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mountain
moving faith:

Keeps a Good Report,

-by KENNETH E. HAGIN

V of the Series: The Seven Most Important Things

You Should Know About Faith)

MARK 11:22-26
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto
this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever
he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire,
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall
have them.
25 ^nd when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against
any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you
your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is
in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Thus far in our study we have covered these

four points in this s e r i e s of lessons:
1) E v e r y believer has a measure of the
God kind of faith.
2) This measure of faith can be increased
by feeding it on the Word of God and by e x e r
cising it.
3) Faith is of the heart, and not the head.
4) Faith will not work when there is an
"unforgiveness" about you.
And now as we come to the fifth point, look
again at the 23rd v e r s e from our text. Notice
that J e s u s concluded that v e r s e by saying, "...
he shall have whatsoever he saith." The fifth
point from the "Seven Most Important Things
You Should Know About Faith" is: Faith must
be released in words through your mouth.
More than 20 y e a r s ago I was holding a
revival meeting in the town of Graham, T e x a s .
It was my custom during my meetings in those
days to have two fast days a week; Tuesdays
and Thursdays were my fast days. On one of
those fast days I spent the whole day in the church
building reading the Bible on my knees around
the altar, walking up and down the aisles of the
sanctuary praying, just waiting on God, reading
and meditating upon His Word.
(47L-B)

On my knees around that altar I read the

whole book of Mark. It doesn't take long, there
a r e only 16 chapters. I can't tell you why but
Mark has always been my favorite Gospel. I
guess the reason is that it was the 11th chapter
of Mark which brought me off the bed of affliction
where I had lain with two serious organic heart
troubles, a body practically totally paralyzed
and an incurable blood disease. And so I read
this book of Mark again; there is no telling how
many times I had read it before.
I had read the entire book down through the
16th chapter where J e s u s said, "Andthese signs
shall follow them that believe; In my name shall
they c a s t out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues...they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover" (Mark 1 6 : 1 7 - 1 8 ) . I stopped
reading there and I sat down on the floor before
the altar bench and was meditating about His
saying "These signs shall follow them that
believe...."
That's what I was thinking about.
I wasn't even thinking about the 11th chapter
of Mark. That was the furthest thing from my
mind.
After a while I lay down on therug^tefere the
altar, meditating on the 16th chapter of Mark. My
hands were folded under my head as I lay staring
up at the ceiling. Finally I just got to the place
where I quit thinking. My mind got quiet. And
about that time, on the inside of me, in my spirit,
the Lord spoke to me.
(You know P s a l m 46:10 says, "Be still,
and know that I am God
" God doesn't speak
to your mind, and God doesn't speak to your body.
God is a Spirit. He contacts you through your
spirit and you contact Him through your spirit.
It is easy enough to get your body quiet. But
you know how sometimes when you lie down at
night to go to sleep and your body gets quiet,
your mind can give you a little trouble just
wanting to go on and on. But here I had gotten
both my body and my mind quiet. And the

moment I did, that's when the Lord spoke to

meon the insidejust as plainly as any
voice I've ever heard. Now I know it wasn't
like when I speak out loud to you what you'd hear
with your e a r s . I didn't hear it with my physical
earsbut yet it was just as r e a l . )
Way down on the inside I heard these words,
"Did you notice in the 11th chapter of Mark and
the 23rd v e r s e that the word say in some form
is in that v e r s e three times and the word believe
is only there once?"
And I remember that I r o s e up to a seated
position and said out loud, "No. No, I didn't
notice that."
(And there is no telling how many thousands,
yes thousands of times I'd quoted those v e r s e s .
Because on the bed of affliction at the point of
death, nearly all night long I'd say and hang on
to those v e r s e s . I'd say them over and over
again. There is no telling how many thousands
of times I had quoted this v e r s e and I had never
noticed that. But I am sure that's the way it
is with you. You've read c e r t a i n Scriptures for
y e a r s and then you'll read them one day and
something just pops out on the page and you see
something you've never seen before. You'll even
wonder why you never saw it before. Isn't that
right? God's Word is that way. You have to get
the revelation of it in your h e a r t . And the reason
you hadn't seen it before was that you hadn't
gotten it in your spirit.)
And so I said, "No, I hadn't noticed that." And
r e a l quickly I turned the pages back to the 11th
chapter of Mark and read that 23rd v e r s e again,
"For verily I say (You don't count this say be
cause it r e f e r s to J e s u s . ) unto you, That whoso
ever shall SAY unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou c a s t into the sea; and shall
not doubt in his h e a r t , but shall believe that
those things which he SAITH shall come to pass;
he shall have whatsoever he SAITH." And there
it wassay or saithsay in some form is in
that v e r s e three times concerning the "who
soever" and believe is there only once.
"That's right!" I said aloud. "I had never
noticed that before."
And then on the inside of me I heard these
words, "My people a r e not missing it primarily
in their believingbut where they a r e missing
it is in their saying. They have been taught to
believe--but faith must be released in words
through your mouth. You can have what you say."
After He said that to me, in my spirit, then I
began to think. As I sat there in the floor before
that altar I looked back. All the campmeetings
I'd ever attended, every convention and every
revival meeting I'd ever been to, every sermon
I'd heard preached passed before my mind. It
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seemed as if I could see them as these ministers

flashed before my mind. And in every convention,
every campmeeting, every revival, I had never
heard onenot a single onepreach about the
saying part of faith.
Not one single one!
Yet J e s u s had said to me in my spirit, "You
will have to do three times as much preaching
and teaching about the saying part as you do
the believing part in order to get folks to see it."
Then I checked up on myself and I'd been
doing a little bit but not much along that line.
That was about 25 y e a r s ago. And at that time
I began to do what He said to doto say more
about that part of faith.
Now look at that v e r s e again. Let's examine
it. Notice that J e s u s said, "...and shall not
doubt in his heart, but shall believe (Now that
is, 'believe in his heart.') that those things
which he saith (Those things which you say a r e
your 'words.')
"
Now, he believes in his heart that those
things which he saith shall come to p a s s . He
believes in his heart and he believes in his
words. You believe in your heart, and then you
believe in your words. And that gives you power
over demons, disease, and circumstances!
Then J e s u s concluded this verse by saying,
"He shall have whatsoever he saith." Now what
is it that J e s u s says you a r e going to have?
Is it what you believe for? No! A lot of people
think, "Now if I believe strongly enough for
something it will come to pass." Then at the
same time they keep talking unbelief. And it
won't come to p a s s . J e s u s did not say, "He
will have whatsoever he believeth." Jesus said,
"He shall have whatsoever he saith."
Jesus said, "You will have what you say."
And just as He saidyou do have what you say.
If you a r e not satisfied with what you have, then
check up on what you a r e saying. Because all
you have and all you a r e today is a result of
what you believed and said yesterday. Let that
soak in on you.
P r o v e r b s 6:2 goes well along this line, "Thou
art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art
taken with the words of thy mouth." The margin
says, "Thou a r t taken captive with the words
of thy mouth." Many Christians are blaming
things off on the devil when actually they are
taken captive themselves by the words of their
own mouths. They a r e snared with the words of
their mouths.
One writer put it this way, "You said you
could not, and the moment you said it you were
whipped. You said you did not have faith, and
doubt r o s e up like a giant and bound you. You
a r e imprisoned with your own words. You talked
failure, and failure held you in bondage."

Too few realize that our words dominate

us. And that is just what J e s u s is saying, "He
shall have whatsoever he saith." Never talk
failure. Never talk defeat. Never acknowledge
for one moment that God's ability or power
cannot put you overbecause if you a r e talk
ing failure or defeat with your lips, you a r e
acknowledging that God cannot and has not
put you over. Thank God He can!
Become "God-inside" minded. Remember
that I John 4:4 s a y s , " . . . g r e a t e r is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world." I believe
the Greater One is in m e . Do you believe He is
in you? I believe He is g r e a t e r than the devil.
Do you? I believe He is g r e a t e r than the tests
and t r i a l s that I face. I believe He is g r e a t e r
than the storm I may be facing. I believe He
is g r e a t e r than the problems whidt may be
confronting me. I believe He is greater than the
circumstances which s e e m to have me bound.
I believe He is g r e a t e r than sickness and
disease. I believe He is g r e a t e r than anything
and e v e r y t h i n g - - g r e a t e r than all things! And
that Greater One, according to I John 4:4, dwells
in me!
"...Greater is he that is in you, than he that
is in the world." I often ask folks, "What is He
doing in you? Is He just a spiritual hitchhiker?
Did He just hitchhike a ride through life with
you? Is He just e x c e s s baggage for you to c a r r y ? "
The answer of c o u r s e is no. He is in there to
help you. He is in there to strengthen you. He
is in there to comfort you. P r a i s e God! He is
in there to put you over.
In the Old Testament there is a proof text
of what I am talking about. You will r e m e m b e r
that when Israel c a m e out of Egypt they came
right up to the border of Canaan to a place called
Kadesh-barnea. F r o m there they sent 12 spies
to spy out the land. The Bible tells us that 10
of those spies brought back an evil report; two
of them brought back a good report. There is
something here that we need to see.
What is an evil r e p o r t ? It is a report of
doubt. And a Christian, a believer, has no m o r e
business peddling doubt than he does peddling
dope. Both of them a r e of the enemy.
Some think I am e x t r e m e in my thinking
here, but I don't and I'm going to stay with it.
And that is, if I were a pastor I would rather
have dope peddlers and bootleggers in the church
than doubt peddlers. That sounds e x t r e m e but let
me explain. You see, if there were dope peddlers
and bootleggers in the church and you couldn't
get them right with God you could turn them out
and everybody would be in favor of it. But you
try to deal with some of these old doubt peddlers
and see what you get into. They'll go around from

house to house peddling doubt. "See," they'll

say, "it's not going. I told you it wouldn't. Sunday
School is down, the money's down and nothing's
coming in. That preacher is just leading us wrong
and now then he has turned around and got the
wrong evangelist here." They'll just look around
for anybody who has a slop bucket for an ear to
put a little slop in. I might be getting right by
where some of you folks a r e living. But if I am
that's all right. Maybe you'll straighten up and get
rightthen things will be better. The believer
has no business peddling doubt.
Ten of those spies brought back an evil report.
The Bible calls it that. What was it? It was a
report of doubt. F o r you see, God had already
told them the land where they were going was
flowing with milk and honey. And they brought
back some of the giant c l u s t e r s of grapes and
pomegranates and figs. And they even said that
it was a land flowing with milk and honey...but!
But!...But!...
People will come sometimes for help and I
will tell them what the Word of God says and give
them Scriptures concerning their c a s e and then
they'll say, "Yeah, I know that, Brother Hagin.
I know all those v e r s e s a r e in there...but, you
can't ever tell what might happen." Oh yes you
can telleverything will happen that God said
would happen if you will believe it.
And so, they brought back an evil report. They
said, "But!...There a r e giants in the land. (And
there were giants there.) And in our own eyes we
a r e as grasshoppers in their sight. We're not
able to take the land." That was their confession.
They confessed what they believed. They be
lieved they couldn't do itthey said, "We can't
do it."and they got exactly what they said!
F o r J e s u s said, "He shall have whatsoever he
saith." Jesus said that you can have what you
say!
The ten spies said, "We can't take the land."
And they got exactly what they said.
Israel accepted the report of the majority and
said that they couldn't take the land. And Israel
got exactly what they said. They wandered in the
wilderness till every man over 20 y e a r s of age
had died.
All except Caleb and Joshua, that is. Remem
bering that Jesus said that you can have what you
say, look at Numbers 13:30 to see what Caleb
said, "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses,
and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for
we a r e well able to overcome it." He didn't deny
that the giants were there. No, we don't stick
our heads in the sand like ostriches and think
they will go away. No, the giants are there, but
we a r e well able to overcome them. Blessed be
to God, we are well able to overcome them.
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And now, what did Joshua say? Joshua said,

"Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither
fear ye the people of the land; for they a r e bread
for us: their defence is departed from them, and
the Lord is with us: fear them not" (Numbers
14:9).
Putting together what Caleb said with what
Joshua said, their good report was, "We a r e
well able to overcome itthe Lord is with us."
When you a r e facing the giants of life, don't
have a negative confession. Don't talk doubt and
have an evil r e p o r t . Faith always has a good
report.
"Yeah, but," some say, "I can't do this and I
can't do that." Well quit talking about what you
can't doand begin to talk about what He can do.
We're well able to overcomefor the Lord is
with u s . G r e a t e r is He who is in us than he who
is in the world.
And the Lord has told us, "I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee." (See Hebrews 13:5.) Yet
a lady came to me at the close of a service where
we taught on faith and truth, crying almost
hysterically, "Brother Hagin, I want you to pray
for me."
"All right, Sister, what is the m a t t e r ? "
"It seems like the Lord has forsaken me."

"What awful sin have you committed to make

Him forsake you?" I asked.
"As far as I know," she answered, "Ihaven't
done one thing. But it just seems like the p r e
sence of the Lord is gone from me."
"The
Bible doesn't say that we walk by
'seems-like'.
The Bible says that we walk by
faith. And God's Word says that the Lord will
never leave you, nor forsake you."
"I know that," she cried, "but it just seems
like He has."
"Why you have more faith in 'seems-like' than
you have in the Bible."
"But I know what I feel," she said and she
almost got angry.
"Yes, but I know my J e s u s . J e s u s said it,
and I believe it. We cannot be concerned by
what we feel."
Thank God for a motto I inherited from the
Southern Baptists. I wrote it in red ink on the
fly leaf of my Bible as a boy on the bed of afflic
tion.
"The Bible says it. I believe it. And
that settles it."
Seems-like or no seems-like. Feeling or no
feeling. But if you'll start believing right, and
thinking right, and talking rightthen it won't be
long until you'll be feeling right!

KENNETH HAGIN EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 50126

TULSA, OKLAHOMA 7 4 1 5 0