Lesson 11. Confession of Faith Works. A school on “Faith and Confession” that lays an amazingly deep foundation in the Word of God. Charles Capps teaches how to activate the power of God in your life.
In this chapter, we will examine why confessing the Word of God works. When you tell people to confess the Word of God, various ideas of what you mean come to mind. Some think they need to go to their banker and quote Scripture to him if they have no way to pay their bills.
Confessing the Word of God is necessary so that you can hear yourself saying what God has already said about you. And it is not your banker or your neighbors who need to hear this; God wants you to hear it.
To confess means “to say the same thing” or “to agree.” To confess the Word of God means to agree that the Word of God is true. Confession is the way to possess what God has already given us through His promise. But many miss this biblical truth. Many stray to the right or left of the truth simply because they have not understood this principle.
When you truly understand what faith and confession are, you can apply them correctly in your life.
Of course, there will be people who say, “All this sounds very much like mechanical actions; you are simply trying to beg something from God.”
No, this is God’s principle for operating in faith. Confession is a way to possess, and it is not the only way, but one of the biblical ways.
I want you to look at what Jesus said about the sower in the parable.
Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. Matt. 13:18–19
This parable is also found in the Gospel of Mark, and it sounds a little different.
Let us look at it as well.
The seed sown along the path represents those who hear the word, but as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them. Mark 4:15
Mark says that the seed of the Word of God is sown in a person's heart, but Satan immediately comes and steals the Word. If you read only this passage and did not read the same parable in Matthew, you might think that Satan can steal the Word at any moment whenever he wants, but that is not so.
Matthew 13:19 states that…when anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and does not understand it… There is a reason why it is so easy for Satan to steal the Word from people. They hear, but they do not understand. If you understand the Word of God that was sown, Satan cannot steal it from you. Jesus spoke about this when He was in the home of Martha and Mary. Martha was very troubled that Mary was not helping her but was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to Him.
But Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41–42
Jesus said that what Mary received while sitting at His feet would not be taken away from her, either by Satan or by anyone else. This means that she understood what He was saying and teaching. That is why teaching is so important for us. If the teaching is sound and correct, many people will be able to understand it, and this will not give Satan an opportunity to steal the Word.
There are seven main reasons why confessing the Word of God will work in your life.
Reason No. 1
Confessing the Word of God works because it is sowing seed into the Kingdom.
And He said, “The Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. Mark 4:26–27
It is not at all necessary for you to understand everything perfectly about God’s method, but you do need to understand how to apply it. This is God’s principle, so for it to work in your life, you must obey the Word of God and do what God tells you to do. Hold firmly to your confession.
But all of this can help when you understand it. Study everything we are talking about here and meditate on it. The more you understand the Word of God, the harder it is for Satan to steal it from you.
There are times when people hear the Word of God and receive it with joy, but then trouble and persecution arise because of the Word, and they fall away. The main problem is that they did not understand the Word.
If you sow according to the principle of the Kingdom, you will succeed in every area of your life. When you confess the Word of God (speak it aloud), you sow a seed. Mark 4:26 says that the Kingdom of God is like a man who goes out to sow seed in the ground. God does not sow the seeds. God provides you with the seed, but you must sow it.
Mark chapter 4 and Matthew chapter 13 specifically say that the seed is the Word of God. But in Matthew we also find that the devil’s words can be sown in your heart.
That is why what you confess is so important. If God has said something, it is the truth, but that truth will not necessarily come to pass in your life if you have not sown it in your heart. You must agree with this truth and believe it, and then speak it aloud. Sowing into the Kingdom is your task; God has entrusted it to you (Luke 17:5–6; 2 Corinthians 4:13).
No one will sow in your place. You must declare the Word of God; only in this way can it become seed sown in your heart. Faith works in the heart; faith will not work in your mind.
Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Mark 11:23
Study this principle. A single declaration is not enough for the promise to be fulfilled. Declaring something is not the final stage. However
For the promise to be fulfilled, it must be declared. For how can you have something if you do not first say what you want?
The carnal mind is not suited to God’s law
The head, the carnal mind, helps us set goals based on what we say. Faith, however, operates in the heart. Faith cannot operate in your head, yet some people try to make faith develop in their minds. You may get a headache because of this! Here is what Paul says in Romans, chapter 8.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Rom. 8:7
The law Paul is speaking about here is the law of faith. Your mind cannot fulfill this law because it was not created for that purpose. The mind was given to enable you to think and set goals. What you say is the result of what you think and ponder.
It is not at all necessary that what you say will come to pass. But there are things that will never happen until you speak them, because by speaking them, you set a goal—if you believe what you are saying.
Reason No. 2
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because faith comes through it.
When you speak the Word aloud, you set a goal, sowing a seed into the Kingdom of God that is within you. Faith also comes through your words (Rom. 10:17).
This may relate to any area of your life—physical healing, finances, or spiritual matters. Tell yourself what God says about you, and say it aloud. You speak it, declare it, confess it, and then faith comes.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Rom. 10:17
This passage of Scripture does not say that faith comes from having heard something. People sometimes say, “Well, I’ve heard that before. I even said it once.”
Faith comes by hearing, hearing, and hearing again. It is a continual process, but faith will come. And such faith is the substance of things hoped for. Hope cannot bring something into reality, but faith is the substance of things hoped for and of what we hope for. Hope is important because without it, your faith would have nothing to bring into reality.
God is faithful to His promises, but your task is to set a goal, sow a seed—to make faith come by declaring the promise. You need to agree with it; let your lips agree with the promise. Faith will come, because faith in God comes by hearing what God has said. In the same way, faith in the devil comes by hearing the devil’s words. If you are constantly hearing the devil’s words, you may wonder why you have no faith in God. Hearing the devil’s words produces fear. Faith is the substance of what we hope for and expect. The opposite of faith, then, is fear, which is the substance of what we do not desire. Read the Book of Job to see that this is true.
For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Job 3:25
Job was not simply afraid; he was terrified. The more developed you are in fear or faith, the sooner what you expect will come to pass. The words you speak will help bring either fear or faith. It all depends on what you say. Words carry faith to the same extent that they carry fear. If there is fear in your words, it will fill you. If your words are filled with faith, you will be filled with faith.
Reason No. 3
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because it renews your mind.
Do you understand that your mind was not born again when you were born again?
The Apostle Paul speaks about this in Romans 12:2.
And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… Romans 12:2
Here Paul is addressing believers, the Roman Church. He tells them that something must be done with their minds.…And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…
Confessing the Word of God and agreeing with what God says about you helps your mind be renewed, and you gain the ability to think as God thinks. In turn, this will help you speak as God speaks and walk as God walks—without fear or anxiety, in victory rather than defeat.
If we do not occupy ourselves with renewing our minds, we risk ending up in a situation similar to Peter’s when he stepped out of the boat to walk on water, although he was not yet ready to walk on water as Jesus did.
Peter stepped out of the boat before he was ready to walk on water. He learned to speak beautifully, but proving his words through his actions proved more difficult. The circumstances overcame him. Jesus said, “Come,” and that one word contained enough faith for Peter to walk on water. The problem was that his mind had not been renewed. He allowed something completely unrelated to what he was doing to become the cause of his doubts.
Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water, but then he began looking around at what was happening: the high waves and the raging wind.
What did the waves and the wind have to do with his walking on the water? Nothing! Peter allowed circumstances that had no bearing whatsoever on his walking on the water to drain his faith, and he began to sink.
Think about this for a moment. He had never seen anyone who could walk on water except Jesus, and Jesus was walking precisely when a terrible wind was blowing and a storm was beginning. Peter should have assessed the situation as follows:
“Well, I have never seen anyone walk on water. I think the only right time to walk on water is precisely when there is a storm all around.” Then Jesus says to him, “Come,” but Peter’s mind had not yet been renewed.
But when he saw the strong wind, he became afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Matthew 14:30
Fear, if you allow it to come, will always make you look at your circumstances. That is why you need to renew your mind in the knowledge of God, so that you can place the Word of God above any circumstances.
It is very important for you to renew your mind. Do what the Apostle Paul told the Colossians to do.
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9–10
Reason No. 4
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because it contains the answer for you.
If whenever you face a problem, you talk about it and pray about it, your faith in that problem will increase. If you always share your problem with others, then you really do have a problem. If you come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I have this problem that I cannot get rid of; it is getting bigger and bigger every day,” then you have very serious problems.
All you see is a problem. When you wake up in the morning, you see a problem. You go to bed in the evening thinking about the problem. Even when you eat, sleep, and live, you think about the problem. It has taken you captive—your time, your thoughts, even your prayers—and faith comes by hearing. In that case, you will have enormous faith in the problem, rather than in its solution.
But when you begin to renew your mind and keep the answer to your problem on your lips, confessing the Word of God, someone may say that you are simply ignoring the problem.
On the contrary, you are doing something to solve it. When you are accused of ignoring the problem, quote this passage of Scripture to them.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, my brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any virtue and anything praiseworthy—think about these things. Phil. 4:6–8
Paul begins the final verse with the words: Finally, my brothers and sisters…. In other words, he concludes: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any virtue and anything praiseworthy—think about these things.
Everyone wants the peace of God to guard their minds, but not many want to do what the Bible says in order to have it. Many want to take a shortcut. People want to have the peace of God while confessing their problems. The more you pray about a problem, the more faith you have in that problem.
You will never be able to solve any problem if you only keep thinking about it. You need to get rid of it and find the answer. The Word of God has the answer for you; your attitude will change, and you will become a different person. But if you constantly think about the problem, believe in it, and talk about it, everything will end with the problem.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
What will be yours? The thing you are praying for. If you pray about the problem, you will receive what you are praying for. You should not pray about the problem.
In Isaiah, God says:
Remind Me; let us reason together; speak up, so that you may be vindicated. Isa. 43:26
In other words, remind Him of what He said; remind Him of His own words. This does not mean that God is forgetful. You do this not for Him, but for yourself, because faith comes by hearing. This will not make God's faith stronger, because He will hear His own Word. Your faith will grow stronger, and the Word of God will not return to God in vain.
Your faith will grow as you pray for the answer to your problem. But if you pray about the problem, your fear will grow.
Some Christians destroy their own faith with their very prayers. But this is not God’s will. Prayer is not intended to destroy faith. Prayer is meant to obtain an answer—“whatever you ask for in prayer.” I don’t want to have problems, so I won’t pray for problems.
For more than twenty years, I prayed such religious prayers and very rarely saw answers to my prayers. And when it did happen, it was a coincidence.
Someone told me about this, and I think it is a good example for illustration. From Dallas to Fort Worth, Texas, it is about 35 miles. If you left Dallas for Fort Worth and, after traveling for three days, still had not reached it, you would know that you had gotten off course.
I traveled along this religious path of prayer for about twenty years and never reached my destination. But when I found in Scripture that I should pray for the answer instead of praying about the problem, I received far more answers to my prayers in two weeks than I had in the previous twenty years.
This can help you save twenty years of praying in vain. Don’t pray about the problem; pray for the answer.
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
Who will return God’s Word to Him? God expects you to do it. When you return His Word to Him, it will cause your faith to grow, renew your mind, and sow a seed into the Kingdom. God is not inclined to complicate things; on the contrary, He makes everything easier.
Reason No. 5
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because it changes your heart.
Proverbs 4:20–23 gives good advice on this subject.
My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:20–23
You are one of those who must guard and protect your heart, because the sources of life flow from it. According to Mark 4, our hearts can be filled with thorns and stones. That is why it is so important for the heart to be changed.
The soil will try to produce a stone just as diligently as it does a seed. It supplies the stone with the same nutrients as the seed. But the thing is, the stone will not bear fruit because there is no life in it. Stones will absorb the moisture that the seed so desperately needs. The Parable of the Sower reveals that the seeds that fell on rocky ground would not be able to bear fruit. The soil will devote as much space, time, and moisture to the stones as to the seed, but there will be no result because there is no life in the stone. The Word of God is an eternal, incorruptible seed, full of spiritual life. Therefore, if you remove all the stones and thorns and sow the Word of God, it will change your heart.
Reason No. 6
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because it sets the law of faith in motion.
Faith is God's law. Paul speaks clearly about this in Romans 3:27.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Romans 3:27
Faith is a law. It is the same law Paul speaks about in Romans 8:7: …because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be…. Enmity means “irreconcilable hostility.” You cannot believe something with your mind if you do not believe it with your heart. You will not be able to believe with your mind that if you say to a mountain, it will move. This kind of faith cannot operate in your mind; it exists only in your heart.
But if you renew your mind, you can reach a state in which it will no longer resist your heart.
But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak. 2 Corinthians 4:13
This is how it works. You speak what you believe. And every time you say it, you will believe it more strongly. This process is what enables your faith to grow. You make it operate—the spirit of faith and the law of faith.
Mark 11:23 and Luke 17:6 speak of the same thing.
Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Mark 11:23
The Lord said, “If you had faith as a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6
These passages of Scripture explain how the law of faith works and how it can be set in motion. It will not begin working simply because you said something; however, declaration is one of the components of the law of faith that sets it in motion.
This is why we should declare the Word of God, even when outward circumstances say otherwise. There are things in the Word of God that must become truth in our lives. God has already declared everything He intended to say about this; now it is our responsibility to put the law of faith into action.
People sometimes say, “Okay, but where do I start?”
Start where you are. Never try to start at someone else’s level of faith.
Many people get into trouble with teaching about faith and confession right from the beginning. They try to start somewhere other than at their own level of faith. It is like starting to build a house from the third floor on a plot of land. You need to start where you are. You may want to begin by confessing that you will find a parking space when you drive downtown. Develop your faith through small things. Do not try to confess a million dollars if you are not yet
at that level. Start with small things, and eventually you will reach a higher level where you can believe God for more. Through experience, you will learn what makes this law work and what, on the contrary, weakens it.
There are also people who confess the Word of God out of fear. It sounds good; they say the right words, but they do it because of fear.
Your confession must be in faith. That is why you need to do this continually. You will begin to declare things that are difficult for you to believe at first, but you will know that you are doing the right thing because it is written in the Bible. You know that the Bible is true, but that truth is not yet a reality in your life. However, if you begin to declare it, confess it, and affirm it over a period of time, you will believe it. Because you will believe what you continually say.
Reason No. 7
Confessing the Word of God works in your life because angels begin to work on your behalf.
Many people do not even attach importance to the fact that angels listen to what you say. The Bible reveals in Acts 7:53 that a law concerning the ministry of angels was given. But in the first chapter of Hebrews, it says:
To which of the angels did God ever say: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Heb. 1:13–14
If you are an heir of salvation, then angels will minister to you.
Supernatural beings, angels, ministering spirits will minister to you.
In Revelation 22, the Apostle John calls them fellow servants:
I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do this! For I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Rev. 22:8–9
In other words, the angel said, “Do not worship me; I am your servant.” We need to realize and accept the fact that angels are our fellow servants: …your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the words of this book…. If you keep what is written in this book, then angels will minister to you.
But angels will not fill your car with gasoline. Angels listen to what you say, and what you say has the greatest influence on what they do.
The Kingdom Possesses Everything
From time to time, God sends messages through His angels. Angels are also called messengers. But sometimes you give them assignments. Psalm 103:19–20 says:
The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who do His word, obeying the voice of His word. Ps. 103:19–20
Notice that the Kingdom “rules over all.” Where is this Kingdom? The Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Although God’s throne is in heaven, His Kingdom “rules over all.”
Angels carry out the Word of God and His commands. What are His commands? David says that the words of God are His laws and commands. Mark 11:23 says that if anyone says to a mountain or problem, “Rise up,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he asks for will happen, it will be done for him according to his faith. Angels already know what God has said, and it seems that they are on earth to fulfill the Word of God for us. They know what God has said and listen carefully to what you say. I believe that if the words you speak are in agreement with the Word of God, they are assignments for angels.
If you say what God has said, you give the angels an assignment that they must fulfill. Notice that Psalm 103:20 says that they obey the voice of His word, carrying out His Word. If you voice the Word of God, angels will carry out what you say.
Jesus said:
Give, and it will be given to you: a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; for with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
Paul says that whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Corinthians 9:6). When you speak the Word of God aloud, angels hear you and what you say, and strive to carry it out. The Word of God says that a person will have whatever he asks for if he asks in faith and without doubting in his heart. If you believe and do not doubt in your heart what you say, it will be the angels’ task to fulfill what you declare. This may take weeks, months, or even years; you simply need to calm down and believe that they are working on it. Angels carry out the Word of God, obeying His voice. Do as David says in Psalm 106.
So let the redeemed of the Lord say…
Begin to say: “Thank You, God, I am redeemed from the curse of the law and delivered from the power of darkness, in Jesus’ name. I am blessed when I come in and go out; no weapon formed against you shall prosper. I thank You, God, that everything I do will prosper, because I am like a tree planted by streams of water.”
By speaking this way, you are speaking the Word of God and assigning a task to the angels. You influence angels by declaring the Word of God.
End of lesson.
Author: Charles Capps
Source: The book “Faith and Confession.”
