THY KINGDOM COME (12)

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NLT)

Unless one is born by a woman into this world, one will never enjoy the enormous privileges this life has to offer. We must accept the truth that there are so many things to enjoy here on earth. We enjoy the different relationships that give meaning to our earthly existence, the fabulous cuisines from different cultures, the breath-taking sceneries that litter our world, the amazing works of arts from our creative minds, not to mention the architectural masterpieces that dot our world. A person who is not yet born has no idea how beautiful our world is. God has indeed richly given us all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).  I recall when KC was still a small boy, after eating one of those too-difficult-to-resist dishes that usually comes out of mummy’s kitchen, he exclaimed with obvious pleasure. “So this is what you people have been enjoying before I was born, thank God I am born!” Similarly, unless one is born again by the Holy Spirit, one will not have the privilege of enjoying the unspeakable blessings that flow from the kingdom of God. Just as a child must be born into the world to see its light, contemplate its glories, and enjoy its good, so must one to be born again in order to see the glories and excellencies of the kingdom of Christ here, and be prepared to live in the kingdom for all eternity.

When our Lord speaks of seeing the kingdom of God, does He mean we can see it now or after we die?  I think He means both. He means we can experience the kingdom of God here and before we get there after we die.  When He told the disciples that some of them standing with Him would not die until they had seen the kingdom of God, they thought He was talking about the future. However, only six days after He made that statement, He took Peter, James and John to a high mountain and heaven visited them on that mountain.  “²As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. ³Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. ⁴Peter blurted out, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  ⁵But even as he spoke, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:2-5 NLT). This beatific experience became the key point of reference for Peter for the rest of his ministry (2 Peter 1:16-18). The disciple did not need further proof about the reality of God and of His heavenly kingdom.  They have experienced it, felt its power and heard the voice of God.

Yes, we can see the kingdom here.  The prophets of old lived in the glaring reality of the kingdom of God. The king of Syria once sent an army battalion to arrest Elisha. Elisha’s servant saw then and was greatly troubled so he ran and complained to his master. The prophet told him not to worry because a greater army is protecting them. The young man seemed unsatisfied with the optimism of Elisha and urged him to do something about their situation.  “Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kings 6:17 NLT).  So much is going on around us in the kingdom of God that we are not aware of because our spiritual senses are numb due to ignorance and neglect. We need to pray that God will open our eyes to see and open our ears to hear.  We are all equipped with spiritual senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smile which are lying uncultivated in our spirit-man.  These are the senses with which we can access the kingdom of God. Things of the kingdom are the “ solid food”  which “belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14 NKJV). As we learnt to use our physical senses through exercise so must we train our spiritual senses.

O God, open our eyes that we may see your kingdom and our ears that we may hear your voice and learn from you in Jesus name. 

THY KINGDOM COME (11)

“Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”(John 18:36 NKJV)

Understanding the nature of Christ’s present kingdom is important in understanding how it operates and how we can really participate in it now. Every kingdom has it’s unique rules and protocols. It may amount to a serious offence to bring the cultures of one kingdom and apply it in a different kingdom.  God’s kingdom is a two-natured kingdom. One is spiritual the other is physical.  The kingdom of God at present is basically spiritual. The rules that prevail in it are not physical but spiritual. This explains why our Lord decreed that none would participate in that kingdom unless the person is born again. Nicodemus had come to our Lord at night toasting Him as one would an earthly king. “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NLT). To be born again is to be born of the Spirit. We were all born by our different mothers and that makes us human beings. To become spiritual beings, we have to be born by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord explained, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 NKJV). Through the new birth, people who were merely flesh and blood receive spiritual lives and become partakers of the divine nature of God (2 Peter 1:4). Being thus born, we become empowered to see and participate in the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God, being a spiritual reality, requires spiritual people to engage it. “⁹That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”  ¹⁰But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹²And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT). God’s children have the capacity to understand and appreciate spiritual realities by virtue of our new birth experience. The Holy Spirit reveals to us those things that Christ has purchased for us through His sacrifice on the cross. We are now equipped with spiritual eyes to see what our physical eyes cannot see and with spiritual ear to hear what our physical ears cannot hear. We have the mind of Christ to understand what our ordinary human mind cannot understand. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV). Notice that we compare spiritual things with spiritual and not spiritual things with physical. We now value the spiritual more than the physical and desire the eternal more than the mundane.

As God’s spiritual children, we have the capacity to see the invisible and hear the inaudible.  Paul therefore affirms, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NKJV).  This is explains why we arrive at different conclusion on important issues than those of the people of the world.  This is why we turn the other cheek when we are slapped and go the extra mile with one who demands we go one with him. This is why we love our enemies and pray for those who hate us.  This is why our Lord did not call His holy Angels to fight for Him when His enemies arrested Him and condemned Him to death.  This is why the weapons of our warfare are not carnal yet mighty in pulling down the strongholds.  Great indeed is the mystery of godliness!

My dear people of God, let us hold fast on Jesus and never allow the allurements of this world to mislead us. We have another world in view and our Saviour has gone to prepare us a place there.  Let us give Him the best of everything we can muster here. It is only in that way that we can secure them. Shall we then pray with one voice –Thy Kingdom Come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heave oh God!

THY KINGDOM COME (10)

“Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him” (Daniel 7: 27 NLT).

At Easter, the church celebrates the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from death. The resurrection of Christ was the herald of hope for humanity for by it, our Lord demonstrated that life is more powerful than death.  Our Lord’s resurrection establishes the possibility of the ultimate resurrection of believers in Christ. If there were no resurrection, life would have been meaningless and christianity would have been nothing more than a well crafted comedy without eternal essence. Apostle Paul therefore argued, “And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”(1 Corinthians 15:32 NLT). Here is the goodnews –the dead in Christ shall rise again!   We need not live in fear of death any longer because everyone who believes in Christ has “passed from death to life” (John 5:24). We can now sing our song of victory – “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55 NLT). In Christ’s resurrection, life triumphed over death, as our vanquished foe called Satan, became a lawful captive of our Lord for all eternity. By His resurrection, Jesus defeated death (the last enemy) and inaugurated the kingdom of God.

At the beginning of His earthly ministry, our Lord released a prophetic proclamation saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15 NKJV). His victory over death signalled the official inauguration of the kingdom of God on earth, as He led captivity captive and distributed gifts to people (Ephesians 4:8).  As a clear demonstration of Chris’ victory over death, many dead believers resurrected with Him as the Bible affirms, “The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people” (Matthew 27:52-53 NLT). The resurrection of Christ is therefore the logical conclusion of the inauguration of God’s kingdom on earth. It confers real authority on the believers over the enemy and empowers them to act on behalf of Christ. Our Lord’s resurrection was a clear validation that He is the Son of God. Paul therefore affirms, “His unique identity as Son of God was shown by the Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting him apart as the Messiah, our Master” (Romans 1:4 The Message). The resurrection not only confirms that Jesus is the Son of God, but also legitimatises our faith in Him as eternal Saviour.

The resurrection signals the enthronement of Jesus as King of kings, thus heralding the official beginning of His reign on earth. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth’” (Matthew 28:18 NKJV). Prior to His death and resurrection, our Lord repeatedly said that He had no authority except what the Father had allowed Him to use (John 7:17; John 12:49). Post resurrection, He declared, “all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.” He is today the sovereign King of the whole universe. He reigns as King of kings over God’s created realms. He shall reign until all rebellion are quenched and his enemies made His footstool. On His return to heaven, the Father promised Him, “Sit in the place of honour at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet. The LORD will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies” (Psalm 110:1-2 NLT).  This is where we are now.  The church must take advantage of the power of His resurrection to compel all principalities and powers of hell to acknowledge the authority of Christ to rule over all creation (Ephesians 3:10-11, Dan 7:27).

The church, working in concert with the Holy Spirit now exercise the full authority of the kingdom to defeat all the enemies of Christ and bring them to the place of obedience to Christ. The grand design of God is that Christ will come to receive the completed kingdom and present it to His Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.  This is what Easter is meant to remind us. We must therefore be up and doing as we live the resurrection life of purity and power as we await the second coming of Christ. Happy Easter. 

THY KINGDOM COME (9)

“And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains.  When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me” (Mark 5:2-3, 6-7 NKJV)

The sole duty of the church on earth, and hence that of every believer is to bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth. Jesus had commanded us to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom to earth so that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The overwhelming preoccupation of making sure we go to heaven seems to stand on the way of our primary assignment, which is to bring heaven to earth. Going to heaven is our destiny, which is guaranteed in Christ. Our Lord gave this assurance to believers; “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3 NKJV). While we wait for Him to come and take us with Him, we are to be busy releasing the atmosphere of the kingdom throughout the world.  This was the model of life our Lord left for us to follow.  The whole authority of the kingdom of God is within you to change the world around you.

A mad man who was possessed with at least 2000 demons had been terrorising his neighbourhood for a long time. Nobody could hold him under control as every effort to get him chained came to nothing. He was screaming day and night in the cemetery and cutting himself with sharp stones. All these changed when Jesus appeared on the scene. “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘what have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”  Our Lord brought the reality of the kingdom of heaven anywhere He went. His presence was enough to change the atmosphere and unleash the glory of His Fathers kingdom. The violent lunatic behaved differently on sighting Jesus –he ran to Jesus and worshipped Him. Is it not interesting that the two thousand or more demons inhabiting him could not stop him from worshipping the Lord? If they could not stop him then, they could not stop us today in serving God. The powers of satan and those of his agents are subject to us in the name of Christ. We just have to live in the consciousness of this reality. The Greater One with all His power is still resident in us!

The thousands of demons in the man, acknowledging our Lord’s authority over them and begged Him with a loud voice that He should not torment them; but rather to be allowed to enter into the herd of swine roaming around in the vicinity. If the demons were disarmed and weakened in the presence of our Lord, we should expect them to react in similar ways to our presence as bearers of the kingdom of heaven. Casting out demons is one of the signs of the presence of the kingdom (Matthew 12:28). When we heal the sick, lead a soul to Christ or have our prayers answered, we accomplish the will of God and release the atmosphere of the kingdom on earth. The transformation that came upon the former demon-possessed was immediate and remarkable.  He dressed in normal clothes and begged to join our Lord’s travelling team. “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you” (Mark 5:19 NKJV).  He took off from there and declared the goodness of Christ to people in ten cities, sharing the testimony of the transformation he experienced through Jesus. He will be among our crowd of witnesses in the last day! There is a river inside each of us and not a well (John 7:37). We should let the river flow out from us to bring live to people around us. We have the answer the world needs.

God wants to release impartation in our lives today to enable us bring the influence of the kingdom with us wherever we go. The kingdom of God is within you. Line up with the Holy Spirit as He directs you on how to release its influence in your context so that others can experience the love of God in Jesus name.

THY KINGDOM COME (8)

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15 NKJV).

The Rt. Hon. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the late Owelle of Onitsha and the first president of Nigeria was one of the outstanding figures of history that I liked and celebrated. I bought any newspaper that had the picture of Zik or that published anything he said. I purchased any book of his I ever saw and read them. I defended him at all times and was ready to part ways with any person who spoke ill of him. His name was a melody in my ear, but I never really knew him. I only saw him once in his lifetime in a public event in 1992.  We never corresponded in any way. I never met him in person nor had any form of relationship with him. I was a zikist without knowing Zik! I was merely his fan and nothing more.

Several of us believers are fans of God and not His sons and friends. He longs for our filial friendship but we are satisfied being His fans.  We like Him and celebrate His miracles, yet we do not know Him. We have read His books and have some understanding about some of His likes and dislikes, yet we do not know Him. We can fight on His behalf and would part ways with people who do not regard Him, yet we are ignorant of Him because we have not met Him in person and may not easily recognise His voice. We are merely His fans and not His friends. Our Lord says of His disciples,  “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John15:15 NKJV). Good servants are fans of their masters.  The apostles were evidently committed fans of Jesus; that’s why they served Him with much enthusiasm.  A friend is different from a fan because of the level of communication that is available to them. Our Lord said of His friends, “...all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  Our Lord keeps no secret from His friends. Friends of God hear and recognise His voice.

Apart from describing us as His friends, our Lord described believers as His sheep and Himself as a good Shepherd. The sheep has an incredible ability of recognising the voice of its shepherd and not that of the stranger.  In the time of Jesus, a community has a common place where they keep their sheep for the night. In the morning each shepherd goes there and makes a sound, which only the sheep belonging to him will recognise and respond to.  Our Lord used that analogy for believers, “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him... and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” (John 10:3-5 NLT).  Every sheep of Christ must be able to recognise His voice, otherwise it will be difficult to follow Him. How then can we recognise the voice of God?

The voice of God inspires hope and not hopelessness.  The Scriptures are given to inspire hope in believers (Romans 15:4).  God’s voice will always inspire hope in the hearers. Therefore, Paul prayed,  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJV). God’s voice communicates strength,  encouragement and comfort (2 Corinthians 14:3, Acts 27:23-25). God’s voice  does not condemn, frighten,  or threaten  people (Romans 8:1, John 8:10-11). God speaks to relief burdens, reassure the doubtful , and steady the double-minded (John 20:26-29, Matthew 12:19-20).  To learn to recognise the voice of God, look closely at how Jesus spoke to people in the gospels.  The way He spoke is the way God speaks.

We don’t normally hear the voice of God  with our physical ears even though in some rare occasions it looks like we do.  Usually, His voice comes as a flowing stream of unpremeditated thoughts  coming out of our spirit. The Spirit of God resides on the inside of us and not outside,  so we must expect to hear Him speak from within our hearts.  Mostly, the voice that comes from outside is usually the voice of the enemy who lives outside of us. I  pray that God will enable us to grow in recognizing His voice so we can participate fully in His kingdom in Jesus name.

THY KINGDOM COME (7)

⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”(Luke 8:5-8 NKJV)

Effective communication is one of the key fundamentals for smooth transaction in any kingdom.  The citizens of any kingdom are required to speak the same language with their king; otherwise, it will be difficult to have effective communication between the king and his subjects. People from countries with colonial past will appreciate this truth easily. When Britain for instance colonised Nigeria, the colonial masters had to impose their language on us so that they can communicate with us.  This is why the official language of Nigeria is English. Similarly, in the Kingdom of God, it is imperative for the believers and God to be able to communicate; otherwise, the kingdom will not function properly.  This provides the backdrop to understand the declaration of Jesus; “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27 NKJV). Only the sheep who hear the voice of the Shepherd can follow Him. The sheep that cannot hear the voice of the shepherd is bound to stray away. It is becoming increasingly important for believers to learn to hear God for themselves. If indeed you are a citizen of the Kingdom where Jesus Christ is the King, then you must hear His voice. Our Lord promised His disciples, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God...” (Luke 8:10 NKJV).  The mysteries of the Kingdom of God are learned through direct communication with the King (Galatians 1:11-12).

Our Lord told the story of a farmer who was scattering seeds in the farm to illustrate the heart conditions that can hear the voice of God.  He ended the story with the warning, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  Hence, the main thrust of the parable is about developing the capacity to hear voice of God and profiting from what He says. Every radio has the capacity to receive and interpret sound waves, but to listen to a particular station of interest, you must deliberately tune to the right frequency. Likewise, every believer has the capacity to hear the voice of God, but the sound would be muddled unless your heart is properly conditioned to discern His voice.  In the parable, Our Lord identified four heart conditions and their relative receptivity to His voice.  As the sower went about sowing the seeds, some seeds fell on footpaths; some fell on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good ground. Here is the way the Master explained the parable.

¹²The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. ¹³The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. ¹⁴The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. ¹⁵And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. (Luke 8:11-15 NLT).

In explaining the parable, Our Lord identified the seed as the word of God and the soil conditions as the attitudes of hearts and how they receive the word of God.  The footpath represents close-minded people, who have no time to listen to God. Their hearts are hardened by pride, fear, bitterness and unforgiveness.   The rocky soil represents shallow-minded people who enjoy the word of God for a season but quickly forget it and compromise in face of little challenges. They lack the spiritual depth to withstand the wiles of the devil.   The thorny soil represents the encumbered minds who are easily distracted from focusing on God by the busyness of life. Worries, riches and pleasures draw them away from God. The good soil represents the heart that is open to God’s voice and cooperates with what God says. God speaks to people whose hearts are prepared to receive and obey His word.  Those who will believe the word and refuse to give up on it until it produces the desired fruit in their lives. Are you one of such? May the Holy Spirit help you to prepare your heart to hear the voice of God in Jesus Name.

THY KINGDOM COME (6)

“²¹But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. ²²And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, ²⁴saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.” (Acts 27:21-25 NKJV).

The greatest service human beings can render to God is to prepare for Him a heart on which He can implant His word. It was said of Ezra that he “prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NKJV). Whenever God sees a heart in which His word can incubate, germinate, grow and blossom, He bypasses a million others to bless such a person.  I strongly believe that was the one reason Mary held such a strong attraction to God’s heart. Her heart is very fertile for the word of God. After the Angel announced that she was to become the mother of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, she made a declaration that revealed the nature of her heart, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 NKJV).  Mary received the word of God with joy and believed it with all her heart. There was no vacillation on her part inspite of the obvious risk accepting the word of God would expose her to. Her heart was ready for the word of God. She had the habit of pondering the mysteries about Jesus in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51). God designed the human heart to hold and meditate on His word day and night.

Mary’s proneness to receive and believe the word of God with no reservations was the obvious reason for her blessedness. Elizabeth affirmed this truth when she said to Mary, “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” (Luke 1:45 NLT). The Kingdom of God became an experiential reality in Mary because she believed that God would do what He promised, notwithstanding the practical impossibility of that promise. It was and still is, and will always be practically impossible for a woman to become pregnant without the involvement of a man.  When true faith is in operation, impossibility becomes illogical. Impossibility made no sense to Jesus and the early apostles. It should not make to us either, because of the commission of Christ on us to do greater works than He did.

To believe is to be persuaded about the absolute truthfulness of God and the infallibility of His promise.  It is to place unwavering confidence in God, assured that He will never retract on His commitments.  Such trust comes from well-grounded intimate relationship with Him, and not merely from head knowledge of the Bible. Paul spoke from such a relationship to encourage His fellow sailors in the midst of catastrophe, “Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”  Paul had a rock-strong confidence that God will do what He told Him about the difficulty they were facing.  When God commits His word to a believer, the believer must declare such Words with faith for them to effectuate.  One has not truly believed a word from God until he or she boldly declares it publicly.

To believe effectively, the word of God must saturate your heart and overflow from your mouth.  Without the synergy between the heart and the mouth, believe becomes a mere wishful thinking. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10 NKJV). What is believed in the heart and declared with the mouth becomes a reality. When you believe and fail to declare what you believe, your faith becomes a stillbirth.  When you declare what you have not believed in the heart, your faith becomes phoney.  Paul reveals the right combination that births the miraculous. “And since we have 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 NKJV). Speaking your belief is God’s way of unleashing the creative force He has endowed us with. Make a habit of believing the promises of God in the bible and boldly declaring them until they become your experiential reality to the glory of God.