As a good Baptist teen-ager I felt that there had to be something supernatural, something beyond our normal “human” abilities to life. I had enough spiritual insight to know that there was “something” supernatural available to mankind, but not enough to know what! I was totally ignorant of God’s supernatural, that is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, healing and the miraculous. My church taught that all of God’s supernatural had been done away with, and we were left assuming God had “gotten tired” or something. To me as a young Baptist lad, the Holy Spirit was an “it”, not a “He!” (The Holy Spirit IS, of course, a “He!”) However, due to this desire for something supernatural in my life, I was pulled into a study of the “scientific” aspects of the occult. Or, at least, I thought they were scientific! The word, “occult”, by the way, simply means “strange” or “unknown.” It is not the same as the word, “cult,” which means a group that follows a leader blindly and has unorthodox doctrines. There are, of course, cults that practice occult practices, but the two words mean two different things.

I reasoned, at the time, that perhaps there were unknown abilities and powers that man may have that we are not familiar with, such as, telepathy, or mind-to-mind communication, psychokinesis, the supposed moving of physical objects with the mind, etc. At the same time as I was “experimenting” with these things, I was attending church every Sunday, I held various offices in the church… in short, I was a “good little Christian!” I had then, as I have today, a great respect for God’s Word… but I was ignorant. But, Praise God! Ignorance can be cured! After buying many books on the so-called “paranormal,” and spending several years dedicated to studying such things, I found some Scriptures one day that made me “drop it like a hot rock!” Look with me at Deuteronomy 18:10-12. I have expanded, in parentheses, the Hebrew meanings of the words from my detailed study:

“There shall not he found among you any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire (human sacrifice), or that useth divination (casts lots, or other means to “divine” information, this would include so called “water witching”, or “divining”), or an observer of times (several meanings here…one meaning is being a member of a “secret society” having “special, or secret knowledge”, another meaning is one who plots the course of planets, stars, in time and space to foretell events, or… Astrology! By the way, God says, speaking of those that the children of Israel turned to rather than God, that the “Astrologers… shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.” See Isaiah 47:12-14,) or an enchanter (this means to hiss, or whisper, as in a spell, to prognosticate, or try to foretell the future,) or a witch (to whisper or enchant a spell), or a charmer (again, several meanings, one denotes a member of a secret society, another, one who uses some means to “fascinate”, or in modern day usage “hypnotize” a subject,) or a consulter with familiar spirits (to inquire, request of, or demand from a “familiar” spirit, or a spirit that you have a special “rapport” with, today sometimes known as “channeling.” The “spirits” in these cases are demonic spirits (demons) satan is sending to deceive people,) or a wizard (a “knowing one,” a conjurer, one possessing special supernatural powers, such as telepathy, psychokenesis, etc.,) or a necromancer (to seek, to ask of, and thereby to worship, the dead). For all that do these things are an abomination (something that literally, in the Hebrew, “stinks in the nostrils” of God!) unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

You can imagine my reaction! I was amazed! Here was the Bible, that I respected so much, telling me that the activities that I was involved with, such as hypnosis, telepathy, etc. were abominations to God, and that those that did these things actually STINK in God’s nostrils! I wanted the sweet odor of my praise in his nostrils, not the stink of the occult! Yet no one had told me it was wrong! Well, it didn’t take me long to repent! I did just what the people in the Book of Acts (Acts 19:19-20) that practiced the occult did, I brought all my occult books together and burned them! And as with them, the Word of God grew mightily in me and prevailed!

You can see now why I don’t take the occult, or its yearly celebration, Halloween, as a light thing. “Halloween” is a contraction of “All Hallows Eve”, or “All Saint’s Day,” which is a holiday invented by the Catholic Church in medieval times to try and get the people that followed the arcane witchcraft religion of the Druids to celebrate a “Christian” festival during this time of year, rather than their Autumnal celebration to appease the “earth spirits.” The druids believed that the earthly elements had spirits associated with them, and to be assured a good harvest they would do human sacrifice to appease the spirits. From the memory of these evil practices came “trick or treat”… originally, one was to leave a gift to appease the evil spirits that roamed on the festival night, or the spirits were supposed to visit them with death and destruction of their property. Satan comes to “steal, kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) Have you ever wondered why there is so much destruction at Halloween? The “glorifying” and celebrating of this time is the closest thing to worship of demonic spirits as modern man gets! No wonder these spiritual forces are “loosed” in many peoples lives to have a “heyday” and spur some people to destructive behavior!

I have been asked, “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?” Think about this! It is like asking, “Should we celebrate the devil’s activities?” No, a thousand times, no! I find it interesting that there are many organizations that try and stop the public celebration of Jesus’ birth. Yet, while Christmas is a time that brings thoughts of peace on earth to Christian and non-Christian alike, no one condemns, opposes or speaks out against Halloween! Yet, the very “spirit” of those involved in its activities is one of evil, greedy, selfish and destructive behavior. Witchcraft (or Wicca) is by definition of its own practitioners a religion, Satanism has IRS Section 53 tax exempt status… why aren’t these organizations trying to ban its mention in our public schools?

I didn’t write this article to “rant and rave”… but to inform you about issues that we as believers! Consider this as you consider whether to participate, or support, the”holiday” of Halloween! I, for one, won’t be giving satan any glory!

Here’s our recent Spirit of Faith Podcast on this topic:

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“HYPER,” meaning “excessive, above, or beyond,” or, “more than”, and it is “used as a prefix to technical concepts to convey a more advanced capability.”

“FAITH” is defined Biblically as, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

“Hyperfaith” is a term coined by critics of the Word of Faith message that is supposed to be derogatory… however we embrace it! After all, having “excessive, above or beyond,” or advanced capability in the area of Biblical faith sounds excellent to us! In upcoming articles we will be talking about what faith is, what it is not, and providing excellent IPTV (Internet Protocol TeleVision) video shows, as well as more audio podcasts about how YOU can use the God kind of faith!

There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about the “Word of Faith Message”, or “The Power of Confession”, or maybe you’ve heard the term, “Name it and Claim it!” The question at hand is as to whether it is Biblical to teach that “profession brings possession” is a simple matter of checking the Bible, the Word of God, to see if the scriptures lend credence to this teaching.

An often quoted scripture is Romans 4:17, “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Note that God, it says, “makes alive the dead, and calls those things that be not, (are not in existence yet,) as though they were already in existence. This is the essence of what God did in Genesis when He said (in the Hebrew) “Light be!” and, light came into being! Before He said it, light “was not yet”, but once He said it, light sprang into being. “Well, yes,” you might say, “but, Dr. Bill, that was God!” True! I will give you no argument there! The question becomes then, does God want US to “call those things that be not as though they are?” Let’s look at what Jesus taught the disciples in Mark Chapter 11.

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 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. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:22-24) Now this is the King James Version, and I know that it can be a little “blind” to us sometimes, so let’s look at the same scripture in the Bible in Basic English translation, “And Jesus, answering, said to them, Have God’s faith.� Truly I say to you, Whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and be put into the sea; and has no doubt in his heart, but has faith that what he says will come about, he will have his desire. For this reason I say to you, Whatever you make a request for in prayer, have faith that it has been given to you, and you will have it.” Notice it says, “Have God’s faith…” The Greek meaning here can be expressed, “have the God kind of faith,” or “use God’s kind of faith.” Now if Jesus is teaching us that we should actually use God’s Faith… which make no mistake, He is saying to do that… then, we should use God’s faith in the same way that God uses it…. by speaking! Let’s look at the rest of the verse… notice He says, “whoever will say.” The promise here is not to EVERYONE, no indeed! It IS to anyone that will “say!” The qualifier is that you be willing to speak God’s Word over the situation! And, note, He is not saying talk ABOUT the situation, He is saying rather to talk TO the situation, or thing! You must be willing to “say to the mountain” what you want it to do!� A lot of people are simply not willing to “say!” They won’t speak their faith! But, notice, as Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin has pointed out so many times in teaching about these verses, there are three “sayings,” to one “believing!” Once you believe, you have to speak! 2 Corinthians 4:13 makes this clear as well, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.” We believe, therefore we speak!

Over and over again, the Bible makes it clear that once you believe, you must confess, or speak, the thing that you believe.� Even in being saved, we follow the process of believing in our heart, and confessing with our mouth. Notice Romans 10:8-10, “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The Word is near you, it is in your heart, and in your mouth! You must, it says, “confess with the mouth!” Notice, it is not enough to “think with the mind,” you MUST “confess WITH THE MOUTH!” This follows the method that God used, He spoke, and it came to pass! We speak His Word, and it comes to pass!� Whether it is in salvation, or, as the Greek makes clear in the translation of this word “salvation” used in this verse, “saved, healed, and made whole spirit, soul, body, financially and socially!” The word used here means all these things! It is literally “wholeness,” or “complete restoration.” This Biblical principle of confessing God’s Word to bring to pass what is true in the spiritual realm into manifestation in the natural realm is a key Biblical principle!

Speaking the Word brings God’s power and authority to bear on a physical problem! Consider the fact that the centurion that Jesus marveled at (because of his faith) understood this principle. Matthew 8:8 says, “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Note, that he “was not worthy” because he understood that he had no covenant with God at that time, as he was not of Jewish heritage in the natural, but he understood that Jesus was walking in covenant, and in authority, with God. He said, “Speak the word only… and my servant shall be healed!” Then notice what Jesus said about him in verse 10, “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”� Not even the Israelites of that day, though they DID have a covenant with God, had the faith of this centurion!� Why? The centurion understood the principle of speaking the Word of God in faith! He understood that there is authority in God’s Word! Beyond that, God’s Word has the power within itself, to cause the Word to come to pass! This is a direct translation of the scripture in the Greek translated as, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) Mary had asked the angel in effect, “How shall I conceive a child since I am a virgin?” The angel responded with the phrase above. Now, “with God all things shall be possible,” is certainly true, but reading the King James translation, we don’t get the full meaning! In the Greek, the angel was explaining to Mary the “how” of the situation, which is what she originally asked! “God’s Word contains the power within itself to cause what it says to come to pass.” Because God has spoken that she, as a virgin, would conceive a child, that Word spoken by God, alone, had the power within it, to cause it to become a material reality!

Jesus went on to explain the importance of words on another occasion. In Matthew 12:34-37, He said, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” He said this to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were supposed to be experts in the Word of God, yet He says they were evil. How can they, being evil, speak good things? Notice, He says that one speaks, “out of the treasure of one’s heart.” The word “treasure” used here, means “deposit.” So, out of what you have “deposited” in your heart, or spirit, you will speak out of your mouth! Notice that Jesus says that we will be judged for EVERY “idle word,” again, the Greek rendering helps us understand, “every idle, inoperative, non-productive word that we shall speak” is what we will be judged for! We should use words carefully, as we would power tools! You don’t haphazardly use a power tool, or you could get seriously hurt! In the same way, you shouldn’t misuse, or take for granted, the power of your words!

You might ask, “If words are so powerful, then why aren’t they coming to pass instantly all the time?” You might say, “That scared me to death!” But, you don’t drop over literally dead! True! Thank God! If so, we would have a lot of dead Christians to bury! No, the Bible teaches that the mouth, or the tongue, “sets in motion the cycle of natural events.” It is, therefore, a process! What the Bible says in James 3:6 is, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” The phrase “setteth on fire the course of nature” in the original Greek, translates, “sets in motion the cycle of natural events.” Satan therefore, tries to get you to speak contrary to God’s Word, and set in motion a chain of natural events, or a cycle, that will lead to destruction. No, you may not die immediately by saying, “That scared me to death!” But, you ARE setting in motion a cycle of events that enforces fear (”scared me”) and death in your life! In this way, satan can attempt to shorten your life! He uses the very power of your own words against you! The thoughts and temptations to speak those words of death and fear are the methods satan attempts to use to “set our tongue on fire of hell. Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” The “fiery darts” are designed to set your mouth against you!

What should we do, then? Whatever we want to come out of our mouth, we should deposit in our heart! Psalms 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Hide the Word of God in your heart! Store it up there! Joshua 1:8, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” If you want to be “prosperous,” and “have good success,” then you should meditate on God’s Word! Then, what you have stored in your heart will come out of your mouth… and that word, God’s Word, will have the power within itself to cause itself to come to pass!

Speak faith!