Do you remember being on the playground when someone had beef with you or wanted to start a fight? And remember how if you were gonna talk smack, you had better be able to back it up?
The kingdom of God operates in a similar fashion with principles and with spiritual laws that once you make a declaration and you say something with your words, you have the power to create realities.
This is true not only in real life and the way we conduct ourselves with our character and our integrity, but in the spiritual realm as well. The spiritual realm and the kingdom of God operate by laws that God has set in place.
For example, when God spoke, the earth was formed. He literally used words to form the world. Likewise, your words form your world.
I'm not talking about some “name-and-claim-it” scheme, nor am I talking about the power of attraction that we just say anything our heart wants and it manifests in our life.
But what I am saying is that there's power in your words and that when you make a declaration, it will always be followed by a test.
Attract Your Destiny with Your Words
The Bible tells us we’re going to be held accountable, whether you're a believer or you're a non-believer, for every word that comes out of your mouth (Matt. 12:36).
When you make a declaration and say something out loud into the atmosphere, making your intentions known, it can attract your destiny. It can be the first step towards taking committed action and moving towards and along the path that you are declaring.
Conversely, the same declaration that can take you towards your destiny can also attract the enemy.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus shares how as a man went out sowing seed, some fell beside the roads, and the birds came and ate it up, while other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil, and after the sun had risen, it was scorched because it had no root and withered away.
And then after that, we see other seed fell on thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop, no results for that seed. And then lastly, other seeds fell into good soil, and they grew and they increased, and they yielded a crop some 30, 60, 100 fold.
Once You Declare Something, It Will Be Followed By a Test
For brevity’s sake we won’t get into all we can unpack in that parable, but I want you to notice a few things; once you declare something, it will be followed by a test. It's almost as though if you take a stand that you are attracting your destiny, you're also attracting the enemy who wants to see if you really mean what you say.
And it happens every. Single. Time.
When the disciples come to Jesus and asked the meaning of the parable of the sower, Jesus references the first seed that fell on the side of the road where the person hears it and Satan immediately comes and steals what was sown in them.
What Does That Look Like?
Someone makes a commitment to follow Christ, they hear the word of God, they're ready to step forward, and what was sown is gone almost immediately. Why? We have an enemy who’s attracted to someone taking action.
Jesus elaborates in the parable (you can read it in Matt. 13:1–23, Mark 4:1–20, or Luke 8:4–15) that this seed did not even land in the good part of their heart; they did not listen, they did not receive, but the seed is stolen because it was easy to be snatched away.
Then Jesus also says these are ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places; when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy, saying, “yes, this is what I want to do; I wanna follow Jesus!”
This applies to many other statements and declarations you might make. You might be saying, I'm gonna go in this direction in my life; I'm ready to move forward. I'm ready to take territory for the kingdom.” Whatever it is, look at the principle here; The word never goes in deep. This person doesn't mean what they say. There's no place for a firm root in themselves or it's only temporary.
As soon as something difficult comes up, whether persecutions or trials, this person immediately falls away.
Are you seeing the pattern yet?
Satan steals, kills, and destroys your statements, declarations and your decisions if you let him. As soon as affliction, trial, or persecution comes up, they let go of the dream. They let go of the commitment.
Peter Also Talked a Big Talk
Many people know the story of how at the Last Supper, Peter stands up and says, "'Lord, I'll never deny you. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you to the end.'"
Listen to the power of that declaration! That is a commitment to say that in front of 12 other men and in front of the Lord, right? And then later that night, Peter denies Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times.
So get used to having tests and trials in your life. If you are following the Lord, if you are picking up your cross, if you're following Him, there will be persecution, there will be affliction, there will be tests, there will be trials if you're in the plan of God for your life.
Don't Bow Down to the Music
We also have in the book of Daniel the story of three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and these guys purposed in their heart not to defile themselves and worship the image the king had set up. They refused to bow to cultural or political pressure of the day and age they found themselves in.
They had already vowed they would follow God, and not bow the knee to any false idol. Then, the music is played, the idol is brought out, and they stand tall and don’t bow down. They would not break their word, even until the end, and there is a mighty story of deliverance that follows their decision where they were thrown into a fire but not so much as a hair on their head is burned.
We Aren't Promised an Easy Life, But we Are Promised Eternal Life
We don't pass every test. There are going to be times you slip and you fall and you don't always nail it 100%. We saw that with Peter, however, he got a chance to take that test again. Jesus comes back, restores him. And then we will see in just a couple chapters over within the Bible, Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2). The same man who denied Jesus three times will stand up in front of a crowd of thousands and proclaim Jesus with boldness in the public arena and see 3000 people get saved.
Let's stand firm on our commitments. Let's run our race. There's a mountain for you. There's a race for you. And it's the one you are called to run.
Stand firm, stay strong, and let's raise the standard.
