The Words of Faith (Part 4)

Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. Thank God for his word. Hallelujah.

Now God has said something. that we equally might

have something to say. Because of what God has

said, we as well, you know, we have something

to say because God has said something. Amen?

So we must always take advantage of the Word

of God. The Word of God has been given to us

and, you know, when we put it to use, the essence

of it is that we will see. For example, now in

Luke chapter 4, we see where Jesus Christ was

Luke 4 · chapter mention

applying the Word. The written word of God, specifically

in Luke chapter 4, when he was tempted by the

Luke 4 · chapter mention

devil. Luke chapter 4, from verse 3. And the

Luke 4 · chapter mention

devil said to him, if you are the son of God,

command this stone to become bread. But Jesus

answered him saying, it is written. It is written.

So the response that Jesus gave. was a response

of what has been written in the world. It says

it has been written, man shall not live by bread

alone, but by every word of God. Hallelujah.

So Jesus Christ, who is God, came into humanity,

came into the earth. He did not violate the principles

that God has created this world to operate upon,

which is his word. Especially for us believers,

we see his response to Satan. was the written

word. Then the devil, taking him up on a high

mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the

world in the moment of time. And the devil said

to him, All this authority I will give you and

their glory, for this has been delivered to me,

and I will give it to you, whomever I wish. And

Jesus responded, Verse 7, Therefore, if you shall

worship me, okay, verse 7, before me, if you

shall worship before me, All will be yours. And

Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind me,

Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the

Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

Then he brought him to Jerusalem, set him on

the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him,

If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down

from here, for it is written, He shall give his

angels charge over you to keep you, and in their

hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your

foot against a stone. And Jesus also in verse

12 will say, And Jesus answered and said, To

him it has been said, You shall not tempt the

Lord your God. Now when the devil had ended every

temptation, he departed from him until an opportune

time. Hallelujah. So we see that the victory

that Jesus had in this place is founded on what

has been said. It's founded on what God has inspired

in the written word. So the written word is the

believer's advantage. The word of God is our

advantage. And this word of God must be on our

lips. It must be on our lips because we have

the word of God as we've prayed, as brother have

led us to pray. You know, that we will have something

to say. And what we will say is, it's not something

coming from the blues. It's what God has given

us, that we will apply and personalize what God

has said. Proverbs 18 verse 21 says, Death and

Proverbs 18:21

life are in the power of the tongue, and those

who love it will eat its fruit. Those who love

it will eat its fruit. Those who take advantage

of words. Those who apply the words appropriately,

those who apply the word, who applied, you know,

the use of words appropriately, and we can apply

the use of words appropriately by speaking life,

by speaking, and life comes from the word of

God. Hallelujah. So the believer is not without

what? He's not without advantage. God has given

us his spirit. Not only did he give us his spirit,

he gave us his word. You know, he gave us his

word and to guide us. To lead us, Joshua chapter

Joshua 1:8

1 verse 8. Joshua chapter 1 verse 8. He says

Joshua 1:8

that this book of the law, now in context here,

is a written law that has been written by Moses,

right? This book of the law shall not depart

from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it

day and night, that you may observe to do according

to all that is written in it. For then, you will

make your way what? Prosperous. So his way will

become prosperous if the book of the law finds

its dwelling place in his mouth. That is, he

speaks the word of God daily, he teaches the

word of God, he applies the word of God, and

he meditates on the word of God. He observes

to do according to what is written in the word

of God. For then, he will make his own way prosperous.

Not that God will come down and make your way

prosperous, but by doing what God has said, your

way will become prosperous. And then you will

have what? You will have a good success. Hallelujah.

So we have everything God has given us. And when

we come to the New Testament, we'll see a verse

that's similarly expressed in Colossians 3, verse

Colossians 3:16

16, talking about the word of God that expresses

a similar idea. Colossians 3, verse 16. It says,

Colossians 3:16

let the word of God, let the word of Christ dwell

in you richly in all wisdom. Let the word of

God dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching

and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your

hearts to the Lord. Now this is, you know, this

is seen in our relationship. All right. As the

word of God dwells in us richly, we see that.

In our relationship towards one another, we'll

be able to say things that will edify one another.

And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all

in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks

to God the Father through him. Hallelujah. So

in the previous teachings, we said that faith

is seen expressed in our words. In the words

we said, faith is expressed. And then biblical

confession. That is, as we express in our words,

is what we term as confession. And contextually,

biblical confession, because there are different

types of confessions. But when we speak of confession

here, it's not merely positive thinking. All

right? On Sunday, we saw that it's not just positive

thinking or positive saying, because motivational

speakers can motivate you with so many positives.

And we are not saying that those positives are

evil or they are bad. We are not saying that

what they are saying are evil or they are bad

per se. But when you want to see the kind of

God's result, God's kind of result, then what

will bring about God's kind of result in our

lives is what God has said. Hallelujah. So, biblical

confession is not merely positive thinking or

repeating nice things. It is agreeing with God.

We say that confession is actually... Saying

the same thing as has been said. Saying the same

thing as God has said. Agreeing with what God

has said. Agreeing with what God has done. So

it is agreeing with God and speaking what he

has said in his word. That is our confession.

We are agreeing with God and we are saying what

he has said in his word. So true confession flows

from a heart that believes. and it's centered

on Jesus Christ. So we, first of all, have to

believe what God has said that is true concerning

us. Then in agreeing in our hearts, what we believe

in our heart, you know, we express in words and

we speak it into existence in our lives. So the

word of God must first dwell richly as we've

read in Colossians 3, 16 and 17. It must dwell

richly in us as we fill our hearts, and our minds,

because it's important with scripture, God's

word begins to shape our thoughts. That is what

happens. When we fill our hearts with the word

of God, we fill our minds with the word of God,

we fill ourselves with the word of God, we see

that God's word begins to shape our thoughts.

We begin to think the way God will think. We

begin to say things the way God will say them.

We begin to, you know, have the kind of desire

that are formed by the Spirit of God because

we give ability to the Spirit of God to walk

through us by filling our hearts with the Word.

So God's Word begins to shape our thoughts. It

shapes our attitudes. Attitudes, we don't see

your thoughts, but we see your attitudes. All

right? So from what we see in your, from what

you have in your thoughts, we begin to see your

attitude towards life, your attitude towards

people. Your attitude towards the people of God

and the things of God begins to change because

your heart is filled with the word of God. Your

decisions are influenced also by what fills your

heart. And ultimately, your speech also will

be significantly influenced by what fills your

heart. So what fills your heart will find expression

always through our mouth. So therefore, we must

always... seek to, you know, fill our hearts.

The way by which the word of God will be found

on our lips regularly is when the word of God

fills our heart and it is our meditation. And

this is what we must consciously do. So we also

saw that the believer's authority, the believer's

authority in Christ is expressed through the

words of faith. We saw this on Sunday that authority

has been given to the believer. God has given

authority to the believers. By his death, by

His burial, by His resurrection and His ascension

in the hearts of the believer, the believer has

been given authority. And that authority is to

be expressed on earth. And one of the ways by

which we express that authority is by speaking.

So when we don't speak, we cannot express authority.

When we don't speak, we are not devoid of authority.

But to express the authority, We must be believers

that speak. Speak to situations. Speak to circumstances.

Speak to ourselves. So, through our scriptures,

God's power and purpose, we saw, are repeatedly

expressed through spoken words. And what are

the words we speak? We speak the word that God

has said. Alright? Jesus commissioned his disciples

to preach the gospel. And in preaching the gospel,

he gave them specifics to say. They don't invent

what to say that will bring about the salvation

of souls. So we equally, we don't invent what

to say when we want to preach to people. God

has given us what to say that will save people.

All right? God has given us what to say that

will save people. So we have what to say that

will save people. So we see authority, you know,

is expressed in preaching. Authority is expressed

in casting out demons. In ministering, healing,

all these are actions that are done by the use

of words we speak. Therefore, greater works require

greater expression of faith. We are not saying

that there's a greater faith. You know, we have

all the faith that God has put in us. But for

us to see a greater expression of such faith,

you know, it requires that we speak often. God

has given us His Word not simply to read, but

to believe. And in believing, we speak and we

live it. So our responsibility is to train our

mouths to always agree with what God has said.

We train our mouths to agree with God rather

than with fear because we face a situation that

will bring fear. We are faced with situations

that are able to bring fear. We are faced with

situations. Now, being afraid is not a sin. Sincerely,

we must be honest that sometimes when we look

at some situations, we are threatened, right?

So it's normal for you to be afraid of situations,

but the fear should not govern you, right? What

should govern you is what? It's what God has

said. It's the word of God. Okay? truly we'll

encounter situations that will instigate fear.

Sometimes there will be doubt in our hearts.

Okay? So we don't side with the doubt. Doubt

is a contrary opinion. We don't stand, we don't

agree with doubt. We don't agree with fear. So

we agree with God, not in unbelief, not in, we

don't believe what a circumstance is saying.

We believe what the word of God is saying. Hallelujah.

So my desire or our desire as a leadership is

that we will be trained in this church, that

we will be trained in the life of faith, that

our words will always be intentional about our

words. Okay? We will be very selective of the

things we say daily as we live our lives, as

we speak to one another, as we fellowship with

one another. I wish that we would have, maybe

next time, we're going to look at how we can

say things. How do we communicate one to another?

Because sometimes it's what we say to one another

that actually brings doubt. A believer, you are

saying things that offends another believer.

Okay? Either intentionally or unintentionally,

you can say something that will offend your brother

or your sister in Christ. And it will affect

their faith. It will affect their walk with God.

Alright? So, it is important that we are trained.

in this that we are allowed always fit to speak,

to be found expressed in our lips. And this is

not just for a season, but it's something that

we hope to see every part, every, for the rest

of our lives, that always our lives, the things

we say are things that edifies us, the things

that God has said. And therefore we see the result

of what God has said in our lives. Hallelujah.

So then, but the other side doubts also. As we

often say, doubt and unbelief, you know, when

I was teaching us about the operations of faith,

right? I say that faith operates in the heart.

Doubt also operates in the heart. So in our words

also, we can see doubt operate in the words that

we say, right? Doubt can also be found in the

words that we speak. Our words are carriers of

spiritual forces. I also want us to maybe if

you're writing like a subheading, maybe doubt

or doubt can be expressed through our words.

So our words, as we've seen, as we keep emphasizing

for the past three sessions, our words are carriers

of spiritual forces, of spiritual forces. When

I mean spiritual forces, doubt is a spiritual

force. Okay? Fear and worries, all these are

spiritual forces. You can't see them, you can't

touch them, but they do exist. So our words can

be carriers of spiritual forces of doubt, worries,

fears, etc. Therefore, our words must be trained.

That is a need for us to train our words always

to speak faith much more than what we see with

our eyes. So in our words, When we're not careful,

even as believers, our words can carry fear.

Our words can carry doubt. And as a minister

of God, you cannot be speaking fear and worries

and doubts to people. All right? You yourself,

you will not benefit from the word of God yourself

because it will not profit you. You will not

have good success in your own life because what

you profess is contrary to the word of God. But

equally, you cannot be a blessing to others.

So your words or your speech can show either

that you are walking in faith or in unbelief.

Even before you take an action, firstly, we listen

to what you say. All right? There are some people

when they come around and I sit down, I begin

to listen to them. And I begin to ask them, okay,

what is your problem? And they begin to say,

I don't want to even hear the remaining story.

I shut them up quickly. Not because I don't want

to hear, oh, you know, I don't want to give you

a no. I want to counter, before you say the full

sentence of unbelief, I want to counter it with

the word of faith. If I now tell you what the

word of faith is, believe me, you will not continue

in the unbelief because by then you would have

known that, ah, actually there's a solution and

the solution is in the word of God. Hallelujah.

So we can trace the operation or the activity

of doubt and unbelief in a man's word. When we

listen to what he says. and we hear what he says,

we can discern whether this is coming from God

or from faith or from unbelief. And let's see

an example of, let's see an example in scripture.

Maybe we'll just look at two examples today and

then we, yes, then we close. Let's see the first

example in 2 Kings 6. As we read this story,

we'll find applications for our life. 2 Kings

6. Let me read from verse 24. 2 Kings 6 from

verse 24. And it happened after this that Ben

-Hadad, king of Syria, gathered all his army

and went up and besieged Samaria. Samaria and

Syria are two different nations. And there was

a great famine in Samaria. And indeed, they besieged

it until a donkey's head. Look at the economic

impact of this war. There was a great famine

in Samaria. And indeed, they besieged it until

a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver.

That means there was inflation. And one -fourth

of a cup of duff, duff droppings for five shekels

of silver. Then as the king of Israel was passing

by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying,

Help my king, my lord, oh my king. And he said,

If the lord... Does not help you. Where can I

find help for you? From the threshing floor or

from the wind press, wine press. Then the king

said to her, what is troubling you? And she answered,

this woman said to me, give your son that we

may eat him today. I will eat my son tomorrow

because of hunger. Look at what they've turned

themselves into. They've turned themselves into,

what do they say in English? Carnivores, right?

They've started eating their babies because of

hunger. So we bought my son and ate him. And

I said to her on the next day, give your son

that we may eat him. But she has hidden her son.

Now it happened when the king heard the words

of the woman that he tore his clothes. And as

he passed by on the wall, the people looked and

there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.

Because this situation is... It's beyond shocking

that people have started eating human beings.

That is how hunger has entered the land. That

is how, you know, luck has reached. And this

luck is not just individual luck, it's a national

luck. Then he said, God do so to me and more

also. See, he became angry with God. God do so

to me and more also. If the head of Elisha, The

son of Shaphat remains on him today. But Elisha

was sitting in his house, and the elders were

sitting with him, and the king sent a man ahead

of him. But before the messenger came to him,

he said to the elders, Do you see how this son

of a murderer has sent someone to take away my

head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the

door, and hold him fast at the door. It is not

the sound of his master's Is it not the son of

his master's feet behind him? And while he was

still talking with them, there was a messenger

coming down to him. And when the king said, surely

this calamity is from the Lord. Why should I

wait for the Lord any longer? Because the situation

was contemplating, why should I wait unto the

Lord any longer because of this situation? Now

let's move to chapter 7, which is where I want

us to look. Then Elisha said, hear the word of

the Lord. Thus says the Lord, tomorrow, this

is the word of God, right? Tomorrow, about this

time, a seer of fine flour shall be sold for

a shekel and two seers of barley for a shekel

at the gate of Samaria. Imagine, in this Cyprus

economy. Right? The things are so difficult that

a man of God comes to you and say, by tomorrow,

house rent, how much do we pay? 400, 500 pounds.

Say tomorrow, by tomorrow, house rent will be

50 pounds. That's what God is saying. Not in

the next five years. Say by tomorrow, house rent

will be 50 pounds. Four bedroom apartment will

be 50 pounds. Kebab will be one tier. And what

again? What are the common things we use? Egg

make will be 50 kurush. Once upon a time, it

was 50 kurush, right? And I know that none of

you will believe. All right? So let's not crucify

somebody here because he didn't believe. Okay?

But let's learn from it. But listen, this word

is coming from God. It's coming from the prophet

of God. Look at the next verse, verse 2. So an

officer on whose hand the king leaned answered

the man of God and said, Look, if the Lord will

make windows in heaven, could this thing be that

even if God will open heaven and then you will

rain down food from heaven? Because of the context

of the situation, because of the difficulty of

what they are experiencing. Imagine you are just

coming together with your boss, the servant,

and you see a situation where a woman eats her

son. And then the prophet, the word of God is

coming and he's saying that by tomorrow, everything

will be reversed to the direct opposite. So an

officer on whose hand the king leaned, answered

the man of God and said, look, if the Lord will

make windows in heaven, could this thing be?

And he said, in fact, you shall see it with your

eyes. But what? But you shall not eat of it.

You shall see it with your eyes. But what? But

you shall not eat of it. Verse 18 and verse 20.

Verse 18 to 20. So it happened just as a man

of God has spoken to the king, saying, two seers

of barley for a shekel and a seer of fine flour

for a shekel shall be sold tomorrow about this

time. in the gate of Samaria. Then that officer,

then that officer had answered the man of God

and said, Now look, if the Lord will make windows

in heaven, could such thing be? And he said,

In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but

you shall not eat of it. And so it happened to

him. For the people trampled him in the gate,

and what? And he died. And we see in this story,

it's a practical example of a man that choose

to live in unbelief. So firstly, we saw that

Samaria was under severe siege, right? The context

is the extreme hunger, the famine, the hunger,

the desperation among the people and all that

we see. And the situation appeared completely

hopeless. The situation appeared completely hopeless,

making it difficult for anyone to imagine. In

fact, it's impossible for you to imagine any

form of deliverance or abundance. Okay? And sometimes

situations present themselves equally to us in

this way. When we look at, sometimes when we

look at our countries, where we are coming from,

we look at our lives, we look at the families

we are coming from, we look at the situation

of our pocket, we look at the impossibilities

that surrounds us. it becomes difficult for us

to believe what God is saying. Now, we are not

here to eliminate the experiences that are happening.

We are not shutting down the fact that these

things are happening. Okay? Faith is not ignoring

the facts on ground. Faith is not ignoring the

facts on ground. Faith is believing the word

of God against the facts. Are we together? So,

We could look at Africa, we could look at our

countries, the situation of our countries, and

then we see clearly, if it's by man's making,

there's no hope. Actually, let me tell you this.

Many African countries, if it's left onto our

leaders, our countries will be sold. We will

not have a place to call home. Many of our countries

are existing because it's because of the grace

of God. Not because, you know, people have been,

you know, disciplined in managing our economy

or managing our systems. It's because God has

decided to hold on to, you know, our systems

and not allowing them to collapse. So the practicality

of these situations, you know, are very, very

important. But much more than that, the word

of God supersedes or is above every single experience.

And we see here that fear... frustration and

unbelief filled the atmosphere because of what

they are passing through. With even the king

himself blaming God, he blamed Elisha for the

crisis, right? But then, in the midst of it,

the word of God comes. And the expectation of

everyone is to act on the word of God. You always

believe the word of God. And in chapter 7, when

Elisha promised the abandoned foot, by the next

day, we see the officer's response reflect what

he saw rather than what God has spoken. You know,

it's a comparison between what he has seen, the

experience of the people, the experience in the

land, and bringing it on the same level with

what God has said. You know, he chooses to elevate

the experience above what God has said. That

means that he's in unbelief. He didn't believe

what God said through the prophet. He didn't

believe what God said through the prophet. So

God gave a clear promise. God gave a clear promise.

Elisha declared that food will become abundant

in Samaria by the next day. The officer, on the

other hand, did not believe the word of God.

His unbelief, right, was only in his heart. His

unbelief was expressed in his words. Okay? His

unbelief was expressed in his words. Thereafter,

he could not partake in the blessings that came

upon the land. Look at verse 2 again. Look at

the officer's response in verse 2. So, chapter

7, verse 2. So an officer, on whose hand the

king leaned, answered the man of God and said,

Look, if the Lord will make windows in heaven.

Please, is it possible to give us NLT of this

verse 2? Yes. The officer assisting the king

said to the man of God that that couldn't happen,

right? That couldn't happen. Even if the Lord

opened the windows of heaven, that this thing

cannot happen. Even if God himself opened the

windows of heaven, what the prophet said is almost,

in Turkish, it's impossible, right? It cannot

happen. That couldn't happen. Even if the Lord

opened the windows of heaven, But Elisha replied,

you will see it happen with your own eyes, but

you won't be able to eat any of it. Hallelujah.

So his words reveal his heart. Okay. His words

reveal his heart. Perhaps he shouldn't have even

said something. All right. He should have just

remained silent and trust the process to overcome

his unbelief. But his words reveal his heart.

His statement was not merely a question. Okay?

It expressed doubt. It's a declaration. It's

a declaration. His statement is a declaration.

It expressed doubt that God could, that God,

that God cannot fulfill what he has said. All

right? But then we see in this story that God

fulfilled his words. The promise and the abundance

came exactly as Elisha said. When we read the

entire chapter 7, we'll see. As Elisha declared

the word of God by speaking the counsel of God,

you know, exercising authority that he has as

a prophet over the nation, declaring that this

is what will happen by words. Okay? So even the

action of the prophet himself is a function of

words. He declared what will happen. So the word

is not limited. The word of God. It's not limited

by human reasoning. Okay? You cannot use your

human reasoning and then limit the power of what

God said will happen no matter how you reason

the situation. As you are calculating the impossibility

of the situation, the word of God supersedes

your reasoning. Our words can reveal whether

we agree with God's promises. Or we're expressing

unbelief towards it. And it thereafter affects

our experiences in life, generally speaking.

Okay? It affects and influences our experiences

in life. So regardless of the fact, in the circumstance,

in our circumstances, in our situations, we must

always agree with what God has said. Because

God has said things concerning us. We must believe

what the word of God is saying. And our confession

and what we speak must be what God is saying

concerning our matters all the time. All the

time. Our words must not be an expression of

the facts of the situation. The situation, the

facts surrounding the situations are there, but

our anchor is not in the reality of the situation,

but it's in what God has said. That is what will

make people look at you and they'll see you as

a crazy and a stupid person. Because outwardly,

they can't see you measuring up to what you are

holding on to. Alright? People are saying there's

a casting down and then your own confession is

what? Is there reason lifting up? Because that's

what the Word of God says. Evidently, everybody

is condemning things. It's saying evil about

situations. It's saying evil about the nation.

It's saying evil about the systems. about the

system, even about your bosses, about where you

are working, about your lecturers, about whatever.

But what comes out of your mouth are words of

blessings and the word of God. Hallelujah. That

is your identity. That is your nature. And that

is who you are. And that is what God wants us

to be at all times. Right? That we don't speak

things that are evil, but we speak things that

are blessings. And we don't speak the circumstance.

We speak what the word of God is saying concerning

our circumstance. Amen? So regardless of your

experience, I want you to see the word of God

above your experiences. I want you to see the

word of God above what is happening in your life.

I want you to see the word of God above the trials

that you are facing. Listen, what I'm saying

is you may not understand the implication of

the things we are teaching you now. There's one

thing we are sure. If you are not passing through

trial now, Tomorrow you will be in one. It's

guaranteed as a believer. So if you are passing

through now, what I'm saying is for your help.

If you're not passing through one now, what we're

saying is for your safety for tomorrow, that

you will pass through trials. In the scripture,

it's a promise. It's a certainty that you will

pass through trials. Hallelujah. But your faith

will not fail. Amen. Because you know what? You

know the secret. The secret is to hold on to

God's word. See, if we begin to tell you our

story as pastors, sometimes I could be weak in

my faith and I hear how Pastor Kosti is saying

when we come together to pray, to talk, immediately

faith comes to, I come alive. I hear Pastor Chidi

encouraging himself in the word, I come alive.

Hallelujah. So our anchor is always in what God

has said. We must know this. This is a secret

to excel in. This is a secret for thriving in

our lives and to live life that will please God,

that will honor God at all times. This is a secret

of the Christian life. If this is a secret, that

the Word of God becomes our anchor. You will

be tested. Some of you, the reason that you are

not feeling the heaviness of life is because

your life is being sponsored. Okay? Your life

is being sponsored by someone, by your parents.

But by the moment you become independent, And

you look at your salary and you look at your

expense. It's not equal fraction. It's not, what

do you call it in mathematics? It's not adding

up. Improper fraction, right? It's 1 over 10.

10 over 1. Okay. You see what you need. Your

salary can solve and you trust God for the rest.

Hallelujah. You just look at the vision that

God has given you. Look at the income you have.

You just trust God for the rest. Hallelujah.

So we must learn to put the word of God. Believe

the word of God. I am telling you the situation

will test your faith. This is normal. Hallelujah.

It will look so impossible. You look at the word

of God and look at the situation. It doesn't

make sense. But hold on to God's word because

the word of God is true. Hallelujah. Let me say

after, yes. So, unbelief cannot or should not,

you know, shift us away from the word of God.

And let's look at another example in the New

Testament, in Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5,

Mark 5 · chapter mention Mark 5 · chapter mention

a story of the woman with the issue of blood.

Mark chapter 5, the story can be found in Mark,

Mark 5 · chapter mention

can be found in Luke, can be found in Matthew

rather. But let's look at Mark chapter 5 verse...

Mark 5 · chapter mention

25, and then we'll move to the story in Luke.

Just picking some important information. Now,

a certain woman had a flow of blood for 12 years.

Okay? She had an issue with the flow of blood

for 12 years. Let's continue the reading from

Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8, the same story,

Luke 8 · chapter mention Luke 8 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 8, verse 43. Because of time, I

Luke 8:43

can't read all of it. Chapter 8, verse 43. Yes.

Now, a woman having a flow of blood for 12 years,

who had spent all her livelihood on physicians,

that means she has gone to different hospitals,

she has gone to L .A.'s hospital, she has gone

to Dr. Buwan, she has gone to the one in Maguza,

she has gone around all the physicians, she has

come to nearest hospital, the Oga of all of them,

and could not be healed by any. So it means that

her situation has become impossible. It means

that she has not found solution. There's no solution

for our problem. Verse 43. Now a woman having

a flow of blood for 12 years who had spent all

her livelihood on physicians and could not be

healed by any. Verse 44. Came from behind and

touched the border of his garment. That is Jesus.

Because she heard about Jesus and she believed

in Jesus for her healing. Okay? And immediately,

her flow of blood stopped. Immediately, her flow

of blood stopped. And Jesus said, who touched

me? Then all denied it. Peter and those with

him said, Master, the multitude thronged and

praised you. And you say, who touched me? Verse

46. But Jesus said, somebody touched me, for

I perceived power going out from me. Now, when

the woman saw that, she was not hidden. She came

trembling and falling down before him. She declared

to him in the presence of all the people, the

reason she had touched him and how she was healed

immediately. 48. And he said to her, daughter,

be of good cheer. Your faith has made you well.

Go in peace. Now let's look at the story in chapter

nine. Matthew chapter 9, verse 20. She heard

Matthew 9:20

about Jesus and she believed that Jesus could

heal her. She knows that only Jesus can solve

this problem. It's no longer a scientific issue.

And suddenly a woman who had flow of blood for

12 years came from behind and touched the harm

of his garment. For she said to herself, all

right, her faith led her to speaking to herself.

If only, okay, if only I may touch his garment,

I shall be made whole. But Jesus turned around

and when he saw her, he said, Be of good cheer,

daughter. Your faith has made you well. And the

woman was made well from that very hour. Hallelujah.

So, her faith was expressed in words. She said,

Contextually, when we gather the reading together,

we'll see the whole story. If I may touch, if

I may but touch his clothes, I shall be made

whole. I shall be made whole. Mark 5, 28. I shall

be made whole. She acted on her confession. She

acted on her confession. She reached out endowment.

And of course, Jesus confirmed. He confirmed

her faith. He told her, daughter, your faith.

has made you whole. So we see that faith is expressed

through words. And in her words, she doesn't

just believe that Jesus is able to heal her from

what she has been passing through. We could paint

a good picture of her experience and how she

has suffered and how she has gone from physician

to physician and how, you know, all have tried,

but they could not, they were not able to solve

her need until she heard about Jesus. And she

believed. that Jesus will heal her. All right?

So she didn't just believe that Jesus will heal

her. She said to herself, because I don't think

there's any scripture that she might have read

and said, ah, there's an example that I can touch

the hem of somebody's shit and then I will be

made whole. But she said to herself that what?

That if I can just hold on to the hem of his

garment. So her faith is seen in what? in her

words, first and foremost, not to somebody, but

to herself. Okay? That is to say, what she believed,

she spoke what she believed to herself. All right?

So it's an example for us of what we believe

about God, what we believe about what Jesus is

doing, or what we believe about what Jesus will

do in our lives. We must always say it to ourselves.

Okay? We must always speak the word to ourselves.

The words of faith, we must always speak it to

ourselves. It has an impact on our actions. And

when she had an opportunity, she acted on what

she has been saying to herself. And there and

then the Bible says at that very hour, she was

made whole. So faith is expressed through words

and corresponding actions. What we believe in

our hearts can find expressions through what

we say and what we do. When we speak words of

faith with our mouths, but also don't believe

in our hearts, we will have no result. Okay?

Because from the abundance of what is in our

hearts, it's expected that our mouth will speak

and there must be an alignment between what is

in our hearts and what is in our mouths. Give

me Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15 verse 8 to

Matthew 15 · chapter mention Matthew 15:8–9

9. Yes. It's a quotation of Isaiah. The possibility

of people drawing to God. Alright? But their

hearts. is not with God. He says, these people

draw near to me with their mouth. At least they

say beautiful things about God. They say the

word of God and honor me with their lips. But

their heart is what? It's far from me. And in

vain they worship me, teaching as doctrine the

commandments of men. The commandments of men.

So, there's a possibility that we can be saying

things, alright, that our hearts are not in alignment

with what he was saying. So we are not like these

people because he's talking about the Pharisees.

All right? We are people that will say with our

lips and also believe in our hearts because that

is how we'll benefit from the word of God. Hallelujah.

Mark chapter 7 verse 6 and 8. I think it's the

Mark 7:6

same text. I'm not mistaking. Yes, yes. Isaiah,

prophets of Isaiah, yes. So, It's important for

us to understand that the Word of God, the Word

of God is powerful. The Word of God is important

that everything God says, He has a responsibility

to ensure that His words come to pass. Because

the character of God, the character of God, the

integrity of God are in His words. Okay? So why

do we say, Why do we believe that the word of

God will come to pass? We believe that the word

of God will come to pass because his character

is in his word. So that is why we believe the

word of God. Because the word of God expresses

the character of God. It shows the integrity

of God, who God is. God's character is in his

word. Since our confession is the word of God,

right? Our confession is in the word of God.

God's word always comes to pass. God's Word always,

if you see the way the Word of God fell, it's

not with God. It's with the actions of men. Alright?

So, whatever God has said concerning us, whenever

we go through Scriptures and we see the realities

of the believer, whenever we go through Scriptures,

we see promises that are for the believer. We

see God saying things concerning our lives. We

see revealed, because the Word of God reveals

us. It reveals our identity. It reveals our Our

blessings, our blessedness, it reveals what God

is doing right now in our lives. Even if our

lives might not look like what the Word of God

is saying, but we believe that that's what God

is doing in our lives. Hallelujah. We believe

that that's what God is working out of us. With

time, it will speak. We will become that thing

that God is working out of us. We will become

just the kind of man and the kind of woman that

God wants us to become. Our characters will be

transformed. Sometimes we have to be patient

with ourselves. And keep believing the word of

God. Keep studying the word of God until you

see your life aligning with the word of God.

Until you see yourself strengthened by the word

of God. Because the word of God is powerful.

Isaiah 55 verse 10 talks about the integrity

Isaiah 55:10

of God's word. For as the rain comes down and

the snow from heaven. and do not return there

but water the earth and make it bring forth and

birth that it may give seed to the sower and

bread to the eater. So shall my word be as goes

forth from my mouth. So Isaiah here is using

the rain and as the rain comes down and the effect

of rain is seen on the land, so shall my word

be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not

return to me empty. The word of God will not

return without executing its cost. It shall not

return to me void, but it shall accomplish what

I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for

which I sent it. That is to say that whatever

God has said concerning us, concerning his work,

concerning his plan, it will come to pass. It

will come to pass. Do we read verse 12? For you

shall go out with joy. and be let out with peace.

The mountains and the hills shall break forth

into singing before you, and all the trees of

the field shall clap their hands. So there's

a context to what Isaiah is saying. But what

we draw from here, the principle we're seeing

from this verse, is that the word of God is not

just for fun, right? It's not just for saying's

sake. Of course, it's for our comfort, but much

more than that, it comes to pass, all right?

It encourages us, but we look forward to see

what happens as God has said. As we align ourselves,

as we keep trusting the word of God, as we keep

aligning ourselves to what God has said, we keep

seeing the result of what God has said in effect

in our lives. Hallelujah. So, as I put a pause

to this conversation on the issue of the faith

and our words, it's important for us to conclude

or to remind summarily that faith is... is expressed

in our words. So I want you to leave this place

intentionally. Alright? Speaking the words of

faith. Speaking the words of faith against all

odds. Speaking the words of faith. You know,

your confession is a confession of faith. Means

you are agreeing with what God has said in your

heart and you are saying it with your lips. Hallelujah.

And as you go, your heart, must be filled with

the word of God. What fills your heart influences

your mouth. What fills your heart will definitely

influence your mouth. So as God's word dwells

richly in us, it should shape our thoughts, our

attitudes, our decisions, and our speech. And

we establish that God's word or words that generally

can reveal faith or unbelief. So we see from

the story of the officer in 2 Kings, he spoke

according to the circumstance he saw. While the

woman with the issue of blood spoke according

to what she believed about Jesus. So we must

always speak faith. We must always speak faith.

Our words must agree always with God's words.

Faith is not merely speaking. It is believing

and speaking. Therefore, we must train our mouths

to speak faith rather than fear, rather than

doubt, rather than unbelief. Because... We are

men of faith. We have faith in us. Hallelujah.

We have the ability to believe God's word. We

have the ability to understand God's word. Every

time we come, we pray that our eyes will open

their senses and we will understand God's word

and we will understand God's word and we will

believe God's word and we will do God's word.

Amen. I just want to, a few minutes we have,

to just speak to God concerning your life. These

two weeks has opened us to a certain reality

about Reigning in life. About reigning in life.

About reigning in this life. In this earth. And

we reign by our words. We live by our words.

We excel by our words. And I want you to pray

to yourself. Pray for yourself. That your words.

That you are intentional about what we say. That

we are intentional about what we say. To ourselves.

We are intentional about what we say to ourselves.

Always. or follow us on social media. If you

were encouraged, share this message with someone

you care about. Until next time, stay blessed.