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"...The word is nigh thee, even in they mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (Rom. 10:8).

In order for the Word of God to work for you, it has to be in your mouth and in your heart. Now if it's just in your mouth and not in your heart, it won't work. People often say things because they hear someone else say them, or because someone tells them to say them. You can make all kinds of confessions, but if you don't believe in your heart what you're saying, it won't work. On the other hand, you can believe the Word in your heart, but if you don't say it with your mouth, it won't work either.

I remember a certain meeting I conducted in 1951. During the meeting, I was waiting upon the Lord and reading Mark's Gospel on my knees near the church altar. The Lord said to me, "Did you notice that in Mark 11:23 the word 'say' in relation to the believer is in that verse in some form three times, and the word 'believe' is in it only once?"

So I turned to Mark 11:23 and read it. I counted how many times the word "say" was in there.

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Then I heard these words on the inside of me, in my spirit: My people primarily are not missing it in their believing. My people are missing it in what they're saying. You'll have to do three times as much teaching or preaching about the saying part as you do the believing part to get people to see it."

I like to have scriptural evidence for what I believe. The Word of God says, "...In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Cor. 13:1). What Jesus said in Mark 11:23 is one reference. Another reference can be found in Mark chapter 5:

In that chapter we find the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and yet grew worse. I want you to notice what this woman said: "...If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole" (Mark 5:28). Jesus knew immediately when the woman touched Him that power had gone out of Him. Her blood dried up, and she was healed of that plague.

Then in verse 34, Jesus told the woman that it was her faith that made her whole. Whose faith made the woman whole? Was it Jesus' faith? No. If you read through the four Gospels carefully, there is not a single time that Jesus said to anyone, "According to My faith, so be it unto you." It was always according to the individual's faith.

Jesus didn't help people by believing for them. Instead, He put faith into them. How did He do that? Mark 6:6 says, "He went around the villages teaching in the synagogues."

Understand that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Too many times, people are expecting someone else to get the job done for them. But if that were possible, why didn't Jesus ever do that? Wasn't He a man of faith and power? Wasn't He the Son of God? Yes, He was, but the people's unbelief hindered Him (Mark 6:5). If unbelief hindered Him from working then, unbelief will hinder Him from working now.

In the case of the woman with the issue of blood, notice she said, "...If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole" (Mark 5:28). In response, Jesus said, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole" (Mark 5:34). What the woman said was her faith speaking. The same applies to every believer today. What you say is your faith speaking.

Now doubt is the negative side of faith. By way of illustration, I want to relate to you a story about a woman I ministered to in a meeting back in 1951. Back then, when I ministered to the sick, I'd sit in a chair on the platform simply because I lasted longer in dealing with the crowd. Someone would bring the people up one at a time to be ministered to.

At this particular meeting, a young man brought a woman up while I was sitting in a chair. I asked the woman what she had come for. I knew ahead of time that it was her hearing because of the way she was hollering. So I laid my hands on her ears and commanded them to be made whole, and the woman was instantly healed.

I told the man who was bringing people to me to say something to the woman. I told her to repeat whatever she heard the man say.

He said, "Praise the Lord." She said, "Praise the Lord." He said, "Hallelujah." She heard it and answered, "Hallelujah."

Then the young man backed down the aisle until he was about 40 feet away. He said, "Thank You, Jesus." She heard it before I did and repeated, "Thank You, Jesus."

Everyone started rejoicing because they saw how far away the man was and that she was able hear him. I said to her, "That was pretty good. You heard better than I did! I didn't realize what he said until you repeated it."

"Oh," she said, "I can hear if someone is standing right behind me hollering real loud."

I said, "Well, turn around and see where he's standing."

She turned around and saw that the fellow was standing back about 40 feet away. Do you know what she did? (Remember what the Lord said about His people missing it in what they are saying.) She said, "Well, I'm not healed. I know I'm not, and I'm not going to have it that way." She lost her healing immediately.

I was holding a meeting once in a city in Texas. A man brought his two children into the healing line. One was seven and the other was nine years old. I asked him why he'd come. He explained that the doctors in his town couldn't discover what was wrong with his boys, so they were sent over to New Orleans to a renowned clinic where doctors discovered a rare disease few people ever get.

According to the doctors, the boys were regressing instead of progressing physically. Doctors told this man that they wouldn't be alive in a few years. He told me that it was very rare thing and that there was no hope.

I asked him if he was a Christian, and he said he was. As a matter of fact, he said that he was a member of a local Baptist church in the area. I also asked, "Do you believe in divine healing?"

He said, "Brother Hagin, I've been coming to your meetings for a week and a half. I come every night with my Bible. I listen to you preach the Word. And I know the minute you lay hands on my boys, they'll be healed." I laid hands on them, and they were healed.

The next year, we went back to that same church for a meeting. This man was now teaching a Sunday school class. He and his family had all been baptized in the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues. He brought his boys, and they were both normal sized. He had taken them back to the clinic after I laid hands on them. The doctors ran some tests and reported that the boys were perfectly normal.

At the same meeting in Texas in which I had ministered to the man and his boys, a woman stepped up to be ministered to. She began to tell me about her incurable condition. This woman had a similar condition as the boys except her condition was not terminal. She said she was a Christian who was filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke with other tongues. Not only that, but she attended the Full Gospel church where we were holding the meeting.

Of course, the church believed in healing, but I asked her if she believed in healing. She said, "Yes, I believe God can do anything."

So I asked, "Well, will you be healed now as I lay hands on you?"

She said, "No, I don't think so because the doctor said this is incurable."

"Then what did you come for?" I asked.

"Well," she said, "I just took a chance that I might get something."

The next year when I returned to hold another meeting, she was in the healing line again and still didn't get a thing. She kept saying, "Doctors say this is incurable." But what does God say? Side in with Him and go by what the Word says.

It's important to say what God says and never talk defeat. What you say is your faith speaking. If you talk about your trials, your difficulties, your lack of money, or your lack of faith, your faith will shrivel. But if you talk about the Word of God and how big God is, your faith will grow by leaps and bounds!

Author Biography

Kenneth E. Hagin
Web site: RHEMA
 
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
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