(part 2 – from the same day – Hold Fast Your Profession – pt 1 here)
(Continuing from: But the word PROFESSION and PROCLAIM also jumped out to me and then emerged as themes in what God continued to speak throughout the day, night, and this morning.)
We will continue to look at the significance of “PROFESSION,” but I first want to share something I felt the Lord showed me about “PROCLAIM” that He brought to my remembrance yesterday. If we break it down, it originally comes from the Latin words pro – before, and clamare – to cry out, and refers to declaring or announcing things publicly (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proclaim). However, when I was meditating on this word a year or two ago, I felt like the Lord was encouraging me to break it down in a slightly unconventional way to get a greater revelation of what He wants us to do (without discarding the original meaning):
~ “pro” – meaning before, in advance,
~ and “claim” – meaning to state that something belongs to us and that we have it/possess it (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/claim).
The Lord showed me how this is what we do when we come into alignment and agreement with His promises and begin to confess them, declare them, or PROCLAIM them. We are declaring and announcing IN ADVANCE, BEFORE there is any evidence in the natural realm, that these promises are OURS ~ that they BELONG TO US through Christ. And we can even go a step further to include the meaning that we are DECLARING IN ADVANCE that we HAVE THEM/POSSESS THEM (by believing that we HAVE RECEIVED according to Mark 11, even before they come into manifestation in this realm).
Interestingly, Kenneth Copeland does the same type of thing in this next devo I read ~ using a play on words from “PROFESSION” to connect the “profession” of our faith (translated from Greek, with the meaning of Confession/Declaration – http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3671&t=KJV) and the alternate definition of “profession” from our English language.
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Choose Your Profession
Kenneth Copeland
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our PROFESSION. – Hebrews 4:14
Your confession is what you say all the time. The word confession is translated in the New and Old Testaments as both confession and PROFESSION.
A professional is a person who devotes himself to a particular occupation. A professional athlete, for example, is not a person who participates in a sport every now and then. He or she is a person who plays that sport FULL TIME. Our profession of faith, the profession of our mouths and our actions, is the way we act and talk continually—not just when we stop for a few glorious moments and speak to the mountain, but all the time. Jesus said, “Whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain…and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass…” (Mark 11:23). Notice He said “those things,” not just “that one thing.” Everything you do and say all day long ought to be an answer to the mountain. What do you do all the time when no one is watching? What do you say when you first get up in the morning? How do you talk about that mountain when there’s nobody around to hear you? That’s your profession.
If your profession isn’t one of faith, then go to the Word, find God’s promise that applies to your situation, and meditate on it until it becomes God speaking to you. Then the hope of God will rise up on the inside of you. You’ll hook your faith to the living Word of God and you’ll start acting and speaking in strength and power. Let me tell you, when you speak the Word of God with real faith, mountains move, fig trees die and the devil runs for cover. Why? Because JESUS IS THE HIGH PRIEST OVER YOUR PROFESSION. He is anointed and appointed by Almighty God to bring it to pass. (to cause it to be ACCOMPLISHED AND ACHIEVED!) He is ready, willing and able to move on your PROFESSION of faith-filled words and actions. So give Him some! Talk to your problems in faith. Speak the desired end result and nothing contrary to it. Then continually offer thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for the answer:
“Lord Jesus, You’re the High Priest of my confession. You’re the administrator over the words I’ve spoken to this situation. I want You to know I appreciate it. I thank You for being my Lord. I’m standing on the living Word of God and I refuse to change my stand. I know the Word of God will never change. God will never change. The blood of Jesus will never change. The Name of Jesus will never change. So that means the devil and this situation will have to change. Lord God, I thank You for it. From here on, I consider this problem solved! Amen.” Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:14-20 (© 1999 Kenneth Copeland Ministries)
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I love this picture of Jesus being the High Priest over the words we speak! (A study of Scripture reveals that God gives much more weight to our words than most of us dare to think about and acknowledge. Help us Lord!) I also love the confirmation of our previous theme – that if we stay in agreement with the truth, it will trump and transform (CHANGE) the situations, facts, and circumstances that contradict it. Kenneth speaks of it in terms of taking our stand on God’s Word and refusing to change – and because it is unchanging (more confirmation of our theme ~ the same yesterday, today, and forever) and we’re determined to be unchanging in our agreement with it – then those things that are not in agreement are what must change!!
This also goes with the concept at the end of our previous note (confession #10) about how the Word IS GOING TO ACCOMPLISH what God desires and ACHIEVE the purpose for which God sent it – so if we will hold onto it and refuse to let go – it will carry us through every obstacle, hindrance, and opposition, to that final destination of fulfillment and completion. We must refuse to let go of it along the way, no matter what comes against us to knock us off. KEEP HOLDING ON!
Oh Wow! Right after I wrote that, the Lord said – “Just like the Word says! HOLD FAST to it!” So I scrolled back up to look at Hebrews 4:14 again, and sure enough, there it was – “HOLD FAST!” Praise God! So KEEP HOLDING ON ~ HOLD FAST ~ to the Word and to your Profession of it, refusing to let go until it carries you all the way through to the accomplishment and achievement of it!
Though we understand that the original Greek word in Hebrews 4:14 would not be appropriately translated as our “profession” in the sense of a full-time occupation or career, but rather refers to what we profess, confess, and declare – I LOVE this little nugget the Lord showed him by connecting it to the other meaning of “profession” in our English language, in order to give him the deeper revelation that this is something we are to be doing FULL-TIME, not only on occasion. Again, help us Lord!
This perfectly leads us into things the Lord began to emphasize last night with more confirmation this morning, but I’m concerned this is already too long, so this is to be continued… (Hold Fast Your Profession – pt 3 )
Blessings and Prayers!
