Grace Tidings with Dr Doug Mamvura
“I always talk about your positivity, my brother. Never one day have I ever heard you complaining or saying negative things. Thanks for your encouragement.”
These were words from one of my friends and brother in the Lord about me testifying about my positive confessions.
One of the things I have learnt in life is that death and life is in the power of the tongue and those who love it, will eat the fruit thereof (Proverbs 18:21). You will have what you say and this is a spiritual principle. If you make positive confessions, you will have positive outcomes and the opposite is true.
The woman who touched Jesus’ garment received exactly what she said. The Bible says, “for she said, ‘If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole’ (Mark 5:28). The words she spoke was her faith speaking and no wonder Jesus commented — “Daughter, your faith has made you whole” (Mark 5:34).
Mark 11:23-24 says: “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.” Therefore, I say unto you, what things so ever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.
Anyone who uses faith the way Jesus did to this fig tree, can get the same results. Three times in this verse, Jesus stressed speaking. This is a vital part of faith. We can’t just think faith. It needs to be spoken. Proverbs 20 -21 says: “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Notice that it’s not only important to speak our faith; it’s also important to whom or what we are speaking. Mark 11:23 says we are to speak to the mountain. The mountain symbolises our problem or the thing we want removed. Most people speak to God about their problems. This verse is saying we need to speak to our problems about God. We should say things like “cancer, be gone” and “body, you recover.”
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This involves believers taking their authority and commanding the problem to be removed (Isaiah 45:11). The Lord didn’t say “Pray for the sick.” He said “Heal the sick” Matthew 10:8 and Luke 9:2). There is a huge difference between the two.
A common prayer today for healing would be something like, “Father, I thank You that by the stripes of Jesus, I have been healed. I’m claiming my healing in the name of Jesus.” All those statements are good and true, but that’s not what Jesus was instructing us to do. We should speak directly to the problem and, using our authority in Jesus, command the problem to be removed.
Notice that people have to believe that the words they say will come to pass, without doubting in their hearts. People who don’t place a value on words and constantly say things they don’t mean can’t do this. They train their bodies not to believe or take their words seriously with many of the foolish things they say. Those who see the miraculous things come to pass that Jesus was promising in this verse are those who bridle their tongues all the time, not just when they are in a bind and need something from God.
Another wonderful proof text is found in the Old Testament. Numbers 13 tells us that after the children of Israel reached Kadesh-Barnea, they sent twelve spies into Canaan. Ten of the spies brought back an evil report from the Promised Land, and two brought back a good report. What is an evil report? It is a report of doubt.
What is a good report? It is a report of faith. Ten of them said, “It’s true, all right, that the land is flowing with milk and honey.” They even displayed the giant clusters of grapes, pomegranates, and other fruit they had brought back from Canaan. “But,” they warned, “there are giants in the land. And in our eyes, we are as grasshoppers in their sight. “When you analyse their report, they were saying, “We can’t do it. We can’t take the land.” And all of Israel accepted this report. Some people believe the majority report is always right, but if you follow the majority of Christians, even Full Gospel Christians, you will walk in unbelief.
By accepting the majority report, the children of Israel were saying, “We can’t take the land. “You can have what you say. The children of Israel got exactly what they said. They believed they couldn’t take it, so they said they couldn’t take it. And they didn’t.
After all, even when you doubt, you believe something; you just believe the wrong thing. That is the only difference. You will always get and have in your life what you believe for and say. If you do not believe what you are saying, you should not say it, because if you say something long enough, those words eventually will register on your spirit and will control your life. Each one of those ten spies got exactly what he said.
Not one of them entered the Promised Land. They all wandered in the wilderness until they died. What they said came to pass. It was different for Joshua and Caleb. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). Joshua said, “Only rebel not you against the Lord, neither fear you the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their protection is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not” (Numbers. 14:9). Joshua and Caleb did not deny that there were giants in the land. “Yes,” they admitted, “in our own eyes we are as grasshoppers in their sight.” But when you analyse what they said, they confessed, “Our God is well able to deliver them into our hands. We’re well able to overcome the giants and possess the land. “People often come to me asking, “Will you tell me why I can’t get healed?
“I always smile and say, ‘Yes’”. Their eyes get big and they say, “Well, if you can, I wish you would.” I say, “You just got through telling me you can’t. “You can have what you say. Their words give them away. You can locate people by what they say. Their confession locates them. When I pray for people, I try to get a confession from them before I pray for them. I ask them, “Will you be healed now as I lay my hands on your head and pray?” “Well, Brother Doug, I — I — I sure hope I will. And I always have to say, “Well, you won’t. You won’t.” You see, I’ve located them. I know where they are now. They’re not in faith. They’re in hope. “Will you be filled with the Holy Spirit now as I lay my hands upon your head and pray?” I ask them. “Well, I sure hope I will, Brother Doug.” And I always have to say, “Well, you won’t be.” I have located them.
Those who have a quick confession of faith receive almost instantly. Some people, however, think that because I preach this way, they can just say it out of their heads without believing it in their hearts. I have noticed that these people do not look me in the eye when they say it, and I detect a note of hesitancy in their voice. That little hesitancy will defeat them. It’s the little foxes, the Bible says, that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15). It’s not some great big something that’s keeping most of God’s children from being healed or filled with the Spirit. It wasn’t the giants in Canaan who kept Israel from entering the Promised Land.
If it had been the giants, they would have defeated Joshua and Caleb, just as they did the rest of the spies. No, the 10 spies defeated themselves. It was their wrong thinking, wrong believing, and wrong talking that defeated them. It is not the giants in life who defeat people. It is not the storms of life that defeat you. It is not the devil who defeats you. If you are defeated, you have defeated yourself by your wrong thinking, wrong believing, and wrong talking. Joshua and Caleb said, “Our God is well able to deliver them into our hands. We are well able to overcome them. “You can have what you say. The woman with the issue of blood got exactly what she said.
Therefore, be very careful about what you confess. Your mouth or tongue is a deadly weapon.
Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura
