Faith Receiving God’s Promises

Romans 4 :17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 

We have a great example of how to receive the promises of God in Romans, Chapter 4. Abraham, known as the father of our faith, shows us the principles of faith necessary to obtain the promise, even when it seemed naturally impossible. The first thing I see that Abraham had to learn from God was to call those things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). We see God doing that from the beginning. Genesis 1:2 says, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." You can see the Earth was dark; it was in chaos. Then, we see in Verse 3, "And God said, let there be light: and there was light." I want you to notice that God did not say, "Quit being dark, and I mean it!" He didn't tell it to stop being something. Instead, He said what He wanted it to be. He said, "Light be!" not, “Darkness go away.” What is the difference? Isn't it the same thing? I guess not since the Word of God is specific about it. God even went so far as to change Abram and Sarai 's names to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham means "father of multitudes," and Sarah means, “princess, noble woman.” Abraham didn't have an heir, and God started saying, “Through your name, you are the ‘father of multitudes.’”

Words are very important in receiving the promises of God. Many scriptures tell us about our words. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." Proverbs 6:2 says, "Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth." James 3:2-4 also teaches us about the power of our words and how the tongue steers our bodies and gives direction to our lives. We can't talk about words, and calling those things that be not as though they were, without mentioning what the Head of the Church said in Mark 11:23. Jesus said you would have what you say.

So, what should you be saying? If you have sickness in your body, say, "By the stripes of Jesus I am healed. Jesus became a curse for me. Sickness is a curse, and I have been redeemed from the curse." If you feel stressed, you should say, "Jesus is my peace. I keep my mind stayed on Him; and, therefore, I am in perfect peace." If you are confused and can't seem to make a good decision, say, "I am His sheep, and I know His voice, and the voice of stranger I will not follow. Because I am a child of God, I am led by the Spirit of God; and I always make good decisions." You say what you want and not what you have. When you feel weak, say "I am strong!" 

Let's be like God. If you don't want darkness anymore, say, "Light be!" It will be just like the day light came when the Holy Spirit was right there to perform the Word of God that was spoken.