Words of Destiny

The Hebrew word for “word” is dabar. It is also translated in the verb form as “speak,” which certainly makes sense, for what is a word except that which is spoken. That is how dabar is translated. What it means is to arrange or subdue, which is what we are actually doing when we speak words.

We are created in the image of God, and when God speaks, He is arranging and subduing things. That’s how the whole universe came into existence. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). God spoke, and there it was. When darkness was upon the face of the earth and God spoke the words, “Light, be!” He was subduing the darkness and arranging the light to be. And so it was.

God created us to have dominion. “What is man that You are mindful of him … You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).

Since the works of God’s hands were actually created by the words of His mouth, it only makes sense that man, being created in the image of God and given authority over those same works by God, would exercise that dominion by the words of his mouth. That is why Adam’s first assignment was to call the animals. The call was a name, a word which established the nature and character of the animals. God did not tell Adam what to call the animals. Rather, He imparted the authority to speak the word of destiny over the animals — to exercise dominion over them — and then simply stood back and observed what Adam would do with that authority, what he would call them. How delighted God must have been to see His son, Adam, operating in the family business!

So it should not seem strange or unusual for Jesus to say, as He did to His disciples,

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23)

In fact, in this command, Jesus is taking us back to the original mandate God gave man. He is teaching us how to use our words properly — which is what dabar is all about. This calls for discipleship, training our mouth and heart to operate in the authority God originally intended. For not only do words mean things, they actually cause things. That is why Jesus said that we will have to give account for every idle word we speak (Matthew 12:36).

Let not your words be idle. Realize that every word you speak is a word of destiny. Let the words you speak be in agreement with the Word of God, by which the heavens and the earth were created. Let your heart and your mouth be filled with the promises of God — His Words are never spoken in vain (Isaiah 55:11). Then open up your mouth and begin arranging and subduing the world, bringing it into line with His will.

Calling Things As Though They Were

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:16-17)

God calls those things that are not as though they were. That is how the heavens and the earth got here in the first place. Once they were not, now they are—because God called them as though they were. The worlds were framed by the Word of God (Hebrews 11:3).

That’s how God works.

When God made man, He made him in the image of God. He formed Adam from the earth and then puffed the breath of life into him, and Adam became a living being. An ancient rabbinic commentary says that Adam became a “speaking spirit.”

God is Spirit, a speaking spirit. The Bible says that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek word for “inspiration” is theoneustos and literally means “God-breathed.” God breathes out His Word.

When God breathes out His Word, things happen. They come into being because He calls them by the breath of His mouth. At the Creation, for example, when darkness was upon the face of the deep, God called for light. Light came into being and solved the problem of darkness.

Now, the breath of God is one. The same breath He breathed into Adam’s nostrils is the same breath by which He breathes out His Word and causes things to be.

After God created Adam, He set him to work. He brought the animals to Adam to see what he would call them (Genesis 2:19). With the breath of God, Adam was to breath forth words and name the animals. By naming them, he called forth what they were to be and do. Another way to say this is that he called things which did not exist (the purpose and destiny of the animals) as though they were already in existence. That is how faith works.

God did not tell Adam what to call the animals, He simply gave Adam the breath and the authority to name them and call forth their destinies. Then He stepped back to observe and see what Adam would call into being.

God operates in the world by the Word of His breath, and that is how He created man to operate as well. In Romans 4, we see that God called Abraham, which means “Father of Multitudes,” even though, at the time, Abraham was the father of none. But God was calling things that are not as though they were, and He expected Abraham to come into agreement with His word, this name Abraham, Father of Multitudes. So whenever Abraham or Sarah spoke forth this name, they were calling things that did not exist as though they already did. They were not speaking lies or denying facts, they were calling for things to come forth. The Word of God cannot fail—whether it comes from God’s own mouth or from ours—so the things that Abraham called eventually showed up in the natural.

God has created you and me to call things which do not exist as though they did. So explore the Word of God to discover the promises of God and what His heart is all about. Then open up your mouth and start calling them forth in agreement with Him. It does not matter whether you can see them, feel them or experience them in any way. Just keep calling them as if they already existed, and they will eventually show up. For everything must eventually line up with the Word of God.

The Holy Breath

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

So Jesus said to them, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sings of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-23).

God breathed into Adam; Jesus breathed into the disciples. In both instances, this was an impartation of the Holy Spirit. What was also being imparted was the authority to speak on behalf of God and heaven.

In Genesis 2, God literally “puffed” into Adam’s nostrils. The Hebrew word is naphach.

In John 20, Jesus literally “puffed” on the disciples. The Greek word is emphysao. It is the same word used to translate naphach in the Septuagint (an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament).

In Genesis 2, Adam became a breathing, speaking spirit, with the capacity to think God’s thoughts and speak God’s words. (See Created to Know and Speak the Mind of God)

In John 20, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and were sent out in the same way that Jesus was sent out. They were given authority to forgive sins, or retain them. This was the authority to speak the Gospel, to extend the forgiveness of God through preaching the Good News.

There has always been great power in the human capacity to speak words. Even from the beginning, they were meant to reveal the mind of God. Now, even more, God has given us authority to extend the forgiveness of His heart to those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Created to Know and Speak the Mind of God

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Man is a unique creature in all the universe. He alone has the breath of God in him. Literally, God puffed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils, then man became a nephesh chayyim, a “living being.” He was not just living, as the animals of Genesis 1 were said to be living. No, he was living solely and especially because of the breath of life from God’s own mouth was at work in him.

In other Bible passages, the word nephesh is often translated as “mind,” for example, at Genesis 23:8 and Deuteronomy 18:6. So in the context of God and man, it refers to more than mere existence. It involves the capacity for thought.

There are a couple of other words translated as “mind” in the Old Testament which help us understand this connection even more. The Hebrew word for “spirit,” ruach, is often used to refer to “wind” and even “breath.” But it also is used as a word for “mind” (Genesis 26:35). The breath that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils was actually the Holy Spirit, giving life to Adam’s body. But we can also say that what God breathed into Adam was the mind of God.

Another interesting word in this regard is the Hebrew word peh. In Leviticus 24:12, it is translated as “mind.” But it literally refers to the mouth as a means of blowing. God, with His mouth, blew the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. It gives a new meaning to the term “mind-blowing.”

God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). But that does not mean that we cannot know God’s thoughts. Indeed, we were created with the capacity to know the mind of God, to understand His ways and walk in them. Though Adam fell, we still have this capacity to think the thoughts of God, if we have experienced the new birth by the Holy Spirit. For Paul says:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-11)

An ancient Hebrew commentary, the Targum Onkelos, has something very interesting to say about Genesis 2:7. The commentator concludes that God blew into Adam’s nostrils a speaking spirit, and thus Adam himself became a speaking spirit. So not only did Adam bear the image of God, and the authority of God, but he was also a speaking spirit, to breathe forth words, even as God did.

We were created, not only to have the mind of God, to think His thoughts after Him, but also to speak forth the mind of God — our mouths breathing forth His words. His words are never idle or spoken in vain, but they accomplish everything He sends them out to do. As we speak them into our life and the world around us, they will bring forth the purposes of God.

God has created you and me with tremendous capacity, world-changing potential. Do not limit yourself by your own thoughts when you can know the mind of God. Why use your mouth to speak your own feeble words, when you can breathe out the powerful Word of God into the world.

Problem Solving 101

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep…. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

Can you imagine if God did what we do whenever we run into a problem? “Wow, it sure is dark out here! Can you believe how dark it is? Angels, come and take a look at this darkness, would you. I mean it is daaaark. Whew! I don’t know what I’m gonna do, its just so dark. I hope it doesn’t get any darker or else we’re all going to be in big trouble, because I was counting on it not being so dark. But it is daaaaark. Dark, dark, dark! We’ve really got a problem on our hands because its just so dark.”

How silly would that have been to keep focusing on the problem, talking about the problem, getting into agreement with everyone about the problem — when God had the answer all along.

And yet, so often, isn’t that how you and I have been conditioned to deal with problems? We tell everyone about the problem and hope to get sympathy from them. We try and get others to agree with us about how bad the problem really is. We go on and on about the problem.

But what did God actually do?

It was dark. God said, “Let there be light.” He didn’t say one word about the problem. He simply spoke the answer: Light be. And light was.

Now, you and I are not God. But we are created in the image of God. And we have the authority to speak the Word of God. We have the authority of Jesus to speak to mountains and expect to see them move (Mark 11:22-23).

When you have a problem, find out what the Word of God has to say about it, then start saying what the Word says. In other words, don’t focus on the problem, focus on the answer God has provided.

Exercising Your Authority to Bless

We believe that God is a God of blessing, and that He has authorized us as agents of His blessing. We are learning and stretching out in this area. For instance, when we go out to eat now, we not only bless our own food, but all the food in the joint, that there might be a revelation of the goodness of God and an experience of His peace in those places.

Now, when I say, “bless the food,” I do not just mean that we ask God to bless it for us. Jesus gave us authority to bless when He taught us to pray, “Your [the Father’s] will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So we take that authority and exercise it even when we pray at meal time — “I bless this food in Jesus’ name” — believing that the will of God will be done in that food, exactly as His will is being done in heaven. Can you imagine eating food that is charged with the power of heaven? Now go a step further and imagine charging it with the power of heaven! Every believer is an authorized agent.

Take the authority you have in the Lord Jesus Christ — the authority of His name, the authority of His blood, the authority of how He taught us to pray — and begin bringing forth the blessing of God’s kingdom upon the earth. The world does not need our condemnation, it needs the blessing of heaven to transform it into what He has called it to be.

Faith is Released by Words

Jesus answered and said, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23)

The disciples heard Jesus speak to the fig tree just the day before, and now on their return by that same tree, Peter saw that it was withered. He said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away” (Mark 11:21).

Imagine speaking to a fig tree. Now imagine that it obeys you. That is what happened here. But how can this be?

Jesus gives the answer: “Have faith in God.” The Greek text literally says “Have faith of God.” Whatever this faith is, it is of God. The Bible says that faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We receive this gift by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). That is what faith is — believing the Word of God, that is, having an expectation that whatever God says will be fulfilled.

Now, let me ask you a question. When God speaks, does He have an expectation that it will be fulfilled, that His Word will be fully obeyed?

Yes, of course He does, for He said, “So shall my Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). When God speaks, things get done!

Spend time meditating on this, because it is the framework of the whole universe. The Bible says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

We see this in the Creation, in Genesis 1. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was. The pattern is repeated throughout. God said, and it was so. That is how the worlds were made.

So it should come as no surprise that when Jesus, being fully divine as well as fully human, speaks to a fig tree or commands the wind and waves, they obey Him. But now, look how Jesus extends His authority to the disciples. He said, “Have faith of God.” That is, have the same kind of expectation as God does that His Word will be fulfilled. Then Jesus says something so mind-blowing that most Christians back away from its full force.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Wow! Did He really mean that? Can we really have an expectation that when we believe the Word of God in our hearts and speak it with our mouths that mountains will obey us?

Yes, He did. And yes, we can.

Notice how this happens. First, we must be in agreement with the Word of God, because Biblical faith is expecting to see the Word of God fulfilled. Then, we must speak those things with our mouths. You see, our faith is released by what we say. Three times, Jesus refers to what we say — three times in one sentence! In that same sentence, He referred to what we believe only once.

With a ratio of three to one in the same sentence, doesn’t it look like Jesus is telling us something very important about the relationship between what we believe and what we speak. In fact, He is giving us a very powerful key to activating and releasing our faith. Here is the order of how it works:

• We believe in our heart
• then we speak it forth
• then we see it happen

God had an expectation that when He spoke, His Word will be fulfilled. Jesus also had an expectation that when He spoke, His Word would be fulfilled. Then He taught us to have the same expectation about the Word of God, that whenever we speak in agreement with it we should expect to see it fulfilled.

Faith is activated and released by what we say. Therefore, we ought to be very careful about everything we say. Does it line up with the truth of God’s Word? Are we speaking in agreement with His promises? Are our words merely idle (Jesus said we will have to give account for every idle word)? Or worse, are we saying things which are contradictory to what God has said?

Meditate on the Word of God until you have have full expectation that it will be fulfilled. Then open your mouth and speak, letting the promises of God direct everything you say. Then watch for the fulfillment.

Words That Literally Change the World

The spiritual realm is greater than the physical realm because the physical realm comes forth from the spiritual. For God is spirit (John 4:24), and He is the creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:10).

The natural, physical realm was created by words — that is, the Word of God. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

We are authorized to speak the Word of God on the earth. The psalm writer said, “With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth” (Psalm 119:13).

Consider the power of the words that come out of your mouth. Consider how greatly the world could change if we learned to put God’s Word in our mouths.

The Rhema of God

Let it be to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)

The angel Gabriel continued his answer to Mary concerning how this great prophecy would be fulfilled. He drew upon the testimony of Elizabeth:

Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. (Luke 1:36-37)

The Greek word translated “indeed” is actually the word translated “behold” in verse 31. Gabriel was calling on Mary to behold something again, only this time, it was something she could verify with her natural senses, though its significance still required spiritual understanding. Mary certainly understood that Elizabeth’s conception was miraculous. For Elizabeth, who even in her younger years had been barren, was considerably beyond childbearing years — and yet she was now in her sixth month of pregnancy.

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Instead of “nothing” read “no thing.” Same meaning in English, but I want to reveal the underlying Greek word. That word rendered "thing" is rhema. “With God, no rhema will be impossible.”

So, what is a rhema? It is a word that is acutely spoken or articulated. It is an utterance or saying that has a personal application meaning. In the Bible, it is often a word directly delivered from God. That is why, with God, no rhema will be impossible — because it comes from Him in the first place. His Word will not return fruitless but will be fulfilled in all His purposes.

No wonder Gabriel twice enjoined Mary to behold, for he was bringing a word from the Lord, a rhema that required her full attention and spiritual vision.

Mary’s reply to this was quick and succinct: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary was speaking very directly — “Behold!” Gabriel, who had brought a revelation of God’s heart, was now receiving a revelation of Mary’s heart.

Mary presented herself as the “maidservant of the Lord.” She had seen the servant-heart of God, and now she responded to Him in kind (the initiative always belongs to God). Surely, this is one of the mysteries angels intensely desire to look into and are craning their necks to see (1 Peter 1:12).

“Let it be unto me according to your rhema.” Her heart was lined up with God’s and she was in full agreement with His Word. She received this wonderful Word, believing it in her heart and confessing it with her lips. Heaven and earth were coming together. His Word would now be fulfilled in her. His kingdom would now come, and His will would now be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

“And the angel departed from her.”

Paul says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word (rhema) of God (Romans 10:17). Mary heard the Word of God delivered by the angel, and faith rose up within her. She believed it, she spoke it, it was done.

When God impresses His Rhema upon your heart, let it do its work in your spirit. As your heart fills up with it, begin to speak in agreement with it. Give yourself completely to the Lord. Let His servant-heart develop within you a like heart. Then speak out in full agreement with His promise for you: “Let it be to me according to Your Word.”