Because He Said So
(Genesis 15:1-4 NASB) “After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’ Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.’ Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.’”
(Genesis 18:11-14 NASB) “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, “Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?” Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’”
(Jeremiah 32:27 KJV) “Behold, I am the Lord the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
(Luke 1:37 KJV) “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.”
In the GH15 posts, I have written and spoken much about the importance of saying what God says, of speaking His words. Speaking is how God creates and how He releases His power (Genesis 1; John 1). As those made in His image and likeness, we are to operate in this way, also. There is power IN us that must be released FROM us, and the primary way we do so is with our words.
I am speaking, of course, of speaking God’s words. The word for confession in the New Testament is homologia, which literally means “say the same;” in other words, “say the same thing God says.”(1) Saying what God says is how we, like Him, release the faith, the life, and the power that is in our spirits. Jesus told us to say to mountains, “Be removed,” using “mountains” figuratively to represent adversity (Mark 11.23-24). This is also how we are born again - believing in our hearts regarding Christ’s redeeming work and saying so with our mouths (Romans 10:9). This is what we are doing when decreeing or declaring in the context of prayer and/or spiritual warfare (Job 22:28; Matthew 16:18-19). And it is what is meant by using “The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) against satan’s kingdom. “Word” in this verse from Ephesians is rhema, which means spoken words.(2) Speaking God’s words is a powerful weapon.
In this post’s opening verses of Scripture, an important Hebrew word dabar is used four times. Twice it is translated as “word” (as in “word of the Lord”); twice it is translated as “thing” (“Is any thing too hard for Me?”). Interestingly, dabar does mean both: a word, declaration, even a promise, and a thing. In Hebrew, the word or decree and the thing or matter it speaks of are the same word!(3)
Skip Moen quotes Frederick Buechner as saying, “In Hebrew, the word dabar means both word and also deed. A dabar doesn’t merely say something; it does something. It brings something into being. It makes something happen.”(4)
Wow!
Joanne Panettieri says of this important word, “The Dabar of the Lord carries with it the ability to accomplish what it is sent out to do.(5)
This is what took place at creation. God’s words - dabar - accomplished. Isaiah 55:11 says: “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
Here’s what I want you to understand: God is not just saying He keeps His word. Obviously, He does so. But He wants us to know that His words DO! They accomplish, perform, and create that which He says.
The archangel Gabriel was asked by Mary how she, a virgin, could have a child. He replied that: 1) Holy Spirit would overshadow her, placing within Mary a reproductive seed containing God himself! (Luke 1:35) Then he said, as translated by most versions of Scripture, 2) “For with God, nothing shall be impossible” (Verse 37). The word “nothing” is actually rhema, which, once again, means a spoken word. “Impossible” is the Greek word adunateo(6) (from the Greek prefix a, meaning without, and dunamis,(7) meaning power or ability), which literally means “without power.” A more literal translation of Gabriel’s explanation would be, “For no word spoken by God is without power.”
Gabriel was essentially saying, “Mary, this will happen through the power of God’s words. It will occur because He said it!”
Tomorrow, I will talk about the need for us to agree with God, including, of course, doing so with our words. He has chosen to work with and through us, giving us the choice to accept or reject His offer. Certainly, much of what God has said - regarding the future of the earth, the events in the Book of Revelation, etc. - will occur, whether you and I agree with it or not. However, what He says is available to us personally must be received and entered into by obedience and faith. We were saved at Calvary, but that salvation was not experienced until we believed in Christ’s work and confessed Him as our Savior. The same is true with promises to groups of people, including nations; the destiny and blessing God offers must be received by faith and by operating in obedience to His Word.
Pray with me:
Father, we come before You in humility and faith. In humility, we acknowledge that it is not our strength, goodness, or power that enables us to move mountains. And yet, in faith, we declare that we have been given the power of Holy Spirit and the authority of Christ with which to do so. In humility, we acknowledge that the blessing, mercy, provision and salvation we experience and release to others comes from the covenant we have with You through Christ, not any merits of our own. And yet, in faith we declare that we do indeed have these blessings, rights and privileges. Thank You for welcoming us into Your family and allowing us to partner with You.
And we exalt You today as the great and awesome God, the Almighty, whose very words have within them the power and ability to accomplish what they say. No word spoken by You is without power! It always accomplishes what You assigned it to do. No promise You have made is too hard for You to fulfill.
This week, open to us a greater revelation of Your ways. Teach us regarding both our need and our ability to operate as You do, releasing power through words. You told us death and life were in the power of the tongue. You said we could move mountains with our words. We join with Mary in saying, be it done to us according to Your Word.
And we conclude by agreeing with You today regarding Your promise of salvation. We declare that America shall be saved. Our prodigals will come home to You. And the greatest harvest of souls in earth’s history shall take place in our generation. So be it. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we are coming into greater alignment with the Word and ways of God.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3671.
Ibid., ref. no. 4487.
Ibid., ref. no. 1697.
Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ref. no.101.
Ibid., ref. no. 1410.