Jim Bramlett (17 Feb 2006)
"What we say IS important!"

Dear friends: The apostle Paul wrote, "It is written: 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak" (2 Corinthians 4:13).

Because of extremism in some circles, which you find with any truth, the emphasis on speaking God’s words or the “power of confession” has come into disrepute, really an undeserved rap.  Isn’t it just like the devil to take one of God’s most powerful truths and pervert it, thus denying its use by God’s people to destroy Satan’s work?  That is what has happened.  The devil has invented disparaging, mocking slogans such as “confess it and possess it,” “name it and claim it,” and “blab it and grab it” to make this great truth appear ludicrous.

But the fact is that our confession releases God’s will, words, and purposes in the earth.  Often, if we do not confess it, we will not possess it.  I had rather confess it and possess it than not confess it and not possess it.

Follow this logic:

If we are created in God’s image as spirit beings who can speak, and we are; and if God calls things that be not as though they were, and He does; and we are commanded to be imitators of God, as we are; then by the known will of God we can also call things that be not as though they were, as long as we are speaking His words and are aligned with His will.  That does not mean we can arbitrarily decide we want a new Mercedes automobile or anything else material and we can confess it into being unless it is God’s will for us.  But if it is His will for us, we may not get it unless we confess it, and we may miss it if we continually confess lack!

Confession is nothing more or less than agreeing with God and saying what He says.  He has spoken in His Word, and we agree with what He has already said, then we speak His Word.

Confession is just affirming what God has already said in His Word or revealed by His Spirit, in agreement with the Word.  We are just vocalizing our agreement with Him and releasing our faith through our words.  Our words are a major way in which our faith can be released.

Christianity is called “the great confession.”  Salvation begins with confession: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9-10).

Why is confession so important as to be a determinate even of salvation?  Jesus explained it:  “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34, KJV).  The mouth reveals and releases into the world what is in the heart.

Remember, it was Jesus Christ Himself, not a modern faith preacher, who said: For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith (Mark 11:23, KJV).

Note the thrice-repeated reference to confessing, or speaking, in this one verse: say, saith, saith.

Job says, “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you” (22:28, NASB).

It works in reverse with negative confessions. We can confess negatives, and we will reap them.  Job said, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (3:25).  People wonder what was the real reason Job suffered so much.  Dr. Michael Landsman discovered the answer: It was Job’s fear, which was the root cause of his problems.  And no doubt, he confessed this fear, and got what he confessed.

Look at the importance God gives to what we say with our mouths:

From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing (James 3:9, NASB).

You are snared by the words of your mouth (Proverbs 6:2, NKJV).

For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned (Matthew 12:37, NASB).

A man has joy by the answer of his mouth (Proverbs 15:23).  (Do you want joy?  You can speak it out of your mouth!)

It is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:10).

According to Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon, “saved” (Greek: soteria) in the preceding verse, Romans 10:10, means “deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation.”  It is also translated as “health.”  Therefore, you could accurately paraphrase that verse and say, “It is with your mouth that you confess and are delivered, preserved, are safe, are saved, and have health.”

In verse 9, immediately preceding, it says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  “Saved” here is the word sozo, which means “to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health.”I frequently confess out loud, “Jesus is Lord and I am sozoed!”  I am confessing Jesus’ lordship over me, which includes wellness, healing, and health.

Confess what God says, His promises, and His blessings, and you will get them, and you will spread them to others.  Do not confess negatives, fears, and the lies that the devil says, or you will get them and also spread them to others.

Speaker/author Kate McVeigh tells of a friend who had diabetes for 40 years and had to have an insulin shot every day.  One day the lady began to practice this principle and every time she took an insulin shot, she would simultaneously confess her healing, calling forth her healing (which was not) as though it were.  One day some time later she became very ill and had to be rushed to the hospital.  The doctors did extensive tests and finally gave her their diagnosis.  They told her that the problem was caused by the insulin she was taking because she was not a diabetic! Senior citizen Emily Dotson testifies that she was near death with lupus 13 years earlier.  The doctors had given her only a short time to live.  But after being ministered to by a full-gospel pastor who showed her God’s Word for healing, she began confessing her healing throughout every day, constantly quoting Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24.  It took about 12 months, but she did not give up and was finally and totally healed.  A pastor asked her how many times she had to confess before she got her healing.  She replied, “I never counted it.  I don’t know.  I can only tell you that I did outtalk the devil.”  (Yes, the devil will try to outtalk, discourage, and defeat you.  But don’t let him.  Do not give up!  Keep confessing what God says. Outtalk the devil with God’s words, and he will shut up!)
 

(Unless noted, Scripture quotations are from the NIV.  The above is taken from the book, THE POWER! by James Bramlett, free online at http://www.choicesforliving.com/book/the_power.htm)