I de-CLARE!
Christians are notorious for making declarations. For instance, we
declare that the Bible is the Word of God. We declare our faith in
Jesus Christ. We declare that Jesus is Lord of all. We declare the
sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of life. We esteem our nation’s
Declaration of Independence.
The Bible’s Old and New Testaments have over 500 references to
the words declare, declared or declaring including, “You shall
declare a thing and it will be established for you,” Job 22:2.
Romans 4:17, though it does not include the word “declare” or any
of its variations, says, “He [Abraham] is our father in the sight of God, in
whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls
things that are not as though they were.” If that’s not referring to
a declaration, I don’t know what it is.
WATCH WHAT YOU DECLARE!
We already go about declaring things. Have you ever murmured,
“I’m so stupid!” or heard a parent scold a child with words like,
“You’ll never amount to anything!” Another scathing remark is,
“You’re just like your daddy,” referring, of course, to “daddy’s”
worst character traits.
We should be more careful about that which we declare or speak
over another person. Often, without even meaning to do so, we are
inadvertantly pronouncing a curse over someone or something. You
see, when we say things that line up with what only Satan has to say
about them, the Law of the Power of Agreement comes into play.
You don’t REALLY want to form an alliance with the devil, do you?
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” Proverbs 18:21.
“You are snared by the words of you mouth,” Proverbs 6:2.
This is not some sort of New Age doctrine here. I should not
be considered a “Power of Positive Thinking” preacher…
though that’s much better than encouraging people to continue to
exercise the power of NEGATIVE thinking, something we’re
already quite proficient at doing.
I sum it up with these five points…
1) Mankind has been given dominion over all things (Gen 1:26).
2) As New Covenant Christians, we are a Kingdom of priests and
kings. Jesus, of course, is the King of all these kings. We refer to
Him as the King of kings.
3) The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead dwells within
US, (Romans 8;11). Therefore, our bodies are the Temple –
literally the Holy of Holies – of the Holy Spirit, (1 Cor 6:19). In
other words, God lives in us; He lives in YOU!
Second Corinthians 6:16 reminds us, “For you are the temple of
the living God. As God has declared: “I will dwell in them and
walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My
people.”
4) Jesus confirmed this when He said, “The Kingdom of God
is within you.” (Note: He wasn’t talking to Christians when
He said that.)
5) The Kingdom of God is not a physical place for Jesus also said,
“The Kingdom does not come with observation.” The Kingdom
(Gk:basileia) is actually referring to the dominion, the reign, of a
King, not a castle on a hilltop, not a building and not a distant,
celestial place called Heaven.
Taking all these truths into consideration, one can confidently
conclude that we, as kings and priests ourselves, can - and should –
actually declare things…GOOD things…as the Spirit leads us, and
expect them to come to pass.
WHAT THEN SHALL WE DECLARE?
For starters, we should ONLY declare that which the Holy
Spirit leads us to declare, things that either line up with
Scripture or that He has laid upon our hearts. Rather than
begging and beseeching God to do things for us, DECLARE
those things as done, in Jesus’ Name. In other words, declare
those things that line up with the character and teachings of
Jesus Christ. For example:
We can declare healing.
We can declare unity within the Body of Christ (power comes
only by unity)
We can declare truth to be revealed and released.
We can declare peace…whether it’s to a household, a
workplace or a nation at war.
We can declare freedom to those who are oppressed by
the devil.
What harm will do any of us to say, “I declare that, in the Name
of Jesus of Nazareth, you are healed!” - especially if that individual
raises up out of a wheelchair? (That’s happened twice to elderly
people for whom I’ve prayed. Go figure.)
For those who fear that they might not be “anointed” enough,
may I remind you that The Anointed One – Jesus Christ (for
“Christ” means “the anointed one”) – dwells within you. Yes,
you’re anointed, trust me. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me for He has anointed Me…”
The anointing always went upon the head. Jesus is the head, the
already-anointed King. The Body was never anointed anywhere
in Scripture. You might notice that even the anointing oil that was
poured on Aaron’s head (Ps. 133:1-3) never touched the flesh of
his body.
Anointed flesh does nobody any good at all.
Start declaring things in Jesus’ Name - as the Spirit leads you -
and watch as stuff starts to happen. In my own life, I have declared
healing to people and animals and have seen it take place. Not every
time and not always instantly, but it HAS happened. Jesus Himself
could do few miracles in his own hometown. Other miracles
manifested healing instantly while others required more prayer
and manifested gradually (the blind man upon whose eyes He
placed a muddy compound and the ten lepers who were healed
“as they went,” are two examples).
I have also declared peace to storms, as the Spirit urged me to
do so, and have seen some pretty undeniable things take place.
Those who know me know that I am quite an EXTRA-ordinary
guy. By that I mean that I’m as ordinary as they get…and
thensome. But this one thing I know: If we, The Body of Christ,
do nothing, NOTHING will ever happen.
Who better to take such radical steps of faith? The Muslims?
The Satanists?
Are you kidding me?
DECLARE SOMETHING TODAY!
If I know people, the tendency of many will be to misconstrue
what I’m saying here and start declaring themselves to be
wealthy. They’ll declare that they will win the lottery. They’ll
declare that they’ll get married. One can practice that sort of
nonsense if they wish – bordering on witchcraft, if you ask me -
but when the thing declared does NOT manifest, don’t blame
the Lord and don’t blame me!
Those who know His voice will declare when and where the
Spirit leads. Hint: Generally, it is that which will build God’s
Kingdom, not that which will pad our bank account or appease
our lower natures. Truth is, if one TRULY desires peace and
joy in their lives, they’ll take the time to get to know the God of
the Bible, establish that most important of all relationships, and
follow His leading from that point forward.
Fear will keep many Christians from daring to step out in faith
in this way. Don’t forget that “without faith it’s impossible to
please God,”(Heb 11:6).
We are afraid we won’t know God’s voice from others.
We’re afraid of being ashamed.
We’re afraid of what others might say about our declarations.
Don’t be! Though I know NOTHING about how to heal anybody,
I DO know the One who heals people. He’s a great King and He
DOES know how to run His Kingdom and that includes the
welfare of His people. Whether a person is healed, or a storm is
thwarted, is not because of anything I, or anybody else, might do.
But we must take these steps of faith and become DOERS of the
Word.
Christianity is so much more than merely sitting and listening to
a sermon in a church building. It’s SO MUCH more than that.
There’s a Kingdom to advance and it most certainly doesn’t occur
from an army of Hearers only.
Frankly, serving God in this way is more exciting than anything I
could have ever imagined.
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
www.YourTown4Jesus.com
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