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The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:20, "A man's stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; he will be satisfied with the consequence of his words." Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequence of their words.
We live in an age where we are talking less and typing more. Social media has fundamentally changed how we communicate. On average, people spend about 143 minutes every day on social media. Collectively, we spend 720 billion minutes per day—or 500 million hours per year—on social media, not talking but listening and typing. We're reading more, watching more, and talking less. Even worse, when we do talk, we're not speaking intentional words that shape our lives. We talk in response to someone else or to please others, rather than saying words that transform our circumstances.
This trend has crept into the daily life of Christians. We are talking less, yet we live in a world that is dark, decaying, and dying. The enemy is infiltrating our minds, and it's alarming that even though attacks against us are increasing, our voices are heard less. Yet Christianity is referred to as the great confession, and Jesus is called in Hebrews 3:1 the high priest of our confession.
The first person recorded to speak in the Bible is God in Genesis 1:3. The last person recorded to speak is Jesus in Revelation 22:20. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:3, "By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were made from things which are not visible."
Words have fruit and consequence. Proverbs 6:2 says, "We are snared by the words of our mouth; we are trapped by the words of our mouth." Matthew 12:34 tells us that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." This is why Proverbs 4:23 says to "guard your heart with diligence, because out of it flows the issues of life." The word "issues" means "source"—the boundaries of your life are set by the words that you speak.
Proverbs 4:24-25 teaches us: "Put away false and dishonest speech; willful and contrary talk, put away from you. Let your eyes look right on with fixed purpose, and let your gaze be straight." Your eyes determine your words. Your words are a reflection of what's in your heart. Proverbs 4:20 says, "My son, attend to my words; submit to my sayings; let them not depart from your sight." If you fix your eyes, you fix your mouth. If you look at the right thing, you will say the right thing.
A bird can fly over your head—you cannot stop that. But if it makes a nest in your hair, that becomes a problem. The greatest tool of the enemy is the power of suggestion. Even though we live a spiritual life, we live it on earth, in the domain of the enemy. He is the prince of this world and has the infrastructure to suggest things to us.
It is impossible for a Christian to live a victorious life if they are more aware of the natural realm than the spiritual realm. If you pay more attention to deficits, lack, worry, anxiety, and sickness, you cannot expect to live victoriously over the enemy. If you are more aware of what the doctor says than what the Bible says, you cannot be healed of that disease. If you are more aware of negative reports about yourself than what the Bible says—that the greater one lives inside you—you cannot live victoriously.
If the devil can get you to think about something consistently, he doesn't have to do much to get you to say it. Once something is in your mind consistently, you will speak it. That's why you must guard your heart. Your heart determines where your life goes.
Consider the children of Israel. They reached the promised land, saw everything God had promised, yet turned back. Acts 7:39 says about them, "Our fathers would not obey God; they rejected Him, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt." They turned back in their hearts before they physically turned around. Their hearts were facing Egypt the entire time. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 1:32, "Yet for all that you did not believe the Lord your God who went in the way before you." God had been leading them, but they wanted to turn back.
The enemy came and told them, "You can't do that," and they accepted what the devil was saying. God responded, "You say you want to die in the wilderness? You will die in the wilderness." They followed that word all the way.
James 4:7 tells us, "Resist the devil; submit to God." If God tells you to do something, it means you have the capacity to do it. When contrary thoughts come, you must resist the devil. Ephesians 4:27 says, "Leave no room or foothold for the devil." First Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; the enemy is prowling like a lion. Resist him; stand steadfast in your faith when he attacks your mind."
When the enemy attacks your mind with the wrong thing, resist him. If you need to shout, shout: "Shut up! Don't say that!" If you need to laugh at him, laugh at him. Let every thought die unborn. Your words give birth to your thoughts and make them real. If you can control your mouth and use it not merely to reflect what you're thinking but to determine what you will think, you cannot do that without renewing your mind with the word of God.
Read your Bible. Meditate. Listen to Scripture. Philippians 4:6-8 tells us: "Finally, Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is confirmed by God's word, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute—if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things. Center your mind on them and implant them in your heart."
If your thoughts do not check off these boxes, don't think about them. The easiest way to stop a thought is to talk—to tell yourself what to think about. So every morning, throw a generalized air raid. Just shoot everything. Last night the devil may have tried to plant a seed of fear or doubt, so just generalize and shoot everything. Never ignore any contrary thought.
In Luke 4, we see Jesus fasting for 40 days. The devil comes to tempt Him. The first temptation is to get Jesus to say the wrong thing. "You're hungry. I can see it in your eyes. You have power—why don't you convert these stones to bread?" Jesus responds, "We are not only going to live by the words that come out of God's mouth."
The other temptations involve misquoting the Bible. The devil misquotes Psalm 91:11-12, saying, "He will give His angels charge over you to bear you up," but he takes it out of context. When you read further, you realize that promise was made to those who love and obey God, not to someone who simply jumps off a building.
Jesus does not let that go unanswered. Three times He says, "It is written; it is written; it is written." The difficulty we have today is that we don't know enough scripture to counteract what the devil is saying. The word made flesh had to quote scripture to silence the enemy. Most of us don't know enough scripture.
Read your Bible every day. Gather information that is hidden there for your benefit so you know what to say to the devil when he tries to trap you in fear.
When fear comes: First John 4:4 says, "You are of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world." Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you." Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say? If God be for us, who can be against us?"
When confusion comes: First Corinthians 1:30 says you are "of Christ Jesus, Jesus who became for you wisdom." Jesus became wisdom. First John 2:20 says, "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things." When you get a project at work and don't know what to do, remember: I have an anointing from the Holy One, and I know all things. You might not know it in the physical, but in your spirit you know all things. Go take a nap, and let your spirit be open for God to tell you what to do.
Psalm 41:10 works too: "Fear not; I am with you. Be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Philippians 4:13 is my favorite scripture: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The devil says you're weak? Yes, by myself Victor is weak, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Never let a contrary word from the enemy go unanswered. Never let a lie of the enemy go unanswered. It becomes a seed. Spiritual insecurity—not being sure if God loves you, feeling insecure in your identity—is born out of ignorance of the word of God and is sustained by a lack of continued awareness of who you are in Christ.
Confession increases your awareness of reality. If you say "I'm hungry" over and over, you become more aware of your hunger. If you wake up every day and say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ; I can do all things; I know all things," you become more aware of that reality through repetition.
God's word is very important to Him. Psalm 138:2 says, "You have magnified your word above your name." God put His word higher than the name of Jesus. Jeremiah 1:12 says, "The Lord said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am actively watching over my word to fulfill it.'" God takes His word seriously. When He speaks, He doesn't just talk and walk away—He watches it closely to ensure what He said will happen.
When God created, He looked back and said, "It is good." He didn't just talk and go away. He watches. So when God releases a word to you, He doesn't just release it and leave. He watches to make sure He does exactly what He told it to do.
You cannot go against the word of God and expect Him to work for you. Going against God's word is going against God Himself. It's like a child who has been naughty all year asking for Christmas presents. There's a naughty list for a reason. You can't take God's word for granted and expect it to work for you. You can't go against it and expect it to work for you.
Deuteronomy 1:26 describes the children of Israel: "But then you weren't willing to go up. You rebelled against God your God's plain word. You complained in your tents; you said things that went against what He said; you rebelled against His word." Verse 34 says, "The Lord heard the sound of your words."
You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your marriage and expect your marriage to be restored. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about provision and expect to get the job. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your dating life and expect a good spouse. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your finances and expect a financial breakthrough.
God will not override your words to carry out His will in your life. Your words are a filter. Words filter what God can actually do in your life. God promised the children of Israel that land for 500 years. They got there, and because of what they said, they could not get what God had already secured for them.
Romans 10:10 says, "With the heart man believes, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." The word "homologia" means "to say the same thing as," or "to agree." When God says something, He expects you to say the same thing.
The Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. The first time you hear it, God is saying it. The second time you hear it, you should be the one saying it. Confession is saying the same thing as what God has said.
What if you took God's word for real? What if you believed what it says? What if when you read, "I am with you," you heard it in God's voice? When you were a troublesome child and people bullied you, you called your parents or an elder brother—someone stronger. They came and said something, and you echoed it. There you were, small as you were, but because you believed what that person could do, you felt strong. What if when you read the Bible, you read it like God is talking to you? "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will uphold you with My right hand." What if you heard it in God's voice?
What if you believed the Bible because it is the Bible—the word of God? "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will uphold you with My right hand."
Most of us say the word of God on Sunday, and then we go against the word of God with the same mouth. You go to church and hear, "I can be healed." As you step out, somebody says, "How is that back pain?" and you respond, "It's a little bit better, not as bad as before." But that's not what the word says. The word says, "By His stripes you were healed"—past tense.
Never go against the word of God. Believe the word of God for what it says. How will you know what the word of God says if you don't open your Bible? If you don't listen to the message over and over again?
Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so you be careful to observe what you do." Most of us are confused because we don't read. We don't know what the word of God says.
No matter the temptation, never believe anything contrary to what God has said about you. Fight it. You can tell the devil, "I don't know exactly the Bible verse, but I know you're lying." Sometimes I do that: "Wait, I'm coming. Give me two minutes. There's a scripture coming to my mind." You have the internet—Google it. "Stripes healed." Boom. There it is.
A pastor called me and told me he was fighting suicidal thoughts. The devil was preaching to him, saying, "Grace is going to cover your sin. Even if you die now, even if you take your life now, grace is going to cover it. Won't you go to heaven?" It's a temptation—the devil will quote scripture out of context.
I didn't know the exact verse to help him with, but I remembered John 8:44: "The devil is the father of all lies." I told him, "I don't care how scriptural it sounds; I don't care how biblical it sounds—if the devil is saying it, there's a lie somewhere. There's something that is not straight. Father of lies."
That's how you fight the enemy. Never go contrary to what God has said about you. When God speaks to you, write it down. Write it down. Write it down. Get a verse you love and write it down.
My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When I was in elementary school, I was doing well. When I went to high school, I struggled for a while. What brought me out of that was a scripture. A teacher in middle school had made me memorize: "I can do all things through Christ." Year after year I got better. Why? Because I really believed it. What if you take the word of God for what it says?
Deuteronomy 28:1 says: "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all His commands that I'm giving you today, listen to this—the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth."
You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
The Lord will conquer your enemies that attack you. They will attack from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven directions. The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do. Why should your business fail? He said, "On everything." Not on some things—on everything you do. Even when you make a mistake, He has to bless it because He said, "On everything."
You will fill your storehouses with grain, and the Lord will bless you in the land He's given you. If you obey the commands of the Lord and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He swore to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by God.
The Lord will give you prosperity. He doesn't say He will prosper you—there's a difference between prospering you and giving you prosperity. That means there's a generator of prosperous living that is given to you.
You will be blessed with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from His rich treasuries in the heavens and will bless all the work that you do.
Why are you fighting for a promotion when God said, "I'm going to bless the work that you do"? The reason you're fighting is because you don't know He's already promised you this. So what if you put those words on your lips? As I'm walking into this new office today, this new job today, everything I do will look exceptional. Even when I reply to an email with "Got it," they like that "Got it." It's different. The way you come in, the way you walk—everything you do, the works of your hand will be blessed.
The Lord says: "You will lend to nations, and you will not need to borrow from them." The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You will always be on top. That means even if you're not number one now, you're on the way to number one. The way you behave when you're at number seven is different when you understand that number seven is not where you are—you are on your way, because He said, "I will always set you on top."
Take the word of God like a child. When you tell a child, "I'm going to give you something," they run away excited. They don't care about logic. They don't look back to see if you were joking or serious. Kids don't care. If Uncle Victor said he's going to give me three candies, I'm excited about three candies. Where are the three candies? Most of us get too logical.
God tells you that you're going to be something. How do you know? Just accept it like a child. And why is that important? If you believe these words, it will govern the way you talk. People will say, "You're proud! What has gotten into you?" You can respond, "I just know what I have now. I know who I am now."
I Am What God Says I Am.
I Can Do What God Says I Can Do.
I Have What God Says I Have.
Think about everything I've said. Ask yourself: What if I took the Bible for what it really says, as plainly as it says it? If He says, "I can do all things," I just believe I can do all things. I may not be experiencing it now, but I'm on the way to experiencing it.
I am the head and not the tail. I am always on top. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have prosperity. I have healing. That's what God says you are.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 18:20, "A man's stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; he will be satisfied with the consequence of his words." Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequence of their words.
We live in an age where we are talking less and typing more. Social media has fundamentally changed how we communicate. On average, people spend about 143 minutes every day on social media. Collectively, we spend 720 billion minutes per day—or 500 million hours per year—on social media, not talking but listening and typing. We're reading more, watching more, and talking less. Even worse, when we do talk, we're not speaking intentional words that shape our lives. We talk in response to someone else or to please others, rather than saying words that transform our circumstances.
This trend has crept into the daily life of Christians. We are talking less, yet we live in a world that is dark, decaying, and dying. The enemy is infiltrating our minds, and it's alarming that even though attacks against us are increasing, our voices are heard less. Yet Christianity is referred to as the great confession, and Jesus is called in Hebrews 3:1 the high priest of our confession.
The first person recorded to speak in the Bible is God in Genesis 1:3. The last person recorded to speak is Jesus in Revelation 22:20. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:3, "By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were made from things which are not visible."
Words have fruit and consequence. Proverbs 6:2 says, "We are snared by the words of our mouth; we are trapped by the words of our mouth." Matthew 12:34 tells us that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." This is why Proverbs 4:23 says to "guard your heart with diligence, because out of it flows the issues of life." The word "issues" means "source"—the boundaries of your life are set by the words that you speak.
Proverbs 4:24-25 teaches us: "Put away false and dishonest speech; willful and contrary talk, put away from you. Let your eyes look right on with fixed purpose, and let your gaze be straight." Your eyes determine your words. Your words are a reflection of what's in your heart. Proverbs 4:20 says, "My son, attend to my words; submit to my sayings; let them not depart from your sight." If you fix your eyes, you fix your mouth. If you look at the right thing, you will say the right thing.
A bird can fly over your head—you cannot stop that. But if it makes a nest in your hair, that becomes a problem. The greatest tool of the enemy is the power of suggestion. Even though we live a spiritual life, we live it on earth, in the domain of the enemy. He is the prince of this world and has the infrastructure to suggest things to us.
It is impossible for a Christian to live a victorious life if they are more aware of the natural realm than the spiritual realm. If you pay more attention to deficits, lack, worry, anxiety, and sickness, you cannot expect to live victoriously over the enemy. If you are more aware of what the doctor says than what the Bible says, you cannot be healed of that disease. If you are more aware of negative reports about yourself than what the Bible says—that the greater one lives inside you—you cannot live victoriously.
If the devil can get you to think about something consistently, he doesn't have to do much to get you to say it. Once something is in your mind consistently, you will speak it. That's why you must guard your heart. Your heart determines where your life goes.
Consider the children of Israel. They reached the promised land, saw everything God had promised, yet turned back. Acts 7:39 says about them, "Our fathers would not obey God; they rejected Him, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt." They turned back in their hearts before they physically turned around. Their hearts were facing Egypt the entire time. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 1:32, "Yet for all that you did not believe the Lord your God who went in the way before you." God had been leading them, but they wanted to turn back.
The enemy came and told them, "You can't do that," and they accepted what the devil was saying. God responded, "You say you want to die in the wilderness? You will die in the wilderness." They followed that word all the way.
James 4:7 tells us, "Resist the devil; submit to God." If God tells you to do something, it means you have the capacity to do it. When contrary thoughts come, you must resist the devil. Ephesians 4:27 says, "Leave no room or foothold for the devil." First Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; the enemy is prowling like a lion. Resist him; stand steadfast in your faith when he attacks your mind."
When the enemy attacks your mind with the wrong thing, resist him. If you need to shout, shout: "Shut up! Don't say that!" If you need to laugh at him, laugh at him. Let every thought die unborn. Your words give birth to your thoughts and make them real. If you can control your mouth and use it not merely to reflect what you're thinking but to determine what you will think, you cannot do that without renewing your mind with the word of God.
Read your Bible. Meditate. Listen to Scripture. Philippians 4:6-8 tells us: "Finally, Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is confirmed by God's word, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute—if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things. Center your mind on them and implant them in your heart."
If your thoughts do not check off these boxes, don't think about them. The easiest way to stop a thought is to talk—to tell yourself what to think about. So every morning, throw a generalized air raid. Just shoot everything. Last night the devil may have tried to plant a seed of fear or doubt, so just generalize and shoot everything. Never ignore any contrary thought.
In Luke 4, we see Jesus fasting for 40 days. The devil comes to tempt Him. The first temptation is to get Jesus to say the wrong thing. "You're hungry. I can see it in your eyes. You have power—why don't you convert these stones to bread?" Jesus responds, "We are not only going to live by the words that come out of God's mouth."
The other temptations involve misquoting the Bible. The devil misquotes Psalm 91:11-12, saying, "He will give His angels charge over you to bear you up," but he takes it out of context. When you read further, you realize that promise was made to those who love and obey God, not to someone who simply jumps off a building.
Jesus does not let that go unanswered. Three times He says, "It is written; it is written; it is written." The difficulty we have today is that we don't know enough scripture to counteract what the devil is saying. The word made flesh had to quote scripture to silence the enemy. Most of us don't know enough scripture.
Read your Bible every day. Gather information that is hidden there for your benefit so you know what to say to the devil when he tries to trap you in fear.
When fear comes: First John 4:4 says, "You are of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world." Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you." Romans 8:31 says, "What shall we then say? If God be for us, who can be against us?"
When confusion comes: First Corinthians 1:30 says you are "of Christ Jesus, Jesus who became for you wisdom." Jesus became wisdom. First John 2:20 says, "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things." When you get a project at work and don't know what to do, remember: I have an anointing from the Holy One, and I know all things. You might not know it in the physical, but in your spirit you know all things. Go take a nap, and let your spirit be open for God to tell you what to do.
Psalm 41:10 works too: "Fear not; I am with you. Be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Philippians 4:13 is my favorite scripture: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The devil says you're weak? Yes, by myself Victor is weak, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Never let a contrary word from the enemy go unanswered. Never let a lie of the enemy go unanswered. It becomes a seed. Spiritual insecurity—not being sure if God loves you, feeling insecure in your identity—is born out of ignorance of the word of God and is sustained by a lack of continued awareness of who you are in Christ.
Confession increases your awareness of reality. If you say "I'm hungry" over and over, you become more aware of your hunger. If you wake up every day and say, "I'm the righteousness of God in Christ; I can do all things; I know all things," you become more aware of that reality through repetition.
God's word is very important to Him. Psalm 138:2 says, "You have magnified your word above your name." God put His word higher than the name of Jesus. Jeremiah 1:12 says, "The Lord said to me, 'You have seen well, for I am actively watching over my word to fulfill it.'" God takes His word seriously. When He speaks, He doesn't just talk and walk away—He watches it closely to ensure what He said will happen.
When God created, He looked back and said, "It is good." He didn't just talk and go away. He watches. So when God releases a word to you, He doesn't just release it and leave. He watches to make sure He does exactly what He told it to do.
You cannot go against the word of God and expect Him to work for you. Going against God's word is going against God Himself. It's like a child who has been naughty all year asking for Christmas presents. There's a naughty list for a reason. You can't take God's word for granted and expect it to work for you. You can't go against it and expect it to work for you.
Deuteronomy 1:26 describes the children of Israel: "But then you weren't willing to go up. You rebelled against God your God's plain word. You complained in your tents; you said things that went against what He said; you rebelled against His word." Verse 34 says, "The Lord heard the sound of your words."
You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your marriage and expect your marriage to be restored. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about provision and expect to get the job. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your dating life and expect a good spouse. You cannot speak contrary to God's word about your finances and expect a financial breakthrough.
God will not override your words to carry out His will in your life. Your words are a filter. Words filter what God can actually do in your life. God promised the children of Israel that land for 500 years. They got there, and because of what they said, they could not get what God had already secured for them.
Romans 10:10 says, "With the heart man believes, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." The word "homologia" means "to say the same thing as," or "to agree." When God says something, He expects you to say the same thing.
The Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. The first time you hear it, God is saying it. The second time you hear it, you should be the one saying it. Confession is saying the same thing as what God has said.
What if you took God's word for real? What if you believed what it says? What if when you read, "I am with you," you heard it in God's voice? When you were a troublesome child and people bullied you, you called your parents or an elder brother—someone stronger. They came and said something, and you echoed it. There you were, small as you were, but because you believed what that person could do, you felt strong. What if when you read the Bible, you read it like God is talking to you? "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will uphold you with My right hand." What if you heard it in God's voice?
What if you believed the Bible because it is the Bible—the word of God? "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will uphold you with My right hand."
Most of us say the word of God on Sunday, and then we go against the word of God with the same mouth. You go to church and hear, "I can be healed." As you step out, somebody says, "How is that back pain?" and you respond, "It's a little bit better, not as bad as before." But that's not what the word says. The word says, "By His stripes you were healed"—past tense.
Never go against the word of God. Believe the word of God for what it says. How will you know what the word of God says if you don't open your Bible? If you don't listen to the message over and over again?
Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so you be careful to observe what you do." Most of us are confused because we don't read. We don't know what the word of God says.
No matter the temptation, never believe anything contrary to what God has said about you. Fight it. You can tell the devil, "I don't know exactly the Bible verse, but I know you're lying." Sometimes I do that: "Wait, I'm coming. Give me two minutes. There's a scripture coming to my mind." You have the internet—Google it. "Stripes healed." Boom. There it is.
A pastor called me and told me he was fighting suicidal thoughts. The devil was preaching to him, saying, "Grace is going to cover your sin. Even if you die now, even if you take your life now, grace is going to cover it. Won't you go to heaven?" It's a temptation—the devil will quote scripture out of context.
I didn't know the exact verse to help him with, but I remembered John 8:44: "The devil is the father of all lies." I told him, "I don't care how scriptural it sounds; I don't care how biblical it sounds—if the devil is saying it, there's a lie somewhere. There's something that is not straight. Father of lies."
That's how you fight the enemy. Never go contrary to what God has said about you. When God speaks to you, write it down. Write it down. Write it down. Get a verse you love and write it down.
My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When I was in elementary school, I was doing well. When I went to high school, I struggled for a while. What brought me out of that was a scripture. A teacher in middle school had made me memorize: "I can do all things through Christ." Year after year I got better. Why? Because I really believed it. What if you take the word of God for what it says?
Deuteronomy 28:1 says: "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all His commands that I'm giving you today, listen to this—the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth."
You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
The Lord will conquer your enemies that attack you. They will attack from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven directions. The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do. Why should your business fail? He said, "On everything." Not on some things—on everything you do. Even when you make a mistake, He has to bless it because He said, "On everything."
You will fill your storehouses with grain, and the Lord will bless you in the land He's given you. If you obey the commands of the Lord and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He swore to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by God.
The Lord will give you prosperity. He doesn't say He will prosper you—there's a difference between prospering you and giving you prosperity. That means there's a generator of prosperous living that is given to you.
You will be blessed with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from His rich treasuries in the heavens and will bless all the work that you do.
Why are you fighting for a promotion when God said, "I'm going to bless the work that you do"? The reason you're fighting is because you don't know He's already promised you this. So what if you put those words on your lips? As I'm walking into this new office today, this new job today, everything I do will look exceptional. Even when I reply to an email with "Got it," they like that "Got it." It's different. The way you come in, the way you walk—everything you do, the works of your hand will be blessed.
The Lord says: "You will lend to nations, and you will not need to borrow from them." The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You will always be on top. That means even if you're not number one now, you're on the way to number one. The way you behave when you're at number seven is different when you understand that number seven is not where you are—you are on your way, because He said, "I will always set you on top."
Take the word of God like a child. When you tell a child, "I'm going to give you something," they run away excited. They don't care about logic. They don't look back to see if you were joking or serious. Kids don't care. If Uncle Victor said he's going to give me three candies, I'm excited about three candies. Where are the three candies? Most of us get too logical.
God tells you that you're going to be something. How do you know? Just accept it like a child. And why is that important? If you believe these words, it will govern the way you talk. People will say, "You're proud! What has gotten into you?" You can respond, "I just know what I have now. I know who I am now."
I Am What God Says I Am.
I Can Do What God Says I Can Do.
I Have What God Says I Have.
Think about everything I've said. Ask yourself: What if I took the Bible for what it really says, as plainly as it says it? If He says, "I can do all things," I just believe I can do all things. I may not be experiencing it now, but I'm on the way to experiencing it.
I am the head and not the tail. I am always on top. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have prosperity. I have healing. That's what God says you are.
