Sunday, 1 December 2019, 1.30 PM | Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore
Summary of the Sermon by Pastor Neil Smith, International Director at Planetshakers Ministries, Sunday, 1 December
2019
The Power of Declaration
We
need to recognize that we have the power of life and death in our mouths. Romans 4:17 as it is written, a father of
many nations in the presence of Him, whom he believed in, even as God gives
life to the dead and cast out demons.
How
do we look at things that need breakthroughs, in a natural way?
God
is actually speaking to Abraham, that his descendants will be numerous as the
sands on the seafloor. But at the same time, Abraham and Sarah had passed child
bearing age. When Abraham became 100 years old, Isaac was born to him by Sarah.
Sarah at that time, the age of 90 years but she managed to conceive the son
that God had promised them.
God
asked Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Abraham began to comply when a messenger from
God interrupted him. Serving God means there is always sacrifice required. The
journey is as important as the destination. Isaac was used as a means to give
up for the sake of a cause.
When
we declare God’s words, our enemy is not happy. The enemy wants to put to death
God’s promises in our life, because the devil wants our hopes and dreams to die
- that is his primary mandate.
There
is death all around us - our finances, our dreams, our health; it could be any
area of our life, and that is why we need to declare over dead things in our
life. The ultimate purpose of our life
is to make Jesus famous, to know who our God is and to know His plans and
purposes beyond ourselves.
Declaration
means making an explicit statement or announcement about something. Something
that is stated or made known in a public way.
Take God at His words - we speak things that are not as though they
were. Our words contain power. God is
committed to His promises, for He is faithful.
Pastor
Neil once went to Papua New Guinea to see how they could meet with the Prime
Minister of that country, to share the gospel there. As he asked what was the
greatest need of the country at that point of time, he was told that they
needed rain, as it had not rained for about 1.5 years in the capital. He told
one individual who picked him up from the airport, that it would rain by the
end of the day. When the rain fell in the afternoon, people were amazed! That
paved the way for the gospel to be spread into Papua New Guinea.
God
is the life giver and He gives life to the dead. He calls things that are not
as though they were. Our God can raise the dead - be it physical death, death
in the womb or the death of the Gentiles who were dead in their trespasses and
sins. Only God the almighty can bring them back to life.
It
is time to start making declarations using God’s words over our life and
situation. What do we believe in? Take
God at His words, conquer the enemy and live victoriously. Speak and declare God’s words naturally, for
we have the power and authority of God when we claim and believe in it. Through
God’s words, any death can turn to life just by declaring to the world that
Jesus Christ is alive, the Savior of the world.
Speak life over our circumstances and be in an agreement with God’s promises to
come to pass in our situation. What is it that we need God to come through
for? Deepen your relationship with God
more and more, and not settle for less, as we are the children of God, the inheritors
of His promises. Life and death lies in the power of the tongue and those who
love it will reap its fruits. Use our tongue as a weapon of warfare and see
God’s promises come to fulfillment in our situation.