Speaking with Authority & Conviction (Faith)

Evelyn Monteiro • July 29, 2024

What made Jesus stand out?: He spoke with Authority & Conviction. It wasn’t just miracles – but it was the way He spoke that amazed people! Because He spoke the Word and it is the Word that lasts and changes lives!

Matthew 7:28-29 “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, not as their teachers of the law”.


Jesus gives the key: verse 24 “everyone who hears My word and puts them into practice is like a wise man building a house on a rock. The rain comes, winds blow, yet his house does not fall, because its foundation is on the rock” - you become someone who speaks with authority and power when you become a doer of the Word! When the Word is in you, part of you.  Don’t you want to be a vessel like that?


It’s not enough to just "know" scripture or use it to support your point. You must use it with authority! Because you have revelation! Without revelation there can be no change! Many people know what the Bible says but few have understanding.

 


The reason you want more Word in you as an instrument of God:

  • “alive, full of power, energizing, effective” Hebrews 4 – it changes and transforms you!
  • “exposes and judges thoughts and intentions” – Hebrews 4 – for yourself AND when you give someone scripture in season, it can deliver them!
  • “light to my path” & “gives understanding” – Psalm 119:105 – the Word gives solution to our problems, words of wisdom!
  • “all scripture is God-breathed” – 2 Timothy 3:16 – it’s an extension of God!
  • “brings correction, restoration to obedience, training in righteousness & equips you for your work” – 2 Timothy 3:17 – you become trained and equipped for your function, the more Word you have in you!
  • “sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” = it's a weapon! – using scripture with authority & faith is a weapon against satan! You can use it when praying for someone in bondage and over your own life! 


How To Get That Power In & Flowing Through You:

“let the Word of God have its home in you, dwell in you heart and your mind, permeating (saturating, consuming) every aspect of your being, as you teach spiritual things and admonish and train one another with wisdom” Colossians 3:16 – The Word must consume us!

- Meditate on it = you become a tree bearing fruit! (Psalm 1)

- Let it read YOU, not you, it! It must expose your heart issues! James 1:22-25 don’t read and forget

“prove yourselves doers of the word, actively and continually obeying it, not merely listeners who hear the word but fail to internalise its meaning.”

 James 1 – we must internalize what we read!

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I may not sin” – Psalm 119:11 

- You are storing up reserves so that on that moment God needs you, you are ready and prepared!


So many times, I’ve felt that I didn't know the Word. I would read it, pray it & remain faithful.  And then, suddenly, when I minister, when I needed it the most, the Holy Spirit brings to my remembrance and it changes lives! How powerful is a word in season!

More Word = More Power = More Authority!


Who are we if we don't have Word in us? Whose standards are we living by if not the standards according to the Word of God? The enemy wants us to be empty shells - no Word, no Revelation. Let's not give satan an opportunity to lie and deceive us. Let's get more Word in us and speak with Authority & Faith!


Pray with me: Holy Spirit, stir within me a hunger that cannot be filled! Stir within me a desire for the Word of God! Speak to me, reveal unto me, teach me and deliver me, through Your Word, I pray, in Jesus Name! Amen!


Evelyn Monteiro

What Does It Mean To "Count It All Joy"?

By Evelyn Monteiro • April 22, 2025
This is the piece of scripture that sounds crazy and impossible to do! Then again, God would not instruct us, what we would not be able to do! James 1:2-3 "Consider it nothing but joy, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith (through experience) produces endurance (leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace)." The word "joy" in this verse has a profound meaning: "joy in its highest form" and "every kind of joy". God expects us to have joy in its highest form when we face challenges! How is that possible?! This verse links with Phil 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in every situation, by prayer with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts". Do you see the similarities? We should not allow fear to overwhelm us when we face challenges. Fear steals our joy! We must find a reason to celebrate God, thank God, reflect on His goodness, even in challenging times! When we do that, the Bible says, we will experience peace that no logic can explain!

Strategy of Satan: Intimidation

By Evelyn Monteiro • April 7, 2025
When someone is intimidating you, it means, they are trying to scare you, terrorize you, make you subdued, discourage you, trying to dominate you and push you around. They are trying to twist your arm and pressurize you. Now, read this: 1 Pet 5:8 "be sober-minded. Your adversary the devil prowls around LIKE a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." He's not a lion, he's just intimidating. And yet, the Bible also says: Prov 28:1 "The wicked flee when no one pursues them, but the righteous ARE AS BOLD as a lion." The devil is like a predator: it waits when you are at your most vulnerable, most tired, most scared, to strike! This is the only reason the Bible says the devil is like a lion. But YOU are a lion! You should be bold and confident and brave, even when you face danger and intimidation! It's not sin be scared, but it becomes sin when you allow fear to control your emotions and dictate the decisions you make. Remember, Jesus was scared too! He was very scared in the Garden of Gethsemane, BUT He continued to obey His Father.

What does it mean to "cover" in prayer?

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 24, 2025
Have you ever heard of the phrase "cover" it in prayer? It's a biblical principle. The Biblical definition of "covering" means to "conceal" or "wrap" or "protect" and even "disguise". Wow! This means, that when you pray properly over something or someone, when you really cover it in prayer, you are actually wrapping it, protecting it, concealing it...from who? From the enemy! Because your enemy is an opportunist according to 1 Peter 5:8! The enemy doesn't want you to receive your healing, breakthrough, help, whatever it is you're praying for. This is why, we must COVER it properly so that the enemy can't get an opportunity to frustrate, delay or stop our breakthrough! We cover our various food items in the fridge. Have you ever wondered why we do it? The scientific reason behind it is so that one item doesn't contaminate the other items.

Are You Hard On Yourself?

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 11, 2025
If you are hard on yourself, you struggle with condemnation. What is condemnation: - you actually disapprove yourself - you see yourself as a failure - you are critical & judgmental, especially when you've made a mistake - self-hatred - carry guilt of the wrongs & disappointments you've experienced - have many regrets and think about them often - blame yourself whenever something does not go "according to plan" If Romans 8:1 says that there should be no condemnation for those of us who believe in Jesus, then why are we hard on ourselves? In fact, this verse in the Amplified says "no guilty verdict, no punishment for those who are in Christ Jesus". And yet, we are hard on ourselves.

The Trap Of Familiarity

By Evelyn Monteiro • March 3, 2025
Let me first explain what familiarity is: To be "familiar" with someone, means you are acquainted with, close to, buddies with, casual with, attached to, comfortable with. It means that they are your friend. This message is not saying you shouldn't have friends, but it is teaching you something to be weary of: satan uses those closest to us to attack us, too! We are familiar with those closest to us, it is why it hurts so much when the people who should have your back, turn their backs on you. Job had those closest to him, turn on him - his friends, even his wife! The comments they made, the "advice" they were giving him, was going to cost him his salvation in his most difficult time. He had a choice to make. He did not allow the familiarity to his friends and wife, to affect his walk of obedience to God. And that is what I am teaching you in this message. 

Spiritual Blindness

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 24, 2025
2 Corinthians 4:4 states that Satan, the god of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This verse proves that satan wants us to be spiritually blind. What does spiritual blindness look like? * being rebellious * lacking in discernment * hardness of heart * religiousness * pride When we don't deal with the above mentioned, we become spiritually blind. We struggle to see what is really going on in our hearts and lives. When we are spiritually blind, we don't have understanding and revelation. We may have knowledge, but there is no wisdom.

Is My Rebellion Hurting My Spouse?

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 17, 2025
None of us are excluded from this. Because none of us don't have rebellion. We have a sinful nature and that sinful nature, no matter how hard we try, sometimes still gets the better of us and those closest to us get the brunt of it - like our spouses. What is rebellion? Rebellion is everything we do that is opposite to the fruit of the Holy Spirit: hardness of heart, pride, stubbornness, anger, frustration, bitterness, anxiety, controlling behavior, selfishness and the like. All those behaviors that do not resemble Jesus' character, is our rebellious, sinful nature. Our actions, words and behaviors, affect our spouse. When we stress, when fear is in control, we say and do things in haste - Prov 19:2 warns us that when we act in haste, we will make mistakes. How many of your decisions made in haste did not affect your spouse negatively? Of course it did! What affects you, affects your spouse! What about going to be in anger? Eph 4:26-27 teaches us not to go to bed angry and hold on to anger and offense because we give the enemy an access point to our lives when we do that! How many times did you not forgive and went to bed angry?

Is Fear Affecting My Brain?

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 10, 2025
How much is fear affecting your actions and behavior right now? Fear is a filter. It affects how your brain perceives, how it receives messages, handles situations and circumstances. According to 1 John 4:18, fear is a mindset, we expect punishment and we can't understand God's love for us when we are consumed with fear. According to Rom12:2 our minds should be renewed so that we can discern God's will. But when we are consumed in our thoughts by fear, that's not possible. Phil 4:6-7 shows how fear and the mind affect one another: "do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything by prayer, continue to make your requests know to God. And the peace of God, will guard over your heart and MINDS." We should not be having fear control our minds. Fear should not be the deciding factor in making decisions. Fear should not be the driving force behind your functioning, strategizing, planning, discerning and executing instructions.

The Alabaster Jar

By Evelyn Monteiro • February 3, 2025
An alabaster jar was made of the alabaster stone to keep ointments, oils and perfumes in. It kept the oils and perfumes pure and unspoiled. In Matt 26:6-13 a woman anointed Jesus with perfume that was kept in such a jar. She had to break it. It was filled with very expensive perfume, equivalent to a year's wages. What happened? She got rebuked for doing it! In the most holy and vulnerable moment, she was being rebuked, not by unbelievers, but by the disciples themselves! But she did something that they did not understand. It took TOTAL commitment for her to have broken that jar with all that perfume inside, not knowing how Jesus would respond. But Jesus saw her heart. She gave her all, no matter what others would say. It pleased Jesus.

The Root Of Your Problem

By Evelyn Monteiro • January 27, 2025
Things don't just happen. We must not just accept things in life. We have to ask questions, we have to investigate. Many believers today blame God for their problems because they don't understand what is really going on. But with understanding there is clarity and wisdom. The Bible makes it clear to us that most of our troubles are actually spiritually rooted! That means that most of your current problems are actually because of sin, because of the evil that is stealing, killing and destroying. But we find ourselves trying to solve spiritual problems in the flesh and we wonder why they problem doesn't go away?! We wonder why our prayers have no effect. That's because we don't pray the ROOT of the problem.
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