Faith and Confession Say What God Says 1965 1. The message last night on “Faith and the Mind” is often not well received or accepted by many people, because they feel that it seems to knock down a lot of their strongholds that they once had concerning faith; and also, to some people it smacks a little bit of Christian Science. It’s just a little difficult for people to realize that God’s Word has laid down certain laws. Now religion is not just emotion. I believe we are an emotional people, but oftentimes we fail to realize even that ‘peace’ is an emotion. 2. Years ago, when I was born again… I was saved in an independent Pentecostal church, and I think you’ll admit that they taught a lot of what the same people teach today, that is that the Spirit of God brings ‘power’. But the teaching is remiss in this: they emphasize that the ‘experience is powerful’. And so, they’ve got everybody wound up like jet planes to take off, and they sure do. But they don’t have propellers or something, and they are sure to hit mountains or something and go up in smoke. What would a nervous fellow like me want with a high-powered, jet-plane experience? I don’t need it. That’s the one thing I don’t need and shouldn’t have; but I was taught to go in there—tiger in your tank and a wildcat under your hood—roomph!” 3. I don’t need that, and nobody needs that in this twentieth century Laodicean Age. What we need is a ‘sand-bag’ experience to quieten us down, so God can get a hold of us. So, when I talk many times about “Faith and the Mind” people don’t realize that this message is calculated to tone people down so that God can deal with their minds. And “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength… ” [Isa 30:15], and he said. “Study to be quiet… ” [1 Th 4:11] The most important thing in this world is to get your mind under the control of God, because your actions come out of your mind. Don’t go by your feelings. Wonder how good Daniel or the three Hebrew children felt? They said, “Either worship the king or get burned up!” [Dan 3:6, 11] “Oh, whoopee, good! We’re gonna get burnt up! Whoopee!” Do you think they did that? The prospect, my brother/sister, was horrifying. 4. What do you lay awake at night for anyway? Because you are worried over a. teensy, weensy, little thing that might cause you a little trouble, embarrassment or something? But those men were facing death by burning. Now, let’s get some of that kind of “tiger in your tank,” or “wildcat under your hood.” Huh? Oh, no! They stood in fear and trembling. One step ahead was, “If I must burn, I will burn.” Now, where is your big ‘whoopee’, running all around, climbing a wall, cutting a rug, screaming? Suddenly goes down the drain, doesn’t it? If the mind is not under control the actions will be erratic, because you can only do what your mind indicates. Therefore, we need to put on the mind of God, if we are going to walk and act like Jesus Christ. We are going to have to think like he thought concerning every circumstance and; then, act as he would have us act. The mind must not be overcome by emotions. 5. Our message tonight follows last night’s message, and it has to do with “Faith and Confession.” It has to do with our ‘talking’. And the Word of God says just as much about our ‘talking’ as It says about our ‘thinking’, and maybe more so. I never took a text last night, but tonight I will; and we’ll read it, and you’ll miss it. But, don’t feel bad; I’ll explain it. Because, if God doesn’t show it to you, you’ll never get it. It’s just that simple. Heb 6:16-18. Hebrews 6 —“Faith And Confession,” or “The positive confession of the Word of God as having to do with the out-working of your faith.” (16) For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 6. Now, let’s just talk a minute about that. Did you ever stop to think about the implication of that little verse, where It says here that “Men…swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife?” [Heb 6:16] Now, if you just walked up and gave your word to somebody, do you think he’d take it? Why, he’d laugh in your face. You can’t even trust a contract because of the fine print; and then, with the fine print you still can’t trust the contract, because the law can break the law and defeat the law. But It says here that all men used to do was give their word, and that was it. Now, can you feature the twentieth century accepting that? 7. Now, listen; all God did was give His Word. But men don’t accept each other’s word. Well, first of all, why should they? You’ve got the Hebrews. Let’s look at these Jews. If you did not know it, you know it now. At least once a year they have an “Oath Revocation Day.” In other words they revoke their oath. So, they know that today, the next 24 hours, they can revoke every single oath they made. So, they can skin you and skin you good, and rejoice, because they are very religious doing it, “Hallelujah! Glory to God!” Now the Catholic, he finds it ‘divine’—God approves it, if he will skin a Protestant. What about the Protestant? Their word is not worth a nickel, because they are the ones I deal with—not Jews, not Catholics, but Protestants. Wouldn’t it be nice if a man’s word was worth something? 8. You see, that’s why we have a time believing God’s Word, because we just can’t believe anybody’s word; because, generally, it’s not worth believing. We can’t even believe our own word, because even we may renege or sneak out the back door. I’ve had that happen to me so many times that it’s not easy to have too much confidence anymore. But, see, that’s what destroys faith In God’s Word; because, how can you say you love God when you hate man made in the image of God? So, nobody even puts too much faith in God’s Word on the ground that he’s already gotten out of the systematic habit of believing God’s Word, because he sees all that’s going on in the lives of men. 9. You know what the word ‘faith’ means in the dictionary? It means ‘to accept on the grounds of personal testimony, without further proof, the word of a man, or to give credit to the word without any proof’. That’s the same with God. God doesn’t have to prove anything to you. He said it and that’s it. You say, “God, give me a sign.” God doesn’t have to give you a sign. That’s it! 10. Well, let’s read some more, because that’s not my message. That’s just a thought. [Heb 6:17] (17) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise (That is you and me.) the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. God is immutable and His Word stands fast. Man is God’s only earth creation that can both reason and speak. 11. Last night we discussed his reasoning ability and what his faith had to do with it. We found that the mind was—and particularly, the thoughts of the mind were—the enemy of God, destroying faith; while a renewed mind, of course, would be the friend of God. Disciplined thinking, according to the Word of God, will foster and cause faith to bring forth what God promised faith would do. Man cannot talk without thinking. Now I know you’ve heard, “He said it without thinking.” That’s a lie! Why? He thought, but he didn’t think long enough. You cannot speak without thinking, unless you’re under the inspiration of a devil or God. In other words, ordinarily there is no bypassing your mind and your own human consciousness, your own human conduct and conversation. You ordinarily cannot bypass your mind. Now this that I have said is scriptural, because It says in Prov 15:28: (28) The heart of the righteous (the mind of the righteous) studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. A true believer will stop and think before he talks. But a wicked man is characterized by the fact that he doesn’t think for any length of time. He just lets it roll. That’s what the Bible teaches, so we’ll have to believe and accept it. 12. With this in mind we will study faith in relation to the confession of our thoughts or the speaking out of our thoughts. Now, let’s go back to our text. Notice: (Heb 6:16) (16) For men verily sware by the greater: and an oath of confirmation is to them an end of all strife. (That’s the initiative.) (17) Wherein (notice) God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: Now, listen! With whom did God take counsel? With man? No, sir! With the angels? No, sir! God took counsel with Himself. Then, what is the “counsel of God?” The counsel of God is the thoughts of God. Now, notice; It says: “God confirmed His counsel with an oath.” 13. Listen to me carefully. Were the counsels of God confirmed, or the ‘thoughts’ of God confirmed, until He spoke them to man? No, sir! Until God spoke His thoughts to man and made them known to man by speech, He could have had other thoughts. That is right; He could have thought other thoughts. He could have changed His mind. Of course, we know God doesn’t do that, but He could have, and man would not have known one thing about it. But the minute God revealed His thoughts to man by speaking them, He couldn’t take it back. They were confirmed. God has identified Himself. And, brother/sister, when you and I speak, we confirm our words. Do you get it? Speaking has something tremendously important to do with your thinking. What you say is what you think. And, when you say it, you have confirmed it. You have put the stamp upon it. That is it! You have identified yourself. 14. Now, turn to 2 Cor 4:13, and let me read It to you: (13) We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. According to the Word of God, faith talks, it thinks, and it speaks. As we showed you last night, faith thinks in a certain way; so also, faith talks in a certain way. 15. Now, how does faith talk? The Word of God tells us; but in order to stress it and to make it clear, it first of all tells us how faith does not talk. Turn to Rom 10:6-11: (6a) But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh… There it is speaking. As Moffat’s translation says, “Faith-righteousness speaketh.” Faith-healing speaketh. Faith-provision speaketh. Faith-anything speaketh. It talks! That settles it! The Scripture agrees doesn’t it? It said in Corinthians it talks. It says over here it talks. The Holy Ghost can’t make mistakes. It can’t say one place and turn around and say another thing in another place. That’s it! 16. Now, listen: It “Speaketh on this wise…” It’s going to tell you how faith talks. Then, it brings in the negative to emphasize it: (6b) Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) (7) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) (8) But what saith it? How doesn’t faith talk? It never, never, never, never asks questions! 17. They say, “What’s all this about righteousness—God doing something for us?" And the answer came back, “God came down in human flesh and died upon the cross, and he rose again for our justification, making us righteous.” And, of course, the philosopher said, “Well, isn’t that strange? How did He come down? Who brought Him down?” And they said, “Now that you’ve got Him down, and they killed Him, who raised God?” Big yap, yap, yap! Questions. Where did they come from? They came from the reasoning mind that never thought God’s thoughts: and thinking their own thoughts, said their own conclusions. But the Scripture says: faith does not ask questions. [Rom 10:8-9] 18. (8) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: (That’s where it is—the heart.) the word of faith, which we preach; (9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead… There it is again. Faith has to do with what? Talking and thinking and raising the dead! You see how these messages dovetail? You couldn’t, if you tried a million years, pull this Word of God apart. You couldn’t do it because It all dovetails. Here it is again right here in this scripture. I haven’t told you one thing but that I can point a thousand times in the Bible to the laws of faith. Faith says what God has already said about the condition. Do you see? [Rom 10:10] 19. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Notice there again: the heart and mouth, mind and mouth. Remember, in the Hebrew and the Greek “the heart” signifies “the mind” almost in every single instance, and I looked through over five hundred single places and traced them down. Now, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness/” And, what is the heart in this case? The whole moral being of man. But it doesn’t get down here [heart] until it gets here [mind] first. It’s got to come by way of the mind; and, as the moral intelligence of man accepts it, it then becomes a part of him. And It says: “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Now, notice; It says if you will believe and confess, you’ll get it. 20. That’s what people have to believe about healing to get healed. You’ve got to confess it to get it. You can’t teach people that. They think you’re Christian Science or something else. They think they’ve got to feel it, like the woman down in Florida. She said, “When I feel those goose bumps, I know it’s God.” So, I said, “He’s the God of the goose bumps now.” I’ve heard everything, and I’ve heard too much now. It is not your feelings! Your feelings can betray you. The time that you think you’re a hundred percent right, you could be one hundred percent wrong. The time you think you’re going north, you find you’re going south, Sure! You don’t go by your feelings. You go by what God said concerning the conditions. You’re not to waste time on what you think; you’re not to waste time on what you talk. You are to think what God has thought and talk what God has said. 21. Now, listen! God said don’t question, or you’ll never use your faith. Let me prove it to you by illustration. Turn to Matthew 13. That’s the chapter on the parables. But we are not going to talk about parables. We’re going to read further over than the parables, and that’s Mt 13:53-58. (53) And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. (54) And when he was come into his own country (his own town), he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, (#1) Whence hath this man this wisdom, (#2) and these mighty works? (55) (#3) Is not this the carpenter’s son? (#4) is not his mother called Mary? (#5) and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? (56) (#6) And his sisters, are they not all with us? (#7) Whence then hath this man all these things? Seven questions—the complete folly of man; and he didn’t do one mighty act. He walked off from them. You start questioning God and how He’s going to do things, (Okay!) He’ll walk right off! 22. A preacher says, “God gave me a revelation. We’re going to have some great missionary something. We’re going to invade the island, or build a church, or do something; but where’s all the money going to come from?” You lost it right there. You lost it! You cut your throat. You don’t believe in a revelation. Noah said, “It’s going to rain!" “Where’s the rain going to come from? Never heard of it. No rain around here.” They all died! They all died! Faith talks; but it never asks questions. It says what God says. Remember the women who came to the tomb that morning—the three of them? “Who shall roll us away the stone? Who is going to roll away the stone?” The stone was already rolled away. God has reserved to Himself the right to be a dictator. One thing you never do is to question God. The minute you question God, you cut your lifeline of faith. Forget it; you’ve lost the answer! Then, you’ve got to go down to the bottom of the ladder and start over again; because faith does not question. It talks, but it doesn’t ask questions. It says what God has said. 23. Now, let’s begin to look at this a little more closely. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4 again, and let’s look at this picture. Now, remember; you can’t talk except you think. Your talking confirms your thinking, and that means you’ll go in the direction you think and talk. [2 Cor 4:8-10] (8) We are troubled on every side, (And I’m sick and tired of the whole stinking mess.) we are perplexed, (And I’ve had it. I’m finished.) (9) Persecuted… (Ha! They’ll not do it the second time!) Is that the way it reads? Then, why do we read it that way? You say, “Brother, I don’t; I read it the way it is written.” Then, if you read it the way it is written, how come we are not living it; because we read to live? Man shall live by the Word of God. It doesn’t say, man will ‘read’ the Word of God; he’ll ‘memorize’ the Word of God; he’ll ‘talk about’ the Word of God. It says he’ll ‘live’ by the Word of God. Well, why do we not do it? Paul said, “We’re troubled on every side.” So what? That’s normal. What does he think about, and what else does he say? “We are not distressed…” [2 Cor 4:8b] Huh! We’re like this old song, “Nobody Knows the Sorrow I’ve Had.” No, nobody gives a rip, because everybody else has them too. They don’t want your troubles plus theirs. I made my mother so mad one day she could have beheaded me. I said, “Ma, you never have been disappointed.” “What do you mean?” she said. I said, “You've always looked for trouble and always got it.” (That wasn’t original; I read it somewhere; but it sure fits the case here.) 24. “We are troubled on every side.” [2 Cor 4:8] So what!? “So what? That’s what’s getting me down. Why is it coming? Who cares? It’s here, isn’t it?” Huh! What if you went down the road and found a roll of bills? You’d do your best not to find out who they belonged to, wouldn’t you, because you’d like to spend those dollars? I just mean that to illustrate human nature. We’re a little greedy. Oh, we’d do our best to think that God was in it; wouldn’t we? Uh, my, my, let’s not question. Don’t look the gift horse in the mouth. Just grab all the teeth, so to speak. 25. God sends these troubles. (8) We’re troubled on every side, yet (we’re) not distressed; we’re perplexed, but (we’re) not in despair; (9) (We’re) persecuted, but not forsaken; (we’re) cast down, but not destroyed; That’s why I said the other night, and kept drilling you, that, if God raises the dead, somebody’s got to die. Somebody’s got to get cast down, so God can lift him up. But we do not want that. We say, “Lord, keep me from being cast down!” Then, you’ll never get your faith into action, because faith has to move mountains and raise the dead. That’s what it does. 26. I don’t try to eat soup with a fork; I use a spoon. So, why try to make your faith a feather-bed, when it’s a powerful instrument with which to engage in battle and to do business for the King of kings? See, It says: (9b) (Sure we’re) cast down, but not destroyed; (10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. In other words we can see this death all around us, but faith raises the dead. And so, the living power of Christ becomes manifest, because we’ve used our faith. Think it, say it; but think what God said, and say what God said. This is what the Book teaches. I don’t know what you’ve been taught in various Bible schools, in seminary or anything else; but, if you were taught like me, you have tried a lot of shortcuts: the ‘do it faster’ method: the ‘whoop-it-up’ method; the ‘fasting’ method—this method and that method; the ‘money’ method, and the ‘business’ method. Come on! Let’s get back to God’s method. If you think I’m fooling, read Hebrews 11 and see what faith really is. They went through battles. It says the women received their dead, and some were sawn asunder. They met death with faith. These all died in faith. They all died in faith! See? 27. Now, let’s go back to Ps 138:7, because we want to stick with the Word, because that’s all that counts. If we preach anything else but the Word, then you’d better not believe. But, if I preach the Word, you’ve got to take it. Psalms 138:7. Listen: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me:” (See?) “Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.” What is David saying? David is saying to God, “It is all right if I’m deluged by the forces of the enemy. You’re with me, so that takes care of it.” Well, isn’t that what he said? What’s the conditions? He’s got trouble; he’s got a problem; he’s got an emergency. What does he say about it? Well, what I read: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me.” “Lord, when can I get away from this thing and have a good sleep and nobody bother me, and I’ll feel so good, I'll be revived?” No! No! He says, “I’m in the midst of trouble; God will be my strength,” because faith raises the dead—pressed out of measure so God can do something. 28. We’ve got this thing so rotten and messed up because of the Laodicean living we’re engaged in. “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing:” (and don’t know that we’re) “wretched, miserable, naked, and blind.” [Rev 3:17] And these people going around thinking that, because they talk in tongues and have a few demonstrations, they’ve got the Holy Ghost! The Bible distinctly says, “Anoint thine eyes with eye salve,” [Rev. 3:18] (the anointing of the Holy Ghost). If they had it, He wouldn’t be telling them to get it! Well, come on now! I didn’t write the Book. I didn’t write it! It’s not my fault it’s written this way. But I’d better do something about it. And I’ve looked long enough to know that many who are saying that they have the Holy Ghost, haven’t got it. Many are swindlers, but they talk in tongues and carry on like they had something. 29. If I seem rough, don’t let it bother you, because there is a God Who is a whole lot rougher than I am. We’re not called here to live in sin. We’re called here to live right before God. I like what David was able to do here. He said, “I’m in trouble.” But he also said, “God, You’re with me.” And he also said, “It’s in this trouble I will get revived.” See? “I’ll see God work.” They don’t see Him work when there’s no trouble. God goes to work for us in the midst of our troubles. That is when He makes His Word alive to us. So, let us not fail to see God in the dark clouds and in the day of battle! 30. Talk about seeing God in the day of our battle! Yes, sir! Did you notice the message thus far literally makes God our Supreme Commander, our Four-Star General, and we the soldiers? He issues the orders, and we take them! Let’s just follow this thought out by going to a great soldier of the King! Here it is in Josh 1:1-9: (1) Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, (2) Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give unto them, even to the children of Israel. (3) Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (4) From the wilderness and the Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. (5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (6) Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. (7) Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. (8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (9) Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Here is a soldier who was under a vindicated message. He is called a ‘minister of Moses’ (verse 1). Now he must go forth by the Word and under the Word of Moses. 31. And we can take Joshua and apply him right to this hour, because our vindicated prophet, with the Elijah ministry, placed Joshua and Caleb right at the end time as leader and true Bride. Notice what the Bride has to follow, because she follows Joshua, and Joshua is motivated by the Word. (8a) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that’s written therein. Notice what it said? It says what you think about, and what you talk about, you will do. Now, if you want to live God’s Word, you’ve got to think and talk it, then you’ll do it. Huh? It’s what It said. (8b) That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prospersous, and then thou shall have good success. (9a) Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; (Don’t be afraid to do it.) neither be dismayed…” 32. Oh, brother, sometime you’ll have a problem right here. You can be dismayed, if you’re not careful. “How am I going to think God’s thoughts? How am I going to say what God said? I don’t know if this is really what is meant. Oh, let’s just stand back and just pretend we don’t see anything.” Huh! No! “For the Lord thy God is with thee…” He’s with thee. He’s not even standing afar off; He’s right with you. Why? Because He’s in you, “Because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” [1 Jn 4:4] Peter and Paul (the mouths of two witnesses—2 Cor 13:1) said the very same thing. 33. Now, let’s turn over here to Heb 10:23, and I’ll read it to you: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).” Now, turn to 1 Pet 4:11: “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;…” Peter said, “If any man talks, let him say what God said or shut up.” “What have you got to say about this?” said some man. “I haven’t got a thing to say; let’s find out what God said.” Huh? That’s right! Let’s find out what God said. 34. Let’s go back to the Hebrews 10. I’m going to show you something here. The King James translators, I am sorry to say, made a very, very glaring mistake. In this verse [Heb 10:23], first of all, the word is not ‘profession’, it is ‘confession’. The word ‘con’ means ‘together’ and ‘to speak together’. “Let us hold fast to the confession of our faith.” But they made another glaring error. The word is not ‘faith’, and I can prove it. I’ve got my Hebrew-English-Greek concordance out here in the trunk of my car, and I can bring it in and show you. It’s not ‘faith’ at all; it’s ‘hope.’ So, it should read: “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope.” But, what is ‘hope?’ The ‘earnest expectation’. What’s ‘earnest expectation’? Whatever God said we could have. So, what do you hold fast? You constantly confess God’s Word in the face of every problem. But you can’t talk without thinking. So, now you’re thinking and talking what God said about every condition. Do you follow me? 35. Why do people want to wiggle out of this? Because, like Eve, they want their own way. They don’t care about God’s way; it’s what they want. And they’ll even do as Bro. Branham taught, so thoroughly, thinking they do God a service, but it is apart from His Will. You can’t convince one woman preacher out of a thousand that God never called her to preach, because she’s in there trying to ‘bat a thousand’ for God, when God didn’t even send her. But she’ll swear she’s doing a good job for God. And a lot of men, if you can call them men, will get around her and come under her authority and do the same thing and say it’s got to be right, because “We see the anointing, we see this, we see that.” 36. Brother/sister, if you don’t see it in the Word, you had better forget it. Forget the whole thing, because you’re being deluded. If God said she can’t take authority [1 Tim 2:11-15], (And the only way you take authority is by the Word.) then she can’t take authority. That’s the way it is written; that’s the way it is. We don’t have to belabor that point; we still do it every day of our lives. We think what we want to think about a condition and say what we want to say; then, we suddenly go to God and say, “Oh, Lord, hear my prayer.” And He says, “I can’t hear you.” It’s impossible, because you have exalted your word above my Name. And it’s only my Word above my Name that’s exalted.” [Ps 138:2] Whose name do you pray in? Jesus’ Name. Is that right? So, whatever you say above that Name, like you sign a letter, is exalted above the name. Right? And you’ve put your own word, and say, “Jesus, I know you didn’t say this, but, you see, this is what I want.” And you use just the name, “In Jesus’ Name.” And you won’t get a thing; you won’t get a thing! You’ve got to use His Word, what He said you could have. And you petition Him by the way of your prayer, and say, “In Jesus’ Name,” and that’s it. Then, concerning the conditions, until it comes to pass, until you get God’s good Word fulfilled, you continue to think on His thoughts and say His Words. Why? Because you are “confirming,” (See?) confirming what the thought is; you are making it ‘Yes’. See? You’re giving it strength; you’re literally bringing it to pass. The thing is, to be holding firm, strong and steadfast, because that’s what it means. 37. Now, let’s look in Heb 11:13-14. (13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, (They couldn’t receive the promise of the Messiah because it wasn’t time.) but having seen them afar off, were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (14) For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Now in this case they were seeking a country. What are you seeking tonight? Are you seeking healing? Well, are you? Are you seeking a home that’s better to live in? Are you seeking help from God, because you are financially down? Whatever you are seeking, It says that you say plainly what you are seeking from God. That’s what It says. 38. Now, let’s read the next verse: “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out…” [Heb 11:15a] (kept in mind and talked about Ur of the Chaldees) Abraham would have gone back. He would have backslidden, and that’s what’s wrong with people that are Christians today—so-called and really. They backslide because they think their own thoughts. But God has already thought it. And yet, they say what they have thought in their own minds. And then, they go right back. They lose the promise. 39. Do you want to get God to give you something? You want to be healed? Then, you better think what God said about you, and it shows plainly that you’re after it, and you’ll get it. You say, “What if I have a failure?” You show me a person that didn’t have a failure, and I’ll show you the only one person who didn’t! It’s God. You are not God. You’re fallible. There’ll be times when you’ll be discouraged, and you’ll miss it. But go right back and start over again and follow the steps through. And you can’t confess anything but what you think. And He said, “Don’t you dare confess anything but what I have said;” so don’t you dare think anything but what He thought. “David, what do you think about these conditions out here since God told you that you were going to be king?” “Well,” he said, “I’ll tell you what I think; I think God’s one hundred percent right. I think I’m going to be king. In fact, I know I’m going to be king.” And he was. “Hannah, what do you think about these conditions: you are barren?” “Well, I’ll tell you what I think. I think God’s thoughts. God said to ask, and He would give me. So, therefore, I’m thinking that I am going to have a son, and I’m confessing I will.” And she did. This is a law laid down. And I’m not worried about prayers being answered once in a while, but “an overcoming life” where God is abundantly manifested by our walk and His good and precious gifts given to us. I’m not talking about a people who are hit and miss; I’m talking about a people who are a solid phalanx army as they go forward; and every one of them is getting results from God. And this is the way it is done. 40. Since we have come this far, we are now willing to describe again this outworking of our faith. And that is, we are to confirm our thoughts with words even as God confirmed His thoughts toward us. We are to think faith thoughts, and we are to confirm them by confessing those same thoughts. As the Scripture said, “We also believe, and therefore speak…” [2 Cor 4:13] What do you believe? I believe that God is my Healer. (Say it.) I believe that God is my Healer. (Say it.) I believe God Is my Provider. (Say it.) I believe God is my protection, my deliverance. (Say it.) I believe God is my righteousness. (Say it.) See? You’ve got to say what He said, think what He thought. 41. “Yes, but I’m not very righteous; I’m not doing so good.” Think what He thought, and say what He said. God warns you: “Don’t you dare think more highly than you ought to think. [Rom 12:3; 2 Cor 10:5] In other words, don’t you dare say, “I’m an independent thinker.” There’s too much of that today; that’s anarchy. Because what you think you will say, and you will confirm what you think; and, if it’s against God, you’ll destroy yourself, because you’ll never lick God. Nebuchadnezzar tried it. God brought him so low; and when he snapped out of it, he said, “Let there be known this; He doeth what He will in the armies of the heavens and earth; He setteth up whom He will; He bringeth down whom He will.” [Dan 4:35] And even Moses began looking around at circumstances, and he went back to God crying. And he said, “Oh, God, You didn’t only not do it, but things are worse.” And God said, “Be quiet. I told you what would happen. I AM the LORD; this is how I do things, and you get in line.” See? 42. My brother/sister, if we don’t do this, we always end up trying to persuade God, trying to please God some way, trying to tease God, trying to beg God. Or we just try to work on Him suddenly, somehow, to get Him to do it. Then, oh, my! We’re happy. Listen, this is a law that God laid down and that God listens to and only this: cut yourself off from men; cut yourself off from your own mind and above all, cut off your tongue, unless it says what God says. 43. This law of confirming our thoughts, making them real, making them powerful, is proven by Scripture. In Prov 18:20-21; let me show you how this works. “A man’s belly…” Now to the old, ancient people, this is what they termed ‘the belly’, the ‘solar plexus mind’. And it referred to the ‘inner man’ or the ‘conscious man himself’. In other words, in contra-distinction to the body. See? You might look at a picture of a man, or you might look at a man and say, “What kind of a man is he?” You don’t know, unless you know the inner man, what kind of a man he really was. You could look at Abraham Lincoln, you could say, “Look at that ugly looking fellow. He could not be a great man.” But he was one of the most wonderful men God ever raised up in all of the world’s history. But, as it were, looking at him, you’d never know it. So also, the Word is talking about the real man inside. 44. Now, notice what It says. (20) A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; (What’s the fruit of your mouth? The words that come out of it.) and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. (21) Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it, shall eat the fruit thereof. What’s He saying? He’s saying that what you say with your mouth will get bigger and bigger. And you’ll love it. You’ll love it. And it’ll kill you or heal you. It’s that simple. 45. Now, let me illustrate. Remember the story about the fellow that caught the little fish? Well, he went out fishing one day and caught a little trout about ten inches long, (or some kind of a fish ten inches long) and went home and told it. He said, “You know that thing sure had a fight. Oh, my, that was a fight!” And, by the time he got involved talking about what a fighter he was, the fish grew two inches. He said, “Yes, that was a 12 incher I got. Oh, what a fight!” And you know, the funny thing was, the words went out of his mouth and into his ears, and he heard it, and it went down in here, and he liked it. And, when it came out again, it was 14 inches; went through his ears, down inside and got bigger (it was about 16 inches); it went into his ears, down in here, and again came out bigger. It got up to 18 inches. And that’s exactly the way we are. If you hear gossip and do not say it, it dies. But the minute you say it, just once… Um, um! You love it, now that you’ve heard it. And it goes down in here, and it comes out bigger. Slurp! You liked it. And it goes in here, and gets down here, and it comes out bigger. And pretty soon it’s just a great big tale. 46. And you know something? That’s the way people are when they talk about their symptoms and their troubles. You start talking troubles, you hear it, that confirms it; then, it gets bigger. It gets in here, down in here, comes out again. And it gets bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER, and pretty soon all you can talk about is troubles. And the funny thing is, you’re happy and satisfied in a morbid sadistic manner. And that’s pure psychology. So, if you will dare to say what God has said, which is life… Remember; any other word but God’s is death. His Words alone are life-giving: “The words that I speak unto you, are spirit, and are life. [Jn 6:63] And, remember; the Spirit alone quickens. So therefore, the Word of God alone has quickening power. Now it says: “Do you want this Word of God to become real and rich and living and increased, and make you a real Word Christian? Here’s how it’s done. Think what God said about the situation, say what God said; keep thinking, keep saying.” 47. You say, “Brother, I’ve been doing a little bit; and, of course, it didn’t get like a mountain.” Listen my friend; it’s just like… If you’re going to live by it, it’s bread to you. It’s going to be like developing a muscle the first time you began working a hard job. Oh, boy! It aches the next morning. Oh! Wow! I’ve exercised, and I know what I am talking about. After riding a horse the first time, you can’t sit down, it seems, for a week. But you just keep it up, and pretty soon the stiffness goes, and the muscles begin to come. And you get more adapted to it; and the more you work at it, the greater it is. So, when you apply your mind to God’s law of faith by thinking His thoughts concerning the situation and saying what God said, it’ll get bigger; and, when you hear it, that will confirm it, and out it comes bigger. Confirm it again and it will come out bigger and bigger, until it’s so big it works. Because, remember; this is called a grain of mustard seed faith, but it moves mountains. [Mt 13:31; 17:20] And the only way you can increase your faith is by this process. (Except that your faith is not exactly getting increased. It’s just that you are now getting in ‘The Way’ [Isa 35:8] wherein this faith will begin to operate.) Because, remember; faith talks. Never forget that I said: faith confesses; it talks. 48. If you think you can make your faith work without talking… Well now, there it is! Are you going to believe your own word? Now, I didn’t write the Book! But I’ve done a little bit of studying along this line, and It says here “That a man’s belly shall be satisfied.” You say, “I’m going to be satisfied when I get this answer from God.” Here’s how to get it; don’t talk hardship and poverty; you talk God’s goodness and provision. (See?) Talk God’s Word. 49. Look! We know today that marital problems between husband and wife are based ninety percent upon finances. That is the consensus by study. Now, what do Christians need to do when they are going broke? Pray? No, you don’t pray! It says, “Give and it shall be given…” [Lk 6:38a] Right? You think anything but those thoughts, and say anything but those words, you will never get anything from God, because It says, “Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” [Lk 6:38] You give dollars, you’ll get dollars; you give tens, you’ll get tens; you give twenties, you’ll get twenties; you give fifties, you will get fifties; hundreds, you’ll get hundreds. Not because you want to be greedy, but it’s because God’s Word said so. And, when the chips are down and the time is rough, that’s the time to examine yourself and start giving. 50. Tithing is not giving, because the tithe is God’s in the first place. Start giving and confess it! I don’t mean going around telling people that you’re giving. But I mean confess that this is the way: “Give and it shall be given unto thee.” See? Every promise in the Word of God must be meditated upon and must be confessed in the midst of the condition for which the promise was given. 51. You don’t need a promise except for an adverse condition. Why would God promise you healing, if you never got sick? Why would He promise you provision, if you never got broke? Why would He promise to take care of the widow, if some man didn’t die and leave a widow? Why would God say He fills the empty, if somebody does not get empty? Every promise has as its foundation an adverse condition. Now, what’s an adverse condition for? To point you to God; and, when you’re pointed to God, what do you do? You fill your mind full of the words on that subject, and say, “Hallelujah! I’m waiting now; He’s going to give it.” And that’s exactly what happens. Do you want to increase the use of your faith? Then, you have got to talk it, brother/sister; and you’ve got to say what God said. And you’ve got to say it, brother/sister, in the face of everything that looks just like it shouldn’t be that way. But, remember; “All things work together for good to them that love God.” [Rom 8:28] 52. It says in Prov 12:14; “A man shall be satisfied with good…” Listen! “A man shall be satisfied with good…” Remember, God’s a good God, giving good things, the High Priest of good things. “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth.” Do you know why most of us have trouble? We got fat mouths and thin ears! We need thick ears and a thin mouth. That’s right! The only time our mouths should be fat is when we’re saying what God said; and then, you can’t say enough. The Bible distinctly mentions that, too. Prov 13:2-3; “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth.” Notice! “Eat good” See, you’re eating, partaking of life. “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life; but he that openeth wide his lips, shall have destruction.” That’s exactly what the Bible teaches. Turn to Ps 109:17-20; It says: (17) As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: (It will, it will!) As he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. (18) As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. (19) Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. (20) Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. That’s exactly true. It happens. See? Remember, God must condemn every tongue in judgment that rises up against people. 53. We must be careful. Prov 15:1 says: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” And Prov 10:11 says: “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life.” What did James say? “A well is not to give forth bitter and sweet water.” [Jas 3:11] Is that correct? What was he talking about? The tongue. Right? Certainly. Certainly! “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life.” Prov 12:19: “The lip of truth shall be established forever.” Notice it! “The lip of truth.” What is truth? Jn 17:17 tells us: “Thy Word is truth.” What will be established? God’s Word, not yours and mine. 54. Prov 12:19: “But a lying tongue is but for a moment.” What’s a ‘lying tongue’? Anything but what the Word of God is, because, “Let God be true, but every man a liar.” [Rom 3:4] Anything we say about a thing, when God has not said it, is a lie. He alone has the truth. Prov 12:18: “The tongue of the wise is health.” There it is! Do you know what makes us sick? Our tongue. It makes everybody else sick too. Correct? Absolutely! The greatest curse today and the greatest problem today is our tongue! Do you know what? That’s another sign of the Laodicean age! Why? Because the Laodicean age is where Jesus said, “Thou sayest…” [Rev 3:17] They’re not saying what He says; they’re saying what they say and what they want to say. We’ve got to get back to saying what God said and leave it there. Cut out any other talk. Peter said; “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” Say what God said or shut up! Our pulpits are full of the thoughts of men, everything but what God said. Let it not be in our midst! Let it alone; do what God said. 55. I read to you awhile ago in 2 Cor 4:8-10 how Paul spoke; “We’re troubled,” he said, “But that’s okay. We’re not distressed.” He said, “We’re cast down, but we’re not destroyed.” He said, “We’re persecuted but not forsaken.” He said, “That’s okay.” That’s how to talk! Now, is this the way that the Old Testament people talked? To find out, turn to Ps 118:8-15: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” If that’s what you want to say… See? We don’t trust man; we trust God. Here’s a nice confession. Here’s what this psalmist’s saying: “It is better to trust the Lord, than to put confidence in princes.” Now princes are bigger than people or just ordinary men. Do not even trust men that have great ability. 56. “All nations compassed me about:” (notice) “but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.” Notice his confession: “I am compassed about, but I am still victorious!” That’s what Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me,” [Phil 4:13] Ps 118:11 says: “They compassed me about: yea, they compassed me about…” Make no mistake about it. This is not Christian Science that says, “Oh, they’re not there; I’m not sick. There’s no disease, no sin.” NONSENSE! They’re there! (I can see them.) But, don’t let it bother you! “They compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. (See?) They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns.” (Just ‘sisst’; they’re gone.) “For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song,” (I’m going to sing.) “and is become my salvation. The voice of the rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.” 57. Now, our speaking confirms us in the right or wrong paths. Whatever path we are in, we will be confirmed in it by our speaking. And we turn to Ps 140:1-3. (1) Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; (2) Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; (Notice ‘imagine’. That’s where they’re thinking of it.) continually are they gathered together for war. (3) They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah. (Pause: think on this.) How do you destroy a man? What’s the best way? Start a story about him. Do you want to kill a man’s ministry? Start a story. You want to wreck a man in politics or any position? Start a story. That’s what It says here. He said: “Deliver me from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man.” Notice! The violence is what? The imagination of the heart being wicked, the thinking is wrong. They’re gathered for war. It’s the poison of asps in their lips. With it read verse 11: “Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” 58. God says that the end of these men will be destruction, even though they do their best to destroy another man. In other words, when they rise up in judgment and destroy with their tongue, don’t you do anything about it. Say what God says about it; but, do not try their tactics, or you will be destroyed. Because It distinctly says here, “Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth.” And Ti 3:2 says “to speak evil of no man.” The only one that can be established is the one that speaks the truth. What is the truth? “Thy Word is truth.” That’s correct. God’s Word is truth. Nothing else matters. Isa 57:19 says: “I create the fruit of the lips;” (God is saying, ‘I bring to pass what people talk about;’) “peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.” Job 22:28 says, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established to thee; and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” Now we can see how wrong it is to confess our fears; because, if we confess our fears, we confirm our fears. [Job 3:25] And, if we confess our troubles, we confirm our troubles. But, if we confess our hope (promised Word), we confirm our hope. See? And we need to do it! 59. You know, Bro. Branham told a story of Jack Moore’s cousin. Now Jack Moore had a cousin. I don’t know what or who he or she was, but evidently that person was having a terrible time in life. And so, one night in a dream, God gave like a vision in a dream. And this cousin was in a room with nothing in the room but a little tiny table and a Bible on the table, and all of the doors and windows were shut. As the cousin looked, a teeny devil came in under the door. He swaggered across the floor, looked up from about a half-inch high to this tall person, and said, “Boo!” And, as he said, “Boo,” this person jumped back; and, as the person jumped back, the devil got bigger. And so, he swaggered up once more and said, “Boo!” And, when he did, the person jumped back again, and the devil got still bigger. After about eight times the devil was as high as the ceiling, and the person was way down here. He thought, “Oh, God, what will I do?” So, he finally noticed the Bible and went over and picked up the Bible (Or she did.) with both hands and began quoting It. And every time that one took a slug at the devil, the devil jumped back and got smaller, until he went back out under the door. Now that is exactly a true revelation from God as to what we as Christians must do. 60. Jesus himself defeated the devil with the Word of God. He thought it, he said it, it was done. And he was established, because he confessed; and we are told to confess with our High Priest, because he is the High Priest of our confession. Say what Jesus said. What did He say? He said, “I say only what I hear my Father say, and that ends it.” Say what God said about it! You think about it, and confirm and strengthen and enlarge it by speaking your faith thoughts. You follow me? That is exactly a law laid down. If you say, “Brother, I want something in my life from God,” then think about it, talk about it; think about it, talk about it, press in, and don’t stop. Why? “For He is faithful that promised.” [Heb 10:23] As one man said, “God never failed me, although many times He came within five minutes of doing it.” God’s not in the failing business. 61. Now, turn to Psalms 145, and let’s begin reading at verse 4. (4) One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. (5) I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. (What are you going to talk about? You are going to talk about how wonderful God is, and how wonderful are His works.) (6) And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. (Now, listen. Watch verse 7). (7) They shall abundantly utter (The only place in the Bible that tells you to yap, yap, yap – talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, is right here.) the memory of thy great goodness…” You are told to talk up a storm. That is right! You are told to talk up a storm, until people think that all you can talk about is God, and they’ll say, “Shut up talking shop.” Talk about the keeping ‘memory’, and talk about the wonderful things that God has done and is doing and is going to do. It’s the only place in the Bible that tells you when to talk and keep talking and do not stop talking, but talk up a storm. 62. “They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness…” In other words they’ll keep in mind the goodness of God, what He is doing, has done, and will do, and they’ll talk about it. Now that’s what the Bible says. Now Ps 145:7-20: (7b) And shall sing of thy righteousness. (8) The Lord (Now, what’s he going to say?) is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. (9) The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (10) All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. (11) They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; (12) To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. (13) Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. (14) The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. (15) The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. (16) Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. (17) The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. (That’s how you’re supposed to talk.) (18) The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. (What’s truth? The Word. You call upon God by His Word—no other way.) (19) He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: (When do you fear? You say what He says, and that proves that you fear Him.) he also will hear their cry, (Why? Because they give back His Word to Him.) and He will save them. (20) The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all wicked will he destroy. Who loves the Lord? They that keep His commandments. What are His commandments? Confess what He said about it. There it is! It’s all written out for you. 63. Now, how are you going to reduce or get rid of what we don’t want? This tells you how to get established and confirmed in what you want in God. How do you get rid of what you don’t want? Let us turn to Matthew 15. The Bible has everything written out here for us. There’s nothing left to chance. Mt 15:11, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” Uh! Talk, talk, talk! Now Mt 12:37, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” You see, people get an idea it is how you act that counts. But, what they don’t realize is that it’s what you think and say that makes you act. Right? So, if you want to stop acting like a sinner and act like a Christian, start thinking and talking, and you’ll do what you think and talk. But, you see, here is where they go haywire. They think they can bypass God’s rules laid down. You can’t do it. Listen to me! The most righteous living, perfect person you ever will meet, is the man whose mind is guarded by the Word of God, and who’s tongue is filled with the Word of God, like old Daddy Bosworth (And you know what I’m talking about.) and William Branham. 64. Old Daddy, (And I knew him well.) he stayed in our home on different nights and all; and I want to tell you what that brother was full of: it was the Word of God. It was in his mind day and night. At night, God would fill his mind with His Word. He had a little flashlight by his bed at all times, and God would wake him up at night after fifteen minutes of sleep. And he’d wake up and write down a thought that God would give him. He would go to sleep for half an hour, wake up, take up the flashlight, write down another thought that God had given him. He’d get sermons every night from God. Let my end be like his. I don’t know if I’m going to make it like he did; but as he lay dying, (I was with him just a week or two before he died, but had to leave him for meetings.) Daddy Bosworth had his son there and his two daughters, and instead of having the sick room like a hospital room as we thought it would be, where they would want to kick us all out and say that Daddy’s got to be quiet now, to save his strength, they just said that he was going to die anyway, so why save his strength, because he was as good as gone. So, they sang songs around the sick bed; they played piano solos; they played and sang duets and sang in quartets; and they all discussed the things of God. He could barely whisper; he’d say, “Nothing but the Blood,” praising God. But they say two hours before he died, he sat upright in the bed, his eyes wide open, and he was shaking hands and talking to all the departed saints and having a hallelujah time. 65. Let my end be like his. You don’t get that way by chance! You don’t get that way by a certain action—by a prayer or some shortcut. You get that way by renewing your mind, by the process of thinking and then talking. Then, you will act, because you will only act what you think and say. Why? Because you can only act by first thinking; and then, your talking confirms your thinking or thoughts. So, what you say, you’ll go that way, You say, “Brother, I’m no hypocrite!” I’m not talking about a man that talks one minute this way and one minute the other way. I’m talking about a man who talks it and thinks it. And, if he thinks it and talks it, he’ll do it. If you want to see God move in your life, this is the way to do it. In any other way you are apt to relate your thoughts. You must relate God’s thoughts to every condition; think it, say it, and it will come to pass. See? 66. If you want to increase your life, think it, say it; and, if you want to decrease a certain thing, stop thinking it and stop saying it. Certainly. You know today, brother/sister, we need this Message more than you think. With every billboard out there with a naked woman on it; what is that going to do to a man? And every woman with her lousy shorts and her halters and her briefs! “Well, it’s the men thinking!” What are you thinking of, gal, when you dress that way? Just let me ask you, “What are you thinking about?” Are you thinking that you can take a coal of fire to your bosom and not get burned? [Prov 6:27] You women are not so smart, when almost any man can take you down the primrose path to the lust of sex. All they have to do is put on a good show; especially a married man—the rottenest dogs of all. 67. I’m a rough preacher, I know; but I’m here to help you. There is only one thing I know and that is to talk rough and get the thing across, because you’ve been sold a bill of goods. Even the Quaker Church says it’s okay to have sex, if it isn’t just for fun. It’s a real something or other. Yes! It’s real adultery, that’s what it is; and you can go to hell for it. Rotten, stinking cults; call themselves ‘Friends’; friends of the devils but not of God! There never was a worse time when we needed to bring our minds under control; and it’s almost next to impossible, with what’s going on, to bear what the eyes see. But it can be done; it can be done, and it has got to be done! It’s got to be done, because Enoch walked in faith, and “He was not.” [Gen 5:24] 68. So, you have got to walk with God; and you’ll never walk with God, unless you walk in this Word. And you’ll never walk in this Word, unless you fill your minds and your mouth with it, because that’s what my Bible teaches. That’s exactly what It says. Let me read you once more, brother/sister, from the book of Colossians, so we will not have any mix-up here or anyone be miss-happened or hindered. It says here in Col 3:10, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him…” In other words it comes by the process of the mind. Do you want power? Then, think what God thinks! [Acts 1:8] 69. Why are denominational churches without power? Because they think what the theologians think; and they think that Acts 19:2 says: “Have you received the Holy Ghost when you believed,” and say, “You don’t get it after.” It does not say that in the book of Ephesians [1:13], which is written and based upon Acts 19; and so, they stop short, because their theologians think you get the Holy Ghost when you believe. You don’t! You get Him after you believe! And, if they’d fill their minds full of thinking what God’s thoughts are and say them, they would be full of the Holy Ghost; because that’s what God’s Bible teaches. Life and death are in the power of the tongue! 70. Now, let’s apply this to Abraham once more, shall we? Okay, we go back to Gen 17:5-6, Remember, we are told to follow in the steps of Abraham, concerning faith. So therefore, we’ll have to do what he did. Notice, “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram…” Did you get it? Do you really know what that means? It’s a good thing you didn’t say, “Yes,” because I doubt if you do. Let us turn to Rom 8:33: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” That means to bring him into court and say, “You did this,” and charge him. See? That means to arraign a man in a criminal court, to find a man in fault and bring him into court. So, now It says, “Who dares to find fault and judge any one of God's elect?” That’s a question! Now there is only one person that can do it, and that is God Himself. There is nobody else than can do it. What does It say though? It says, “It is God that justifieth.” What does It mean ‘to justify’? ‘Declare righteous’! The Weymouth translation says, “Who shall dare arraign God’s chosen one.” God says, “I’m righteous.” 71. Now then, if you are born again, what are you: sinful or righteous? Tell me, what are you? Righteous! And so, the Bible says, “Don’t you ever call yourself a sinner again; your name shall no longer be called Abram; you shall never dare think of yourself again as a sinner. Abraham, you shall never, ever be thought of or called Abram again.” Do you get it? One says, “I can’t apply that principle to me, because, you see, I know I’m not such a good boy or girl.” Okay, okay. I can tell what kind of seed you’ve got. You have not got God’s seed, because God’s people don’t tell God; God tells them. Abram, if he were like us twentieth century Laodiceans, God would have said, “Abraham, your name shall no longer be called Abram; so, Abraham, don’t you dare let yourself be called or call yourself Abram anymore.” “Well, Lord, that’s so sweet of You. But, You see, I am not really Abraham; I wish I were; and, oh, sometimes I might be. But, You see, I could hardly call myself Abraham.” I want to ask you a question. Do you think Abraham did that? Never, is right! It said he “believed God.” Believed what? What God said about him! And he became what God said about him, because he said it. You go around calling yourself a sinner, you will never live a victorious life, because you don’t believe what God said. And God said, “You are righteous!” 72. Let me ask you another question. How righteous are you tonight? You’re as righteous as God, because the Bible says, “For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” [2 Cor 5:21] How righteous are you? You are as righteous as God is this night, according to the Word of God; but, how many of us talk about it? Well? And I’m guilty like you. I’m not just hitting you over the head; I’m hitting myself. I’m just as guilty as you are. I’m all the time talking about what a failure I am. So, you go ahead… We’ll go ahead talking about what failures we are and how backslidden we are, and how what fakes we are, and how we are not, and how everything else. And we are going to end up being left behind, unless God does a bigger miracle than I wonder if I’ve even got hope for. Because God got so sick of Israel murmuring, He killed the whole bunch and took two souls out of three million, and nobody else. And they dropped their carcasses like manure on the desert. 73. Now, if somebody came along tonight and said, “Do you think you are clever?” You’d probably say, “Oh, no! Well, I did not even get a grade school education. No, I’m not very smart.” But you are too smart for God! Huh? Are you too smart for God? We seem to be… There must be something wrong when we boast in our ignorance; and then, suddenly we are smarter than God. Oh, yes! He said, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing (thoughts) that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God—which is what God said, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (the Word). [2 Cor 10:5] Are we doing it? Then, say what He said, “Abraham, not once will you open your mouth and be called Abram. And, if anybody else does it, you say, ‘I’m sorry, my name’s changed. I’m Abraham.’” That’s exactly what the Bible teaches. 74. Now, let’s turn to Rom 4:19-20, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead.” Like the man said, “Well, I’ve got enough troubles, but that wife of mine is driving me crazy. If it weren’t for her, I’d be a real saint.” Ha! You liar, you! If you had Jesus Christ on one side (if there were three persons in the Godhead) and the Holy Ghost beside you and the Father right behind you, you still wouldn’t make it. It has nothing to do with your wife; every man will bear his own burden. Nothing to do with the husband. Your living a full Christian life has nothing to do with it. In spite of Sarah’s dilemma and his dilemma, (He was about one hundred years old, and she was about ninety.) It says: (20) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (testifying and praising) (21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And, therefore, God gave to him just as God said He would. 75. Brother/sister, we’ve got to follow in the steps of faithful Abraham: think it, and say it, and become it; because that’s exactly right. If you will say what God said you are, you will become what God said you are. Say it, persevere, and keep on, until God does the works, which He will. Thus, we find, according to what we studied, that a right and proper mental attitude… Now, notice that a right and proper mental attitude toward any promise in the Word, with such an attitude being confirmed and admitted by confession of the Word, will eventually, without fail, give that promise to the believer. If you want to get the promise of God, get a right attitude toward it. Every promise was given for a condition. Never forget that! The promise has to have an adverse condition, or it’s not a promise. An adverse condition! Now that you’ve got the connotation, there is a promise. So, you never think what the condition is bringing forth; you just think what God said about the condition. And then, you say what God said about the condition, and that will confirm your thoughts. And, as you say them, it will increase, you will be established, and God will give you the results. Stop trying to go to somebody and get results; go to God for yourself. 76. Years ago when I was first saved, I was saved about two weeks, and they asked me to preach to some young people; and so I did. We had, in those days, a lady pastor who didn’t know any better. A very godly, wonderful person, but outside the perfect will of God just the same, trying to do God a service in a way that God never ordained her. She did her best; but it just did not work. And it never did work until they got a man. And then, God began to bless, because that’s what God wanted. She was a lovely person; but I remember, if I was going to speak, I would say, “Sister Thomas, you pray.” I had great faith in her prayers, and she was a great woman of prayer. She was deserving of the people having confidence in her prayers. But the day came when I knew that the fellow that could pray best for me, was old Brother Me himself —and I’ve been praying ever since. See what I’m driving at? It’s time to grow up! There are just no short cuts. The gift of healing, my brother/sister, can only deal in percentages, because everybody with a gift deals in percentages. You’ve got to use your own faith. How do I grow in faith? How do I become established? How do I become strong? The Word of God has told us that in every condition think what God has said about it, say what God has said about it, press forward and in due time you will get the answer; and that’s it. 77. I am going to speak tomorrow morning on the “Negative Confession” (T.V.M.L. Vol. 9). Tomorrow morning’s message will make tonight’s message so clear, you’ll wonder why you missed even one part of it. They go so hand-in-hand. It makes it so clear that it’s fantastic. It’s all in the Word of God, everything. Then, Sunday night the message on the “Trial Of Our Faith.” [T.V.M.L. Vol. 10] I’ll explain why people lose the answer to prayer. There is a certain something God demands of you. When you want God’s promises, God demands something of you, if you can catch it. From then on it opens up to you. There it is! I trust you have been benefited by this message. I’m a little rough on people. I don’t mean to be. But we are living in a hard age where we seem to need more weight or something to wake us up. We need something to get us jarred out of our complacency. We’ve been wards of the government too long. It is time to be a real ward of almighty God and go His way and think it. What is your problem? I don’t know what it is! Just think what God said, say what God said, press on, and you’ll get the answer. Let’s rise and be dismissed. Gracious heavenly Father, we are very, very thankful that we were allowed to be here together to go into Thy Word, O God. Lord, tonight I know that we are a people who are easily led aside. Poor Eve, she was led aside to listen to Satan. And, O God, I am worried tonight, because I know, when pressure comes and the old accuser of the brethren comes up and conditions get adverse, that we are too prone to be drawn aside and to get our eyes off of Jesus Christ. We are prone to forget, “We also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,” [Heb 12:1] who followed in the path of Abraham, who followed in the path of Jesus Christ to get established, to put their eyes on the Lord; to think what He thought about it, and to say what He said. For You told us, Lord, that faith righteousness does not ask any questions; but what it does do, it says what You said about it. And You know man can’t talk unless he thinks. God, help the people to see that. Help them to understand, O Lord, that action comes out of thinking and talking, because man can’t act unless he thinks, and his talking augments his thinking. So, he’s going to walk real crooked or rotten, if he thinks of any thoughts but Yours and talks about anything but Your Word. But, Lord, if You will fill his mind and mouth with Your Word, he’s going to walk straight as an arrow, right in the Word of God. O God, help Your people to see that! And, if any man walks in that Word, Lord, we know he’s going in the Rapture too. You said, “If you abide in me, and my word abides in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” [Jn 15:7] Let the people see the truth, O Lord, that this is the way. Not once in a while to get an answer, any more than they would be satisfied with a meal once in a while, or a bed once in a while! But, as You gave man a steady appetite for food and You gave him the privilege of out-flowing of his life, now, Lord, may they realize that there is the privilege granted to them to eat of Your Word, to live in Your Word, and to have a steady flow of what that Word said was theirs. God, I pray for myself, sincerely, because that’s what I want. I don’t want to be like a hypocrite, night after night, talking to the people about this thing, and turning around and not doing it myself. Lord, I’ve learned a little, but I’m learning too slow, and I don’t care what You do, O God, to make me go all the way. You just do it, Lord, and I’ll say, “Thank You,” because that is just what I need. God, may You correct me, but not in wrath I pray, because I know that wrath is soon to come, and I don’t want to find myself bruised and sore because of wrath of God. I want to be corrected now! Correct me now, Lord! Correct us now, O God. Turn us, and we shall be turned. Now, Lord, we dedicate our minds to You. O God, O God, O God! Help us to see the seriousness of the matter that we have to bring our thoughts into captivity. You never said You would do it; but You said we were to do it. God, help us now. Lord, shock us if necessary. You know what we need; that is all I can say and pray. You, Yourself, know better than we do what we need. God, give us what we need now. Give it to us now! We are ready for it. We plead with You; Lord, forsake us not. Correct us, O Lord. Correct us. You said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” [Rev. 3:19] Chasten us, Lord, because we repent of, not only what we’ve been doing, but of our inner life too. As we have repented, Jesus, we lay ourselves open now to Your divine mercy. We really mean it with all our heart. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be all power and honor and particular glory, through these lives wholly dedicated to the Master. Amen. God bless you!