THE POWER OF SPOKEN FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE POWER OF SPOKEN FAITH!

Memory verse: "And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak," (Second Corinthians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Matthew 8 vs 5 - 13:

8:5: Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,

8:6: saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 

8:7: And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8:8: The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

8:9: For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

8:10: When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 

8:11: And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

8:12: But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

8:13: Then, Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

INTIMATION:

Believe in your heart and say with your mouth. Believing God and His Word is of great importance. But Jesus encourages us further to articulate, to say aloud, what we are believing God for. There is great power in the spoken word of faith.

Believing God is wonderful. But Jesus urged us to do one more thing: to speak the word of faith, to verbalize what we are seeking from God. Believers should understand the power of speaking the Word of God with boldness and faith, and the believer "shall have whatsoever he saith". (Mark 11 vs 22 -23.) If one truly believes, then he will speak forth the word of God.

The passage we read today is about the faith of the Roman soldier, a 'Centurion.' I have always enjoyed meditating on the Bible story of this Roman soldier, and his faith. This Bible story sets forth all the ingredients of triumphant faith—the power of spoken faith in action. The centurion believed and spoke out his faith. He knew Jesus has authority over all things, including demons, and can exercise His authority from anywhere, just as he can, as a soldier over his subjects, and it is done. We, 'believers,' should do the same. 

The centurion believed in his heart and spoke it with his mouth, exercising the power of spoken faith, and Jesus highly commended him. In fact, He called it the greatest faith He had seen in all Israel. Let us all, therefore, as 'Believers,' speak with the same spirit of faith in the word. Our memory verse is the spoken faith of the anonymous psalmist in Psalm 116 vs 10, "I believed, therefore I spoke." He believed in God, spoke out to the LORD in his time of distress, and the LORD heard his voice and his supplication:

Salvation is the greatest of all God's gifts, and the opener of all other blessings of God. And it is obtained by us through believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths that Jesus is the risen Lord. Salvation is as close as your own lips and heart: "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is the word of faith which we preach: that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10 vs 8 - 10.)

When we learn to speak the Word and not the problem, we are on the road to absolute victory. But we are defeated the moment we allow ourselves to start listing our burdens instead of counting our blessings. God is the Creator and Master over all things. He has given us the carte blanche to 'ask and receive, seek and find, and knock and the door will be opened to us.' But we must have faith in Him, and that faith must be spoken out. But as Christ said, "the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness." Many Christians will miss the kingdom because of not confessing their faith. Therefore, if you believe, then speak it.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so faithful to Your promises, and cannot deny Yourself. I hold tightly to You and Your Word, my Redeemer and Savior. You have given me a mouth and wisdom which all my adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. Help me to always declare boldly my faith in You at all times. As I believe so will I speak, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!