war. It's the poison of asp's
in their lips. With it read verse 11:
."LET
NOT AN EVIL SPEAKER BE ESTABLISHED IN THE EARTH: EVIL
SHALL HUNT THE VIOLENT MAN TO OVERTHROW HIM."
God says
that the end of these men will be destruction, even though they do their best
to destroy another man. In other words, when they rise up in judgment and
destroy with their tongue, don't you do anything about it.
Say what God says about it; but DO NOT TRY THEIR TACTICS OR YOU WILL BE
DESTROYED. Because it distinctly says here, "LET NOT AN EVIL SPEAKER BE ESTABLISHED IN THE EARTH. 11
And Titus
3:2 says: "TO SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN,-"
The only
one that can be established is the one that speaks the Truth. What is the
Truth? "THY WORD IS TRUTH..." That's correct,
- God's Word is True, nothing else matters. Isaiah 57:19 says:
"I
CREATE THE FRUIT OF THE LIPS;" (God is saying, "I bring to pass what
people talk about;") "PEACE, PEACE TO HIM THAT IS FAR OFF, AND TO HIM
THAT IS NEAR, SAITH THE LORDI' AND I WILL HEAL HIM."
Job
Now we can
see how wrong it is to confess our fears; because if we confess our fears, we
confirm our fears (Job
You know,
Brother Branham told a story of Jack Moore's cousin. Now Jack Moore had a cousin .. I don't know what or who he or she was, but
evidently that person was having a terrible time in life. And so one night in a
dream, God gave like a vision in a dream. And this cousin was in a room with
nothing in the room but a little tiny table, and a Bible on the table and all
of the doors and windows were shut. As the cousin looked, a teeny devil came in
under the door. He swaggered across the floor,, looked
up from about a half inch high to this tall person and 'said, "Boo! “ And
as he said, 'Boo!" this person jumped back, and as the person jumped back,
the devil got bigger. And so he swaggered up once more and said,
"Bool" And when he did, the person jumped back again, and the devil
got still bigger. After about 8 times the devil was as high as the ceiling and
the person was way down here.
He
thought, "Oh, God, what will I do?" So he finally noticed the Bible
and went over and picked up the Bible (or she did) with both hands and began
quoting it. And every time that one took a slug at the devil, the devil jumped
back and got smaller until he went back out under the door.
Now that
is exactly a true revelation from God as to what we as Christians must do.
Jesus Himself defeated the devil with the Word of God. He thought it, He said
it, it was done. And he was established because He
confessed and we are told to confess with our High Priest, because He is the
High Priest of
our confession. Say what Jesus said. What did He say? He said (John
You think
about it, and confirm and strengthen and enlarge it by speaking your Faith
thoughts. You follow me? That is exactly a law laid down.
If you
say, "Brother, I want something in my life from God, then think about it,
talk about it; think about it, talk about it, press in and don't stop. Why?
Hebrews 10:23: "FOR HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED.
As one man
said, "God never failed me, although many times He came within five
minutes of doing it."
God's not
in the failing business. Now turn to Psalm 145 and let's begin reading at verse
4:
"ONE GENERATION
SHALL PRAISE THY WORKS TO ANOTHER AND SHALL DECLARE THY MIGHTY ACTS. I WILL
SPEAK OF THE GLORIOUS HONOUR OF THY MAJESTY AND OF THY WONDROUS WORKS."
(What are you going to talk about? You are going to talk about how wonderful
God is, and how wonderful are His works.) AND MEN SHALL SPEAK OF THE MIGHT OF
THY TERRIBLE ACTS: AND I WILL DECLARE THY GREATNESS." (Now listen, watch
verse 7:) "THEY SHALL ABUNDANTLY UTTER" (the
only place in the Bible that tells you to yap, yap, yap, talk, talk, talk,
talk, talk, talk, talk, is right here,) "THE MEMORY OF THY GREAT GOODNESS,
... “”
You are
told to talk up a storm. That is right I You are told to talk up a storm until
people think that all you can talk about is God and they'll say, "Shut up
talking shop. " Talk about the keeping "MEMORY," and talk about
the wonderful things that God has done., and is doing,
and is going to do. It's the only place in the Bible that tells you when to
talk and keep talking and do not stop talking, but talk up a storm.
"THEY
SHALL ABUNDANTLY UTTER THE MEMORY OF THY GREAT GOODNESS,-" In other words,
they'll keep in mind the goodness of God, what He is doing, has done, and will
do, and they'll talk about it. Now that's what the Bible says. Now, Psalm
145:7-20:
"...AND
SHALL SING OF THY RIGHTEOUSNESS. THE LORD" (now what's He going to say?)
"IS GRACIOUSY AND FULL OF COMPASSION, SLOW TO ANGER, AND OF GREAT MERCY. THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL: AND HIS TENDER MERCIES ARE
OVER ALL HIS WORKS. ALL THY WORKS SHALL PRAISE THEE, 0 LORD; AND THY SAINTS
SHALL BLESS THEE. THEY SHALL SPEAK OF THE GLORY OF THY KINGDOM, AND TALK OF THY
POWER; TO MAKE KNOWN TO THE SONS OF MEN HIS MIGHTY ACTS, AND THE GLORIOUS
MAJESTY OF HIS KINGDOM. THY KINGDOM IS AN
Who loves
the Lord? They that keep His commandments. What are
His commandments? Confess what He said about it. There it ist
It's all written out for you.
Now, how
are you going to reduce or get rid of what we don't want? This tells you how to
get established and confirmed in what you want in God. How do you get rid of
what you don't want? Let us turn to Matthew 15. The Bible has everything
written out here for us. There's nothing left to chance. Matthew 15:11:
"NOT
THAT WHICH GOETH INTO THE MOUTH DEFILETH A MAN; BUT THAT WHICH COMETH OUT OF
THE MOUTH, THIS DEFILETH A MAN."
Uhl Talk,
talk, talk! Now Matthew 12:37:
"FOR
BY THY WORDS THOU SHALT BE JUSTIFIED, AND BY THY WORDS THOU SHALT BE
CONDEMNED."
You see,
people get an idea it is how you act that counts. But what they don't realize
is that it's what you think and stay that makes you act. Right?
So, if you want to stop acting like a sinner and act like a Christian, start
thinking and talking and youll do what you think and talk.
But you
see here is where they go haywire. They think they can bypass God's rules laid
down, you can't do it. Listen to me! The most righteous living, perfect person
you ever will meet, is the man who's mind is guarded by the Word of God, and
who's tongue is filled with the Word of God, like old Daddy Bosworth (and you
know what I'm talking about) and William Branham.
Old Daddy
(and I knew him well), he stayed in our home on different nights and all; and I
want to tell you what that Brother was full of ... was the Word of God. It was
in His mind day and night. At night, God would fill his mind with His Word. He
had a little flashlight by his bed at all times, and God would wake him up at
night after fifteen minutes of sleep. And held wake up and write down a thought
that God would give him. He would go to sleep for half an hour, wake up, take
up the flashlight, write down another thought that God
had given him. He’d get sermons every night from God.
Let my end
be like his. I don't know if I'm going to make it like he did; but as he lay
dying (I was with him just a week or two before he died, but had to leave him
for meetings), Daddy Bosworth had his son there and his two daughters, and
instead of having the sick room like a hospital room, as we thought it would be
- where they would want to kick us all out and say that Daddy's got to be quiet
now, to save his strength, they just said that he was going to die anyway, so
why save his strength because he was as good as gone. So they sang songs around
the sick bed; they played piano solos; they played and sang duets, and sang in
quartets; and they all discussed the things of God. He could barely whisper.
Held say, "Nothing but the Blood,” praising God. But they say two hours
before he died, he sat upright in the bed, his eyes wide open, and he was
shaking hands and talking to all the "departed saints," and having a
"Hallelujah" time.
Let my end
be like his. You don't get that way by chance! You don't get that way by a
certain action, by a prayer or some shortcut. You get that way by RENEWING YOUR
MIND, by the process of THINKING AND THEN TALKING. Then you will ACT, because
you will only act what you think and say. Why? Because you can only act by
first thinking, and then your talking confirms your
thinking or thoughts. So what you say, you'll go that way. You say,
"Brother, I'm no hypocritel"
I'm not
talking about a man that talks one minute this way, and one minute the other
way. I'm talking about a man who talks it and thinks it. And if he thinks it
and talks it, he'll do it. If you want to see God move in your life, this is
the way to do it. In any other way you are apt to relate your thoughts. You
must relate God's thoughts to every condition; think it, say it, and it will
come to pass. See?
If you
want to increase your life, think it, say it; and if you want to decrease a
certain thing, stop thinking it and stop saying it. Certainly.
You know today, Brother-Sister, we need this message more than you think. With
every bill-board out there with a naked woman on it, what is that going to do
to a man?And every woman with her lousy shorts and her
halters and her briefs!
Well, it's
the men thinking!"
What are
you thinking of, gal, when you dress that way'? Just let me ask you, "What
are you thinking about?" Are you thinking that you can take a coal of fire
to your bosom and not get burned? (Prov. 6:27). You women are not so smart when
almost any man can take you down the primrose path to the lust of sex. All they
have to do is put on a good show; especially a married man, the rottenest dogs
of all.
I'm a
rough preacher, I know; but I'm here to help you. There is only one thing I
know and that is to talk rough and get the thing across, because you've been
sold a bill of goods. Even the
So you
have got to walk with God; and you'll never walk with God unless you walk in
this Word. And you'll never walk in this Word unless you fill your minds and
your mouth with It, because that's what my Bible teaches.
Tliat's exactly what It says.
Let me
read you once more, Brother-Sister, from the Book of Colossians so we will not
have any mix-up here or anyone be mishappened or hindered. It says here in
Colossians 3:10:
"AND
HAVE PUT ON THE NEW MAN, WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM
WHO CREATED
In other
words, it comes by the process of the mind. Do you want POWER? Then think what
God thinks (Acts 1:8)1
Why are
denominational churches without POWER? Because they think what the theologians
think; and they think that Acts 19: 2 says: "HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE HOLY
GHOST when YOU BELIEVED," and say, "You don't get It
after." It does not Say that in the Book of Ephesians (
You don't!
You get Him AFTER you believe! And if they'd fill their minds full of thinking
what God's thoughts are and say them, they would be full of the Holy Ghost;
because that's what God's Bible teaches. Life and death are in the power of the
tongue!
Now let's
apply this to Abraham once more, shall we? Okay, we go back to Genesis 17:5-6.
Remember: we are told to follow in the steps of Abraham, concerning faith. So,
therefore, we'll have to do what he did. Notice:
"NEITHER
SHALL THY NAME ANY MORE BE CALLED ABRAM'..."
Did you
get it? Do you really know what that means? It's a good thing you didn't say,
"Yes," because I doubt if you do. Let us turn to Romans 8:33:
"WHO
SHALL LAY ANYTHING TO THE CHARGE OF GOD'S ELECT?" That means to bring hi' into court and say,
"You did this, and charge him. See? That means to arraign a man in a criminal
court; to find a man in fault and bring him into court. So now It says, "Who dares to find fault and judge anyone of
God's elect?" That's a question!
Now there
is only One Person that can do it, and that is God Himself. There is nobody
else than can do it. What does It say though? It says:
“IT IS GOD THAT JUSTIFIETH."
What does
it mean to JUSTIFY"? Declare "RIGHTEOUS"! The
Now then,
if you are born-again, what are you:, sinful or
righteaus? Tell me, what are you? Righteous! And so the Bible says, "Don't
you ever call yourself a sinner again; your name shall no longer be called Abram;
you shall never dare think of yourself again as a sinner. Abraham, you shall
never, ever be thought of or called Abram again. “ Do
you get it?
One says,
"I can't apply that principle to me because, you see, I know I'm not such
a good boy or girl."
Okay,
okay. I can tell what kind of seed you've got. You have not got God's Seed,
because God's people don't tell God; God tells them. Abram (if he were like us
20th century Ladoiceans), God would have said, "Abraham, your name shall
no longer be called Abram; so, Abraham, don't you dare let yourself be called
or call yourself Abram anymore. "
'Veil,
Lord, that's so sweet of You. But You
see I am not really Abraham; I wish I were and, oh, sometimes I might be.
But You see I could hardly call myself Abraham.
I want to
ask you a question. Do you think Abraham did that? Never, is right I It said he
"BELIEVED GOD." Believed what? What God said about himl And he became
what God said about !!1m, because he said it. You go
around calling yourself a sinner, you will never live a
victorious life, because you don't believe what God said. And God said,
"You are righteousl"
Let me ask
you another question. How righteous are you tonight? You're as righteous as
God, because the Bible (2 Cor. 5: 2 1) says:
"FOR
HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR USP WHO KNEW NO SIN; THAT WE M1GHT BE MADE THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM."
How
righteous are you? You are as righteous as God is this night, according to the Word
of God; but how many of us talk about it? Well?? And I'm guilty like you. I'm
not just hitting you over the head; I'm hitting myself. I'm just as guilty as
you are. I'm all the time talking about what a failure I am. So you go ahead
... we'll go ahead talking about what failures we are and how backslidden we
are, and how what fakes we are and how we are not-and how everything else. And
we are going to end up being left behind, unless God does a bigger miracle
thanI wonder if I've even got hope for.
Because
God got so sick of
Now if
somebody came along tonight and said, "Do you think you are clever?"
you'd probably say, 0h, no! Well, I did not even get a
grade school education. No, I'm not very smart."
But you
are too smart for God Huh? Are you too smart for God? We seem to be... must be
something wrong when we boast in our ignorance, and then suddenly we are
smarter than God.
Oh, yesl
He said (2 Corinthians 10:5):
"CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS, AND EVERY HIGH THING" (thoughts)
"THAT EXALTETH ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD" (which is what
God said), "AND BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF
CHRIST" (The WORDO.
Are we
doing it? Then say what He said: "Abraham, not once will you open your
mouth and be called Abram. And if anybody else does it, you say, 'I'm sorry, my
name's changed, I'm Abraham."' That's exactly
what the Bible teaches.
Now let's
turn to Romans, chapter 4, and verses 19 and 20”AND BEING NOT WEAK IN FAITH, HE
CONSIDERED NOT HIS OWN BODY NOW DEAD'..."
Like the
man said, "Well, I've got enough troubles, but that wife of mine is
driving me crazy. If it weren't for her, I'd be a real saint.”
Ha, you
liar you. If you had Jesus Christ on one side (if there were three persons in
the Godhead) and the Holy Ghost beside you and the Father right behind you, you
still wouldn't make it. It has nothing to do with your wife; every man will
bear his ownburden. Nothing to do with the husband.
Your living a full Christian life has nothing to do with Sarah. In spite of
Sarah's dilemma, and his dilemma (he was about one hundred years old, and she
was about ninety), It says: "HE STAGGERED NOT AT THE PROMISE OF GOD
THROUGH UNBELIEF; BUT WAS STRONG IN FAITH, GIVING GLORY TO GOD;"
(testifying and praising). (v. 21) "AND BEING FULLY
PERSUADED THAT, WHAT HE HAD PROMISED, HE WAS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM."
And,
therefore, God gave to him just as God said He would.
Brother-Sister,
we've got to follow in the steps of faithful Abraham, think It,
and say It, and become It; because that's exactly right.” You will say what God said you are, you will become what God said you are. Say It, persevere, and keep on until God does the works, which He
will.
Thus we
find, according to what we studied, that a right and proper mental attitude...
(now noticel) ... that a right and proper mental attitude toward any promise in
the Word, with such an attitude being confirmed and admitted by confession of
the Word, will eventually, without fail, give that promise to the believer.
If you
want to get the promise of God, get a right attitude toward It.
Every promise was given for a condition. Never forget that! The promise has to
have an adverse condition or it's not a promise An
adverse conditiont.” Now that you've got
the condition, there is a promise, so you never think what the condition is
bringing forth; you just think what God said about the condition. And then you
say what God said about the condition, and that will confirm your thoughts.
And, as you say them, It will increase, you will be
established, and God will give you the results.
Stop
trying to go to somebody and get results; go to God for yourself. Years ago when
I was first saved, I was saved about two weeks, and they asked me to preach to
some young people; and so I did.
We had, in
those days, a lady pastor who didn't know any better. A very Godly, wonderful
person, but outside the perfect will of God just the same, trying to do God a
service in a way that God never ordained her. She did her best; but it just did
not work. And never did work until they got a man. And then God began to bless,
because that's what God wanted. She was a lovely person; but I remember, if I
was going to speak, I would say, ' "Sister Thomas, you pray." I had
great faith in her prayers and she was a great woman of prayer. She was
deserving of the people having confidence in her prayers. But the day came when
I knew that the fellow that could pray best for me, was old Brother Me himself, and I've been
praying ever since.
See what
I'm driving at? It's time to grow up! There are just no short cutsf The gift of healing, my Brother, my Sister, can only deal in
percentages, because everybody with a gift deals in percentages. You've got to
use your own faith.
How do I
grow in faith? How do I become established? How do I become strong? The Word of
God has told us that in every condition think what God has said about it, say
what God said about it, press forward and in due time you will get the answer;
and that's it.
I am going
to speak tomorrow morning on the "Negative Confession". Tomorrow
morning's message will make tonight's message so clear, you'll wonder why you
missed even one part of it. They go so hand-in-hand.It makes it so cle-ar that
it's fantastic. It's all in the Word of God, everything.
Then
Sunday night the message on the "Trial Of Our
Faith"
I’ll explain
why people lose the answer to prayer. There is a certain something God demands
of you. When you want God's promises, God demands something of you; if you can
catch it, from then on it opens up to you.
There it
is! I trust you have been benefited by this message. I'm a little rough on
people. I don't mean to be. But we are living in a hard age where we seem to
need more weight or something to wake us up. We need something to get us jarred
out of our complacency.
We've been
wards of the government too long. It is time to be a reaR ward of Almighty God
and go His Way, and think It. What is your problem? I
don't know what it is! Just think what God said, say what God said, press on,
and you'll get the answer.
Let's rise
and be dismissed. Gracious Heavenly Father, we are very, very thankful that we
were allowed to be here together to go into Thy Word, 0 God. Lord, tonight I
know that we are a people who are easily led aside. Poor Eve, she was led aside to listen to Satan. And, 0 God, I am worried
tonight because I know, when pressure comes and the old accuser of the Brethren
comes up and conditions get adverse, that we are too prone to be drawn aside
and to get our eyes off of Jesus Christ.
We are
prone to forget (Hebrews 12:1) 11 ... WE ALSO ARE
COMPASSED
ABOUT WITH SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES" who followed in the path of
Abraham, who followed in the path of Jesus Christ to get established, to put
their eyes on the Lord; to think what He thought about it, and to say what He
said.
For You told us, Lord, that faith righteousness does not ask any
questions; but what it does do, it says what You said about it, and You know
man can't talk, unless he thinks.
God, help
the people to see that. Help them to understand, 0 Lord, that
action comes out of thinking and talking, because man can't act unless he
thinks and his talking augments his thinking. So he's going to walk real
crooked or rotten if he thinks of any thoughts but Yours,
and talks about anything but Your Word. But Lord, if You
will fill his mind and mouth with Your Word, he's going to walk straight as an
arrow, right in the Word of God. 0 God, help Your
people to see that. And if any man walks in that Word, Lord, we know he's going
(in the Rapture) too.
You said
(John 15:7), "IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORD ABIDES IN YOU, YOU SHALL ASK
WHAT YOU WILL, AND IT SHALL BE DONE UNTO YOU.”
Let the
people see the Truth, 0 Lord, that this is the Way. Not once in a while to get
an answer, any more than they would be satisfied with a meal once in awhile, or
a bed once in awhilel But as You gave man a steady appetite for food and You
gave him the privilege of out-flowing of his life, now, Lord, may they realize
that there is the privilege granted to them to eat of Your Word, to live in
Your Word, and to have a steady flow of what that Word said was theirs.
God, I
pray for myself sincerely, because that's what I want. I don't want to be like
a hypocrite, night after night, talking to the people about this thing, and
turning around and not doing it myself. Lord, I've learned a little, but I'm
learning too slow and I don't care what You do, 0 God, to make me go all the
way. You just do it, Lord, and I'll say, 'Thank You,"
because that is just what I need.
God, may You correct me, but not in wrath I pray, because I know that
wrath is soon to come and I don't want to find myself bruised and sore because
of wrath of God. I want to be corrected now! Correct me NOW, Lord! Correct us
NOW, 0 God. Turn us and we shall be turned.
Now, Lord,
we dedicate our minds to You, 0 God.
0 God, Help
us to see the seriousness of the matter that we have to bring our thoughts into
captivity. You never said You would do it; but You
said we were to do it. God, help us now. Lord, shock us if necessary. You know
what we need; that is all I can say and pray. You, Yourself,
know better than we do what we need.
God, give
us what we need now. Give it to us now! We
are ready for it. We plead with You, Lord, forsake us not. Correct us, 0 Lord, correct us. You said, "AS MANY AS I LOVE, I
REBUKE AND CHASTEN" (Rev. 3:19). Chasten us, Lord, because we repent, of
not only what we've been doing, but of our inner life too As
we have repented, Jesus, we lay ourselves open now to Your Divine Mercy. We
really mean it with all our heart.
Now unto
the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only Wise God, be all Power and
Honor and Particular Glory, through these lives wholly dedicated to the Master.
Amen. God Bless you!