THE POWER OF CONFESSION
So often I thank God, I am alive in this day and generation, and be able to look back and rejoice that I am a recipient of all that came out of the Reformation, through great men of God like Martin Luther & John Calvin. We must appreciate that that was just the start of God restoring truth to His Church that had been lost for hundreds of years, soon after there came the Anabaptists with Believer’s Baptism, then the truth that we can live holy lives, the Priesthood of all Believers, Divine healing, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit including speaking in other tongues.
Let us be mindful that God continues to restore truth and re-emphasise truths that start to get forgotten by the Church. Throughout Church History every time without exception when a fresh truth or fresh emphasis has come, it has either been totally rejected by some inthe Church, or sadly there has come an overemphasis that has often take the truth to extremes and even into total error.
One of the first fresh emphases that came was in 1934, when a Minister was raised from his deathbed after reading Mark 11:23-24 NKJV For assuredly, I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he SAYS will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
That man was Kenneth Hagin, and through him the “Word of Faith” Movement was born. His revelation was that we must have faith in God’s Word (simply God said it, I believe it, that settles it), plus the essential importance of speaking it out, that is confessing God’s Word.
In the 1970’s when I became aware of this teaching it had become known as the “blab it and grab it” “confess it and possess it” movement, as extremes had developed in the teaching, including the “Prosperity Gospel” and that we must never confess negatively about anything, like never say you were tired or that you were sick, based on Proverbs 18:21 NKJV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eats its fruit.
So as a young minister I THREW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER, and totally rejected Hagin’s teachings. It dawned on me years later, how could you call for the Elders of the church to pray for you when you are sick, unless you tell them you are sick!!!!!
Hagin had seen the power of the written word, and the power of the spoken word which had become a Rhema Word to him and produces faith in his hearts, Romans 10:17 NKJV So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the (Rhema) word of God. This MUST become our constant experience,
I am so thankful the Word came to me a second time Jer. 1:13 NKJV And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, and I repented of rejecting this truth and embraced I trust the balanced understanding of this truth.
I have said all the above to highlight God’s word through Joel in the latter part of chapter 3:10 NKJV Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ The MESSAGE Bible says Let the weak one throw out his chest and say “I’m tough, I’m a fighter”.
I do not believe I am using this verse in isolation, when the Word of God becomes alive and a personal revelation to you, you need to shout from the housetops and confess I AM STRONG, why? Phil. 4:13 NKJVI can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. Why? Rom. 8:37 NKJV Yet in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us. Why ? John 8:32 NKJV And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you FREE”. Would you like some more scriptures???
What do we need to do ? Paul expresses it so well in Colossians 3:16 NKJV Let the word of Christ 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. The MESSAGE Bible tells us Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God!
Most of us need an EXPLOSIVE REVELATION of the power of the Word of God, that we let the Logos Word become a Rhema Word, and do as the writer to Hebrews instructs us in 10:23 NKJV Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our CONFESSION.
We have no problem singing in church.
Let the blind now say, I can see
Let the deaf say I can hear
Let the poor say I am rich,
So let us sing and declare with the Prophet Joel LET THE WEAK SAY I AM STRONG Amen
