Introduction:

For the past three weeks we have been digging deep into the practical aspect of ‘‘How to turn our Faith Loose’’. A quick recap of all we have learnt can be succinctly put in this equation:

Right Thinking + Believing + Confessing = Activated Faith.

Wrong/ Right Thinking, Believing, and Confessing

Today we will be studying on “Wrong / Right Thinking, Wrong / Right Believing, and Wrong / Right Confession.” Then by the grace of God we will conclude based on what God expects from us as believers.

Romans 10: 10

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteous-ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

MARK 11:22-24

22 ... Have faith in God [or, Have the God-kind of faith].

23 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.

24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

From the above texts, our discussion have been on right and wrong thinking, right and wrong believing and right and wrong confession. Therefore, we can say as a corollary to the above equation that;

If our confession is wrong, it is because our believing is wrong.

If our believing is wrong, it is because our thinking is wrong.

If our thinking is wrong, it is because our minds have not yet been renewed with the word of God. Now we can see that the role of our thoughts, believe and ultimately our confession on ‘How to Turn Our Faith Loose’ cannot be over emphasised.

Wrong / Right Thinking

In Part 2 of our study we were able to established that our thoughts, based on what we feed our minds with are governed by the thing we read, watch, listen to and what we feel ( Senses? you may think- see Nehemiah 8:8 & Heb 5:14).

So if we feed our mind with negative words in what we read, watch and listening to, we will be susceptible to wrong thinking.

On the other hand if we feed our mind with right and edifying words from the scripture reading, Christian Publications, Audio messages, e.t.c. invariably our thought life will be right in accordance with the will of God. Phil 4:8 admonishes us on what we should think about. The responsibility of guiding our heart with all diligence lies with us. (Prov. 4: 23). You are what you think. (Prov. 23: 7).

These injunctions are possible if we yield to His words. God's thoughts are different from man's thoughts. God says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9).

Sometimes you can say some things that the Bible says are true, and in your natural mind, it doesn't sound reasonable. But that is because your mind hasn't been renewed with the Word of God. Rom 12: 2.

Wrong / Right Beliefs: 

It is good we read our text again for emphasis on what we believe and what to do with our belief

MARK 11:22-24 (emphasis are mine).

22 ... Have faith in God [or, Have the God-kind of faith].

23 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.

24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

The belief we are concerned about is on the Word of God. In other words, what God says about us, what He says about our situations- our past, present and our future. This is not about our feelings or what folks say about us. We should be careful not to drift into the realm of the flesh (senses; see, hear or feel) but rather we are to consciously ‘tame’ them meditatively via the words of God.

Wrong/ Positive Confession

Wrong confession, of course, is a confession of defeat, of failure, and of the supremacy of Satan. Speaking about how the devil is affecting your progress, oppressing your family, holding your finances, academic, marital fruitfulness business, health and ministries in bondage is a confession of defeat. These kinds of confessions simply glorify the devil. These are wrong confessions. We have established it that Confession is proclaiming a truth that we've accepted wholeheartedly or it is declaring something we know to be true and stating something we believe.

It is important to know that when we confess the words of God, we give voice to His written words. The Lord said ‘the words I speak unto you are Spirit, and they are life’. John 6: 63. So whenever we speak the words, it eventually turns to Spirit. Thus, angelic beings are discharged to execute those words.  Psa 103: 20. In the same vein demonic beings are release on every negative word. Suffice to say that the worlds (heaven, earth and underneath the earth) are govern by words. However, the place of dominion is entrenched by our confession. 

Useful antidotes:

1. Don't Confess Fear - Resist It!

Someone define fear as False Experience Appearing Real. But the Bible says God has given you a spirit, not of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).  If you walk in love, you ought not to be tormented by fear. Why? 1 John 4: 18 says; ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love cast out all fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love’. Fear is from the enemy. We need to confess the words of God based on 2 Tim 1:7. ‘I have the spirit of power’. What you confess will dominate you!

James 4: 7 says Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Fear is of the devil. The antidote is to resist the devil. Declare with your mouth that you have the spirit of power, love and of a sound mind. This entails a conscious effort on our part to grow spiritually.

2. Don't Confess Doubt - Resist It!

This antidote and the aforementioned one is not a suggestion to deny the fact that you cannot fear or you cannot doubt if you already have it as a beguiling issue. The panacea is- do not give credence to it by your words. When you say it out, you empower it. Do not confess your doubts. Confess the words instead. Doubt is evil. When you build yourself in the most holy faith, Jude 20, Doubt will dissipate. Envision God bigger than the circumstance, situation or problem. Remember Num 13: 32. Again we are commanded to resist the devil. ‘Whom resist steadfast in the faith…….’’ 1 Pet 5: 9.

Always remember God said ‘Fear thou not. Store up in your mind ‘Fear not’ words in the scripture and confess it loud and clear. For instance, Kenneth E. Hagin suggested you say- ‘’ I'm a child of God, and God has not given me a spirit of fear. I'm not afraid. I refuse to be afraid. I resist you, Satan, in Jesus' Name’’. He observed “This will make you rise above satanic influence every single time. Every time you confess your doubts and fears, your weakness, and your disease, you are openly confessing that the Word of God is not true and that God has failed to make His Word good in your life. Think on that for awhile! I want you to see the place that confession holds in your life’’.

3. Don't Confess Your Sickness - Confess your Healing!

Locating an appropriate word from the scriptures, believe it, confess it, action it! This will inevitably bring an end to all struggles.  Kenneth E. Hagin said ‘’what does God's Word say? Ask yourself that question on any subject. Take healing or sickness, for example; what does God have to say about the subject of healing? The Word declares that with Jesus' stripes, you were healed (Isa. 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). The Bible also says, "Surely He has borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases" (Isa. 53:4). And Matthew 8:17 says, ". . . Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." But many times, instead of confessing that Jesus has borne their diseases and put them away, people confess they still have them. You see, the reason we miss it so much of the time is, we take the testimony of our physical senses instead of taking the testimony of the Word of God. But when they start confessing that Jesus has done something about their sickness and disease - that He has taken them away - then healing and health will become a reality in their lives’’.

Conclusion:

How forcible are right words. “Thy words have upholden him that was falling and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.” Job 6: 25; 4:4. Informed believers are word –based; those who have saturated their minds with the infallible words of God. Therefore, in our sitting, walking and standing position of victory we have in Christ Jesus, it is adequate information we have about whom and who we are in Him, that will translate into revelation, which will engender our transformation, for by then we can say we have turned our faith loose. Acts 11: 26, 2 Corinth 3: 18.

Contributor: Martins Olubiyi