(A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 22-Feb-2015, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Law of Faith)
Positive Confession and the Power of Agreement
We have been learning about how positive confession sets the law of faith into motion. Faith confession is confessing your identity in Christ, who you are in and through Him and what you can do.
Nothing is more powerful in this world than words. Everything in the world has been created by words. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible (Heb11:3). God who made everything by words made us just like Him. We are meant to create our world by our words.
The New Testament tells us to consider the latter end of Job’s life. But most people have read only the first 3 chapters of Job. They only keep saying – “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.” They don’t consider the later part of Job’s life. The last 5 chapters of Job contain amazing truths. Job 42:12 says that his latter end was better than his beginning.
Let’s continue with the example of Job that we began last week.
God asked Job, “Do you know the laws of the universe and how the heavens influence the earth?” (Job 38:33 – The Living Bible) ‘Laws of Heaven’ or ‘laws of the universe’ mean ‘spiritual laws’. A simpler version of the verse would be – Do you know spiritual laws and how they influence your life on earth?
I shall shut up
Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said:
“Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”
Job’s Response to God
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
“Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further. – Job 40:1-5
Job now understands that God is speaking about the spiritual laws here. He knows that he does not understand spiritual laws. That’s why he says he will shut up; he will lay his hands over his mouth.
Last week, we saw several verses that warn us to consider the words of our mouth before we speak. Proverbs 31:32 says ‘If you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!’ If you were just thinking about it in your mind, what is the necessity to close your mouth? They’re just thoughts, right? But the Bible tells us to close our mouth, because our evil thoughts will happen if we speak it out with our mouth.
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. – Job 42:3
The same Job who once said ‘naked came I, naked will I return, the Lord gives, the Lord takes’ now says ‘I was talking about things I knew nothing about and did not understand. I spoke unwisely. I babbled on about things far beyond me, I made small talk about wonders way over my head.’
A revelation of God
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You. – Job 42:5
This verse means ‘Till now I’ve heard about you, I’ve heard what others says about you, but now I see you myself, first hand. I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes’.
What Job had heard about God from others was different what He saw. We have all heard much about God, many different ideas of God. Preachers, pastors, and ministers of God – they all say so many things about God to us. Some of them are like Job’s friends. They say things like – there is witchcraft against you, evil spirits are dwelling in you, God will punish you and break your leg, He will make you sick because He’s angry with you, we don’t know when God will do what. Job had heard such things from his friends and probably others and therefore had a wrong perception of God. But now, He sees God. He directly hears from God. God is revealing Himself to Job.
THE TURNING POINT
The realisation of God’s character is the turning point in Job’s life. Verse 5 denotes the turning point. Verses 10 to the end show us the blessing of God in Job’s life, how God restored double to him and how his latter end was better than the beginning.
Your turning point will happen when you stop listening to what others are saying about God, and instead you listen to what God Himself is saying to you; the eyes of your understanding will open and you will get a revelation of who God really is. When you get that kind of revelation knowledge, you will be doubly blessed, the blessing of God will overtake you. You will be better off now than you were before.
What you believe and speak is important. When a man believes and speaks the wrong things, he will be destroyed. On the other hand, if a man believes and says to the mountain to uproot itself and be cast into the sea, he will have what he says. The most important thing is – ‘what do you believe?’ Because that is what you will speak. What you speak is indicative of what you believe.
The Power of Agreement
Another important law in the practice of faith is the law of agreement. When you open your mouth and say what is written in God’s word, you are in agreement with God. It unleashes a power that is unimaginable.
Let’s look at the most prominent verse on agreement.
Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. – Matt 18:19
Let’s take this verse apart phrase by phrase.
Who?
Two of you
Do what?
Agree
Where?
On earth
Concerning what?
Anything
And do what?
Ask
What is the result?
It will be done for them by My Father in heaven
In Tamil, the last part reads – It will be “made/created” by my father in heaven. Even if it has not happened in the past, even if nobody has seen or heard anything like that, even if there has been no precedent, the Father will create it for you. You may ask for anything, and God will do it for you.
I had heard and believed that rewards are only in heaven not on earth. But this verse talk about what we ask here on earth.
The principle of agreement gives you the power to ask, receive and achieve anything that you can imagine here on earth.
I preach this verse often at weddings. I tell the couple to pray together and rise up above all problems that surround them. It does not happen when you die and go to heaven, but it happens here on earth. The power of agreement is so much that it brings to pass unbelievable things on earth. Sometimes, we meet couples that are so united in their thoughts and attitudes. You hear one; it’s like hearing the other. The husband and wife think the same thoughts, speak the same words and do the same things. They are of one mind and one purpose. They know and have agreed upon where they are going and what they want to achieve. Two people getting together bring so much power.
Even if you are single, get in agreement with God. Agreement means ‘agreeing in thought and words’ with another person. If you agree with God, work with God, think the thoughts of God, have the same desire and vision, catch the same dream, speak the same words, there is so much power in it that no force can stop you from achieving what God wants you to achieve.
Are you disagreeing with God?
Whether you are a couple or a single person, it is important that you agree with God. God says that you are blessed. But many Christians disagree. They think there is a curse on them. The Bible says that no evil will befall you. But they will choose verse where bad things happened to people, they look around at people who have had bad experiences, they agree with those negative words and events and expect similar disaster to befall them.
The Power of Agreement among Ungodly people
Let’s look at an incident in the Bible where ungodly people agree together and exercise much power. Their agreement was based on words. They spoke one language and therefore it was easy to unite them towards one purpose.
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. – Gen 11:1-8
God is not against high-rise buildings. There was something else wrong with this project. Verse 4 says that they said that the top of the tower would reach the very heavens and they would become famous. God didn’t tell them to build it and stay close. God wanted them to spread across the earth and inhabit all parts of the earth. But they wanted to stay in this one place. They wanted to build a monument for “themselves” instead of doing something to glorify God. They did it out of pride and a desire to gain fame.
They had one thing going for them – agreement. Because they had one language, their thoughts were united. They were in agreement. How did God put an end to their arrogance? God confused their words. Words brought them together. Now words separated them.
Lesson: Life can be built with words, or destroyed by our words.
The Power of Agreement among godly people
God has made us like Himself so that we can create by words, so that we can explore what words He has for us, and we can speak in agreement with Him. As the body of Christ, as a church, we can get together and agree to God’s word and achiever God’s purposes here on earth. The redeemed body of Christ can achieve anything here on earth. If we take Gods’ thoughts, dreams, purposes and words, and agree with God and with one another, we can achieve great things.
It is the same thing on a micro level – the family. Get your spouse and children together and agree with God’s purpose for your life. Then nothing can stop your family from achieving God’ purposes and doing great things.
What is God’s dream for us? God says, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer 29:11). Don’t think that you came naked and that you will return naked and that God takes away your things. Instead, understand that God’s thoughts for you are good. God has a dream for you, a purpose for you. It is never evil; it is only good.
When we read the Bible, we should have the perspective of the good, perfect will of God for each of us. When you read Job, remember that God will double everything that you have lost; that your latter days will be better than the former. Remember that God said there are spiritual laws that govern your life on earth. Judas hanged himself. Is that for us to follow? No! It’s written so that we may not end up like him. The letter kills, but the spirit gives life. God’s word is spirit, it has life, and it informs us of the good thoughts that God has for us.
Does anyone send calendars on new years with the verse – Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. No. Why? They know that such calendars won’t sell. They know that only calendars with verses of blessing will sell. Because people want the blessing of God, not negative verses that discourage them. Even people who preach this verse will not put it in a calendar because they know it doesn’t motivate and encourage people, and that no one will buy their calendar. The very fact that they do something different from what they preach is proof that there is power in what you believe and what you speak.
There are negative words and incidents in the Bible – learn from them.
There are positive words and incidents in the Bible – confess them for your life.
Do we need to beg, beseech and repeat?
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. – Matt 6:7,8
Our job is to agree with God, not to beg, beseech and repeat. Don’t repeat unnecessarily. Don’t use too many words. God already knows what you want.Our job is not to take a list to God and shake his throne till He grants us our prayers. Begin the day, the month with words of God’s blessing – ‘God is my shepherd. I thank God that my needs are supplied. I am blessed coming in and going out. By His stripes, I have been healed.’ Some people say, but this is not prayer, you’re just saying what is in the Bible. Exactly! Prayer is being in agreement with what God says. Don’t talk unnecessarily in prayer. The word of God is highly respected in heaven. Anything that you need, just speak the word. Speak life into your situation. Into emptiness, speak fullness. In the midst of darkness, speak light. That’s what prayer is.
Ephesians 1:3 says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. People use this verse to say God gives only spiritual blessing. The same Bible says don’t worry about what you will eat and drink and what will you wear for your heavenly Father know what you need. Is your food and clothing a spiritual need? It is a physical need and God tell us that not to worry about them, but that He will take care of those needs.
All our needs – physical, spiritual, finances and family have already been met through Christ. Spiritually, it has been made available right before the foundations of the world. He created everything and then only He created man. Materially, it is available when you agree with God and claim it for yourself.
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We were made from dust, God breathed life into us and made us in His image and likeness. But this verse talk about how we have been re-created in Christ Jesus. Why did He redeem and remake us? For good works that He planned for us before the foundations of the earth, that we should walk in them. He makes all provision for us, and then only He begins a good work in us. Before the world was made, before the first man was made, God already prepared the blessing that belongs to us and put it in Christ Jesus. And then He created man and the world.
If everything is ready, what should my prayer be? My job is to understand what He has prepared for me, and agree with Him in thought and word. Everyday, I should read the redemptive blessing that belong to me, begin to confess who I am in Christ, my right and blessing in and through Christ. This is important because I will have only what I believe and say.
I can possess them only by saying. The psalmist says, ‘You have brought us to a wealthy place’, though some preachers will say that God is leading you to the wilderness. Turn your life towards the wealthy place by your tongue. A big ship is navigated by a small helm. Turn your steering around. Decide where you want to go. Decide your destination. God is not your driver; He’s not the captain of your ship. You are. Decide your destination and turn around to that direction with your tongue.
– Summary by AFT Team
