Kingdom Faith #5: Calling Things That Are Not as Though They Were

Kingdom faith speaks what God has already declared. In this fifth message of the series, the pastor teaches why believers can call those things that are not as though they were: Jesus translated us into a new kingdom, God watches over His Word to perform it, and He planned everything from the end before the foundation of the world. Our part is to agree with Him out loud with words of faith. This message continues from Kingdom Faith #4: Kings and Priests Who Already Have the Blessing.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scripture behind each point (NKJV on Bible Gateway), a comparison of words that tear down and words of faith, a timestamped outline, and practical steps for this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was preached at NTC Ministries in Merrill, Wisconsin, and posted on February 14, 2022. It runs about 71 minutes and ends with an invitation to receive Jesus as Lord. The pastor opens by reminding the church that the early church of the first and second centuries was called the great confession, because believers confessed what God had declared over their lives.

Some people say they do not know the will of God. His answer is simple: “Read your Bible. That’s it.” The New Testament is God’s last will and testament for His people, and Jeremiah 29:11 shows His thoughts toward us are of peace, not evil, to give a future and a hope. His will is that we come out of hard places better than ever.

How Kingdom Faith Functions in a New Kingdom

The pastor starts with why believers can call those things that be not as though they were. Jesus came to translate us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13), and He accomplished it. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord is born again and has already moved from one kingdom into another.

Two kingdoms now run in parallel on the earth. One is the kingdom of darkness, which is not only corrupt but cursed. The other is the kingdom of God. Since believers have been translated into the kingdom of light, he says, the urgent questions are these: how does this kingdom work, what is ours in it, and how do we function inside it?

He illustrates with his own travel. Ministering abroad, he has to learn how each nation functions and stay within its boundaries, because if he ignores them, the local pastors are the ones beaten or imprisoned after he leaves. Kingdom faith works the same way: it learns how heaven’s kingdom operates.

It is tragic, he says, that many people go to church all their lives and never learn how the kingdom of heaven functions. They keep living the old way and still expect God to do great things. God wants to, but He works within the rules He declared, and He needs His people to function inside them.

Under the Sway of the Wicked One

The first text is 1 John 5:19: we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. The pastor explains that the word for world, cosmos, means a governing influence. Outside the church, that influence is wickedness.

That is why people who seem kind can change once they gain power, almost like Jekyll and Hyde. They are not necessarily terrible people, he says, but over every municipality there is a principality that works to express itself through personalities, and authority gives that influence a voice.

The answer is not for Christians to withdraw. Those powers will be put under the church’s feet, but believers must position themselves so the Holy Spirit can express Himself through them. Whatever position of authority you have been given, he says, use it for the kingdom of heaven. Someone has to be the salt of the earth.

A believer who joins a school board and refuses to be a yes person may face constant pressure and want to quit. His answer is that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). As the love and truth of God keep flowing through you, the opposing principality has to come under your feet.

Exaltation comes, but as Peter said, after you have suffered a while (1 Peter 5:10). What strengthens the believer is standing. He recalls his wife crocheting afghans: until the little loops around the edge are tied together, the blanket can unravel. When you obey Ephesians 6:13 and, having done all, stand, your soul gets tied together with God’s and will not come undone.

The Righteousness of Faith Speaks

Words of faith, the pastor says, are hugely important to God. He compares it to the body: we are made largely of water, minerals and protein, and those are exactly what feed us. John 1:1–3 says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. If God is the Word, then what feeds Him is words: right words, His words, building words.

Ephesians 4:29 tells believers to let no corrupt word proceed out of their mouths, only what is good for building up and imparting grace to the hearers. He explains that to edify means to build. Words that build please God, and the work of faith is to declare them.

Then he reads Romans 10:6–9. The righteousness of faith speaks in a particular way. It does not say in the heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” as if Christ still had to be brought down, or “Who will descend into the abyss?” as if He still had to be raised. Christ has finished the work. Instead, faith says the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.

So kingdom faith refuses to speak words that tear down. He also warns against idle words (Matthew 12:36). A car left running in park is idling because it accomplishes nothing. Do not embellish your speech for effect; let your yes be yes and your no be no (Matthew 5:37). Speak words of health, prosperity, unity, faith and blessing over your family and even over the company you work for.

He contrasts words driven by the five physical senses with words driven by the love and purpose of God. Psalm 24:7 calls us to lift up those gates, and Paul said we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). “You can’t litter negativity everywhere around you and wonder why you have a trashy life,” he says. When problems come, check your words first.

Words of faith also nourish leaders: 1 Timothy 4:6 says a good minister is nourished in the words of faith and good doctrine. And no one is born again until they confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. Knowing the stories is not enough; saying it is what opens the door to His power.

The table below gathers examples from this kingdom faith message of what people commonly say and what the pastor says faith should say instead.

God Watches Over His Word to Perform It

In 1 Samuel 3:19, Samuel grew, the Lord was with him, and He let none of his words fall to the ground. Every word kept producing, the pastor says, like an engine in gear. God backed what His prophet spoke.

Speaking words of faith is hard when everyone around you speaks bent words, because people mimic the talk around them. He tells of a father who blamed the church for his teenage son’s swearing, cursing the whole time he complained, though the boy spent far more hours with his dad than in church. If you are a child of God, he says, “children should talk like their father.”

David prayed for the Lord to set a guard over his mouth (Psalm 141:3). Job, after his trials, recognized “how forceful are right words” (Job 6:25). The pastor teaches that Satan could not touch Job while God’s hedge stood, and that the mouth is how hedges get broken: whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent (Ecclesiastes 10:8).

The key passage is Jeremiah 1:4–12, which he reads from the English Standard Version. Jeremiah was appointed a prophet before he was born, yet protested that he was only a youth. God told him not to say that, touched his mouth and put His words in it, setting him over nations to pluck up, break down, destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

So words have two jobs: to tear down what is corrupt in this world and to build what is righteous. Then God showed Jeremiah an almond branch, and the pastor reads His explanation aloud: “I am watching over my word to perform it.” When you feed God His Word and promises, such as being healed by the stripes of Jesus, you are not doing anything mystical. You are agreeing with Him, and He performs it.

From Abram to Abraham: God Starts at the End

How can God call things that are not as though they were? He had to speak them first, and kingdom faith follows His pattern. Abram heard the promise and was shown the stars, yet years later still had no son. At ninety-nine, God changed his name (Genesis 17:5). The pastor teaches that Abram means high exalted one and Abraham means father of a multitude. Abram knew God’s will but had never spoken it.

Once Abraham began saying “I’m a father of a multitude,” and Sarah spoke in agreement, Isaac came within a year. People must have told him to be a realist, but contrary to hope he believed in hope (Romans 4:17–18). God makes a way where there is no way, but we have to know His promises and speak them.

Filmmakers, the pastor notes, pin the ending on a board first and write every event backward. God did that first. Ephesians 1:10–11 shows the ending: all things gathered together in one in Christ, with no more division, and an inheritance already obtained. If winter scenery is this beautiful under the curse, imagine creation restored.

Revelation 13:8 speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and Hebrews 4:3 says the works were finished from the foundation of the world. That is God’s storyboard. Prophesying, the pastor says, is simply speaking out His will, so he prophesies over the church that they begin to declare the goodness of God.

He models it: Jesus took our infirmities, was wounded for our transgressions, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4–5); He forgives all iniquities and heals all diseases (Psalm 103:3–5). Ephesians 1:3–6 says He has already blessed us, chose us to be holy and without blame, and made us accepted in the Beloved. You are a somebody.

1 Peter 1:18–21 adds that we were redeemed, not with silver and gold, from aimless conduct, which the King James calls vain conversation. Jesus, foreordained before the foundation of the world, came outside the natural way, as Isaiah 7:14 foretold. The pastor issues a challenge: practice words of faith for a year, and your marriage, family and work will be different.

What Shall We Say to These Things?

Job 22:21–29 calls us to acquaint ourselves with God and be at peace. When the Almighty becomes your gold, what you once chased loses its grip. Then comes the verse he has the church read aloud: “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you.” When people cast you down, you say exaltation is coming.

He links this to Psalm 91:1–7: the one who says of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,” is delivered from the snare of the fowler and the pestilence. If you will not declare it, do not blame God when trouble comes. Jesus’ exaltation was declared before the foundation of the world, and every knee will bow (Philippians 2:9–11).

A kindergarten story lightens the point: a girl named Lisa sat with him on the bus only while his bag of peanuts lasted. That, he says, is Satan’s tactic: he wants what we can do for him. God loves us for who we are, and people who know that will give Him everything, even their tongues (James 3:2).

The closing text is Romans 8:19–34. All creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God, groaning under corruption. The Spirit intercedes according to the will of God, so our words must line up with His will too. Those He called He also justified and glorified, so the pastor declares he is glorified now, not someday.

Then Paul asks what we shall say to these things. Not what we think, the pastor stresses, but what we say: if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son will freely give us all things. Christ died, rose and intercedes. With Psalm 1:3 and Isaiah 54:17, he declares, “I read the back of the book, I win.”

Made in God’s image, we can call those things that are not as though they were too. He closes by noting that nobody can even see the kingdom without being born again (John 3:3). The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give abundant life (John 10:10), and he leads everyone in a prayer of salvation.

Living Kingdom Faith This Week

Here are the practical steps drawn from this kingdom faith message:

• Find God’s will in writing. Read the Bible as His last will and testament and note the promises that apply to your situation.
• Check your words first. When problems come, listen to what you have been saying and replace idle or negative talk with words that build.
• Say what God says. Speak one promise aloud each day, such as being healed by His stripes or accepted in the Beloved, the way Abraham called himself a father of a multitude.
• Stay in your place of influence. If you hold any authority at work, at school or in your community, stand there and let the Holy Spirit flow through you.
• Answer Romans 8:31 out loud. When you are cast down or condemned, say: if God is for me, who can be against me?
• Take the one-year challenge. Make declaring God’s will a habit for a year and watch your marriage, family and work change.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 The great confession and God’s last will and testament
• 1:59 Translated into the kingdom of light
• 3:03 Learning how a kingdom functions
• 6:03 1 John 5:19: the world under the wicked one
• 9:37 Taking positions of authority
• 12:52 Stand, and your soul will not unravel
• 13:59 Words feed God: Ephesians 4:29
• 16:28 Romans 10: the righteousness of faith speaks
• 23:21 Samuel’s words did not fall to the ground
• 25:46 Children talk like their father
• 28:30 Job’s hedge and Jeremiah 1
• 30:47 I am watching over My word to perform it
• 32:57 Abram becomes Abraham
• 34:58 God’s storyboard: starting from the end
• 40:26 Declaring healing and Ephesians 1:3–6
• 44:56 1 Peter 1: redeemed from vain conversation
• 48:33 Job 22: declare a thing
• 58:21 Romans 8: creation waits
• 1:03:05 What shall we say to these things?
• 1:08:32 Born again and closing prayer

Kingdom Faith Series

This message is part of a six-part series at NTC Ministries:

• First message: Kingdom Faith: Calling Those Things That Are Not as Though They Were
• Previous: Kingdom Faith #4: Kings and Priests Who Already Have the Blessing
• You are here: Kingdom Faith #5: Calling Things That Are Not as Though They Were
• Next: Kingdom Faith #6: Calling Things That Are Not, and the Power of Your Words

Frequently Asked Questions

Is calling things that are not as though they were just positive thinking?

No. The pastor grounds it in what God has already declared, not in what a person wishes for. God planned everything from the end, before the foundation of the world, and His Word records that will. Speaking it is agreeing with Him, not inventing a new reality.

Can I still tell people about my problems?

Yes. The pastor says it does not mean you cannot share what you are going through or ask someone to pray for you. The danger is when the problem is all you speak about, because then it is dominating your life instead of love, faith and God. Share the need, then turn your words back to what God has promised.

How long does it take to see a change?

He admits it is harder to live than to preach, and that it takes time and work to make it a habit. His challenge is to stick with it for a year. He says that if you consistently apply it, by the end of that year your life, marriage, family, job or business will be different, better and increasing.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Romans 10:6–9 — the righteousness of faith speaks
• Jeremiah 1:4–12 — words to tear down and to build
• 1 John 5:19 — the world under the sway of the wicked one
• Ephesians 4:29 — words that edify
• Romans 4:17–18 — Abraham believed in hope
• Ephesians 1:3–6 — accepted in the Beloved
• Job 22:21–29 — declare a thing and it will be established
• Romans 8:19–34 — what shall we say to these things?

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

Watch More Messages

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