Success Strategies From

Heaven

by

Keith Butler

Success Strategies From

Heaven

by

Keith Butler

HARRISON HOUSE

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken

from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified

Bible, New Testament. Copyright © 1958, 1987 by The Lockman

Foundation, La Habra, California. Used by permission.

Some Scripture quotations are taken from the New American

Standard Bible. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960,

1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by

permission.

2nd Printing

Success Strategies From Heaven

ISBN 0-89274-745-5

Copyright © 1995 by Keith Butler

P. O. Box 34546

Detroit, Michigan 48234

Published by Harrison House, Inc.

P. O. Box 35035

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153

Printed in the United States of America.

All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents

and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any

form without the express written consent of the Publisher.

Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1 You Shall Never Fall!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 Season Your Faith "Just Right". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

3 Having a Vital Knowledge of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

4 The Rock of Revelation Knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

5 Spiritual Intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

6 Put on Your Spiritual Track Shoes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

7 Pay Attention to This!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

8 It's Time to Go on With God!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Introduction

Let me ask you this question: Has there ever been a

time in your life when you have never stumbled or failed,

or never made a mistake?

I think your answer is obvious. At some point in our

lives we all have stumbled or failed. We all have made

mistakes and paid the price as a result.

The important thing to realize, though, is you don't

always have to be stumbling or falling.

Would you like to know how to never stumble or fall? I

believe you will learn how as you carefully read the pages

of this book.

What does the word never mean? Its definition is

simple: Never means never—not ever at any time! In other

words, it just will not happen.

In this study you will learn from God's Word how you

can avoid some pitfalls in your life.

Never stumble or fall is a phrase taken from the apostle

Peter's writings to the Church. This is a goal we can shoot

for: to be in the position where we never stumble or fall.

That's what Peter was talking about.

I had read this portion of Scripture probably

hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. I had preached it

many times. But then as I was reading it again, I saw it in a

way I had not seen it before: how we are to never stumble

or fall.

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Success Strategies From Heaven

When it dawned on me that there was something

available in the Word of God to teach me how to never

stumble or fall, I thought, I had better look at this again.

When I did, the Holy Spirit began to show me this truth

from God's Word.

As I share with you through the following pages, I

pray the Holy Spirit will open your understanding to this

truth, as He did mine.

8

1

You Shall Never Fall!

1

Our foundation text in this study is taken from the

Second Epistle of Peter, chapter 1. Let's look first at verse

10:

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to

make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these

things, ye shall never fall [or fail].

In The Amplified Bible the latter part of this verse says:

...make steadfast your calling and election; for if

you do this you will never stumble or fall.

In this epistle Peter was teaching God's people how to

never stumble or fall. He gave them some instructions and

then said, "If you take heed to these things—if you do

these things—you shall never fall!"

This is a goal we can reach for. We need to know the

things we can do that will cause us to never stumble, to

never fall. The answers are found right here in this chapter

of God's Word.

Look closer at this portion of Scripture and read the

verses leading up to verse 10. This gives us some idea,

some clue, of how it is that we will never stumble or fall.

"Like Precious Faith"

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Success Strategies From Heaven

Let's begin at the beginning:

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle [or special

messenger] of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained

like precious faith with us through the righteousness of

God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:1

From this verse we know that, as believers in the Lord

Jesus Christ, we have received like precious faith through

Him. We have been given the faith of God.

"Grace"

Grace... be multiplied unto you through the

knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2

Verse 2 in The Amplified Bible says:

May grace (God's favor)...be multiplied to you in

(the full, personal, precise and correct) knowledge of

God and of Jesus our Lord.

I want you to understand what Peter was saying here:

May grace (God's favor). .be multiplied to you. He was

praying for those believers and saying to them, "May

God's favor be yours."

We know then that grace means God's favor. Favor

allows us to do things that others cannot do. Let me give

you an example.

I have favor in my parent's house. I have been given

liberty there. I can unlock the door, walk straight to the

kitchen, open the refrigerator and help myself to whatever

I find to eat. I can do that without any fear of getting a 12-

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You Shall Never Fall!

gauge shotgun blast in my back.

But suppose a stranger sneaked into my parent's

house. If he opened the refrigerator and started fumbling

around for some food, he might be surprised at the result.

He will never receive the same kind of favor that I receive.

That's what favor is.

When God gives us favor, we are really blessed! With

godly favor, we receive favor from both God and man.

Then comes peace.

"Peace"

Let's look at verse 2 again from The Amplified Bible.

Besides grace, Peter was praying that the Church know

God's peace. The description of peace is given in this

verse:

May grace (God's favor) and peace, (which is

perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual

prosperity and freedom from fears and agitating

passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you.

We see here that peace has a sixfold definition: perfect

well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity,

freedom from fear, deliverance from agitating passions

and deliverance from all moral conflicts.

Included in this peace is the freedom from fear— all

fear.

Think of all the fears you could be experiencing these

days: fear of crime, fear of failure, fear of sickness and

disease, fear of financial loss, fear of dying young, fear of

losing your loved ones, fear that something bad will

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Success Strategies From Heaven

happen to you.

This one verse covers any area of fear you can

imagine.

Peter was praying that God's people be set free from

all fears. He wanted them to be free from agitating

passions—passions of the flesh, things the body craves

and desires. He wanted them to be free from moral

conflicts. When you are without those conflicts, you can

know God's way and be able to function and operate in it.

"Knowledge"

In verse 2 Peter was pronouncing a blessing upon

God's people. Let's look at it again:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord (KJV).

May grace (God's favor) and peace...be multiplied

to you in (the full, personal, precise and correct)

knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (AMP).

We know the New Testament was written originally in

Greek, and there are several Greek renderings for the

word knowledge. We will look at two Greek words found

in this chapter.

The Greek word in verse 2 translated "knowledge" is

epignosis, which means a full and exact knowledge.1

The key here is gaining epignosis—that full, complete

and exact knowledge of God; coming to know His

character, what He has done for you, what He has put in

1 James H. Strong. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Compact Ed. (Grand Rapids:

Baker, 1992), "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," p. 31, #1922.

12

You Shall Never Fall!

you. The more you learn about God and Jesus, the more

you will be kept from stumbling or falling.

The apostle Peter prayed that the Church might have

the full, complete, exact knowledge of God and of the

Lord Jesus Christ. He prayed that because he knew

knowledge was the key to victory.

You need to realize that epignosis—exact knowledge—

is the key to victory in your life, too.

Peter was saying to the Church: "In order for you to

neither stumble nor fall, you need to have the epignosis—

the full, complete, exact knowledge of God and of Jesus

our Lord.

"All Things That Pertain Unto Life and

Godliness"

Continuing in this passage of Scripture, we read:

According as his divine power hath given unto us all

things that pertain unto life and godliness.

2 Peter 1:3

In The Amplified Bible this verse says:

For His divine power has bestowed upon us all

things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness.

In this verse the word all is a key. All means God has

given us everything. It says we have been given all things

that pertain unto life and godliness.

The New American Standard Bible says it this way:

...seeing that His divine power has granted to us

everything pertaining to life and godliness.

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Success Strategies From Heaven

Through His divine power, God has given us

everything so that we might be able to win in this life. He

has given us a promise in His Word for enough

supernatural ability to bring about victory.

"More Knowledge"

We receive everything pertaining to life and godliness

through knowledge, but not through knowledge alone. In

verse 3 Peter goes on to say:

...through the knowledge of him that hath called

us to glory and virtue.

In The Amplified Bible it says:

...through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him

Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence

(virtue).

In the New American Standard Bible it says:

...through the true knowledge of Him who called

us by His own glory and excellence.

In other words, the more you know and understand

the Lord Jesus and have a closer rapport with Him, the

easier it will be for you to receive the promises that are

available in this life.

God has given you a promise in His Word for power

through the knowledge of Him so that you will be able to

exercise victory in every area of your life. That means

having victory at home with your spouse. It means raising

your children the way God commands in His Word. It

means knowing how to handle your financial affairs.

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You Shall Never Fall!

No matter what you may have to deal with in this life,

God has provided victory for you in advance. That victory

comes through the epignosis.

The Greek word for "knowledge" in verse 3 is also

epignosis. All things that pertain unto life and godliness

come through the exact, full knowledge of God—His

character, Who He is, what He has done for you.

This means having knowledge of God the Father as

Jehovah the Lord. You need to know about Jehovah. In the

Hebrew He is given several names, such as Jehovah-Jireh,

Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, Jehovah-Nissi. The

more knowledge you receive of Him, the more you will be

able to walk in His blessing. That's why knowledge is

power.

"Escaping the World's Corruption"

Peter goes on in verse 4 to say:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and

precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that

is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:4

As believers, we accept all that Jesus has done for us:

He died on the cross, took sin in our place and rose

triumphantly from the grave, having defeated the power

of sin and Satan. When we receive all He did for us, we

become partakers of His divine nature. Then we are able

to escape all the corruption that is going on in the world

around us.

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Success Strategies From Heaven

People are being destroyed throughout the world

today. We can see and hear what is happening by

watching and listening to news reports.

AIDS has become one of the top news subjects. In one

African country, a third of all adults has been infected with

the AIDS virus. That means one out of three persons in that

country has the virus. As a result, millions of children are

being orphaned as their parents are dying of that disease.

AIDS is one way in which the world is being

destroyed, and it has come about because of the lust of the

flesh.

But God does not intend for His people to be

destroyed with the world.

The Amplified Bible says it this way:

By means of these (referring to those promises) He

has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great

promises, so that through them you may escape (by

flight) from the moral decay (rottenness and

corruption) that is in the world because of

covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers

(partakers) of the divine nature.

2 Peter 1:4 AMP

You see, the whole world is filled with covetousness,

lust and corruption. It is decaying.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,

and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of

the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16

Believers can be caught up in that corruption: the lust,

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You Shall Never Fall!

the greed, the power. They can be destroyed with the

world unless they are able to escape.

God did not intend for the Church to be destroyed

along with the world. He planned an escape for us.

There is only one way to escape the world's corruption

(lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life and all the

greed in our world today). That way of escape is through

the epig nosis—the exact, full, complete knowledge of God

the Father and of Jesus Christ, His Son.

Our escape from that corruption is based upon our

really knowing the Lord and being in the position to

receive His promises.

Learn Your Background

As you learn more and more about your heavenly

Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, you will better

understand His promises. And the more you know God

and understand His promises, the more you will be able to

see yourself as you really are—in Him.

That's also true regarding your life here on earth. By

understanding your father and mother—their

characteristics, their habits, their beliefs—you are better

able to understand yourself. The more you learn about

what is inside them, the more you can understand about

the things they put in you that determine how you act.

It's amazing how some people's lives have been

changed as a result of their situation. They may have

difficulty really knowing who they are because they don't

really know and understand their family background.

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Success Strategies From Heaven

A child can be abandoned by its real parents and

adopted by another couple. Though brought up in love by

the adoptive parents, the child will still have questions

about the past. Often, as an adult, that person will then go

looking for information about his or her real parents.

Such people are searching to find out who they really

are. By learning the truth—whether good or bad—they get

insight into their past, and that seems to shape their

behavior. It's amazing how attitudes can be changed once

people find out about their background and learn who

they really are.

The same is true in the spiritual world. You need to

learn about your heavenly Father, the spiritual Daddy

from Whom you were born, and about His Son, Jesus

Christ. The more you learn, the more insight you will

receive regarding how you see yourself spiritually.

That epignosis will change the way you walk, the way

you talk, the way you look at yourself. You will begin

saying to yourself, I have power to do whatever my heavenly

Father said, because my Daddy is number one! You will realize

how all that your Father has is in you!

I have the attributes of my father and mother. I was

raised by them, and they are in me. I look like them, act

like them, think like them.

The same is true of my children. Sometimes I know just

what my kids are thinking and what they are going to do,

even before they do it. That's because when I look at them,

I see myself. They seem always to be trying to pull the

same maneuvers on me that I tried to pull on my mom

and dad. My kids use the same tactics I did, because they

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You Shall Never Fall!

have my genes in them!

So, being able to escape the corruption that is in the

world through lust comes from having the knowledge of

God—the epignosis.

Now if that is the only way you can escape being

destroyed with the world, it would seem to me you would

spend more time in the Word of God trying to get that

knowledge.

Diligently Add to Your Faith

Let's go on to the next verse:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your

faith.

2 Peter 1:5

This verse is saying, "Besides this—having already

received His great and precious promises, being a

partaker of His divine nature and escaping the corruption

in the world through lust—give all diligence and add to

your faith."

Notice it says, Add to your faith.

The word faith in this verse does not mean your

religious affiliation—whether Catholic, Baptist, Methodist,

Episcopalian, or some other denomination. When born

again, every believer has been given the measure of the

God-kind of faith—the ability to believe His promises and

appropriate them in this life.

There has been much teaching in the Body of Christ on

the subject of faith. Sermons have been preached on how

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Success Strategies From Heaven

there is great faith, little faith, strong faith, weak faith.

You may know and understand this subject, but you

need to realize that operating in faith alone is not enough.

Understanding that you have the faith of God and

knowing how to walk in strong faith is not enough.

Faith is important; it is the bedrock, the basis of our

walk with God. God's Word says that without faith it is

impossible to please God. (Heb. 11:6.)

But walking by faith alone is not enough. It takes more

than just believing God for things. You can operate in faith

and still stumble and fall. To be in a position to obtain the

goal of never stumbling or falling, you need to add to your

faith.

There are seven characteristics given in God's Word

that must be added to your faith for you to be an

individual who is not tricked by the enemy. Let's take a

look at these characteristics.

20

2

Season Your Faith "Just Right"

2

There are seven ingredients which, when added to

your faith, will cause you to never stumble and never fall.

Let's look at these verses from Second Peter:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your

faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance

patience; and to patience godliness;

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to

brotherly kindness charity [or love].

For if these things be in you, and abound, they

make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and

cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was

purged from his old sins.

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to

make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these

things, ye shall never [AMP: stumble or] fall.

2 Peter 1:5-10

Let's read a portion of these verses from The Amplified

Bible

...adding your diligence [to the divine promises],

employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop

virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy); and in

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Success Strategies From Heaven

[exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),

And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-

control; and in [exercising] self-control [develop]

steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in

[exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),

And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly

affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection

[develop] Christian love.

2 Peter 1:5-7 AMP

By exercising our faith we can develop these seven

characteristics: virtue, knowledge, self-control,

steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and Christian

love.

As we have read from the King James Version, verse 5

says:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your

faith.

These seven attributes must be added to the faith of

God. Do you have the faith of God, or the God-kind of

faith? That's what Jesus said we are to have. (Mark 11:22.)

Add Some Seasoning

Although you have been given that God-kind of faith,

you have to add some seasoning to your faith. Faith just

does not "taste right" until certain seasonings have been

added to it.

Think of it like you would fried chicken. Now I

happen to love fried chicken. But people season their

chicken in different ways. The best-tasting fried chicken

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

must have the proper amount of seasoning. After tasting

some chicken, I just know some flavoring is missing. It

needs a little help!

The same thing is true with our faith. There are seven

seasonings that need to be added to make the "chicken of

faith" taste right. Let's take a look at these attributes, one

by one.

Virtue

Number 1: Add to your faith virtue.

I see virtue being like the hot sauce of faith. Chicken

just does not taste right to me unless I can add some hot

sauce to it! Some folks say I don't really know what

chicken tastes like because I am always smothering it in

hot sauce. But I don't want to know what chicken tastes

like without that hot sauce!

The word virtue in the Greek means moral goodness,

moral excellence.1 In other words, it is saying you are to

add morality to your faith.

You can believe God and have the faith to move

mountains and speak the Word only; but if, at the same

time, you are living an immoral life, you will stumble and

fall, even with all your faith!

You can be a great giant of faith, who is able to believe

God for healing, prosperity and all sorts of things. But you

will still stumble and fall unless you are living a morally

excellent life.

1 W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr. Vine's Complete Expository

Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985), p.

661.

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Do you know what morals are? I remember some

words of Kenneth Hagin at Rhema Bible Training Center

in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He said, "Some people have the

morals of a back-alley cat."

People can sit in church and soak up the Word of God,

then go out into the world and soak up something else.

If you are moral, you won't get AIDS. If you are living

morally, you won't wind up in jail. If morality really means

something to you, you will live accordingly.

Being moral means following the law.

What law? God's law.

Sexual Immorality

God's law says a man and woman don't have sex

unless they are married to each other. They have no

business getting themselves into a predicament.

According to today's world, this kind of thinking is just

old-fashioned. But to me it's still right!

These days the word love is being used too freely.

Guys are saying things to their girlfriends like: "I really

love you, baby! And if you love me, you'll prove your love

by giving yourself to me."

But real love always has commitment to it. If there is

no commitment, then it's not really love; it's just lust.

Remember, as we read in Second Peter 1:4, we have to

escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is so much corruption in the world today. Sexual

diseases are running rampant, unwanted babies are being

born every day, and millions of other babies have been

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

aborted—killed! People are refusing to live in moral

excellence, and because of that, we are seeing our whole

nation stumbling and falling!

Stealing

By adding to your faith virtue, or moral excellence,

you won't be stealing from others.

Today people are stealing from their own churches.

They grab money out of the cash register in their church

bookstore, or steal microphones and other equipment

from their sanctuary. Then the next Sunday morning they

sit in church and put on a front, looking so pious and

religious.

All I would say to such a person is, "You're going to

hell! You will stumble or fall, and you will be exposed!

You had better give back what you have stolen, because it

can cost you your life!"

Now if you want to keep from stumbling or falling,

you need to be adding that moral excellence to your faith.

You can be believing God, but you need to be living right,

too.

You may say you want to believe God for financial

blessings. If so, then make sure you are not stealing from

your employer. You must be giving an honest day's work

for an honest day's pay. If you have not worked honestly,

then you should give back all that money you didn't work

for!

You may be able to believe God for everything in the

world, but unless you have moral excellence, you will fall

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Success Strategies From Heaven

flat on your face.

So, add that virtue, or moral excellence, to your faith,

because your faith is not enough. You have to be living

right! You can be believing God for things, yet still not be

living your life as morally as you ought. God wants

holiness from His people.

Morality—all boundaries of morality—is something

our society has lost. These days anything and everything

goes, no matter what it is. No one is supposed to question

what is happening around them or say anything against it.

We are not supposed to talk anymore about what is moral

or immoral. Those of us with morality are told to shut our

mouths, that somehow we are prudish and old-fashioned

and dumb to believe in some form of basic morality.

Well, I'm not about to shut my mouth, and neither

should you! It seems to me we have kept our mouths shut

for too long while all kinds of filthiness have been going

on around us.

So remember: as a believer, you need to add virtue, or

morality, to your faith. (How's that for really putting on

the hot sauce? I'm smothering that "chicken" with it!)

Knowledge

Number 2: Add to virtue knowledge.

As we learned earlier, the Greek word for

"knowledge" in Second Peter 1:2,3 is epignosis. But in verse

5 the Greek word translated "knowledge" is gnosis2.

Greek is a very expressive language. The same word

2 Strong, "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," p. 20, #1108.

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

as translated in English can have different meanings. Let's

look at the word love, for instance.

In the English language when we say, "I love you," the

word love covers everything. We could be saying, "I love

cats, I love dogs, I love chicken and I love you." The one

word love is used regarding all the different kinds of love.

But in the Greek language there are different words

meaning "love." For instance, we could say, "I agape you3, "

meaning to love with the God-kind of love, or "I phileo4

you," meaning to love as a friend.

The same is true with the word knowledge. In verse 5 it

says:

...add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.

Now I like how The Amplified Bible renders verse 5. It

says:

For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the

divine promises], employ every effort in exercising

your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution,

Christian energy); and in [exercising] virtue [develop]

knowledge (intelligence).

The Greek word for knowledge, gnosis, means

primarily a seeking to know, an inquiry, an investigation,

particularly of spiritual truth.5

You are to add to your faith inquiry and investigation,

a seeking to know. Seeking who? Seeking God and His

Word—questioning Him to find out His will and

3 Ibid., p. 7, #26.

4 Ibid., p. 75, #5368.

5 W. E. Vine. Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. (Old Tappan: Fleming H.

Revell, 1940) Vol. II, p. 301, "gnosis."

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direction. Not only must you be an individual who can

walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), but you must

always be inquiring to learn more about the things of God.

You should never take the position of saying, "I'm

God's man [or woman] of faith and power, and I know it

all!"

When you are hearing someone preach on a particular

subject, you may think you already know enough about it.

So instead of listening to what is being said, your mind

goes off in some other direction. But you need to shut off

your mind and open your spirit to receive from the Lord.

Listen to the Holy Ghost and let Him teach you.

You should be seeking to know the will of God and

then believing Him for what He wants you to do. In fact, it

is much easier to exercise your faith when you have

inquired of the Lord and have come to know His will.

Then there will be no doubt whatsoever and you will have

no problem believing God in that area. You will get results

every time.

Verse 5 is saying, "Add gnosis—investigation, inquiry,

intelligence." You are doing the intelligent thing by

choosing to get into God's Word.

You should be seeking more knowledge from the Lord

about a matter. God's Word says, Seek ye the Lord, while

he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isa.

55:6). Jesus tells us, But seek ye first the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness; and all these things shall be

added unto you (Matt. 6:33).

You are to add to your faith, but don't just be believing

God for things.

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You may ask God, "What should I be believing You

for?" But before getting an answer, you decide what you

will use your faith for. God has given you faith, but He

wants you to ask Him how to use it and then wait for His

direction.

You may be using your faith to believe Him for things

you need, things you want. But just because you want

something does not mean you need it. Find out first if it is

something you should be believing God for. If you always

got everything you wanted, your faith could be

shipwrecked. Some people cannot handle certain things,

and there are some things people just don't need.

Suppose somebody gave you a fifty-foot cabin cruiser.

You might begin spending time out on your boat Sunday

mornings, instead of sitting in church and hearing the

Word of God. You don't need that distraction.

Instead of always using your faith to believe God for a

new car, a new house or more money, you need to use

your faith and believe God to be operating in the

knowledge of God.

God wants you to use your faith to believe for things

He wants done for other people.

When your faith is used to give to others and help

meet their needs, the principle of God's Word applies.

Then you can know it will be given back to you, good

measure, pressed down, shaken together and running

over. That's what Jesus said in Luke 6:38.

It's time for God's people to go to a higher level, to a

higher calling.

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Success Strategies From Heaven

It's time for us to walk in the vision God has given us

to spread the Gospel to the world.

It's time for us to care that millions of people are going

to hell without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

It's time that we look beyond the circumference of our

own houses and cars and fine clothes. There is nothing

wrong with these things; God wants His people to be

blessed—and we are His children—but He wants us to

look past our own borders. We have to forget about our

own program and start looking to His program.

Seeking more knowledge of God and His desires will

help to accomplish His will in our lives.

Temperance

Number 3: Add to knowledge temperance.

In The Amplified Bible verse 6 says:

And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-

control.

Notice the word temperance means self-control, not

God-control.

People pray for God to control them, saying, "God, I

want You to do this for me so I won't sin." But they don't

need God-control; they need some self- control.

God is saying, "You use your faith to exercise self-

control." You need to believe God in what He has put

inside you.

Remember God's Word says, . .work out your own

salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

worketh in you both to will and to do of his good

pleasure (Phil. 2:12). God has put in you the ability, the

power, the resolve to walk free from any sin, any lust of

the flesh, any fear. But for it to come to pass, you must

believe Him.

Exercise Self-Control

Now this is something we really need to do regarding

a whole range of issues. For instance, we need to exercise

self-control over our budget.

So often, people making $100 a week will spend $102

every week. If that includes you, then you are out of

control! You need self-control. God cannot use you the

way He wants to if you are bound up in debt. Start

believing God to reign in your appetite for buying

everything new that comes along!

God wants His people to be able to bless His Church

so that His work can be done. He wants you giving money

to the poor. When you do, He will give back to you—with

interest! But you cannot do God's bidding if you have not

exercised any self-control over your budget.

Or maybe you are not exercising self-control over your

body. Maybe you are eating consistently—all day and all

night! By letting your body get out of control where food

is concerned, the power of God will not be able to work in

you as it should!

This is why the Bible says: What? know ye not that

your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in

you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For

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Success Strategies From Heaven

ye are bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19,20).

God is saying, "That's My body you are living in, and I

want you to exercise some control over it."

Why does God care about that? Because there is a

correlation between flowing in the Spirit and having self-

control of the body.

When you learn to control your body, you can then

use it to control everything else. So start exercising some

self-control! God gave us a brain so we would use it.

Now in exercising self-control, there are some things

we should not do. We should have enough sense not to

put ourselves in the wrong position.

Why would extremely overweight people always be

driving by a Dairy Queen on a hot summer day? They

should be taking a different route.

Why would a single guy, who is supposed to be

believing God, have to take cold showers to keep himself

in line sexually? If that's his problem, he shouldn't be

going to see R-rated movies. By putting himself in that

position, he is just asking for trouble. Then he complains

to his pastor that he can't control himself. He needs to

begin exercising some self-control!

Why would a lady with a weakness for buying new

dresses keep going into all those fancy and expensive

dress shops? You might say, "I'm just looking because I

like to shop." If that's really a problem, you had better get

yourself out of there!

Peter was saying, "For you to keep from stumbling or

falling, you must add some self-control to your faith and

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

exercise that self-control!" In other words, "Use your brain!"

God gave you a brain—not just so you would have

something to slosh around inside your skull, but so you

would have some brainpower to use. So start using it!

You won't stumble or fall when you can control

yourself, your mouth and your actions. Peter would not

have told you to add self-control to your faith unless you

had the ability to do it. Yes, you can learn to control

yourself. It can be done!

Patience

Number 4: Add to temperance patience.

Patience certainly is a virtue. It is learning how to wait

on God.

In The Amplified Bible, verse 6 says:

...and in [exercising] self-control [develop]

steadfastness (patience, endurance).

Patience means steadfastness, endurance,

perseverance. Through patience you learn how to be

steadfast, how to be unmoved, how to endure over a

sustained period of time, how to persevere and keep on

going, even through hard times.

These days we want everything in a hurry. We want it

right now! After believing God for two months, we think

that's long enough, that whatever we have been believing

for should be manifested—now! But in the Word of God

we can see how people believed God for years before

certain things came to pass.

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By adding to your faith some patience, endurance and

steadfastness, you will learn how to never give up.

Godliness

Number 5: Add to patience godliness.

Godliness is holiness. This does not mean just living

morally according to the world's standards and the basic

standards of the Bible. It means living holy before God,

walking in supernatural holiness. In other words, it is

God-likeness, or being like God.

Did you know that you can walk in that supernatural

holiness?

You should add to your faith these God-like qualities:

act like God acts, talk like God talks and think the way

God thinks, as He has taught us in His Word. This comes

as our mind is being renewed.

In God's Word we are told to:

...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,

acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye

transformed by the renewing [Greek: renovation6] of

your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and

acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1,2

As you learn to think the way God thinks by spending

time in His Word and beginning to think His way, you

will strip off all the old ways you were taught to think.

6 Ibid., p. 11, #342.

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Now you cannot add these God-like qualities to your

faith if you do not spend enough time in His Word. You

must have the full, exact knowledge of God to find out

what all these God-like qualities are.

That's the intent of faith. God is saying, "I have given

you this great faith. Now add the seasoning of godliness."

So, begin using your faith now to walk in holiness.

Brotherly Kindness

Number 6: Add to godliness brotherly kindness.

Verse 7, once again in The Amplified Bible, says it this

way:

And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly

affection.

You are to add brotherly affection or kindness to your

faith. Make sure you find a way to do good to your

brothers and sisters in Christ. Add affection for the saints:

love them, help them, bless them.

Galatians 6:10 reads:

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good

unto all men, especially unto them who are of the

household of faith.

This is saying, "Do good to everybody, but take special

care to help all those who are saved."

The Amplified Bible renders it this way:

So then, as occasion and opportunity open to us,

let us do good (morally) to all people [not only being

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Success Strategies From Heaven

useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for

their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a

blessing, especially to those of the household of faith

—those who belong to God's family with you, the

believers.

God cares about all people. But His Word says those

who are saved should be more of a family to you than

those who happen to share your bloodline and the same

last name.

God is saying, "Especially do good to other Christians."

When God looks at "the family," He is not looking at the

bloodline based on the way we look at it. He sees "the

family" as those who are in Christ.

If we are supposed to operate by faith and in the Word

of God, how could one Christian take advantage of

another? How could one overcharge another? How could

one commit to do a job for another and then not finish that

work? How could any Christians do wrong to their

brothers and sisters in Christ?

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are our real family.

Thank God for relatives. Most of my relatives are born

again (and I praise God for that!), but I am believing God

for the rest of them. Maybe you too have some relatives

that are not saved. Did you know God expects us to do

better to fellow Christians than to our unsaved relatives?

From God's perspective, if we do wrong to another

Christian, we are doing wrong to Him! He takes a

personal affront whenever we do wrong to another born-

again believer. He said, Let us do good. .especially unto

them who are of the household of faith.

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

So be sure you are doing good to your brothers and

sisters in the Lord. When you say to another believer, "I

love you in Jesus' name," you should not just say it; you

should do it by showing love to that believer.

We are to be the most considerate toward other

believers.

Let's say a handicapped person or senior citizen comes

in late to a church service. That person should not have to

hunt for a place to sit. So what if he or she should have

been there earlier? It is still our responsibility to do good

to that person. An outside seat on a row toward the front

of the sanctuary should be offered quickly. We should

want to do good to the household of faith.

Suppose so many people are attending a service that

all the seats are taken and some are standing, as happens

sometimes in our church. Men ought to value their born-

again sisters enough to offer them their seats. So what if a

lady comes in late when she should have been on time?

Some gentleman should get up immediately and offer his

seat!

I believe, too, that it is good for boys, while they are

still boys, to learn how to act toward ladies. Then they will

already know it when they are grown. My son knows to

open doors for the ladies. Not because the ladies could not

do it themselves. I know they are liberated. I know they

are strong. This has nothing to do with them being

liberated or strong; it has to do with the fact that they are

our sisters in the Lord and we want to honor them!

I remember the first time I took my wife out on a date.

When I drove her home and stopped in front of her house,

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Success Strategies From Heaven

she immediately opened the car door to get out. I said,

"Don't you open that door!" Then I got out, walked around

to her side and opened it for her.

Deborah looked at me in shock. She had never in her

life seen a man act like that. She couldn't believe I was for

real. But she liked what she saw!

So God's Word is saying, "Add brotherly kindness to

your faith, especially being sure that you take care of those

in the household of faith."

Charity, or Love

There is one more addition to our faith:

Number 7: Add to brotherly kindness charity.

...and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop]

Christian love.

2 Peter 1:7 AMP

This charity, or Christian love, is the God-kind of love.

The Greek word here is agape7, the God-quality of love, the

kind of love God functions in. That love is unselfish love,

the kind of love that always operates in forgiveness. You

find it described in First Corinthians, chapter 13.

The God-kind of love is not dependent on feelings,

saying, "I will love you if you treat me good." Instead it

says, "I will love you regardless of what you do." That's

the way God is. If He didn't love us like that, we would be

in big trouble!

We all have messed up somewhere in our lives. We

have committed spiritual adultery against God, seeking

7 Ibid., p. 7, #26.

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

first after other things instead of Him. But He continued

loving us, regardless of what we had done.

God is saying, "To be like Me, you must add that kind

of love to your faith."

What is God? He is love. He is peace. He is joy. He is

holy. These are God-like qualities that should be added to

our faith.

Some people know how to confess God's Word. By

learning Scriptures like Mark 11:23, they know how to

speak against mountains and see them removed. But they

will stumble and fall if there is no real love—God's love—

functioning in their lives. The Word of God tells us that

faith works, or operates, by love. (Gal. 5:6.)

Love is the ultimate God-like quality.

You add this God-like quality of love to your faith, and

you will begin believing God for others instead of

yourself.

You will be believing God to save the lost instead of

spending all your time praying for God to take care of

your own needs. You will care about people being saved.

You will care about the work of the Lord being done,

because the work of the Lord is to help others.

You will care not just in your heart but in your actions.

You will believe God for food to give to the homeless, for

clothes to give to the naked. You will believe Him to help

you have time to visit the sick. You will believe Him for

money to give into His work so that others may be saved.

You will care about what's happening in all the cities of

America, and you will want to see His ministry spread

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Success Strategies From Heaven

throughout the globe!

These Things Should Abound in You

After listing these seven ingredients to be added to our

faith, the apostle Peter said:

For if these things be in you, and abound... (v. 8).

The word if is important in this verse. You see, this is

not just automatic. Peter had said in verse 5, Add to your

faith. The understood subject of that sentence is you. He

was saying, "You add it. You make sure this happens. You

concentrate on this."

Then he says, If these things be in you, and abound. .

These things should be growing and developing in you.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they

make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:8

Here is an important point in this verse: that we

neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our

Lord Jesus Christ.

Then Peter goes on in verse 9 to say:

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and

cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was

purged from his old sins.

The Amplified Bible says it this way:

For whoever lacks these qualities is blind,

[spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to

him [In other words, he can't see the forest for the

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Season Your Faith "Just Right"

trees!]; and has become oblivious [of the fact] that he

was cleansed from his old sins.

If you don't add these qualities to your faith, you won't

be able to keep from sinning. But when you add them to

your faith, you will never stumble and never fall.

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Having a Vital Knowledge of God

3

Let's look again at a portion of Scripture from Second

Peter:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.

2 Peter 1:2

Grace and peace be what? Be multiplied!

Multiplication is much better than addition. We know

that 2 plus 2 is 4, and 4 plus 4 is 8. But in multiplication, 4

times 4 is 16. We can double and triple quickly when we

start to multiply!

In this verse you can read how God's grace and peace

are being multiplied unto you; but unless you really know

God, you will not know about His grace and peace.

Let's look at this verse from The Amplified Bible. It gives

six definitions for the word peace. See if you have need of

these six things:

May grace (God's favor) and peace, (which is perfect

well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual

prosperity and freedom from fears and agitating

passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you.

2 Peter 1:2 AMP

Again, the six definitions of peace listed here are:

#1 perfect well-being

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Success Strategies From Heaven

#2 all necessary good

#3 all spiritual prosperity

#4 freedom from fears

#5 freedom from agitating passions

#6 freedom from moral conflict

Let's consider some of these definitions of peace.

Freedom From Fear

As was mentioned previously in this study, God's

peace gives you freedom from all fears.

This would be of great concern to people full of fear.

Fear seems to consume so many areas of their lives. They

live with fear of failure, fear of getting hurt, fear of being

rejected, fear of hunger, fear that their children won't

succeed, fear that they are not smart enough, fear of being

left alone all the days of their lives. (There may be other

kinds of fear that come to your mind.)

The apostle Peter was saying to the Church, "May

God's peace and freedom from that fear be multiplied to

you through the epignosis—the exact, full knowledge of

God and of Jesus our Lord."

Now remember what we read in verse 8:

If these things be in you, and abound, they make

you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in

the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

With the words these things here in verse 8, Peter was

referring to the seven characteristics he had listed

previously in verses 5-7. When these things are added to

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Having a Vital Knowledge of God

your faith—when they are in you, and abound—you will

bring forth fruit as you come to know more and more

about the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have been fearful, you can now experience the

freedom from those fears. It is available to you because, as

verse 8 says, it has been multiplied unto you through the

knowledge of God. This aspect of God's peace will help to

keep you from never stumbling or falling.

Perfect Well-being

How about perfect well-being as a definition of

peace? Think of this also being multiplied unto you.

With perfect well-being, you can really be in peace, no

matter what may be going on around you. The economy

can be bad. People can be killing people. Some crazy

things can be going on in your neighborhood. But

regardless of all the bad things happening around you, by

living in Jesus you can keep a smile on your face. Now

that's having perfect well-being!

With this perfect well-being you can be at peace with

yourself. That peace is multiplied to you through the

knowledge of God the Father and of Jesus our Lord.

Freedom From Agitating Passions

This aspect of peace makes you able to control your

temper.

Temper makes the blood pressure go up. It gets people

into trouble, making them say things they should never

have said and do things they should never have done.

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Later they wonder, Why in the world did I do and say those

things? But they were angry because of those agitating

passions.

There are a variety of agitating passions, and maybe

you can think of some other area. But regardless of the

kind you have had to deal with, you can have the peace of

God. It has been multiplied unto you through the exact,

full knowledge of the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ.

These Things Should Abound in You

I want us to take another look at Second Peter 1:8,

which says:

For if these things be in you....

The word if here tells us it is possible for these things

not to be functioning in us.

These things will not automatically develop and

manifest in you. There is a decision you must make.

It is not enough that you have only a portion of these

things. You cannot just walk a little bit in love, a little bit

in self-control and kindness, a little bit in holiness and

moral excellence. Verse 8 says:

For if these things be in you, and abound.. .

If these things are abounding in you, it means they are

growing by leaps and bounds.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they

make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:8

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Having a Vital Knowledge of God

Peter could have said, "If these things be in you and

abound, then you will be blessed from head to toe." But

that's not what he said! He was saying, "If all these things

are abounding in you, you shall not be barren or

unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus."

The big prize is having the knowledge of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

After you have added all seven of those ingredients to

your faith, you will reach the place where they abound.

Then you will have that knowledge— epignosis—the exact,

full knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the key

thing. Remember what we read in verse 2:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

Having real knowledge—either of God or of another

person—is vital.

How You Learn About Someone

If you want to really learn about another person, there

are four areas you should know about that person.

As an example, let's consider a single person who is

thinking seriously about marriage. Maybe this fits your

situation right now. If so, learning these four areas about

the person you want to marry would help you to make

sure that is the right person for you.

Knowing the History

First of all, you would want to find out the history of

that person. You especially would want to know the

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health history, considering the problems people face these

days. You also would want to know the financial history.

Having done some post-marital counseling, I have

heard some interesting stories. In one situation, the wife

found out her husband had been through three

bankruptcies and was still $100,000 in debt. The only

problem was, he did not tell her about it until after they

were married! That man is the product of what has

happened in his life.

At least by understanding an individual's history, you

can better understand the person.

Knowing That Person's Culture

Secondly, you need to have an understanding of that

person's culture—where he [or she] was raised and the

kind of people he grew up around. Culture matters. It

matters at least in being able to understand the individual

you are thinking seriously about marrying. Cultural

differences can collide if you don't understand why.

For instance, the cultures between a small family and a

large family are quite different. My wife and I have

known personally a real cultural difference in this way.

Deborah comes from a large family; she has nine

brothers and three sisters. Now that's large! Big families

like that must have lots of fun. Besides, nobody would

ever mess with her, knowing she had nine brothers to take

her side!

On the other hand, I was raised in a small family. I am

the oldest of three.

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My mama was a housewife until I was fourteen or

fifteen years old. Every evening she served a complete

dinner. I remember how when our dad came home from

work, the table was already set. When we heard him drive

up, we ran to the table and waited until he took his place

there. Then Mama served the meal. I was really blessed to

be raised in that kind of culture. Today families just don't

live like that, but that's how it was with us.

With this in mind, you can see how Deborah and I

were raised differently.

When we first got married, I saw things based on my

cultural background, so I expected dinner to be the way

my mama did it. When I came home from work and

turned in the driveway, I expected there to be a formal

place setting at the table like I had been accustomed to. In

my mind, that's just the way it was supposed to be.

But Deborah, having come from a large family with

thirteen kids sitting around the table, was not used to all

that.

I remember the first time I went into her family's

kitchen. I had never seen a commercial kettle before. It

was huge! And there it was—full of spaghetti! I couldn't

believe what I saw next. Everybody ran in, picked up a

paper plate, filled it with spaghetti and sat down to eat.

And if you didn't get there in time to eat, too bad!

We came from two different cultures. One was not

superior to the other. They were just two different ways of

doing things. Only I didn't really realize the cultural

differences. But I learned some things after we were

married!

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I will never forget the first day I came home from

work. I was looking forward to the kind of meal my mama

always served. I expected china to be set on the table.

After all, my wife wasn't working, so I thought everything

would be waiting on me. What did I find? A paper plate, a

styrofoam cup, some spaghetti and some Kool-aid.

I hit the roof. "What is this?" I said.

I felt my wife was being disrespectful of me as a man,

but I didn't know what I had done to deserve that

disrespect. And I wanted to know why I was having to eat

off a paper plate. I just never ate off paper plates—never!

So I threw a fit.

I know Deborah wondered what I was creating all that

fuss about. She didn't know why I was so upset and she

thought I was being ridiculous. So she got mad at me. We

ended up having a little tit for tat.

All that happened because we really did not

understand each other's culture. Once we both realized

some things about culture, we were able to work together.

Now you must understand that you can be born again,

filled with the Holy Ghost, and still have a tit for tat with

your new spouse. Eventually, real life is going to set in. So

you need to understand culture.

Learning to Really Communicate

The third point you need to consider about that person

is whether he [or she] has the ability to really share some

innermost feelings and thoughts. You need to talk and

communicate over an extended period of time.

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It's more than just talking nice to that person, saying

things like, "Honey, you're so fine, so special."

Real communication is absolutely necessary.

Observing That Person's Actions

To really know someone, there is a fourth thing you

have to do: observe his [or her] actions over an extended

period of time.

This way you will be able to see if what he does

corresponds with what he says.

Getting To Know God

Much of this is true about knowing God. As we read in

verse 2:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

the knowledge of God.

Remember this verse says, Grace and peace.. , and

remember too that, as we read from The Amplified Bible,

God's peace has six meanings. All this happens through

the knowledge of God the Father. This is one reason you

need to study the Old Testament as well as the New

Testament. This grace and peace are to be multiplied unto

you through the exact, full knowledge of God.

So, how do you get to know God?

By Learning God's History

One of the ways you get to know God is by studying

and learning His past. Again, you need to study both the

Old and the New Testaments.

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Much of God's history is found in the Old Testament.

By reading the Old Testament books, you will see how

God interacted with His people in those days. You will see

how He dealt with them in Genesis and Exodus, in

Numbers and Deuteronomy, in Joshua and Judges and

Ruth, in First and Second Samuel, and on and on.

By Learning God's Culture

By reading God's history, you will also come to know

about God's culture. You will understand how He really

acts and why some things are the way they are today.

We know what God's culture is: He is holy—period!

By Communicating With God

Another way to get to know God is by spending time

in communication with Him. He communicates to you

through His Word, then you communicate with Him. By

communicating with the Lord over an extended period of

time, you will come to know Him. You can observe His

actions and know how He works through time.

People are always asking, "How do you know the

voice of God?"

Just the way you get to know the voice of anybody

else. If you hang around that person long enough, you will

learn his voice. It's the same with God.

I don't have to see my wife to know when she is in the

room. I can just hear that voice speaking to another

person, and I know it's Deborah. We have been together

for twenty years, so I know her voice well.

In the same way, I have learned about the flow of the

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Holy Ghost by seeing how He has moved over the years.

There are certain things I can just see happening. I don't

have to hear the Lord speaking to me; I just know what is

coming next because I know how He moves at times.

Knowing God Through Jesus

Now notice again verse 2. It says:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2

May grace (God's favor) and peace...be multiplied

to you in (the full, personal, precise and correct)

knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2 AMP

The reason God gave us the New Testament was so

that we could come to understand Jesus, the Son of God.

Remember Jesus said, He that hath seen me hath seen the

Father (John 14:9). This is why we are to spend time in

God's Word. Grace and peace being multiplied to us is

dependent upon that. Coming to a place where we never

stumble or fall is dependent upon that.

This Scripture verse does not say that grace and peace

will be multiplied to you just through knowledge. There is

more involved than just getting information. There is

some particular information you must obtain. It says,

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the

knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

Through Him We Are Given All Things

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According as his divine power hath given unto us

all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through

the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and

virtue.

2 Peter 1:3

This verse tells us, His divine power has bestowed

upon us all things that are [requisite and suited] to life

(AMP).

This happened when God raised Jesus from the dead.

That's when these things were provided for us through

Jesus.

Notice this verse says: According as his divine power

hath given unto us all things.

What does the word all mean? It means everything!

How much is left after all? Nothing!

...his divine power hath given unto us all things

that pertain unto life and godliness, through—the

epignosis—the knowledge of him that hath called us to

glory and virtue.

We are able to receive all those things He has given us

through Jesus being raised from the dead. All the

promises of God are appropriated through the exact

knowledge of God—knowing Who He is, knowing His

character and nature.

We Are Partakers of His Divine Nature

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and

precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption

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Having a Vital Knowledge of God

that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:4

Let's read it from The Amplified Bible:

By means of these He has bestowed on us His

precious and exceedingly great promises, so that

through them you may escape (by flight) from the

moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the

world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and

become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.

The more you become a partaker of the nature of God,

the more you will act like God and the less you will

stumble or fall. You see, God does not make errors. There

is no stumbling or falling with Him.

World's Standards vs. God's Standard

God is saying you need to appropriate His precious

and exceedingly great promises so that you will escape the

world's lust, greed and corruption.

In the world's system we are taught the world's lust,

the world's greed, the world's covetousness. As a result,

we get caught up in a system which eventually causes us

to fall down and hurt ourselves.

When you start thinking and acting like the world, you

begin trying to accumulate all the things the world

accumulates. Then you start measuring whether you are a

success by the world's standards instead of God's

standard.

You see, God's standard is not based on success in this

world—whether you have three cars, or live in a mansion

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Success Strategies From Heaven

in the suburbs, or have a college degree, or see your name

printed often in the newspaper. With God, none of these

things equals success.

When you get wrapped up in the world's system and

the world's covetousness, then instead of acting upon

God's promises to you, you begin to think the world's

way. What happens when you do that? You start putting

pressure on yourself to obtain the things of this world.

Let me give you a real-life example. As a pastor I have

seen this occur many times, in both males and females. I

will use an example from the female side of life.

Many times over the years when counselling married

couples, I have found that the woman has lost respect for

the man. Because of that, she no longer sees him the same

as when they were first married. At the beginning, he was

her prince and he could do no wrong. When he came

home to her, she never had rollers in her hair. She always

wanted to look good for him.

But somewhere along the way, she lost respect for

him. I have seen myriads of cases like this. That's why I

use it as an example.

She becomes angry with him because he has not met

the standard she expected, based upon the things she has

seen accomplished by her girlfriends' husbands.

Her husband might be a professional man, maybe

even a schoolteacher. Though schoolteachers are not

poverty-stricken, they certainly do not make $100,000 a

year. Maybe he has his bachelor's degree and has done all

the things necessary to have that teaching job. He

probably makes $25,000-$30,000 a year. But her girlfriends'

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husbands are managers or in some other fields. They

might not have as much education as her husband, but

they make more money.

So what happens? She looks at their homes. She

compares their cars. She hears how they went away to

some fancy place on their vacation. Her husband only gets

time off for three days, while her friends can go away for a

whole month. She compares things by looking at them in

the world's way.

I have counseled situations like this many a day, and I

see what has happened. The husband is doing all he can.

In fact, he has done the right thing by going to school and

bettering himself. He is a professional, but in his

profession he can only go so far. There is a cap, a ceiling, a

limit on the salary he can receive in that job.

So he is under pressure to give up his profession. The

reason he went into it was because he loved it. But he may

have to give up his profession in order for his wife to care

for him again. And that's wrong!

This is a real-life example of what the Bible is talking

about in Second Peter 1:4. When we have placed in

ourselves the attributes of God, we will not view our

spouse that way, whether husband or wife.

These days guys want women to make as much as

they make, or more. At one time, only the woman decided

if she would marry a man based on his income. Now the

man decides to marry based on the woman's income.

When people have the wrong idea, stress comes

against the marriage. Problems develop, causing a

breakup, and divorce comes as a result. Why? Because

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those people have been corrupted in the world's idea of

lust and covetousness. They have to keep up with the

Joneses.

But that's not what God teaches His people.

God does not teach us to view our spouse and success

based upon any such criteria. If we do, we will only

stumble and fall, and we will be destroyed because of it.

Sometimes in those situations, husbands or wives see

another person who is more successful than their spouse.

After a while, they become friends with that person and

say, "I sure wish my husband [or wife] was like you."

Right then they become open to temptation in that area.

Eventually, they will stumble or fall in their Christian

walk. Why? Because they were caught by the world's

corruption through lust.

As we read from The Amplified Bible: By means of. .His

precious and exceedingly great promises. .you may

escape.. the moral decay. .lust and greed, and become

sharers (partakers) of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

We are to take on those precious and exceedingly great

promises, learning more about the nature of our heavenly

Father and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We then add

to our faith the seven virtues given in verses 5-7, until

these things be in you, and abound (v. 8).

We will then be able to see our spouse the way we

should—through the love of God. We will appreciate our

spouse and be grateful for what he or she is doing. That's

what God teaches us. As a result, we will not end up

somewhere down the road in lust and greed. We will stay

steady on our feet and will neither stumble nor fall.

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Having a Vital Knowledge of God

Decide to Be Diligent

Now notice verses 4 and 5:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and

precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption

that is in the world through lust.

And beside this, giving all diligence....

Here is another key to operating from the standpoint

of never stumbling or falling. This requires a decision.

You must be an individual who decides to "give all

diligence." You need to add diligence. Diligence is merely

a decision, and then the execution of that decision.

Deciding to be diligent about something starts with

small things. For instance, being in church on time is just a

decision about being diligent.

You may say, "But I have lots to do to get my kids

there on time."

Then you need to get up earlier. If that's too early, then

go to the later service.

This Scripture is saying: "Add diligence to your study

of God the Father. Add diligence to your study of His Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ. Add diligence to the Promises, and

when you do, you will develop to a place where you will

never stumble or fall."

That is the goal: to be in a position where you neither

stumble nor fall.

As we have read in verse 10, it tells us to give

diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye

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do these things, ye shall never [AMP: stumble or] fall.

Then verse 11 says:

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you

abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord

and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This is the ultimate goal: that you receive the entrance

already provided for you into the kingdom of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

That entrance has been provided. You simply must be

an individual who is diligent to do the things I am sharing

in this book.

Get this truth into your spirit and understand what I

am saying. Decide to be diligent. It can change your life as

you learn more about how to never stumble or fall.

Hallelujah!

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4

The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

4

I want to give you two scriptural examples of the

value that comes from having the true knowledge from

God. You will see, first of all, how someone received from

God the exact knowledge of Jesus, then how that same

person forgot the knowledge God had given him.

Who Jesus Is

Let's look first in Matthew, chapter 16. We will begin

reading with verse 15:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi,

he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I

the Son of man am?

And they said, Some say that thou art John the

Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the

prophets.

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Jesus was asking His disciples, "What are people

saying about Me? Who do they say I am?"

The disciples gave Him various answers, but He asked

them specifically, "Then who do you say I am?"

The answer was spoken by Peter, but it came straight

from Almighty God!

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the

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Success Strategies From Heaven

Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art

thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not

revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in

heaven.

Matthew 16:16,17

I want you to notice the word revealed in this last verse.

Jesus was saying to Peter: "You didn't get this because

somebody told it to you. You don't really realize Who I am

because you heard it somewhere. Flesh and blood did not

reveal it to you; it was given to you from My Father in

heaven." In other words, Jesus was saying, "Peter, God the

Father revealed to you Who I really am."

There are many people, even in churches, who know

something about Jesus. They have heard His name

mentioned time and time again. But they have yet to

receive the revelation of Who Jesus really is. Colossians

1:27 says, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I have been told who my parents are: Robert Butler is

my father and Ida Lajean Butler is my mother. I can

believe they are because I look and act just like them, but I

don't really know that for sure.

Neither do you know about your parents. You were

told that they are your mama and daddy. But you don't

really know. You just hope that's the truth.

But knowing Jesus—knowing Who He really is—must

be revealed to your spirit man. You cannot just hope it is

true; you must believe it and receive that revelation

knowledge in your heart.

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The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

Jesus said to Peter:

...for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto

thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter....

Matthew 16:17,18

Now the word Peter in the Greek is Petros, which

means rock1. Jesus was saying to him, "Peter, you're a big

rock."

Then He said:

...and upon this rock I will build my church.

Matthew 16:18

In the Greek the word translated "rock" is not Petros,

but petra, which means a huge rock2, like the Rock of Gibraltar.

Jesus said, "Peter, you are a big rock, and upon this

rock, I will build My Church." The "rock" Jesus referred to

was the revelation of Who He was. God the Father had

given Peter this revelation. That's when he said to Jesus,

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (v. 16).

Then Jesus said, . .upon this rock I will build my church

(v. 18).

Peter knew Jesus by name. He had walked and talked

with Him. He had seen the miracles Jesus had performed.

But even though Peter had been with Jesus, God had to

1 Strong, "Greek Dictionary of the New Testament," p. 57, #4074.

2 Ibid., #4073. See also W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old

Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1940) Vol. Ill, p. 302, "rock."

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reveal to him Who Jesus really was.

Jesus was saying, "Upon this rock of the Father

revealing the Son, I will build My Church." The Church of

the Lord Jesus Christ is the result of receiving that

revealed knowledge of Him.

Supernatural Revelation of Jesus

Remember what we have read in Second Peter:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through

the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2

As we have discussed previously, Peter then lists the

characteristics each believer should add to his faith: virtue

[or moral excellence], knowledge, self-control, patience [or

steadfastness], godliness, brotherly kindness and

Christian love.

In verse 8 Peter said:

For if these things be in you, and abound, they

make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then in verse 10 he said:

...if ye do these things ye shall never [AMP: stumble

or] fall.

The real key to never stumbling or falling is having the

supernatural revelation of Who Jesus is.

You can go to church regularly and hear lots of

preaching about Jesus. You can even read about Him in

the Bible. But you have to genuinely understand the truth

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The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

of Who Jesus is.

Once you have received that true revelation of Jesus

and know Who is in you by the power of the Holy Ghost,

you will be able to do those things Peter listed in his

epistle. Then, according to the Scriptures, you will never

stumble or fall!

That is supernatural revelation!

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail!

Jesus said:

...upon this rock I will build my church; and the

gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

The gates of hell cannot withstand the Church that has

received the supernatural revelation of Jesus. The gates of

hell cannot stop God's people. Not only will we not

stumble or fall, but as His army we will go and take from

Satan everything he has and every person he has

controlled!

When the Word of God says the gates of hell shall not

prevail against the Church, God's view is not that the

gates of hell are surrounding the Church and the Church

is being bombarded. The Church is not on the defense.

That's not the role God sees of His Church.

God sees the Church as an army that is already free,

already delivered. God's army is not stumbling or falling.

His army is anointed by the Holy Ghost. That means we

are filled with the power of God and the Greater One

dwells on the inside of us. (1 John 4:4.)

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As we see Who Jesus is, we can become like the

apostle Paul, who said, That I may know him, and the

power of his resurrection (Phil. 3:10). Paul wanted to

know Jesus as He really was, seeing Him in His glorious

power—when He threw off the principalities and powers,

and made an open show of Satan. (Col. 2:15.)

God sees the gates of hell surrounding those who are

not saved that keeps them in the compound of sin. But He

sees the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ kicking open

those gates and tearing down those walls. He sees the

Church snatching away from Satan the sick and the lost

and the hurting, then bringing them into the kingdom of

God.

Really Seeing Jesus!

The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church

because they have seen Jesus; they have seen His glory.

That's like what happened to Paul when he said he

was taken into the third heaven and heard things that

were not lawful to utter. He saw things he could not

describe. (2 Cor. 12:1-4.) He saw the glory of Jesus! Paul

was so filled with His glory that even when faced with

beatings and stonings and shipwrecks, he could not be

killed. When a poisonous viper came out of the fire and bit

him, it had no power over him. He had seen the glory of

God! (2 Cor. 11:25; Acts 28:3-6.)

That was like the apostle John who told in the book of

Revelation how he had seen Jesus on the isle of Patmos.

When John saw Jesus, he described how His eyes were

like a flame of fire. (Rev. 1:14.) He really saw Jesus!

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I want you to know this: when you have seen Jesus in

the fullest, you will never be the same. After that, the gates

of hell will never prevail against you!

One of the reasons bad things can happen to members

of the Church is because they have not really seen Jesus;

they don't really know who they are in Him. But once they

find out who they are and see Him as He really is, they

won't easily give in to sin anymore. They won't be

defeated anymore. They won't just sit in the church house;

they will go out into the highways and hedges and compel

the lost to come in. (Luke 14:23.)

When you have seen Jesus in this way—when you

have received the exact and full knowledge of God—you

will want everyone to have what you have.

As God's people, we need to get away from just

having a form of godliness and denying the power

thereof. (2 Tun. 3:5.)

Jesus said:

...upon this rock I will build my church; and the

gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom

of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven.

Matthew 16:18,19

Whatever you declare bound shall be bound and

whatever you loose shall be loosed—once it has been

supernaturally revealed to you Who Jesus is.

But you can only get that way when you add all those

ingredients to your faith; when you are walking in the

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love and holiness of God, operating in the peace of God,

loving your brethren, exercising self-control. You will

always be inquiring about God, seeking to know even

more about Him.

There is more to Jesus than just what you read on the

pages of your Bible. If you think you will really know

Jesus only by reading those pages, you are wrong. You

have to meditate on the truths of that Book and live

according to the verses we have read in Second Peter.

Then you will understand more of Jesus.

Maybe you have been married to the same person for

many years, but you still don't know everything there is to

know about that person. Deborah and I have been married

for nineteen years, but from time to time I find something

new in her. And I thought I knew her! There is always

more to a person than you know. Some people have been

married their entire lives and still never know all about

each other.

The same thing is true regarding your Christian walk.

No matter how many years you may have known Jesus as

your Lord and Savior, you still don't know everything

about Him, and you don't know everything about the

power of God.

According to Matthew 16:19, which we just read, Jesus

has given you the keys of the Kingdom, but those keys are

wrapped in revelation knowledge.

Then the Storm Comes, Bringing Fear

Now I want to show you something else about this

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same Peter. After walking and talking with the Lord, he

had received the first revelation of Who Jesus really was.

Let me show you what happened to him and how there

was more for him to learn.

In Mark, chapter 4, Jesus ministered the parable of the

sower, followed by several other parables. He shared with

that multitude of people how the power of God works and

how the Word of God can produce a hundredfold in their

lives. When He had finished ministering the entire

message, He sent the people away.

And the same day, when the even was come, he

saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

And when they had sent away the multitude, they

took him even as he was in the ship. And there were

also with him other little ships.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the

waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

Mark 4:35-37

When the wind blows with a gale-like force, waves

can beat against a ship. The more the wind blows, the

higher the waves will come, slapping against the boat.

There was so much water coming against the disciples'

boat that it was filled up.

Can you imagine being in a storm so horrific? So much

water was pouring into their boat that it was rocking and

reeling in that storm.

And he [Jesus] was in the hinder part of the ship,

asleep on the pillow.

Mark 4:38

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Sometimes we can read the Bible in such a religious

way, but I want you to shut off your religious thinking

and see this the way it could easily have happened.

Let's say they are out in the middle of some huge lake,

like Lake Michigan, for instance. They are in a boat the

size of a fifty-foot cabin cruiser. Only it isn't a cruiser, and

it has no cabins.

Then a huge gale comes up. With water splashing

against the boat, it is quickly being filled.

Things get so bad that the people on board become

consumed with fear. They begin to sob, wondering if they

are about to die.

Though a great storm was raging, Jesus was asleep in

the back of the boat, with His head resting on a pillow.

That's the way things happen in our lives. There are

times when a great storm arises. Situations occur.

Someone dies. The family splits up. Financial crisis comes.

Cancer or some other ungodly thing comes our way.

Crises happen in our lives.

Wave after wave, that great storm keeps coming,

snapping and slapping against you. First, one wave hits;

then another wave hits; then another, and another, until

finally your "boat" is full.

Then you begin to question God: "God, what's the

matter? What's going on? What's the problem?"

When those waves hit against the disciples' boat where

Jesus was asleep on that pillow, what did they do? They

went straight to Jesus:

...and they awake him, and say unto him, Master,

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carest thou not that we perish?

Mark 4:38

They were saying, "Master, wake up! We're about to

die! Don't You care?"

They did not really know Who He was.

Just that day He had preached a sermon, teaching

them how to cause the Word of God to produce one

hundredfold. He had told them in a parable how Satan

would come against them to immediately take away the

Word that was sown. Then He issued a little bit of the

Word of God to them when He said, Let us pass over unto

the other side (v. 35). Satan came immediately to steal the

Word that had been sown.

Though Jesus was lying in the back of that ship, the

disciples had decided, "We are going to die!"

Maybe Satan has convinced you that you are going to

die. He may have persuaded you that you will never be

able to get another job. He might have told you that you

will never be healed of that disease. You might think you

will never be able to shake that depression. Maybe you are

convinced that you will never be able to do anything you

really want to do.

You might be asking God, "Well, God, are You going

to leave me this way?"

Jesus Spoke the Word

When those disciples woke Jesus by crying out that

they were about to die, He stood in the power of the Holy

Ghost. The Scripture says:

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And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said

unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and

there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

The Son of the Living God did two things:

First, He spoke to the wind, which had been kicking

up the waves, and said, Peace, be still. Jesus was not

operating as the Son of God but as the Son of Man,

anointed by the Holy Ghost.

Then He spoke to the men in the boat:

And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?

How is it that ye have no faith?

Mark 4:40

He was saying to them, "How is it that you don't have

faith, that you don't understand who you are or Who I

am?"

They had forgotten Who He was and who they were

in Him.

Jesus expected Peter, at least, to stand up in the bow of

that boat and proclaim, "The Son of the Living God has

told us we are going to the other side, so we are going to

the other side! Now, peace, be still!"

What would have happened if Peter or John or any

other disciple had made that statement of faith? The same

as when Jesus said it: the winds would have ceased

blowing and the waves would have been stilled.

But it requires some revelation for that to happen in

the middle of a storm, in the middle of the problem. It

requires revelation that the gates of hell shall not prevail,

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as we read in Matthew's gospel.

You Can Have That Peace in the Midst of the

Storm

God did not intend for you to stumble and fall. But if

you are not living holy, you will stumble and fall. If you do

not add to your faith, you will stumble and you will fall.

Even though you might confess and say, "Greater is He

that's in me than he that's in the world," you will still

stumble and fall—if you don't add those other ingredients

to your faith.

But by adding them to your faith, you will get a true

revelation of Jesus. Receiving that revelation of Jesus and

knowing what He has put inside you brings about security

in the midst of the storm. You will be able to sleep on a

pillow and keep riding those waves, just like Jesus did.

People may say to you, "Don't you really know or

understand what's happening? Don't you care?"

But you will be able to stand firm against the wiles of

the devil that try to bring you down off that rock of

revelation knowledge.

How is it that God could say you would never stumble

or fall? What does that really mean?

You cannot do that in the flesh, with your own natural

knowledge of Jesus. It takes the Holy Ghost to reveal it to

you.

The Holy Ghost does not operate where there is sin.

He cannot reveal much to you when you are just

stumbling and fumbling around.

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Some people ask, "How is it that So-and-so can receive

something from God when it doesn't seem to happen for

me?"

Because that person has received more revelation than

you. Even though he may have been in church a shorter

length of time than you, maybe he has made himself

available to receive more revelation of Jesus. He is seeing

Jesus in a brighter light.

This happens more and more as we are open to

receiving the true knowledge of Him that has called us to

glory and virtue. The big prize is getting the knowledge of

Jesus. By seeking Him we will begin to see Him brighter

and brighter.

The Holy Spirit wants to show you Jesus in such a way

that it really touches your life. Then you will never be the

same!

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5

Spiritual Intelligence

5

As we have found in Scripture, there are seven

character traits which are to be added to our faith. I want

to look closer at one of these characteristics: knowledge.

Peter said:

And.. giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;

and to virtue knowledge.

2 Peter 1:5

We saw before that in this verse the Greek word for

"knowledge" is gnosis. This knowledge does not mean

educational intelligence or experience. It is spiritual

intelligence.

Spiritual Intelligence in Paul

The apostle Paul operated in this spiritual intelligence

throughout his ministry.

In Acts, chapter 27, when he was sailing for Rome, we

find him facing rough seas in a time of trouble. On this

voyage, he received some inside intelligence from the

Holy Ghost. Let's look at this situation.

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing

was now dangerous. .Paul admonished them,

And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage

will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the

lading and ship, but also of our lives.

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Acts 27:9,10

In this instance, we see spiritual intelligence being

added to Paul's faith.

Faith without intelligence is blind.

An example of this is an automobile being driven on a

mountain road. That vehicle can be moving under much

power; but if the driver has no idea where he is going and

cannot see around the next bend, the car could crash and

burn.

The Tempestuous Storm Came

Paul received spiritual intelligence about the rest of

the trip. He warned the men on the ship, but they did not

listen.

They continued on with their journey and, as a result,

sailed into some rough seas. Scripture tells us about the

kind of wind they had to face. It says:

...there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called

Euroclydon.

Acts 27:14

In the Middle East a Euroclydon is a gust of wind that

comes from nowhere. Winds on the Red Sea can be calm

when all of the sudden a Euroclydon comes out of the

northeast. Captains in that region of the world are fearful

when a Euroclydon approaches. The winds suddenly get

stronger, the waves rise up, and many ships are sunk as

the result.

Just as Paul had learned what would happen by

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receiving spiritual intelligence before their journey, their

ship ran into some rough waters:

And when the ship was caught and was unable to

head against the wind, we gave up and letting her drift

were borne along.

Acts 27:16 AMP

This is what happens when you are not listening to

God and following His spiritual intelligence. You may

want to go in a certain direction, but circumstances will

take you in the opposite direction. You will be caught

helpless unless you receive some more intelligence.

What happened when the ship was caught in the

middle of that Euroclydon? Paul began to seek for more

intelligence from the Lord.

Even though in our situation we may have failed to

listen to God the first time, God will keep on working with

us because He loves us. He knows how we can be

hardheaded, thickheaded, brick-headed, bullheaded—just

downright stupid. (And I'm pointing a finger at myself,

too.) God knows how we are. Sometimes our head can be

as hard as a piece of wood, but God keeps working with

us.

And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the

next day they lightened the ship.

Acts 27:18

That ship was hit so hard by the storm that those men

had to lighten their load, so they threw out all of their

cargo. They would not have lost their cargo had they

listened to the Lord speaking to them through His servant,

Paul.

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God does not want you to lose your possessions, but

you will lose them if you are too hardheaded to listen to

His instructions and heed His directions.

That storm raged on against the ship for fourteen days.

Can you imagine being caught in a Euroclydon for

fourteen days?

"Be of Good Cheer!"

In the midst of this storm, Paul received some more

intelligence:

But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the

midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened

unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have

gained this harm and loss.

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer.. .

Acts 27:21,22

Though caught in that violent wind, in the midst of

that Euroclydon, in the middle of all those winds and

waves, the men were told, Be of good cheer. They could

have been dead at any moment. Had they capsized,

nobody would have ever found them. Even if they had

sent out a distress call, they could never have been

reached in time.

But they were told by Paul to:

. .be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any

man's life among you, but of the ship.

Acts 27:22

God was saying to them through Paul, "You are going

to forfeit the ship because you did not listen, but your

lives will be saved. So be of good cheer—having your life

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is more important than anything else."

Notice what Paul said in verse 23:

For there stood by me this night the angel of God,

whose I am, and whom I serve.

This happened long after Paul had sought God.

Today we want God to answer us all the time. We

want Him to answer us every moment, instantly. But it

does not always come that way.

Some days you will have to spend time in fasting and

prayer, seeking God on your knees—for days, sometimes

for weeks, sometimes for months—to find out what God

wants to do.

"Fear Not!"

Paul shared with those sailors some inside

intelligence. He said:

For there stood by me this night the angel of God,

whose I am, and whom I serve,

Saying, [inside intelligence:] Fear not, Paul; thou

must be brought before Caesar and, lo, God hath given

thee all them that sail with thee.

Acts 27:23,24

He was telling them, "Everybody aboard this ship will

be saved." He said:

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe

God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

Acts 27:25

Think about that: It shall be even as it was told me.

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How exciting!

That's the way it will be when God tells you

something. Just make sure it is really God that has told

you. When God tells you, then it will be that way!

So you can be of good cheer, even in the midst of life's

great storm—whether cancer, family problems, financial

difficulties, job trouble or some other problem area. Some

"great Euroclydon" may come into your life, but you can

be of good cheer. The God Whom you serve will save you

in the midst of that storm. He will save you even when

you are caught out in the darkness. He will save you even

in the midst of your problem—whatever it may be.

"Stay in the Boat!"

Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon

rocks, they [the shipmen] cast four anchors out of the

stern, and wished for the day.

And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the

ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea,

under colour as though they would have cast anchors

out of the foreship,

Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers,

Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

Acts 27:29-31

The sailors were ready to jump ship once they got

close to the land. They were ready to try to swim ashore.

But Paul was given some more inside intelligence. He was

saying to them, "If you get out of this boat, you won't

make it."

God was saying, "I will save you, but you have to stay

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in the boat."

There is a time to get out of the boat and walk on the

water, but there is also a time to stay out of the water and

in the boat.

Paul was saying to those sailors, "Unless you stay in

this boat, you cannot be saved."

This time they all listened to him!

Be Filled With Peace

And while the day was coming on, Paul besought

them all to take meat, saying, This day is the

fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued

fasting, having taken nothing.

Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is

for your health: for there shall not be an hair fall from

the head of any of you.

Acts 27:33,34

In the midst of the Euroclydon, Paul told the men to sit

down and have something to eat. He was saying, "Let's

take care of ourselves even while this boat is rocking."

That sounded like Jesus, as we read in Mark's gospel,

chapter 4. When He and His disciples got in the boat, He

told them to go to the other side; then He went to sleep on

a pillow. When that storm came, they were so afraid that

they had to wake Him up. Jesus could sleep through the

storm because He was filled with peace. He had those

seven characteristics, as we have read in Second Peter,

chapter 1.

When you have those seven characteristics and find

yourself in the midst of a Euroclydon, you can know that

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same peace Jesus knew, even when everybody around

you is panicking. You can sleep when nobody else can.

You can rejoice when nobody else can. That's because you

have inside intelligence that the Lord is on your side, no

matter what may be going on around you.

Through all that storm, the apostle Paul had that same

kind of peace, and he was able to share that peace with

those sailors. Because they listened to him, they eventually

made it to shore.

The Bible does not tell us this, but I would imagine

that when they got to shore, they kneeled down and

kissed the ground. Instead of doing that though, they

should have lifted their hands to the Lord and said: "Lord,

thank You for that inside intelligence. Forgive us for not

listening. We lost our ship and our cargo, but You saved

us anyway because You had a vessel we should listen to."

Give No Place to the Devil

After they had taken shelter on an island, we see

something else happening to Paul:

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks,

and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the

heat, and fastened on his hand.

Acts 28:3

When that dangerous viper grabbed onto Paul's hand,

the natives who saw it thought he must have done

something wrong and deserved to die. But Paul gave it no

serious attention. It says:

And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt

no harm.

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Acts 28:5

The barbarians just watched him, waiting for him to

die:

Howbeit they looked when he should have

swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they

had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to

him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a

god.

Acts 28:6

Paul just kept acting normally because he already had

inside information. He knew that God, as his Protector,

was all he needed.

Receive From God

You receive inside information like that once you have

come to know Who Jesus really is and allow those seven

characteristics to be added to your life.

By spending more time on your face seeking the Lord,

nothing—I said nothing! —will stop you from receiving

from God.

Then you will not be blind to the ways of God. You

will never stumble or fall when your eyes are on Him. You

will not forget what has been revealed to you. The Holy

Ghost will give you that revelation.

Once you have received that inside intelligence, you

can go on regardless of what may be happening around

you.

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6

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your

faith.

2 Peter 1:5

...adding your diligence [to the divine promises],

employ every effort in exercising your faith.2 Peter 1:5 AMP

As you have been reading through the pages of this

book, I believe the Holy Spirit has revealed some things to

you that can—and should—revolutionize your life. If you

have an ear to hear and have been hearing what the Holy

Ghost is saying, your Christian walk should have begun to

make a change. I believe He has been saying some things

vital for this hour.

We read in Second Peter, chapter 1, that you are to

give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for

if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (v. 10). These

things, as Peter had listed in verses 5-7, are to be added to

your faith. As we read in verse 4, God has made a way for

us to escape the corruption that is in the world through

lust.

In today's world, corruption has brought about

depravity. There is an inordinately strong desire in

mankind for the things of this world. More than ever

before, we are seeing people filled with lust of the flesh,

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lust of the eyes and pride of life. In addition, we have

watched people become consumed with the love of

money, which Scripture says is the root cause of all evil. (1

Tim. 6:10.)

Mankind has become depraved to such an extent that

in many ways we have seen our great nation fall away

from its foundation principles. God has been shut out of

schools and removed from public policies. The Church of

the Lord Jesus Christ has been attacked as the hordes of

Satan have been unleashed into this nation. As a result, we

are seeing the breakup of the family, the rise of crime and

the collapse of this nation's economy. These results are

based more upon what has happened spiritually than

what has been done naturally. People have turned from

Almighty God.

We are seeing the depravity of Satan's attack upon our

country, because this nation has been the lighthouse of the

world. Cities, in particular, are feeling the brunt of this

assault. It's a fact that in our cities people go to church

more than anywhere else. Satan knows that, so he wants

to attack and wipe out those who are spending more time

in the house of God.

But this country can be restored!

The Finest Hour!

The only way this will happen, however, is when the

Church of the Lord Jesus Christ decides to no longer be

caught up in the world's corruption. We must consider the

calling of God and the work of the Lord to be more

important and more valuable than the things of this

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world.

As God's people, we must be willing to win the lost by

getting the Word of the Lord out into the world and

bringing people into the Kingdom. We must consider

God's ways to be more important than the jobs we hold,

the vacations we take, the fine homes we have—more

important than anything else in our lives!

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ must become

single-minded.

The Church must understand that it is called and

anointed by God for a mission, that this mission is coming

close to its finest hour, that this mission requires diligence.

We must be diligent to add to our faith those seven

characteristics we discussed from Second Peter 1:5-7.

God is saying throughout the Church, "Church, I don't

want you to stumble anymore. I don't want you to fall

down again."

The Lord is getting His Church ready for its finest

hour. He is preparing us for the time when things will get

worse and worse in the natural realm.

In chapter 24 of Matthew's gospel, Jesus told us that

when summer is nigh we can look for the return of the

Lord. (v. 32.) That "season" in the Bible began May 14,

1948, when Israel returned to its homeland and became a

nation again. The summer has come!

God's Wrath Against Sin

Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars,

earthquakes and an abundance of them, and many more

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occurrences of natural disasters. That means men and

women all over the world will become more depraved,

seeking more things of the flesh.

In the first chapter of the book of Romans, we see the

apostle Paul describing the wrath of God coming against

sin:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,

who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

...when they knew God, they glorified him not as

God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their

imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness

through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour

their own bodies between themselves:

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and

worshipped and served the creature more than the

Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile

affections: for even their women did change the

natural use into that which is against nature:

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use

of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another;

men with men working that which is unseemly, and

receiving in themselves that recompence of their error

which was meet.

Romans 1:18,21,24-27

More and more these days, mankind is going after the

flesh—men lying with men, women lying with women,

babies by the millions losing their lives through abortion.

The world today is continually moving further and further

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away from God's truth.

The Glorious Church!

The enemy shall come in more and more like a flood

against the remnant of the Church that has decided to add

to its faith, diligently making its calling and election sure,

esteeming the things of God more highly than the things

of this world.

This part of God's people will be spending more time

in prayer and fasting. They will be listening to the Holy

Ghost and obeying His voice.

When He tells them to be a witness in their

community, sharing Jesus with others in their

neighborhood and on their job, they will be obedient.

When He says to go across town and visit with

someone, they will follow His instructions.

When He says to call a friend on the phone and

minister to that person, they will do it.

When He says to spend time in intercessory prayer,

praying for the world, for the nations, for the lost, they

will be quick to obey.

That Church is the glorious Church!

When the enemy comes in like a flood against the rest

of the world, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard

against him. (Isa. 59:19.) That "standard" will be the

Church of the Lord Jesus Christ flowing in the power and

anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Church will be used by

God like never before.

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Looking Through Spiritual Eyes

Satan will try to divide the Church and get us to turn

inwardly on each other. He will try to stop the anointing

that has already begun. He knows how the Holy Ghost

will not manifest His anointing within a strife-filled

situation.

Satan knows his time is short, so he is working

overtime to stop the Church. All kinds of things are being

thrown in our path to try to hurt us and get us out of the

way. But because we have seen Jesus, we are able to

escape the corruption in the world and all its destruction.

We can appropriate the promises of God so that we will

neither stumble nor fall.

God, through the Holy Ghost in your life, will cause

you to avoid the various obstacles Satan has set before

you. You will see them not in the natural but with your

spiritual eye. Then you will know inside yourself whether

to move to the right or to the left, to go over or under.

Jesus will be living big inside you!

People will say, "You can't go into that place; things

there are too tough to deal with."

But the Lord will say, "You have the Greater One

inside you, and greater is He that is in you than he that is

in the world."

Do you believe that? If for some reason you don't, I

want to point out another verse of Scripture which says:

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have

boldness in the day of judgment....

1 John 4:17

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This day of judgment is not when you stand before

God. The day of judgment is when you face the

temptations, tests, trials that Satan throws against you in

this world. You can have boldness in that day of

judgment. Why? The verse continues:

...because as he is, so are we in this world.

"As He Is, So Are We!"

Think about that: As he is, so are we.

Let me ask you this: how is Jesus now?

Is He sick? No!

Is He fearful? No!

Is He defeated by the devil? No!

Jesus is victorious!

And as He is—strong, courageous, victorious—so can

you be in this world as you are flowing in the power of the

Holy Spirit. Satan has no power over you, the believer.

When people see you, they will see Jesus! Instead of

always stumbling or falling, you can be walking just like

Jesus walked: in the power and anointing of Almighty

God.

Satan worked hard trying to make Jesus stumble and

fall when He was here on the earth. He wanted Jesus to

strike out in the flesh, but it didn't work. Jesus did strike,

but not in the way Satan wanted. Jesus went after His real

enemy, but He did it in the spirit, performing miracle after

miracle after miracle. He laid hands on the sick, having

compassion on the people and ministering unto them; and

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He supernaturally fed thousands of men, women and

children. (Matt. 14:14,21.)

That's the way it will be as you receive more revelation

of Jesus. You will be able to act just like He did. If you or

somebody near you is hurt, you will react in the spirit

instead of the flesh, punching out Satan instead of another

person.

Be in a Hurry for God!

As we have read several times in Second Peter 1:5, it

says, Giving all diligence, add to your faith; then it follows

with the seven characteristics to be added to our faith.

God wants us as His Church to be diligent to add those

qualities to our faith.

The Greek word for diligence means earnestness and

haste.1 That means we are to add those characteristics to

our faith, and to do it diligently.

Then in Second Peter 1:10, the word diligence is

mentioned again. It says:

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence.

This word diligence also means to give earnestness, to

be in haste; or in other words, to have great zeal.

The time has come for us to get in a hurry to do the

things God desires for us to do. What happens will

happen quickly.

In comparison, think how time seems to be going

faster these days. What once would have taken decades

1 Strong, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 66, #4710.

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has taken only a few years. What took years now takes

only months; and months, only weeks; and weeks, only

days; and days, only hours.

Things have been speeded up. It's now time for us to

get in haste, to put on our spiritual track shoes. The Lord

has laid out a plan, and we must be in a hurry to get it

done. We must cut things short and get right to God's

work, doing it in a hurry, because we no longer have

much time.

The Harvest Time Is Coming!

Let's look in Proverbs, chapter 10:

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand:

but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he

that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Proverbs 10:4,5

The harvest time is coming! Millions and billions of

people will be ripe to receive the Gospel. They will be ripe

to grow from the infantile, babyhood state in Christendom

to spiritual adulthood in Him, casting aside all the things

of the flesh.

The things people fight about and worry about so

much do not really matter once they turn their lives over

to Almighty God. All that matters to them then is doing

what God wants done in this day and hour.

Diligently Abound in Him

Remember Peter said, If these things be in you, and

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abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren

nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

(2 Peter 1:8). By abounding in all those seven things he

listed earlier, you will have the full and exact knowledge

of Jesus.

Look at Second Corinthians 8:7:

Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith,

and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence,

and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace

also.

You are to grow in diligence—in earnestness, in zeal,

in haste. But being diligent and hasty is a value judgment.

That's when you make a decision about what is important.

When some merchandise you want has gone on sale,

that sale may only last for a few hours. There is a deadline.

You have to get to that store before all the merchandise is

sold. That's when you become diligent and hasty. You

might even put off a meal for a while. There may be only a

few items left on the shelf at that price, so you make a

beeline straight to the store.

You need to be just as diligent now regarding the

things of God. The "sale" is about to end. There is enough

"merchandise" for everybody, but the Word of God tells us

only a few will be diligent to take advantage of it. Jesus

said:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,

and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and

many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,

which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

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Matthew 7:13,14

There will be those who decide to get in line in a

hurry. They will make a beeline to God, forgetting about

everything else. They will want to do the work of the

Lord.

Be Diligent to Do God's Work

As Paul said, we are to abound in all diligence. So

shake yourself! Get up and start moving in a hurry! Stop

lying in "Delilah's lap," allowing your head to be stroked

by the world, feeling good because everything is okay

with you right now.

Things might be okay with you, but is everything in

your life okay with God?

God sees a world of people who need His Word, who

need to find what you have found in Jesus. He sees a

nation of people who are being defeated, not because of

the Japanese or Germans but because the people no longer

really know Who Jesus is. God wants those who know the

Truth, who have been called to share that Truth with

others, to begin being diligent about doing His work right

now.

Be Diligent to Do God's Will

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the

slothful shall be under tribute.

Proverbs 12:24

The diligent are the ones who ride the high place. Now

there will be saints of God who are riding the low place

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and living beneath their privileges, but that is not because

it is the will of God.

The will of God is not automatic. He has given

believers a choice. They can decide for themselves what

they want to do. They can add to their faith, or they can

leave it out. They can make their calling and election sure,

or they can be casualties on the road to perdition. That

choice rests in the hand of every believer.

The time is over for you to be living as close to the

world as you can and still be trying to receive God's

pleasure. If you are always walking close to the world's

edge, just watch out—you will soon fall back into sin.

The people who are riding in the high places with God

will be eager to know His perfect will for them and walk

in it. They will want to be flowing in the power of the

Holy Ghost, and all those worldly things will not matter

anymore.

Laziness Opens the Door for Satan

The slothful [or lazy] man roasteth not that which

he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man

is precious.

Proverbs 12:27

The lazy man will not get the chance to partake of that

which belongs to him. Because of his laziness, doors will

be opened for the enemy to steal from him that which God

has provided.

The time is gone for us to allow Satan to run over us

and steal from us. We cannot be permitting him to win

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over the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The time has come for the Church to take its rightful

place as the army of God filled with the greatest weaponry

ever known to man. God's army will move back the gates

of hell and take away all the enemy's wares. Those

possessions were not really his to begin with; they

belonged to God. Everything belongs to our heavenly

Father, so it is time for the Church to take back what

belongs to it!

Now by "possessions" I do not mean material things,

like gold and cattle (although they really do belong to

God); I am referring to what really counts to God: men,

women and children. They belong to Him.

How then shall they call on him in whom they

have not believed? and how shall they believe in him

of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear

without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as

it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that

preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of

good things!

Romans 10:14,15

How can people hear without a preacher?

How can they believe on Jesus if they have not heard

about Him?

How can they accept Him in Whom they have not

believed?

God is calling us to use our faith to win others. He is

calling us to spend time in intercessory prayer and break

the power of the enemy—over our families, our churches,

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our cities, our nation. Through intercessory prayer, we

will be allowing the power of the Holy Ghost to work

through us as we travail in the Spirit of Almighty God.

The Diligent Receives From God

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath

nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

Proverbs 13:4

The soul of a lazy person wants everything he sees and

everything others have.

You might say, "I want to flow in the Spirit and have

the love of God flowing through me." But it will not

happen unless you are diligent to receive what God has

for you. You have to take the proper time and make sure

you add those seven characteristics to your faith.

The soul of the diligent shall have everything that

belongs to him, everything God has promised: protection,

resources, anointing, vision by the Holy Ghost, knowledge

—exact knowledge—of the Lord.

The time is coming when hearing from God will be the

discerning point between making it and not making it. It

may not be in a week, a month, a year or even a decade,

but that time is coming in our lifetime.

The Spirit of the Lord is warning the Church of the

Lord Jesus Christ about all that is coming. He is spreading

this message all around. He has taught us about faith so

that we will be able to take the shield of faith and stand.

And He is turning up the anointing, which breaks every

yoke. (Isa. 10:27.) However, His anointing can only be

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entrusted to people who meet the conditions given in

Second Peter, chapter 1.

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7

Peter's second letter was written to those who have

received like precious faith. That's us! As believers in Jesus

Christ, we have received like precious faith through the

righteousness of God in Jesus our Lord.

Grace and peace has been multiplied to us through the

knowledge of God and of Jesus.

Again, the seven character traits listed, which we

should be diligently adding to our faith, are:

● virtue—moral excellence

● knowledge—spiritual intelligence

● temperance—self-control

● patience—steadfastness

● godliness—holiness

● brotherly kindness or affection

● the love of God

These characteristics must be in the bloom of every

Christian.

When these character traits are abounding in us, we

will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of

our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 8).

Then we will not be blind spiritually. We will be able

to see afar off and know we have victory over our old sins.

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When Satan tries to bring one of them back on us, we can

say, "No! I won't receive it! I already have victory over

that in Jesus' name!"

Through the knowledge of what Jesus has provided

for us, and our acceptance of His work on the cross, we

have been placed in the position where we will never

have to stumble or fall again!

"Pay Attention Now!"

Let's look at some more words Peter had to say to the

Church:

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you

always in remembrance of these things, though ye

know them, and be established in the present truth.

Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this

tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in

remembrance;

Knowing that shortly I must put off this my

tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed

me.

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able

after my decease to have these things always in

remembrance.

For we have not followed cunningly devised

fables, when we made known unto you the power and

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were

eyewitnesses of his majesty.

2 Peter 1:12-16

Peter had to stir up the Church by putting them in

remembrance of some things. He was saying to them: "I

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will soon go to be with the Lord. But I want you to know,

the things I am telling you are not cunningly devised

fables. I heard them with my own ears and saw them with

my own eyes."

He goes on further in this chapter to say:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy;

whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light

that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and

the day star arise in your hearts.

2 Peter 1:19

He was saying to the Church:

"You would do well to heed what I have said. Fasten

your eyes upon these things. Perk up your ears and listen

to what I am saying. Pay much attention, until the

morning time comes and drives away all the darkness,

until the Daystar—the Son of the light of the Word of God

—rises in your heart. Then all that darkness—all

ignorance, fears, worries, anything Satan tries to bring

against you—will be driven away."

He was telling God's people to pay attention to these

things, because, as verse 10 AMP says, . .if you do this

you will never stumble or fall. This is why he was telling

us to be in remembrance of these things.

Three Things That Could Happen

After listing those seven ingredients for success in this

life, Peter mentions three very important things that could

happen if we fail to listen and add those ingredients to our

faith. In verse 9 he gives three areas, in particular, where

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we could stumble or fall. He writes:

But he that lacketh these things [#1] is blind, and [#2]

cannot see afar off, and [#3] hath forgotten that he was

purged from his old sins.

2 Peter 1:9

#1: "You Are Blind!"

Blind men fall in the ditch. They stumble over things

right in front of them.

If you have no spiritual vision, you will be unable to

see what Satan is attempting to do in your life. You will be

blind spiritually because you have not added character to

your faith.

Though you may be believing God to blow down

mountains, you can still act immorally. You may not have

spiritual intelligence. You may not be patiently waiting

until the right time before acting. You may not be living

holy before God. You may not be operating in the love of

God.

All these things must be added to keep you from being

blind as a bat spiritually. You can be regularly attending a

Word church, getting fat on all the Word of God being

preached, and still be blind as a bat spiritually by not

having added those seven characteristics to your faith.

Spiritual blindness is one of the reasons people get

slapped down and stumble and fall. They cannot see

because they have not allowed those things to be added to

their faith. Peter said, "Pay attention to this!"

#2: "You Can't See Afar Off!"

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Not only will you be unable to see what is right in

front of you, you will be unable to see what is coming in

the future.

God is not in the business of allowing Satan to sneak

up behind you and clobber you. Because He can see Satan

coming at you a long way off, He wants you to know it,

too.

He desires for you to know, to some extent, His plan

for your life. But you cannot see it, perceive it, know it and

get the benefit of it if you have not added those

characteristics to your faith. You may have two or three of

them, but you really need all seven to operate in high

gear.

Those characteristics don't grow on trees. They must

be developed over time. This is a lifework for you. Don't

be a Word-taught Christian who is fat in the spirit, yet still

carnal.

#3: "But You Were Purged From Your Old Sins!"

If you forget that you have been purged from your old

sins, the things you used to do can easily sneak back on

you.

You will forget that you have victory over the flesh.

You will forget that you have victory over sin.

You will forget that you have victory over the devil.

It will be just as though you were not even born again.

You will look like the world, talk like the world and fall

into all kinds of sin—just like the world.

You will have forgotten who you are and where you

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came from. You will not be able to see the difference

between yourself and the world, even though you have

been born again and have known the power of the Holy

Ghost.

For too long, we have slipped and fallen. God is tired

of it. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ must get its act

together. We must begin to make a distinguishing

difference between us and the world. We have no

business looking and acting like everyone else in the

world.

If you really want to be like the world—always

drinking, cussing, dancing and finding sex wherever you

can—then why stay in church? You are being a stumbling

block to all the young Christians in the house of God who

see you acting like the world.

You have no business doing anything like the world.

You need to operate in the power of Almighty God. But

you can only do that through His anointing by acting

upon His holy Word and making a decision that you are

going to be different from the world.

That does not come by sitting in church and saying

amen to your pastor. It comes by making a decision to

order your life that way. You have to begin to talk and

walk the line, in accordance with the Word of God.

It makes no difference whether you wear a clergy

collar or have earned a college degree. God is requiring

some things of His people today. He wants us to operate

in a higher level of His anointing and power.

There is a Higher Level!

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God is moving! The wind of the Lord is beginning to

blow! It is a holiness blow. That move of the Holy Ghost

has begun, and His Church is being moved to a higher

level. The time has come when we must be listening to

what He is saying.

The Lord has been sending me throughout the United

States to preach His Word to the Body of Christ.

Everywhere I go, I have been sharing the message He has

given me and telling the Church that the time is now.

For us to reach that higher level, we must begin to

walk in the seven characteristics of God we have

discussed in this book. We must have moral excellence,

develop self- control, be kind to others and live godly

before Him. We must be full of His love. We must have

the spiritual intelligence to know what God wants us to do

—and then do it!

You were not put in this world just to eat, drink and be

merry, so that you can have a good time before you die.

God does not care about you having a good time. He put

you on this earth to do a job for Him in this hour.

People are going to hell by the millions, and they need

to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. But that will not happen

if you live like the world, act like the world and talk like

the world. The Bible says judgment begins at the house of

God. (1 Peter 4:17.)

You have to make some decisions in your life. You

cannot be living like the devil and think you will

automatically get to heaven. There is a hell and it is hot! It

was not intended for people; it is for the devil. (Rev.

20:10.) But those who are following the devil will go there,

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Success Strategies From Heaven

too!

You cannot preach Mark 11:23 and believe only that

Scripture. You should also read the book of Revelation. It

says hell and death will be thrown in the lake of fire. (Rev.

20:14.)

Peter was saying to the Church, "Put these things in

your memory and then act upon them."

As we have read in verse 10, he says, Wherefore the

rather, brethren, give diligence.. . Diligence is not

casualness. It is not moving at your own leisurely pace. He

continues: . .give diligence to make your calling and

election sure.

We are not playing games. This is serious business—

deadly business. It is eternal business.

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8

It's Time to Go on With God!

8

Follow God's Directions

It's time to hear what God is saying today. Spend time

talking to Him, then listen to the Holy Ghost. With the

epignosis—the exact knowledge of Jesus—you can follow

the Holy Ghost like a road map. Concentrate on Him and

let Him minister to your spirit.

When He says in your heart, "Don't move," then do

what He says and stay right where you are!

When He says, "Move," it may look as though things

are in your way, but just pick up your feet and move! You

should be ready to go whenever the Holy Ghost gives you

instructions.

You receive direction when there is a tugging in your

spirit by the Spirit of God. With that tug you hear words

like, "Go over that way, and when you get there, do

this. . "

You might ask, "But, Lord, shouldn't I stay here? Why

do You want me over there?"

But the Lord is saying, "I want you to go where I tell

you to go, then wait until I tell you what to do next. I'm

the Captain; you are to follow orders."

As long as you follow God's orders, you will win in

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Success Strategies From Heaven

the time of the battle. Whenever you are obedient to His

direction, you will never stumble or fall.

By not listening to your Captain and being quick to

obey His commands, even when you cannot see what is

going on, you could be shot down. You might find

yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I would rather have the anointing of the Holy Ghost

than anything else I know about in this world. I have

learned how valuable the anointing is.

Walk in God's Perfect Will

It's time to make sure you are walking and living in

the perfect will of God.

You will be led by the Holy Ghost more and more as

the ingredients we found in Second Peter, chapter 1, are

added to your life. Then you can watch the power of the

Holy Ghost become stronger as the revelation of these

truths becomes greater. The sense of joy and peace in God

will take you up to that higher spiritual plain.

You will begin to think more about the Lord,

concerning yourself with things above, not with things of

this earth.

You will say, "Lord, I want to know Your will for me

now. I will do what You want me to do, go where You

want me to go and do whatever You want me to do."

Then you will see Jesus shining brighter as you see

more of Him inside you.

Produce Fruit for God

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It's Time to Go on With God!

It's time to be producing the kind of fruit in your life

that God is calling for.

Every morning you should ask, "Lord, what do You

want me to do today? Where do You want me to go? Who

do You want me to witness to?"

Your life must be a witness to every person you know.

You must tell people the story that Jesus saves, Jesus lives

and Jesus will change their lives too, making a difference

in them. By seeing Jesus in you, they will want Him too.

As you bring them into the family of God, He will receive

glory.

Satan will attempt to keep the person you are to

witness to from crossing your path that day. So each

morning you need to use your faith and believe God that

the wall Satan tries to put between you and that person

will be torn down. Then both of you will be where God

intends for you to be.

Before boarding an airplane, I believe God for just the

right person to be sitting next to me, someone I am to

witness to on the trip. For two and a half hours, that

person will be trapped. With no place to go, he will get to

hear about Jesus and what He has done for me.

God wants to use His Church—everyone, not just the

pastors—to share Jesus with people everywhere. He

expects those sitting in the pews to begin pastoring the

ones who have accepted Jesus as their Lord. That means

looking out for them, praying for them, helping them

learn for themselves how to stand on God's Word.

After you have led someone to the Lord, God does not

want you to stop there; He wants you to attach yourself to

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Success Strategies From Heaven

that person and begin to feed him or her the Word of God.

Really Commit Your Life to Jesus

Begin to see who you really are and Who is living on

the inside of you. His name is Jesus. He is the Son of God.

In Scripture He is called the Alpha and the Omega, the

Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. (Rev.

1:8,11.) The Jesus Who is living inside you wants you to

walk in His power.

I have seen Jesus in the spirit, and I want to move in

Him. So I say to Him with an open heart, "Yes, Lord!"

Then I begin moving my spiritual feet to get myself into

position in Him.

As a child of God—having received Jesus as your Lord

—you need to be sure your life is really committed to

Him. If you need to make any changes in your life, do it

now! When you were first born again and received the

Holy Spirit, you were changed, but there is always more

changing to be done.

It's time you make the decision to let loose of all the

worldly things. Money and fame don't mean a thing. All

that will last is what you do for Christ! He will use you to

do His will on the earth.

I want you to receive this message, my friend. I got it

straight from the Lord through His Word. He wants you

to reach the point where you never have to stumble or fall.

But if you do, don't blame God, or your pastor, or your

church. Just ask for God's forgiveness right then, and start

again.

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It's Time to Go on With God!

I can stand before the Lord now and say, "Father, I

shared the message You gave me, so Your people know

what You expect of them. I believe they will ride on the

high places. They will mount up on the wings of eagles;

they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not

faint.1 They will flow in the anointing and in the power of

Almighty God. And Satan is trembling!"

You see, Satan knows what is coming so he is working

feverishly against it. That is why we are seeing things

happening like never before in this world. There are some

weird and crazy things going on, but we will see even

more and more as Satan gets wilder and wilder. But he

knows his time is short!

It is like that Friday night after Satan had crucified the

Lord. The demons were partying in the pits of hell. But I

think Satan may have been a little worried whether Jesus

would stay dead. He could remember what had happened

with Lazarus. Lazarus had been dead four days, but on

that fourth day the Lord called out, "Loose him and let

him go!" and Lazarus rose up and walked. (John 11:1-44.)

So Satan was wondering if death could hold the Lord.

Then came Sunday morning! The Holy Ghost

energized Jesus, and He rose from the dead. The stone

was rolled away and Jesus, the King of Kings, walked out

of that grave!

I'm here to tell you that the Sunday for the Church is

on its way. On that Sunday morning the stone of the

enemy will be rolled out of our way, and the Church of

the Lord Jesus Christ shall rise!

1 Isaiah 40:31.

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His Church shall rise with the same resurrection

power that raised Jesus from the dead. We can walk in

that power and have the same effect as when Jesus rose

from the grave. The saints who were in the graves came

up out of those graves and walked in Jerusalem,

appearing to many. (Matt. 27:50-53.)

When the Church of Jesus Christ rises again, those

who are in the grave of sin and sickness will rise up out of

that grave and follow the members of the Church into the

glorious light of Jesus Christ. We will be saved for all

eternity!

Are you ready to make a commitment to the Lord?

Maybe you are saved but are as carnal as can be. If so,

you need to get right with the Lord. There are blinders

over your eyes and you cannot even see in front of you.

But God does not want you to stumble; neither does He

want you to fall.

It's time for you to let Him burn out the sin in your

life. You need to get rid of the waste, becoming cleaned

and holy before Almighty God! He wants to change you,

to fill you, to make you different. You need to say yes to

Him now!

Or maybe you always do good things but have not

fully yielded yourself to God. You have not given up your

ambitions and taken on His ambitions for you. The Lord is

calling you for His service and is requiring commitment

from you. He has provided salvation and the Holy Spirit

for you, but He is expecting you to serve Him to the fullest

extent.

Cry out to Him now and say: "Change me, Lord! I

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It's Time to Go on With God!

don't want to stumble anymore. I don't want to fall

anymore. I want to walk in the straight line with the Holy

Ghost. Let me not veer to the right or to the left, but let me

go straight on and into Your glory!"

You can watch then as the Lord begins to change you

—and you will be changed!

So set your faith on Him and say, "Father, I receive it,

in the name of Jesus."

I believe He will give you spiritual eyesight and you

will be able to see through His eyes—as long as you "stay

in the boat."

"Say, Yes, Lord!"

Now pray this to your Father in heaven:

"Father, I say, Yes, Lord, to Your will.

"As Your servant, I will do what You want me to do, go

where You want me to go, say what You want me to say. I will

be what You want me to be.

"I will use my talent, my voice, my education for You, Lord.

Everything You have given me will be used for You. I am

willing to leave behind what the world is offering me and say to

You, Yes, Lord!"

God wants all of your life right now. Let your

education be in God. Let your career be in God. Let the

Holy Ghost speak to you and minister to you. Let Him

have His way with you. He may be leading you into some

new things—a new career, a new school, a new ministry.

He may be sending you to places you have never been

before.

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It's time to humble yourself under the mighty hand of

God. It's time that you let go of your pride and submit

yourself completely to Him; He will exalt you in due time.

(1 Peter 5:6.)

I pray that you have that multiplied grace and peace in

your life, that through the knowledge of Jesus you will

never stumble or fall. I pray that these things be in you,

that they abound in you, that you walk more and more in

the revelation of Jesus.

You need to believe God for these things, speaking by

faith. After believing you receive, begin to rejoice that it is

already done for you in the name of the Lord Jesus of

Nazareth. Begin to praise His holy Name. Rejoice in Him

and give Him honor.

Now see yourself flowing in that power, that anointing

and that holiness in the name of Jesus.

"Stay in His Boat!"

The Word of the Lord to you now is: Stay in His boat.

Then you won't be washed away by the storm.

The storm is coming upon the world. It is growing

darker by the day. But those who name the Name of the

Lord and live in accordance with His Word will be

sheltered from the storm.

By staying in the ark of safety you will not be swept

away like the people in Noah's day. Noah stood forth as a

prophet of God, delivering the message that it was going

to rain, but the people would not listen. Because it did not

happen immediately, they just laughed and paid no

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It's Time to Go on With God!

attention. As a result, they all drowned. (See Gen. 6 and 7.)

There is coming upon this world a kind of decadence

that people have never seen. But it will not harm you as a

child of God. You will be able to go through it..

. . if you dedicate yourself to God;

. . if you do what He is saying;

. .if you live holy before Him;

. .if you "stay in His boat."

Always remember: God loves you. So allow the power

of the Holy Ghost to flow into you and through you. Then

you can ride out the storm in this life and walk in the

blessings of Almighty God.

God wants your life— all of it—dedicated to Him

today. The Word of the Lord is for those who will listen.

We are not playing games.

So give Him praise and honor and glory now for what

He has done and will do for you. Through Him, you will

never stumble or fall! He is worthy to be praised!

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About the Author

Keith Butler is the founder and pastor of Word of

Faith Christian Center in Detroit, Michigan, which was

begun on January 14, 1979, and now has a congregation of

well over 9,000 members. He also pastors Faith Christian

Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, which began in August,

1993.

Rev. Butler is a pastor and Bible teacher who ministers

in seminars, conventions and churches throughout the

country. His ministerial emphasis is on teaching line by

line, with instruction on how God's Word can be applied

to daily living. His television and radio ministry, "The

Living Word," reaches into several states.

Pastor Butler and his lovely wife, Deborah, have three

beautiful children: Andre, Michelle and Krishna.

119

To contact Keith Butler,

write:

Keith Butler

P. O. Box 34546

Detroit, Michigan 48234

Please include your prayer requests and comments when

you write.

Additional copies of

this book

are available from your local bookstore.

HARRISON HOUSE

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153

The Harrison House Vision

Proclaiming the truth and the power

Of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

With excellence;

Challenging Christians to

Live victoriously,

Grow spiritually,

Know God intimately.

Document Outline

- Success Strategies from Heaven

- Contents

- Introduction

- 1 You Shall Never Fall!

- "Like Precious Faith"

- "Grace"

- "Peace"

- "Knowledge"

- "All Things That Pertain Unto Life and Godliness"

- "More Knowledge"

- "Escaping the World's Corruption"

- Learn Your Background

- Diligently Add to Your Faith

- 2 Season Your Faith "Just Right"

- Add Some Seasoning

- Virtue

- Sexual Immorality

- Stealing

- Knowledge

- Temperance

- Exercise Self-Control

- Patience

- Godliness

- Brotherly Kindness

- Charity, or Love

- These Things Should Abound in You

- 3 Having a Vital Knowledge of God

- Freedom From Fear

- Perfect Well-being

- Freedom From Agitating Passions

- These Things Should Abound in You

- How You Learn About Someone

- Knowing the History

- Knowing That Person's Culture

- Learning to Really Communicate

- Observing That Person's Actions

- Getting To Know God

- By Learning God's History

- By Learning God's Culture

- By Communicating With God

- Knowing God Through Jesus

- Through Him We Are Given All Things

- We Are Partakers of His Divine Nature

- World's Standards vs. God's Standard

- Decide to Be Diligent

- 4 The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

- Who Jesus Is

- The Rock of Revelation Knowledge

- Supernatural Revelation of Jesus

- The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail!

- Really Seeing Jesus!

- Then the Storm Comes, Bringing Fear

- Jesus Spoke the Word

- You Can Have That Peace in the Midst of the Storm

- 5 Spiritual Intelligence

- Spiritual Intelligence in Paul

- The Tempestuous Storm Came

- "Be of Good Cheer!"

- "Fear Not!"

- "Stay in the Boat!"

- Be Filled With Peace

- Give No Place to the Devil

- Receive From God

- 6 Put on Your Spiritual Track Shoes

- The Finest Hour!

- God's Wrath Against Sin

- The Glorious Church!

- Looking Through Spiritual Eyes

- "As He Is, So Are We!"

- Be in a Hurry for God!

- The Harvest Time Is Coming!

- Diligently Abound in Him

- Be Diligent to Do God's Work

- Be Diligent to Do God's Will

- Laziness Opens the Door for Satan

- The Diligent Receives From God

- 7 Pay Attention to This!

- "Pay Attention Now!"

- Three Things That Could Happen

- #1: "You Are Blind!"

- #2: "You Can't See Afar Off!"

- #3: "But You Were Purged From Your Old Sins!"

- There is a Higher Level!

- 8 It's Time to Go on With God!

- Follow God's Directions

- Walk in God's Perfect Will

- Produce Fruit for God

- Really Commit Your Life to Jesus

- "Stay in His Boat!"

Table of Contents

Introduction.

1 You Shall Never Fall!.

2 Season Your Faith "Just Right".

3 Having a Vital Knowledge of God.

4 The Rock of Revelation Knowledge.

5 Spiritual Intelligence.

6 Put on Your Spiritual Track Shoes.

7 Pay Attention to This!.

8 It's Time to Go on With God!.

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Success Strategies from Heaven

Contents

"Grace"

"Peace"

"All Things That Pertain Unto Life and Godliness"

"More Knowledge"

"Escaping the World's Corruption"

Learn Your Background

Diligently Add to Your Faith

Add Some Seasoning

Virtue

Sexual Immorality

Stealing

Temperance

Exercise Self-Control

Patience

Brotherly Kindness

These Things Should Abound in You

Freedom From Fear

Perfect Well-being

How You Learn About Someone

Knowing That Person's Culture

Learning to Really Communicate

Observing That Person's Actions

By Learning God's Culture

Knowing God Through Jesus

We Are Partakers of His Divine Nature

World's Standards vs. God's Standard

Decide to Be Diligent

Supernatural Revelation of Jesus

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail!

Really Seeing Jesus!

Then the Storm Comes, Bringing Fear

Jesus Spoke the Word