How Affirmation Works by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Affirmation and confession of faith are different

The last time I shared on the power of words, I said there is a difference between affirmation and confession of faith

I want to start with affirmation first

What is Christian affirmation

There is Christian affirmation and there is eastern affirmation, where people do manifestation and witches tell them what to say. I am talking about Christian affirmation

Christian affirmation is simply saying what God has already said about you to yourself

The emphasis is on what the word of God says, not what you feel or what you want to be

Worldly affirmation vs Christian affirmation

Worldly affirmation says the power is in you: your mind, your will, your willpower, your energy, your vibe. You speak what you want to be

In Christian affirmation the power is in God's word, not the speaker's mind. It is God's word influencing or being superimposed on the speaker's mind

Worldly affirmation is internally generated. Christian affirmation is given by the scriptures

In Christian affirmation we are agreeing with a reality God has already spoken in his word concerning us

Worldly affirmation is you trying to exalt yourself. Christian affirmation is you aligning with God's word about you

Christian affirmation gets you to a point of not my will but your will be done

Worldly affirmation is faith in my words, that because I'm saying it, it will happen. Christian affirmation is faith in God's word

One is trying to become. The other is aligning with who you are and what you have been made in Christ

In Christ we started whole

John 1:16, Ephesians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:9, Ephesians 1:13

We have received grace for grace. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings. We have received the salvation of our soul and the promise of the Father.

We were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise

In Christianity we started whole

The hope of Christianity is a paradox. Our hope has happened and our hope will happen. Christ died and resurrected, so our hope has happened. Because of that, we will also die and resurrect

The Christian has become and the Christian is becoming. He has become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, but he is becoming it in experience

Illustration: the child

A child is a full human being. Every body part that child needs came with that child. As he grows, he is growing experientially into the fullness of what he has become, which is man

The Christian is not trying to attain something. He is coming into the reality of who he has become

I'm not going to pray more for God to love me or to give me righteousness.

I am growing in the knowledge of who I am, and that knowledge is producing the fruits of the realities already in me

The seed is on the inside. As I water it in growth in revelation, in God's word and in yielding to the Spirit, it starts to manifest experientially

Trying to bring it to you vs bringing it out from you

In worldly affirmation you are not rich, so you say I'm rich, I'm rich, so that you will be rich. They say you say it until it comes to you

In Christian affirmation you are saying it because you have become it. You are saying it to bring it out from you, not to bring it to you

It's not semantics. Somebody hustling to get a property is not the same as somebody who inherits a property

One is saying I want to buy a car. Another is saying I want to learn how to drive my car

Character

Worldly affirmation says I'm rich, I'm bold, I'm beautiful, I'm the best. It seeks to empower, but you can empower rubbish

Christian affirmation confronts character flaws and says I'm patient, I'm kind, I'm meek. It seeks to correct. It seeks to conform you to a form, and that form is Christ

Someone with a bad character does not need affirmation or validation. They need transformation

Illustration: trusting God for marriage

Someone says every day, I declare I'm married, I'm married with children, trying to manifest it. Could you get married? Absolutely. But will the marriage last? Maybe not

If you go the word route, God will give you scriptures. Proverbs 18:22

God calling you a good woman is God teaching you how to be good. A good woman is a patient woman, a kind woman, a loving woman

With Christian affirmation there is transformation in view. You are not just asking for something

Imagine a wicked person declaring I'm wealthy. Money in the hands of an unrighteous person is evil

Affirmation is in truth: God affirming Jesus

Matthew 3:16

God said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God affirmed him

The Father was not flattering Jesus with empty words. He was affirming his identity. The Father was not calling Jesus a son so that Jesus can be a son.

He called him a son because he is a son

Worldly affirmation is saying it to become it. Christian affirmation is saying it because you are it

Flattery tells you what you want to hear. Affirmation tells you who you are

Illustration: God as a parent

God won't tell somebody doing poorly in school that they are the smartest.

As parents we have to learn the balance of not talking our children down and also not lying to them with a false view of the world

Giving trophies to those who lost gives children a false sense of what life is about. Life is about consequence.

If you do well you are accepted, if you did not do well you are not accepted. It's as simple as that. Genesis 4

Some Ivy League students commit suicide after their first or second year because it was the first time they were failing in their entire life. They did not know how to manage failure

God will not call a child who failed a failure. He will sit the child down and say this report card does not reveal your capability. You do well with numbers.

You don't forget things easily. You are not dull

He reminds you of your capabilities, identifies your strengths in other areas, and shows you how to channel them into studying. He tells you who you are and inspires you to do more

Affirmation vs speaking to things

Mark 11:22 to Mark 11:23

Jesus speaks to the storm, peace be still. Jesus speaks to Lazarus, come forth. David speaks to Goliath. They are not praying about the mountain, they are addressing it

Affirmation is what you say to yourself. Speaking to things is what you say to the mountain

Affirmation is your deposit. Speaking to things is your withdrawal. In speaking to things you are withdrawing from what you have said to yourself

Joshua: the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth

Joshua 1:1 to Joshua 1:3, Joshua 1:7 to Joshua 1:9

Joshua is about 40, following Moses who is about 120 and has just died.

Moses prayed and bread fell from heaven, struck a rock and water came out, entered the glory and came out, spent 40 days on the mountain and his face shone

Taking over from that person, there is no way you will not be afraid or feel inadequate

God says only be strong and very courageous. You don't just go and say I'm strong and courageous. That is worldly affirmation, saying it to become it

Christian affirmation is this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. You say what God told you to say. Every prophetic word you have received is an invitation for affirmation

Meditation

You meditate by saying it. Worldly meditation is quieting your mouth and emptying your mind. Christian meditation is speaking God's word into your mind and over your life

Every message I preach, I first preach it to myself. The first time is always the sweetest and most powerful. I walk around talking to myself, speaking God's word to myself. That's how you meditate

If you are not observing to do, it is because you are not speaking it. Your prosperity is already in the word

If I'm a fearful person, I don't just say I'm not fearful. I look for scriptures that speak to my mind. 2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:15, 1 John 4:18

This affirmation brings you into surrender, alignment with God's word, and trust that God is with you

If you do not put God's word in your heart, someone will do it for you

Proverbs 24:30 to Proverbs 24:31

Your heart is like a land. If you don't plant, weeds will grow. If you are not doing anything with your mind, somebody is already doing something with it

A lot of people look like what people have said to them. There is a reason you say you are a shy person. People told you

Testimony: what was said to me in secondary school

In junior secondary I was lively and made jokes. In senior secondary, coming down the stairs, a lady said who is that person whose mouth is smelling. I knew I had brushed

It affected my confidence. In most of my pictures my head is turned away so they don't smell my mouth. I'm a full grown adult and still self-conscious.

Even yesterday in church, when people come close, I take two steps back

I have forgiven her. She moved on with her life, but she planted a seed that is affecting another person's life. People started saying the boy is very quiet. She made me quiet

People can wire you into what you are not. What she put in by words, I have to uproot with words. Planting is easy. When it has become a tree, cutting is not easy

You can't have a sound mind if you don't watch the sounds that enter your mind

A heart not being spoken into is a public farm

In Nigeria we greet by abusing each other, hey mad man, hey crazy boy, and both are laughing. That is somebody declaring something into your life. Christians should not do that

Find who you are in scripture

Matthew 16:13 to Matthew 16:16

Jesus asked who do men say that I am. Some said Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets. Then he asked who do you say that I am.

Jesus had a revelation of who he was and was not defined by what people said

If you don't know who you are, they will collect Christ from you and give you prophets. What they give may not be so bad, but it's not what you are

If you don't know who you are, people will tell you what you are not. You have to find a revelation of who you are in scripture

John the Baptist

John 1:19 to John 1:23

When asked who are you, John said I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, as the prophet Isaiah said. Where did John find who he was? In the word of God

The prophet they asked about is the promised prophet. Acts 3, Deuteronomy 18

The affirmation of who you are is in scriptures

Luke 1:13 to Luke 1:17

John also found who he was from the prophetic words God gave his parents concerning him. Go and ask your parents if any prophetic words came when they were having you

John is not the incarnation of Elijah. He carries the spirit and power of Elijah

John 10:41

John did no miracle, but Elijah did miracles. If John was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, miracle was in his destiny.

Chances are he limited his calling because he did not fully grasp who he was

Either John did not ask his parents or his father did not tell him

Not knowing who you are can limit your ministry and your life

Joshua and Caleb: the confession that separated them

Numbers 13:30 to Numbers 13:33, Numbers 14:1 to Numbers 14:9

The enemy sows while men slept. What is synonymous with sleeping? Silence. Silence is his planting season. You have to be talking so he will not plant for you. Matthew 13:25

Caleb quieted the people and said let us go up at once, we are well able. The ten said we are not able, and they gave a bad report.

We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, so we were in their sight

When they saw themselves as grasshoppers, they became grasshoppers in their sight

The people wept, complained against Moses and Aaron, and said let us select a leader and return to Egypt

Joshua and Caleb said the land is exceedingly good. If the Lord delights in us he will give it to us. Do not rebel, do not fear the people, they are our bread

Their protection has departed and the Lord is with us

Two preachers preached. One said they are bread for us. The other said we are their bread. The people believed the report of fear and all of them died in that wilderness.

People spoke fear into their hearts

Only Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land. What separated them was their confession. They believed what God said and put it on their mouth. That is affirmation

What destroyed the others was a realistic report. There is nothing more real than God's word to you

You have to believe it, because you are a believer. Believers believe

Don't let people talk you out of your promise. Never marry a pessimistic person. Stay away from pessimistic friends. They will kill your idea. First think with me, don't just say it can't work

The ten spies focused on the people, they are giants. Joshua and Caleb focused on the land flowing with milk and honey and on the Lord being with us

How do we know the Lord is with us? Because this thing is not our ambition. God promised us

I was sitting on my own when God told me he wants to make me a kingdom financier. He gave me a dream and a vision. It was not me going to ask for money

Abraham was sitting on his own when God said I want to make you an exceedingly great nation. This thing is not my mind. God promised me, so I focus on what God said.

If not, I'm in unbelief

Applying it

I look into the scriptures, see what God has said concerning me, and put that on my lips

If I'm struggling with fear, I look at what God said about my mind, courage and strength. If I'm struggling financially, I look at God's blessings and promises over my life financially

Poverty is not God's will. I'm not saying prosperity is everything, but if poverty is synonymous with holiness, why is heaven made of streets of gold

Some people have a poor mindset. They go for an interview saying they won't pick me, they already have who they want. You are talking yourself out of the promise

Jesus and Lazarus: affirmation silences unbelief

John 11:23 to John 11:25

Martha said he will rise in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life

That was affirmation. Jesus was saying who he was. But saying it did not bring Lazarus out of the grave

Speaking to things is when Jesus goes to Lazarus and says Lazarus, come forth. That is where the miracle is

Martha's words sounded cute but were unbelief, postponing a miracle that was supposed to be now. Affirmation was to silence unbelief so he could make a withdrawal of confession

If you don't have an affirmation, you will not be able to say to the mountain in faith

When you say I am the righteousness of God in Christ, I am healed, I am whole, you are depositing in your heart

When sickness is in your body, you don't say I am the righteousness of God in Christ. That won't take the sickness away.

You confront the sickness and say cancer, leave in the name of Jesus

The first one you are speaking to yourself. The second one you are addressing the mountain