THE CHRISTIAN AND HIS CONFESSION (PART 1).
"We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;" - 2 Corinthians 4:13 (KJV)
In God's dealing with man, it's been established that He deals with us according to our confession. So, watch out for what you say. The Bible says:
"Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth." - Proverbs 6:2 (KJV). The organ of the mouth has been given to us to put us in the proper perspective of life; but unfortunately, it's been misused by a whole lot of people, and sadly enough Christians also.
Do you know that you are more likely to have what you say than for you to have what you believe? It's a settled matter that whatever you believe may never come to materialization until you vocalize it. Simply put, whatever you believe and do not confess won't work for you. Some say, "if it's God's Word, it must work". No! Don't fall for that! For it to work, you must believe it and having believed it, you must confess it. Believing it is not enough, the other condition has to be fulfilled. You confess what you believe (2Cor 4:13. See also Isa 59:21; Jos 1:8). Many do not realize this and unfortunately, it has become the crux of the problem with many Christians. The Bible says in Romans 10:10:
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." From here, we can see that to believe and to confess what you believe are the two main pillars of the Christian faith. In other words, while your believing pelts you unto righteousness (right standing with God), it's your confession that catapults or launches you unto your much desired salvation (which includes to be preserved, saved, prosper, healed, made whole and to experience deliverance, etc).
The spiritual law is that whatever you believe, you must confess (2 Cor 4:13, Rom 10:5-10). In the OT, the emphasis was on doing, yet none could do it, but in the NT, Jesus fulfilled the law for us and the emphasis shifted from doing to putting faith in what He has done by proclaiming or confessing it. Like I said elsewhere, the Word of God tells us to confess with our mouth the same thing that God said in His Word, failing which we are displaying unbelief in God. But as we boldly say what God has said, then we're agreeing with Him and lining up our lives with His Word (Heb 13:5-6). It doesn't matter if what God has said in His Word is to you farfetched and seemingly unattainable at that point in time. Your confession will eventually serve to catapult you there sooner than you realize it.
Be careful therefore what you say because like as I said, whatever you say, you’ll have (Prov 6:2; Matt 12:37: Mk 11:22-24). This is more so because death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21).
In our Christian walk, there are things to say and there are things never to say. Do you know that it's wrong for instance, for a Christian to "say I’m sick" (Isa 33:24)?
Let me share with you the story of Dr T L Osborn of blessed memory, to illustrate the power in confession. He was a man greatly used by God, especially in the healing ministry. He believed intensely and preached that a child of God shouldn't die of sickness. He went to be with the Lord at the age of 89 years; actually, he was already into his 90th year before he died on February 14, 2013. In his book "Healing the Sick: A Living Classic", he had this to say on the death of God’s child:
"Listen to God's prescription for the death of His child: 'You take away their breath, they die, and return to the dust' (Ps 104:29). That does not mean that you must die with a cancer, does it? Or any other form of disease or sickness?
The child of God is redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13), a part of which is disease. The Bible ideal for the death of a child of God is: 'You shall come to your grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn comes in its season' (Job 5:26-27; Ps 91:16). That was how Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses - and many others - died.” (Bible citation emphasis mine).
When I read this portion of his book, I became curious and decided to find out how Dr T L Osborn died or what ailed him before he died, because as some have erroneously affirmed, "man must die of something". So, I went on the internet and conducted a search for his death on Google. This was my finding:
"Pentecostal evangelist and best-selling author T.L. (Tommy Lee) Osborn died Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 at his Tulsa, Okla., home surrounded by four generations of his family. He was 89.
According to a message posted on Twitter by his daughter, LaDonna Osborn, her father, known around the world as "the Father of the Gospel," was in "no pain and had no sickness."
"The Lord simply took away his breath," she wrote. "My father was wrapped in love, his family surrounding him as he stepped through the veil into eternity. He is now in the presence of Jesus, whom he had served faithfully for 77 years. ... " Marvelous!
The lesson here is simple: This man of God believed God's Word in Ps 104:29, confessed it, preached it and had it fulfilled in his life! You are snared with the words of your mouth, you art taken with the words of your mouth (Proverbs 6:2). By your words you shalt be justified, and by your words you shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:37). This is so because death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:22). Beware of what you say because you'll have whatever you say!
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the tongue. I chose to use it in line with your Word and for life, in Jesus name.