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NASB | Matthew 8:5 ¶ And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 8:5 ¶ As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help], [Luke 7:1-10] |
Subject: A FALSE TEACHING? Yes / No |
Bible Note: You told me to read Hebrews 11 as a start for seeing what faith really is and what it really does and all the like. Well, I have and I did and this is what I came up with: verse 3: AMP “By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.” Let’s use a little bit of reasoning here. If God fashioned, put in order, and equipped the worlds for their intended purpose BY HIS WORDS, and we have the Spirit of God living on the inside of us . . . hmmmmm. Doesn’t it stand to reason that we should at least have SOME of that creative power lurking in our recreated spirits? If we are being made into the image of God then shouldn’t we also be sort of “coming into” the power of God? I’m not saying that I’ll be able to speak a coffee cup into existence out of thin air, but shouldn’t our words at least have some power? I know that I have discovered that words DO have power. The Bible even says so. Read these verses: Proverbs 6:2, Proverbs 18:21, James 3, Matthew 12:37, Numbers 14:28, Hebrews 4:14. All of those verses and chapters emphasize the power of the tongue. That verse in Numbers is especially freaky because God told Moses flat out that He would do to the people of Israel exactly as they had been saying. Proverbs 6:2 says as plain as day that your words can put you in a snare and a trap. In the Basic English Bible it says “the sayings of your lips have overcome you”. That’s pretty straight forward. Now, as far as us being able to speak things into existence out of thin air . . . you’re right. It’s nonsense. We can’t create something out of nothing on our own. But God can cause what we need to be created for us or to be brought to us. Take the woman in 1 Kings 17 who never ran out of meal or oil because she acted in faith and gave food to Elijah. Then there was the Shunammite woman’s son (also 2 Kings 4). Her son died and her husband thought that it was nonsense to go get Elisha and she responded “It will be alright (AMP)”. Then, when Elisha saw her from afar, he sent his servant to ask her some questions, among which was the question “is it well with the child?” and she responded “It is well”. She never said, “well, maybe I’ll get the man of God or maybe he’ll come and do something . . . “ her faith moved her mouth to say that IT SHALL BE WELL. IT WILL BE ALRIGHT. IT IS WELL. She didn’t say, “You lied to me! You said I would have a son and now he’s DEAD!” No, she spoke in faith and her faith was what moved her. So then we see that faith speaks and moves. According to James 2:17, faith without works is dead. According to 2 Corinthians 4:13 the spirit of faith believes and speaks. Here Paul is talking about speaking the word of God to the believers at Corinth to admonish them, but it still applies to us in other areas of our lives. If I have faith that God will provide me with money to buy a new car, I’m not going to start saying that the money isn’t coming and that I’ll be driving around a clunker for the rest of my days. NOOOOOOOOO . . . I’m going to say “Yes, my God WILL supply ALL of my needs according to the RICHES of His glory in Christ Jesus!” Now, before you start calling me down for that, look at Hebrews 11:6. AMP “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the REWARDER of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].” I do not think that faith is some meta-physical force which can manipulate creation. However, I do know without a doubt that words have POWER on earth and in the spiritual realm. How did Jesus overcome Satan when He was tempted? By the word of God. We can speak the word of God from the Bible or we can speak what we know to be true. I know that God is going to give me a wife. I’m willing to be single and could be quite happy as a single, but I know that God is going to bring me a wife. So I do not whine and complain about it. God’s bringing me a wife. Until she gets here, it’s just me and Him, but I still speak expectation. It works. Not by Copeland’s testimony or by Hinn’s testimony or by anyone else’s testimony, but by MY testimony. You can believe what you want. I know what is truth and I have tested it. I appreciate your concern, but I am quite happy to live my life by the Word of Faith. In Christ, LDS |