Job 7: Word of Faith - The Error

The Lord is not some genie in a bottle, here to grant our every wish, although some people believe that. Hence the errors of the word of faith movement.

DIRECT QUOTE FROM A WORD OF FAITH FALSE TEACHER:

"As you begin to mature in the Lord, God wants you to come to the place where you decree things and speak them into existence. As a believer, you have that authority and it is scriptural for you to do it. You can take authority over problems, difficulties, circumstances and situations. You can decree that fear and confusion be gone from your life and those around about you. This is part of your inheritance as a child of God.

Job 22:28 says that you shall decree a thing and it shall be established unto you. That means that when you speak forth words of faith, it is literally an extension of you. When you learn to speak against the devil, sickness, fear, frustration, failure and defeat, you will find that your victorious life is an extension of you."- Elbert Willis, Fill the Gap ministry” - Elbert Willis (now deceased), former pastor of Christian Center Church in Lafayette, LA and founder of Fill the Gap Ministry

Joel Osteen says: “Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous.”

“I DECLARE breakthroughs are coming in my life, sudden bursts of God’s goodness. Not a trickle. Not a stream. But a flood of God’s power. A flood of healing. A flood of wisdom. A flood of favor. I am a breakthrough person and I choose to live breakthrough minded. I am expecting God to overwhelm me with His goodness and amaze me with His favor. This is my declaration.” - Joel Osteen

You’ll find the same teachings from the likes of Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, and many others.

ERROR 1: GOD IS OBLIGATED TO OBEY THE COMMANDS OF PEOPLE

According to this teaching, we can tell God what to do.

In contrast, God's will determines the answers to our prayers

We don’t determine the answer to our prayers, God does

Romans 8:26-27

Romans 8:26–27 NKJV

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

ERROR 2: WE ARE LITTLE GODS

According to this teaching, we are equal with God, in that we have the power of creation.

To speak things into being, confers on us the power of God, to believe such is blasphemous.

We are God’s creation, not His equal

Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1 NKJV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:27

Genesis 1:27 NKJV

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God created man in His image, not as His equal

If we had this type of power, as implied in the word of faith movement, what need would we have of a savior? Why did Christ have to die? Why did Christ have to be made "lower than the angels" when He became a man, if man is equal to God?

Why did Jesus have to give up His equality with God to become a man, if man is equal to God?

Hebrews 2:9

Hebrews 2:9 NKJV

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 NKJV

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

ERROR 3: WE HAVE NO NEED OF GOD

According to this teaching, we have no need of God. We can solve our own problems.

We need God

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

The Bible teaches reliance on God, and that we are to cast our cares on Him.

1 Peter 5:7

1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Why would we do that if we could solve our own problems?

ERROR 4: GOD'S FAVOR RESULTS IN RICHES

All of this implies that that we could use these supposed god-like powers to attain riches. Many false teachers stress that point.

Why not, wealth is what our sin-depraved minds would naturally desire.

However, If the purpose of our prayer is financial gain, then we are in opposition to the Word of God

1 Timothy 6:9-11

1 Timothy 6:9–11 NKJV

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Righteousness, Godliness, faith, love and patience are what we should be pursuing.

The two verses that we looked at, are the ones that are primarily used as an explicit teaching that we can decree things into being, but. . .

We can't speak our troubles away

We can't speak our diseases away

We can't speak ourselves into prosperity

Speaking good things will not necessarily cause good things to happen.

The false promise that one will be prosperous and healthy if only they have enough faith cannot be found here.

In fact, you'll find no such promise in Scripture. Such a position is based on wishful, selfish, flimsy and erroneous interpretation of Scripture.

Such a promise can only be asserted when one takes great liberties with the Word of God, totally ignoring the plain and straight-forward meaning of Scripture.

Such a position ignores the inconvenient truth of the many very faithful saints, who throughout the centuries have suffered poverty, sickness and persecution.

Paul himself had a physical ailment, that apparently his faith could not eliminate

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 NKJV

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Timothy had a stomach condition which needed more than faith to treat

otherwise he could have willed it away, but we see no such instruction from Paul.

1 Timothy 5:23

1 Timothy 5:23 NKJV

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

Were neither of these Godly men faithful enough? Would the followers of the prosperity gospel assert that they are of greater faith than Paul and Timothy?

One who delights in The Lord, will have the same desire as The Lord. We are told that if we ask something in Jesus' name, He will do it.

Here's the thing, you can't pray outside the will of the Father, and in Jesus' name at the same time.

To pray in the name of Jesus, you MUST be praying within the will of God. Jesus Himself set the example when He taught the disciples how to pray, and He said "your will be done."

When Jesus prayed to the Father, He prayed “your will be done”

Luke 11:2

Luke 11:2 NKJV

So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

God is not here to grant our selfish desires, but to do His will. Contrary to what Eliphaz tried to tell Job, you can't declare something into being.

Contrary to what the Joel Osteen's and Kenneth Copeland's of the world would have you to believe, you can't declare something into being.

as for Job 22:28

You have to understand that the counsel of Job's friends was wrong, and God rebuked them for it.

The counsel of Job's friends was wrong, and God rebuked them for it

Job 42:7

Job 42:7 NKJV

And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

We don't declare to God how things are going to be!

We don't make the rules, God does!

We can't speak things into being, only God has that power.

We ASK God for what we want, and if you want your prayers answered, you will ask according to His will, not yours.

We ask according to God’s will, not ours

John 14:13

John 14:13 NKJV

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

"So that the Father may be glorified in the Son"

God answers prayer for His glory, not for ours. If something doesn't glorify God, then saying "in the name of Jesus, Amen" isn't going to help.

What is the real Word of Faith?

Romans 10:5-13

Romans 10:5–13 NKJV

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend 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 preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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