What a promise! Whoohoo! I was reading in Isaiah last night and when I came to this promise, I just started to speak it out. This is a promise of God for You and for me. I took this portion of Scripture and made it very personal. I prayed it again and again... and the power of God began to rise within me, I felt boldness rising inside of me. This is what the Living Word of God does when we make it personal and confess it over our lives.

I spoke: "I shall not fear for there is nothing to fear, for Lord, You are with me; I shall not look around me in terror and be dismayed, for You are my God. You will strengthen me and harden me to difficulties, yes, You will help me; yes, You will hold me up and retain me with Your victorious right hand of rightness and justice. Behold, all they who are enraged and inflamed against me (the demonic powers) shall be put to shame and confounded; they who strive against me shall be as nothing and shall perish. I shall seek those who contend with me but shall not find them; they who war against me shall be as nothing, as nothing at all. For You the Lord my God hold my right hand; and You say to me, Fear not; I will help You! Yes, You will help me. You, my Redeemer are the Holy One of Israel. Behold, You have made me to be a new, sharp, threshing instrument which has teeth; I shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shall make the hills like chaff. I shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest or whirlwind shall scatter them. And I shall rejoice in the Lord, I shall glory in the Holy One of Israel."

Here God says that He desires to make You and me "a new, sharp, threshing instrument which has teeth", so that we could "thresh the mountains and beat them small and shall make the hills like chaff. We shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away." How can we do that? By finding the promises of God that we need at any given time and speak them out over our lives. We win victories not by fighting with natural weapons but by fighting with spiritual weapons. We use our tongue as a weapon.

In order for us to understand the power in the Word of God, God compares His Word to the sword (Ephesians 6:17). But His Word is more than just a sword. It is much more powerful. Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God "is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword."

I mean a good sword is heavy. Two-edged sword is so heavy that not many could hold it up, not to mention fight with it. But once a warrior wields it with power, not much is left of his opponent. Hebrews 4:12 lets us know that God's Word is "sharper than any two-edged sword." ...any! This means the best and most powerful two-edged sword is not as powerful as the Word of God.

Unlike the natural two-edged sword that could only be held and used by the trained and skillful warriors, the Word of God, even though much more powerful in action, can and should be held and wielded by every born again believer (not against one another, though!). The spoken Word of God is our weapon to bring complete victory in every area of our lives.

The Bible likens the Word of God also to a seed. We all know that when a seed is sown into a good ground, it will bring forth abundant crop. When we got saved, we were born again from an incorruptible seed - the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23)... so also all things in our lives will be born through His Word or through our negative words. John 1:3 says that "all things were made and came into existence through Him" - the Word of God - that contains creative power.

We will have to find a promise in the Word (seed) that we need and plant this promise into our hearts (ground) by speaking it out over our lives, making it very personal. When we keep speaking the promise, making sure that we do not "pluck the young plant up" by our negative words, this plant will grow up and bring forth a harvest... of whatever the promise contains.

I remember years ago, how Oral Roberts taught that we should never do anything unless we have sown a seed for it first. Seed can be money... but the Bible calls the Word of God seed. So, whatever we need, the promise is ready for us, we simply need to find it in the Word and sow it into our lives and situations.

We can find ourselves in the Word of God and say, hey, this is me! This promise is mine! I take it! I am not yet anything like this promise says, but as I continue to sow the seed of the Word into my life by speaking the promise over my life, I will soon be like it. The Word will penetrate my soul and my spirit (Hebr.4:12) and become a part of me... and once it does, I am a changed person.

The same way we sow the seed of the Word of God to obtain health for our bodies and success to our businesses; we wield the sword of the Word of God to destroy the thief and bring prosperity to our finances, to bring happiness to our marriages, obedience to our kids... and destroy every evil work in our lives and every curse that still has any hold on us, bringing forth blessings and freedom.

I heard a teaching by a well-known and well-respected Jewish rabbi, Rabbi Riskin, about why Moses could not enter the Promised land. I know there are many theories, but this one makes the most sense to me. Rabbi Riskin said that in the wilderness God told Moses to strike the cliff three times in order to obtain water. Moses did as commanded and the thirst of the Jews was quenched. As the Jews were about to enter the Promised Land, they once again needed water. This time God told Moses to SPEAK to the rock. Moses disobeyed and did as he had done previously. He struck the rock.

Although the Jews received the much needed water, God was displeased with Moses. Moses was the only one among the Jews who was spiritually mature enough to teach the people the principles of God. God had desired to teach His people HOW to enter the Promised Land and HOW to take it. It was through their words. They had to declare the victory before they went into a battle. God expected them to speak the words of victory and thus take what had been promised to them.

It was not a small failure. It was a huge failure on Moses' part as the people did not learn the lesson. So, God punished him by not allowing him to enter the Promised Land.

The Jews of old did not have the Word from where they could learn this lesson... but we have no excuse. God begins the Bible with the creation - He commanded and things happened. He used the spoken word to bring about change. It is the same for us. Nothing has changed. We too have to use our tongues to make things happen. ...well, sure, we use our tongues all right, but unfortunately we use them more often to bring forth death than life. We have to change it for the Word warns us, "But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, nonworking) word they speak." (Matthew 12:36)

Our words are not supposed to be inoperative and nonworking. The words we speak should WORK. Well, they work all right, but not always for the good. Our words should work for good. Our words should "move the mountains" from our lives (Mark 11:23), our words should "thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff" (Isaiah 41), bringing us life, health and happiness. All of it is available for every one of us. None of us should live in defeat.

We should wield the powerful two-edged sword the Lord has given us, to bring forth freedom and blessings. We should sow the seed of the Word of God to bring forth life where there has been death previously. The promises in the Word of God are real. They will become tangible blessings if we keep sowing the good seed and wielding the sword.

Young David understood this principle of God. Before he stepped forth to sleigh the giant, he declared his victory. He announced in detail what he was going to do to the giant and how the victory would come about. Before fighting the real battle, he fought and won the battle in the spirit. When battles in the spirit realm are fought and won, we simply step into the victory in the natural realm.

We have for too long expected the promises to drop into our laps... thinking that if they don't it must mean that the Lord does not want to give them to us. But Matthew 11:12 tells us that "the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize - a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]." Although the promises belong to us, they do not simply drop into our laps like ripe apples. We have to go after them. We have to seize them by force.

It is not God who is withholding the promises from us so that we have to violently grab them from Him, no, the enemy is trying to keep every blessing away from us and we have to seize what belongs to us by force. God has showed us what we need to do. All we have to do is to believe Him and do as He has taught us. We use His Word as our weapon to seize the blessings of the kingdom.

And we do not go to God shaking and begging for help. No, the Word tells us that we go to God's throne boldly, knowing that He accepts us through the blood of Christ and loves us dearly... knowing that He Himself has given those wonderful promises to us and we need not go as beggars but as sons and daughters. Hebrews 4:16 tells us how, encouraging us, "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw neat to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]."

Lets proclaim the victories we so badly need in our lives! The Word of God contains creative power to bring forth what we proclaim. ...unfortunately our own words contain power too (Prov.18:21), so, we better choose our words carefully... we better agree with the Living Word, using the sword to bring positive change into our lives. We need not know HOW the change will happen. This is God's job. Our job is to trust His Word.

"So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

Many, many blessings and success to You all in Your battles,

Last weekend one of my friend's friend asked me for the meaning of "the pride of life". We do not have several versions of translations of Estonian Bible, just the King James version, so he had nowhere to look for the meaning. I must say I did not know it myself. Although I had read it, I had not paid much attention to is at the time or I had just forgotten it.

So, when I looked up the meaning of the expression for him, it ministered to me also. All the world around us is telling us that things are getting worse. The price of gas has gone up a lot. Economy is going down. There is more sickness around than at any other time in history. Interest rates are high and people are losing their homes... not to mention all the natural disasters happening and the accidents. People are fearful. There is no stability, no security.

Yet, the Bible warns us about the "pride of life". We are not supposed to have it for it is NOT of God. "The pride of life - assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things." God has warned us about things going down... but He has also given us a "more sure thing" to rely on - His Word.

Luke 21:33 says that "the sky and the earth (the universe, the world) will pass away, but My Words will not pass away." Psalm 138:2 says, "You have exalted above all else Your name and Your Word and You have magnified Your Word above all Your name!" There is nothing in this universe that is completely stable, immovable, unbreakable, indestructible but the Word of God. It will stand firm forever!

Psalm 105:7-8 says, "He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He is [earnestly] mindful of His covenant and forever it is imprinted on His heart, the word which He commanded and established to a thousand generations."

God has put down all the Laws into His Word - the laws that when obeyed, would bring success and health and happiness and prosperity. If the laws are disobeyed, it is not God who judges the disobedience, it is the Law. Because the world is full of disobedience and dishonor towards His Holy Word, things are falling apart. "His judgments are in all the earth."

Yet in the very next sentence God lets us know that, "He is earnestly mindful of His covenant and forever it is imprinted on His heart." God remembers each and every one of His promises to us... it is us who tend to forget His promises and thus are having to do without. He tells us in His Word to "remind Him of His promises".

God's promises belong to us but they do not just pop up in our lives randomly, nor do they simply drop into our laps! We have to know those promises and remind God of them - we have to speak them over our lives. Those promises can and shall come to pass in our lives when they are implanted and rooted into our hearts. Head faith does not work. But its a start. When we speak a promise of God over and over again, this promise eventually sinks into our heart and that is when it contains the power to change a situation, for Romans 10:17 says that, "faith comes by hearing and hearing".

God has given us very specific instructions to inherit His promises. We have to follow His instruction and we will not be depending on the unstable world around us, instead, we will be living in the blessings of God - the way He has always intended us to. Psalm 25:12-13 promises us, "Where is the man who fears the Lord? God will teach him how to choose the best. He shall live within God's circle of blessing." (Living B.) Oh, yes, it is possible to live within God's circle of abundant blessings right in the midst of a failing economy.

James 1:21 says, "receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save" ...only the Word that has been firmly rooted and implanted in our hearts brings about a change.

John 15:7 confirms the Truth by telling us that our prayers come to pass when the Word lives and abides in our hearts: "If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you."

Also, Romans 10:10 says the same thing, "For with the heart a person believes"... not with the head, continuing to let us know the next step, "and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation."

We can inherit the promises of God only this way!

I was just on the phone with my good friend who was a bit frustrated about having sown a considerable amount of money into the kingdom of God and had not yet received what she had been believing for. Well, this is a bit hard part. Some promises do manifest sooner and some later... but if we persevere, every promise WILL come to pass. Hebrews 6:12 tells us, "In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises."

Well, this is the tough part: "who by practice of patient endurance and waiting are now inheriting the promises." No, we do not wish to know this part. If we stand for something in faith, it means we wanted it yesterday ;-) ...but it doesn't work this way. We do have to endure and wait... sometimes longer than we wish to.

The other thing is, we will have to learn to lean "the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness." When we decide to stand on a promise of God, we will have to give up all other hope. Also, we will have to learn to know God intimately. We can't depend on someone else's faith. Nor can we expect things to happen like they did for someone else. If promises of God are manifesting faster in someone else's life, it usually means they have taken more time to learn to know God and His faithfulness, power, and goodness.

In my early years of faith, I had not even noticed how I always prepared a "way of escape" for myself in case God let me down. No, I did not even realize I was doing it... it was not a conscious choice on my part, but God showed me that by my actions I revealed my distrust in Him. I had to learn to lean my entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, His wisdom and His goodness.

I learned bit by bit... for after reading Hebrews 4:2, I sure did not want to lose anything God had put ready for me as the Israelites of old did. The verse says that although the message of deliverance was preached to them, it "did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it."

Here it is again: "the leaning of the entire personality on God in ABSOLUTE trust and confidence in HIS power, wisdom, and goodness." ...no other hope! No other plans of escape! Absolute trust and confidence in Him... which can only come through a daily walk with God.

Has He ever let us down? No, He hasn't. If someone has failed, it is us. Often we are not patient enough to wait for the promise to manifest. I remember Charles Capps telling a story about a man who went to a preacher (real life story!) and said, "you know, this faith thing does not work." The preacher said, "why do you say that?" His answer was, "because I repeated yesterday for 300 times that I had a new car and I still do not have one."

Yes, it does make one wonder about people like that. The Word does say that our faith is the material that brings a promise to pass in our lives: "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]." (Heb.11:1)

When the Word of Promise is rooted and implanted in our hearts, it is the confirmation, the assurance, the title deed of this promise. It is as good as ours. So, we do have a choice - shall we work hard in our human strength and power in order to try to achieve our dream... or shall we do as the Word tells us to do:

1. find a promise of God that covers our need or desire/dream
2. make it a daily confession
3. keep thanking God for the manifestation of the promise... waiting patiently for the Word to take root in our hearts until it manifests as a physical thing or dream.

The Word does say that all THINGS that we have in our lives have their root in our hearts. Whatever we have in our lives has come to us through our faith or unbelief/doubt/fear and our words: "Out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things." (Matt.12:35b-36)

What sobering truth. Whatever we have in our lives, we have brought it there through our words. We better make sure we speak the Word of God and thus bring the blessings of God into our lives. It will take some time to root out all the negative confessions... but as God showed Charles Capps that when he continued to speak the Promises of God, they would eventually overtake the weeds... but it is a daily thing.

So, lets not be like the Israelites of old who did not inherit the promises of God because their did not mix the promises with faith but, lets trust the Word and change our situations by "calling those things that be not as though they were" or as the Amplified version says, lets "speak of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed." (Rom.4:17) And the best thing is, those things we receive this way will also be immovable in our lives. Yay!

Many, many blessings to You all,

Eve
Contributing writer of My Walk With Jesus newspaper & website
http://www.MyWalkWithJesus.net
Body-mind-Spirit Health, Fitness & Beauty in a Biblical Way
http://www.TheSpringOfLife.net

Comment (6)