Introduction The importance o
CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart”
Phil Scovell
Second Addition – July 8, 1992
INTRODUCTION
This booklet is a guide to confessing Gods Word. “Why bother?” I could offer a dozen reasons, all Scriptural, but God can speak for Himself.
Joshua 1:7-8
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. 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.
God is rather dogmatic about His will…”turn not from it to the right hand or to the left.” If the Lord expected Joshua to obey His command, there must be some way of being obedient. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…” We start, therefore, with confession I.E. the reciting of God’s Word.
Now, if you think this sounds like faith and confession, you’re right. If you don’t believe faith comes when you confess the Word of God, then you can’t even be born again. “What!” That’s right. Remember Romans 10:9?
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, thou shalt be saved.
Where did you hear Jesus was Lord? from the Scriptures, of course, which you either read or heard preached/confessed. How did you get saved? You confessed Jesus as Lord. The first step is confession. Why? Because that’s what Jesus did. Remember when our Lord was tempted forty days in the wilderness by the devil? What did Jesus do? That’s right…He confessed God’s eternal Word. That’s exactly what you are going to be doing with the help of this booklet. To further substantiate the importance of what we say, I have included an Appendix [A] along with all the others which are verses from Proverbs. I guarantee, once you’ve read over those verses, you’ll watch what you say with your mouth.
PERSONAL COMMENTS
You are probably going to feel silly reciting these various confessions but that’s only your soulish nature resisting the spiritual. Wait till the soulish nature suddenly begins to submit to the confessions of God’s Word…life is going to be dramatically different.
Although I’ll be adding confessions later, this release offers more than a dozen. All are Scripturally documented for the skeptic. You may choose to read these confessions once a day or more if needed. It takes about twenty minutes each session. Whatever you do, don’t quit once you’ve begun. You’ll no doubt want to, though, after just the first couple of days. Your flesh will put up a fuss and your unregenerate mind and emotions are going to complain to who laid the rail. That’s an old expression my mother-in-law – an Iowa farmer – used to say. I don’t have the foggiest idea what it means but you get the picture. Anyhow, once you begin, don’t stop. Read them out loud, too.
After reading over these confessions a few hundred times, eventually they’ll be memorized. Then these confessions will no longer be just words on a page but a part of you. That, in fact, was the message God was trying to get across to Joshua: “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.” In other words, we must live by God’s Word if we wish to be successful in our walk with the Lord. The way God says this is done begins with the confession of His Word.
Let me warn you of one major problem. You are going to discover, if you haven’t already, there are many who will, and do, not only scoff at this practice but go out of their way to deny its Scriptural validity. Some pastor large churches and have big television ministries. Some are presidents of prestigious Bible colleges. A few have even written books; labeling this practice “positive thinking, possibility thinking” or “positive confession.” Some even attempt to poke fun at this practice by calling it the “name it and claim it” or “blab it and grab it” theology. Before beginning this practice of confessing God’s Holy Word, therefore, make up your mind if it’s Biblical. If you have any doubt, the devil will use that little crack in the wall to burst the dam and drown your faith. As a suggestion, take time to read through the psalms of David. He was a fanatic about confessing God’s Word and he did it in the most unusual situations: When afraid, running for his life, hiding in caves from his enemies, after committing terrible sins, and even when he was horribly depressed and discouraged. In short, David confessed the promises of God when faced with impossible circumstances. The Scriptures report David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). If that’s your desire, ignore the clamor of the faithless and go right on confessing God’s Word.
One more thing. You’ll notice God said along with the repetitive confession of His Word was the continuous meditation thereon. When you begin reading over these many confessions, you’ll discover your mind beginning to meditate on the confessions of your mouth. That’s good! In fact, it’s the way it should work. The way you get your mind fixed upon God’s Word is by confessing it over and over again. Is this what some call “PMA – Positive Mental Attitude?” no! It is the way we become obedient to God’s Word. Furthermore, it’s the renewing of one’s mind. Do it and you’ll be obeying God. The confession is designed by our Heavenly Father to fix our minds upon what He says to the exclusion of all else. Besides, you don’t need all that other junk rolling around in your head. You need God and His power every single day. The way you get it is by emulating Joshua. Once lived by, the promises of God will then be yours in all of their power and authority.
Though I have written these confessions myself, you may discover similarities in other written confessions. I haven’t copied their work; I’ve simply used the same Bible, thus they may read alike. One in particular is Confession #15 on The Blood Of Christ. It is one I have taken from a series of sermons by Derek Prince on the doctrine of the blood of Christ.(1) He wrote a confession to go along with the series of sermons and has distributed it free for many years. I liked it so much (it was the first confession I began using personally) that I copied it, changed it slightly, and added a few phrases. Otherwise, I don’t believe I’ve reproduced any other published confessions; at least not deliberately. A guide I’ve used, and recommend highly, is a little booklet of confessions by Charles Capps called “God’s Creative Power Will Work For You.(2)
TECHNIQUES
I began my confessions by simply reading them out loud. I eventually knew the confessions well enough that I wrote down key words and began by viewing the key word list as I verbalized each confession. Eventually you’ll be able to use the key word list instead of the confession booklet itself. The final step is memorizing the key word list and thus enabling yourself to recite the confessions from memory. I have even reduced the key word list to a string of initials which are made up of the first letter of each key word. Some find it easier, however, to simply remember the key words. Though you may eventually wish to construct your own key word list, I have included the ones I use with this release.
FootNotes:
1. Derek Prince, Box 300, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33302 Tel. 305-763-5202. 2. Charles Capps, England, Ar 72046 Tel. 501-842-2576.