It seems like Christians are fearful of equating our identify as being the same as our Lord. Somehow, we've felt it was bragging or being disrespectful if we identified ourselves as being in His Image.
Religion has taught us that we are only objects of God's pity, instead of our being His precious children. If my children felt about our father-children relationship the way we do about our relationship with the Father, then I would be concerned and saddened;. If we truly are made in His Image and Likeness, then we are of a royal class.
If this is true (and it is), then we have many "hidden" qualities we've never bothered to develop. Several years ago we received some teaching in the Church that was mostly ignored. It gained the saying of "Name it and claim" and "Blab it and grab it." It was taught in the right spirit for the most part, and received in the wrong spirit. Some went about trying to "confess" great wealth and new cars, while other began to "Call things that are, as though they are not."
Our Father said that Abraham, "Called things that are not, as though they were." When God spoke into the darkness, He didn't comment on the darkness, but spoke light int its place. Throughout every prophecy God gave, He was speaking of things that had not yet come to pass.
Almost without exception, all the things here now didn't exist until God spoke. John 1:1-3 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being."
It seems logical that if our Father spoke things into being, then we should at least follow His example and speak the same things He did, and we would have far better results in our lives. God has declared that we are now in right standing with Him, but I rarely hear about "being righteous" from other Christians. Mostly, they say the opposite of that.
If we would begin speaking about ourselves, the way God speaks about us, then it would make a huge difference about how we conduct our affairs. Jesus was very careful about the way He spoke and the Words He spoke. Even when satan came to tempt Him in the wilderness, Jesus spoke only the Words of His Father. The answer He gave satan was the power of God's Own Word.
God's Word repeatedly illustrates how we are to speak and what we're to speak. God's Word tells us to "Put His Word in our hearts and our mouths." Proverbs 22:17-18 (Amplified) says, "Listen (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to My knowledge; For it will be pleasant to you if you keep them in your mind (believing them) your lips will be accustomed to (confessing) them."
I believe that God isn't simply talking about us memorizing the scriptures, but how we should allow the scriptures to come "alive" within us. Proverbs 15:4 (Amplified) says, "A gentle tongue (with its healing power) is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit." This is repeated in the new covenant, too. James 3:2-6 (Amplified) says, "For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things, And if anyone does not offend in speech (never says the wrong things), he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature. We set bits in the horses mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about likewise, look at the ships; though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines." Verses 5-6 go on, "Even so the tongue is a little member and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! And the tongue is a fire (the tongue is a) world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating a depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of mans nature) being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna)."
James goes on to say, in this same chapter, that "Blessing and cursing should not come forth from the same mouth." He also writes about the "wisdom" that comes from above and the "wisdom" of the world. The wisdom from above is God's Word. The wisdom of the world is, "It doesn't matter what we say."
Even in today's world, we now have what they call "political speech" or being politically correct. I've found that to be politically correct means I cannot be Biblically correct too. In order to say what the world says, I cannot say what my God says. We're so afraid of offending the world that we not longer care about offending our Heavenly Father. There's something wrong with this picture.
We're to be "careful" about using the Name of Jesus, but we can speak the names of other gods. We can no longer call "sin," "sin." We are instructed to be tolerant of all things. Our freedom of speech was intended to make us free to proclaim our God, anytime and anywhere. But, in today's politically correct world, we cannot say His Name in public. If you feel that what we say doesn't make a difference in the world, then why would the world try to curtail our words?
The things we say about ourselves, in our own personal lives, presents an opportunity for the Word to bring to pass what God said it would. We can speak God's Word over our lives or we can speak other things over our lives. We have both the ability and authority to say whatever we choose. Even our salvation is based on what we believe and what we say, according to Romans 10:9. This indicates a continual confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Thus, it say, "For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks our freely his faith) and confirms (his) salvation."
Some people will speak hurtful things even into their own lives and suffer with the results of their words in their soul. Even though they might be born again, they can lock themselves in a prison of guilt and fear by continually speaking those things into their lives. And, although none of these things are true in the life of a believer, the consequences can still be the same. What did James say about, "Setting on fire the whole cycle of life with our tongues?"
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