Tag Archives: healling

I Will Never Send Anyone (Sickness) To Attack You

“If indeed one attacks, it is not from me; whoever attacks you shall fall because of you.

Look! I myself have created the craftsman who blows the fire of coals, and who produces a weapon for his work; also I myself have created the destroyer to destroy.

 [No] weapon formed against you shall succeed, and you shall [condemn] every tongue that rises against you for judgment. This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh, and their legal right from me.” (Isaiah 54:15-17 LEB)

I noticed two essays on my website being viewed more, which are “The Devil Is Making You Sick, Not God,” and “Sickness Is Satan’s Glory, Not God’s. They all have a similar theme: God did not send you sickness. It is not from Him. It was sent from Satan. God sends healings. The scales of faithless teachings are falling away from the eyes of believers.

This passage is a one-stop-shop of a few major themes in one place. I will focus on a few things to meditate on.

The first theme is God saying He did not send bad people to fight against Israel. CSB: “If anyone attacks you, it is not from me.” ERV: “I will never send anyone to attack you.”

How can anyone be more God-centered than God? How can anyone be more concerned for God’s name and glory than God? Obviously, no one can, including you, and definitely including faithless trash that peddles cessationism or any denial of expansionism. Is it not anti-God-centered to say God did not send something? Is God not directly and absolutely sovereign over all things? Well, yes, God is. In fact, the next section of the passage directly addresses this. God says He creates nations and the people in them and creates them for war, for His own purpose. If a blacksmith makes a weapon, it is because God made it happen with more directness than the blacksmith making the sword. God does not find a nation and then use them. No. God forms them from scratch. This is like the neutral lump of clay in Romans 9. God starts with a neutral lump and forms it into the shapes He wants.

So yes, God is directly sovereign over all things in absolute and direct control. However, the same passage says, “If someone attacks you, I didn’t send them, I didn’t do it.” The reason for this is simple. The Bible affirms God’s control over all things, but it mainly talks at the human level, or relative level. That is, relative to how humans perceive things and relative to how one created object interacts with another created object. On this relative level, God is correct when He denies sending people to attack Israel. There is no mystery here because we are talking about two different categories: one ultimate and the other relative. Mystery comes because people create category errors by mixing the two. Mixing ultimate and relative levels? That’s like confusing quantum physics with your grandma’s cookie recipe—both sweet, but one will blow your mind, the other your diet.

God does not send evil to Israel. If evil does come to them, God did not send it. This was true under the Old Covenant, but today we have a better Covenant. Thus, how much more does God not send evil to saints, who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus and part of Abraham’s blessing? This blessing says God is our God and we His children, and that He never stops from doing good to us. Jesus defined a good father as one who gives a fish for a fish—or that is, who gives you what you ask for and not something different. In the New Contract, Jesus is our High Priest who ministers to us the things He accomplished through His atonement. Jesus not only forgave all our sins, but by His stripes we were healed. Jesus became our poverty so we become rich by His wealth. Jesus took on our curse and gave us the blessing of Abraham, which included fame, health, wealth, and supernatural increase to all our lives.

God is in a Contract with us, and therefore, relative to our interactions with God, and God’s interaction with us, He does not send sin to us—otherwise, Jesus would be a minister of sin. Jesus does not send poverty to us—otherwise, Jesus would be High Priest of poverty. Jesus does not minister sickness to us—otherwise, His ministry would be a ministry of sickness, pain, and death. There is a being who does minister such things, and that is Satan. He has a ministry of death, sickness, poverty, and pain. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus comes to give life and even abundant life.

However, our passage in Isaiah is more basic, for it is not directly talking about the ministry of Jesus. It is more about God’s nature. In Isaiah, God mentions for us to remember we were carved from the rock of Abraham. God is a friend to Abraham and is good to all his descendants. God is kind and compassionate. This is God’s nature. Thus, God does not send evil to His children. He gives them good things; He gives them a fish for a fish. If there is poverty, sickness, and troubles, God did not send it. They came from someone else, but not God.

Notice the implication. When God says He did not send the evil, you cannot blame God for it. If you have cancer, or if your loved one died before their time, or you are poor, you cannot blame God for this, because God did not send it. He denies that He did it. God rejects any involvement in your sicknesses and troubles. They are from Satan, the curse or they are self-inflicted. However, even if they are self-inflicted, Satan is the one who is actively working on you to self-inflict yourself with death and destruction. Thus, the devil is the one sending you the troubles.

You are a douchebag piece of trash if you blame God for your sickness, because He did not send it. Whom am I to believe? God denies it, but you affirm it? You have no right to attribute to God what He denies.

Beyond the blame game, there is the issue that you are calling God Satan. Confusing God with Satan? That’s like mistaking Superman for Lex Luthor—same cape, wrong agenda. Epic fail. Seriously, you cannot tell the difference between God and the devil, and you want to school people in theology?

There is another implication drawn directly from the passage: “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord” (NIV).

The argument God gives is simple. On the relative level, God did not send the trouble; therefore, when trouble comes to you, tell it to f@#k off. Jesus gives us a clear picture of this in His faith doctrine. What does it mean to refute every tongue that accuses you? Jesus commands us to “speak” to our mountains and tell them to get out of our way. Jesus also says that we can use His Name to ask for whatever we want and get it to increase our joy and give the Father glory. Peter therefore said, “What I have, I give, In Jesus Name, Walk.” Thus, because the trouble did not come from Jesus, when troubles—or that is, when mountains—come, condemn it, refute it, and tell it to cast itself in the sea.

A doctor will condemn you with sickness. But God did not send the sickness. ERV: “I will never send anyone to attack you.” Or that is, God will never send sickness to attack you. The devil is making you sick. Therefore, when the doctor’s tongue accuses you with stage 4 cancer, refute it by the Name of Jesus Christ. Because God did not send you sickness, you have the freedom to send it away. Your inheritance through Jesus Christ includes the authority to use His name to command sickness to leave. This birthright belongs to all who are made righteous by Jesus’ atonement. This is God’s vindication to all who belong to Him.

The point to notice is basic: you, not God, are speaking to troubles. “You will refute every tongue that accuses you.” You have the inheritance to rebuke troubles sent to you, and so you must be the one who refutes it, not God. In essence, God is saying, “I did not send evil to you; therefore, I will not be the one to send it away. I have given you the vindication and authority to refute it and send it away. You open your mouth, and you command it.”

God’s handing you the mic—time to drop some holy bars on that mountain. “Yo, cancer, hit the road… in Jesus’ name!”

Your Empty Pizza Box is the Real Trash.

A few days ago, I posted this quote from Vincent Cheung, and got another, if predictable, yet, unimaginative response:


“The Bible teaches the opposite. Jacob wrestled with God and said, ‘I will not let you go until you bless me.’ So God blessed him, and called him Israel, meaning ‘a prince with God.’ Jacob’s tenacity, his refusal to let go until he received God’s blessing, was counted as faith. This persistence brought him into a deeper relationship with God. Jacob did not separate God from his blessing, but he understood that to seek the blessing of God was to seek God himself.”
(Vincent Cheung, Seek God Through His Blessings.)

Superbole1, responded, with:
“uh no. Jesus said that if you seek God’s will, He will answer. Meaning God is not a wish granter. Secondly, the author of this trash left out that God dislocated Jacob’s hip after blessing him, keeping Jacob reliant on God.”

“Superbole”? That’s a blend of “superlative” and “hyperbole.” Your name is the highest degree of rhetoric, where something is described as much more impressive than it is. Maybe when reading the Bible, try less exaggeration and more basic logic.

“If you seek God’s will”? You twist this to mean God is no wish-granting genie. That’s cute. However, if we’re going to rub the lamp, let’s rub it well and see what happens. Jesus in Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the kingdom and its righteousness, and all these things—blessings, provisions—will be added. It’s not “God’s will OR blessings”; it’s both, bundled like a cosmic care package.

Seeking God’s will includes His blessings. Seeking blessings from God includes seeking God. Seeking blessings from God is God’s will because it is obeying His command and walking in His definition of a Christian. You cannot seek God to bless you without seeking God.

Jacob wasn’t separating the Giver from the gift; he was grabbing the whole enchilada. However, Jacob’s goal was more basic. He was not seeking God to expand God’s kingdom, he was asking God to expand Jacob’s kingdom. He was not asking God to do God’s will on earth, but to do Jacob’s will on earth. He was not asking God to bless God’s plan; rather, he was asking God to bless Jacob’s plans on earth. God approved of this and blessed Jacob.

Jacob was not looking to be blessed by his self-effort or by going to worldly help. Jacob did not ask Satan or the pagan god Baal to bless him. No. He was asking God to do the blessing. Thus, even if Jacob was mostly self-seeking, it was still a packaged deal that sought God and glorified God. Even if you don’t want Satan in your life, if you ask Satan for money, you have sought Satan and established a relationship with and glorified Satan. The two cannot be separated. God approved of Jacob seeking his own plans and desires, not asking about God’s. By seeking Jacob’s plans and desires to be blessed, Jacob was also seeking God.

You frame the limp as God hurting Jacob to keep him “reliant,” like a divine pimp slap to prevent cockiness. Charming, but let us flip the scripture to the upright position and reread the text. The limp and blessing came at the break of day, after Jacob would not stop until he was blessed. If the limp was meant to crush aggressive seeking for blessings, why bless him? Do you see it yet? This is God marking a transformed man. This is God branding a person who sought a blessing. God gave Jacob His stamp of approval. Jacob enters as a schemer, exits with the relationship of “God’s Prince.” It’s not punishment. It is a fighter’s scar from winning the ultimate match. A badge of honor, a reminder of the encounter that elevated him to Israel, “a prince with God.” It didn’t diminish the blessing; it valued Jacob’s grit and faith.

Calling scripture-inspired insight trash? That’s the type of boldness that would make Satan blush in envy. Your view turns God into a stingy taskmaster, doling out only “will” without the thrill. No. That is not the bold faith we champion. Seeking our own blessings is like pizza; we all want it, and God calls it good. However, when you order pizza, you insist on just the box—sure, it still has God’s logo on it, but it misses the cheesy point entirely. Your empty pizza box is the real trash.

*Polished with a little help from Grok xAI, the AI sidekick who wrestles typos like Jacob wrestled God

ALL Is Not Lost

I was praying the other day. It is now common for me to be praying in tongues and making faith confessions and praising God.

Over the last few years, God has been healing me, restoring me, and growing my inner man. And now, as I look to the future, my focus is more power, more righteousness, more kingdom expansion, seeing my dreams become reality, and taking all choke points and limits off God and what faith can do.

I am in my 40s, and I was feeling a little bit of hopelessness because of my age. I was wishing I could go back to my teens to teach myself what I have learned and practiced over the last several years. And so, I decided to use life’s greatest life-cheat: praying in tongues. After some time, I received an interpretation, “All is not lost. I have heard your prayers.”

When God says “I have heard your prayers,” as He did to Hezekiah, it means He gave you what you asked. Because God is so loving and so faithful to do what He promised, the same act of God hearing you is the same act as God granting your request.

When I heard the Spirit say this, I was unsure if God meant “all” as in “some things might be lost but not all things,” or “all the dreams you have ever had are still yours for the taking.” I looked up and said, “I don’t know how you meant ‘all,’ but I mean it as all my dreams are still here. Even if you did not mean it that way, I mean it that way and receive it that way, because you said ‘all.’” (Hey, if you’re going to quibble with the Almighty, at least do it with faith and a dash of audacity—its how scriptures teach us to pray.)

God told King David that He gave wives to David (this is mostly about sex), a kingdom, prosperity, and fame, and if David wanted more, God would have given more sex, more kingdoms, more prosperity, and more fame to David.

This teaches us that we cannot ask too much. The risk in praying is asking too little and shooting too low. If you aim for the Andromeda Galaxy but end up hitting Orion’s belt, then great, you accomplished some good things. But if you aim for the ground, then that is all you will hit—frankly, why settle for dirt when the stars are up for grabs?

The Gentile woman hijacked Jesus’ words, which meant one thing, to mean something else. Jesus approved and called her faith great. In fact, Jesus was arguing for God’s will to be done, and by the end of the exchange, Jesus confesses out loud, “Woman, your will be done.”

Jesus had already promised to go and heal the centurion’s servant, but the centurion asked for an upgrade to a miracle already in motion (just say the word). Jesus approved of this man asking for more, and he got the upgrade.

Last note: Pray in tongues and ask for interpretation. Even if you don’t have a spiritual gift for interpretation, by asking in faith, you will find you will receive interpretations. Don’t sleep on this. It will help you.

I am here to remind you: All is not lost.

Do not limit God. Do not shoot too low. Do not ask for only small things. Pray for big things; pray for upgrades to miracles you are already getting. Pray for more. And when you think you have asked for too much, ask for more.

And when God hears you, you know God has given.

You Will Not Die But Live

A few years before COVID hit, Vincent Cheung had begun to publish more materials on faith. I therefore began to rethink and refocus on such topics. However, it was not until COVID that I fundamentally changed my lifestyle to seek God in a more devotional manner and with greater faith. God had warned me a few years prior, in a divine trance, that I was not internalizing the scripture in faith and inner strength, as I ought. Even after this, I was still somewhat blind to what that meant.

When COVID forced most of us homebound, I found myself stuck in my house. I remember I took the second COVID booster treatment. (I won’t linger on this other than to say, if you have faith, it doesn’t matter what you do. As long as you are not willfully testing God, in good conscience, you are free to do what you want—hey, faith isn’t a straitjacket, it’s freedom with a divine safety net.) However, I began to feel like I was half dead for a few weeks or months. At one point, I was standing in my living room, and I felt so bad I halfway passed out; I went blind, my veins and heart felt cold and slow, and I could barely breathe. Time slowed down. I felt like I had one foot in the grave.

I couldn’t even speak, but in my mind, I cried out to God to help me. I remembered there were dreams I had and prophecies about me that needed to be fulfilled. I immediately felt just enough strength flow into me that I pulled myself onto the chair, and I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You will not die, I will help you, I will restore you and strengthen you.”

At the time, I did not have health insurance, so going to the doctor wasn’t an option; but that was for the best. I had a better physician, after all—who needs co-pays when you’ve got the Creator on speed dial? The word spoken to me by the Spirit took the edge off any fear or worry I had. I felt bad for months afterward, but I slowly got better.

It was after that I changed my life every day to seek God in a more devotional way. I remember downloading the Joseph Prince app for my phone and starting my first devotional. I then signed up for Kenneth Copeland’s email daily devotional. I remember talking to myself, saying, “I can’t believe I am reading these guys!” The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is so easy, and you shouldn’t boast about knowing it as if it were a difficult thing to do. It is a doctrine no one can take from me. I say this to say, reading the faith teachers has zero chance of harming my understanding of God’s sovereignty. And this is exactly the issue. I knew God’s sovereignty, but I was not living in the joy and peace of the Spirit, and was not in the place where my prayers were answered as a common thing. I needed to grow in these areas. The Pentecostals and charismatics were too weak. The faith teachers were the only ones who did not qualify Jesus’ statements about faith.

When I was in my teenage years, I remember praying in tongues, and during this time I read and believed in the sovereignty of God (Romans 9) without anyone teaching me these doctrines. I was reminded I was at my best when the Spirit filled me with power. The faith teachers also reminded me how important praying in tongues is. And so I began to pray in tongues often. I began to speak out loud the promises of God over my life as faith confessions and declarations. I began to sing and praise God more and more. I renewed my commitment to go over my lists of promise verses, over and over. I began to listen to faith preachers preach on the topics of faith and miracles.

Within months, I saw a qualitative difference in my life. Before this, I would often go to sleep with stress and fears keeping me up. But now, all that negative stuff lifted off my mind, and I was sleeping like a baby—snoring optional, peace mandatory. When I prayed, I began to see more of my prayers answered. I noticed fewer doubts intruding in.

Before, my inner man was so weak, and all I knew was my own experience. When I prayed, I was filled with doubts and stress, and now with hindsight I recognize I was often being demonically harassed with force attacks (like how Vincent described it in “On Spiritual Attacks”). Satan was making me feel condemned, with a sense of dread and no way of escape. Godly fear can make you feel dread, but it will also show you the way out with hope, and the Holy Spirit saying “yes” to the promises of God applied to you.

When you read the Bible, you realize you should feel nothing but joy and peace and confidence when you ask God for something. Anything less than this, and there is something wrong or weak in your inner man—frankly, it’s like trying to run a marathon on spiritual spaghetti legs.

Over the following years, some of these old weaknesses or demons have tried to come back, but since I am stronger in my inner man, and I know how to take my authority in Jesus, I command them to leave, and they run with their tails stuck between their legs. See my essay, “Power is what will Finally Deliver You.” I do not claim to be perfect, nor am I to the point I want to be in power and faith, but having a stronger inner man (which is mostly measured by faith) has made a decisive difference in my life.

And it will do the same for you.

I am here to remind you, All is not lost. Renew your mind in faith and confidence in God’s good promises. Make your inner man strong. Know how much God loves you and has given to you. And when you pray, you will have what you ask, you have see what you confess, and you will process what you command in Jesus name.

The Lie that You Only Need to be Still

In my teaching “The Staff of God,” I highlighted the passage where God was displeased with Moses’ statement, despite it sounding like a bold “word of faith confession.” The issue wasn’t the confession itself but what it confessed. God responded with irritation, “Why are you crying (i.e., whining) to Me? Take the Staff and divide the waters.”

Moses’ confession was misleading. God was indeed fighting for the Israelites and would continue to do so, but it was incorrect to say, “they only need to be still.” God didn’t command Himself to divide the waters; He commanded Moses to do it. If Moses had sat there “waiting for the will of God,” the Red Sea would not have parted, because it wasn’t God’s job to divide the sea; it was Moses’ job.

Moses was hedging, trying to buy time with a good faith confession, but God had already acted. He had given Moses the Staff of God. Likewise, God has already acted for us. He sent His only Son, who was brutalized, raised from the dead, and seated at His right hand. Jesus took on God’s wrath for our sins, gave us His righteousness, bore the stripes that healed us, took our curses, and gave us the blessing of Abraham. God has made us a royal priesthood, an irrevocable calling, and engraved Jesus’ name and authority on our tongues. What we have is far greater than the Staff of God or Zeus’ lightning bolt. We have the Name of Jesus and the baptism of power in the Spirit.

Moses thought he could chill with a faith-filled soundbite, but God was like, “Bro, grab the Staff and make waves—literally.” Spoiler: Sitting still doesn’t part seas, but swinging God’s power does.

Unlike the faithless of our day, Moses was a friend of God, yet God still grew irritated when Moses lingered, waiting for God to move. Moses held God’s power in his hands. It was Moses’ move, not God’s. It wasn’t time to be still and watch God; it was time to act and command the waters to stand.

So it is with us. The waters are divided by us, not God. When Moses stopped hedging and acted with the Staff of God, the waters parted. Healing will happen when we stop hedging, stop waiting for the so-called will of God, and command it in the name of Jesus. If you wait for God to move, you’ll die waiting. God has already moved.

The faithless amplify Moses’ misleading confession, pumping it full of unbelief. They wait for the will of God, and they wait, and they wait. Nothing happens, for their worldview has no God and no power in it. However, God has already willed our sicknesses onto His Son, stripe after stripe. He has already addressed our sickness problem. There’s nothing more for Him to do for us to be healed. Do you suppose your begging for healing requires Jesus to be re-crucified? Your healing is already accomplished. In God’s thoughts He transferred your sickness to Jesus, who carried it away. In God’s mind, He thinks we are healed by Jesus’ stripes. Who am I to disagree with God’s own thoughts?

The lie is waiting for God to move when He has already moved. Through Jesus’ finished atonement, He placed the Staff of God on our tongues. His command is that we move next. Like a chess game, God has made His move. Now it’s our turn.

The faithless camp out, waiting for God’s will like it’s a cosmic Amazon delivery. Newsflash: God has already shipped the healing, signed, sealed, and delivered on Jesus’ back. It’s already sitting on your living room floor. Open the package. Doing nothing and looking at the box, will not open it.

God’s made His checkmate move with Jesus’ atonement. Now He is sipping divine coffee, waiting for you to slide the bishop and part the Red Sea. Don’t leave Him hanging.

The miracle happens, not when God moves, but when we move, and divide the waters in Jesus’ name. Because God has already moved, the healing happens, not because God will move, but because we will move in faith.

The disciples finally got this. And so, Peter said “what I have I, I give, in Jesus Name, walk.” It wasn’t what God had. It wasn’t what God gave. It was what Peter had, and what Peter gave. He had the Name and power of Jesus, to throw around as Peter wanted. Peter had this because Jesus was sitting at the right hand of the Power. And despite many Christians hating this, Jesus is still at the right hand of the Power. We have the same Name and the same power.

(witty summaries provided by Grok 2025 )

You Cannot Earn Healing

Your sins or imperfect righteous actions don’t stop you from being healed. This statement needs some qualifications. For example, I hesitate to mention exceptions because people tend to fixate on them, but Paul says in 1 Corinthians that their gross disrespect for the Lord’s Supper was causing some to get sick and even death. Paul urges them to stop this and be healed. Thus, certain extreme levels of sin can bring sickness, and you need to stop sinning. However, even in this context, faith can still bring healing, even if you don’t stop sinning—but if you persist in sin, the sickness is likely to return, and the cycle repeats.

Take for example the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus said for him to stop sinning or something worse may happen. Thus, sin was the cause of his sickness, or the reason it did not leave. However, Jesus did not ask the man to repent or ask him to stop sinning before getting healed. No. Jesus only asked, “do you want to be healed?” He healed him for only wanting to be healed. No other qualifier was needed.  For true and permanent health, you need both to stop sinning and to have faith for healing. This is what true resisting the devil means. It is both to stop sinning (if applicable) and command him to leave, or command the sickness to leave. Ta

However, this is an exception. When you read the Gospels, Jesus heals every single person who approaches Him for healing. The only ones He couldn’t heal—or rather, the only ones who could stop God from healing—were those with unbelief. Think about the hundreds, if not thousands, of people lined up for healing. We read of large crowds, and all were healed. These were everyday people with sins like adultery, greed, lust, anger, envy, murder, laziness, and more. Yet, Jesus never stopped them and said, “You must repent first,” or “You must stop this sin first, then I’ll heal you.” Jesus never made them pay or earn their healing through effort, better self-righteousness, or money. Despite their sins and wickedness, Jesus healed them all—every single one.

Healing’s not a paycheck you earn—it’s a free gift from Jesus’ atonement, no sin-slaying resume required. Sure, Paul flagged gross sin like Lord’s Supper disrespect as a sickness trigger, but faith can still zap it, though sinning again might reboot the curse. In the Gospels, Jesus healed everyone—sinners, slackers, all—without a repentance pop quiz. Unbelief’s the only kryptonite

Jesus says, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” This unqualified access to healing, without earning it through self-improvement, repentance, or greater holiness, reflects the Father’s heart. Think about this the next time you ask the Father to do something in Jesus’ Name.

Through Jesus Christ, I’ve given up on myself. My old sinful record, which the Father held against me in His mind, was removed and nailed to the cross. That’s not me anymore. In the old testament sacrifice, the priest examined the unblemished lamb, not person who did the sin. That was the whole point of an exchange. When the Father considers me, He examines the righteous Jesus Christ, and consider me in Him. The Father sees me in Jesus, as part of Jesus. Does Jesus have sin? Neither do I. Does the Father consider Jesus to have a sinful record? Neither does He consider me to have one. In the Father’s mind, Jesus is perfect righteousness, and so am I. This is my new reality—there’s no other reality for me.

Thus, I don’t need to earn more righteousness to be healed or receive a blessing from God any more than Jesus does. If you try to earn healing by your performance, you haven’t given up on yourself; you haven’t received Jesus’ righteousness. Your old man is still alive, and your new man is dead. A Christian is the opposite: the old man is dead, and we have a new man identified with Jesus. My sins, in relation to me, are as far as the east is from the west, yet many Christians speak of their sins as if they can still see them. Quit acting like they’re still photobombing your spiritual selfie. This is delusional nonsense because it’s impossible to see the east from the west.

Just as with every blessing provided by Jesus’ atonement, healing isn’t earned but freely received by grace through faith. There’s no other way. But why would you want another way? This is the good way—God’s way.

Tell It What You Want

“What I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
(Acts 3:6)

 “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.”
(Acts 9:34)

“Stand up on your feet!”
(Acts 14:10)


Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
(Matt. 21:21)

The fig tree was a real fig tree, and it dried up when Jesus spoke to it. Jesus didn’t ask God; He spoke to the tree, and it died. It wasn’t a spiritual fig tree. Thus, the category is material or physical. When facing mountains in the material world, Jesus didn’t ask God for help but spoke directly to the problem. He then instructs the disciples to do the same: to speak to the mountain or problem and command it in faith, knowing God’s power will back their words. Jesus didn’t tell the disciples to inform God of their problem or mountain or to present a sad sob story about how bad it is. Rather, He said to speak to the problem and tell it what you want it to do.

After the baptism of the Spirit in the opening salvo of the Book of Acts, the disciples did just that. In Acts 3, Peter didn’t tell God how awful it must be for the cripple to suffer so long and beg God to find it in His will to heal the man. No. Peter spoke to the mountain or problem—sickness. He said, “What I have, I give.” It’s not what God has or what God gives. Peter declared the power to heal is what he has and what he gives. He then said, “In Jesus’ Name, walk.” He spoke to the mountain and told it what he wanted: “Walk.” This is exactly what Jesus instructed.

In Acts 9, Peter says, “Jesus heals you, get up.” Peter doesn’t tell God about the mountain of sickness; rather, he tells the sickness what he wants: “Get up.” Peter obeys Jesus’ instructions for interacting with material mountains and problems. In faith, tell them what you want them to do, whether it’s killing a tree, casting it into the sea, healing the sick, or telling a fish to bring you money.

In Acts 14, Paul looks at the mountain of sickness and speaks to it like Peter, saying, “Stand up on your feet!”

These commands are both spoken to the mountain and serve as instructions for the person to act on faith. Because they believe they are healed, then they need  to do something they couldn’t do before. This is integrated into speaking to the mountain of sickness. It’s a powerful way to administer healing.

God gave Moses the Staff of God. When they were backed against the sea, God told Moses to stop monologuing about His help and use the Staff of God to divide the sea. Thus, it was not God who divided the sea in the most direct sense, but Moses divided the sea, using God’s power. However, what we have is greater than the Staff of God. We have the name of Jesus Christ engraved on our tongues. We are part of Jesus and so we use His Name as our own.


Jesus didn’t whine to God about fig trees or mountains—He told them what to do, and they obeyed. In Acts, Peter and Paul channel that vibe, bossing sickness around like pros: “Walk!” “Get up!” “Stand!” No sob stories, just faith-fueled commands backed by Jesus’ name. Speak to your problem, not about it—whether it’s a tree, a mountain, or a coinless fish, tell it who’s boss and watch God’s power roll.

Jesus Living In Our Hearts

“To be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:16-17 LSB).

Paul prays in Ephesians 3:16-17 that our inner man will become strong, and this stronger inner man would lead to Jesus Christ living in our hearts by faith. This doesn’t mean that without a strong inner man and mature faith, Jesus doesn’t live in a Christian’s heart in any way, but that they’ll experience Jesus’ love in a small and limited way.

Is Jesus living in our hearts important? How does this important thing happen? By faith. Faith in our hearts will cause us to experience Jesus living in us. It’s good to define what Paul isn’t saying. He’s not saying Jesus will live in our hearts when we work harder or do good things to earn God wanting to live in us more. Paul’s prayer continues by focusing on us receiving, knowing, and experiencing God’s great love for us. Thus, when Paul mentions faith in verse 17, it’s a faith focused on God’s love for us, both in knowing it and experiencing this great love. The focus of faith isn’t our love for God but His love for us.

In verse 18, Paul prays that we know and understand how much God loves us, and in verse 19, he prays that we experience His great love. This is the context for Paul saying that Christ would live in your hearts by faith. Want Jesus crashing in your heart? Crank up the faith in His love-fest for you, not your imperfect obedience.

What, then, are ways to experience God’s love? The answer is to partake of His good promises, such as the gospel of Abraham (Galatians 3:5-14). The gospel of Abraham means baptism of the Spirit, miracles, increase, fame, wealth, and health. It means we ask and get the things we ask for. In fact, Paul continues in verse 20, saying God answers our prayers exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we can think or ask. This doesn’t mean God gives us something categorically different from what we ask, because by Jesus’ own teaching, that would be an evil father. Jesus says our God is a good Father, not an evil one. What Paul is saying here is like Jesus feeding the 4,000 and 5,000—there were so many extra baskets left over. This is what Paul refers to here. God will give you what you ask, but it’ll be excessively more of that good thing you asked for.

If you want Christ to live in your heart by faith, then live with your mind focused on His love toward you—not your love toward Him, but His love toward you. There is no risk of excess here. There’s never a point where you can go too far with this, because Paul says the true extent of God’s love is beyond our ability to fully experience. Finally, the result of knowing and experiencing the love of God is to have your prayers answered in an excessively great way.

If you see a person who is having their prayers answered with so many extra baskets of leftovers, they’re someone who knows and is experiencing God’s love; they’re experiencing Jesus Christ living in their heart in a powerful way, and by this, we know they have a strong inner man.

Paul’s praying for a beefed-up inner man to soak in God’s epic love, with prayers answered so big you’ll need extra baskets. Ditch the doubters, grab Abraham’s gospel goodies, and let Christ’s love throw a party in your soul.

If this isn’t you, correct yourself and become this person. Why not? Why not travel this road of strength when it’s focused on Jesus living in you, experiencing His love, and having your prayers answered in a super-abundant way? The only thing stopping this is your faith in His love for you. If that sounds awesome to you, then fully embrace it. It is yours for the taking. Let nothing stop you. And cast aside those who would hinder you in this grand adventure.

Tongues: The Ultimate Life Hack

I have a few essays on the power of speaking in tongues. The reason for this is simple. It’s a command from Scripture to be baptized in the Spirit; we’re commended to have the corporate gifts that edify the body. But to speak in tongues is to edify yourself; it’s a personal gift, and as a personal gift, it’s for anyone who asks for it. It’s so common that Paul assumes it for believers: “Have you received the Spirit?” And the outcome was, again, speaking in tongues as proof.

Speaking in tongues edifies and builds up the inner man. It keeps you from being depressed and empowers you to be filled with peace and joy. Furthermore, praying in tongues is how you put on and keep on the helmet of salvation and wield the Sword of the Spirit. Praying in tongues is also how you keep yourself in the love of God. Lastly, praying in tongues can easily lead to interpretation. This is the category of prophecy, divine knowledge, and insight. It allows Jesus to sit at the right hand of the Power and be a personal counselor to all His children across the world. Interpretation of tongues is, therefore, a gateway into all the powers of the Spirit. It’s a foothold into more and more power.

However, over the past week or two, I needed a new computer because the old one was breaking down. I decided to build my first PC rather than buy one, because I noticed I could build it for a cheaper price with the same parts and get more performance out of it. I built it and enjoyed doing something new for the first time. Praise God, it went well, but with one minor issue. I won’t bore you with the details. But for over a week, I toiled over this issue to fix it. I spent day after day, with long, exhausting hours, with no success. I was on forums asking and getting all sorts of replies, but none helped.

I did my devotions during this time, but they were rushed, including not praying in tongues as much as I usually do. Because of my internal frustrations and my devotions suffering, I remember asking God for help; however, if I’m honest with myself, I felt my request lacked faith or had doubt mixed in. I should’ve done a full stop there and worked on my inner man, but the temptation of a new thing momentarily distracted my discipline.

Then, a few days ago, while I was at work, I listened to a new essay by Vincent Cheung called “The Benefits of Praying in Tongues.” I like this topic, so I engrossed my attention in fully listening and meditating on the essay. It was mostly a review of my own thoughts and teaching on the subject, with a few new insights. I was encouraged to do the very thing I often do and encourage others to do: praying in tongues.

So, while I was still at work, I began to pray in tongues and confess God’s good promises over my life. Soon, I felt my inner man flood with peace, and my mind became sharper and more focused. When this happens, I know from experience that prayer is so much easier and the results better. I asked God to help with the computer issue that was vexing me. Unlike previous times, I felt faith in my heart as I prayed. The next moment, I received an interpretation, and the Spirit spoke to me, saying, “I will help you with this small issue, and I will also help you with big issues.” I barely had enough time to process and enjoy the Spirit’s word when I got a notification from a forum post. A person responded with a possible answer, and upon reading it, I knew immediately it was the solution. And it was.

A few takeaways: Praying in tongues is a cheat code for life. It’s the ultimate life hack that penetrates all aspects of life. If unbelievers knew the power and extreme advantages that praying in tongues gives believers, they’d scream we’re cheaters and demand we don’t use it. It’s a game-changer. It’s having admin rights when others don’t. It’s the NES Nintendo Game Genie. If Christians utilized praying in tongues, unbelievers couldn’t compete with them in life; depression would run away with its tail tucked between its legs, and demons would tremble in fear. If Christians prayed in tongues, they would both experience the love of God in their hearts and see more of God’s love affecting all parts of their health, wealth, work, family, and on and on. To not pray in tongues is to hate yourself.

It’s the ultimate cheat hack. You can be experiencing a slow mind and disturbed heart due to your own lack of discipline, but then bypass the consequences of this by praying in tongues. It’ll sharpen your mind and bring peace to your heart. It’ll supernaturally allow you to bypass everything going on around you and help you boldly walk into God’s throne of grace to ask and receive. Because praying in tongues strengthens your inner man with peace, joy, and mental sharpness, it helps you have faith without doubts. This is what a stronger inner man has: a more continuous joy and peace of God, with fewer doubts intruding. Praying in tongues is particularly good at strengthening your inner man. This stronger inner man means a more confident faith, which results in more answered prayers.

Tongues are the ultimate cheat code—God’s Game Genie for life! Skip the toil, dodge depression, and crank up peace and power with a Spirit-fueled prayer hack. My PC woes? Toast, thanks to tongues and a divine forum nudge. Refuse to pray in tongues and you are benching the Spirit and begging for a cursed slog!

Lastly, to toil is a curse. We’re commanded to work and not be lazy; however, overworking and toiling with little fruit to show for it is the curse of God for Adam’s sin. But Jesus became a curse for us, in our place as a substitute. In exchange, Jesus gave us the gospel of Abraham, which is abundant increase, health, wealth, and fame. We don’t bear the curse of toil but the blessing of Abraham’s abundant increase. Isaac did sow in the drought. He did work. But God gave a hundredfold increase when there was no water. We’re not under the curse but the gospel of increase.

I should’ve realized this when I was troubleshooting the computer issue. I was toiling as if I was still under the curse. This is wrong. Thankfully, the gospel of Abraham also means being given the Spirit, which means the baptism of the Spirit for power. Thus, when I was praying in tongues, I stopped operating under the curse and began to operate under the gospel of Abraham.

I immediately received fruitfulness and increase.

What Does It Say?

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law: “The man who does these things shall live by them.” 
But the righteousness of faith SPEAKS in this way:
“Do NOT SAY in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 
But what does it SAY?
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”
—that is, the WORD OF FAITH which we are preaching, that if you CONFESS with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he CONFESSES, leading to salvation. 
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 10:5-11

The WORD OF FAITH does something. What does it do? It CONFESSES or declares something. It’s not called the “thought of faith,” but the “word of faith,” because the point is about saying and speaking it, not merely thinking it.

The immediate context of the passage is righteousness and salvation. Paul says the Jews didn’t have the knowledge of God’s righteousness. It’s true the Old Testament spoke of faith, but the Jews disregarded this and attempted to acquire righteousness by their effort, not by faith.

Faith, in the purest sense, is just a mental assent to God’s word and promise. That is, in the context of the Bible—for example, Abraham’s use of faith—it was a faith that was spoken. It was spoken with confidence as true before it happened. Abram said he was the father of many nations before he had the son of promise.
Another important systematic theology context is that God created us with a body. We have a mouth. Thus, God didn’t only intend for us to agree with the truth mentally but to speak it, sing it, and declare it. This is what James says: faith without works is dead. Speaking faith is the smallest work you need to do; otherwise, faith is dead. It’s like Jesus’ parable about the money bags. The Master said to the last person who hid the money, “At the very least, you could have put my money in a bank and gotten interest.” This is what words are to faith. It’s the bare-bones minimum you should do with it. The least you should do is to open your month and let faith speak.

Faith is a mental agreement with everything God has commanded and spoken, whether it’s about a historical statement or a good promise of healing. Faith is agreeing with God about all of it. However, in the context of a promise, you’re agreeing about something God has already promised, and in the context of the gospel, you’re agreeing it has already happened and been given to you. Thus, in the context of the gospel, you can speak of faith in a shorthand way by focusing on the end results. You can say: Faith isn’t my love for God—it’s God’s love for me; Faith is confidence in God’s promise, not our ability; Faith is receiving God’s free supply by grace, not our performance; and Faith is God giving to us, not us giving to God.

Paul now expands on what faith means concerning righteousness. The first thing that Faith Speaks is to avoid saying the wrong thing. Paul then gives a specific example: Do not say, “I will bring Jesus Christ down,” or “I will bring Him up.” The point is simple. Considering righteousness being freely given in the gospel, you don’t do anything. Jesus, as our Savior, was the Father’s plan, and by His choice, Jesus went down, did all the hard work, and by the power of God, He went up back to heaven. Thus, in the context of righteousness being accomplished by Jesus, the first thing for Faith to Speak is to not say the wrong thing by claiming you did something to make yourself righteous.

Next, Paul explains that Faith does have something positive to say. In the context of the gospel being finished, faith isn’t just a mental assent anymore; it’s a “Word of Faith” that’s to be “confessed.” Why is faith now more than just an agreement in our mind? Because God did something for you, and you’re to receive it; the bare-bones smallest work to authenticate your faith in God’s finished work is to open your mouth and declare it. This is why Paul says you believe in your heart, but you also declare with your mouth, and this combination is what saves you.

This is why the Jews didn’t have a knowledge of righteousness: because they didn’t believe it was freely given and didn’t declare it was freely given. Paul first mentions that faith doesn’t say something, referring to the Jews trying to do something to accomplish it. If it was given by unmerited favor, you can only receive it by unmerited favor.

The biblical principle of first mentions is with Abraham. He believed and confessed he was the father of many nations before it happened, and by this, God freely credited righteousness to his record. Abraham didn’t work or earn this; it was given by unmerited favor. Abraham had to introduce his name (father of many nations) to his neighbors before he saw the promise fulfilled. Abraham was praised for his faith. Abraham is important because he believed and also spoke the Word of Faith, and on this, God declared him righteous. His name was literally a Word of Faith declaration. Abraham is the father of faith, and his name is a Word of Faith. This means, as true children of Abraham who claim to have faith, we also must live a Word of Faith declaration.

The Bible shows the children of faith who followed Abraham also lived a “Word of Faith” that confessed and declared confidence in all the good things God promised. David’s Faith Spoke in front of the giant and crowds: “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46 NIV). The Hebrews had a Word of Faith to the King of Babylon: “Our God will deliver us.” Joshua’s Faith Spoke: “Sun, be still.” Peter’s Faith Spoke this way: “What I do have I give to you: Walk, in the Name of Jesus.” There are many ways to say a Word of Faith. Like a child, a simple “thank you” or praise is all that’s needed for Faith to speak.

Abraham’s Word of Faith was confidence in God to perform all the good things, such as healing, various miracles, fame, riches, and blessings. Galatians says the gospel was preached to Abraham. What was this gospel? It was to make him famous, rich, overly healthy, and powerful. God didn’t promise these things for Himself but to do them for Abraham. Abraham believed God would make him famous and give him health and wealth. God declared him righteous for believing all the health and wealth He promised him. According to Paul, Scripture terms this health, wealth, and fame as the “gospel.” And according to Paul, this same gospel is given to us through Jesus Christ.

Abraham’s Word of Faith in God to give him health and wealth is what caused God to declare him righteous. Through Abraham, God displayed Himself as the Savior of the whole man, materially and spiritually. God is pleased when we look to Him to be this total Savior to us. This is why you see God granting the requests of those who asked for the same type of blessings and favor; they’re commended by God and praised by Jesus Christ. More is better. More health, wealth, and fame asked for, and then God supplying it, glorifies Him and His gospel. Less means less glory for God and Jesus Christ.

The Word of Faith is a rock-solid confidence in God’s word and promise. Faith sees what God promised as already given and deposited into our accounts, so it Speaks, knowing the reality has already been set in stone. It’s like a parent buying a gift for their child (a gift they know the child has been wanting) and placing it on their bed. The child comes home from school, and the parent says, “I got you something special; it’s on your bed.” The child’s face lights up, and they scream “thank you” because, even though they haven’t seen it, they know it’s already reality. The child screaming “thank you” and hugging their parent is similar to what Paul is saying about faith “Speaking.”

However, some will doubt that Jesus will forgive or heal them. This is like a child saying, “I don’t believe you put a gift on my bed,” even though you did. It’s particularly insulting because you already put the gift on the bed. It’s not like you’re going to do it; you already did it, and they’re calling you a liar. This is how most relate to God. God has already given them health, fame, wealth, forgiveness, and favor in the gospel, and they call Him a liar.

Some try to be humbler. Imagine the child saying, “Okay, I believe when you’re dead, it’ll be in your will, so I’ll have it in the FUTURE.” Or, “I believe you, but I’m not worthy to accept it.” It doesn’t matter the excuse; none are acceptable. All excuses expose the child for not believing their parents and implying their parents are liars.

When we’re saved, we’re declaring God’s love for us because the gospel has already been accomplished and given to His chosen ones.

Faith in your heart is how you know it was for you. Faith is God’s gift that makes you aware that the gospel was for you and already belongs to you. This is why faith is also a “word of faith.” Because the gospel was for you and given to you by the decision of God, you’re not saved by asking to be saved; you’re saved by confessing and declaring with thanksgiving that Jesus has already forgiven, healed, and prospered you. Peter told the crowd at Pentecost to “repent” and be saved; he didn’t tell them to ask to be saved. Because forgiveness and righteousness have already happened, you repent, knowing it’s been accomplished.

To ask God to forgive you and credit Jesus’ righteousness to you is to ask God to re-crucify His Son, because that’s how you’re forgiven and made righteous. Thus, faith is receiving something God has already given, not asking Him to do something, because He already did something. Thus, in the context of a finished gospel, faith is a “word of faith” that confesses Jesus already went down and up, and by this, He has already saved, forgiven, and made righteous. When Peter simply told them to “repent” to be saved, this presupposes the gospel is already finished, so you only need to repent to receive—not ask, beg, work for it, or ask God to do something. In this sense, Faith Speaks of God’s love for you and of Him serving you like a waiter. Faith Speaks and declares how God has already forgiven you and made you righteous in His Son.

Therefore, you do not say that you worked or earned a righteous record, because Jesus went down and up without your involvement. He saved you.

This is important because it also applies to all other things Jesus accomplished when He went down and then went back up. This applies to healing and various miracles.

Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was a substitutionary atonement for our healing. The verse uses the Levitical word for substitution, as used on the Day of Atonement for the scapegoat. The verse, therefore, means Jesus carried away our sicknesses and diseases like the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. We don’t bear sickness because, in the Father’s mind, He considered them taken off us and placed on His Son. The next verse explains healing also in the language of substitution: “By His stripes, we are healed.” In the Father’s mind, He decided the stripes on Jesus were an exchange for our healing. Since healing can only be given in this age and not the next, it means our healing for this age is 100% certain on the demand of faith, just as forgiveness of sins is 100% certain on the demand of faith.

Jesus went down from heaven. You didn’t bring Him down. He went down on His own. He then took stripe after stripe upon Himself in a substitutionary exchange for our healing. After this, He went to heaven by the power of the Father. You didn’t bring Him back up; He did that without you.

Therefore, do NOT SAY that you earn healing by working a job and paying a doctor for it. You don’t work for healing or pay for healing. Rather, believe that Jesus’ finished atonement gave you healing, and CONFESS with your mouth, “Jesus has healed me.” This is how forgiveness and healing are received in this age, and they can only be received in this age.

Without suggesting a type of superstition that some take with speaking unbelief, there’s an important overall principle to be learned. Peter denied Jesus three times, and at the end of John, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” This gave Peter three chances to confess a word of faith, or to allow faith to “speak”: “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” In the Psalms, David admitted that he said a word of unbelief: “I am cut off.” These, and the like, are what Paul was referring to in the first part of defining what a word of faith is. The first part is to not say the incorrect thing. We’re not to be superstitious, as if we need to counter every bad word with a word of faith. However, the basic teaching is obvious. If you’re speaking words of unbelief about how sinful, unhealthy, poor, or pathetic you are, rebuke yourself by not saying those words. Instead, let faith speak. Say how righteous you are, confess how Jesus already carried away all your sicknesses, and declare how Jesus already exchanged your poverty for His riches.

Let faith speak!

There’s a reason the New Testament gives commands to always give thanks to God and always be singing songs and Psalms to God. Thanksgivings, songs, and Psalms are a constant VOICE to faith. They allow faith to speak. They’re a continual Word of Faith confession in God’s salvation, forgiveness, healing, prosperity, peace, and power at work in our lives. Like the example of the little child, thanksgivings are a strong declaration of your faith that God has already given you healing and provision without you working for it.

Thanksgivings, songs, and Psalms, being a Word of Faith, are the life and devotion that make the inner man strong. They’re the living activity of a Christian. Especially when your eyes, feelings, and circumstances contradict the promises of God, you ought to double down on the Word of Faith. As Paul says, “What does it say?” What does faith say, when you are 99 and your wife is past child bearing? Faith says, God will do what He said, we will have a son.” What does faith say, when circumstance seem impossible? Faith says triumph is my definition, and my dreams are a reality. Let faith speak. And if you do, Scripture promises you will have what you say.

What does faith not say? Faith does not say “they are giants, and we are grasshoppers.” Faith does not say, “healing is uncertain.” We know them by their work. If a person keeps saying what faith does not say, it means they do not have faith. This is painfully obvious. They are the faithless. They are servants of the Faithless one. But I believe better things for you.

Faith has a megaphone—it’s the Word of Faith, shouting God’s done-deal promises. Abraham named himself “Big Daddy” before the kid showed up, and God gave him a righteousness high-five. Don’t mumble doubts or grovel for what’s already yours—confess Jesus’ finished work, from healing to riches, and watch faith’s mic drop dominate.