Faith the Master Key to Life

Five Perspectives for Living a Life of Faith

Jerry Savelle • Charles Capps

Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

Keith Moore • Happy Caldwell

with James Strand

Word Catcher Press

God Is Who He Says He Is Copyright © 2013 Jerry Savelle. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. God Wants You to Increase Copyright © 2013 Jerry Savelle. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. The Importance of Faith Copyright © 2013 Apostle Frederick K.C. Price. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. Faith-Filled Words Copyright © 2013 Charles Capps. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. Turning Little Faith into Big Faith Copyright © 2013 Keith Moore. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. Victorious Faith Copyright © 2013 Happy Caldwell. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. The ABCs of How to Be Saved Copyright © 2013 James Strand. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations used in The Importance of Faith without version references as well as other scripture quotations marked NKJV throughout the book are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible. Copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved. Scriptures taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.” Scripture quotations marked TEV are taken from the Good News Bible, The Bible in Today’s English Version. Copyright © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

First Edition 2013 (028ke)

Faith the Master Key to Life: Five Perspectives for Living a Life of Faith.

Copyright © 2013 James Strand, Editor.

Published by Word Catcher Press

P. O. Box 26362

Little Rock, AR 72221

www.wordcatcher.ws

All proceeds from the sale of this book support the Victory Television Network in Arkansas.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17 NKJV)

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:28-29)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:12-13)Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents              4

Preface              8

Acknowledgements              9

Introduction              10

The Perfect Faith Storm              10

If You Can Believe—All Things Are Possible              10

Faith the Master Key to Life              11

Faith, Love, Hope, God’s Grace and Your Actions              11

Modern Day Fathers of Our Faith              12

How This Book Is Organized              13

Part 1: Jerry Savelle              15

About Jerry Savelle              15

God Is Who He Says He Is              16

1 God Is Who He Says He Is              16

You Must Believe God Is All He Says He Is and More              16

God Is the Great I Am and God Is the Great He Is              17

2 God’s Names Reveal Who He Is              19

God Gives Himself Many Descriptive Names in the Bible              19

Jesus’ Gives Himself Many Descriptive Names              21

God’s Many Names Reveal He Is Everything You Need              21

God Wants You to Increase              23

3 How I Learned God Could Bring Increase              23

It All Started When I Was in the Paint and Body Business              23

My Joseph’s Car of Many Colors              24

You Have the Mind of Christ—Do it!              26

Launching Out into My Own Ministry              27

4 God Gives Increase to Those Who Believe              28

God is the God of Increase              28

God Increased Adam and Eve              28

God Increased Noah and His Family              29

God Increased Abraham and Sara              29

5 Three Reasons for Believing for Increase              31

Increase So You Can Be a Blessing to Others              31

Increase So You Can Make God Look Attractive to Others              31

Increase so You Can Fulfill God’s Purposes for Your Life              32

6 Moving to a Higher Level of Increase              33

There Is Always another Level of Increase              33

You Can Increase Beyond Your Paycheck              34

Don’t Try to Figure Out Who Is Going to Meet Your Need              35

7 Six Ways to Position Yourself for Increase              37

Increase by Keeping Covenant with God              37

Increase by Being Obedient to God              38

Increase by Putting God’s Word First Place in Your Life              39

Increase by Hard Work and Diligence              40

Increase by Sowing Good Seed              41

Increase by Your Associations              44

8 God’s Way of Increase Is Perfect And It Always Works              49

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From Jerry Savelle              51

Part 2: Apostle Frederick K.C. Price              52

About Apostle Frederick K.C. Price              52

The Importance of Faith              53

9 Nothing Is More Important than Faith              53

The Law of Faith              53

Isn’t Love More Important than Faith?              55

Love Is the Greatest Motivator              55

Faith Is the Greatest Activator              55

Love Works by Faith              56

The Just Shall Live by Faith              57

10 The Testing and Proving of Your Faith              60

If You Know This—You Can Count It All Joy              60

What Is the Purpose of Tests, Trials and Temptations              61

Tests Help You Locate Where You Are              61

You Cannot Please God without Faith              62

11 Faith and Belief Are Not the Same              65

There Is a Difference between Faith and Belief              65

Faith and Belief Are Like Two Sides of the Same Coin              66

Faith Involves Acting on What You Believe              66

12 Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God              68

Your Faith Has to Be Developed by Hearing the Word of God              68

God’s Covenant Privileges Us To Work Together with Him              69

Faith Is Always Present Tense              71

Faith’s Unseen Evidence              72

Faith Will Always Come When You Hear the Word of God              74

Faith’s Continual Harvest              76

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From Apostle Frederick K.C. Price              77

Part 3: Charles Capps              78

About Charles Capps              78

Faith-Filled Words              79

13 Release Faith with Your Words              79

The Law of Faith Works by the Words You Speak              79

Write the Word of God on Your Heart              79

Words Are Like Seeds You Plant in the Ground              80

Your Faith Will Never Rise Higher Than Your Confession of the Word              81

The Difference between Principles and Formulas              83

14 Watch What You Say              85

Words Create Images              85

The Effects of Negative Words              85

Stop Talking about Death and Dying              86

15 Abraham’s and Sarah’s Journey of Faith              88

God Promises to Bless Abram And to Make Him a Blessing              88

Abram Sees Himself Childless After God Promised Him an Heir              88

Abram Believed God and It Was Credited to Him for Righteousness              89

God Changes Abram’s Name to Abraham              90

Abraham Called Things that Were Not As Though They Were              92

The Blessing of Abraham Belongs to You              92

The Righteousness of Faith Speaks              93

Abraham Gained Access to God’s Grace by Faith              94

16 You Can Have What You Say              95

Saying What You Already Have Is Not Faith              95

Somewhere Pooch! Don’t Know Where Pooch!              96

Why Set the Thermostat on 100°F When It Is Already 100°F?              96

God Created the Visible from the Invisible              97

What Did the Wind and Waves Have to Do with Walking on Water?              97

Thermostats Are Goal Setters              98

Your Mouth Is a Goal Setter              98

Your Heart Will Search for a Way to Meet Your Need              99

I Rest My Case              100

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From Charles Capps              101

Part 4: Keith Moore              102

About Keith Moore              102

Turning Little Faith into Big Faith              103

17 Can Your Faith Increase?              103

Yes, Your Faith Can Increase              103

The Devil Is the Greatest Loser              104

Increased Faith Will Enlarge Your Life and Ministry              105

Your Ministry Gifts Are Used According to Your Proportion of Faith              105

18 Consider What God Says—Not the Devil’s Lies              107

Abraham and Sara Went from Little Faith to Strong Faith              107

Abraham and Sara Considered Not and Wavered Not              107

Adam and Eve Got into Big Trouble By Considering the Devil’s Lies              108

Just Looking Is How It All Starts—Avoid Poisoning Your Faith              109

Strong Faith Results from Not Considering the Devil’s Lies              110

Consider What Jesus Says              112

Tell Them You Don’t Want to Hear It              113

Don’t Be Afraid—Only Believe              114

Give God All the Glory and Give None to the Devil              115

Consider Jesus—Not Everything Else              116

All Who Look to Jesus Will Live              117

Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses Lay Aside Every Weight              118

Jesus Is the Author and Finisher of Our Faith              118

19 Faith Gives You Strength To Overcome Your Weakness              120

Be Wise and Understand the Will of the Lord              120

Faith Enables You to Overcome the Weakness of Your Flesh              120

Through Faith Sara Received Strength              121

What God Has Provided by Grace Must Be Possessed by Faith              122

20 Believe You Receive              123

The Difference between Saying and Praying              123

Receiving Also Means Taking              124

Believe You Receive              125

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From Keith Moore              127

Part 5: Happy Caldwell              128

About Happy Caldwell              128

Victorious Faith              129

21 The Victory of Faith              129

All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes              129

Learning About Success from a Tennis Shoe              130

God Has a Plan for Your Success              131

22 The Triumph of Faith              134

Learning About Triumph from Military Victories              134

You Are Triumphant in Christ              134

David Triumphed over Goliath              135

Going from Distress to Triumph              135

Forget Your Past Failures              136

You Can Do All Things through Christ              137

The Joy of Victory!              137

23 Overcoming Hindrances to Faith              138

Overcoming Tests and Hardships              138

Overcoming Unbelief              139

Overcoming Religious Traditions              140

Overcoming Unworthiness              142

Overcoming Fear and Doubt              142

Overcoming Lack of Action              143

24 Living a Daily Life of Faith              144

Increase Daily by Setting Goals              144

Where Do You Want to Be 20 Years from Now?              144

Learn to Prioritize Your Day              145

Increase Daily from the Words You Speak              146

Increase Daily by Taking Deliberate Action              149

Everything You Do In Life Is Daily              150

Don’t Worry about Your Daily Needs              151

Continue to Increase Daily              153

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From Happy Caldwell              155

Epilogue              156

God’s Faith Hall of Fame              156

Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence Persevere and Be Rewarded              156

God Honors Men and Women of Faith              156

Become a Future All-Star in God’s Faith Hall of Fame              158

About This Book’s Editor, James Strand              160

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources From James Strand              160

The ABCs of How to Be Saved—How to Have Faith in God              161

Acknowledge You Need to Turn to God and Be Forgiven of Your Sins              161

Believe in Your Heart Jesus Christ Is the Son of God and He Rose from the Dead              161

Confess with Your Mouth Jesus Christ Is the Son of God and Follow Him.              162

Continue to Follow Jesus Christ, Love People and Grow in Faith              163

Preface

The majority of this book was created from conference recordings and the written version is not word for word from the meetings. A major goal of the editor was to retain the individual speaker’s style and manner of speaking as much as possible when putting their words into print. Every attempt has been made not to take away from the substance of their original messages. Hopefully, this goal was accomplished, and you will find this to be a readable, informative, enjoyable and life-changing book. The editor takes full responsibility for any errors, omissions or shortcomings in this area.

Parts 1-4 were created from the conference audio recordings of the Spring 2007 Agape Church Faith Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. Part 5 was created from additional messages by Pastor Happy Caldwell.

Most of the scripture quotations in this book were from the King James Version of the Bible. Other Bible versions were referenced when used. Scripture quotations in The Importance of Faith were from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Acknowledgements

zs2w2I would like give special thanks to those who helped make this book possible. Jerry and Carolyn Savelle, Jerriann Savelle Bridges, Terri Savelle Foy and the staff at Jerry Savelle Ministries International in Crowley, Texas; Apostle Frederick K.C. and Dr. Betty R. Price, Pastor Fred Price, Jr. and the staff at Ever Increasing Faith Ministries in Los Angeles, California; Charles and Peggy Capps, Beverly Capps, Annette Caps, and the staff at Charles Capps Ministries in England, Arkansas; Pastors Keith and Phyllis Moore and the staff at Moore Life Ministries in Branson, Missouri; and Pastors Happy and Jeanne Caldwell and the staff at Agape Church and the Victory Television Network in Little Rock, Arkansas. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Castrellon family, Michael and Sharon Wehring, Wayne and Lynda Hogan and Marsha Allen. Their kindness, encouragement and prayers enabled me to complete this book project during the last year and a half.

James Strand, Editor

Introduction

By James Strand

The Perfect Faith Storm

The New England area on the Northeastern Coast of the United States is known for strong storms called Nor’easters. Cold Arctic air and tropical waters coming north from the Gulf of Mexico collide to create powerful storms. Several years ago a Nor’easter came together that was stronger than usual. This storm occurred when two storm systems joined forces with a hurricane in the North Atlantic. This combination of forces was called the “Perfect Storm.”

A book and movie named The Perfect Storm told the story of several New England fishermen who lost their lives at sea because of the storm’s strong wind and waves. The book and movie helped make the term “Perfect Storm” famous. This term is now used to describe forces that unite to create events that have magnitude and significance.

A few years ago another kind of perfect storm took place in the Central United States. This was not a weather related storm but a combination of individual speakers from different parts of the country. These dynamic men were asked to teach on the topic of faith at the Agape Church Faith Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. The men involved in this meeting were Jerry Savelle, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, Charles Capps, Keith Moore and Happy Caldwell.

The spiritual forces unleashed at the Agape Church Faith Conference were like a mighty rushing wind from God. This God storm resulted in a great outpouring of the word of God that refreshed and changed the lives of those who were there to experience it firsthand. This was an event that had magnitude and significance.  This storm was not a destructive storm. This storm had the opposite effect. It built up and increased people’s faith in God. After hearing the ministers at this conference, I thought this meeting could be better described by adding the word “Faith” to “Perfect Storm” and calling it “The Perfect Faith Storm.”

After the Faith Conference in Little Rock, I discussed with Happy Caldwell, the Pastor of Agape Church, my desire to take the meeting tapes and develop a book from this “Perfect Faith Storm.” Pastor Caldwell heartily agreed because he knew this book would bless many people around the world. He wanted you and others to experience the same power through the pages of this book that was originally available to those who attended the meetings.

If You Can Believe—All Things Are Possible

Jesus Christ made this promise almost 2,000 years ago and it is still true today. He said,

… If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

The record of the life Jesus Christ, and others throughout the Bible, contains many wonderful acts of faith.  Jesus Christ demonstrated faith with his words and actions, and he expected his followers to have faith. He went about demonstrating all things were possible to those who have faith in God. Miracles, signs and wonders confirmed his teaching about faith was from God.  Jesus Christ often taught about faith and it was an essential part of all his teachings.

The entire Bible is filled with stories about men and women who walked by faith and lived their lives by faith. Faith is mentioned more times throughout the Bible than almost any other topic. Faith in God is important for anyone who follows Jesus Christ.

This book is written for you to know and understand how you can live a life of faith that pleases God. This book will show you how five different men of God have used the principles of faith to change the circumstances of their lives and the lives of others for the better.

This book is presented to you with expectation that your faith will grow and increase as you read about and apply the principles of faith to your life. Your circumstances can change for the better. If you have the faith to believe what God promises is true, and if you put your faith in those promises into action, all things are possible!

Faith the Master Key to Life

There is a difference between belief and faith. Apostle Frederick K.C. Price during one of his sessions explained the difference between belief and faith very humorously. He said you can go out into the parking lot of the church with the key to your car in your upstretched hand, jump up on the hood of your car and boldly proclaim to the whole world “I believe this key will start my car!” No matter how many times you proclaim this, your car will not start until you actually get in your car, put the key into the ignition switch, turn the key in the switch and start the motor. Faith is more than believing. Faith involves acting on what you believe.  When you act on what you believe in God’s word, you turn on the power of God with the key of faith. Faith with corresponding actions is necessary for receiving the blessings and promises of God.

A manager of a large apartment complex can open any door in the apartment complex when something needs repaired. There may be hundreds of apartments, but he only needs one key to open any one of the doors. The key he carries around that allows him to do this is called a master key. The master key denotes authority over the entire apartment complex. A regular key denotes authority over one particular door. Keys are symbols of authority in general, but a master key has the authority to open many doors.  Faith is the spiritual master key to life because it can unlock all the precious promises given to you by God.

Faith, Love, Hope, God’s Grace and Your Actions

Faith is the master key for receiving anything from God.  Everyone needs to understand that God is good, and that he wants to give good things to his children who ask for them.  God wants you to live your life by faith, and walk by faith. Everything you do in life you should do by faith.

Faith is the master key to life, but any attempt to focus on faith by itself will not work the way God designed it to work. Faith works in conjunction with several other things.

Faith matters the most when love is involved. Your actions and your faith should always be motivated by Love. The Bible says,

…what matters is faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6 HCSB)

Faith also does not work without hope.  Hope has to exist prior to faith because faith gives substance to hope. The promises of God give you hope. You believe in the promises of God, and faith is the activator that gives substance to what you are hoping for.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith and God’s grace go hand in hand. Grace is God’s response to your faith. Everything you receive from God comes from his willingness to give you grace. Grace is undeserved favor with God. Every gift from God comes by grace, it is nothing you can earn or deserve. The way to access his grace is through faith. Faith in the promises of Jesus Christ gives you access to the grace of God.

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

If you really believe something is true you will act on what you believe. Faith without action is dead. You are not justified by your actions. You are justified by your faith, but with your faith you will always have actions or good works of some kind that can be seen by others.

…faith without works is dead? (James 2:20)

Faith was never meant to be isolated by itself.  It is important to know that faith works best when it is motivated by love. It is important to know that faith is the substance of things hoped for. If you do not have hope, you have nothing for your faith to give substance to.  Faith works when you trust and rely on God’s promises.  Faith is needed to access the grace of God.  Faith will not work unless God’s grace is involved. It is important to know that faith without good works is a dead faith. Your faith is alive when you have good deeds to show for it.

If you want to please God, faith is not optional. God instructs you to live your life by faith. You are to walk by faith. You are to overcome obstacles in your life by faith. You are to do everything by faith.  Faith enables you to receive the blessings of God in your life and to be a blessing to others. That is why I am calling faith the master key to life.  However, you must understand it is important for your faith to work together with these other things of God.

Modern Day Fathers of Our Faith

The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Church they had thousands of instructors or teachers, but he was the one who introduced them to the good news of Jesus Christ. He was the father that brought them to faith in Jesus Christ.

For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. (1 Corinthians 4:15)

Jerry Savelle, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, Charles Capps, Keith Moore and Happy Caldwell are living lives of faith. They have based their lives upon the truth of God’s word found in the Bible. They have helped many of us grow in faith as we follow Jesus Christ by sharing their ministries and teachings with us as sons and daughters. They are more than teachers they are fathers to us like the Apostle Paul was a father to the Corinthian church.

The five men in this book have been spiritual fathers that have brought thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. They will leave behind a great legacy in those who are the beneficiaries of their ministries. It is important that we continue to listen to and learn from these men who experience the application of truth in their own lives and the lives of others.

The five men in this book do more than just “talk the talk”—they “walk the walk.” These men have proved that they have faith by their actions. Their faith speaks for them in accomplishments that would not have been possible without the help of God. Their Christian walk of faith is more than words it is also good deeds.

The five men in this book have clothed the needy and fed the hungry.  They have provided medical care to thousands in Africa and other places. They have built great Christian churches, Christian Television stations and developed hours of Christian programming.  They have distributed millions of books, tapes CD’s and videos that have changed countless lives. These men have prayed for thousands of people and have seen God answer their prayers with many miracles. They have been generous with their time and money, and they have been God’s servants to people all around the world.

The Apostle Paul said this to the Corinthian church,

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Jerry Savelle, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, Charles Capps, Keith Moore and Happy Caldwell have demonstrated their faith was not based on the wisdom of worldly-minded men. They have demonstrated their faith is based on the power of the Holy Spirit working through them. Their faith has convincing actions that reveal the practical application of the word of God in their lives. They have taught many others to do the same things they do. They teach the God of the Bible is alive and does not change. They experience and teach others to experience the miracles of healing and provision like the disciples in the Bible. They demonstrate with God all things are still possible to those who believe.

The writer of the book of Hebrews says,

7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:7-8 HCSB)

When you carefully observe leaders who preach and teach the word of God, and you see them having a successful outcome in their lives, the Bible commands you to imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is not a respecter of persons. He loves everyone unconditionally. However, he will respect and reward you according to your faith in his word.  Jesus Christ wants you to be successful in applying the wisdom of his words to your life. This is why he has provided successful teachers for you to follow and imitate.

Jesus Christ does not change. Faith in God will work the same today as it did yesterday. It will continue to work the same forever. When you imitate the faith of the five men in this book, you will get the same results they do. The same Jesus Christ that has blessed them, and continues to bless them, will bless you, too. It is with this in mind that we humbly present to you this book, Faith: The Master Key to Life; Five Perspectives for Living a Life of Faith.

How This Book Is Organized

There are five main parts in this book, one part for each of the speakers at the Agape Church Faith Conference. At the beginning of each part is a brief description of the speaker and his ministry. Then, his message on the topic of faith follows. At the end of each part is contact information for obtaining additional ministry materials and resources from the speaker.

Here is an overview of the five parts of this book, the speakers and their messages:

Part 1” Includes two messages from Jerry Savelle. The first message, God Is Who He says He Is, is a short, dynamic, inspiring proclamation about who God says he is. This message reminds you of the old-style evangelistic messages delivered by evangelist like Oral Roberts years ago.

The second encouraging message from Jerry Savelle is called God Wants You to Increase.  God spoke to Jerry Savelle and told him to preach and teach about increase wherever he went around the world. This message includes his personal testimony of increase in his life. It includes some excellent teaching on six ways to position yourself for increase in your life and ministry. Jerry Savelle backs up his message with many examples from the Bible of how God’s way is a way increase and blessing.

Part 2 is Apostle Frederick K.C. Price’s message, The Importance of Faith. This is a classic message about faith from this great man of God. Apostle Price summarizes the basic aspects of faith in a concise way that is unique to him. He uses his many years of experience teaching and discipling others to connect to his audience and readers. This is a masterful message on the basic Bible truths concerning faith in God and its practical applications. Apostle Price’s insights on the difference between faith and belief, his understanding of faith and love, and his knowledge of the laws of faith makes this a life-changing message.

Part 3 is Charles Capp’s message, Faith-Filled Words. This message comes straight from the heart with humor and practical applications of the principles of the law of faith. Charles Capps simplifies the word of God with illustrations from his life and his years of insight in teaching about faith to millions around the world. Watching what you say and understanding the effect of negative words is something every Christian should read and apply to their life. He talks about the biblical truth you can have what you say with the perspective only available to a man who has walked with God for many years.

Part 4 is Keith Moore’s message, Turning Little Faith into Big Faith. Keith Moore combines practical teaching and years of experience helping people receive the things that God has promised them in the Bible. He gives and answers the question asked by many, “Can your faith increase?” Keith Moore gives biblical illustrations of how your faith in God can grow stronger and increase. Increased faith brings increased blessing to you and others. He also shows you how to keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and not give the devil any place in your life. Keith Moore shows you how you can turn your little faith into big faith to overcome your weaknesses.

Part 5 is Happy Caldwell’s, message Victorious Faith. This message encourages you and builds you up in your faith and overcome the obstacles to your faith. The heart of a Pastor who has spent a lifetime ministering and serving people all over the world comes out in this message. He talks about the purpose of tests and trials and shows you how you can have joy in any situation in your life. Happy Caldwell weaves humor and practical day to day suggestions in with his teaching on faith. He shows you how you can experience victory over the world through faith in God on a daily basis.

The Epilogue includes a look at Hebrews Chapter 11, also known as “God’s Faith Hall of Fame.” The Epilogue uses the many examples of faith in this chapter to encourage you to live by faith and become a future all-star member of God’s Faith Hall of Fame.

At the end of the book you will find The ABCs of How to be Saved. If you are reading this right now and you are not sure if you have faith in Jesus Christ, you should go to the end of the book and read this first.

If you already have faith in Jesus Christ, you can use this short message as an example of how to share the message of faith in Jesus Christ with others. The ABCs of how to be saved is available in several versions and can be downloaded free of charge from the publisher’s website: www.wordcatcher.ws.

Please feel free to contact any of the ministries in this book for additional ministry resources. Also, if you have any useful comments or suggestions concerning this book, please contact the publisher at Word Catcher Press.

Part 1: Jerry Savelle

About Jerry Savelle

Jerry Savelle, known around the world for “talking people into winning,” is the founder of Jerry Savelle Ministries, an organization dedicated to sharing God’s message of love, acceptance and hope across the globe.

Since 1969, Jerry has been actively motivating people to not give up. He has ministered in more than 3000 churches and 26 nations, and has overseas offices in United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and USA headquarters in Crowley, Texas.

God has used Dr. Savelle to impact people who are burned out on religion, and who have backslidden in their walk with God, as well as Christians who have a need to hear the Word of God presented in everyday terms. His background with and enjoyment of motorcycles and cars gave birth to the Chariots of Light Motorcycle and Car Clubs and his cutting-edge television broadcast, all of which are being used as tools for attracting the lost to a loving God.

Dr. Savelle is the author of more than forty books, including his bestsellers, If Satan Can’t Steal Your Joy, He Can’t Keep Your Goods and You’re Somebody Special to God. He and his wife, Carolyn, also serve as founding Pastors of Heritage of Faith Christian Center in Crowley, Texas, a church dedicated to making a winner out of every member.

Jerry and Carolyn are the parents of two daughters, Jerriann Savelle Bridges and Terri Savelle Foy. Jerriann and Terri reside with their husbands and (combined) six children in Crowley, Texas. They serve as Senior Vice Presidents of Jerry Savelle Ministries International.

God Is Who He Says He Is

By Jerry Savelle

1 God Is Who He Says He Is

You Must Believe God Is All He Says He Is and More

You cannot talk about faith without Hebrews chapter 11.  I would like you to look at a very familiar scripture:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

I do not know how many messages I have preached on Hebrews 11:6 during my many years of ministry, but it has to be in the thousands.  The word is inexhaustible.  Just about the time you think you have learned everything in the scripture, you can go back and check it out again and God will reveal even more understanding to you.

For me Hebrews 11:6 is the foundation for the Bible kind of faith. I can remember years ago reading a book by Kenneth E. Hagin when I first came to the Lord in 1969 called Real Bible Faith.

When I saw that title Real Bible Faith, I thought to myself, “If I can develop real Bible faith or the Bible kind of faith, then my days of failure and defeat will be over; My days of sickness and disease, will be over; My days of poverty and lack will be over.”

I began a quest back then to learn the Bible kind of faith.  I was not interested in learning about some kind of denominational faith. I was interested in learning all I could about the Bible kind of faith.

My mandate for the last 43 years has been to talk people into winning.  That is what I do. I travel from one end of this planet to the other. I am not only recognized as a preacher, a word of faith preacher, but a motivator. I do a lot of motivational seminars both in the Christian and secular worlds.  I have spoken in many seminars for professional athletes, football teams and businessmen. My job is to talk people into winning.

Obviously, one of the principles of winning is diligence and perseverance.  In other words, “don’t quit.” In fact, there is probably not a sermon I ever preached where “don’t quit” was not in there somewhere. If you are ever going to be the winner God wants you to be, then you have to get quit out of your mind, your mouth and your life.

Like Norvell Hayes used to say, “God doesn’t bless lazy Christians. You are not ever going to have God’s best if you are always looking over your shoulder for an excuse to quit. If you want God’s best, “quit” cannot be an option for you.

God rewards those who are diligent. You have to be diligent in seeking him and diligent in your pursuit of your vision, dreams and promises that God has given you. You have to be diligent in your pursuit of them, or you are never going to have the rewards God wants you to have.

Hebrews 11:6 has two parts. First you must believe that God is. Secondly, you must believe he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Over the years I have preached more from the second part of the verse than from the first part. Today I am going to focus on the first part; you must believe that God is.

I think that believing “God is” is more than just believing that God exists. Almost everyone believes God exists. This is not really what we are looking at here, even though that is important and vital. If you grew up in a home where people did not believe that God exists that certainly is step one. You must first believe that God exists. There are some people that need to know God exists.

Many years ago after the Berlin wall came down I went into the Ukraine and Russia with Bill Bassansky and a group of ministers. There was a military official in the Communist Party and his wife that Bill Bassansky led to the Lord. This couple invited Bill and me to come have dinner with them in their home. Bill was born in the Ukraine and he spoke their language.  In a little while the wife, who was serving us dinner, began to cry uncontrollably.  Bill asked her why she was crying.

She said, “For seventy years we have been told there is no God. All my life I grew up thinking you were the enemy. Tonight, I am sitting here with people I have been told were the enemy, and I was told God doesn’t exists. Now, you have told us about a God who does exist. I know he does exist because he is in my heart now. I am just over-whelmed.”

This woman had to believe that God does exist, but for you and me it is different. I grew up in the Southern part of the United States which is known as the Bible Belt. Everybody in the South believes that God exists. Everybody in the South has been to church at least once, and they think that is all it takes to make them a Christian. No matter how big a heathen they may be, they have been to church once and they think that makes them a Christian. I cannot remember a day in my life that I did not believe that God exists.

Believing “God is” is more than just believing he exists. We believe he exists.  If you want the kind of faith that the Bible talks about that produces victory over the world, then you must believe that God is who he says he is. You must believe more than that God exists—you must believe all that he says he is. The Bible reveals from cover to cover who God is. We will spend eternity learning about whom God is and we will never learn it all. God is infinite and we can never learn all there is about him.

God Is the Great I Am and God Is the Great He Is

When God first called Moses he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep in the desert wilderness. God got his attention by speaking to him from a burning bush. The bush was on fire and it was not consumed. God used the miracle of the burning bush as a way to catch his attention and introduce himself to Moses.

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am. (Exodus 3:1-4)

God went on to tell Moses he was the God of his forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He told them he had seen the affliction of his people in Egypt. God told Moses he was going to deliver his people from slavery and take them to a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. He told Moses he was going to send him before Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt and that the nation of Israel would return to the mountain he was on and worship God there.

Moses said to God, “I can’t do this. I can’t speak well. I am not qualified. I am inadequate. Besides that, who am I going to tell Pharaoh it was that sent me?” God said, “You tell him I Am that I Am has sent you.”

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (Exodus 3:13-14)

God revealed himself to Moses by calling himself a name like no other name. God said his name was “I AM THAT I AM.”  There is no other God like our God who calls himself by the name “I AM THAT I AM.”

God was saying to Moses whatever it takes to get you where you need to be, I will be it. God said his name is, “I am that I am.” God is the great I am, and God is the great He is.

2 God’s Names Reveal Who He Is

God Gives Himself Many Descriptive Names in the Bible

God has chosen throughout the Bible to reveal himself to you by giving himself many descriptive names. Each of these names helps you to understand a little bit more of who God says he is.  The Bible is also full of figures of speech that describe God using metaphors like shield, fortress, and rock. Each of these God-inspired word pictures help you to better understand who the I AM THAT I AM says he is.

God Says He Is Your Shield of Protection and Your Great Reward

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)

God Says He Is the Almighty God

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1)

Almighty God is “El Shadai” in the Hebrew. This literally means “I am the Breasty One.” In other words, God is saying I am capable of nourishing every child of mine and I never run out.

God Says He Is Your Healer

… If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. (Exodus 15:26)

God Says He Is Your Deliverer from Bondage

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. (Deuteronomy 5:6)

God Says He Is the Holy One of Israel and Your Savior

For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: … (Isaiah 43:3)

God Says He Is the First and the Last

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. (Isaiah 48:12)

God Says He Is Your Profitable Teacher

Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isaiah 48:17)

God Says He Is Your Comforter

I, even I, am he that comforteth you: … (Isaiah 51:12)

God Says He Is Merciful and Forgiving

… I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger forever. (Jeremiah 3:12)

God Says He Is the Loving, Kind, Righteous, Judge of the Earth

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

God Says He Is the Renewer of Your Strength

Are you weary today? Then God is the renewer of your strength.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

God Says He Is the Rose Of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley

He is the beautiful rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. Are you in a valley today?  God is the lily of the valley. Living in the valley is not all that bad. God is there.

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Song of Solomon 2:1)

God Says He Is Your Shepherd

Are you in want? The Lord is your shepherd. He leads you to green pastures and still waters. Are you comfortless?  God is the rod and staff that comforts.”  Are you dry and thirsty spiritually? God is the cup that runneth over.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalms 23:1-6)

God Says He Is the Bright and Morning Star

Are you sitting in darkness?  He is the bright and morning star.

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. (Revelation 22:16)

His Name Is Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God,

The Everlasting Father and The Prince of Peace

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

God Says He Is Your Wisdom and Much More

Are you confused? He is wisdom and much more.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Do you feel like quitting?  He is the finisher of your faith.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus’ Gives Himself Many Descriptive Names

Jesus Christ often used figures of speech in his teaching. He took everyday things and made them timeless descriptions of who he is.  Here are a few examples.

Jesus Says He Is the Bread of Life

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)

Jesus Says He Is the Light of the World

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

Jesus Says He Is the Door for the Sheep

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)

Jesus Says He Is the Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

Jesus Says He Is the Way, the Truth and the Life

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Jesus Says He Is the Alpha and Omega

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8)

In the Gospel of John Jesus was called God’s word that was made flesh. In the book of Revelation Jesus called himself the Alpha and the Omega. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. In English this would be like saying he is the A to Z of the alphabet. Not only is Jesus the word that was made flesh he is every letter in the alphabet from A to Z.  Jesus is the great I am that I am that spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Jesus is everything he says he is. Jesus is the great I am that I am and he is the great he is!

What are you going through today?  Whatever pressure might be on your life, whatever test or trial you might be going through, whatever adversities you may be experiencing, God is capable of being the answer to your every need. If you can believe God is the answer to every need, you will have an unshakeable faith in God. You will triumph over your trials and tests and bring great glory to God.

God’s Many Names Reveal He Is Everything You Need

1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. (Psalm 18:1)

David wrote almost half of the 150 Psalms.  In those Psalms you will find David referring to God with many names. Every one of these names tells you what God became to David in his time of need. When he wrote Psalm 18, he was in imminent danger from King Saul and his soldiers. The king was angry and wanted him dead. David was running away from the king’s soldiers and hiding in the wilderness.

God said to him, “David, what do you need me to be?”

David said, “I need you to be my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my strength, my buckler, my horn of salvation and my high tower.” In this one verse we see where David gave God seven different names. These names represented what God became to him in his time of distress.

What do you need in your life?

Do you need deliverance? He is your deliverer.

Do you need comfort? He is your comforter.

Do you need peace? He is the Prince of Peace.

Whatever you need in your life, God’s names tell you he is the answer to your every need.

When I first started my walk of faith, the thing that really got me interested and stirred up was learning that God was everything I needed him to be.  No matter what I was going through God was there for me. He could be the counselor when I needed counseling.  He could be wisdom when I was confused and did not know what to do.  He could be peace when I was full of stress and did not know where to turn.  Anything and everything I needed God to be in my life he was that.

I believe the foundational principle for developing real Bible faith, is you must believe that God is. You must believe not only that he exists, but you must believe he is everything you need him to be in your life. No matter what you are going through, God’s many names reveal he is the answer to that need.

I want to challenge you today. If you want real Bible faith, then you have to get to the place in your life where you are thoroughly convinced and fully persuaded that no matter what your need is, God has a name for what you need. A revelation of this will cause your days of failure and defeat to be over.

God Wants You to Increase

By Jerry Savelle

3 How I Learned God Could Bring Increase

It All Started When I Was in the Paint and Body Business

I first came to the Lord in 1969 through the ministry of Kenneth Copeland.  My wife and I had grown up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and we were living there when we met Kenneth Copeland.  I was a young businessman, and I owned a paint and body shop.  I was running from God.  I heard the call of God in 1957.  Preaching was not what I wanted to do, and I ran just as hard and as fast as I possibly could away from the call of God.

In 1969 Kenneth Copeland came to Shreveport and preached a whole week there, three services a day.  My wife went to every service.  She had been filled with the Holy Ghost since she was eight years old.  She loved God with all her heart and was praying for me to surrender my life to the Lord.  I was going in the opposite direction.

When I came home from work, I was covered with body filler dust from head to toe; I had grease on me from one end to the other, and my hands were bleeding from handling sharp metal.  The last thing I wanted to do was to go hear some preacher preach for a couple of hours.

She would come home after those meetings and I would be sitting there in my recliner watching television.  She would come in and tell me everything she had heard. I remember her trying to explain to me what happened from the cross to the throne.  I did not have a clue as to what she was talking about. She would go on and on about the meeting.

Finally, the last night she said, “Jerry if you will come and hear this man tonight and if you don’t like it, I will never ask you again.”

She said this because she had dragged me to 17 other revivals I did not like.

I said, “That is the deal I have been waiting for.”

I didn’t know if there was scripture in the Bible that said, “Nag your husband into the kingdom.” But Carolyn evidently believed there was.  She and her mother would nag at me day and night trying to get me turned on to God.

She said, “If you don’t like it tonight, I will promise you I will never ask you to come again.”

I said. “Who is this guy you’re so thrilled about?”

“Kenneth Copeland.”

“Kenneth Copeland?”

“Yes, Kenneth Copeland.”

“Did he use to sing rock and roll songs?”

“No, he is a preacher.”

“I heard a song in 1957 called the ‘Pledge of Love’ and it was by a man named Kenneth Copeland.”

“That is not the same Kenneth Copeland.”

“Does he sing?”

“Yes, he sings every night.”

“Does he have a great voice?”

“Awesome.”

“It is probably him.”

“No, it is not him. You don’t know this man.”

Well, that made me interested in going to the meeting. I wanted to go because she promised me she would never ask me again, and I was also going to prove her wrong.

When we arrived at the meeting I saw a bunch of people on the platform, and I said to her, ”Which one is this Kenneth Copeland?”

She pointed him out.

When Brother Copeland came up to the microphone, he sang a song I found out was his theme song back then. It was called “More about Jesus.”

He finished singing then he got into his message and started telling about his life. Then he said, “And in 1957 I had a hit record called ‘The Pledge of Love.’”

I said to my wife, “I told you.”

God used the fact he had recorded a hit record to get my attention.  This opened me up so I would listen to what he was saying. When I first came in that night I had planned on not believing anything he said, but he got my attention. Then, what I heard that night absolutely changed my life. This night was the beginning of my journey of living by faith. Brother Copeland was instrumental in starting me on the right track.

Little did I know nine months later Brother Copeland was going to come back to Shreveport, Louisiana. This time I did not try to stay out of the meeting.  I sat on the front row and soaked it up like a sponge. Then, Brother Copeland stopped right in the middle of one of his sermons and said, “Stand up Jerry!”

I met him because he had an accident in his car and I was working on his car for him while he was in town.

He said, “Stand up Jerry! God showed me in prayer today that you and I will be a team. You and I will spend the rest of our lives together preaching the word of God around the world.  It will be your responsibility to believe God when that team will begin.  Sit down.”

I do not remember anything else he said after that.  But I thought, “Dear Lord, we are going to be a team and spend the rest of our lives preaching the word.”

Well, a few months later I moved to Fort Worth, Texas and began traveling with Brother Copeland. I served him in that ministry for three years.

My Joseph’s Car of Many Colors

When I first went to work with Kenneth Copeland in 1970, I had worked on cars all my life. My dad worked on cars and he taught me how to work on cars. From the time I was big enough to pick up a peck hammer, I painted cars; I worked on cars, and I restored automobiles.

Growing up I was never without an automobile.  My daddy gave me my first car when I was 12 years old.  It was a 1929 Ford Model A coupe.  I have never been without a car, but all the cars I drove were always wrecked and rebuilt.

That was the way we did it as paint and body men.  We did not buy new cars.  We could not afford new cars.  We let everyone else buy them and wreck them first.  Then, we would buy the wrecks and rebuild them.  I would drive cars for a year with just the primer on them.  The car was painted red on one fender, blue on the quarter panel, white on the top and orange on the hood.  Those cars were my Joseph cars. They were cars of many colors.

My dad was also into automobile racing. I grew up on a racetrack. We were on a racetrack somewhere in the southern part of the United States nearly every weekend. That was my life. Well, I gave all that up. I walked away from all that to go into the ministry full-time.  I moved to Fort Worth because Kenneth Copeland wanted me to come and work with him.

When I moved to Fort Worth I had an old Oldsmobile. This was 1970, and my car was a 1964 Oldsmobile 98 luxury sedan.  But by this time, the luxury was long gone when I bought it. The man who owned the car owned the Oldsmobile dealership in Shreveport, Louisiana.  He was Mr. Roundtree of Roundtree Oldsmobile. It was his personal car, and he had hit a tree head-on and totaled the car out. I saw it at the salvage yard and bid on it. I got it for $287.50.  Then, I started rebuilding it.

This was the car I was driving when I went to work with Brother Copeland. By the time I had moved to Fort Worth, the car already had over 100,000 miles on it.  It was worn out.

Soon after I started to work for him, Brother Copeland wanted me to take him to the airport. He said, “Jerry, come pick me up and take me to the airport.”

I thought, “I am about to find out what kind of man of faith he really is.  He is going to ride in my car?  It is one thing to preach this stuff, but if he is going anywhere with me he is going to use some faith today. My car does not respond to the natural, it only responds to faith.”

My car would not start unless you talked in tongues an hour before you went out there. I would get up an hour early and pray in the Spirit.  I was priming the pump on that car.  I would go out there and turn the key in the ignition. Then, I would have to pray in tongues some more until it finally started.

That particular time Brother Copeland asked me to take him to the airport it was cold and my car’s heater did not work.  The transmissions slipped and the brakes did not work very well. The engine smoked so bad that you had to roll the window down and wave the smoke away to see when the light turned. I am not exaggerating.

I pulled up in front of Kenneth Copeland’s house.  I turned the engine off and went to knock on the door and the thing kept running.  I was glad because I did not know if it would start again.

I knocked on the door and Brother Copeland was standing there with his luggage.  I got his luggage in the car.  It was cold.  Brother Copeland had his topcoat on.  I did not even know what a top coat was in those days.  I am standing there in my little jacket. I got Brother Copeland in the car.  I put the thing down in drive and it did not move.

He said, “What’s the matter, Jerry?”

I said, “You had better start praying in tongues.  The transmission slips.  It does not engage when you put it in drive.”

He just laughed.

I said, “This is not funny. You want me to take you to the airport?  You better pray.”

He started praying.  In a little while it went into gear and we took off.

We’re going down the road and we are talking and you can see our breath in the car because it was so cold.

Brother Copeland said, “Jerry, turn the heater on.  Man, it is cold.”

I said, “Brother Copeland, don’t be moved by what you feel.  It is wide open right now. It is on high.”

He said, “The heater is on?”

I said, “It is on full blast.”

He just sat there and shivered.  In a little while he took his hand and slapped the dash and said, “I command this heater to work in Jesus’ name!”

That thing got so hot we had to turn it off. It almost ran us out of there.

I said, “Brother Copeland, you need to ride with me more often, but don’t give up on your faith now.  We are about to turn left.  Traffic is coming your way and this thing don’t always make it through the intersection.”

Thank God we finally got to the airport safely.

Since that time God has increased me tremendously, I can now go out in my garage and decide which car I want to drive, and they are all paid for. God has increased me greatly, but that was not the way I started out.

If God can bring increase in my life like this, he can bring increase to your life as well.

You Have the Mind of Christ—Do it!

Those early days in ministry taught me many lessons. Besides learning how God could increase me financially, I was also learning how God could increase me in many other ways.

I learned God could teach me how to do things I did not know how to do. I learned how to walk by faith on a daily basis. God was teaching me to depend on him for help in any situation.

During one of my first weeks working with Brother Copeland he said to me, “My airplane needs painting.”

I had never painted an airplane before. I had always worked on cars. I did not know anything about painting airplanes. It is a little different than painting automobiles.

Before I could say, “I never have done that before,” he reached over and laid his hands on my forehead and said, “You have the mind of Christ, don’t ask me how to do it. Don’t tell me you can’t do it. You have the mind of Christ. Do it!” That was the way he did everything.

I went out there and I stripped that airplane down. I got some books, and I read. Then I painted his airplane, and it turned out pretty nice for my first airplane job.

Well, I am in the office one week, and back then Brother Copeland’s office was very small. The IBM copier broke down and would not work. I had come off the road from a meeting with him and went into the office. The one secretary that was there in those days said to me, “Jerry, the copier doesn’t work.”

I said, “I don’t know anything about copiers. Does it have a 283 or a 327 cubic inch engine? I don’t know anything about copiers.”

Then she said, “It is not working and we have to make some copies. Do you think you can fix it?”

I said, “I don’t know anything about working on copiers.”

About that time brother Copeland walked in.

The secretary said to him, “Brother Copeland, the copier won’t work.”

He reached over and laid his hands on my forehead, and said, “You have the mind of Christ. Jesus knows how to fix this and you have his mind. You fix it. Don’t ask me how. Don’t tell me you can’t. You have the mind of Christ.” Then he left.

I went in there where the copier was in the hallway and I started taking it apart. I did not know what I was looking for. I did not know what was wrong. I did not know if something was broken or needed replacing or what. I thought, “Well, I’ll just take it apart, pray in tongues and confess I have the mind of Christ.”

I completely stripped the copier down and laid all the parts out. Then I started putting them back exactly the way I took them out. When I got through I turned it on. It worked and I looked on the floor and there were some parts I did not put back in. I had left some parts out. I said, “Brother Copeland I know what is wrong with this machine. IBM put too many parts in it.”

Well, I discovered that day that Jesus knows how to fix copy machines.

You know Jesus knows about working on houses. He was a master carpenter. Every once in a while something would need to be fixed in our home in Fort Worth. One time Carolyn asked me to fix a door. I acted like I did not hear her. Then, I went in there and worked on it and got it right.

Then she said, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

I said, “There are a lot of things you don’t know I can do, and I am not telling you, because you will have me do this stuff all the time.”

I really did not know how to do it, but since Brother Copeland was not there to do it for me, I laid my hands on myself and said, “You have the mind of Christ.” Then, I was able to fix it.

Launching Out into My Own Ministry

After three years working with Brother Copeland the Lord said, “I want you to launch out into your own ministry.”

I said, “Lord, you said Brother Copeland and I would be a team. If I leave that splits up the team.”

You have to remember this is 1973 and the term “word of faith” did not exist.  Back then there were just a handful of preachers who preached the uncompromising word of faith.  Kenneth E. Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, John Osteen and Oral Roberts. Just a handful of preachers.

He said, “No, by splitting up it is not going to split up the team. Splitting up will enable the team to cover twice as much territory with the same message.”

God certainly proved this to be right because 43 years later Brother Copeland and I are still a team, even though we have two separate ministries, and we have covered a lot more territory doing it this way.

Kenneth Copeland introduced to me the idea that God wanted me to prosper.  I began studying God’s system of finance, and I discovered several things.  I learned that God could bring increase into my life and that God is the God of increase. Now, I want to tell you how you can position yourself to receive increase from God.

It would be one thing if I told you that God wants you to increase and I have never experienced it in my own life.  It would be one thing if I said God wants you to prosper and I have never experienced prosperity.  I am not just for reading somebody else’s book and getting a sermon out of it.  I am telling you from my own life experiences.  God has done everything in my life that I will be talking about.

I am not saying I have learned all there is to know about increase. I have not reached the pinnacle of this because there is always another level. No matter how much you increase or how much prosperity you might have experienced, there’s still another level.

The word of God does not change.  The same principles that taught me how to believe God for my next pair of socks also will work on six million dollars. The principles do not change.  I have noticed in my life over the last 43 years the only thing that changes is the number of zeros at the end of it.  I started out believing God for $5, then $50 and then $500.

4 God Gives Increase to Those Who Believe

God is the God of Increase

Several years ago the Lord said to me, “Everywhere you preach I want you to challenge my people to believe for increase in their life as never before. I am the God of increase and I want my people to increase.”

The time is short folks. One of the reasons we need to increase is so that when there is a financial need we can meet it, and it will be no sweat off our brow. God desires for you to increase.  He is wrapping things up.  He wants you to increase in every area of your life.  My assignment today is to introduce you to him as the God of increase.  He wants you to believe that he is the God of the increase.

If you can believe, he can increase you supernaturally beyond what you can earn with your own hands, with your own mind, and with your own intellect. Then, you are on your way to be positioned for increase like you have never experienced increase before.

The Apostle Paul said,

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

Obviously, the Apostle Paul is talking about spiritual increase here.  In other words he is saying, “I planted the word it into your hearts. Then Apollos came right behind me and added water to that word, but it was God that gave the increase in your life.”

He is talking about spiritual growth here, but the thing I want you to recognize is the Apostle Paul attributed God with giving the increase.  You cannot separate God from increase.  When you think of God, you have to think of increase, because God is the God of increase.

Let me give you a few examples from the scripture of how God wants increase for his people.

God Increased Adam and Eve

I have been amazed by what I discovered in my study on the subject of increase.  I knew this and I had preached from it many times before, but it just hit me in a different way, a more powerful way than I have ever experienced before. Did you know, the very first thing recorded in Genesis that God spoke to Adam and Eve was to increase?

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-27)

After God created Adam and Eve he said, “Be fruitful and multiply.” From the first chapter in the first book in the Bible God wanted Adam and Eve to be increase-minded. Notice he did not say, “Walk in love, be at peace with your neighbor.” God spoke increase to them.  He said “Be fruitful.” And in the literal Hebrew that is increase.

What was God doing?  He wanted Adam and Eve to become increase-minded.  He wanted Adam and Eve to think increase every day of their lives.  Even though God had built this garden and this garden was in a particular location on this planet, it did not cover the entire planet.  It was in one specific place on the planet.  God gave the Adam and Eve the assignment to keep the garden and to increase and multiply and subdue the whole earth.  God not only wanted Adam and Eve to repopulate the earth, God’s intention was that they subdue the entire planet and turn it into a Garden of Eden, a paradise.

He said, “Be fruitful, increase, multiply.  I give you the planet.  I put you on this one spot on this planet, but I want you to increase.  I want you to turn this entire planet into a Garden of Eden.  I want this entire planet to be a paradise.  I want you to fill it with descendants and offspring.”

God wanted them to enjoy paradise wherever they might be on this planet.  They did not have to live in this one little locale.  He wanted them to make this entire planet a Garden of Eden.  They were supposed to do it by thinking increase, and talking increase, and believing increase.

God Increased Noah and His Family

We all know that Adam blew it.  Adam’s descendants became very violent, evil and wicked. God was sorry he had made man. God planned to destroy all life on the earth with a flood. But one man, Noah, found favor with him. God commanded Noah to build an ark, a giant floating ship, to save himself, his family and the animals from the flood. Noah by faith obeyed God.

The Bible says,

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

What happened when the waters receded and they all came forth from the Ark? God told them the same thing he told Adam and Eve.

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1)

God says to Noah and his family, “Be fruitful, and multiply…”  What is God doing?  Even though Adam blew it, and men became very violent, God started over with another man. He wanted Noah and his family to be increase-minded. God is thinking increase all the time. He wanted Noah and his family to multiply and repopulate the world.

All of us on the earth today are descendants of Noah. The world today and everything we have are the direct results of the increase that came from the faith and obedience of Noah.

I have discovered in my walk with God that he never allows me to have a comfort zone.  He is always asking me to stretch.  About the time we are finished with something and we think, “I am going to take this armor off and throw it over in the corner and rest for a while.” Then God starts dealing with me about more increase in my life and ministry. I have to continue to think increase.

Just like Adam and Eve and Noah and his family, God wants you and me to think about increase in our lives. We should be thinking about increase, but Satan has most people thinking about their lack all the time. Lack is the exact opposite of what God wants. God wants you to be blessed with abundant life. God wants you to be increase-minded all the time.

God Increased Abraham and Sara

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (Genesis 12:1-2)

When God introduced himself to Abraham or Abram as he was known then, what was the first thing he said to Abram? “I am going to bless you, and I am going to make you a blessing, and I am going to make a great nation out of you.” From the first introduction with Abram, he has that man thinking of increase.

Abram was 75 years old when he left his country and obeyed God and moved his family into the Promised Land. Then God spoke to him again.

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)

He took him outside and showed him all the stars and said, “If you can count all the stars you see in the sky, that’s how many descendants you will have.” Every time Abram went outside at night he thought, “I am going to increase. I am one man, and God is going to make my descendants into a great nation. I will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.”

God took him out by the seashore one day and said, “If you can count all the grains of sand on this seashore, that is how many descendants you will have.” Every time Abraham saw sand he thought about increase.  Every time Abraham saw stars he thought about increase.  God was endeavoring to make the man increase minded.

In Genesis it says,

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. (Genesis 24:1)

When Abraham was an old man, God had blessed him, or increased him in all things. In every area of his life God brought him increase.

I have been walking with God for 43 years. If you compare the life I live now to the way I used to live, you would agree the testimony of my life is increase. God has blessed me. I am extremely blessed and highly favored. But, I keep hearing God say, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

There is no limitation to increase.  The only limitation on increase is what you and I would put on it.

If you are thinking or saying, “It just couldn’t get any better than this.” or, “We just can’t go any further than that.”

I say, “Yes, you can.”

We are the ones who put limitations on ourselves not God.

“Well, my business could not get any better than this.”

“Yes, it can.”

“Well, I can’t imagine making any more money than that.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I can’t imagine living in a better house than this.”

“Yes, there is a better house out there for you.”

5 Three Reasons for Believing for Increase

Increase So You Can Be a Blessing to Others

God wants you to be increase-minded. You will never have God’s best, if you do not become increase-minded.  You will never have God’s best as long as you think you have reached the top and are think you are as far as you can go.

I heard Jesse Duplantis preach a sermon one time and he called it the “level that you choke.”  Do you know what I’m talking about?  When you reach a level beyond what you can believe, that is when you choke. Sometimes people have trouble swallowing something and they begin to choke. This is what happens sometime with people’s faith. They choke at some point and are unable to go to the next level of increase.

If you have never paid cash for a car you might say, “Well, I believe I can go down one of these days and pay cash for a used car.”  This guy might be able to see himself paying cash for a used car. But, when it comes to seeing himself pay cash for a new car, this is the level he chokes. He will never be able to pay cash for a new car if he fails to believe it will ever happen. He is not increase-minded.

The same principle applies to other things as well. You may never see yourself being able to give $1,000 or $10,000 at one time to help orphans in Africa. You choke at the $10 or the $100 level. You have to become increase minded and move beyond the level that you choke. You have to believe it is possible to for you to give $1,000 or $10,000. You have to remove your limits and see yourself increasing to the point where it is possible to give this much or more.

God wants you to be increase-minded. We have to move beyond the point where we choke on something that is beyond us. When you are increase-minded, you will not choke when God wants you to move to a higher level of increase. You have to become increase-minded.  God cannot increase you if you are lack-minded, or if you are limitations-minded.

How are you going to get increase-minded?  The Bible says it requires meditating in the word by day and by night. God is increase-minded.

God said,

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

The Bible you have is God’s thoughts in print.  If you will spend enough time in your Bible, then his thoughts will become your thoughts.  Then, the next thing you know you will be thinking, “Increase! Increase!”

When you look at the stars now at night, you will think increase.  When you look at the sand on the seashore, you will think increase. What used to be impossible in your thinking does not seem so impossible anymore. God wants you to be increased minded so you can increase and be a blessing to others.

Increase So You Can Make God

Look Attractive to Others

Why would rich successful people want to come to a church that talks about poverty and lack where you are just barely making it, and you have to have a rummage sale next Saturday?  Successful people think about increase. No wonder they would not come. God wants you to increase so it makes the God you serve attractive to others around you.

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. (Genesis 26:12-14 NKJV)

God brought increase into Isaac’s life.  He caused him to reap a hundredfold in the same year during a time of famine.  When everybody else was going under, Isaac was going over.  And the Bible says as a result of the increase that came into his life, the Philistines envied him.  Why did they envy him?  Because his God brought increase into his life when everybody else was experiencing decrease.

Increase so You Can Fulfill God’s Purposes for Your Life

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Finally, the reason God wants you to increase is so you can finish what he has called you to do.  God must have you and I increase in order to finish the work that he has given this generation of believers to do.

Folks, we have the assignment of ushering in the return of King Jesus.  We are preparing the earth for his appearance. I am not watching for a hole in the ground.  I am looking for a hole in the sky.   We have to increase so we can finish the work God has called this generation to do.

6 Moving to a Higher Level of Increase

There Is Always another Level of Increase

I was preaching in southern California when a man came to my meeting and asked me if our family would consider having lunch the next day with him and his family.  We had the day off so we told him we would.  He said, “I will pick you up tomorrow.  I would like to show you around and show you what I do.  Then we will go to lunch.”

His wife comes with their children, and they pick up my wife and my children in a brand new top of the line Mercedes.  He came and picked me up in a 1927 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost valued at a quarter of a million dollars.

I get in and we are driving down the freeway and on both sides of the freeway he is pointing out,” I developed that. I built that.  I own this piece of property.  I just bought that piece of property.  I am developing this.  I developed that.” I mean, all up and down the freeway in Southern California, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, he owned most of it.

Do you remember the goofy, country boy Gomer Pyle who joined the Marines in the old TV comedy? Well, I felt the spirit of Gomer Pyle coming upon me as I was riding around with this man in his Rolls Royce. I am blessed, but this guy is at another level. I could feel the spirit of Gomer Pyle coming on and I was trying to be just as dignified as I knew how to be.  I did not want him to know I was born in Mississippi, in the sticks way back there, but I felt it coming on.  Then, when I saw the doors to his personal office I was very impressed.  I had never seen doors that tall. I stood there and looked up at them and all of a sudden the words of amazement I used to hear Gomer Pyle say came out of my mouth, “Shazam! Gollie!”

We are talking about another level. Have you ever heard the expression “that guy lives in another world?” This man did. There is always another level.  Even though this man was on another level, there is always another level that topped his, and God is the author of it.

I remember Brother Copeland calling me a few years ago and he said, “Jerry, this is Kenneth.” I said, “Yes sir.” He said, “We have to renew our minds, son.”

I said, “What have we been doing all these years?”

He said, “No, I am talking about we have to go to another level.”

I said, “What level now, Brother Copeland?”

I mean you don’t hang around Kenneth Copeland and think small. He is a big thinker.

I said, “What level now?”

He said, “We have to get into the billion flow.”

I said, “What?”

He said, “Billion flow.”

I said, “Billion flow?”

I said, “Brother Copeland give me a break. I just got into the million flow.”

He said, “That is what I am talking about. We have to renew our minds. What we have to accomplish in the body of Christ before the appearing of Jesus is going to take billions.  We have to start thinking billions now.”

He said, “Do you remember back there years ago when you and I first started out?  When we were believing God that somebody would put $100 dollars all at one time in the offering?”

I said, “Yes, I remember the city where it happened the first time.”

Brother Copeland’s daddy, A.W., we all called him Granddad. Granddad and I counted the offerings in those days.  After we would get out of the service we would go to Granddad’s hotel room.  He and I would dump the offerings out on the bed and separate the ones and the fives and the tens and change, and we would count the offering.  We never saw a $100 bill.  We never saw a check for $100.  I remember one time there was a dollar bill from there and it was folded so many times and twisted.

A.W. Copeland opened that dollar up and just threw his head back and laughed as only he could do. He said, “God had to work on that ol’ boy all night to get him to let go of that dollar, didn’t he?”

I said, “Yes sir, Brother Copeland, I remember the meeting.  I know the meeting. I remember the year.  I remember the sermon you preached when your daddy and I sat up there and counted the offering. I remember I got so excited when I came across that $100 bill somebody had put in there for the first time.”

He said, “Do you remember when we went to the thousand flow and somebody put $1,000 in the offering all at one time?”

I said, “I will never forget it.”

He said, “We went from there to $5,000.  And from there to $10,000.  Do you remember when we started believing God that someday somebody would put $100,000 all at one time in this ministry?”

I said, “Yes, I remember that.  I remember when it happened.”

We kept going from faith to faith, from glory to glory, from victory to victory and from increase to increase.  I do not struggle for believing God for $100,000 now like I did 43 years ago.  43 years ago I had never seen $100,000.  Then I had to start believing that God could put hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars into what he has called me to do.

Now, we’re talking in terms of billions.  It is going to take billions for the body of Christ to fulfill what God has given us as an assignment before Jesus returns.

As long as we continue to use money the way God wants us to use it, not just hoard it up on ourselves, there is no limit to where God will take us.

You Can Increase Beyond Your Paycheck

You have to believe for increase.  You need increase so you can take care of your family the way God wants you to.  You need increase so that you can get involved in meeting the needs of other people the way God wants you to.

The Bible says he blesses you so that you can be a blessing.  The Apostle Paul picks up on this in Galatians chapter 6. The Amplified Bibles says “be mindful to be a blessing.”

10 So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being 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]. (Galatians 6:10 AMP)

The King James says, “Do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)

God wants you so blessed that when another brother and sister is suffering financially, you’re able to meet that need and there is no sweat off your brow when you do it. But then he also needs you to prosper so that it makes him attractive.   God wants you to increase so that your increase causes other people to want to know how you are getting it.  You want them to say, “Where is his increase coming from?” You want God to increase you beyond what you can earn in a paycheck.  Don’t limit God to your paycheck.

“But, Brother Jerry, I just don’t understand how God can get money to me other than by my paycheck.”

That is the reason the Bible says that you must believe that he is, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. God is capable of meeting your needs beyond your paycheck.  “

How is he going to do it, Brother Jerry?” I don’t know.  I am not him, but I know he has ways you couldn’t dream up in a 1,000 years.  God proved that to me years ago that I was not to limit him to a paycheck.  That I was not to limit him to what I could think up in my own mind and certainly not try to tell him who to use to me meet my need.

Don’t Try to Figure Out Who Is Going to Meet Your Need

If you start trying to tell God who you think would be best qualified to meet your need, you are going to miss it.  You will look for the guy with that $2000 suit and $500 shoes.  “Ah, he could meet my needs.” He may be paying notes on that suit.  You don’t know.

I remember when I was driving an old car.  I was driving down the road one day and this guy pulled up next to me in a brand new Cadillac.  I looked over there and I thought, “Dear Lord.” This was like 1972.   I said, “Look at that car.” The man was smoking.  “How come he got a car like that and I am driving this old dog? He probably don’t even care about God.”  I was getting real upset.

The Lord said, “Would you like for me to just show you what his life is like?” He said, “He has already smoked two cigarettes before the light changed.” He said, “This man is under so much pressure he does not even know how he’s going to pay for this car.  He doesn’t own anything he has it all for appearance.”

He said, “If you will believe I am, and if you believe I can, and if you believe I will, then the blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10:22)” He said, “I can give you a car like that debt free and you don’t have to smoke to figure out how to pay for it.”

You don’t put limitations on God by trying to figure out who he is going to use.  The Bible does say give and will be given unto you good measure, shaken together and running over. It is not your job to find the man that is going to give to your bosom. God does that.

One night after the Fort Worth Believers Convention service we were all going up to our hotel room. I was with Happy and Jeanne Caldwell, Jesse and Cathy Duplantis, my wife Carolyn and John Copeland, Brother Copeland’s son. We all got into the elevator and the doors were closing, but just before the doors closed, two little hands reached in to keep the doors open. We all went to push the button to open the doors. The doors opened up and this little woman, who was wearing a jogging suit and tennis shoes, stepped into the elevator with us.  By the looks of her we did not know if she was a part of our convention or not. She could have been a regular hotel guest that had been out jogging, or maybe she went to the gym on the lower floor.

At that particular moment, I was building a medical clinic in Kenya.  I was paying cash for it as I went.  It was almost completed.  Oral Roberts and I were going to go over and dedicate it.  I thought we were about done.  I had believed God for hundreds of thousands of dollars to build this thing.  Now, I am almost down to the time when Oral Roberts and I were going dedicate it.  They called me and told me we have one more situation that is going to cost $30,000 to complete.

I did not have another $30,000 for that particular project.  I had money for other projects, but I could not take money out of something that had been designated for something else. That would be misappropriation of funds.  I did not have another $30,000 for that clinic.  I’m standing in that elevator with a $30,000 need and nobody else knows about it but God.

This little woman walks in, we don’t even know if she’s been in the meeting or not.  In a few moments, when we reached her floor, she started out of the elevator and then she stopped and looked right at me and said, “Oh, Brother Jerry, by the way, I prayed and I asked God to let me meet you today. I have something for you, and I believe that God has arranged for me to be in this elevator with you at this precise moment.”

She handed me a check and then took off. I did not even get to say, “Thank you.”

Everybody is looking at me, and Jesse Duplantis is looking at me in a way that seemed to be saying, “Are you going to tell us what it is?”

I opened that check and it was for $30,000 dollars.

Listen to me. If it had been me doing the choosing, I would never have selected that woman.  She did not look like she had $30,000.  She sure did not look like she got in the elevator to give away $30,000.

Don’t try to figure out who is going to meet your need. Don’t limit God. He is capable of meeting your need in ways you could never dream up in a 1,000 years.

7 Six Ways to Position Yourself for Increase

Increase by Keeping Covenant with God

I found out that I had a covenant with the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and that covenant said health, increase, and success belonged to me. The word testament means covenant. The Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible are about the covenants or promises that God has made to man throughout history.

Let us look at the Old Testament covenant God made with Moses and the children of Israel. This was right after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and right before they were about to enter the Promised Land God had sworn to give them.

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: (Deuteronomy 6:1)

In verse one he tells them that they must obey his commandments and that they must be willing to do his statutes.  In other words God wanted them to keep up their end of their covenant with him.  As a result of obedience to God’s covenant with them, it will position them for increase in their lives.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 6:3)

Keeping covenant with God will cause you to increase mightily and receive the blessings of the Lord.  In the case of the Israelites, God wanted them to enter into the Promised Land, a land that flowed with milk and honey.

God would go on to tell the Israelites they would receive all the good things in the land, and they would not have to build or plant. They would only have to take over what was already there for them to have.

10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; (Deuteronomy 6:10-11)

Obeying God’s word would bring the Israelites into their Promised Land. God wanted to give them an abundance that would already be waiting for them when they got there. The houses would already be full of good things. God wanted them to enjoy what he prepared for them and to eat and be full.

The blessings of the covenant came with a warning for them to remember where this all came from. When you receive what God promised, you need to stay mindful of where it came from. You need to continue following the word of God and continue serving God after you are happy and full.

12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. (Deuteronomy 6:12-13)

God is telling them, “If you want the kind of increase that I want you to have in your lives, then number one, keep covenant with me.”

“Well, that’s great, Jerry. But what does this have to do with me today?”

It has everything to do with you. According to this scripture in Galatians the blessings of the covenant of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the Israelites belongs to you through faith in Jesus Christ.

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

What is God saying? He is saying that it didn’t end with Abraham. It didn’t end with David. It didn’t end with the children of Israel in the Promised Land. Jesus came and broke the curse over mankind. He redeemed us from the curse and put us in position so that you and I can walk in the same blessing, the same increase and the same favor.

The covenant we have in the New Testament is built upon a better covenant with better promises. This covenant was sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ when he died on the cross for your sins and mine. We have a new covenant by faith in Jesus Christ.

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

Increase is your covenant right. If you want to have increase in your life, number one, you must keep covenant with God. This covenant is established upon the promises of God and belongs to you if you have faith in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ you have been grafted into the family of God and have become a member of his family. Your covenant entitles you to all the rights, privileges and benefits that are available to you by faith in the promises of God.

Increase by Being Obedient to God

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: (Isaiah 1:19)

I remember when my children were little growing up.  I was traveling all the time and I would come home and Carolyn would say, “the girls did this and the girls did that, and I told them when Daddy gets home he is going to have a talk with you.”

I did not want it to get to the place where every time Daddy came home it looked like all he came home for was to punish them.

I said, “Girls listen. Daddy is gone a lot and I am expecting you to obey your mother.  I do not want to come home after every trip and you get to dread Daddy coming home because Daddy is going to punish you for something you did wrong.”

I found a scripture where Paul talked about children obeying their parents.

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3)

I said, “All I am asking you to do is obey your mother.”

I found another scripture that talks about obedience, and it says children should obey quickly and quietly.

He must have a well-behaved family, with children who obey quickly and quietly” (1 Tim.3:4, TLB).

I started using this with my children. I said, “Girls here is the way I want you to obey your mother.  I said I want you to do it quickly and quietly.”

“What does that mean daddy?”

I said do it the moment she says it and don’t argue.  Don’t come back with a better idea.  Just do it quickly and quietly. I said, “If you will learn to obey quickly and quietly the Bible says, ‘it will be well with you.’”  “So, girls get this in your brain right now.  When momma tells you to do something, you immediately, think, ‘Quickly and quietly.’  ‘Quickly and quietly.’  I’m telling you girls this will keep you in good standing. Think ‘Quickly and quietly.’” Even when they became teenagers, when instructions were given they would say, “We know Daddy, quickly and quietly.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Son, that is good advice.  I wish you would do the same.”

How many times have you tried to convince God that he does not understand?

I love that story Jesse Duplantis tells about the first time he went to Kenneth E. Hagin’s camp meeting.  He had never been to a Kenneth E. Hagin Camp meeting before.  He and Kathy were invited to go with some other minister friends and they happened to go on the night that was Rhema Bible College Night.  Norvell Hayes was the speaker, and Norvell was receiving a special offering for Rhema Bible College.  He was encouraging anybody and everybody to give a $10,000 offering to Rhema Bible College.

Jesse heard the Lord say, “Jesse give $10,000.”

Jesse spoke up and said, “Lord, that is all I got.”

The Lord said, “That is all I am asking for.”

Jesse said, “That is all I got.”

The Lord said, “That is all I am asking for. Do you have a problem here?”

Jesse was trying to convince God that was all he had.

I know you don’t understand how we operate down here, but this is all I have.  We have other things we have to do.

He finally obeyed God and did what he was told.

What’s that? That is not quickly and quietly.

I’m not going to stand here and tell you I have always obeyed God quickly and quietly, but I have found out when you obey God quickly and quietly it positions you for increase.  When God is asking you to do something, it is not to harm you or hurt you or to take something away from you.  It is positioning you for Increase. A lifestyle of obedience will position you for increase.

Increase by Putting God’s Word First Place in Your Life

The Bible says in the book of Matthew,

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

How many of you know when things are being added unto you you’re increasing?  Would you agree?  If things are being added to you, you are increasing.

Notice here it says the way you position yourself for this kind of Increase is you have to have your priorities right.  Your number one priority should be seeking God and his righteousness.  Obviously, if you’re going to seek God and his righteousness, then you’re going to have to put his word first place in your life.  Because that is how you pursue God through his word.  That is how you get to know God though his word, through fellowship.

Jesus is saying if you have your priorities right, you will seek God first, and you will put his word first place in your life.  If you do this, God promises you that everything you need while you are on this planet will be added to you.  You will not have to pursue it.  It will be added to you. If you seek first the kingdom of God, and if you put God’s word first place in your life, addition will start taking place in your life.  Things will be added to you. That is Increase.

You are all familiar with Psalm 1, but let’s take a look at it.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)

What does it say about the man that delights in the God laws and God’s word? This man has put God’s word first place in his life. He gets more joy out of the word of God than anything else. He will be blessed.

As a result of delighting himself in God’s word, the Bible says,

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:3)

Notice because this man has put God’s word first place in his life, everything the man does prospers.  If everything he is doing is prospering, then this man is experiencing increase.  Would you agree?

So far we have discovered from the word of God that you can increase by keeping covenant with God.  You can increase by being obedient to God, and you can increase by putting God’s word first place in your life. Now, we will look at how you can increase by hard work and diligence.

Increase by Hard Work and Diligence

A lot of people do not realize the Bible has a lot to say about hard work and diligence.

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. (Proverbs 13:11)

… but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. (Proverbs 13:4)

You need to work hard to increase financially.  God blesses people who work hard.  God blesses people who do what their job requires them to do.  If your job requires eight hours of work a day, then give your employer an honest eight hours of work for eight hours of pay.

If your lunch break is 1 hour, don’t take an hour and fifteen minutes.

Just from a natural standpoint the Bible teaches that the person that works hard, the person that is diligent, the person in their work who exercises integrity will increase.

I am sad to say this, but we have had a lot of employees over the years in our ministry that turned out to be thieves. I’m not talking about they went into the accounting department and took money.  They were thieves in the way that they worked.  They did not show up on time.  They watched the clock.  They started gathering everything up at 4:15 when they did not get off until 5:00.  Some of them would take things that did not belong to them, paper clips, notepads, and pencils.

You know what?   Even when I was a sinner I was an honest sinner.  I worked in a lot of different car dealerships as a paint and body man before I went into business for myself.  In fact, the first six months of my marriage, Carolyn asked me one morning at breakfast, “Where do you work now?” I said, “I work at the Chevrolet dealership.”

She said, “Yesterday, you worked for the Ford dealership.”

I said, “They made me mad and I quit.”

I said, “If they make me mad today, I will be working at the Buick dealership tomorrow.”

The only way Carolyn could tell where I worked was that each dealership had a different color uniform.  When I came to breakfast with a different colored uniform, she knew I had quit.

I quit when they did not treat me fairly.  As a paint and body man I worked on commission.  I did not get paid by the hour. The more wrecks I repaired the better my paycheck was.  They gave me 45 percent commission.  The shop got 55 percent and I got 45 percent.

My dad taught me how to work hard.  My dad taught me a good work ethic. When my dad found out I wanted to follow in his footsteps as a paint and body man, the first thing he asked me was, “Son, are you going to do this right? Or are you going to become a body filler, art gum specialist? Are you going to just use body filler on everything or are you going to do this right?”

I said, “I want to do it like you do it dad.”

He said, “I got a reputation. If you are going to follow in my footsteps, then you are going to learn to do this right. You are going to learn to heat and shrink and work with lead.  You’re not going to use body filler on everything.”

He taught me how to do it right.

Later on he told me,” If you give a person an estimate on a repair, and then you start working on that car and find out that you did not give a high enough estimate, you do not go back and ask for more money.  You signed that agreement that you would repair that car for this amount.  I don’t care if you wind up hurting over it, you keep your word.”

My daddy made me an honest sinner.  He did not make me a sinner but he taught me how to be honest.

It amazes me at the number of dishonest Christians in the world today.

The Bible teaches hard work will bring increase. You find this scripture about increase in the New Testament writings of the Apostle Paul,

… but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; 11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; (1 Thessalonians 4:10-11)

In other words, God says labor with your hands.  God’s word is full of scriptures talking about the importance of integrity. If you’re an honest Christian, and if you work hard,  and if you do what you told the person you work for you’re going to do, and if you do it with integrity, God will find ways to bring increase into your life beyond your paycheck.

Increase by Sowing Good Seed

We are talking about increase. One of the most important ways you increase is by becoming a giver or a sower.  I am not talking about only sowing to God. I am talking about all your giving as God’s directs to other people, to other charities, to other ministries and to people in need. You will increase when you sow into all the areas he shows you.

There Is One Who Scatters, Yet Increases More

Look at this verse in Proverbs,

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. (Proverbs 11:24)

There is one who scatters and increases more.  Do you see that?  There is one who scatters and increases more, and there is one who withholds more than is right and it leads to poverty.  The generous man will be made rich.  He who waters others will also be watered himself.

Notice if you want to position yourself for increase, you need to become a giver who sows seed at every opportunity you get.  You should always look for opportunities to sow seeds.

Look at this scripture that tells us to do good things for others.

…let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)

The amplified says, “Be mindful to be a blessing.”

… Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith. ... (Galatians 6:10 AMP)

Many years ago when Carolyn and I discovered that verse, we made up our minds and joined hands right then and said, “In the name of Jesus we’re going to be sowers.  We are going to be givers.  We are born to be a blessing and we’re going to look for opportunities every day of our lives to sow seed.”  And we said, “God, no matter how much you bless us, we’re going to become distribution centers and we’re going to become clearinghouses for the blessings of God.”  We set out that day determined this was the way we were going to live our lives. We were going to live to give.

It is exciting now after all these years that the greatest household expense in the Savelle household is our giving. When you do not have a note on your house, you can sow with what you would have been paying on a house note.  It is fun.  It is a great way to live.  I believe it has everything to do with the increase that God has brought into my life.

Now, I did not start out without a house note.  I did not start without a car note.  I did not start out being able to give at the level we give now.  We kept doing what the word told us to do.  Our seed in those early days did not amount to anything, but it was the best seed we had at that time and God honored it.

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. (Proverbs 11:24)

Notice here it says he that scatters will increase. Notice that it also says the one who holds back more than he should when he should be scattering will end up in poverty.

If you’re not a giver, become a giver.  Not just a giver to God. Not just a giver to your church. Look for opportunities every day of your life to sow in different places.

The Long-Term Benefits of Sowing

I made a habit back in the early days of my ministry of giving to children who came to my meetings. I did this because I wanted others to bless my children while I was away traveling to different meetings all over the country.

I was away from my family a lot when my children were growing up. Many people think that being a traveling minister is a glamorous life. It is not as glamorous as you might think. You are always going to different hotels in different cities, and you are never at home with your children as much as you want to be. You can imagine the loneliness that can come on you from time to time when you love your family.  Do you know what I’m talking about?

There have been times when I would get to a city or be somewhere on the other side of the world and the loneliness would come on me and I would feel like the loneliest man in the world. I would say to myself, “What in the world am I doing here?” We would get in to the meeting and the anointing would start flowing, people would get ministered to and I would say to myself, “This is why I’m here.”

I would go to meetings and I would see families come in. I would see a man, his wife and his little kids.  It would remind me of my family at home.  Sometimes they would come up and introduce themselves to me, and I got into a habit of blessing their children.  I would take out a twenty dollar bill and put it in that little guy’s hand or that little girl’s hand.  Before I let it go I would say, “I have a little girl at home about your age.  I’m sowing this seed into your life, and I’m believing everywhere my children go somebody will sow seeds into their lives.”

I would do that.  I had no idea and it never crossed my mind that these kids would one day grow up.  Now, I have some of those kids who were six years old back then come into my meetings today with their kids and say, “Brother Jerry, the first time I heard you preach I was my son’s age.”

I said, “You must be thinking of Oral Roberts.”

“No, it was you, Brother Jerry.  I was six years old the first time I ever heard you.  My daddy brought me to your meeting and you gave me a twenty dollar bill.  I want you to know now that I am grown, I got kids, and I am a partner with your ministry.”

I never realized years ago that this young man was a potential partner.

Well, what am I doing?  I am sowing.  I am scattering, and it is bringing increase.

One man came up to me and said, “Do you recognize that?”

I said, “Yeah, that’s a Bible.”

He said, “No, do you recognize this Bible?”

I said, “No, I don’t think so.”

He said, “Open it up.”

On the front page was my name.  I had given it to him when he was seven years old.  I called him up in a meeting and I recognized the anointing of God on his life.  I knew he was called to preach and I prophesied over him and I said, “I want to sow the first seed into your ministry.  I want to give you my personal Bible.” Then, I wrote a note in that Bible to him.

He said, “You gave me that when I was seven years old.  I just want you to know I am in full-time ministry today, praise God, and I am your partner.”

Well, what happened?  I scattered and it brought me increase.

This is one of my favorite stories.  I love to tell this story.

I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I had rented the convention center for my meetings.  The hotel we were staying in was across the street from the convention center.  There was this walkway that connects the hotel to the convention center.  It was all glass and when you walk to the convention center you overlook the street below in downtown Charlotte.

Every night when it would be time for our meeting, my crusade coordinator would knock on the door and say, “It is time for the meeting.” I would come out and he and I would walk across the walkway to the convention center.

The second night in that meeting I am going across the walkway and I noticed this little black boy who was about seven or eight years old.  He had on a suit, and he was the cutest kid I had ever seen in my life.  I wanted to take him home with me.

He sat there in that walkway all by himself looking down at the traffic going underneath. He was standing there in his little suit, and he was one good-looking little kid.  I was concerned that he was out there by himself and there was nobody there with him.

I walked up to him and said, “Son, what are you doing out here by yourself?”

He said, “I am waiting on Jerry Savelle.”

I said, “You are?”

He said, “Yeah, my momma has me listen to his tapes every night before I go to bed, and she told me that he comes down this walkway on his way to the convention center.  I am waiting on Jerry Savelle.”

I said, “Have you ever seen Jerry Savelle before?”

He said, “I have never seen him before, but I listen to him every night.”

Then he said, “You sound like Jerry Savelle.”

I said, “I am Jerry Savelle.”

He stuck his hand out there and said, “You are my main man.”

I said, “Where are your mom and dad.”

He said, “They are in there in the meeting.”

I said, “Come on let’s, you and I, walk in there. I don’t want you standing out here by yourself like this.”

I put my arm around him and I reached into my pocket with my other hand and I got a twenty dollar bill out.

I said, “Listen, I want to sow this seed into your life.  I want you to agree with me that everywhere my kids go people will just walk up to them and give them money like I’m doing to you.”

Boy, his eyes got big.  I took him in there to this family and they were thrilled that I had spent some time with him.  They said he talked about me all the time.

The next night when I walked down that walkway he was there with twenty of his best friends.  He was the first one to speak up and said, “There is Jerry Savelle, my main man.”

They all hollered, “We love you Brother Jerry.”

That was a costly experience.

That was a long time ago and some of those little boys are my partners today.

What am I doing?  I am scattering and I am increasing.

When you withhold is when you get into trouble.  When you should be giving and you’re not doing it, and when you are not obeying God in your giving, that is when you get set up by the devil to start experiencing subtraction in your life.  God adds.  The devil subtracts.  Scatter generously all the time and you will continue to have the long-term benefits of sowing years from now.

Increase by Your Associations

The final way to increase I want to talk to you about is what I learned many years ago that I call increase by association. I have never heard anybody teach on this.  I’m sure somebody has, but I have never heard it. I have never heard anybody teach and use the phrase “increase by association.” I know it is the phrase God spoke in my spirit years ago. I began practicing it in my life.  I discovered that it works today just like it worked in the Bible.

This verse from the book of Proverbs says,

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)

He who walks with a wise man shall be wise.  Walks with literally means associates with.  In other words, if you associate with wise people you will increase with wisdom.  Would you agree?

Notice that it also says the companion of fools, in other words, the person who associates with foolish people, will be destroyed.  The Message Bible says,

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces. (Proverbs 13:20 The Message)

Obviously, who you associate with has everything to do with your outcome.

When my oldest grandson was 17 years old, as his grandfather, I really had to speak into his life more than ever before about his associations. There was no question that he loved the Lord, but it was very easy for him to get involved in peer pressure and to run around with the wrong crowd.  I had to spend time speaking into his life about his associations, because I know from experience, and I know from the word of God, that if you associate with the wrong people, you will start decreasing.  You associate with the right people, and it will bring increase.

He that associates with wise men will increase with wisdom.  That also goes with he who associates with anointed men shall increase in the anointing.

My Spiritual Mentors

The three men who have been my mentors over the last 43 years have been first of all Kenneth Copeland, secondly Oral Roberts and thirdly Kenneth E. Hagin.  These three men imparted into my life more than anybody else particularly in the early days of my ministry.  I look at them as my mentors and as my spiritual fathers.  They imparted into my life.  They made a great impact in my life. I noticed over a period of time that the anointing on their lives in certain areas came on my life because of my association with them

Here is what happened to me. With my association with Kenneth Copeland, the spirit of the increase that was on him came on me.  With my association with Oral Roberts, the anointing for healing and miracles that was on him came on me.  With my association with Kenneth E. Hagin, the spirit of faith that was on him came on me.

I began experiencing the same thing in my life that they were experiencing in their lives.

You say, “I don’t have the opportunity to fellowship with Kenneth Copeland.”

You don’t have to have lunch with Kenneth Copeland every six weeks to have an association with him. You can associate with him through his books, tapes, television broadcasts and meetings.  You get into studying what he preaches and that creates an association.

Most of the mentoring that I received from these men was not one on one sitting across from them in their office.  They did not tell me what to do and not to do. They did not say to me, “Jerry, you do this,” or “Jerry, you do that,” or “Jerry, you don’t do this,” or “Jerry, you don’t do that.”  No, most of my mentoring was by observing their actions, reading their books and listening to their messages.

My Association with Kenneth Copeland

I noticed one thing about Kenneth and Gloria Copeland that is undeniable; they have the spirit of increase in their lives. I believe those two people have done more in the body to teach God’s people God’s laws of prosperity than anybody else on the planet.  There are a lot of people who are preaching about it now, but Kenneth and Gloria Copeland preached it before it was popular.  They preached prosperity and others would write ugly books about them for preaching prosperity.

I have had the privilege of watching Kenneth Copeland since 1967.  I went into the ministry in 1969, and went to work for him in 1970.  Since the days when I first began my association with him, I have watched him grow from a small ministry to one that employs over 500 people in North America. This does not include their other offices around the world.

I have watched Kenneth and Gloria Copeland increase over the years. I have lived with them.  They took me in like a son.  I had been on their board of directors for many years.  I have watched increase in their lives for 43 years.  I have noticed that what was on them came on me.  I started experiencing increase. Carolyn and I began to increase when they increased.

We started out with nothing.  God started bringing increase into our lives and I discovered this verse way back there years ago,

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)

When I read this verse, I made up my mind right then and there that I would associate every way that I possibly could with wise people.

I said to God, “Does that work with the anointing?”

He said, “It works with the anointing.” “

I said, “Then I am going to associate with every person that I possibly can who is anointed.”

I said, “Does that work with the spirit of faith?”

He said, “It works with the spirit of faith.”

Then, I am going to find every person that I can find who has the spirit of faith on them, I am going to get into association with them in one way or another so the same spirit of faith that is on them will come on me.

My Association with Kenneth E. Hagin

I worked for Kenneth Copeland those first three years, and he talked about Kenneth E. Hagin all the time.  Everywhere that Kenneth Copeland went, Jerry Savelle was standing right there next to him.  I was his right hand man.  Every time Brother Copeland said we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that, I was there.

We were in Kenneth E. Hagin’s presence and Brother Copeland would forget to introduce me.  Then we would get into the car and head off somewhere and he would say, “I am sorry Jerry, I meant introduce you to Brother Hagin.”

While he was talking to Kenneth E. Hagin I just stood there holding his coat and his Bible. There was Kenneth E, Hagin right there in front of Kenneth Copeland, and I just stood there like I did not exist.  He did not do it on purpose.  They just got to preaching to one another and forgot I was there.

Then when we got in the car Kenneth Copeland said, “I forgot to introduce you.  I wanted you to meet Brother Hagin.”

I said, “Yeah, you did.” Then, I just kept my mouth shut.

When our family would go to Kenneth E. Hagin meetings we would get as close as we could to the front.  I always like to sit over on the side because I could watch how he laid hands on people and prayed for people.

My girls where watching what was going on, too. When we would get home after a Kenneth E. Hagin meeting, Jerriann would be Kenneth E. Hagin and Terri Lynn would be Vickie Jamison. They would line up all their little baby dolls.  Jerriann would start laying hands on her baby dolls and knock them all over and say, “Receive your healing.” and Terri Lynn would sing, “Only believe. Only believe.” They played Kenneth E. Hagin and Vicki Jamison and I would observe.

It was not until years later that Brother Hagin came up to me.  Actually I was preaching in Tulsa and he and Aretha, his wife, were out on the front row.  I was shocked.  I said, “I wonder what they’re doing here?” I almost forgot my name much less my sermon.

After the meeting Brother Hagin came up to me and said, “I have been wanting to meet you for a long time.  I get a lot out of your preaching.”

I turned to see who came in.  I said, “Me, you’re talking to me?”

He said, “I tell Aretha all the time I get a lot out of your preaching.  I like your preaching.”

He said, “You know I got a Camp Meeting I do every year.”

He said, “The Lord told me to ask you to preach in my Camp Meeting.  Would you preach at my Camp Meeting?” That was my first introduction to Kenneth E. Hagin and he asked me to preach at his Camp Meeting.

I am glad Brother Copeland never introduced me. This was a lot better.

After I was introduced to Kenneth E. Hagin, that did not mean from then on every other week I had dinner with Brother Hagin. No, he mentored me through his materials.  My study of his materials and my observation of his ministry to others established an association with him. As a result of my association with him, the anointing for faith that was on him came on me.

My Association with Oral Roberts

My first introduction to Oral Roberts was after he heard me preach one of his sermons on Kenneth Copeland’s broadcast. Brother Copeland was supposed to preach that night, but he stopped and said, “Brother Jerry, I am not supposed to preach.  God wants you to finish this meeting out. Get up here and finish this meeting out.”

I did not have a clue as to what I was going to preach.  I walked up to that platform, and I preached the sermon that I heard Oral Roberts preach in 1957 on my grandmother’s old black and white Philco television set. This is the sermon where I had heard God call me to preach. This sermon was called the Fourth Man.

I did not know it was in me.  I had never preached it before.  I had never studied it.  All of a sudden it started flowing out of me like a river and I preached it just like Oral Roberts. “Who is this fourth man?  I’ll tell you who he is….”

Brother Copeland got so excited he said, “I do not know what is going to be on our broadcast in the next few weeks, but whatever it is cancel it and put this message Jerry just preached on there.”

Three weeks later it aired on his Believers Voice of Victory television broadcast on a Sunday.  On Monday after it aired I got a call from Oral Roberts wanting me to show up in Tulsa at his office.

I thought he was going to sue me.  I walked up to his office and he is a big man.  He stood there with his arms out to me, and I thought, “Here it comes.  They got a lawyer in there, and he is going to sue me for preaching his sermon.”

He said, “Come here.”

I walked up to him looked up at him.  He threw his arms around me.  He embraced me and began to prophesy over me.

He pushed me back and said, “I saw you preach my sermon.  Come on in here.”

I walked in and thought, “Here it comes.”

He said, “Sit down.”

He sat down next to me and put his arm around me and said, “I just want you to know I have never heard anybody preach that message like you did the other night.  It reminded me of when I was a young man preaching in those big tents. I was thrilled to find out I am part of the reason why you are in the ministry today.”

That was my introduction to Oral Roberts.

Well, I already had an association with Oral Roberts. I had been reading his books for years before I met him personally. I had been watching his television broadcast, and I had been looking at his old films of tent meetings.  I had already established an association with him before I ever met him.  Before I had ever met him I was associated with him.

As a result of my association with Oral Roberts an increase came on my life, an increase in the anointing for healing and miracles.  As a result of my association with Kenneth Copeland an increase came on my life where prosperity is concerned. Through my association with Kenneth E. Hagin an increase came on my life where the spirit of faith is concerned.

It is a scriptural principle.  Increase by association.

Now, let me just wrap it up with this.

God Increased Jacob and His Relatives

God is the God of increase and he is capable of bringing increase into your life.

Say this to yourself, “My God is the God of increase. He can bring increase into my life.”

This is a story in Genesis chapter 30 of Laban and Jacob and we will take up the story in verse 27.

And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. (Genesis 30:27)

Laban is saying to Jacob, “Please stay.  If I have found favor in your eyes for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.”

Notice what he says to Jacob. He says, “I am begging you not to leave because I have discovered since you and I have entered into this association that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.”

Then notice verse 29.  Jacob responds with this,

29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: … (Genesis 30:29-30)

“You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.  What you had before I came was little and it has increased to a great amount.  The Lord has blessed you since my coming.”

Notice what Jacobs says to Laban, “When you and I first met, when we first entered into this association, you had nothing.  What you had was little.  Because the blessing of God is on my life and you established this association with me, what is on me came on you.” And he says now, “That little you once had has now increased into a great amount.”

No wonder Laban is saying, “Please don’t leave me.” Laban had little when he first met Jacob and the Lord blessed him because of his association with Jacob.

More Biblical Examples of Increase by Association

We see that same principle with Moses and Joshua.  We see that same principle with the prophet Elijah and his protégé Elisha.  We see the same principle with the Apostle Paul and Timothy.  It is a principle that is not only in the Bible but it is a principle that still works today.

If you are struggling financially, then I would challenge you today to establish associations with somebody that has the spirit of increase on their life. Now, that does not mean that you have to have breakfast with them once a week or that you have to come and spend the night in their home every week.  If they are increasing, God has probably told them to share it.  They are putting the message out.

That is why I don’t like to call those tables in the back of auditoriums Book and Tape Tables; I like to call them Impartation Tables.  That is what this material is about.  That is why we write these books and make those tapes and CDs.  It is for impartation into your life.  You can establish an association with me by reading my materials. Then the same spirit of increase that is on me will come on you.

You know what I do every time Kenneth Copeland shares another breakthrough with me that he has had in his ministry?  He may call me up and say, “Jerry, I am telling you, we have just had the greatest financial breakthrough we have ever had in 40 years of ministry.” The first thing I will do is start rejoicing with him, shouting and praising God.  Then the next thing out of my mouth is, “I am next!”

It never fails.  Every time he has a break through, it will be only a few days, or maybe a few weeks and here comes my breakthrough.  Every time God does something major for him, it won’t be long and my breakthrough will come right after his. Why will I have the same thing happen to me? I was increased by my association with him. You can increase by association.

8 God’s Way of Increase Is Perfect

And It Always Works

Now, this is my last close.  I get two closes because Paul did.  In Ephesians Paul said, “Finally my brethren.” Then he wrote a whole nother chapter. Here is my final close.

Brother Jerry, “Will all this work for me?”

Yes, it will.

We have just shared with you six scriptural ways in which you can position yourself for increase.

Increase belongs to you.  Your covenant is a covenant of increase.  God wants you to increase.

Look at this verse,

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)

God’s way is perfect.  The word perfect means having no defects or flaws.  That means if you learn how to do things God’s way, then you’re going to have God’s results. God’s way will work for you.

Why?  Because his way is perfect.

If you could ever settle that in your heart, that God’s way is perfect, you will never ask again, “What if it doesn’t work?”

You see, that question never arises in my mind anymore. It did in the early days, but it never rises in my mind ever again. “What if it doesn’t work?”  That is not a thought I even have to deal with anymore.

Why?  I am thoroughly convinced God’s way is perfect.

If God’s way is perfect, and if Jerry ever figures out how to do it God’s way, that settles it, then, we’re going to win. His way has no defects.  His way has no flaws.

God’s way is not a theory God’s way is a law.  You never refer to something as a law unless it works every time. If it is not working every time, then it is a theory and not a law. God’ way is not a theory—it is law. His way is perfect.  His word is proven.   I love that. What does that mean?   God’s way has stood the test of time.

I have people say to me, “I know people who did it God’s way and it didn’t work.”

No you don’t.  You know people who thought they were doing it God’s way, but if they really did it God’s way, and because God’s way is perfect, they could not have failed.”

Well, I know somebody that tried and it didn’t work.”

No, you know somebody that felt like they tried.  If they did it God’s way, and his way is perfect, then they would get his results.

You have to settle it in your heart and say to yourself, “Well, it sure looks like it didn’t work, but I am not accepting that because I believe God’s way is perfect. If his way is perfect it has no flaws.  It has no defects. If I could ever learn how to do it God’s way then I’m going to get God’s results.”

When the devil says, “What if it doesn’t work this time?” You need to come back and say, “The word of the Lord is proven.” What does that mean?  Proven means it has stood the test of time.

There have been people that are a whole lot smarter than you and I that have tried to prove the word is wrong and they were not successful.

The way of the Lord is perfect. If you and I will learn how to do things God’s way, then you and I will get God’s results.

What did we learn?   We have learned that God is the God of increase. We have learned six ways that we can position ourselves for increase.   If you can believe God is the God of increase, you are going to position yourself to experience increase like you have never experienced it before in all areas of your life.

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources

From Jerry Savelle

If you would like to have additional materials and media resources from Jerry Savelle, please contact Jerry Savelle Ministries, International. The ministry headquarters is located just a few miles south of Fort Worth, Texas in Crowley, Texas. Other International Offices are located in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. International Office Internet websites and email contact information are available on the ministry website.

Internet Website Address

http://www.jsmi.org/

Mailing address

Jerry Savelle Ministries International

P.O. Box 748

Crowley, Texas 76036-3155

Physical Address

Jerry Savelle Ministries International

10255 West Cleburne Road

Crowley, Texas 76036-3155

Phone numbers

Office: 817.297.3155

Toll Free USA Order Line: 1.866.JSMI.USA (5764.872)

Part 2: Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

About Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

Apostle Frederick K.C. Price is the founder of Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, California, which is now the home of the Faith Dome, with a church membership of more than 22,000. He also founded the Fellowship of International Christian Word of Faith Ministries in 1990.

People all over the world know of Apostle Price through the "Ever Increasing Faith" TV, radio, CD and tape ministry. Apostle Price is the author of some 50 books on faith, healing, prosperity, and the Holy Spirit. How Faith Works is a classic book on the operation of faith and its life-changing principles. He has sold over 2.1 million books since 1976. His most recent book projects include, Prosperity: Good News for God's People and Answered Prayer Guaranteed: The Power of Praying with Faith.

The Importance of Faith

By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

9 Nothing Is More Important than Faith

The Law of Faith

Socrates, the father of philosophy, believed if two intelligent people were to converse with one another they first had to establish their terms.  This was necessary for them to be able to talk about the same thing and be on the same page.

Back in the 70’s, in the ghetto communities of America, young African American men and boys came up with a descriptive term to apply to an attractive female.  They would call her a “fox.” Right about that same time a brand new automobile manufacturing company came along named Audi.  Their very first entry into the automobile marketplace was a compact car called an Audi Fox.

Ever since time immemorial there has been a short legged, pointed nose, pointed eared, bushy tailed animal called a fox.  So, if I come in here today and say, “You should have been with me today I saw a fox.” Do I mean a car, woman or animal?

I could be talking about a car and you could be talking about something else.  We did not communicate even though we use the same word fox.  It is pronounced the same way. It is spelled the same way, but the meaning is entirely different.

I want to establish some terms now because words convey different ideas to different people.

I find the different meanings of words are a big issue with Christians, particularly the word faith.  I want to show you what I mean when I say faith. You can agree or disagree with me and that will be no problem.  At least, when we are finished, you will understand what I mean when I use the word “faith.”

Faith is often used as a synonym for all religions and religious beliefs. We hear a lot today, even from our government, about “faith-based initiatives.”  They use the word faith in a generic way. It is the same word faith, but it has an entirely different meaning from what I mean when I use the word faith.

The Apostle Paul uses the word faith in the following passages as a synonym for Christianity.

Faith in this context is used in a very broad sense.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:77)

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)

The word “faith” has also been used to refer to one’s denominational affiliation. I have not heard it in many years, but I used to hear people say to one another, “What faith are you?  Protestant, Catholic or Jewish?” In this instance they were using the word faith in reference to their general religious persuasion.

When I say “faith,” I am going to be talking about a more specific use of the word as it is often used in the Bible. It is very important for you to understand the distinction between the word “faith” as I see it and “faith” as a synonym for religion or Christianity. The same words mean different things to different people.  If I am using the word,” up” and you are thinking “down” we did not communicate.

There may be something we are going to look at that you may not have seen before. Just because you have not seen it this way does not mean it is not true. It may mean that the word “faith” is being used in a different way than the way you are used to using it.

In the book of Acts the Apostle Paul and Silas were sent to a Greek city name Berea. There they met in a synagogue and brought some new ideas to those who were receptive to their message. The Bereans then did something the Bible says was noble. They searched the scriptures to see if what they were hearing was true or not.

11 These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

(Acts 17:11)

What I would advise you to do is to be like the Berean Christians, to at least “receive” what I am telling you. I did not say “accept.” I did not say, “believe.” I said, “receive” what I am telling you. If you “receive” what I am saying then you can take it and examine it later to see if it is true or not.

I want to be sure you understand what I mean when I say “faith.” Let us examine the following verse.

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. (Romans 3:27)

I want you to notice the Bible says, “the law of faith.” That word law also means principal. Faith is used specifically to mean a spiritual law in the kingdom of God.  Spiritual laws are just like the physical laws in the universe.  When God created everything, he circumscribed it with laws to govern it and keep it running smoothly.  Our heavenly father has instituted spiritual laws and natural physical laws. The spiritual law of faith operates along the side of and supersedes the natural physical laws of the universe.

Faith is not an option. Faith is not a hobby. Faith is not something we are going to momentarily talk about and then forget. The law of faith is in operation all the time just like the law of gravity. You cannot say the law of gravity was fine 25 years ago, but let us forget that law now. Gravity is getting old and we need to move on to something new. We cannot talk about gravity like we can move on and never use it again.

People have thought that faith was like a wave that came into shore. Once the wave crested and reached the shore it was over. They thought the next wave would be a new thing that God was doing. Faith was not considered to be “in” anymore. It was a seasonal occurrence and now the season is over. God has moved on to something new.

God has not moved on from faith to something else. That is not in your Bible.  That is something that came from man’s human ingenuity.  Faith can never cease to exist and function in the kingdom of God.

I am about to say something and you have to listen carefully so that you hear what I say and not what you thought I said.  I want you to get this because it is very important.

Once a person comes to Christ and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal savior and Lord like it says in this verse:

… that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Once a person accepts Jesus Christ as their personal savior and Lord, the most important thing for them to immediately learn is the law of faith.

There is nothing else in the Kingdom of God more important than faith.  I said nothing is more important than faith once you become born again. Nothing.

If you can think of anything that is more important than faith, then I will give you $1,000.  I want you to notice how I qualified my statement.  Do not accuse me of something that I did not do.

I said, “Once a person comes to Christ.” Did you hear me say that?

Once a person becomes a Christian and receives Jesus as their savior and Lord, at that moment in time the most important thing for them to learn is the law of faith.  There is nothing more important.

Isn’t Love More Important than Faith?

Now, before you jeopardize yourself, do not throw up in my face, “Yes, Brother Price, but what about first Corinthians chapter 13? Doesn’t it say?

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

How dare you say that faith is the most important thing when the Apostle Paul said that love was the most important thing!”

OK, let us analyze that.

Where do you find 1 Corinthians chapter 13?

You find 1 Corinthians 13 just after chapter12 and just before chapter14. Chapter 12 and chapter14 are about the charismata, about the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in the church.

Paul said in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians that the Corinthians did not fall behind in any gift. They had all the gifts operating in their ministry, but they were out of control. There was no order or semblance of agreement. Everybody was doing their thing. He wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to give them some guidelines.

He said,

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)

He wrote that not to tell you that love is the greatest thing in the world.  Love is not the greatest thing in the world.

Why did I say that?

It is the simplest thing in the world to prove that.

Love Is the Greatest Motivator

Do you have a monthly payment to make?  Well, the next time your payment comes due send them some love.  See if it will take care of the payment for that month.

Well, what is 1 Corinthians 13 about?  It is about it is about operating in the gifts and is located between chapter12 and chapter14.  It is about motive.  Love is the greatest motivator in the universe. ‘

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

God was motivated by love when he gave his only son. That is what Paul was talking about. He was not talking about the greatest thing in the world. He was talking about the greatest motivation.

Why do you do what you do?  Why do you speak with tongues?  Why do you prophesy?  Why do you read the Bible?  Why do you witness to people?  It should be out of a motive of love.

Faith Is the Greatest Activator

We live in an awesome age today.  We have giant screen TVs, television cameras, wireless microphones and digital cameras that do not require film anymore. We have IPODs, MP3 players and laptop computers. Cell phones used to be just a phone to talk to folks now you can take pictures with it.  You can download stuff from the Internet.  It is incredible.

But guess what? There is one common thing worldwide, planet-wide that operates all those electronic gizmos. It is electricity.  When the electrical energy goes down, e-very single electronic gadget will stop.  You cannot even drive your car without electricity.  You might not realize it but it is true.  In our society today electricity is mandatory if we’re going to function and enjoy all the conveniences we have like air conditioning, microwaves and TVs.

Have you ever had a power failure? When you have a power failure everything shuts down.  Everything stops.  For electronics, electricity is the most important thing.  Any electronic gizmo or gadget will not operate without electricity.  A battery operated cell phone will run down if you keep using it and then you’ll have to plug it into the wall with a charger to replenish it.

Just like electrical energy is important to electronic devices, faith is important in the Kingdom of God as an activator. Faith is the greatest activator and love is the greatest motivator.

Love Works by Faith

You cannot even love without faith.  It is written in Galatians that faith works by love.  Even though it is not written in the Bible, I have news for you, love works by faith. You cannot even love without faith. It takes faith to love. That is why some of you have trouble in your local congregations. You are trying to relate to them with this emotional kind of love and some folks are not loveable. There is no point in lying about it. They sit in the pews, and not only are they not lovable, you cannot even like them. Let us just be real. You know that I am telling you the truth.

When you see some folks coming, you sometimes want to turn and run the other way. But I have learned as a pastor that you have to interface with hundreds and hundreds and even thousands of people. Over the years I have learned how to relate to folks by faith. Instead of going by a feeling, I operate by love.  I love everybody.  I do not have a problem with anybody.  They may have a problem with me, but that is their problem and not mine.

I have learned to love by faith. Walking in love keeps me out of trouble from being uptight and bent out of shape because of people’s crazy attitudes and all the stupid stuff that they do.  You have to learn how to love by faith.  Faith is the greatest activator.  Love is the greatest motivator.

Everything in the kingdom of God that you find in your new covenant, just like in the electronic world where everything is activated by electrical energy, everything in the kingdom of God is activated by faith.  Everything in your covenant is activated by faith.  Not by a whim.  Not by a hope.  Not by a wish, but by faith. That is why Satan fights faith so much.  He knows it if he can keep people from operating with this activator of faith then he can rob them of the blessings that belong to them that are enunciated in the word of God and the covenant. That is why you have so many defeated Christians.  They do not know their covenant rights.  They do not know how faith works; therefore, they’re not able to activate their benefits.  They are always whining and crying and praying.  They always have to have 14,000 people praying for them.

Learn how to pray for yourself.  I am not knocking anybody who does this.  I am trying to show you that there is a better way.  Learn how to do this for yourself because if the person you’re counting on is not there, what are you going to do then?  I do not count on anybody to pray for me.

I appreciate folks that say that they pray for me.  That is wonderful.  That is great and I receive it.  But if you think that I am basing my life upon you praying for me or not, think again.

I love my wife. We have been married 54 years, but I do not rely on her to pray for me. I know she does, but I am not living on her prayers. I am living on Fred’s prayers.  I am a friend of God and I know how to contact him myself by faith.  Are you following me?

Faith is the greatest activator.  That is why we need to be reminded of it so that we can operate in the fullness of our covenant benefits.

The Just Shall Live by Faith

Christians are supposed to be victorious.  Not sometimes, but all the time.  We win all the time.  The game may go into extended play and it may get dark but we just turn the lights on.  We play until Fred wins.  If Fred hasn’t won by the time the sun comes up, we turned the lights out and play by sunlight until I win.  I go in as a winner.  I do not go in to contend to see who is going to win.  I go in because I am the winner.

Because I have opposition I have to stand of my ground and not let the thief steal, kill and destroy.  We have a covenant that covers every single thing that you will ever need, and it covers every single thing that you desire that is consistent with a godly life.  Notice how I qualified it.  Every need or everything that you could ever desire that is consistent with a godly life is covered under your covenant.  You should be a winner 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

Now, if you like defeat, go for it. There is a lot of it out there for you.  I used to be there, but when I found out what I am telling you I took early retirement from defeat.  I said, “No more.  I win!” I found out about faith.

Let me take you to the scriptures, scripture that you probably already know, to solidify and prove the point that I’m talking about how important it is.

I have heard some Christian people say, “Well faith is a wave. It was a season that is over and God is doing a new thing.”  You hear Christians say that and you wonder, “They must have bought their brain at a discount store.”  I marvel at some of the things Christians say.  Christians are supposed to love God but can say some of the dumbest things.

Faith was a wave and it’s over.”

Faith is a season and it’s over.”

Let us look at word of God and see if we can validate what they are saying.

If faith is out and is no longer in, I am going with what is in. I intend to win in every encounter.  I am going with whatever will cause me to win that can be proven with the word of God.

I am not mad at you if you want to be defeated.  You can just be the defeated part of the family, and I will be the victorious part of the family.  We will just stay in love in Jesus and have no hard feelings.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

Now the word just or justification that is used in the New Testament simply means declared righteous.  Just means God certifies you as righteous.  He declares you righteous based it on your acceptance of Jesus.

I want to ask you a simple question?  In a 24-hour day how many hours do you live?

You live all 24.  You do not leave any of the 24 hours out, do you?

In a seven-day week how many days are there?

Do you only live six days in a seven day week?

No, you live all seven days in a seven day week.

In a 365 days a year how many days do you live?

You live all 365 days in a year, don’t you?

Now think about this.  There are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week and 365 days in a year.  If the just shall live by faith, that means the just shall live by faith 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.

If faith is gone with a wave or season and it is no longer in, tell me how are the just going to live?

If God is changing the rules of engagement and doing something different, did not he know in eternity past that he was going to change the rules at a certain point?  Why did he incriminate himself by putting it in hard copy that cannot be deleted? If you take “the just shall live by faith” out of the Bible, what are you going to put in its place?

The Bible says those that have been declared righteous shall live by faith.  Therefore, faith is a lifestyle.  It is a way of living.  It is not a parachute to bail you out of some present problem.  It is not in Aladdin’s lamp to rub to get the genie to give you a yacht or jet or whatever. It is not about that.  It is a way of life.

We are supposed to live by faith every minute of every hour, every day of every week all year long.  It is a way of living. It is something that you do all the time.  That is what happened with some Christians.  They thought faith was a spare tire. They thought faith was an Aladdin’s lamp.

They have come to meetings like this and then heard ministers like myself or Jerry Savelle or whoever, and when we teach, you cannot teach in a vacuum, so we related to them through life experiences and we give illustrations of things that we have done.

They get caught up in doing this and that. If it does not work, they come up with a brilliant understanding that the Lord is doing a new thing.  It did not work because they were not really into it.  Their heart was never really fixed.  They were thinking it was just a gimmick, something that they could use to get out of a problem.  No, faith is something you do all the time.  The just shall live by faith every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every year.

If faith is gone, just show me from the Bible.  If God has taken faith out, and this season is over, and the wave has crested, all I want to know is what is left for me to live on?  I think that this is an honest question.

You say that faith has gone then give me something in its place.  Do not leave me hanging over the ledge.  No, the just shall live by faith.  It is a way of life.  That makes it very important, doesn’t it?

It has been really interesting to me over the years to see how people have cheated themselves.  They run around all over the country following every minister and going to meetings.  They get so inundated with information that they end up canceling themselves out.  They end up just trying things because they are never really convinced.  They do not really give it time to produce.

It takes time to develop your faith.  It takes time to walk in it, because it is a lifestyle that you live.  It is not a quick fix.  There are no quick fixes in the kingdom of God.  You are going to have to pay your dues.  You are going to have to stand and then having done all, stand therefore.

We are in this microwave society where everyone wants something now.  They want instant this and instant that.  There is no instant winning in the kingdom of God.

You will win if you stay with it.  You’ll get to a point where in every game you will win.  You have to stay with it until you get there.

You have to develop yourself in faith.  Brother and Sister, let me tell you it is worth it.  It is worth more than its weight in gold.

The Apostle John said,

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Notice very carefully what it says.  It says for whatever or literally, whosoever, whosoever is born of God overcomes the world. What does that mean? It means the world system. Not terra firma, not the planet, but the system that we live in. The system that we live in is dominated and controlled by Satan.  I am here to tell you that if God is running this world, he lost it a long time ago.

Some people would say, “Brother Price, I would never say that about our Lord. How could you say that?” Well, I am a realist.  I deal in facts and not fantasy.  You cannot find anywhere in the Bible where God said he is running the world system. It is not in there.

Jesus Christ said,

Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. (John 14:30 KJV)

This word prince is the Greek word, "archon.” It means the ruler of this world. Paul called him the, “god of this world.” Satan is he prince and power of the air. Satan is running the world system. That is why it is so messed up, so unequal, so unjust.

This is talking about that. It says

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Now, think about this, if faith has gone away, “this is the victory” would have to be changed to the past tense “this was the victory.”

If faith was for the future it would have to say, “perhaps it will be the victory” which is future tense.

No, it says, “And this is the victory that has overcome the world even our faith.” It is written in the present tense. This means now, not past, not future, but now. We are supposed to be world system overcomers.

Yes, we have to function in the context of the system, but we should not have the system dangling us on the end of a string.  We should be charting our own course within the confines of the laws. We should be winning, but so many Christians are defeated.

Some people are always messed up and always have that problem.

Many Christian say “Please pray for me.”

I say, “It is better to pray for yourself.”

Prayer is not a magic wand.  Some of these things you’re going to have to overcome by using your faith to get to the point where you will not have to have anybody pray for you.

Prayer for others is not wrong, but you do not want to be handicapped like that all your life always depending on others for prayer.  You need to learn how to do it for yourself.

Let me ask you a question.  Who eats your food for you?

Do I need to say anything else?

I do not need anyone to eat for me.  I eat for myself.

You don’t say “Will you all eat for me?  I am having a pretty tough time in life.”

No, you have learned how to eat for yourself.

10 The Testing and Proving of Your Faith

If You Know This—You Can Count It All Joy

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:1-2)

The New King James Version says,

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:1-2)

These two verses use the words temptations, trials and tests interchangeably. Temptations, trials and tests all go together.

Notice what is conspicuously absent.  It does not say, “Count it all joy if you fall into various trials.” It does not say, “if you.” It says, “when you.” There is no “if” about it.  As long as Satan is around you will come up against various temptations, trials and tests.

It also says, “count it all joy.” He never says, “it was joy.” He says, “count it as joy.” In other words, treat it as though it were.  He did not say it was because it is not.  There is nothing joyful about temptations, trials and tests.  He said, “count it as joy.” In other words, act like it is joy.

Watch this now.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:2-3 KJV)

You are aware the Bible was not originally written in divisions, chapters and verses. Those punctuation marks, verse numbers were added by the translators. Sometimes the verses cloud the real meaning. Drop the punctuation and the numerals two and three and read it this way, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations (trials and tests) Knowing this.” In other words, you cannot count it all joy if you do not know this.

God is not masochistic. When your leg is cut off and your brain is split down the middle in an automobile accident, there is nothing joyful about that.  If your baby is born deformed, how are you going to have joy about that?  God is not masochistic, but what he is saying is, “You can only count it all joy if you know this.”

Now, what is it that I am supposed to know?  He said, “That the trying of your faith worketh patience.” A better word for trying might be proving.  “Knowing this, that the proving of your faith worketh patience.” This literally means the proving of your faith produces endurance.

Now, look at the verse again very carefully and notice what it does not say.  This is where many miss it.  This is what it is not saying, “Knowing this, the trying of you worketh patience.” No, it does not say, “the trying of you”— it says, “the trying of your faith.”

The only thing that makes you dangerous to Satan is your faith. Not your brainpower. Not your good looks. Not your athletic ability.  Not your scientific knowledge.  The only thing that makes you dangerous is your faith.

It says, “Knowing this the proving of your faith” not the proving of you.  It is your faith that is up for grabs.  Satan brings the trials and tests to separate you from your faith.  If he can separate you from your faith he has you where he wants you.  The only defense you have against him is your faith.  “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”

What Is the Purpose of Tests, Trials and Temptations

Now, the temptations, trials and tests come from Satan.  God is not tempting and trying you.  God is not testing you.  I know you thought you are God’s favorite child and the Lord is putting all this stuff on you to test you.

Have you ever thought about it?  What is the purpose of giving a test?  Why do people in any area of life ever test something?  They test something because they do not know what it will do.  The computer says it will fly its 700 miles per hour, but will the wings stay on?  They still have to fly the actual prototype because there might be some things that the computer missed.  You do not know what the students have absorbed until it the end of the semester you give them a test.  You never test something that you already know.

Since God knows everything, why would he waste your time and his time testing you about something that he already knows the outcome is?  Satan does not know.  Just because Satan is God’s archenemy does not make him equal with God.  Some people have thought because he is the enemy that he was equal with God.  He is not omnipotent.  He is of not omniscient.  He is definitely not omnipresent.  Satan is a dethroned angel.  He can only be in one geographic location at a time just like any other angel.  That is why he has to have his cohorts out there doing the work.  He does not know what you’re going to do in a given situation.  The test that Satan brings is to find out where you are in your faith.

Tests Help You Locate Where You Are

Here is an important point.  Your heavenly father allows the test so that you can tell where you are.  You do not know what you can do until you are tested.  You do not know what you can stand.  I have seen people in our church be tested.  This girl marries this guy and he ends up abusing her and beating her up and all that stuff.  One of her friends will say, “Honey, I would never let him treat me like that.” Six months later she gets married, and he is beating her head.

You do not know what you’ll do unto you are in the situation.  You can say I will not do this or that and the other.  That is commendable, but you really don’t know until you are in it for yourself.  You do not know what you can take and what you can put up with until you are tested.  Satan comes in and his purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.  God’s purpose in allowing it is so that we may overcome it and know where we are.  You need to know where you are in your faith.  You need to know what you can and cannot do.  You need to know where your faith is so you will know how far you can go without being victimized.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:2-3 KJV)

The only way to know where you really are is by having challenges come against you and you overcome them.  God has never intended for any of his children to go down in defeat.  That is why he gave us his word, but if we do not know the word we cannot apply the word.

If we go to churches where we are not taught the word like I did for 17 years you will not know how to deal with problems. They just told me, “Hold on to God’s unchanging hand.” They also said, “The Lord knows just how much you can bear.” That was not helping me.  The devil was whipping me every which way but loose.

I thought that it was the decreed will of God because God allowed it and permitted it to happen.  I figured it was God’s will.  Sometimes a high percentage of things we go through is not God’s decreed will.  Obviously, it is his permissive will because he has to let you do whatever you let yourself do.  He does not control your will.

If he wanted to control you he would have made you like the swallows that instinctively fly back to San Juan Capistrano every year. We are unique in that we have a will.  We can exercise a choice.  Animals do things instinctively.  You have not seen any new designs for beaver’s nests during the last umpteem years.  Our building designs have changed.  Our housing designs have changed, but birds build their nests the same way all the time.  They do it instinctively.  The idiot, dumb salmon swims upstream against the current from the ocean to spawn their eggs and then die.  To me that is “el dumo.” They are doing what they do instinctively.  That is the way God designed the system to work.  But you and I have a will and we can make choices.  If I do not choose to do better, God has to let happen whatever happens.

Let me give you a graphic illustration.  If you cannot get this, you are just deaf, dumb, blind or dishonest.  I did not say who or what.  I just wanted to get your attention.

Let me illustrate this by talking to this man in the audience.

Sir, do you have at least one other wearable suit that you could have worn tonight?

“Yes.”

I can tell you exactly why you chose this suit to wear instead of another one. Before you came here tonight you heard the voice of the Lord say, “Thus saith the Lord, ‘Thou shalt wear the black suit with pinstripes and the maroon tie with stripes.” The Lord picked this suit out for you tonight, didn’t he?

“No! It wasn’t that way at all. I picked it out for myself!”

He admits he has at least one other wearable suit and guess what? The Lord let him out of the house wearing the one he has on.

God will let you go to intensive care if you let you go to intensive care. He will let you go bankrupt if you let you go bankrupt. He did not control it, you did. God allows you to make choices with your own free will.

It is so simple, but we think God got me into this. No it is not God. It is you that made the choice.

When I found out I was my problem and it was not Satan, my life began to change for the better.

Satan is really not your problem. He is the instigator. He will come at you with thoughts, ideas and suggestions, but he cannot make you do anything anymore than God can make you do anything without violating your free will. God will not do that. Satan cannot and God will not violate your will. The only one who can change your will is you.

God will let you be on welfare the rest of your life—if you let you be on welfare. He will let you be poor—if you let you be poor.

Stop and think about it. There is nobody who is materially poor because there are not things available for them. They just do not have them. I used to be like that. I did not have it either. Until I found out about this law of faith and I took early retirement on defeat. I decided if anyone on planet Earth can be a victor, it is going to be Fred.

Now, you see, you have to have this kind of resolve. Most Christians do not understand that. They think you are so egotistical if you call yourself a victor. Well, that is their problem and not mine. No, that is Bible. Let the weak say they are strong. You have to do this. You are going to run up against temptations, trials and tests but it is because of those things that we learn how to overcome. Those things cause us to know where we are so we know what we can and cannot do with our faith.

We are talking about the proving of your faith. The proving of your faith is for your benefit to help you find out where you are.

You Cannot Please God without Faith

You cannot please God without faith

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Impossible means not possible.  Impossible means no way.  It does not matter what comes after the word impossible.  Without faith it is not possible.  Did you get that?  That is important.  So, if faith has gone out, we are in trouble, because the rest of the verse says it this way.

If God has taken faith out, how can you have faith to please him?  Why would he demand faith to please him and then he takes faith out of the equation?  That does not make any sense even to an idiot.  I know with all the intelligentsia that are here tonight, that is not the case with you.

Guess what?  If you cannot please God, you’re not going to trick him into answering your prayers.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

That word must is interesting. Must is an imperative necessity.  It is not an option at this point.

You do not have to come to God.  You can go to hell.  God will protect your right to go.  He will marshal angels around you and they will escort you right to the gates of hell. They will see to it that you go right in to hell with no one interfering with you. If that is your choice, you do not have to come to God.

When you decide to come to God, it is impossible to please him without faith. You do not have to choose to come to God, but if you choose to come, without faith it is impossible to please him.

People usually stop at this point in the verse. They say, “Yes, hallelujah, Brother Price, I believe that God is! I have no doubt about it. God is! I believe that God is!”  They usually stop right there, but that is not all the verse says.

The verse says, “... for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

There is an “and” here. It says, “and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.” If you just took those last few words from that verse you could understand that God did not make anybody sick.  God did not take anybody’s job.  God did not kill anybody’s cow or their chicken.  God did not do any negative thing to anybody.

It says, “For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder…”

Killing my cow is not a reward.  Killing my baby is not a reward.  My understanding is that this is not a reward.  Maybe it is different where you live?  In California where I live, even as messed up as we are, reward usually implies that you are the better having received it.  You are not the worse.  You are the better.  Taking something away from you could not be a reward.  If it is not a reward, God had nothing to do with it.  God will let it happen if you let it happen.  He does not control it, we do.

Our big problem down through the years has been that our churches never taught us anything.  All they did was preach.  In fact, we even immortalize what we call great preachers, but we never learned anything.

Ministers do not get on my case.  If you don’t agree with it just listen.  You do not have to grumble about it and complain—just forget it.  It is not for you anyway.  It is only for him that has ears to hear.

Once a person becomes a Christian, they do not ever in life have to hear any more preaching.  I did not say they did not like it and feel like they could not live without it.  I said they do not need it.

Do you know why?

Because preaching is more inspirational and teaching is more informational.  We need the preaching to inspire the sinner’s to get saved.  Once they get saved, they need information.  What do I do with the salvation now that I have it?  They do not need to go back to church every year for the next 25 years and hear that they need to get saved.  They are already saved.  Where do they go from here?  They need some information.

When I had the right information I automatically have inspiration.  I do not need somebody to drum it up and make me feel something. When I found out that I was a winner, that inspired me.  I stay inspired. I am inspired 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

I am never down. Since 1970 when I found this out, I have never had a down day.  I did not say that I did not have opportunities to have down days.  I’m just like everyone else.  But I said, “passe ‘vous. “ Pass on by. I just took retirement from down days.  I still have opportunities for them, but way back before 1970 down days did not produce anything good. Why should I go with them now?

I have had opportunities to get down, but I have never allowed it to get to that point because I can control it.  I have information.  You have to give me information not inspiration.

11 Faith and Belief Are Not the Same

There Is a Difference between Faith and Belief

If you are a serious Bible student, not just a minister, but someone who is interested in in-depth Bible study might have purchased a Strong’s Concordance of the Bible or W.E. Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.  You might have bought these reference works so that you can develop yourself.

These reference works contain dictionaries to give you definitions of words, but you have to be very careful using dictionaries.  Most people do not know what a dictionary is for.  They think that a dictionary tells you what a word means.  That is not the purpose of a dictionary.  A dictionary does not tell you what a word means.  I tell you what a word means, and you tell me what a word means.  When you and I agree what that word means it gets put in a dictionary.

Go to the reference department in your local library and you will find a great big, thick unabridged dictionary.  You can find words that have 15 different meanings or more.  They are spelled the same way, and pronounced the same way, but every one of those words has a different meaning.  What a dictionary does in western civilization is to tell you the history of how that word has been used over time.

You have to be careful when you use a dictionary even the ones at the end of Strong’s Concordance and W.E. Vines.  If you look up the word faith it will say it means belief.  If you look up the word believe or belief, the definition is faith among some other derivations.  This circular definition has confused a lot of people.

They have thought that because they believed they were in faith.  Faith and belief are as different as a male and female.  If you do not know that there is a difference between those two you have some serious issues.  There is a difference.   Faith and belief are two entirely different things.

Usually, we know our own sincerity. We usually do not fool ourselves deliberately. We know we are sincere. I knew I believed this. People have thought because they have believed with all their heart and with all that they are and when it did not produce or come to pass they thought it was not God’s will. They knew how sincere they were but they did not know how faith and belief are entirely different.

If you do not know the difference you may think you are in faith, but all you are in is belief. Belief will never change your circumstances. Only faith will change your circumstances. The difference is so drastic and monumental. If you can understand this, if you already do not understand it, you will be on your way to victory all the time 24 hours a day 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

Faith and belief are not the same.  I beg to differ with Mr. Strong and Mr. Vine. They are scholars and I am not, but you do not have to be a scholar to figure some things out.

Many Christians confuse faith and belief.  Sometimes the reason that they do is because of some so-called Bible scholars. If you do not have the Spirit of God who is the revelator who actually has caused this book to be written, if you just come to it with academic acumen it does not necessarily mean you know the spirit behind it.

If you are serious student of the Bible you probably have in your reference library such books as Strong Concordance, Young’s Concordance, or W.E. Vines Expository Dictionary of New and Old Testament Words. We use these books as dictionaries, and when we have a word that we do not understand we will go to the dictionary to find out the meaning of the word.

If you look it up yourself, in Strong’s and W.E. Vines you will find that the definition of faith includes belief and the definition of belief includes faith. What they really are trying to say is that they are the same thing. Faith is belief and belief is faith. Many Christians think that that is true.

Because they know their own sincerity and because they have exercised what they thought was faith, because they were believing something, when it did not come to pass the assumption was that it must not be God’s will. Because they knew how sincere they were when they expressed their belief, but belief will not change your circumstance.

Faith and Belief Are Like Two Sides of the Same Coin

Let me illustrate the difference between faith and belief with an older quarter, also known as a 25 cent piece. This coin is considered by the government as legal tender. This simply means I have a right to take this coin and trade it on the open economic market for goods and services.

There is a stipulation that many people are not aware of. In order for this coin to truly be legal tender and be spendable, one side of the coin has the bust or the head of our first President, George Washington. On the opposite side is an eagle with its wings outstretched. The federal bird of the federal republic of the United States of America.

The side with the president is commonly referred to as the head side, and the side with the eagle is referred to the tail side of the coin. You have one coin with two sides. On one side is George Washington and on the other side is the eagle. You have one coin with two sides. The side with the president and the side with the eagle are distinctly different, but they are all part of the same coin.

If I take this coin into a machine shop and put it in a vice grip and put it on a grinding wheel and grind off the face of the coin so that it is smooth with no image it is no longer legal tender. No salesperson or shopkeeper is under any obligation to accept it as payment for services or goods.

In the Kingdom of God there is a coin that will spend on the open spiritual market. It is called faith and belief. Both sides of the coin have to be intact in order for the coin to spend. Faith is not belief and belief is not faith any more than George Washington on one side of the coin is the eagle or that the eagle on the other side of the coin is George Washington. Faith and belief are two sides to the same coin, and they both have to be present for the coin to be spendable.

Faith Involves Acting on What You Believe

I will give you another real simple illustration of the difference between faith and belief. The next time you are out somewhere and you are ready to drive your car home, take your keys out and climb up on the hood of your car, then hold your keys up in the air for everyone to see and begin to shout as loud as you can, “I believe that if I take these keys and put them in the ignition of my car I can drive this car home! I believe it, absolutely, positively and unequivocally. I believe I can use these keys and drive this car home!”

Everything you believe is absolutely, scientifically and historically true, but you can stand on the hood of your car until hell freezes over and never make it home. You have to get off the hood, actually put the key in the ignition, start your car up and drive it home. That is the difference between faith and belief. You can believe all these things are true but you will never make it home until you actually do something with your belief.

Believing something will not change your circumstances. You can believe in healing and die of a broken toenail and wonder what happened. You might say, “It must not be God’s will to heal me.” No, this is not true. You never got into the faith part. Your believing was perfect. It was fine, but believing will never change your circumstances.

Here is another illustration. The next time you go to the grocery store fill up your shopping basket with all you need. Then put the basket out into the very center aisle of the super market. Raise your right hand and declare as loud as you can, “I believe that if I eat this food it will keep me from starving to death. I absolutely, positively, unequivocally believe that if I eat this food it will keep me from starving to death.”

Yet, you could die of starvation, right in the center aisle of the grocery store if you do not eat the food. Yet what you believed was absolutely true, but what you believed will not change your circumstances unless you eat.

Faith is an action. Faith is acting on what you believe. If your believing is inaccurate your actions will be inaccurate and your faith will not produce. That is one of the most difficult things for Christians to grasp. Faith is an action. Faith is acting on what you believe.

12 Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God

Your Faith Has to Be Developed

by Hearing the Word of God

Your believing should be based on your covenant. Your covenant is God’s word. Your believing should not be based upon what you think or feel, not on tradition or theology, but what your covenant says. The Bible says God cannot lie. It is impossible for God to lie.

It is not that God does not know how to lie, but God has made a choice that he will not lie. God would have to know how to lie. If he did not he would not know how to recognize a lie. He knows how, but because of his character, because of his integrity, he will not lie. When it says it is impossible for God to lie, he cannot lie without breaking his integrity.

That is the way I am. I know how to lie, but I have made a choice in life, I will not lie. It is all about choice. I will die before I lie.

Everything the word of God says I am—I am. Not because I am presently experiencing it, but because that is what God says about me. Everything the word the word of God says I am—I am. Everything the word of God says I have—I have. Everything the word of God says I can do—I can do. I may not being doing it now, but that is not because that is not who I am or what I can do. I just may not know that and do not know how to take advantage of it.

God’s word gives us our marching orders. When I found this out back in 1970 I began to access it. I began to say what the word of God said about me. I know even to my own ears it sounded crazy. It sounded like, “You have to be off your rocker. How can you say that?” Well, God said it. Since he cannot lie, if I say it, I cannot lie. Meaning, if I say what God said, it will not be a lie. It will be the truth.

Remember, there is a biblical principle in Romans 10:17.  It says,

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Have you ever stopped to think it does not say who you had to hear it from? You can hear it from yourself. That is one reason why so many Christians have a problem. They know their word is worthless and therefore they do not have any faith when they hear what they say. They do not believe it because they know they are not going to keep their word.  Faith comes by hearing, but it does not say who you have to hear it from. You ought to be able to hear it out of your own mouth. In fact, your mouth ought to be your most reliable source.

You already have all the faith you are ever going to get once you are born again, but that faith has to be developed. It has to be fed so that it can grow. So when it says faith comes by hearing it is not necessarily talking about the original faith that comes when you first receive Jesus as your savior and Lord. It means whatever subject you hear about from the word of God will cause faith for that subject to come to pass.

That is why a lot of churches do not believe in healing. I am not trying to malign anyone or put anyone down, but I deal in facts. Sometimes people cannot handle the facts.

I used to be when I first got saved some 50 plus years ago a Baptist. I have nothing against Baptist. I am just saying this so you can understand my frame of reference.  In that Baptist church and in most Baptist churches you will not see hands laid on the sick and the sick recover. I said in most, not all. One thing you will see in a Baptist church is that they get more people saved than any other denomination.

You know why?

Because all they ever preach is salvation sermons. They may have different titles, but it all about salvation. There is a lot of faith in those congregations for salvation. That is why people get saved.

Why? Because faith comes by hearing.

If you want healing to work, you have to preach it. You have to teach it. You have to talk about it. If you want financial and material prosperity to work, you have to talk about money. Otherwise, there will be no faith for it because faith comes by hearing. You have to talk about it. You have to preach and teach on it. Any subject that you want people to have faith on, you have to say it. That is the way it is structured. That is the way the system works.

God’s Covenant Privileges Us

To Work Together with Him

I did not get saved until the year my wife and I got married. Originally my mother and father were Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you know anything about Jehovah’s Witnesses, you know they do not take too kindly to the Christian church. That was the little exposure I had to so-called religious or spiritual things. When we got married I accepted Jesus right after that.

I was called into the ministry. I had a Damascus Road experience like in the 9th chapter of Acts.  I did not see the light, but sure did hear the voice. I started out not having any background in church, and because my wife was from a Baptist background that was all she knew and we joined a Baptist church. Consequently, for a 17 year period I matriculated through the Baptist church, the A.M.E. church, the Presbyterian Church and the Christian Missionary Alliance.

I was not trying to find God. I was trying to find a place I could serve. Because there was so much political intrigue in many of these denominations that I was in, I would not deal with it because I did not have a backlog of that stuff. I would not put up with it. I saw something wrong and I was out of there. Bye.

When I got filled with the Spirit and the revelation came and the teaching gift was dropped into my spirit, I began to see in the word all these things I had been hearing over that 17 year period that were not biblically based. They were traditionally based clichés.  I heard things like, “You know, the Lord won’t put on you any more than you can bear.” “God knows just how much you can bear.”

I got into the word and I found out that I had a covenant, a new covenant. That word covenant actually means from a legal point of view, a will. You have heard the expression, “the last will and testament of so and so.” The covenant we have is the last will and testament of the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to access that covenant and find out who you are, what you have, where you are and what you can do. Then, you need to start doing that to bring yourself into position to be a worker together with God.

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1)

It does not say we are workers for God.  It says we are workers with God. So many times preachers, Christians, ministers want to do something for the Lord. You cannot find one thing in the book that tells you God needs you or wants you to do something for him. If he can create the universe and sustain its running without an overhaul or tune-up, or changing the tires over all these years, and he did not send you an email or call you up on a cell phone to ask your advice where he should put the different galaxies, I am sure he can do what he has to do without you.

However, God has privileged us to be workers together with him. That means that “him” is doing something and giving you the privilege to assist him. Early on I needed to find out from God what my assignment was and what was I was supposed to do. Should I carry water? Should I carry the bricks? What am I supposed to do? So many Christians are trying to do something that God did not call them to do. You need to find out what your assignment is from God and then do it.

The covenant is what equips us and prepares us to get into position so that you can be a worker. If we want to do some painting on the building, we need painters. We need somebody that knows a little bit about painting. At least they need to have some painting equipment, some brushes, rollers or whatever, to get the job done.

God has positioned us through the covenant to be prepared and equipped to be workers together with him. 99 percent of the Christian community, I am talking about Spirit filled, tongue talking, hand clapping, feet stomping, jumping, hollering, cheering Christians, do not know anything about their covenant.

Here is another thing you need to learn. You need to learn what your new covenant is.

Go to Matthew 1 in your Bible and turn back one page. You should have a page that says, “The New Testament.” If it is like my Bible it will also say words of Christ in red. Testament means will

If you ask any lawyers, barristers or paralegals they can validate if this is true or not. Based on law, when a person drafts a will, the will is unenforceable until after the person dies. The person who drafts the will is called the testator. The testator can make a will 20 years before he dies and it is legally unenforceable until he dies.  You have to wait until the testator dies before his will can be executed.

When a person drafts a will this does not mean they expect to die next week. They just start thinking about what they are going to do with their assets and resources. What do they want their wife or children to have? What are they going to donate to charitable organizations like their church or whatever? Things can be stated that come into their mind and put down on paper long before they physically die.

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we hear bits and pieces of what is going to be put down in the covenant. We can learn from those things, but the actual covenant that you have a legal right to access, live on and operate on is the book of Romans through the book of Jude. The book of Acts is a history book. It tells about the establishment of the church. The book of Revelation is an eschatological book. Eschatology is a big word for the end of everything.  It tells you what is going to happen in the end but it does not promise you that you are going to be healed or whatever. It gives you the state of affairs in terms of the end.

Romans through the end of Jude tells you who you are, what you have, where you are and what you can do. You need to master those books and extract out of them what they say. With these books you can use your faith to believe that this is what I have. This is where I am. This is what I can do. Then, you can set out to do it. If you do that, you will be a grand slam winner in every encounter in life 24 hours a day,-seven days a week and 365 day a year.

Now, you can understand the difference between faith and belief. You can believe something and everything you believe can be absolutely true scientifically and historically. Yet, it cannot change your circumstances. Only faith can change your circumstances. Faith is an action. It is acting on what you believe. For us Christians it should be acting on the word of God. If I do not know the word of God, I am at a disadvantage. Then I end up acting on impulse, environment, emotions, or traditions. That is why we end up defeated. If you act on the word of God you will be a winner. Not sometimes up and sometimes down and sometimes almost level to the ground, but up all the time.

You might say, “Well I don’t believe that.”

That is why it will never happen for you. You have to believe and act upon it.

Here is my philosophy.  We do not have to argue about the Bible or the covenant. We do not have to argue about anything the Bible says. My philosophy is—do what is says and let if fail. You do not have to argue with God. Just do what he says in the Bible. If it is not true, your arguing is not going to make it true or false. If it is not true, it is not going to work. Put God’ word into operation and let if fail, but if it works.... whew!

I do not argue with people. You do not have to believe what I say or teach.  It is all fine with me. I have always said, “I am God’s favorite child.” I am probably the only one it works for. It works for me. I put it out there. My responsibility is to tell you. Then, you can do whatever you want to do with it.

I am not going down the tubes because you do not believe it. I am going to live on top of the mountain. If you want to live in the valley, I will say hi! I believe in being a winner.

Faith Is Always Present Tense

Hebrews 11:1 is the classical biblical definition of faith. It tells us something that maybe the most important factor about faith—faith has a time. If you do not know the time or the tense of faith you can miss it.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

When I first saw this, I thought the word “now” could be used as an illustration of past, future or present time. Now as opposed to tomorrow or yesterday. I was rudely awakened to find out that word actually was not in the original in terms of time. It is a word that ties together the last verse in chapter 10 with the first verse of chapter 11. It is a word that connects the two verses together. The word could have been “but” or “however” and still mean the same thing. The word “now” did not refer to a time.

I did know in my spirit that faith had a time. Sometimes you can know in your spirit but your mind cannot comprehend it. I knew that there was time when faith is and time there was a time when it was not. I could not use the word now legitimately to refer to a tense or time. I did this. I dropped the word “now” and capitalized the word faith. Then it reads, “Faith is.” We are now back in business. It could have said, “Faith was.” This is past tense. You could say, “Faith will be.” This is future tense. When you say, “Faith is.” “Is” means now.

I said let me juggle it around a little more. I can say, “faith is,” or “faith is now,” or “now faith is,” and anyway you cut it is still chocolate cake. It still means the same thing.

The most important thing you ever want to learn about faith is that faith is always now.  If it is not now, it is not faith. It will not compute and it will not work.

Christians will say things and they will not realize what they are saying. They say, “I know the Lord is going to make a way.” I know you may never have said this but you have probably heard others say it. What they do not realize when they say this is that they are saying he has not already made a way. If you say, “he is going to make a way,” that means the way is not already made. The word says the way is already made. When they say, “He is going to make a way.” There is no agreement. It cannot work. Faith is always present tense and now. That is why Jesus said in Mark 11:24, which is a key verse,

24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:24)

It says, “when you pray, believe that you receive.” It does not say, “when you pray, believe when you see.” It says, “when you pray, believe that you receive.”

Do not believe it when you see it. Believe it when you pray. When you pray is now. This is present tense. Believe it now when you pray.

I believe I am healed. It is not the same thing as believing you are going to be healed.

I believe all my needs are met. This is not the same thing as believing all your needs are going to be met. Believe your needs are met now.  Believe your needs are met when you pray.

You might not believe you could say that. You might say, “I might be telling a lie.”

I say, “OK, that is fine. It must be all right for you to lie because God said it first. What you may think in your mind is not a lie. You can say what God says and not be a liar. When you speak God’s word it is truth and not a lie regardless of what you may be thinking.

To say something before it comes into manifestation may go against the grain of the human thought pattern. We are so conditioned to the sense realm. Everything is about the senses. Regardless of what your senses are saying the truth is your needs are met now. You are healed now.

Faith’s Unseen Evidence

Have you ever heard this statement, “Well, I will believe it when I see it?” This is absolutely the dumbest, most ignorant, and nonsensical thing to say.  Think about it. You say, “I will believe it when I see it.” That is “el stupido.” You would know it when you see it. Why would you have to believe it?

“Well, after all, Pastor Price, seeing is believing.”

No, it is not. Seeing is knowing. When you see something there is nothing to believe. You see it.

If you see it you do not have to believe it. You only have to use faith when you cannot see it. If you can see all you need are your eyes.

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

It says faith has substance. Substance is tangibility and materiality. Substance is that which can be contacted with the senses. You can see it, touch it, taste it, smell it or hear it.

“Faith is the substance of things.” It does not say “spirituals. “ It says “things.” “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” This tells me that hope does not have any substance to it until I add my faith. This is like lemonade which has no sweetness until you add sugar.

The thing is not the substance. Faith is the substance of the things hoped for. This tells me that hope does not have any substance, tangibility or materiality. Hope does not have anything my senses can ever contact unless I add my faith to it. Hope is a goal setter.  Hope sets the goal. I have to have a way to obtain the goal. Hope will affect your attitude about the circumstances, but hope has no power to change the circumstances. What hope will let you do is smile while the ship is sinking. I did not say this to be funny. What hope will do is let you go down with a good attitude instead of going down in a panic. You may go down with a smile on your face, but you are still going down. Faith can keep the ship afloat. Faith added to your hope gives your hope substance. Something you can eventually contact with your senses.

“Faith is the evidence of things not seen.” What is a definition of evidence? The best definition I can come up for this is proof. Lifting this out of the Bible for just a moment. What is the purpose in any given situation of proof? What does proof do or accomplish? Proof validates the fact that something exists that you do not presently have. It substantiates, validates or says yes to the fact that something exists. Therefore, proof is temporary. Once the proof of the evidence arrives on the scene, I no longer need the proof. I now have the thing. Proof is temporary and takes the place of something. Do you know why? You cannot have proof of something that does not exist. You can only have proof of something that exists. You just do not have it right now. You have the proof to take the place of it.

For this meeting there was a card that was mailed out that had pictures of all the speakers at this meeting on it. There might have been someone at this meeting before today who has never seen me physically in the flesh. That advertisement was proof of my existence either in the present or in the past. It proved that I lived at some point in time. It took the place of me until I arrived on the scene. Now, you do not need any proof. You have me in living color.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen.  Not seen. When you see or hear the word seen what do you think?  Do you think big toe? No you think of eyes or visual perception. I submit to you that that word “seen” was not the word the Holy Spirit was trying to get across.  Please wait a minute before you get hostile and listen to what I am about to say. Here is what I mean. Remember, Almighty God is limited to talking to us by virtue of our language. He is not limited as God. He is limited in communicating with by virtue of our language. He has to take his infinite wisdom and reduce it down to our level so that we can understand it. We cannot go up to his level. He has to condescend to our level so he can put it into a context that we can understand. Words have various shades of meaning. The word “seen” makes you think of visual perception. I submit that the word seen is not the word that should be there. Here is why. If it is the word seen it only tells you about visual perception and you miss everything can smell, taste, hear or touch. Think about it. If faith is the evidence of things not seen, what about hearing? What about smelling? What about tasting or touching? Those are you basic senses with which you can contact the environment around you.

Please, let me for the sake of our study use the words “perceived by the senses” instead of the word “seen.” Then we could say, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not perceived by the senses.” That tells me that there must be some things that exist outside the realm of my senses that can only be contacted by my faith. There are things outside the reach of our senses. There is another world or realm which we cannot see.

The spirit realm is more real than this three dimensional physical realm. Out of the spirit realm came the physical three-dimensional realm. That is why we have to use faith to contact God. He is in the spiritual realm and faith is a spiritual law that manifests itself in the three dimensional physical world.

If faith is the evidence of things not perceived by the senses then there must be another realm someplace else. There must be some things in that realm that can only be contacted with your faith. Consequently, somewhere along the line there has to be something out there to tell me what is in that spirit realm so when I see it I will know what it is.

How do you know what an elephant looks like when you see one? How do you know it is not a tiger?  Somewhere in your early existence somebody told you that was an elephant and not a tiger. Now, every time you see an elephant you are conditioned to know that is an elephant and not a tiger.

The same thing is true of the spiritual realm. How do I know what is in this realm? Since it cannot be contacted with my physical senses, I have to find another methodology to contact it. That is why we have our covenant. Your covenant tells you what is out there in that spiritual realm. Your faith is what reaches out there, grabs it, and brings it into the three dimensional world.

The spirit world is awesome, mind-boggling, incredible and incomprehensible. The spirit realm is everywhere at the same time. If you wave your hand in the air you are running through the spirit realm. The spirit world runs concurrently with our world. How do you think God knows everything? Have you ever been up in an airplane on a commercial flight somewhere at 30,000 feet in the air?  When you look down at the ground you could not see anybody and all you might see were some roofs of houses? You could not see what was going on in those houses. How does God know what is going on in those houses? He is as close as your bedchamber. He is closer to you than your hand or your foot. He is right here with us.

Let me ask you some questions.  You have heard of Heaven, haven’t you? If I were to ask you to point to Heaven which way would you point? Most people would point straight up. If everyone around the world were to point up, they would be pointing to every point in space. If Heaven is up for everyone, it is easy to conclude Heaven is everywhere. Heaven is all around us. Many times when we think of Heaven we think about the city described in the book of Revelation. This is only a city that came from Heaven. Heaven is much bigger than a city.

Right now where ever you are there are AM, FM, Short-Wave, Long-Wave, Medium-Wave and satellite transmissions all around you. You will not hear or see any of them without a receiver. However, if you have an FM radio you can pick up the FM signal and listen to what is being broadcast.

While you cannot see them, you cannot say broadcast signals do not exist. While you cannot see God you cannot say he does not exist. He is in another realm and you have to tune in to his frequency to pick up his transmission. You cannot pickup AM with FM. Consequently you have to have the F-A-I-T-H bandwidth to pick up God’s transmission.  Your Bible is the TV and radio program guide that tells you what is being played on all the F-A-I-T-H stations in the kingdom of God.

Faith Will Always Come When

You Hear the Word of God

2,000 years ago the apostles were preaching the “word of faith.”

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (Romans 10:8)

People have thought that the phrase “word of faith” is some kind of new gimmick that somebody came up with. The whole Bible is the “word of faith.” The Bible always has been and always will be the “word of faith.”

It says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”

What is he talking about?

Why is it in your mouth? To speak it.

Why is it in your heart?  To believe it.

This is the combination that works. Speaking words of faith out of your own mouth and believing the words in your heart.

Look at Romans 10:17 again.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

When preachers preach the word, what do they preach? They preach “good news.” When they preach news they are giving out information. The listeners then become possessors of knowledge about God.

I do not know how it works. It says, “faith comes by hearing.” That is why we have to teach and preach on certain subjects in order for the people to have faith in those subjects. You have to be careful because there is a negative side of faith. You can get negative faith by what you hear. That is why you have to be very careful what you hear. Anything that comes into your ear gates is going to affect your faith either positively or negatively.

One of the cleverest scams that Satan came up with is music. It is so subtle. Music gets into your emotions. It gets into your psyche. If you are not careful you can get caught up in the beat and rhythm and never really think about what you are hearing. You will be drilled for years with negative faith. That is why I am critical of what our choir sings in the church. I cannot get into a song if I have not heard it before. I am not singing anything and letting anything out of my mouth unless I know what it is already saying. There are a lot of songs that rhyme but they are not based on the word of God.

“Kum by ya My Lord. Kum by ya.”

“Come by here my Lord. Come by here Lord.”

“Somebody needs you Lord. Somebody needs you Lord.”

This is a melodious beautiful song but is just as unscriptural as you could ever be. When you say come by here you have just said he is not here.

Jesus said,

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

We get caught up in the melody and the music, and we have this thing that God has got to come by here. He is not coming by. He is already here. He is here because I am here.

There is a really old standard you may not even remember. It says,

“Jesus keep me near the cross. There is a precious fountain.”

This is a horrible song. We are not talking about the sincerity or the commitment of the people who wrote the song. We are talking about the content of the song. The words are unscriptural.

Why would you want Jesus to keep you near the cross when he is the one that was crucified on it, and then he got off it, he never got back on it?

Why in the world would you want to be there? He did not stay there. Why would you want to stay there?

Here is another old song.

“Pass me not O gentle Savior.  Hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.”

Why not just spit in God’s face and be done with it? Why would you sing an ungodly song like that? To even infer that he would pass you by is terrible.

Jesus said,

… lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age … (Matthew 28:20)

When you are singing about do not pass me by Lord you are eroding your faith. Instead of having faith God is with you always you believe God is out there somewhere and might pass you by.

Even some of the so-called word songs being sung today are just as bad, but I will not go into that now. You just need to know you have to be careful about what you hear. Whatever you hear is going to affect your faith.

Faith and the word of God go hand in hand. You cannot separate them. If the word of God is proclaimed, faith for whatever is proclaimed will come. God said so. Faith and the word of God are really synonymous. You cannot have one without the other.

Faith with the word of God to me is like the wet with the water. If you get the water, you get the wet. It is automatic.

You can go to a restaurant and say, “I would like to order a hamburger and please hold the onions. By the way, please bring me a glass of water and please hold the wet.”

You cannot do that. Why? Because wet is a characteristic of water. Whenever you get the water you are going to get the wet. It is automatic. Whenever the word of God is proclaimed you are automatically going to get faith for whatever is proclaimed. If the wrong thing is proclaimed, you are going to have the wrong slant on faith. The word of God and faith are synonymous terms.

Let us look at Hebrews 11:1 again. I want to change something. I want to give you the paraphrased Apostle Frederick K.C. Price version. This is based upon what we just found out in Romans 10 verse 8 and verse 17.

Now faith is the word of God, is the substance, tangibility or materiality of things hoped for. The word of God or faith is the evidence or proof of things not perceived by the senses.

Can you go along with that? The word of God proclaimed will always cause faith to come. You have to be careful what you hear, because what you hear will affect your faith either positively or negatively.

I thank God for Christian television. I thank God that we live in a country that has Christian television. However, just for me, I am sorry to say, I have to listen to secular programming because there is so much intermingled with the broadcasts on certain Christian television stations I cannot listen to. The first half hour there is a guy that says God killed my dog and my cat because God was teaching me something.

The next minute they will have someone who says, “Yes, praise God, I was in jail for 25 years, but praise God I got saved, isn’t it wonderful.” Well, yes it is wonderful that you God saved, but you did not have to go to jail to get saved. If you had gotten saved before, you might not have had to go to jail. We are glad that you got saved, but that is not God’s way to get people saved. If that is God’s way then why not put everyone else in jail so they can get saved? No. That is not right.

On some of these Christian stations they mix it all up like this. You have to be careful what you hear.

Faith and belief are different. Faith is acting on what you believe. What you believe is based on the covenant. Whatever the covenant says I am, I am. Whatever the covenant says I have, I have. Whatever the covenant says I can do, I can do. Wherever the covenant says I am, I am. Even though I might not be presently experiencing it, if I believe it, if I begin to confess it, if I begin to expect it, if I begin to live in that kind of environment, then it will begin to manifest. It is not instantaneous. You have to start in it, but if you stay with it, once it starts producing, it is everlasting.

Faith’s Continual Harvest

God gave me this example and I am going to end with this.

If you went down to the local nursery and bought an apple seed, if you take the seed to your house or some vacant land, prepare the ground, put a hole in the ground and put that apple seed in there, then, if you water it and take care of it, it is going to take a while for the seed to develop into a little sapling. It is going to take time for the sapling to develop into a full-grown tree. It is going to take some time for the tree to begin to flower on the branches. It is going to take some time for the flowers to turn into apples.

But guess what? Once it starts producing apples, it is seasonal. You just go out there with your basket week after week, day after day and collect the apples. It is going to take a little time to get it from the seedling up to the producing stage.

Do not give up. Do not lose heart. If you do not do anything at all, the same amount of time is going to pass. You might as well let that time produce something for you.

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources

From Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

If you would like to have additional materials and media resources from Apostle Frederick K.C. Price please contact Ever Increasing Faith Ministries/Crenshaw Christian Center West. Email contact information is available on the ministry website.

Internet Website Address

http://www.faithdome.org/

Mailing Address

Ever Increasing Faith Ministries

PO Box 90000

Los Angeles, CA 90009

Physical Address

Ever Increasing Faith Ministries

7901 S. Vermont Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90044

Phone

800.943.4388

Part 3: Charles Capps

About Charles Capps

Charles Capps is a retired farmer, land developer, and Bible teacher who has traveled extensively throughout the United States and several foreign countries sharing the truths of God's Word. He has taught Bible seminars for over 35 years, emphasizing the authority of the believer, faith and the power of words.

After reading a book by Kenneth E. Hagin entitled, "Authority of the Believer", Charles life took on a new dimension of travel and ministry. He became known for his teaching gift and insight on the subjects of faith and confession. His two books, The Tongue a Creative Force and God's Creative Power Will Work for You, are Christian book classics. Charles has a daily national radio broadcast and a weekly television broadcast aired over several networks and the internet called "Concepts of Faith".

Charles and his wife, Peggy, reside in Arkansas. Both their daughters, Annette and Beverly, are involved in the ministry.

Faith-Filled Words

By Charles Capps

13 Release Faith with Your Words

The Law of Faith Works by the Words You Speak

Jesus tells you how the law of faith works.

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:23-24)

I was reading these verses one day and I said, “Lord, I got that. I have preached it and preached it.  I’ve got it all.”

“No,” he said, “You don’t have it.”

I kept reading it and reading it.

After a while there was a phrase that just jumped up on the page at me.  It says, “Those things which he saith.” I thought it was just talking about what you said to the mountain.  You believe and doubt not in your heart. No, we must believe every word we speak releases faith.

When I started believing I was releasing faith in every word that I spoke, it was a different world out there. I quit telling jokes that put myself in a situation that I was not in.  Some people thought I had gone just a little bit too far.  I think my wife thought that for a while.  It made a change in things when I started watching what I said. You release faith in every word.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We need to watch every word that we speak out of our mouth.

Write the Word of God on Your Heart

In Proverbs it mentions writing things on the table of your heart.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: (Proverbs 3:2-3)

You cannot write the word of God on your heart with pen and ink.  How are you going to do it?

The Psalmist tapped into it when he said,

… my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1)

You can write your words on the table of your heart by speaking them out of your mouth.

There is power in the words you speak. God’s words are full of power. God has faith in his word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (John 1:1)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us... (John 1:14)

I get amused at some of the faith critics sometimes they say things like, “Those faith people tried to make the Word into God.” Well, why in the world would we want to do that?  God has already made it that.  The Bible says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”  God’s word is still over every situation in life whether you believe it or whether you don’t believe it.  But if you do not apply the word, of course it won’t be over every situation in your life.  The word has to be abundant in your heart, and you have to speak it over the situations in your life.

Jesus says,

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Matthew 12:35)

Jesus is not talking about the blood pump.  He is talking about the core, the center of your being.  The good man brings forth good things out of his heart.  Evil comes the same way.  It comes out of the heart.

What you put in your heart is going to get into your mouth.  The more you say it, the more you believe in it.  What you speak with your mouth is going to get into your heart.

Words Are Like Seeds You Plant in the Ground

There is nothing more revealing than the parable of the sower Jesus said,

The sower soweth the word. (Mark 4:14)

It is obvious the word of God there is the seed because Jesus went on to say,

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; (Mark 4:26)

The man, the individual, is the one who plants the seed.

When you get over there into Hebrews it says,

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

If you have evidence in a court of law, it has to exist.  Faith is the evidence of things hoped for. What is it we hope for?  We have hope in the word of God and his promises. Faith then is the evidence or the substance of that hope.

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

What does that mean?  It means you can have faith in the promises of God. He has already said yes to every promise in the book.  God’s promises belong to you.  When Jesus died he set this new covenant in motion by his blood.  You don’t get it when you die.  You get it when he dies.

Suppose your rich uncle owns 40 acres in downtown Dallas and makes you the sole heir.  It would be kind of unusual if you come running home and tell your wife, “My uncle made me the sole heir of all of his estate in downtown Dallas.  I can’t wait to die to get it.”

She will want to feel your fevered brow.  No, you don’t have to die to inherit your uncle’s estate. He has to die, then you get it.

You do not have to die to inherit the promises of God. Jesus already died so you could receive the promises of God.  God’s promises are seeds and you have to sow them with your words until they get down into your heart.

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)

The words or confession of your mouth go together with belief in your heart.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9)

I farmed for 29 years before I went into the ministry.  I recognize the fact that the soil does not have dominion over the seed.  When you plant a seed in the soil, that seed demands of that soil, and that soil has no choice but to respond to that seed.

I have a farm in England, Arkansas. It is a good Christian farm, but if somebody slipped in on it one night and sowed some marijuana on the backside of the field, do you think  that that ground is going to say, “No, we are not raising marijuana.  We are a good Christian farm?” No, it has no choice.

Jesus in the parable of sower likened the heart of man to soil that will produce anything you plant into it. The words you speak are the seeds you are planting. If you’re speaking in line with the word and the promises of God, you are planting good seed.

I had a minister one time that was taking me to the motel from the airport.  I guess he had had a split in his church.  I don’t even remember where it was.  He said, “Well, Brother Capps, every time you get the church going and the ministry going real good the devil tears it up. He just throws a monkey wrench in the deal and just splits the church. Every time, doesn’t he?” and he started nodding his head.

I said, “No, in my ministry he doesn’t because no weapon formed against me will prosper. Whatever I do will prosper.”

He said, “Oh, my God.”

He did not realize what he was doing. He said, “It happens every time.” He believed for it. That was his confession. Nothing else can happen in his ministry but that. It is going to happen periodically as long as he talks that way.  He is planting the seed.  I mean, don’t blame your neighbor if you plant dandelions in your yard and they come up.  Just quit planting them.  Poison them.  Words are seeds that are spoken.

Your Faith Will Never Rise Higher

Than Your Confession of the Word

Jesus taught us the law of faith when he said,

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:23)

I have been flying for 61 years and the Lord gave me an illustration of how the law of faith works like the physical laws that cause airplanes to fly.  When my airplane is filled with books and tapes and is sitting on the runway it weighs nearly four tons.  I am expecting the natural physical law of lift to make that thing fly like a bird.

My airplane will not fly until I do something to put the law of lift into operation. I can sit there on the runway and look out on that wing and there is no lift there while I am sitting still. The law of lift is what causes that airplane to fly. I can pray until the tires rot off the plane that there is lift on that wing, but until I put the throttles to it and thrust it through the air there will be no lift on that wing.

Your faith will never rise any higher than your confession of the word of God. Until you get the throttles opened on that airplane, there is no lift on that wing. When the airplane goes down that runway the wing is designed to create its own lift, and your confession of God’s word creates faith the same way. When you are going down that runway on a good hot day with a load, it will take all but about 200 feet of that runway to get that thing fast enough to fly.

“Well, why didn’t you shut it off about halfway down that runway and say, ‘Well, flying doesn’t work today?’”

Because I have too much knowledge. The manufacturer’s handbook tells you how far down that runway you will have to go at a certain temperature to create enough lift to fly like a bird and it will do it every time.

There is a law of lift that causes my plane to fly. There is also a law of faith that is put into operation by the words you speak. Paul said,

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)

Verse 17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

If you superimpose those verses over each other it is talking about you speaking the word and hearing your voice audibly say what God said. It does something for your human spirit and to the core of your being that nothing else will do. It will change your life forever.

The biggest change in my life, other than being born again and being filled with the Spirit, was when I began to voice the word of God. I could tell you true stories of how things happened after I started planting good seeds until the sun came up in the morning, but you would be so groggy before morning you could not remember any of it.

Paul said in Romans 12,

… according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

Here is one of the missing links in the faith connection. You need to get a hold of this because I have heard it explained in lots of ways, and I can understand some parts of what they say, but how do you measure faith? Do you have an ounce or do you have a ton?  The only way you can measure faith is by how much of God’s word abides in you. Here is the measure of faith that God has dealt to every man. It is there but you have to get it. You have to confess it to get it on the inside of you. God does not just give you faith.

When you plant a seed in the ground before the sun can rise and set, that seed has demanded that your need be met. It takes time for the process to continue. If you will water it with the water of the word, it will produce just like you heard. It will produce. You plant a seed and you reap a harvest. This is always the way Jesus taught. He would take natural things and show you how spiritual things work. You sow a seed and you reap a harvest. You confess the word and faith comes.

In the 70’s when the word of God was taught throughout this nation as I had never known it taught before in the faith area. There were a lot of people who got the idea that all you have to do is say it. There is a lot more to it than just saying it, but saying it is involved in working it. You have to say and say and speak and proclaim the word until it gets inside you.

Jesus said it this way,

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)

I threatened a sycamore tree my wife had planted in our yard. I said, “I am going to pour diesel fuel around that tree. It is not going to live in my yard. I did not like it because it had those big old leaves that fell everywhere.  I was not going to put up with it.” My wife liked that tree and I did not pour diesel around it, but that tree got twenty feet high and one day it keeled over and died.

I liked to got into trouble. My wife said, “You poured diesel around it.”

I said, “No I didn’t, but I bad mouthed it every time I went around it.”

I really believed it was going to die, and if it hadn’t happened, I probably would have poured diesel around it. That was even before I got a hold of this message.

You see people will say things like this, “Well now, I just don’t understand Brother Capps, why in the world do you say you are healed when you are sick?”

Let’s just look at it here.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

The Bible says, “By his stripes you were healed.” It uses the words “Were healed.” The word “were” means it is already done.  If it says “we were healed,” it must mean we are healed as far as God is concerned, right?

Why am I saying I am healed when I am sick? When you say you are healed, you are calling for what you don’t have. God taught Abraham to call things that were not as though they were. He called himself the “father of many nations” when he did not have the promised child before it came to pass.

People say, “Why I just don’t understand that. You are just lying if you say you are healed when you are sick.”

No, you are not lying. You are calling for what you don’t have.

If you want to, do a little experiment along this line. The next time you are staying in a hotel and you get on the elevator on the first floor punch the button for the first floor and see what happens. I have done that I don’t know how many times.  I would get on the elevator on the fourth floor and punch the fourth floor button and I would say what is wrong with this elevator?  But, it was not the elevator that had the problem. I had punched the button for the fourth floor and the elevator did not go anywhere because I was already on the fourth floor.

You can stay there and confess you are sick all day long and not get any better. You are calling it the way it is. As long as you say it like it is, the law of faith says it will stay the same.  The law of faith is the law of change.  If you’re going to say the same thing that exists, confessing the same thing, nothing is going to change other than it may get worse.

I found out when you begin to speak the promise of God it changes situations and circumstances.  There is a force field around you. When Peter walked down the street there was a force field around him that was so strong the sick got healed as he walked by.  It was not just the shadow of the sun; it was a force field of faith that surrounded him.

The Lord said to me one time, “You can build your shield of faith as strong as you want by confessing the word.” He said, “It is not a shield like one that you stick out in front of you.” He said, “It is like a Plexiglas shield that goes all the way around you.  It is created by the force of the word of God that abides in you.”

You can walk right out in the midst of the curses, and they will run off of you like water off of a duck’s back.  But, if you ever get within a mile of a blessing, it will run you down and overtake you.

People will say, “Why, that person must be the luckiest guy in the world.” I don’t believe in luck. I believe in the anointing and the shield of faith.

The Difference between Principles and Formulas

People have this idea that all you have to do is to say it.  Saying it is involved in working the principle.  There are principles and there are formulas.  Let me give you a quick illustration.

When my brother and I were very young, we were standing out there one day watching the birds fly off the barn. He said, “You know, if we had wings we could fly.”

I said, “Yeah, that’s right.”

He said, “I am going to go make us a set of wings.”

He went into the house and after a while he came back with a set of wings.  They looked like a set of perfectly good wings to me.  They were two shoebox lids with a string tied around them.  He was going to get up on this shed and fly down to our cousin’s house and land on his barn.

I said, “No, I want to go first!”

He said, “No, it is my idea and I am going first.”

I helped him up on this shed.

He gets up there and he jumps off and goes “thud” when he hit the ground.

I said, “Buddy, why didn’t you flop your wings?”

He said, “I didn’t have time!”

I said, “Give them to me.  I know I can do it.”

He helped me up on the shed.

I had a new pair of overalls on that were just about four inches too long.  I had them rolled up, but by the time he got me on top of that shed they had become unrolled.  That shed was one of those old buildings that had those square nails.  The top of the nails had worked themselves up a little bit on the edge of roof.  When I jumped off to have my maiden flight, one of my britches legs got hung on one of those nails.  An angel just hooked it on there, I guess. I had plenty of time to flop.  I was hanging upside down just a floppin’.

Now, the moral of this story is things are not always like they seem to be. We had the formula down pat.  All the birds did was kind of hop and flop their wings.  We did that and went “thud.” We did not have the principle.  This is what happens to a lot of people.  They thought, “All you have to do is say it.” That is the part of the right formula, but the principle involved is you must believe and doubt not in your heart, and you must believe what you say will come to pass. Then, you shall have whatsoever you saith.  It is important to understand that.

14 Watch What You Say

Words Create Images

God will still give you everything you can see.  If you can conceive it in your spirit, by speaking, quoting and proclaiming what God said in his word. Words create images. You can be sitting there thinking about something, and I can say, “freight train” and it will change the image in your mind. I can say, “airplane” and it will change your image again.  Different spoken words create different images in your mind.

I remember when the Lord dealt with me along this line several years ago.  I was walking up and down the airstrip out there where I had my airplane tied down. I walked down by the side of the airplane and then walked back up the airstrip about fifty yards. Then, I heard the Spirit of God say to me, “Now why did you walk around that side of the airplane?”

I had no idea.  You know, when the Lord asks you a question, it is not because he didn’t know.  It is because you didn’t know.

I just stopped, and I stood there for a second or two.  I turned around and when I looked at that airplane I had a flashback, and I knew instantly why I walked around that side of the airplane.  Before I actually did it, I saw myself walk around that side of the airplane.  That is the only reason I walked around that side of the airplane.  That is the way we make decisions in life by doing what we see ourselves doing.

The Lord began to deal with me about the fact that if we keep God’s word in our mouth, speaking the things God said about us, we will see ourselves doing the right thing in life.  Have you ever said in a certain situation or circumstance, “I can never see myself doing that?” You had better not do it.  If you have been keeping the word of God in your mouth, you will not be able to do it because of your words. Your words create the image in your mind of not being able to do that.

The Effects of Negative Words

If you have been poor mouthing, probably when the worst deal comes down the pike you will probably feel led to go get involved in it. Sometimes you might hear someone say, “You watch and see. I always get in on the bad deals. I never get in on any of the good deals.”  Their words create image. These images then develop into what they said. They see themselves losing out and then they usually do. Your words can have either a positive or negative effect on your life.

Whosoever shall say to the mountain, the situation or problem in your life, whosoever shall say to it be removed and cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart and believe what he says shall come to pass, he shall have it. What is he going to have? What he prayed? No, what he said.

If your saying does not line up with your praying, you are going to have what you say and not what you pray. Your saying can undo your praying. I used to do that. I have been there and done that.  I would go down to the altar and I would pray, “Lord just get me wisdom to make this decision.  I just don’t know what to do.” I would get up and before I left the church house somebody would say, “What are you going to do about that?” I would say, “I don’t have any idea.  I am so worried.” I got what I said, of course.

Stop Complaining and Say What God Said Over Your Situation

I tell you the truth now.  I am not making this up just to have something to preach.  When I got hold of this message, I was like that poster that has a picture of cat hanging on to the last knot at the end of a rope, that says, ‘Hang in their Baby.”

That is where I was.  I was sick in body.  I was head over heels in debt.  I was supernaturally in debt.  You could hardly get that way naturally.

Right after I heard that the faith message that you can have what you say, if you believe and not doubt in your heart, I was praying one morning and telling the Lord what the devil said. I said, “Lord, things are not working out things are getting worse.”

He said, “Who told you that?”

It shocked me.

He said, “What are you doing, anyway?”

I said, “Well, Lord I am praying.” It almost insulted me that he did not know I was praying.

He said, “No, you are complaining.”

He said, “I would appreciate it if you would quit coming to me and telling me what the devil said and calling it praying.”

I said, “What will I do?”

He said, “Your problem is you pray too quickly.”

That really took me back.

What he said was, “You would be better off taking a week, month or year studying and confessing the word until faith comes and then pray the prayer of faith and you will get more prayers answered.”

That is a good formula. I put that formula in motion after that and I can tell you that within the next three months I got more prayers answered than I did the previous thirty years all put together.   I started confessing the word, confessing the word, until faith came.

Faith is in your heart and not in your head.  Mental assent is in your head, but Paul said, “With the heart man believeth.” So, faith works in the heart not in the head.

It changed my life when I started saying what God said.  This message of faith and the principles of the Bible was the biggest change in my life since I was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.  It was that major a change.

Stop Talking about Death and Dying

When you begin to watch the things that you say, you start to listen to the world talk.  Some of you can just listen to yourself talk.

You start to hear things like,

“It tickled me to death.”

“I laughed so hard I thought I would die.”

“I’m gonna die if I go.”

“I’m gonna die if I don’t go.”

“I am just dying to do so and so.”

One guy said to me,” I am just dying to go to Israel.”

I said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t go. Not with a confession like that.”

You know, be reasonable about it. If you went to the doctor and they gave you a prescription, and you went home and read on the label, “Take three of these a day until it kills you.”  What would you do with them? You would throw those things as far as you could throw them wouldn’t you?

Yet people will talk and say, “Tickle me to death.” “I laughed so hard I thought I was going to die.” People are not going to die just because they said that one time, two times, three times.  But if they keep saying that it will eventually catch up with them.

I heard one man at a Full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting say, “I had better go home.  Ha, ha, ha. The way my luck is running I will probably get run over by a freight train by the time I get home.”

I said, “I am not riding with you.”

You see, he might get away with that and get lots of laughs.  One day it is a good possibility that he will be led by his spirit to be on the train track when the 9:23 freight comes through one morning. He will get run over and people will be saying, “We just don’t understand why God took him.  He was such a good Christian.”

God did not have a thing to do with it.  The man set spiritual law in motion with his words.  He received what he said when one day he got run over by a freight train.

15 Abraham’s and Sarah’s Journey of Faith

God Promises to Bless Abram

And to Make Him a Blessing

Let us look at the life of Abraham and Sarah and their journey to the Promised Land.  This will shed some light on the subject of faith and help us follow his example and apply the principles of faith to our own lives.

When you first read about Abraham in the Bible, his name was not Abraham. He was called Abram. Later God will change his name to Abraham. Abraham means father of a multitude or father of many nations. Abram’s wife’s name at this time was Sarai. God would later change her name to Sara. Sara means mother of a multitude or mother of many nations. This name change is important, and later we will look at why God did this. For now, just notice the Bible is talking about Abram before he became Abraham.

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (Genesis 12:1-2)

God called Abram to leave his relatives and go to a new country. God promised to bless him, multiply him, make his name great and that he would become a blessing to all the people of the earth. At this time Abram is 75 years old.

When Abram first moved to the Promised Land, he had taken Lot, his nephew, with him. God had said come out from among your relatives. Sometimes, you have to get away from your unbelieving relatives if you are going to believe God. Abraham did half of what God said.  He did leave his hometown, but he ended up taking one his relatives with him. He was trying to obey God. God deals with you where he finds you. He would eventually end up separating himself from Lot. Lot would choose to go in one direction and Abram would go in another direction.

After Abram finally separated himself from his nephew Lot, God spoke to him again. At this time Abram did not have any children and his wife was barren.

14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. (Genesis 13:14-16)

God promised Abram a physical land, the Promised Land, an area in the Middle East known as the Land of Canaan. Today, our promises are the promises of a new covenant.  The Bible promises found throughout the New Testament are our “Promised Land.”

What we see here is God had said to Abraham, “I will give you everything you can see.”

Abram Sees Himself Childless

After God Promised Him an Heir

Some time passes and God appears to Abram again.

1After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. (Genesis 15:1-3)

Abram was saying to God, “How can this be since you have given me no seed?” Abram had the greatest seed in the entire world. He had God’s word for it, but Abram could not read what was written in First Peter where it says,

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (1 Peter 1:23)

The word of God is an incorruptible seed that lives and abides forever.” The word of God brings salvation.  God had to deal with Abram on his level of faith. God had told Abram he could have everything he could see. Abram has had the promise of God for several years and he still sees himself childless.

If you can see God’s promise in the word of God, get it into your heart, speak it into your heart, God’s word will come to pass as God has promised. Look at Romans 10 in the Bible where the Apostle Paul tells you the way to get the word of God into your heart.

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)

The word of faith is first in your mouth and then in your heart. The more you say it, the more you believe it, the more you believe it, the more you say it, the more you say it the more you believe it.  It is like a dynamo. It just keeps generating power.

We call this the law of faith.  Jesus tells us how to operate in this law.

22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:22-23)

Notice, Jesus said to say to the mountain to be removed. Jesus did not say to speak to the mountain and say, “I will never get over you.” Everybody talks about the mountain, but only a few people talk to it and tell it what to do.

Don’t talk about your problems.  Talk to your problems and tell them where to go. Don’t get too carried away with that, but you ought to get carried away with taking God’s word and cramming it down the devil’s throat.  The devil will not stay around long if you keep the word of God in your mouth.  God’s word is the stabilizing force of your life.

Abram Believed God and It Was

Credited to Him for Righteousness

Here is Abram. He said to God, “What will you give me seeing that I go childless?”

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)

God took Abram out and showed him the stars.  He said, “Tell the stars and if you be able to number them … so shall thy seed be.” You can see three or four thousand stars on a clear night.  “So shall my seed be.” That is what God had in mind. Speak to the stars. Tell the stars, “So shall my seed be.”

Abram was told to use an audible voice repeating what God has said to the stars.  When you confess the promise of God audibly with your mouth, it does something for the human spirit that nothing else does.  I don’t care how many other people say it, it will never affect you the way it affects you when you say it audibly with your mouth.

We have a little confession book that came out in 1976, God’s Creative Power will Work for You. Of course, there are millions of those out there now and it is a confession book.

Sometimes people will say, “Oh yeah, I read that book.”

It is not a reading book.  It is a confession book.  It is a confession book, and you say it. You say it audibly.

You need to give voice to God’s word. When you give voice to God’s word, that may be the only audible voice of God that you will ever hear.  When you hear God’s word spoken, it has a way of penetrating the human spirit and the human flesh.  It will change your flesh.  It will change you from the inside out.

Here is Abram and the Lord said, “Tell the number of stars if you’re able to number them. The scripture says in the next verse, “Abram believed in the Lord and it was counted to him for righteousness.”

Did you know there’s a lot of people that believe in the Lord, but they don’t believe what he said about them?  No, they don’t believe the promises are for them now.  They say, “Oh yeah, we’re going to get that when we get to heaven.” Will you need money to buy gasoline when you get to heaven?   No, you need money to buy it now.

You see, it says Abram believed in the Lord and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  God had to deal with him on his level.  He will deal with you on your level.

The next time the Lord appeared to Abram it was after Abram and Sara in the 16th chapter of Genesis got together and decided that they’re going to have to help God out.

1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: …. (Genesis 16:1-4)

Have you ever thought God did not understand your situation?

They thought it was through Sarai’s maid that they were going to have the promised child.  Abram had a baby through Hagar and they named him Ishmael. Ishmael was not going to be the blessed child God promised them. Ishmael was not a child they produced by faith. Ishmael was a result of what happened when they got over in the flesh and tried do things without God’s help.

God Changes Abram’s Name to Abraham

God was not through with Abram. God was still going to work with him to get him to believe God and have faith for something better. When Abram was 100 years old God spoke to him again and said,

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (Genesis 17:5)

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Let’s pick this story up again in verse 15.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. (Genesis 17:15-22)

After God changed Abram’s name to Abraham he also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah. He promised to bless her with a son who would be the promised child instead of Ishmael, the son of the handmaid. This promised child was to be named Isaac. Abraham laughed when he heard God tell him this because he thought he and Sarah were too old to have any more children. He was 100 years old and Sarah was over 90. God said again he was going to have a child from Sarah.

When Abraham was 100 he had the promise of God for 25 years. Up until now there was no manifestation of the promise whatsoever. When he questioned God saying, “What will you give me seeing I go childless?” He saw himself childless.  He could not see himself with a child.  God tried to get him to create the image by spoken words.

God had to instigate his law of faith. He changed Abram’s name to Abraham which means father of a multitude. Every time Abraham and Sarah spoke their name to each other they would hear themselves calling each other the father and mother of a multitude. They would hear this over and over again. They would be calling out the promise of God every time they said each other’s name.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing and hearing. Hearing is the continual sense. Someone would not walk up to somebody and say, “How is your heard.” You might think they were talking about their cows, wouldn’t you? You don’t want to know how he heard last week. You want to know how he is hearing now.

Hearing is a continual sense. Renewing of the mind is a continual sense.

The Apostle Paul said,

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, … (Romans 12:2)

You renew your mind with the word of God by speaking the word over and over, over and over audibly until the mind is renewed. It is a process that continues through your life.

You don’t ever quit renewing your mind because you are rubbing up against people every day that will affect you negatively. You get around some folks for 25 minutes and you’ll be saying some of the ugly stuff they say. “Oh, we’re just working ourselves to death.” Then you’ll catch yourself saying stuff like that.  You have to renew your mind.  You have to keep your mind renewed.

God gives every man a measure of faith.

… according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

Somebody said, “Well, if he has dealt every man the measure of faith, why don’t I have any?”

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing and hearing.

If you notice in Romans the 10th chapter, Paul said,

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)

It did not say the word was in your pastor’s mouth and in your heart.  It says it is in your mouth and in your heart.

When I went to school we quoted the multiplication table back and forth to one another until we knew them by what? By heart. They knew back then what you said audibly would get into your heart. When you say something over and over again it gets down into your heart. Now, you don’t have to think about two times two equals four. You just know it. It is in your heart.

Say the word of God over and over again and it will get down into your heart.

Abraham Called Things that Were Not

As Though They Were

God taught Abraham to call those things that were not until they were.

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. (Romans 4:17)

What does it mean to call things that are not?  Not what?  They are not evident in the natural realm. They are things you cannot see, feel, taste, and touch.

Anything like a chair or a table is in the natural realm.  You don’t have to use faith to believe these things are real.  You can touch them and can feel them. I guess, if you could bite them, you could taste them.  They are in the natural realm.  It does not matter whether you believe it or not, they are here.

You do not use faith on things you can see.  You use faith on the unseen.

Romans chapter 4 goes on to talk about how Abraham believed in the hope of the unseen promise of God

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. (Romans 4:18)

Notice it says, “Who against hope believed in hope.” In other words, when there was no hope in the natural, Abraham believed it. When you get to the point where you do not see any natural hope, you need to be like Abraham. You need to go to the word of God and get supernatural hope.

You should recognize your need to believe the promises of God like Abraham did, and you should call those things that are not as though they were.  By faith you should call yourself saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. By faith you should call yourself healed, and by faith you should call all your needs met. By calling those things God promised that are not as though they were, you will please God with your faith.

The Blessing of Abraham Belongs to You

We have a heritage of faith we can trace all the way back to Abraham. The Bible says that all who are in Christ Jesus are related to Abraham by faith. Those who have faith, no matter what race they come from, are considered children of Abraham. If you have faith in the promises of God like Abraham, you are justified by faith before God, and you will be blessed by God like Abraham.

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-9)

Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. By faith Abraham and Sarah had a promised child they named him Isaac.  Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel.

The nation of Israel received the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments directly from God. Along with the Law of Moses came blessings and curses. God said if the nation of Israel would follow and obey his laws he would bless them. God warned them if they did not obey his laws they would be cursed.

The term “curse of the law” refers to the consequences that came to those who did not obey God’s laws. When you broke one of God’s laws, the only way to avoid the curse of the law in the Old Testaments was to come before God to receive forgiveness. Forgiveness came by an elaborate system of sacrifices made by the appointed priests according to the laws and ordinances set down by Moses.

The Old Testament is full of types and shadows of things to come. These sacrifices and rituals served a purpose, but they were not a permanent solution to pay for the sin of the world. They had to be repeated over and over again. The types and shadows of things to come would find fulfillment when God sent his son Jesus Christ to be the final sacrifice for the sin of the world. When John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ, he recognized him as the promised Messiah, the one who would take away the sin of the world.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago would satisfy God’s judgment against sin once and for all. His death on the cross would make it possible for all men and women everywhere to be reconciled with God by faith and to have all their sins forgiven. There would not be any need for further sacrifices for anyone to be made right with God. This final sacrifice of Jesus Christ would justify anyone who received by faith what he accomplished for them when he died.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When you have faith in Jesus Christ you become the righteousness of God. In other words, you now have right standing with God because of his death. God substituted the judgment you deserved on him. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross enabled you to have your sins forgiven. There is nothing standing in the way between you and the blessing of God. When you receive this righteousness by faith, you are redeemed from the curse of the law.

13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are redeemed from the curse of the law and are entitled to the blessing of Abraham. This blessing can now be received by anyone who, like Abraham, has faith to receive it. Faith in Jesus Christ and your position of righteousness in him has made all the promises of God available to you by faith.

The Righteousness of Faith Speaks

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) (Romans 10:6-7)

You might say who in the world would say that, but we have all said it one way or another.  If you have ever said, “Lord, if you will just come down and touch me, I would get healed.” That is basically what you have said.  It would seem you want to reverse the process of death and get Jesus back into his flesh, bone and blood body so that he could lay hands on you and minister to you the way he did before he was crucified. If Jesus came back again, then you think you could get healed.

What Paul is referring to here is that after Jesus rose from the dead and had his glorified body, he never healed another single person.  He never cast out another demon.  He never did a single miracle by the laying on of hands.

Why? He has lost his right to operate as a man.  While he was down on the earth he was operating as a man who was anointed with the Holy Ghost. He was the Son of God, all right, but he had a physical flesh, blood and bone body.  The Apostle Paul said, “The righteousness of faith wouldn’t say if Jesus would come back, reverse the process of death, and return to being in a physical body where he had authority to destroy the works of the devil.”

He said, “The righteousness of faith would not say that.”

What would it say?

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:8)

The righteousness of faith would speak the word of God, the word of faith, that is in your heart. You do not need Jesus to come back to the earth from heaven to do this.   You have to speak the words of faith yourself.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9)

The righteousness of faith speaks the word of faith that comes from your heart and brings about your salvation. The Greek word for salvation here is the verb “soteria.” In other places in the Bible, the Greek word for salvation is the noun “sozo.” Both these Greek words mean deliverance, preservation, healing from temporal evils and all things.  The word salvation is an all-inclusive word.

You can be born again by believing in your heart, but if you want deliverance from temporal evils, sickness, disease and some of these other things that come upon you in life, you had better get your mouth in motion—and get those promises spoken.

Abraham Gained Access to God’s Grace by Faith

Faith does not work alone to receive God’s promises. Faith and grace go together. You gain access to God’s grace by faith.

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)

“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace.” That statement reveals that the only way you can enter into grace is through faith.  You cannot get there any other way.  You cannot get there by being good or by doing good things.  Although, you ought to do good things if you’re born again.  The only way you can get access to the grace of God is through faith.

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

In these two verses and in other writings by the Apostle Paul you see this over and over again, the only way you can access the grace of God is through faith.  You cannot do it on your own merits.  It is important that you realize it is the grace of God that gets you through life. It is God’s grace that makes his promises sure. You have to recognize you cannot receive anything because you earned it. You receive blessing from God because he is full of grace. Your faith gives you access to God, but it is by grace that you receive what you need from him.

16 You Can Have What You Say

Saying What You Already Have Is Not Faith

There’s always somebody that says, “Well now, Brother Capps, I just believe it this way. If you say it any other way than it is, you are just lying. You are just lying if you say you are healed when you are sick.”

Just think about this. The Bible says you can have what you say if you believe and doubt not in your heart.  Some people go around saying things like, “I am sick.” “I am sick as a horse.” “I believe I am coming down with the flu.” You hear people saying all kinds of things like that.

I was in a barber shop in England, Arkansas getting my hair styled and this old guy came in there coughing and sneezing. He said, “I have been trying to take the flu for three weeks.” I sat there and thought, “You know, if he has been trying to take it that long, he ought to have it.” He ought to have been trying to take a healing.  People say those things and think it is just a funny thing to say.  No, it causes reality.

Jesus Christ was not just making up scriptures to fill in the Bible when he said,

…  That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:23)

Jesus Christ did not say this to make it true.  He said this because it was already true.  He was just letting us in on it.

When you are speaking words you are sowing seeds. You sow the seed, and it makes demands of the soil, and the soil has no choice but to respond to it. Remember, in the parable of the sower the ground was the heart of man, not the blood pump, but the core, the center of your being. I don’t know, but it seems like the word “spirit” might have been a better word there rather than the word “heart.” But anyway, your spirit will bring about, or lead you to receive, what you have confessed

One of the missing links in the faith connection is that people do not spend the time to tame their tongue and get their vocabulary straightened out. It takes weeks and sometimes months to do that.  I am not telling you that it is an easy thing to do.  If you are going to operate in the principles of the law of faith, it is a must. You must spend the time to get the word of God in your heart in abundance.  That is what Jesus is talking about. That is where the power is.

Jesus said,

… for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (Matthew 12:34)

I have a series I taught one time called, “Words, Faith and Things.” God’s word produces a faith for the things that God has given you. You must confess the word until faith is abundantly in your heart. Then when faith is abundantly in your heart, you speak words of power that changes situations and circumstances.

There is an anointing there. The power of God surrounds you. You can walk out into the midst of the curses and they will run off you like water off a ducks back. If you get close to a blessing, it will overtake you.  It is coming so much faster than you are going it will come upon you.

But you see, it takes time to develop that.  That is one of the missing links in the faith connection.  I see that people do not take their words serious enough.  Until you do that, it just kind of falls apart.  It has to be abundantly in your heart.

Now, this guy that says, “Bless God, I believe you just have to say it like it is. If you say anything else you are just lying.”

Well, just follow that guy and see if he believes that anywhere except in church or in a religious setting. Now see, that sounds good naturally.

I bought a farm one time that was overgrown with Johnson grass. What if I had said, “Well, you know you have to plant it like it is. We are going to have to plant Johnson grass on that farm.” Does that make any sense to you? No, that does not make any sense at all, does it?  No, you plant cotton or soybeans or something.  On the farm we would never say, “We have to plant it like it is.”

You don’t have to say it like it is. You say it the way the word says it is until you get what the word says it is.  It takes effort, but I can tell you it will work if you put in the effort to do it.

Somewhere Pooch! Don’t Know Where Pooch!

This guy that says, “Bless God, I just believe in saying it like it is, and if you say anything else you are lying.” He will go home after church and walk out on his porch to feed the dog. He is standing out there on that porch saying, “Here Pooch! Here Pooch!” and Pooch is not there. He is somewhere else. I am going to ask him, “Why are you lying about your dog? Your dog is not here. Your dog is somewhere else.”

He said he believes in calling it like it is. Why didn’t he go out there and say, “Somewhere Pooch! Don’t know where Pooch. I guess it is not God’s will for me to feed my dog.”

Everything else in life we call what we want.  When the kids are in the yard playing and you have lunch ready you don’t sit down and say, “I guess it is not God’s will that they eat lunch.” No, you call them and they will come, and you better get out of the way because they will come quickly.

Now, let’s say the guy does believe what he says he believes.  Suppose he goes out there to feed the dog and the cat is there.  He has to call the cat.  Because he has to call it like it is.  He says, “Here, Kitty, Kitty.” Then all the neighbor’s cats come over.

Then the neighbor looks over the fence and says, “What are you doing with all those cats?”

He says, “I don’t know I am trying to feed the dog.”

The neighbor says, “Well, if you are trying to feed the dog, why are you calling all those cats?”

He says, “Well, you have to call it like it is.  When the cat is here you have to call the cat.”

Now, laugh, but some of you have been doing the same thing.

“If we ever save any money, all the kids will come down sick, and we will have to spend every dime on doctors’ bills.  It happens this way every time.”

Hey, the cat is there quit calling him!

Do you see what I’m talking about?  If you’re not careful, you will fall right into calling it like it is instead of calling for what you want.

Why Set the Thermostat on 100°F

When It Is Already 100°F?

So, this guy who believes in calling it like it is, let us say he goes off on vacation and leaves his house shut up.  He comes home and it is 100°F in there.

Well, he walks over to the thermostat and says, “Wo, it is sure is hot in here.  I believe in calling it like it is.  I am going to set the thermostat on 100°F.”

Then he calls the air conditioning man and says, “Get down here and fix this air conditioner.”

The repairman says, “What is wrong with it?”

He says, “It is 100°F in here.”

The repairman says, “Well, there is sure something wrong we will get down there and take a look at it.  Oh, by the way, what do you have your thermostat set on?”

He replies, “I have it set on 100°F.  I believe in calling it like it is.”

This same man thinks you are a nut if you call yourself healed when you’re sick.  But, he will walk over there to that thermostat and set it on 70°F when it is 100°F and feel real spiritual about it.  But if you say you are healed when you are sick, he thinks you are a little loony.  Do you see the principle?  That is why Jesus took natural things and showed you spiritual things. (Note: 100°F = 38°C and 70°F = 21°C)

God Created the Visible from the Invisible

Everything that is made reveals the principles of God. The Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter1:

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made … (Romans 1:20)

You can take a copy machine and put an open Bible on it and punch a button and it runs across there and out comes a copy. You know, you do not have to proofread the copy.  Why don’t you have to proofread the copy?  Because it is an exact duplicate of the original. Every “i” is dotted. Every “t” is crossed. If somebody types that page, you better proofread the copy.

How do you know the copy machine will make a duplicate of the original?  Copy machines make duplicates of the originals 100 percent of the time. That is what they are designed to do.  All the duplicates on a copy machine look exactly alike.

There is a law of faith. If you operate in the law of faith properly, it will work 100 percent of the time. The law of faith will produce the same results over and over again. We are not perfect in everything, but we strive for perfection.  Over the last 35 years I have learned some things about the law of faith that will short it out and some things that will help it along.

What Did the Wind and Waves

Have to Do with Walking on Water?

Do you remember when Peter and the disciples got into a storm on the lake while they were in a boat? They saw Jesus walking on the water and Peter walked out on the water to meet him (Matthew 14:22-33).

When you go to observing things that have nothing to do with what you are doing like Peter did, you can get into trouble.

Peter said, “Lord, if it is you, bid me to come.”

Jesus just said, “Come!”

Peter just bailed out of the boat.

I asked the Lord, “Why did you call Peter out of the boat when he did not have water walking faith?”

He said, “I didn’t do it.”

I said, “Oh, I know that you did.”

He said, “Turn to it and read it.”

I could not wait to get over there and I read it.

Jesus said Peter said, “If it is you, bid me to come.”

What was I supposed to say, “No, Peter it isn’t me.”

He said, “If I had said nothing I would have lied.”

He said, “He painted himself into a corner.”

But, he did walk on the water, didn’t he?  He walked on the water until he observed something that had nothing to do with what he was doing.

When he stepped out upon the water to go to Jesus, he was walking on the water from what the Bible says,” But fearing he began to sink.”

Like I heard Brother Jerry Savelle say one time, “If you step off into the swimming pool you will not begin to sink you will go “chug.” So, he lost his faith by the degree he observed the tempestuous winds.

If he was going to be real analytical about this, “He could have said, “I guess this is the only time you can walk on the water is when the wind is blowing. I have never tried it when the wind was blowing. I guess anybody can walk on the water when the storm winds are blowing.”

When he started observing circumstances that had nothing to do with what he was doing, he began to sink.

You can’t walk on the swimming pool if the wind is not blowing. Wind had nothing to do with it, but it stole his faith, and he went under.  But Peter did walk on the water, didn’t he?

Thermostats Are Goal Setters

Sam Jordan and I traveled together for years and he used this illustration before I took part of it.  In an air conditioning and heating unit the heart of the unit is outside the building.  There is a thermostat on the wall.  The thermostat is the goal setter.

Paul taught that faith works in the heart and not in the head. I heard Brother Hagin say one time, “You can have faith in your heart and doubt in your head and it will still work.” You cannot have faith in your head and doubt in your heart. That is mental assent.

That thermostat is simply a goal setter.  Whatever you set it on, that’s what it will produce. It sends an impulse out there that says, “Get some cold air in here. We’re hot.” Now, it will not cook your food, and it will not wash your clothes, but it will heat and cool your building.  It is designed to do that.  When you set 70F° on it and it is 85F° in there, you have created a problem for the heart of that unit, but it knows how to solve it. (Note: 70°F = 21°C and 85°F = 29°C)

Your Mouth Is a Goal Setter

Your mouth is a goal setter. Paul said,

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:8-9)

When you speak audibly, it sends an impulse into your heart. Your voice is picked up by the inner and fed right into the heart and it plants the seed that says, “Find a way for abundance to come about.” Or, it plants a seed for whatever the situation may be.

While you are asleep day and night the human spirit will search the avenues of God’s wisdom. It goes into search mode.  Your spirit says, “Find a way to cause this to come to pass.”  You will be led by your spirit to be in the right place at the right time for the right situation or whatever the situation is.  I have seen it happen time and time again.  When you keep the right seed planted your heart will find a way for it to come to pass.

The substance for heating and cooling a building is in the heating and air unit at all times, but it does nothing until you call for it.  You can pray that the air conditioner will come on and that it will get cool in here for weeks and months.  You can fast and all of that and nothing is going to happen until you act on what you know to do.

You can pray for all kinds of things and if you are confessing what the devil says, saying, “The devil always does this and that and the other.” You are giving him the preeminence.  You’ll never get the situation under control.  But one thing that will bring it under control is God’s word spoken out of your mouth.

You can’t go to the hardware store and buy one of those thermostats and nail it on your cabin wall in the middle of the woods where you don’t have electricity and get it to work. I think that is what some folks have done when they go, “All you got to do is say it.”

There is a lot more to it than saying it.  Saying it is involved in working the principle.  You speak the word of God.  You proclaim the word of God.  It is like that airplane wing going down the runway the faster it goes the more lift it creates.  God’s word spoken out of your mouth creates faith in your heart.  It is in your mouth and in your heart. It is in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of the faith that Paul said we preach.

Why will that thermostat not heat and cool a building by itself?  There is no substance in that thermostat.  There are two things in a thermostat box.  There is a thermometer there for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to tell you how hot it is right now.  The thermometer will change with every wind that blows.

We have a lot of thermometer Christians.  They can tell you how it is.  It changes every time you hear them except that it gets a little worse most of the time.  We need some thermostat Christians.  They can change it.  If you get the goal set with the words you speak from down in your heart, you are planting seeds in your heart, and your heart says, “find a way for that to come to pass.”

Your Heart Will Search for a Way to Meet Your Need

I know some of your thinking, “Now, where in the world do you get all this heart search stuff?”

I am glad you asked.  Look at Psalm 77.

1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted .3I remembered God, and was troubled

A lot of folks are troubled when they remember God. Listen to this.

I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

Do you want to overwhelm your spirit? Complain.

4Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Then you get to the point where you cannot confess the good things.

5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart:

This is what you are doing when you confessing the word of God. You are communing with your own heart.

and my spirit made diligent search.

There it is right there.  My spirit made diligent search. Now what was it that he communed with and what did it bring.

7 Will the Lord cast off forever? and will he be favourable no more?

Now this is what he made diligent search about.  It is telling you what the heart may diligent search about.

8 Is his mercy clean gone forever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

10And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High

He got a revelation right there, didn’t he? I caused this mess by the way I have been thinking and talking. This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.

Now he is going to think differently.

11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. 13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. 15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. Psalm 77:1-15 (KJV)

He talked himself right out of depression into blessing.

His heart made diligent search. He complained and he was over-whelmed. When you set that goal setter, it sends an impulse out there and releases the substance in that heating and air conditioning unit.  It will work day and night until it brings what you set in the goal setter.  When you speak words that agree with God’s word, your spirit will make diligent search in the night to find a way to cause you to be in the right place at the right time for the right situation.  Sometimes, it will steer you away from the bad deals.

When you see how Jesus has used natural things to show you spiritual things.  You plant a seed and you reap a harvest. You speak the word you are planting a seed.  You speak the promise of God you are causing faith to come.  The more you say it the more you believe it.  You call things that are not as though they were until they are.

Pray this with me, “Father God put a watch on my mouth.  Let the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart be on the promises and the blessings that are already given to me. I proclaim that I am blessed of God.  I have the promises of God and I plant the seed of God and I reap the harvest of God in my life. I call for abundance in the face of lack.  I call for faith in the face of sickness.  I call forth the things that the word says that I have and I have what you say. Amen.”

I Rest My Case

“Now, Brother Caldwell come here.”

“Why did you come up here?”

“You called me.”

“Oh, you sat there for over an hour and did not come.  Why did you not come a while ago?”

“Because you did not call me a while ago. You just now called me.”

“You mean to tell me you were willing to come any time I called you?”

“Yes.”

“But you did not come until I called you?”

“That’s right.”

“I rest my case.”

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources

From Charles Capps

If you would like to have additional materials and media resources from Charles Capps, please contact Capps Ministries

Internet Website Address

http://www.charlescapps.com

Email Address

info@charlescapps.com

Email for Churches and Bookstores

books@charlescapps.com

Mailing Address

Capps Ministries

PO Box 69

England, Arkansas 72046

Office Telephone

501-842-2577

Toll-Free Order Line

1-877-396-9400 (answered 24 hours)

Part 4: Keith Moore

About Keith Moore

Keith Moore is the founder and president of Moore Life Ministries and Faith Life Church located in Branson, Missouri. Two of the greatest emphases of Brother Moore's ministry are the importance of the written Word and the necessity of being led by the Spirit.

Having traveled extensively across the U.S. and abroad for over 30 years, Keith and his wife, Phyllis, minister strongly on such areas as love, faith, healing, prosperity, and honor.

Their heart is to see the lost saved, the sick healed, the distressed relieved, the broken restored, and the discouraged empowered to victory. Brother Moore says, "True Christianity is not the formal, powerless thing that so many have come to know. Real fellowship with the living Christ, the Anointed One, results in the destruction of every bondage, the removal of every burden, and the fulfillment of every good desire. There is no life so exciting as the victorious life that is true Christianity."

You will find the teaching ministry of Brother Keith rich with revelation yet easy to understand and to put into practice. Many have testified to healing, deliverance, and life-changing experiences through this anointed ministry.

Turning Little Faith into Big Faith

By Keith Moore

17 Can Your Faith Increase?

Yes, Your Faith Can Increase

Do you remember the first teaching you heard on faith? I do.  I will never forget it. I grew up in church and we walked in the light we had which was not much. Then I heard a teaching tape. Back then no one I knew listened to tapes. I had never met anybody who listened to preaching on tape. All my friends thought it was crazy.

“Why would you do that?” they asked.

I said, “I don’t know, but I heard one and it was on faith.”

When I got through listening to this tape, I did not understand half of what the man said, but my spirit was excited.” First Timothy talks about being “nourished in the words of faith.”

6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. (1 Timothy 4:6)

Every sermon does not have to be on the subject of faith.  We need teaching and preaching on all kinds of subjects and areas but every sermon should be in and of faith, from faith, to faith. Sermons should leave you with faith.

Any kind of teaching or preaching that just beats you down and leaves you there is not the Spirit of God. God is the edifier, isn’t he? God is the edifier even when he corrects and rebukes you. If you receive his correction and respond to it, you will wind up being built up. Even if you were severely rebuked and corrected, before it is over with, you can repent and put it behind you. You can get your life straightened out and go on from there.

You can be nourished up in the words of faith. From that day I first heard the teaching on faith my wife, Phyllis, and I have continued to increase and live a completely different life than we did before. It is the life of faith. It is the life of obeying and pleasing God.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

(2 Thessalonians 1:3)

The same verse in Young’s literal translation says,

We ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because increase greatly doth your faith, …

(2 Thessalonians 1:3 YLT)

Can your faith increase?

Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,

(2 Corinthians 10:15)

Can your faith increase? Yes, it can.

What can happen as a result of that increase? Increased faith brings a larger measure. Increased faith brings enlargement and enlarged rule.

The Devil Is the Greatest Loser

What is standing between you and more enlargement? Greater prosperity? Greater revelation? Greater fruit in the ministry? Greater scope of influence? What is standing between you and enlargement?

According to a lot of people it is the devil. They think he is holding the body of Christ back. They think he is binding everything up and shutting the church down. That is just not so. Satan is the god of this world and the power of darkness, but he has been stripped of his power of death. He is eternally defeated. He is the eternal “Loser.” He is going to be known throughout eternity as the “Greatest Loser.” The devil is the biggest loser who ever existed.

If he ever tries to tell you that you are a loser, he has no room to talk. He is the greatest loser of all time. You, who are in Christ, are always made to triumph. No matter what happens you still win. Through whatever reason, ignorance or lack of knowledge, lack of understanding, failure to put the word into practice, you did not get your bills paid, you did not get your healing, and you died prematurely, you still go to Heaven. You will live in a mansion. You do not lose!

People act like dying is the worst thing that could happen to you. No, it is not. People die every day. There is nothing to it. If you could look back a few thousand miles from the earth and look into the spirit world, you could see a constant stream of people going and coming. People are being born into the planet and people are leaving the planet.  People are coming and going by the millions and there are daily departures.

Paul said,

For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (Philippians 1:23 NKJV)

To depart and to be with Christ is far better than being here. What is death?  Death is just a departure. You are leaving. You are out of here, but you are winning. You are a winner. You have the victory in Christ Jesus. Every day you are a winner.

What about the devil?  He is not just a loser. He is the “Greatest Loser.” He is the biggest loser that ever existed. What happens to him in Revelation, at the back of the Bible, he loses. It is just a matter of time before the whole thing is manifest.

The devil is not holding us back. He cannot keep us from prospering. He cannot keep you from being healed. He cannot keep us from advancing in usefulness and fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God.

What is the key? How do we get from where we are to where God wants us to be? When our faith is increased then our measure and rule will be increased. We will see enlargement in our lives.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

In 2 Thessalonians 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 10:15 it says your faith can increase. Several places in the Bible Jesus talked to people about their little faith. He also talked to people about their great faith. Faith can be small or faith can be big. Faith can be weak or faith can be strong. What I have on my heart to teach you is how to get from weak to strong faith. How to get from little to big faith. I have some revelation for you.

Increased Faith Will Enlarge Your Life and Ministry

What would it mean to you if your faith developed substantially from where it is now? Would it show up in your life? Would it affect your life? You would be enlarged and increased in every area. We live by faith. We walk by faith in everything we do.

What if your faith greatly increases? Then your life increases. Your life enlarges.  God has not called us to live a little, insignificant, puny, boring life. God has called us to live a great big “zoe,” more than enough, abundant, big life.

If you are bored with your life you are not walking with God like you are supposed to be. There are some things you are not doing. If you do not enjoy reading your Bible, you are not doing it right. If you do not enjoy praying, you are not doing it right. If you do not enjoy going to church, then you and or the church or both are not doing it right.

When you do it right with God, there is life in it. There is quickening in it. It is ever increasing. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. God does not peak. You will never get up in the morning and have God say to you, “You have seen it all. You are just going to have to do a rerun today.”

No, you can be in Heaven for a million years, and you will never get to place where God says, “That’s it. You have heard it all.”  It says in Ephesians,

That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)

In the Greek “ages to come” literally means age upon ages. In the ages to come God is going to show us the exceeding riches of his grace. How long is this? Eons upon eons.

What does that mean? Time will not mean what it means now. A million years from now, do you think we will be happy? In a million years you might think you might be thinking, “How can it get any better?” Then God will say, “Look at this!” Then he will unfold something of himself and you will be awed again. Then later on you might think, “How could it get any better than this?” Once again God will unfold something else and you will be awed again. You are going to be doing this in the ages to come. God never peaks.

It starts now. It does not start when we get to Heaven. It is supposed to start the day you were saved. It is going on now. It just does not happen automatically. It is not just completely up to God. He reveals himself to those who believe in him and not to those who doubt him. It happens progressively from faith-to-faith.  What do you mean progressively? Revelation of him increases to us and in us from faith-to-faith.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17)

Your faith can get stronger or greater. Your faith can be small or it can be little. Increased faith enlarges your ministry. It is the key to how we go from where we are to where we can be or where we need to be.

Your Ministry Gifts Are Used

According to Your Proportion of Faith

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)

Whatever your grace, ability, anointing or calling is, the implication is that you use that gift according to the proportion of faith that you have. You are going to prophesy, you are going to teach, you are going to minister, and you are going to give. How? According to your proportion of faith.

Does that mean if you had more faith you could prophesy better? That is exactly what it is saying. Is it saying that if you have more faith you can teach better? It says you are going to prophesy according to the proportion of faith that you have.  It is understood that ministry, teaching, exhorting and all these other gifts will be done with the proportion of faith that is given to those who receive the gifts.

If you have more faith can you teach better? There is no question about it. It takes faith to teach. It takes faith to preach. The pastors and guest ministers that come to minister should always prepare, but when it comes time to get up and go what are you going to do? I do not have every word I am going to say for an hour, or two hours or whatever time I am going to be ministering. That is a lot of words. How do you know what you are going to say? How do you know you will not say everything you thought of in five minutes and then sputter to a close? Anybody that has ever preached or ministered, the first few times they did that. They had to overcome fear with faith.

How do you know what you are going to say? It takes faith. You sense things inside you that the Lord wants to get out. How are you going to get it out? You do not know how, but you still start talking. You start with what you know, and you expect it to come out one way or another. You keep talking and expecting.  You keep expecting, but you know you cannot reveal light or truth to somebody else. You expect God to do it while you are talking.

What about as your faith increases? The anointing is going to increase. The revelation is going to increase. Whether prophesy, tongues and interpretation or teaching, as your faith increases your ministry is enlarged.

18 Consider What God Says—Not the Devil’s Lies

Abraham and Sara Went from Little Faith to Strong Faith

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. (Romans 4:17)

Did you know Abraham and Sara did not start off in great faith? Have you read in Genesis about how both of them started off concerning the promised child? When God told Abraham and he finally got the revelation it was going to be through Sara, Abraham asked God if Ishmael could live before him. He thought it was impossible for Sara to have a child in her old age. I know he is supposed to be the great father of faith, but he did not start out with strong faith. He did not have great faith when God told him the promised child would come through Sara. He stumbled in his faith.

Sara laughed when she heard God tell Abraham she was going to have a child in a year. She laughed. She thought as old as my husband is and as old as I am how can I have a child?  She thought I could not conceive when I was younger. Then she laughed. She thought this was real funny.

Then the Lord asked her what she was laughing at. Then she got scared. Unbelief laughs when it should not laugh. Unbelief asks questions when it should not be asking questions. Sara did not start off in great or strong faith. She started off in no faith, but she changed. She went from no or little faith to great faith.

Abraham went from no or little faith to great faith. How did they do it? If we know how he did it you and I can do the same thing, can’t we? We can get from little faith to great faith using the exact same principles they did. Notice how it happened.

Abraham and Sara Considered Not and Wavered Not

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:19-21)

I become excited when I read these verses. These verses show us how to get from little faith to strong faith. It is all here in these verses. You need to look at these verses closely. You need to look at them again like you are looking at them for the first time. Did Abraham and Sara get from little faith to strong faith or great faith? If they did, how did they do it?

In Romans 10 verse 19 it says, “ ... being not weak in faith he considered not.” In Romans 10:20 it says “He staggered not.” Because he considered not you could also say he wavered not. Wavered and staggered are interchangeable here.  The same Greek word used here for staggered is translated wavered in other places. “He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith.”

How did he get from weak faith to strong faith? He considered not. He wavered not and his faith became strong. He became fully persuaded.

What if he had considered the wrong thing? What if he had looked at and dwelt upon the wrong thing? Then he would have wavered and his faith would have been weak.

Do not presume that you know where we are going or what we are talking about. If you had the full revelation of it, you would be jumping up and down and running around. No, there is light here we have not seen. The problem is it is not just what you know that makes you free you have to do it and put it into practice. You can know all kinds of things and do the opposite.  You can know how to how to have strong faith, to get strong faith, to keep strong faith and then go home and do the thing that causes you to have weak faith, even though you know it.

Jesus said to his disciples,

...Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. (Luke 12:22)

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:28)

Jesus is ministering to them to help them get out of their little faith. In this verse he said, “O ye of little faith.” Jesus wanted their faith to increase. He told them how to do this. He said, “Take no thought.” When Jesus said “Take no thought” would that not be the same thing as not considering something? If you are taking thought about it, you are considering it. If you are considering the lack, the problem, what is that going to do to your faith?

In Romans it says,

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: (Romans 4:19)

Abraham wavered not. He staggered not. If you consider the problem the contradiction, it going to result in wavering. It is going to result in weak faith and little faith.

We were in a place not too long ago teaching and ministering at a conference. The Lord had me teach on thoughts.  For several days we just talked about thoughts and the thought life. I saw it in a fresh, new way.

We have not taken this area seriously enough. People have the idea that it is not that big of a deal as long as you do not act upon it. As long as you do not speak it out and act on it.

No, friend, if you are considering the wrong thing you are yielding to the enemy of your soul. People toy and play with temptation. They think as long as they do not do it or cross the line they will be all right.

They think, “I am going to look at this stuff.  I know it is not right and I am not going to do anything.”

No, you are already doing something. Remember the writer of Proverbs warning his sons about the wayward woman. He told them not to go into the door of her house. Jesus also warned his disciples not to enter into temptation.

Adam and Eve Got into Big Trouble

By Considering the Devil’s Lies

How did our first parents, Adam and Eve, get into trouble? They are out there at the tree where they are not supposed to eat. What are they doing there? If you are not supposed to eat of this fruit, what are you doing out there hanging around and looking at it? Do you understand that by being out there hanging around it and looking at it they have invited the enemy to come talk to them about it? They have opened the door and invited him to come reason with them about it. Then they stood there and considered what he said and lost their faith. They sinned and fell.

Every one of us has done the same thing. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is how it worked then and this is how it works now. The process is exactly the same with any and every human being.

Faith is not this cold thing that some people portray it to be. Our faith is not just in a book. Our faith is not just in the words. Our faith is in the one who said these words. Faith is confidence in the character of one who told you something. Faith involves trust in the one you have faith in. Faithfulness involves loyalty.

Adam and Eve’s transgression was not just a mistake. It was as serious as it gets. They doubted God’s integrity. They questioned his truthfulness. They considered the lies of the enemy plausible.

If you and I are friends and we go back a long ways and I have never lied to you and I have always been there for you. I always did what I told you I was going to do. If somebody comes to you and suggests to you that I am a liar. If immediately you go, “Well, he may be a liar.” Then you are disloyal. Can you see that? You are disloyal to me. You are unfaithful to me.

There is so much talking and backbiting in Christianity. We like to pretend it is not so, but there is a lot of talking and politics that go on behind people’s backs. We are commanded not to judge. We are not qualified to judge others. You do not know all the facts. You might see what a person has done, but you do not know what is going on in the spirit realm. You do not know their heart. You do not know their intents. For all you know, they have already repented and got it straight. They might be doing better than you since you heard about it. If you judge somebody, you will be judged.

Someone was telling me a little while back about a person that came through their church and was trying to say something negative about me. This person did not know that they knew me and that I had been in their church and ministered many times. They were friends with me. This person started talking about me. They did not think I was right and my doctrine was off and so forth. My friend said, “Just stop! Stop! Brother Keith is a friend of mine and I believe in him and I trust him.”

My friend honored me, didn’t he? My friend’s attitude was, “I know Brother Keith is a man. I know he can mess up, but until it is proven to me, I am not going to believe it.” Love is not quick to believe a bad thing.

Think about yourself. Do you want somebody to easily believe you are a liar? Or do you want somebody who is willing to stand up for you and go to bat for you? You want them to say, “I don’t know what you are talking about, but they have always been truthful to me. Everything they told me was right. They have stood by me.”

Just like you have people who stand up for you, how much more should you be willing to stand up for God. Faith in God is trust in God. Faithfulness to God is loyalty to him. You should stick by God and stay with him. You should refuse to consider anything that questions him. Do you see this? You refuse to even entertain it. You refuse to even consider it. You cannot afford to consider it. You cannot afford to play with it. Do not overestimate your strength.

Adam and Eve were brilliant.  They were not cave man and cave woman. They were brilliant. They talked with God every afternoon on his level and understanding. They would sit down in the cool of the day and Adam would say, “How did you do that sunset?” God would explain it to him and he understood it. These people were brilliant. They did not go out to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil intending on sinning against God. They believed they could handle it.

No. No. They are not going to sin. No. No. They are not going to eat the fruit. They are crystal clear. They are not eating the fruit. They are just going to go out there and what? They were just looking. This was their famous last words.

Just Looking Is How It All Starts—Avoid Poisoning Your Faith

I was driving by a car dealership one time and saw a car that caught my eye. I turned around and I came back. I was walking around it and I was looking at it. A salesman came out and said, “Can I help you today?” I said, “No, I am just looking.” He said, “That is how it starts.”

What did he mean by saying, “That is how it starts?” He means he has seen person after person that came and was just looking and they drove away in a car. They did not come to buy. They were just looking.

Adam and Eve did not go to the tree to sin. They loved God. But when you open your mind to consider something, you have made yourself vulnerable. You have made yourself susceptible to wavering. Your faith is already weakening.

We have an epidemic of people watching pornography in the church. It is widespread. It is happening night and day. People want to pretend it is not happening but it is. It is so accessible. It is on TV, on the Internet and in magazines. People are just going to look for a minute,  but they end up spending hours looking at it.

Why are people looking at pornography? Because their eyes want to look at it. You have to control your eyes and not look at things you don’t need to be looking at.

Your body did not get born again.  You have the same body you had when you were lost. Glory to God one of these days it is going to be changed. It was your spirit that was recreated, and now it is your job to control your body and keep it under.

Here is the lie of the enemy. This is what he has used successfully on human after human, generation after generation. You think you are not going to do anything. You are just going to look a little bit. You think you can handle it. Did you know the devil is a flatterer? He will tell you that you can handle it.

The devil will say, “You have been in the word for how long? Almost 25 years? How many tape series are in your closet? You can handle this.  You are not just going to go in there and fall off into sin. You can handle this. You can be around this. You can look at it. You are not going to do anything.”

I have news for you. You are already yielding. You are already demonstrating that you are weaker than you thought you were. If you were not weak, you would not even be there considering it.

I will try to say this another way. If you were really strong, you would not be there looking at pornography in the first place. Looking at it, and being around it, proves you are weaker than you think you are, and you are already yielding. The question is not whether you are going to yield or not. You are already yielding. The question is now, “how far are you going to go?”

We have to become strong in opposing anything that contradicts what God has said to us. We must become intolerant in considering anything else other that what God said to us. If the Lord told you he would supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, if he told you that, can you consider that it might not happen?  Can you consider that the money might not come in on time or that you will get enough? Can you consider that? That is poison to your faith.  Can you see this? That is poison to your faith. You cannot afford to toy with it in your mind for two seconds. You have to realize how dangerous that is to you.

Strong Faith Results from Not Considering the Devil’s Lies

How do we get out of weak faith into strong faith? The answer is: consider not. If you consider not, you are going to waver not. If you do not waver your faith is going to get stronger and stronger until you are absolutely fully persuaded that what God told you he is able to perform it.

You cannot consider the lie. If you get attacked, if you get a bad report about your body, the first thing you have to get is a word from the Lord. You cannot just believe God with something you just pulled out of the top of your head. You have to hear from him.

If God told you that by Jesus’ stripes you were healed, that he took that infirmity, that he bore that infirmity, that he carried that pain for you, and that by his stripes you were and are healed, and that with long life he is going to satisfy you and show you his salvation, that you are going to finish your course with joy. Can you entertain, “eight out of ten that have what I have don’t make it? When it gets to the stage I am in there is no treatment?”

Have you noticed how the enemy works night and day? You will be going along thinking about something else and then suddenly a thought comes that you might not make it. You may not say it but it comes across your mind. What if this or what if that? Friend, this is where the battle is won or lost.

Phyllis and I have learned this in just a few short years we have been pastoring. When someone in our church gets a bad report that is the time right then that you jump on this thing with both feet. You do not wait and drag around and mess around when you get that bad report. Right then is when you are living or dying. It is decided right then. Do you see this?

You have been told you are going to die young and die prematurely. You have to decide who you are going to believe. You have to become intolerant to the contrary idea. Did you hear this now? You might say, “What if the money does not come.” You need to treat that like somebody is cussing you. What did you say? Oh, we have to wash your mouth out. Quit talking like that! Talking like this is actually a lot more dangerous than what you call cussing.

What if the money does not come? I cannot entertain that. If you are going to talk that, I am not staying. I cannot hear that. Oh, you are strong enough. You are strong enough. No, nobody is strong enough to consider the contradictions and consider ideas that God’s word might not be true and that it might not come to pass. Nobody’s ever been strong enough to entertain that without it affecting their faith.

Notice what Jesus told us, “Take no thought.” When that thought comes what do you do? You have to become aggressive. You cannot sit there for an hour and kick it around because you are strong enough and can handle it. No, no, the moment it comes you need to resist taking those thoughts.

Can you tell when a thought is starting to come to your mind?  Before it ever settles into your mind, you can tell it is coming. That is the time to jump up and grab it and throw it down. You need to say, “No way. No how. God said this. That is it!”  “

He said this?

Yeah, what about...”

“No! Don’t bring this up again.”

God said this.

“Yeah, but you have got to consider...”

No! I don’t have to consider this! I am not going to consider anything else but what he says.”

This is one area I disagree with some of our health professionals. I thank God for the medical profession. I do genuinely thank God for doctors, surgeons and nurses. If it were not for them a bunch of us would not be here now. I thank God for them. It takes a lot of work to get where they are in their knowledge and their skill of the body and of medicines and surgeries. You know what I am talking about, but there are a goodly numbers of health professionals that overstep their place. I will explain. They try to tell people what to believe. That is not their area of expertise. Their area of expertise is the body and how it works. They have knowledge of diseases and medications and procedures. That is their area of expertise and they should tell us about that.

I have had a lot of people who have gone to the doctor that spent two-thirds of his time trying to convince them to accept their condition. Now, he has gotten out of his field. He has taken too much on himself. He is over in my job. He is telling people what to believe.

Don’t tell me what to believe. God tells me what to believe. Tell me what you see. Tell me what I am dealing with. Tell me what you know, but don’t tell me what to believe.

With your accountant, with your lawyer, I do not care who it is, do not let anybody tell you what to believe except God. He has already told you what to believe. Once you have what he has told you, be absolutely unwilling to consider anything else.

If you are not sure you like what I have said. I say, “Consider it.” Concerning the wrong thing I say, “Consider it not.”

Jesus said take no thought

...Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. (Luke 12:22)

If you did not do what Jesus said, what would you do?

The thoughts keep coming

Where are you going to get food?

Where is it going to come from?

What if you do not have enough to eat?

What if you do not have enough clothes?

What did Jesus say about those thoughts?

He said, “Don’t take them.”

Consider What Jesus Says

You not only consider not. You also consider. Take no thought and consider not that you might not have enough food or you might not have enough clothes. Do not consider that, but consider this. Jesus is telling us how to get out of little faith into great faith. He is telling you how to get out of wavering into strong, full persuasion.

Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? (Luke 12:24)

Consider the ravens. Go out there and watch them. They do not punch a clock. How many starving ravens have you seen?  How many ravens have you seen on the side of the road with a sign that said, “Hungry! If you don’t feed me I am going to starve?” No. No. Consider the ravens. Do not consider the contradiction that is questioning God. Absolutely refuse to consider anything that questions his word. Consider what God has done, what he is doing, and his faithfulness.

Consider those he has provided for. Consider the ravens. They do not have a storehouse or a barn, but God feeds them. You are worth much more than the fowls. Every time you come to church and hear preaching and teaching you are considering the right thing. You need to say, “Yeah, that is right. You never saw a starving raven. God feeds the ravens. That’s right.”

When you are considering these things, what is happening to your faith? Thoughts and questions are falling off. Wavering is falling off. You are becoming stronger and stronger. There are numerous times that people come into a meeting and over the course of an hour they become persuaded, excited and go out all pumped up. They tell everybody, “This is happening and this is happening. Glory to God.” Then you see them at the end of the week and they have lost their fire. They have lost their excitement.

You ask them, “What’s going on.”

They say, “Well, I got a bad report.”

Just because you got a bad report, does not mean you have to consider the bad report the rest of the day and week. Does it?

He said consider the ravens. God feeds them.

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:27-28)

I know you have read this and heard this many times, but I want you to see the principle. Jesus was talking to them about their little faith. They had an issue with their faith being small. Is Jesus is telling them how to overcome this by not taking thoughts. He is telling them not to think about their clothes or their food. He is saying do not consider that. If the Lord says do not consider it, what should you do? Do not consider it. Do not allow yourself to think upon it.

Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought but soberly according as God has dealt every man the measure of faith. What has that got to do with thinking more highly of yourself than you should? What we just got through talking about is an area of it. You can think you are stronger than what you are. You can think you can handle things and deal with things beyond where you are and walk right into the devil’s trap.

“I can think about it. I am not going to act upon it. I am not going to do it.”

Adam and Eve were not going to eat the fruit. They were just going to look. When the enemy came around and said, “Has God said? You won’t really die.” That is a thought.  Is this a dangerous thought?

People do not understand that the enemy comes and brings a thought to them. Maybe nobody else knows about it. You do not hear it. You do not see anything. You think it is no big deal. What you do not realize is that life and death is going on right now. This is a dangerous thought. If you consider it, you are going to yield and lose your faith.

Faith is something to be kept. Faith is something to be retained and held on to. Paul said,

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: (2 Timothy 4:7)

You are supposed to hold on to faith. If a thought comes to try to take faith away from you, you say, “No, get out of here! No, I am not turning loose of my faith. I trust God. He has never lied to me. He never will. I trust him.”

“Yeah, but it might not happen.”

“I rebuke you. Get out of here.”

“What do you mean might not happen? You just called my Father a liar. You just said he might not be faithful and he might not come through. You have insulted my Father. You are trying to get me to doubt his faithfulness and to be disloyal to him. No, I am not going to consider it.”

Do you understand that we should not just sit and let other people speak derogatorily of our brothers, sisters, family and ministry? We should not sit and just let them put stuff in our ears.

Tell Them You Don’t Want to Hear It

Recently, some folks approached my wife and me about a deal. They got into it and they brought up some things that were unscrupulous. They were not into it but three minutes and I said, “stop!”

They said, “Don’t you want to hear the rest of it?”

“No, we don’t want to hear it.”

“What?”

Some might say that is rude. I would say that is safe.

Have you ever heard things that later on you wished you had not heard? Have you seen things that later on you wished you had not seen? Why? Because the enemy brought it back to you 10,000 times and played it over and over again. You had to cast it down 10,001 times. You would have been so much better off if you had never heard it.

We realized we do not want this in our thinking. We know right now that it is not right. Why do we need to sit here and go through the whole thing in the name of being polite? People have missed God trying to be polite. They let relatives come and talk unbelief for two hours while they are standing in the middle of a battle trying to believe God for something. You cannot afford that.

“Aunt Minnie might get her feelings hurt.”

“Yeah, and you could die.”

She will get over it. You do not have to be rude and ugly. Even though there may be times when you have to be strong, it is not opportune and it would not help you to try to explain it all. People are not just where they can hear it. You still need to go.

You have to say, “Stop. Stop. I don’t want to hear it. I love you, but I don’t want to hear that.”

Then they will go, “Well, well, I was just trying to explain. ...”

Then you need to say, “No. No. Please. I said no, not another word.”

Then they might say, “Well, why can’t a person just talk?” That is why the world is in the mess it is in. That is why Christians are in the shape that they are in. They are just talking and thinking all kinds of stuff.  They are considering all kinds of stuff and their faith is so weak. Consider not and you will wave not. You will have strong faith if you consider the right thing and consider it only—exclusively.

Don’t Be Afraid—Only Believe

Remember the story in Mark where Jesus was entering into a town and the ruler of the synagogue came to him and besought him to come pray for his little daughter who was sick and dying. Then right after this Jesus took time to minister to a woman with an issue of blood. She touched the hem of his garment and was healed. The woman came to him and told him what had happened. Then Jesus spoke to her.

34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. 35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:34-36)

When they told Jairus his daughter was dead Jesus looked at him and said, “Be not afraid, only believe.” What else did Jesus tell him? Nothing else. He said, “Only believe.” Only—means only.

You could say it another way. He could have said, “What they just got through telling you, do not consider that.” Jairus was pulled in the direction of considering that. He knows these people. These are people from his own house. He knows they would not come out here and tell him his daughter was dead if they were not sure she was. Is he tempted to consider this?

Everything is pulling on Jairus to come apart. Can you see the battle was won or lost right here? These men told him not to bother the Master any further. Your daughter is dead. That is why Jesus looked at him immediately and said, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

What is Jesus saying?  He is saying, “Stay right here. Stay with me. Don’t quit me.” Would it have made a difference if he had just come apart? If he had just fell on the ground and started sobbing and going, “Oh my God, my God my baby is dead. My baby is dead. I was too late. We are out here messing around listening to this woman give her testimony about being healed from an issue of blood. We waited too late and she died?”

If he had come apart, would it have made any difference? If it would not have made any difference, Jesus would not have said a word. Jesus would have just kept walking. Apparently, the whole thing is hanging in the balance depending upon what this man is going to do with these thoughts that just came to him.

Do you see this? The battle is won or lost right here and right now. Jesus turns to him and immediately says, “Don’t you be afraid.” What does that mean? It means, “Don’t you believe that. Don’t you take those thoughts. Don’t you consider that. Stay right here with me. Only believe. You stay right here with me.” He did.

What does Jairus say right after this? Jairus said nothing that was recorded after this. Saying nothing can be a smart thing. When your feelings are bombarded and your senses feel overwhelmed and these thoughts, feeling and symptoms are screaming at you.

Then the Lord says, “Don’t look at it. Don’t consider it. Stay right here.”

You know if you open your mouth a bunch of unbelief and fear is going to come out. You bite your lip and hold your tongue and follow Jesus to the house. You keep your mouth shut.

Give God All the Glory and Give None to the Devil

Go to Hebrews 3 and verse 1.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews 3:1)

What does it say? It says consider Christ Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our profession or confession. Do not consider the enemy of your soul. You should never tell somebody what the devil told you.

The Lord told us when we first started the church in Branson, Missouri, “I want you to give me all the glory and to give the devil none. You have testimonies and tell what I have done. Proclaim it and tell nothing that the devil has done. Give him no free advertisement.”

No matter what the devil tries to pull off, we say nothing. The devil wants you to tell what he has been able to do so he can jump on somebody else’s shoulder and say, “You are next. I am going to do it to you.” The devil wants to produce fear. It bugs him when he does not get any credit. He is a glory hog. He wants you to tell everybody what he did.

When the devil says, “Tell it. Tell it.”

We say, “No! No!”

“‘Tell what I did. I robbed. I stole. I killed.”

Even if we see know or saw it we will not tell it.

We will tell what God does. We will tell if God gave somebody a new pocket knife. We will tell all kinds of things. Big things.  Little things. God did it. God did this and God did that. Glory to God.

“What about the devil?”

“Well, what about him?” We know he is there, but it bugs him when you ignore him. When you do not acknowledge him or give him any credit. Give the Lord all the glory and give the devil none. Even if he is able to pull off something, do not glorify the devil. Do not give him any credit about it.

You might say, “Well, what about that bad thing?”

I will just say, “Consider Jesus. Consider Jesus.”

Some might say, “Yeah, you have to consider these things.”

I say, “No, I don’t. I have to consider Jesus.”

They say, “You have to take into consideration that the economy will not support it.”

They say, “You have to consider and acknowledge that your body is this far gone.”

I will say, “No, I do not have to consider any of that.”

They say, “Well, you are just simple-minded.”

I say, “Yeah, and I am saved, healed, delivered and getting my needs met.”

We live in a society where people pride themselves in being complicated.

I have had Christians look at me and say, “Well, I am a very complicated and complex person.”

That usually means you are a confused person.

Consider Jesus—Not Everything Else

Look at the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was troubled by many things.

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)

What did Jesus tell Martha? He said, “Martha, Martha.” When the Lord calls your name out you might as well kneel down and repent He said, “Martha, Martha. You are careful and troubled about many things.” Martha was the original multi-tasker.

“Well, what is wrong with that?”

Nobody can do nine things simultaneously and excellently. Not you. Not me. Nobody can.

“Well, I can.”

“No, you can’t.”

You can be careful and troubled about many things, but what did he say.

“One thing is needful.”

We live in a society that thinks you need to check out every avenue and every explanation. It thinks you need to do a search on the Web and if it brings back 935,000 hits, you are supposed to look at all of them. I think that is just ignorant.

There are many voices in the world and they are all saying something, but it is not God. There is only one that is God and when you hear from him you do not need to hear from the rest. You need to not consider anything else. When you consider anything else you are endangering your faith. Do not be fooled and think you are so strong that you can hear all this stuff and stay strong in faith. Nobody can.

How do you get from little faith to great big, solid, fully persuaded faith? Consider not the contradictions, but consider him. Consider what he has said and done. Consider him. Consider the ravens. Consider the lilies. Consider Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Consider Acts and Isaiah. Consider Jesus. Consider him.

All Who Look to Jesus Will Live

Do you remember the story in the Old Testament book of Numbers where God brought his covenant people out of slavery in Egypt? They came to the wilderness, and then they complained against God and Moses

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:5-6)

When you complain your spirit is overwhelmed.

I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. (Psalm 77:3)

That is what happened to the Israelites in the desert. The Bible says after they complained fiery serpents came in and bit the people. A lot of the people had died.

It is not surprising that you find snakes in the desert. What is surprising is that you have not heard a word about snakes until now. Why? They have been protected. There is a barrier that has been around them since they were in the Land of Goshen in Egypt. They have been protected from all the plagues and problems. Their complaining and griping caused their protection to be removed. All these snakes were waiting out there to get in. This sounds like the devil, doesn’t it?  He is looking for an opportunity.

In the midst of this Moses prayed and heard from the Lord. The Lord showed him what to do. He raised up a brass snake on a pole and told the people to look at it. When the people looked at it they were healed and would live.

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:7-8)

Did you know that the brass snake on a pole was a type of Jesus?

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)

Somebody said, “A snake is a type of Jesus?”

Yes, brass indicates judgment and the snake represents sin. Jesus became sin on the cross for our sin and was judged for our sins.  Notice it says,” Even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up.” How Moses got their attention in the midst of all this I do not know. You have hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. Millions of people camped relatively close together.

What would happen if you turned a couple of snakes loose in church full of people? What do you think might happen? I think you might have some Bibles and coats flying. I think you might have some people moving around. What if we turned forty big water moccasins loose while you were in church and you felt a snake crawl across your foot? There would be some movement.

When the fiery serpents went into the camp of the Israelites in the desert, you have people that are snake bitten. You have people that are dying. You have camels that are spooked. They knocked over the tent into the fire. You have livestock running over the hill. You have havoc and chaos. In the middle of this Moses lifts up the serpent on a pole and has everyone look at it.

Would looking at this serpent on a pole be another way of saying they considered it? While you look you are considering. Everyone that looks will live. The Amplified Bible has a great note on the word “looks” in this passage. It says this word did not mean a passing glance. It means you had to ignore the snake crossing your foot and you had to look at this brass serpent steadfastly. You had to have an absorbing, steady gaze on this thing that was a type of Jesus. The Bible says that everybody that looked lived. The venom was neutralized. The effects were reversed. Do you see this?

People will say to me, “Brother Keith, but I have such alarming and distracting symptoms.”

They had alarming and distracting symptoms. They were not even born again. They did not speak in tongues. They did not have the name of Jesus or the New Testament. If they could do it, you and I can do it.

We can consider not the contradictions, lies, challenges, questions, feelings and the symptoms. We can consider Jesus the Apostle and High Priest of our faith.

You can come out from wavering. You can come up from weak faith to strong faith. You can consider not the lies, contradictions and questions. You can consider Jesus and only believe.

Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses

Lay Aside Every Weight

The first verse of Hebrews chapter 12 starts out with the word “wherefore.” The original text was not written in chapter and verse. They were added later. The “wherefore” refers to the previous chapter. What was the previous chapter? Chapter 11. Chapter 11 is the chapter on faith that describes many instances in the Bible where men and women did great deeds by faith.

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

We are surrounded by great cloud of witnesses and we need to lay aside every weight. There are some weights that are not in and of themselves sin, but they will hold you back. We have to run the race that is set before us and look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

You cannot look to the symptoms and look at Jesus. You cannot do both. You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. You will hold to one and despise the other.  You cannot look at the symptoms and look at your healing. You cannot look at the lack, the need or the bill and look at your provision at the same time.

You have to make a choice. You can choose to look at one and ignore the other. Yes, the problem is there, but that is not what we are looking at. We are looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Jesus Is the Author and Finisher of Our Faith

Was Jesus the author and finisher of Abraham’s faith? Abraham started out with no faith and little faith, but did God stay with him and help him until he got him all the way to fully persuaded? Yes.

Was Jesus the author and finisher of Sara’s faith? While she started out laughing in the tent at the promise of a child, Jesus got her from point A to point B. Jesus got her all the way to where she has her own verse about faith in Hebrews chapter11.

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11)

Sara received strength to conceive after she was past the age to conceive. She was barren, but she judged him faithful to fulfill the promise. She said what he said is right, and that is all I am going to believe.

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

How did Jesus get through the cross? It was faith. It was the same principle. He could not just look at the cross. He could not look at the nails. He could not look at the death. He had to look at something else. He could not look at the awful scourging. He could not look at being made sin with our sin. He could not look at being separated from his father. He could not look at any of this. What does it say he did? He looked at the joy that was set before him. He looked past the cross and the shame. He endured it. He was not considering it.

Can you get through what you are going through now and come out on the other side victorious? Yes you can, but you cannot get through if you look at it. You have to be looking at something else. You have to be looking at your healing on the other side of the symptoms. You have to be looking at your provision on the other side of coming out of all your debt and bills. You have to be looking at the answer and not the problem.

Consider him. Look at him. Believe only. How are you going to get from little faith to great faith? Consider not the lie and consider your Master. Consider not the evil report. Consider the word of God. Consider not your need, lack or symptoms. Consider your provision in Jesus. Your faith will rise. Your doubts will fall by the wayside. Your wavering will cease and you will become like Abraham. You will be fully persuaded, strong in faith and God will perform his word and be glorified in your life.

19 Faith Gives You Strength

To Overcome Your Weakness

I get excited about faith. I get excited thinking about faith. Every good thing that we enjoy in our life and ministry has come from the word of God and the faith that word has produced. We live a completely different life than we did 30 years ago. It is because of the power of God’s living word and the faith that it brings.

Be Wise and Understand the Will of the Lord

Much of the church world adheres to what I call a no-fault religion.

“What do you mean by that, Brother Keith?”

They believe and are content in believing that no matter what happens it is not our fault. No matter what does or does not happen it is not our fault. People like to go to a place where preachers and teachers will tell them, “Honey, it is not your fault. It was somebody else’s fault. You could not help but sin. It was just too much for you. It just happened.”  Have you ever heard that before? “It just happened.”

People like to believe it is God’s fault. We do not understand it, but he did it. No matter how bad it is, he did it. We do not understand why sometimes he did not do something. We think he must have had some reason in it. It is God’s mysterious will. Their favorite phrase is, “Well, you just never know what God is going to do.” They quote this like a scripture. They try to look wise when they say it, but it is not a Bible verse.

The Bible says you are supposed to know God’s will.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:17)

God wants us to understand his will. That is why he gave us the Bible. That is why he gave us the Holy Spirit, the greatest teacher in the universe. He gave us all this so we would know what God has done and will do. You can know what God will do. You can know God’s will and understand his will. That means that you will take on more responsibility for your life and decisions. When you know what God’s will is and is not, that gives you the opportunity for miracles and results. While other people are trying to console themselves in their lack and that it is not their fault, those of us who receive responsibility overcome these things and get results.

Faith Enables You to Overcome

the Weakness of Your Flesh

I believe it was Dr. John G. Lake who talked about the Gospel being the strong man’s Gospel. It is not for the weak and feeble. If you have started out that way you can overcome and get strong. It takes faith and it takes strength.

One thing I do not like is when people portray Jesus in a weak way. There is nothing weak about love. It takes a lot more strength and power to love and forgive than it does to be mean and to hold a grudge. It takes a lot more strength to resist temptation than to yield to temptation. He can make you so strong that you can whip your flesh into line. The greater one is inside you.

Many Christians’ spirits are so weak that their flesh dominates every area of their lives. The flesh wants to do something that it should not do. The flesh says, “I am going to do it. I am going to do it.” Way down inside their spirit is so weak and emaciated it can only weakly reply, “No. No. It is not right.” The flesh dominates and says, “Shut up! I am going to do it now!” So they do it. They are flesh ruled and dominated.

Friend, you can feed on the words of faith and exercise your faith until the complete reversal is true. You can turn that thing around 180 degrees until your spirit dominates your flesh.

Paul said,

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Paul said he kept his body under subjections. Other translations say, “I beat my body black and blue.” Why did he say it like this? This is strong language. You need to be kind with other people, but you need to get hold of yourself. You need to snatch yourself up. Most folks have that backwards, don’t they? They are so tolerant with themselves but you are going to toe the line. You are supposed to be kind with your brother, longsuffering and patient. You need to be tough on flesh. You need to tell it, “No! You are not going to do that.”

Even though you start out with your spirit being weak, being flesh ruled and dominated, you can get to the point where your spirit is so strong you can intimidate your own flesh. Your flesh says, “Could I?” Your spirit immediately says, “No!”  The flesh says, “Could I?”  Your spirit says, “No! I will let you know what you can and cannot do.” This flesh says, “Alright, alright. I was just asking.” Your spirit can dominate your flesh.

Confess this: I am growing up in faith. I am growing up in my spirit. I am becoming stronger. I will not be a flesh-dominated person. My spirit dominates my flesh. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Through Faith Sara Received Strength

Sara has her own verse. This is not her and Abraham’s verse, but this is her verse. She went from sitting back of her tent laughing at what God said to having her own verse with others who did great things by faith in Hebrews chapter11.

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11)

Notice it says that it was through faith that she herself received strength to conceive because she judged him faithful. There are many times in everyone’s life where no one else can do it for you. People can agree with you. They can join their faith with yours, but you have to receive it for yourself. Sara herself received strength.

We know the Lord spoke the word to Sara that she was going to conceive and bear a child. She laughed at that in the beginning. Obviously, something changed after the laughter quit.  After the Lord said, “Why did you laugh?” Then she denied it. She did laugh within herself.

The Lord hears what you say out loud and what you say silently. He hears what you say inside yourself. She got to thinking about that after he left. I do not know if it was the next day or the day after or next week or when she received that word and conceived. It could not have been much longer after this because she gave birth within a year. By faith she received whatever it took to change her body.

You can read about this and talk about this, but I want you to receive what you need now. Today, wherever you are, you can receive now. Right now, if you believe, you can receive your needs met in your body. Whatever your need, financial, emotional, physical or spiritual, you can receive what you need now, by faith.

It says, “Sara herself received.”  It does not say, “Sara and the prayer team.” It does not say, “Sara and the intercessors.” It does not say, “Sara and her mother.”  It does not say, “Sara and the pastor.” It says, “Sara herself received.”

Through faith Sara received strength to conceive. It is amazing what happened to her. Her body changed so much that people thought she was young. Her body changed so radically that the miracle of conception and childbirth happened when she was old. When the Bible calls you old, you are old. No matter, old or not, she through faith received strength. She believed she received strength.  That is how the changes occurred in her body.

I think sometimes we do not think about this. If they could have done scans on Sara’s body through those months, they would still be talking about them today. They would be talking about how the aging process was reversed and how an old woman could conceive. Life came into parts of her body that were dead.

Can the power of God still come into a human body today and change an organ? Or change a muscle? Yes, this is one of the easiest things in the world for God to do, but it is not just all up to him. It did not say that God came in and just did this. It said Sara through her faith herself received it.

What God Has Provided by Grace

Must Be Possessed by Faith

Here is something the church has stumbled over for centuries. What God has provided by grace must be possessed by faith. Just because he gives it to us does not mean we are going to experience it. Just because Jesus has bought and paid for it and said it is yours does not mean you will enjoy it or ever experience it in your life. Some people do not like hearing this but it is the truth.

Do you remember the first generation of Israelites that came out of Egyptian bondage?  They had been given the Promised Land, but they died in the wilderness. The Promised Land was given to them. It was determined before the foundation of the world that they should have it. That first generation did not enjoy the Promised Land. They went their whole life and did not enjoy it. Why? Because they lacked the faith to possess it.

Forgiveness of sin has been bought and paid for. Healing for the body has been bought and paid for. The gift of the Holy Spirit was bought and paid for and given. Prosperity was bought and paid for and given. Victory over every obstacle and trial in life has already been bought and paid for by Jesus.

Just because it is bought and paid for is no sign that you will enjoy it. Unless and until you get stirred up and say, “I am receiving that. I am laying hold of that with my faith and I am receiving it.” Sara herself got that strength in her body and it changed her. She received it through her faith.

20 Believe You Receive

The Difference between Saying and Praying

Jesus spoke to a fig tree and it did what he told it to do. His disciples were amazed and marveled about it. Jesus took that opportunity to teach them about faith.

In Matthews account he said, “If you had faith and do not doubt.  You will not only do that which was done to this fig tree, but also if you would say to this mountain be thou removed and cast into the sea it would obey you.

He told them that not only could they speak to a fig tree but they could speak to the mountain as well. Is Jesus telling them they could have done what he did with the fig tree? Yes, and bigger.

Look at Mark’s account of it.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:23)

What Jesus just said was not prayer.

What he is saying in the next verse is prayer.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24)

When you pray, whatever it is you are desiring, whatever it is you are needing, wanting or lacking, whatever it is, when you pray about it believe that you receive them and you shall have them.

I believe you are going to get some revelation now. You may have heard and read these verses for years, but some things are going to click for you now. You are going to go, “Glory to God!” You are going to look at it again and say, “How did I read over that all these years. There it is.”

You are going to find some answers now and you are going to receive. You are going to receive some things you have been running around, dancing around and talking about for a long time. You are going to receive them now.

You have people praying when they ought to be saying. Millions of people have read that verse. Yet, when they have a mountain or a big problem in their life they go to praying and begging God to make the mountain go. They beg God they pray, “Oh, please God take this mountain away from me. You know I can’t handle it. Please God make the mountain go.”

Jesus did not tell us to beg him to make the mountain go. He told us to stand up flat-footed and look the thing in the eye and say, “Mountain I command you to leave my life. Get out of here. Be removed.” This is not prayer. This is acting on the authority that God has given you and I. You are exercising faith in that authority. When you have problems in your life, do not just beg God to take them away. Do what he told you to do. Stand up and speak to them. Command them to leave your life and expect them to. This is what Jesus told us to do.

Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from where? It comes from the Father. He is not in the mountain making business in your life, but he is the source of every good thing and perfect thing. This is where verse Mark 11:24 comes in. If you are wanting some of these good things in your life, and when you pray you are supposed to do what? You are supposed to believe that you receive.

This is prayer. When you pray believe that you receive them and you shall have them. People miss this right and left. I have talked to people who have needed healing and they said, “I believe God can do it.” This is not what it says. It does not say believe God can do it. They also say, “I believe God is able.” It did not say believe he is able. What did it say believe? You might say, “I believe it his will.” That is wonderful, but that is not what he said. What did he say for you to believe? Believe what?  Believe that you receive it.

Receiving Also Means Taking

If you look it up you will find the same word translated here as receive is also translated as take.

Have you noticed in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John how aggressive the people that obtained their miracle for healing were?

Four men took their friend and tore a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was and lowered the bed down to Jesus.

3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. …

10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.   (Mark 2:3-5, 10-12

A blind beggar was sitting by the road where Jesus was walking by with a crowd following him. The blind man called out for Jesus to have mercy on him. People told him to be quiet and he began to shout louder and make a big deal about it until Jesus called him.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Mark 10:46-52)

A woman who had a disease for many years pushed through a crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and received her healing.

25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (Mark 5:25-34)

You could say this woman with the issue of blood rudely pushed people out of the way to get to Jesus. She pushed on through, touched the hem of his garment, and took her miracle of healing.

She said to herself, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made whole.” She was expecting to receive something when she touches him. She reaches through and she touches. When she touched him, power came out of him and into her and changed her body.

Then she felt in her body. Feelings are the last things. Do not focus on feelings. You will miss it focusing on feelings. She felt in her body that she was healed from her plague.

Did you know Jesus was not having a healing meeting? He had not invited anybody to come and receive. He was not praying for anybody. He was just going down the road walking somewhere. He was traveling trying to get somewhere.

She did not come in and ask if it would be all right if she touched his garment. She did not wonder if it was God’s will for her to touch his garment. Aren’t you glad some theologian did not get to her first and tell her it might not be God’s will for her to be there? No, she pressed through there and took her healing.

That is why she was scared when he stopped. She took her healing and backed up into the crowd and she was sitting there smiling like the cat that ate the canary. She was feeling her healing. Then she realized the crowd had stopped moving and he was still standing there right where she touched him.

Then she noticed he was looking at her. She might have thought she was in trouble and he would want her to give the healing back. All the people around denied they touched him. She believed she received and took her healing.

Finally, she realized he was not going on and she could not be hid. She came before him, kneeled down and told him the truth about all she did. Then he told her it was fine. He said her faith had made her whole.

He could have said all kinds of things, couldn’t he? He could have said he was the anointed Son of God. He could have said it was my power and you came by on a good day. He did not say any of these things. He said, “Your faith has made you whole. It was her faith that activated the anointing and made her whole.

Millions of Christians are doing this.  “Oh, God. Heal me. I need help. Father, please. Please. I am just getting worse.” Then they will turn in prayer requests saying, “Ya’ll pray because I need to be healed. I believe it is the will of God for me to be healed. I believe Jesus took my infirmities and bore my sicknesses and carried my pains. I believe there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Lord, please do it. Please. Ya’ll pray for me. Help me. Please. Please. Please.”

I know this might sound humorous but there are millions praying this way now. “Please God, I will try to live better. I will try to do better. If you will just get me out of this, if you will help me through this, please Lord, why won’t you help me? Please? Please?”

Believe You Receive

“I just don’t know why the Lord won’t heal me. I have done everything I know to do?

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24)

What things you desire when you pray.

I desire healing. I need help.

This verse says do what? It says believe that you receive.

“I believe God wants me healed. I believe God is able to do it. I believe Jesus bought and paid for it.”

He did not tell you to believe that. What did he say believe? He said believe that you receive. We said the word believe can also mean take. Believe that you take it. Believe that you receive it and you shall have them.  You feel it and you will see it. That is going to come after you believe you receive.

I can pray. I can fast. I can beg. I can plead. I call prayer hotlines. I can turn in thousands of prayer requests. Thousands of other people can pray and plead, but what did he tell me to do? At some point if I am going to enjoy what he has already bought and paid for I have got to go, “Father, I know you have done it. I know Jesus bought it. I know he paid for it and in the name of Jesus I believe that I receive.” Your spirit is able to lay hold of and take just like your physical hands. Now, it did not say, “Believe you felt it.” It did not say, “Try to see it.” It did not say, “Examine and see if you got anything.” No, it says what? It says believe you receive it.

Friend, I am not just wasting time here with you. I am repeating this over again because it is important that you get this. Believe I receive means I do not see it. I do not feel it. I cannot put my hand on it. I did not necessarily have an experience. I did not go, “Whew!” But I what?” I believe I receive. I believe I took it.  How did you know you took it? What evidence did you have? It is completely by faith. It is not by feeling. It is not by senses. It is not by something that can be verified in the natural.

“What makes you think you got it?”

“I believe I receive it.”

What did Jesus say would happen after that? He said, “Ye shall have them.”

Additional Ministry Materials and Resources

From Keith Moore

If you would like to have additional materials and media resources from Keith Moore, please contact Moore Life Ministries.

Internet Website Address

http://www.moorelife.org

Mailing Address

Moore Life Ministries

P.O. Box 1010

Branson, MO 65615-1010

Physical Address

Moore Life Ministries

3701 State Hwy 76

Branson, MO 65616

Phone Number

(417) 334-9233

Part 5: Happy Caldwell

About Happy Caldwell

Pastor Happy Caldwell is the founder and Pastor of Agape Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also the founder and president of VTN (Victory Television Network). In 1979 the Lord spoke to him to build a spiritual production center to deliver the Gospel throughout his city, state, nation, and world. Today, Pastor Caldwell travels worldwide preaching the Word of God with a simplicity that brings a revelation of the character of God to those who hear. He is also a successful author, and together with his wife, Jeanne, has recorded several Gospel music albums. Pastor Caldwell has an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts University and is a recipient of the Peter J. Daniel's Achievement Award.

Victorious Faith

By Happy Caldwell

21 The Victory of Faith

All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes

Jesus said,

…If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. (Mark 9:23 NKJV)

Time and time again, what was once thought of as impossible has become possible. Many people have believed impossible situations and circumstances could be changed. These people had the “right stuff” to enable them to do what others could not do. You too, can have the “right stuff” to go beyond your limits. All things are possible to him who believes!

What is an impossibility? An impossibility is simply a negative belief about a circumstance or situation. You are conditioned and trained to believe things are possible or they are not possible. What you clearly see as impossible may not be so. Your thoughts and beliefs about what you can do are subject to change. When you first believe it is possible, it becomes possible. It may require discipline and hard work or a miracle but with God’s help all things are possible.

Prior to May 1954, most of the sports world thought that running a mile in less than four minutes was impossible. Runners had failed for decades to break the four-minute mile barrier. It was seen as a physical and psychological obstacle that exceeded human limits. However, on May 6, 1954, a medical student at Oxford University named Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier, proving that impossible limits can be broken.

When Bannister began his quest, the first thing that he did was wonder whether the biggest obstacle runners faced might not be their own beliefs or fears. He believed with better running conditions and better training, someone could run a mile in less than four minutes.

Roger Bannister began building endurance to break the four-minute mile barrier that had challenged runners for years. He trained to exhaustion in 30-minute workouts. He cross-trained to build endurance. To strengthen the muscles in the back of his legs, he ran up hill and downhill on grass. One month before the race, he went hiking to clear his head and to focus his concentration. Five days before the race, he rested.

The day of the race the weather was less than perfect. In fact, he considered not running. However he said, “I had prepared and trained. I was at my peak physically and mentally, therefore I made a decision.”

Bannister said he refused to give in to crushing fatigue as well as oxygen debt. “My body had long since exhausted all its energy, but I went on running just the same.”

As Bannister lunged forward into the finish tape, he fell exhausted into outstretched arms and awaited confirmation that he had broken the limit and run a mile in 3:59:04.

By the end of 1955, one year later, four other runners had broken the limit of the four-minute mile.

Before Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile he became fascinated by the challenge of proving the limits were self-imposed. Bannister studied the problem as you would any scientific experiment. He read up on the physiology of breaking the barrier. He trained hard for it. He then confirmed it in himself that it was possible to run a mile in less than four minutes.

In his book, The Four Minute Mile, Bannister said, “It was like an Everest, a barrier that seemed to defy attempts to break it.”

Does this sound familiar? What about the limits in your life? Do they scream back at you and defy your attempt to push them out of your way?

When you renew our minds with the Word of God and hear the Word of God spoken and receive it in our heart, faith comes! When faith comes, fear goes! Fear knocks on the door, faith answers and there is no one there. When we identify our limits, we can confront them and overcome them by acting on God’s Word.

The man who besought Jesus to deliver his son said, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The man responded with tears and said, “I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

Unbelief sets limits. When you realize it was your own unbelief that set the limit, you can remove that limit with our faith.

As Roger Bannister believed he could do the impossible and break the limit of the four-minute mile, you can believe and overcome the limits in your life. You can be empowered to do what seems impossible to you. As Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”

Learning About Success from a Tennis Shoe

Nike Is a Word in the Bible

God is probably laughing from heaven. Millions of people are wearing shoes, shirts and hats with a biblical message imprinted on them and they do not even know it. I am talking about people who have bought shoes and clothes with the Nike logo.

“Nike” is a biblical word. The original Greek word translated victory in 1 John 5:4 is “nike.” In the Greek the word “nike” is pronounced “nee’ kay.” This word also means conquest, victory and success.

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory (nike) that overcometh the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

When I discovered the word “nike” in the Bible meant conquest victory and success, I became excited and went out and bought myself three hats, a pair of tennis shoes and two shirts with the Nike logo on it. If you are looking at me, you are looking at “Nike Man.”

If you own sporting apparel from the Nike Corporation, such as a pair of Nike tennis shoes or a Nike hat, you are wearing a symbol of victory. You are wearing something that is symbolic for overcoming and being victorious. I am not endorsing the Nike Corporation or their sporting apparel. I am just pointing out what the word “nike” means. I am not saying you have to buy anything from them, but you can if you want.

You should tell people the word “Nike” is in the Bible and means victory, conquest and success. You can tell them about the real “Nike Man,” Jesus Christ. You can tell them Jesus died so they could be victorious in this life and the life to come. Tell them they can be a “nike person” in Jesus.

We have more of an understanding of what it means to be a winner by the subtle message of a Nike tennis shoe than we do with the name Christian. But when we call ourselves Christians, we are born of God. Through Jesus we are winners. Through Jesus we are overcomers and have success and victory.

In Christ You Are More Than a Conqueror

God loves you and has destined you to be more than a conqueror over the circumstances of life.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)

It is good to identify with being a success. It is good for you to identify with being a conqueror and being a victor. God wants you to identify with Jesus. Jesus is a victor. Jesus is a conqueror. Jesus is a success.

The garments on the outside are not important. The important thing is for you to understand who you are in Christ. In Christ you are a more than a conqueror. It is good if you wear your Nike gear and say, “In Jesus I am a winner! In Jesus I am an overcomer! In Jesus I am more than a conqueror! In Jesus I have arrived!”

God wants you to see a new spiritual image of yourself. He wants you to identify with the victories of Jesus. Jesus overcame hell, death and the grave. He defeated all the enemies you will ever encounter. There is no greater name than the name of Jesus. As a Christian you are entitled to share in the benefits belonging to Jesus Christ. As a Christian you share in the inheritance of Jesus. Grasp this truth and you will overcome all obstacles that hinder you from doing what God wants you to do.

The word of God says you are a success through Jesus.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

It is good to line your thinking up with the word of God. This is not about the power of positive thinking. It is much more than that. This is about the power of the positive word of God. When you have the word of God in you and it begins to renew your mind, it will change you into who God wants you to be. The word of God in you will make you a victorious over all your circumstances.

When you are born again, you can claim the title of “champion through Jesus.” You are not a champion by yourself. You are a champion in Jesus. Jesus has already won the victory. You are taking your place alongside of him as the champion of the universe.

... in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)

You need to personalize Romans 8:37 and say it to yourself. Say, “I am more than a conqueror through him that loved me.”

You have the ability to do whatever God has called you to do. God has a wonderful plan for your life. As you begin to study the word of God, he reveals himself to you. When you read your Bible prayerfully, you begin to understand how much God really wants to bless you and cause you to be a winner in life.

You Have Been Freely Given All Things

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God is on your side. He is not holding back his blessings.

This verse says he has freely given you all things. “All things” is not restrictive. “All things” means that there are no limits to what God has freely given you. God’s plan for your life is to freely give you all things

God Has a Plan for Your Success

God told the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah that he knew him before he was born. The book of Romans says God knew you before you were born.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Think about this for a moment. Your existence is no accident. God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. He had a plan for your life before you were born. God foreknew you and He predestinated you to be conformed to the image of his son Jesus.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29).

God has prepared the way for you to be born again, for you to be saved and to be conformed to the image of Jesus. However, it is up to you whether you will take advantage of what he has prepared for you. God knows all things, but God gives you a choice. He gives the freedom to choose what you want to do. Jesus made all this possible by his death. Now, it is up to you to make good choices and to follow him daily.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

God has a plan for your life. This means God has called you. If God has called you, he has also justified you. When God justified you, he took away all charges against you. He removed your sins and gave you new life in Christ Jesus. You now have the right to go before God with a pure heart. You are justified through the death of Jesus. God gave you a new life in Christ so you can fulfill his plan for your life.

God wants you to take your place with Jesus in heaven. You are called, justified and glorified in Christ. Your glory is a reflection of the Glory of God in you. This glory is part of the new nature that comes from accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and being born again.

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:5-8)

It is important to realize God has a plan for your life. God has called you. God has justified you, and God has glorified you through his son Jesus. God has given you all the necessary ingredients to be successful in this life and forever. This is all accomplished by the grace of God. This is his gift to you.

If God Is For You, Who Can Be Against You?

Our position in Christ in the heavenlies also carries with it rights here in the earth. God is for you and not against you. God is able to keep you from failing. God wants you to fulfill his predestinated plan for your life. God is on your side. Those who oppose God cannot prevail against the plans God has for you.

The Apostle Paul asks a good question. He asks,

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

Think about this a moment and give your own reply to this question. How would you respond? What will you say about the fact that God has called, justified and glorified you through his son, Jesus?

The Apostle Paul gives you the answer. This is an open book test. The answer follows the question. What should we say to these things? He said, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” This is a wonderful promise that applies to you. God is on your side.

Personalize this promise and say it out loud, “If God is for me, who can be against me?”

God’s plan for your life includes the security that nobody and nothing can prevail against you when you are fulfilling his divine purpose and destiny for your life.

Be Persuaded You Are a Victorious Overcomer

The Apostle Paul was convinced the love of God was stronger than any opposing circumstances in his life. He said,

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

You should be persuaded you are more than a conqueror over death and all adverse circumstances. Jesus conquered everything, and you have nothing to fear. Angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth—nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Being persuaded means you are strongly convinced. You have settled the issue in your mind and your belief is unshakable. Paul was persuaded there were no circumstances, not even death itself, that could separate him from the love of God and victory in Christ Jesus.

Jesus overcame death and hell. Jesus overcame everything in the world. He has overcome the devil, the god of this world. He has overcome it all. There is nothing to fear.

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:10-11)

You have been made more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who loved you and died for you. You are a victorious overcomer in this life because of what Jesus Christ has done for you. The end of the story is not yet written, but when it is written you will be victorious. It will be written that you overcame the devil and his evil forces with the word of your testimony and by the blood of the precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

22 The Triumph of Faith

Learning About Triumph from Military Victories

In 1991 a coalition of nations led by the United States triumphed over Iraq in the first war in the Persian Gulf. The war lasted only 100 hours and was a lopsided victory for the United States and its allies. When the troops came home after the war, they were overwhelmed with gratitude for their service to their country. Every town greeted the veterans with large signs of welcome. Yellow ribbons were tied around many trees along streets and highways. These war heroes enjoyed a triumphant homecoming.

The Victory in the 1991 Persian Gulf helped heal many wounds left open from the Vietnam War. Many Americans bitterly opposed the Vietnam War. Vietnam veterans returned home and were often called murderers and spit upon by war protesters. Vietnam veterans received very little recognition for their service to the nation. The Vietnam War did not end in victory and left the nation divided over the outcome of the war. The lack of a definite victory in Vietnam left many people uneasy about the role of the United States in world affairs.

Unlike Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War in 1991 was seen as a war of good against evil. Iraq’s leader Saddam Hussein was despised for his aggressive invasion of his neighboring country, Kuwait. The United States and other nations felt it was important to restore the nation of Kuwait. A massive buildup of armed forces was deployed to the Middle East to fight against Iraq.

After the victory of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, veterans where greeted when they came home with overwhelming appreciation for what they had done. They triumphed over the enemy and were treated as conquering heroes.

The celebrations after the first Persian Gulf War were reminiscent of the celebrations after World War II. When the Allies won World War II, the free world celebrated the defeat of the enemy. Heroes were given ticker tape parades. The victory was celebrated with great rejoicing and dancing in the streets. There were many open displays of gratitude and thanksgiving because the war was finally won.

The time after the victory of World War II ushered in a great period of prosperity and peace. There are still many hot spots around the world, but for the most part, the modern world is enjoying the benefits of peace. These benefits were brought about by the triumph of the free world during World War II.

You Are Triumphant in Christ

Triumph is nothing new. The Romans had great parades after the defeat of their enemies. The word “triumph” in the time of Christ was also a name given to the parade where the enemies of the Roman Empire were taken captive and marched in front of thousands of cheering people. The Roman “triumph” was an ancient form of our modern day ticker-tape parade.

The Apostle Paul used the descriptive language of a military victory parade to describe Jesus’ triumph over an evil enemy.

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)

Jesus died and went to hell and conquered death and the grave. Jesus defeated the enemies of God and he led a victory parade back to heaven. We can only try to imagine what this triumph must have been like. It was surely a greater triumph than any triumph we have ever seen after any of our wars.

Jesus is still triumphant over the enemies of darkness. Jesus has returned to heaven and is seated next to his heavenly father. Jesus is allowing us to share in his triumph over the enemy. We can give thanks to God for this fact.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Jesus is allowing us to join in his parade of triumph over the enemy. He is allowing us to live a life of faith and purpose where we can demonstrate his victory and overcome limits in our lives. We are to share in Jesus’ triumph and bring glory to God through our words and actions. We are to make known the sweet smell of Jesus’ triumph wherever we go.

Jesus has won the victory over the devil, and by faith we can appropriate the spoils of his triumph as we need them. Grasp what this is all about and you will realize what it means to live a life with no more limits.

David Triumphed over Goliath

Triumph is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. There are many examples of triumph. One of the most famous examples is the story about David and Goliath. David killed the Philistine giant Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. David’s slingshot should not have brought down a heavily armored giant, but God guided the stone right between the giant’s eyes and he fell. David then ran toward the giant and took the giant’s sword and cut off his head. David then triumphantly held up the head for everybody to see. With the help of God, David triumphed over Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-58).

God enabled David to triumph over his enemy. David’s triumphant display of the giant’s head was a symbol of our triumph over the devil. The so-called “giant,” the devil, has been crushed by Jesus. We are not to be afraid of the devil. He has been defeated. Jesus chopped off his head. We need to learn what triumph really means and apply it to our daily lives. Our triumph in Christ means the devil’s power over our lives has been destroyed and crushed. His weapons are useless against us. We are triumphant in Jesus.

Going from Distress to Triumph

David Becomes Captain of the Discontented and the Desperate

We can learn more about triumph by looking into the life of David and his men. David’s struggles were not over when he defeated Goliath. His victory gave him great favor with the Israelites. He received the King’s daughter for his wife and he was given a good job working for the King. This did not last long. The King became jealous of David success, and he decided to kill David. King Saul’s threats against David caused him to leave and run for his life. David ended up in a cave in the wilderness.

The following passage of scripture tells what happened next.

1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. (1 Samuel 22:1-2)

Try to imagine this picture. David is hiding in a cave. King Saul and his army are chasing him and trying to kill him. David cries out to God to help him, and who does God send to him? People who are worse off than he is, people in debt, people in distress and people that are discontented. All the people who were in counseling and therapy went to where David was, and that was not the worst of it, he became a captain over them.

God gave David men who were distressed, discontented and in debt. These men may have looked like failures, but God had great plans for them. When you look to God for your help, no matter how bad your situation becomes, God has a better plan for your life. David did not stay in trouble and neither did these men.

David was a man after God’s own heart. David loved God. David also had great faith. All you have to do is read the Psalms David wrote to see how much he trusted and loved God. God had a plan for David and these 400 men. God took the faithfulness of David and eventually made him King instead of King Saul.

David’s Men Do Mighty Deeds

Look at what the Bible has to say about David’s men after David became the King of Israel.

8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: 10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.

11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory. (2 Samuel 23:8-12)

What a great transformation! In a few years’ time David’s men went from being discontented, depressed, distressed and indebted to being honored as mighty men. They overcame the limits of their circumstances and became triumphant and honored men in the service of King David. David’s men were not depicted as weak men with limiting problems. This passage of the Bible depicts David’s men as mighty men.

God helped David establish the nation of Israel into a powerful Kingdom. David established the Kingdom and left his Son Solomon a vast fortune. David ushered in an era which is known as “Israel’s Golden Years.” David with God’s help was able to triumph over his enemies and establish a great kingdom which gave glory to God.

Forget Your Past Failures

Many people are limited by memories of past failures. Why do you want to dwell on the memories of your past? You should forget the past. Think on the things God has in front of you. Think about how you are made to triumph in Jesus. Think about the calling of God on your life. Think about the wonderful things Jesus Christ has done for you.

The Apostle Paul understood the importance of forgetting the past and looking forward to what God had called him to do. He said,

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

The Apostle Paul also had advice on how to take control of thoughts that were contrary to the will of God. He said,

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5)

You can replace those thoughts of failures with thoughts of success. Why do you want to live your life thinking about past failures? That just reinforces the chances you will fail. Replace that old picture of defeat and failure with a new picture of victory and success.

God wants you to know you can triumph over the Goliaths in your life. You can fulfill your destiny. You can be a victorious overcomer in this life. Jesus has done the work he has already defeated the enemy. All you have to do is to join in the victory parade. You can take your place by the other great heroes of faith and walk in victory and triumph over the limits in your life.

You Can Do All Things through Christ

There are no limits to what you can accomplish through God working in your life. The Apostle Paul knew the power of God was working in him. He said,

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)

The Apostle Paul was persuaded that Christ was his strength and he could do all things. This statement applies to you. You can rephrase it to say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

Jesus lives in you, and he strengthens you. God has a wonderful plan for your life. He has predestined you to do wonderful things to glorify him. In your own strength you can do nothing, but in the strength of God, you can do all things.

“All things” means there is no limit to what you can do. God has given you everything you need to be successful in accomplishing his purposes in your life. Even though you may be weak, through Jesus Christ there is no limit to what you can do. God wants you to understand he will strengthen you. You have no excuse not to be victorious. Jesus has made it all possible for you.

You are a champion in Jesus. His victory is your victory. His life is your life. His peace and his joy are your joy. God has freely given you everything in Christ you need to be victorious. There are no limits in fulfilling God’s purpose and plan for your life.

The Joy of Victory!

At the close of an intercessory prayer service at our church one night, God moved on us in a powerful way. We began to rejoice and shout. We were not being foolish or crazy. We were just celebrating our victory in Jesus. We were triumphing over the enemy.

During this time of rejoicing it became real to me that there are no more limits as to what we can do in God. This means that whatever the situation is in your life, there are no more limits to hold you back. Wherever you are physically, spiritually, emotionally, or financially, there are no more limits in God. You can live with your discontentment, indebtedness, depression and distress, or you can become mighty in God.

You can and should live in triumph over the limits in your life. You can do nothing in yourself, but you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you. You have no excuse for failure. You can and should live a life of victory which brings glory to God!

In Christ you are free from those things that are limiting you from being all you can be. There are no more limits. Enjoy your triumph in Christ. Rejoice in your victory!

23 Overcoming Hindrances to Faith

Overcoming Tests and Hardships

Tests and hardships come to limit your life. God can help you overcome your tests and hardships. God has the solution for every test and hardship known to man. God has the answer to all your problems. Your answers are found in the victory and triumph of Jesus Christ over all the limits of the devil.

The Apostle Peter said you have an adversary roaming about seeking to devour you and you should resist him

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

The Apostle Peter also said:

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (2 Peter 2:9).

Temptations are tests and hardships. When you look to Jesus he can help you through all your tests and hardships. Jesus experienced and overcame all the limits of the devil and the world. Through Jesus you can overcome all your temptations.

You are not the only one who has ever had to experience tests and hardships. Everyone has the same experiences as you. The Apostle Paul says:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Jesus’ victory allows you to walk in his victory parade and appropriate his resources to overcome the limits of all the tests and hardships you will ever experience.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians uses the illustration of a battle ready soldier to describe the situations of life. He says to put on the armor of God to be able to withstand all the evil in the world. (Ephesians 6:10-18).

The Apostle Paul acknowledges the evil powers. He knew his enemy. He said:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

The Apostle Paul knew you would be involved in spiritual battles. You are to wear the armor of God to stand against the tactics of your spiritual enemy, the devil. God wants you to be victorious over all the spiritual attacks of the enemy. You can be strong in the power of God and you will be able to withstand the attacks

The Apostle James also describes how to win spiritual battles. He offers some practical advice when he says:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

The Apostle James’ advice is simple. Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will leave you alone. Resisting the devil is important. You must learn how to resist him and to fight against him. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. You must resist his attempts to steal, kill and destroy.

The words of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle James do not sound like the words of men who were used to being defeated by the devil. Their words sound like the words of experienced followers of Jesus telling us how we can overcome the attacks of the devil.

Overcoming Unbelief

The Disciples Fail to Heal a Boy Because of Their Unbelief

Jesus taught his disciples the importance of faith. One day a man brought his son, who was having seizures and was suffering greatly, to the disciples. The disciples could do nothing to help the young man. The father then took his son to Jesus. Jesus rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith. He then cured the young man. After he did this, the disciples went to him and asked him why they could not help the young man.

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. (Matthew 17:20)

Jesus then explained to them the reason they failed to heal the young man was because of their unbelief. I am sure it was hard for the disciples to accept the fact it was unbelief which had limited them from healing the young man. Everyone likes to think they have great faith. Jesus said it was their lack of faith which had limited them from helping the young man.

Unbelief causes many to not receive from God. The Israelites were all eligible to receive blessings from God, but because of their unbelief they did not receive from God

17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:17-19)

Just because you are eligible does not mean you have faith to receive your blessings.

Unbelief Prevented Miracles in Jesus’ Hometown

When Jesus visited his hometown, he was not accepted. He was unable to do miracles there. Matthew clearly tells why he could not do miracles in his hometown. It was because of their unbelief.

57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:56-58)

A passage from the book of Luke sheds a little more light on the situation.

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, (Luke 4:23-28)

Jesus reminded the people in his hometown about how God had sent the prophets Elijah and Elisha to a woman and a man from countries outside of Israel to bless them. God used the prophet Elijah to miraculously supply the widow’s need for food by multiplying the last little bit of flour and oil she had (1 Kings 17:9-16). God brought Naaman the Syrian leper to the prophet Elisha to receive healing from his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-20). There were many people in Israel who needed miracles, but God had to go outside the country to find people with faith. When Jesus said this, the people in his hometown became angry at him.

God provides healing and prosperity as part of his covenant. Many do not recognize the fact that God is willing to meet their needs in the area of physical and financial needs. Unbelief kept people in Jesus’ hometown from receiving financial blessings and healing. Jesus used the examples of the widow from Sidon and the Leper form Syria to illustrate this point. They had faith and received from God, but the folks in his hometown had unbelief and did not receive from God.

Unbelief Is Widespread Today

This situation is no different today. Many people are angry at God for not blessing them financially or healing their sick bodies. If you tell them it is because of their unbelief they will get angry at you. Unbelief is a limit in the lives of many Christians which keep them from receiving the blessings of God.

Sickness disease and lack are still problems we face in the world every day. Faith in God is the solution for overcoming these limits in our lives. Jesus came to teach us how to receive what we need from God by faith. Jesus did not limit God to meeting only spiritual needs. God can meet your physical and financial needs as well as your spiritual needs. God is willing to meet your physical and financial needs if you can overcome the limit of unbelief.

It is hard for many people to realize that unbelief is a limit, but unbelief keeps people from receiving the blessings of God. Many people today are offended when Jesus does not work miracles on their behalf. Ask yourself this question, “Could it be possible that Jesus cannot do mighty works in our churches today because of unbelief?” The answer to this question is an emphatic “Yes!” Another good question to ask is, “If we had faith, could Jesus do mighty works in our churches today?” The answer to this is also an emphatic “Yes!”

Overcoming Religious Traditions

God Is Not Your Problem

I received a letter from a woman who was confused by a TV preacher who said God puts sickness and disease on people to teach them lessons. She had thought that God wanted her to be healthy, now this preacher had put doubt in her mind. He said, “God uses the devil to teach his children lessons.”

This woman did not understand why God wanted the devil to make her sick. If he was using the devil, what was she supposed to learn from him? She was sick and tired of being sick and tired. She wanted to know if I thought God sent the devil to teach her something, and if I thought God might not want her healed.

I knew I had to be careful how I answered her. This woman was bedfast. She was at risk of dying at an early age. If I did not answer her carefully, I knew her life might be at stake. She had been believing God was her solution, and now she was being taught that he brought the problem on her to teach her something.

What Does the Bible Say About Evil?

I told this woman, “Ma’m, since you asked me, here is what the Word says. You have to look at the whole Bible to understand what God is doing.” I told her, “God does not use evil to tempt his children.”

I told this woman to go over and read James chapter 1 verses 13-17. These scriptures plainly say God does not use evil to accomplish his purposes. I told her, “God did not send the devil to teach you a lesson.” I told her, “God wants to heal you.”

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (James 1:13).

Another word for tempting is testing. God is not tested by evil and he does not test anyone with evil circumstances. This goes against his nature.

I have seen many sick people who are in bad shape from cancer and other illnesses. Sickness and disease is an evil thing. Anybody who says sickness and disease is something good has never spent any time in the hospital praying for sick people. Sickness and disease kills people and destroys lives. Sickness and disease is evil. God does not use evil to test his children.

I have a difficult time believing God wants anyone to be sick. Jesus came to show us how to have abundant life. Abundant life must include health. Sickness and disease is a limit from which Jesus can set us free.

Jesus Healed Every Disease and Sickness

God the Father sent Jesus his son to demonstrate love to the world. Jesus was God’s love in action. Jesus said if you were looking at him you would be looking at the father

8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8-9 HCSB)

Jesus came and with many signs and wonders demonstrated God’s willingness and ability to heal people from every sickness and disease.

The Bible records no instance where Jesus sent someone away until they had suffered more and learned their lesson. The Bible clearly records Jesus doing many mighty healing miracles. He had power over all sicknesses and diseases.

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 9:35)

It did not say he healed just a few every now and then. It said he healed every sickness and every disease. Jesus demonstrated he was a healing savior. There were no limits on Jesus’ willingness and ability to heal.

When Jesus was being arrested and taken away to be crucified, Peter used his sword to cut off an ear of one of the men who was arresting Jesus. Even at this time, when Jesus was being led away to die, he healed this man’s ear.

49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” 50 Then one of them struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus responded, “No more of this!” And touching his ear, He healed him. (Luke 22:49-51 HCSB)

I find it hard to imagine Jesus doing anything other than healing people. To say Jesus puts sickness on people to teach them something, goes against everything you read about him in the Bible.

There Are Good Traditions and Bad Traditions

Not all traditions are bad. The traditions of baptisms and of communion are good. These traditions are clearly outlined in the Bible. The traditions which are bad are religious traditions which hinder the power of God in the lives of people.

Many worthless traditions come from misunderstanding the nature and character of God. God is always good. God is not the source of your problems. God is always the answer to your problems. Sin, sickness, disease, poverty, and death are all problems which exist in this fallen world. Jesus overcame all these problems. Jesus pointed out he was the source for abundant life. He contrasted his purpose to the purpose of the devil when he said,

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

There is a spiritual outlaw in the earth. There is a real devil who causes real big problems. Jesus identified the devil as the source of crime and destruction. Jesus said the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy.

God Is a Loving Father and Wants to Give Good Things to You

Traditions that are not based upon faith but upon fear will always impose limits on people. God does not want you to be limited by fear. God wants you to be able to approach him and to receive the good things you need for your life. You always need to approach God with the attitude he is good, and he wants to bless you with good things.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matthew 7:11)

Your Heavenly Father is a loving father. God is not a child abuser. God is not a criminal. If God was put on trial and convicted of all the crimes he was accused of doing to his children, he would be sentenced to millions of years of jail time! However, this is a terrible misconception about God. God is good and not evil. God is not criminally abusing or neglecting his children.

Your heavenly father wants to provide good things to you as his child. God does not want you to be deprived of the things you need. God has many gifts he wants to give you as his child. If human parents desire only the best for their children, God’s desire is even stronger to provide the best for his children.

Overcoming Unworthiness

An unworthiness attitude can be a product of guilt, condemnation or failure. Unworthiness can also be a product of wrong doctrine. People can teach you that you are unworthy. They can say you are like an old unworthy worm in the dust. You are just an unworthy pilgrim in life trudging through the heat and the cold. You are not worth anything. God saved you, but you still are a sorry no good mess.

If you hear this unworthy message long enough, you will leave church lower than you came. After years and years of that, you will think you are not worth anything to God or anyone else. This type of wrong teaching and wrong thinking causes you to put limits on yourself.

These limits hinder you from believing you are worthy to receive anything from God. You will not think you have any value, and you will think God does not care about you. You will not think God wants to do anything for you. You might think he loves your pastor or some famous preacher, but you are not sure he loves you.

All people have the same background. We are all sinners. We are all unworthy to receive the blessings of God. Not one of us is righteous by ourselves before God. Fortunately for all of us, Jesus died for our sins. God loved us so much he sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. When we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, he put a new life on the inside of us. This new life has value because it is born of God.

Overcoming Fear and Doubt

Jesus answered and said unto them,

Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21)

Doubt is different from unbelief. Unbelief is denying the word of God is true. Doubt acknowledges the word of God is true, but it fails to believe it is true now for a particular situation. Doubt says, “I am not sure the time is right. Maybe later, but not now.” Faith is always in the present tense. Faith is something you have now. Faith says, “It is time to receive at this particular moment.”

Fear and doubt go hand in hand. Fear is expecting the worst will happen. Fear is a wrong way of thinking and is also a strong emotion. Faith is being convinced God’s words are truer than the negative circumstances. When the light of faith is in your heart, the darkness of fear disappears.

And Peter answered him and said,

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? (Matthew 14:28-31)

Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and he wanted to walk on the water. Jesus commanded Peter to step out of the boat and he began to walk on the water. Peter looked around and saw the wind and the waves. He began to fear for his safety. He then began to doubt, and then he began to sink. Jesus reached out and steadied him, and then all his fear and doubt disappeared.

Fear and doubt limit you from receiving from God. Jesus told Peter to come to him on top of the lake, yet because of fear and doubt he began to sink. Fear and doubt keep us from believing the word of the Lord, but with help from Jesus, we can overcome our fears and doubts. With the help of Jesus we can do mighty works.

We are so programmed to think about the worst things happening that we miss out on many miracles. God wants us to learn to overcome our fears and our doubts. He wants us to be people of great faith. Fear and doubt keep our faith small. God wants us to have unlimited faith. If we have faith instead of doubt and fear, we can move mountains. Victorious faith overcomes the limits of unbelief, fear and doubt.

Overcoming Lack of Action

Faith requires corresponding actions. Faith is more than just talking. Faith is talking and doing.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)

Years ago there was man and his wife who came to a meeting I had in another town. The wife was upset at the man. The man said he was called into the ministry. The wife was upset because he would not work. She was working and paying all the bills. He said he was living by faith. She made him come up to the altar for prayer.

I asked what they wanted prayer for. The wife told me that he would not work. I asked him to tell me more about the situation. He said the Lord told him to start a ministry. I asked if he had started it, and he said he had not. It turns out he was not doing anything to prepare for the ministry. He was just sitting around the house watching TV and doing nothing productive.

I looked at the wife and told her to quit feeding him. I told him the Bible says, “If you do not work, you do not eat.” I told her if she would quit cooking for him and feeding him, he would go to work. He did not like what I said, and he left angry.

This man was not living in faith. He had no corresponding actions to go with his words. He said he was going to start a ministry, but he was not doing anything but being lazy. Faith without works is a dead faith. If you do not add actions to your faith, you are limited from being blessed by God.

24 Living a Daily Life of Faith

There are several things we are going to look at in this which will help you increase beyond your limits. First, you can increase by setting goals. Goals help you establish new limits. Secondly, you can increase by the words you speak. The words you say either reinforce your old limits or they help you expand new limits. Thirdly, you increase by the actions you take. Without action you cannot increase. Actions determine how far you will go with the goals you set and the words you say. These three things are important in helping you to understand how to apply your faith to real life situations.

Increase Daily by Setting Goals

If you do not know where you are going, how are you going to know if or when you reach your destination? Goals are important. We should set goals. The most important goal is to pursue our calling in God. The Apostle Paul said:

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

The Apostle Paul pressed toward the mark. A mark is a marker in the distance. The Apostle Paul set his sights on a mark in the distance and went toward it. Your goal should be to know Jesus Christ and fulfill his plan for your life.

Have you ever been praying and all of a sudden you feel like your prayers are not going any higher than the ceiling? You do not feel like you are getting through to God. Then there are times you are praying and you think you are really making contact with heaven. This is when you know you are in his presence. You should want to enter into his presence every time you pray. If you are limited in your prayer life, you are going to be limited in the results.

You need to set goals where your prayer and spiritual life are concerned. The most important things you can do to help develop your spiritual life is to read your Bible and pray. Set goals to spend time in prayer and Bible study, and God will give you wisdom to know his will for your life.

We need to set spiritual goals, but we should set goals in other areas of our lives. God has a calling and a plan for everyone. Spend time in prayer and God will give you wisdom to know what his will is for your life.

Where Do You Want to Be 20 Years from Now?

Goal setting is important for all areas of your life. Goals are important in spiritual areas, but goals are important in other areas as well. For instance most people do not adequately plan for their retirement. They work for years and when they retire they have nothing to show for it. Unfortunately, too many people end up depending on someone else to support them during their golden years. Without extra money other than government checks many people live their golden years severely limited. Even ants plan for their future. How much more should man, God’s most precious creation, plan for his future.

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. (Proverbs 6:6-11)

Where do you want to be 20 years from now? What kind of nest egg do you want to have saved by the time you retire from your job? What kind of method or plan do you need to accomplish your retirement goals? What do you want to have by the time you are 62 or 65?

The best time to start saving for your retirement is while you are younger. The older you become, the less time you have to properly save for retirement. If you can figure out what you need to retire, and if you can save towards that goal, that is good. If you cannot, you need to pay someone to help you make a financial plan for your future.

Whatever you want to accomplish for your retirement is your mark or goal. You should set aside a certain amount each month to accomplish your goals in later years. It may not seem like much now, but it will add up to a lot if you do this consistently year after year. The best time to start is early in your working career. The later you wait, the more you will have to put in to obtain your goals.

You can set goals in all areas of your life. Goals need to be measurable and realistic. Break the goal down into parts. Set major goals and develop minor goals to work towards your major goals. Setting a goal to make more money or to lose some weight is not specific enough. Set a goal to make a certain amount of money or to lose a certain amount of weight.

If you are 100 pounds overweight set a goal that is realistic. Do not try to lose 100 pounds in one month. Try to lose two pounds a week. Change your lifestyle and your eating habits to do this. This will bring long-term changes.

You should learn new skills and knowledge to help you meet your goals. You should take action immediately when you set a goal. You should not wait until all the lights are green to go downtown. This may never happen. You should start where you are today to take steps toward a new future.

If you already know how to set goals for your work, business or professional life, you should also set goals for your Christian life. Set goals for serving your local church. Set goals for whatever you want to do for God. Pray and ask for wisdom. God will show you what to do to please him. God will give you the right steps to take.

You may be able to make many plans but the plan that will work best is the plan with the Lord’s blessing. When you find his plan, you will be assured of success.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Do you have problems with unforgiveness? Set a goal to overcome it. Do you have trouble with anger? Set a goal to overcome it. Do you have problems with pride? Set a goal to overcome it. Do you have a problem with foul language? Set a goal to overcome it. Whatever is a limit in your life, you can set a goal with the help of God that can break through the limit.

Do you lack joy in your life? Are you dry spiritually? These are spiritual boundaries. Set goals to find joy and be watered spiritually. You may have to make some important changes in your life to accomplish your goals. Goals help you make successful changes. Goals help you move in the direction you need to go. Goals help you make the necessary corrections to stay on the right course.

Goals help you fulfill the will of God in your life. If you are diligent in seeking God’s will for your life you will find it. If you are obedient to his word to you, your goals will be successful and you will fulfill God’s plan for your life.

Learn to Prioritize Your Day

Goals make it easier to establish priorities. By establishing clearly defined goals, you can make decisions about what you are going to do with your time. You should look at your goals and decide every day to work towards those goals.

Everyone is in a different place in life. I am still learning how to use my time wisely. Time is one of the most precious commodities you have. Once a day is over, you can never have that time back. You should make the most of each day.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

I have learned to prioritize my time. I have had to learn to prioritize my goals and projects. If you are not careful, you can lose a whole day and not accomplish important tasks because of distractions. It is Satan’s job to distract us from doing the will of the Lord. You have to set priorities on what is important to do each day.

I carry a daily planner. I assign priorities to the things I need to accomplish. If, I have ten things to do each day, I will assign one of three priorities: A, B or C. “A” is my top priority. I must do this today. “B” is important and needs to be done, but “B” is not the most urgent. “B’s” can be done the next day, if they are not finished today. “C’s” are things which should be done, but they can be done later if I do not finish all the “A’s” and “B’s.”

This system works well in doing the work of the ministry, but it can be applied to different situations. If you are a working mom, a dad, a student, or whoever, you can plan your daily activities and set priorities.

How will you know when you have accomplished anything if you do not set goals? Setting up a mark in the distance helps you know when you arrive at your designation. Setting goals help you know when you have done what you set out to do.

Goals and priorities involve taking risks. You risk failure anytime you set a goal. Every risk also carries with it a reward. The greatest risks usually return the greatest rewards. Goals help you determine what risks you want to take.

Increase Daily from the Words You Speak

Another way to increase daily it to watch the words you speak every day. Most people do not pay attention to every word they speak. If you want to become successful, you have to watch the words you speak each day.

God created the world with his words. God created man in his image and gave him the ability to speak words. Jesus said his words were spirit and life (John 6:63). Your words can be spirit and life as well. Your tongue is a little member, but it can bring much damage or bring much blessing. (James 3:5, Proverbs 13:2).

If you are going to increase daily and move into new areas, you must change the way you speak. When you speak the words and the language of God, you will increase beyond your present circumstances.

God Created the Languages We Use Everyday

God gave you the wonderful gift of communication. Words are containers of meaning. Without words, life as you know it would be impossible. Words allow you to talk to others and to work together. Words are an essential part of life.

The different languages came into being miraculously. At one time everyone spoke the same language (Genesis 11:1). This ability caused sinful man to work together for the wrong reasons. God wanted the human race to expand beyond the limits of where they were living, but they were not willing to do so. God caused them to speak in different languages so they would go and settle in different areas of the world.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:4-9)

God had to change their words to cause them to expand beyond their limits. God had to change their language to keep them from doing what they had imagined to do. He said in Genesis 11:6, “nothing will be restrained from them.” In other words, they can do whatever they want to do. Those ancient men were not building the Tower of Babel to glorify God. They were building the tower of Babel to make a name for themselves. God changed their language and changed their plans to suit his purpose. When God changed their words, he changed the way they lived.

God also used different languages in the book of Acts to change people. Jesus’ disciples were commanded to remain in Jerusalem until they received power from God to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). God gave them a supernatural gift of languages that enabled them to communicate with people from all over the world. This was the reverse of what had happened at the Tower of Babel. God wanted Jesus’ disciples to be understood by everyone in the world.

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? (Acts 2:1-8)

On the Jewish holiday of Pentecost, people had come to Jerusalem from all over the world. The disciples spoke in tongues, and all the people heard the Good News of Jesus preached to them in their native languages.

This was the birthday of the Church. When God gave the gift of speaking in unknown languages to the disciples, he changed the way they thought of themselves. They received supernatural power to be his witnesses throughout the world. When God changed the words they spoke, he changed the way they lived.

Even today, the Bible is translated into more languages than any other book that has been written. Bible translators are still working hard to make the word of God available to all language groups in the world. Billions of people are now able to read and understand the word of God in their own native language thanks to the work of thousands of dedicated missionaries who are translating the Bible. The ability to have the words of God available to us in our native language is a wonderful gift from God.

Change the Way You Live Each Day by Changing What You Say

The words of God are powerful. Your words can be powerful as well. One of the most solid obstacles in the world is a mountain. Mountains seem impossible to move. Jesus did not see anything as impossible. He said if you had faith, you could speak to a mountain and it would be moved. You must learn how to speak to your limits in faith.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:23)

Jesus emphasized speaking to this mountain. He mentioned speaking to it three times in this verse. He said, “Whosoever shall say unto this mountain.” This is the first reference to speaking to the mountain. Then Jesus said, “Believe those things which he saith.” This is the second reference to speaking to the mountain. Then he said, “He shall have whatsoever he saith.” This is the third reference to speaking to the mountain. Jesus intertwined faith and speaking to the mountain together. Speaking words and faith go hand in hand. You cannot have faith without speaking words of faith. Words are the containers that support your faith. Jesus pointed out that speaking to the mountain was an important part of having faith.

Words Come from Your Heart

Words come from your heart. What you believe is what you speak. Jesus said what is in your heart comes out in the words you speak.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:45)

Faith comes when you hear God speak to you (Romans 10:17).The revelation of the word of God to your heart causes you to speak faith-filled words. These faith-filled words set spiritual forces into operation.

God Created Everything by First Speaking Words

When God created the world he first said words. The story of creation in Genesis Chapter 1 is full of verses which demonstrate the power of God’s words. Every day whatever he said came to pass. God created the land and seas by first speaking words. He created plants and animals, and man by speaking words. You and I are here today because God spoke words that came to pass.

Isaiah says every word God speaks is valuable and accomplishes something valuable.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Your words justify or condemn you. Faith-filled confession of the Lord Jesus brings salvation. Your confession of Jesus as Lord of your life changed your eternal destiny. You will live with Jesus forever and escape the fires of hell because of the words you spoke. The value of your words is priceless.

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

Jesus Christ said,

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (Matthew 12:37)

Speak to Your Circumstances

You can speak to the difficult circumstances in your life and tell them to be removed. If you have faith in God, and if you know his will for you, you can speak to limiting mountains and tell them to be thrown into the sea and they will be moved. Is it possible to move mountains by faith? Jesus said it was possible.

Jesus Christ spoke to situations and circumstances and changed them. He spoke to a storm and calmed it (Mark 4:39). He spoke to a man who had been dead for days and he came to life (John 11:43). He spoke to people facing all kinds of adversities, and his words brought victory and triumph.

After Jesus spoke and instructed his disciples, his words and teachings changed the world forever. Follow Jesus Christ’s example. Learn to speak the words of God in faith and you will smash your limits.

When lack tries to worry you, say, “My God supplies all my needs according to his riches in Glory!” (Philippians 4:19).

When sickness tries to overcome you, say, “I am healed by the stripes of Jesus!” (1 Peter 2:24).

When fear of disaster tries to unsettle your mind, say, “God has not given me a spirit of fear. He has given me his love power and a sound mind!” (2 Timothy 1:7).

If Jesus’ words live in you, you can speak his words back to God, and God will give you whatever you ask (John 15:7). Our words are valuable. Life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

Increase Daily by Taking Deliberate Action

You can increase beyond your boundaries by the goals you set, by the words you speak, and by the actions you take. Faith requires corresponding actions to be a living faith. Faith without actions is a dead faith.

17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:17-20)

Just because you believe there is a God does not mean you have done much. The Devil and his cohorts believe there is a God (James 2:19). You have to do more than believe that God is real. You have to put your faith into action.

I believed Jesus Christ was the son of God all my life. That was what I was told. I knew this, but I did not act on it until I was 30 years old. I acted in faith after I heard a pastor preach the word of God and tell me that I had to confess Jesus as my Lord and believe God raised him from the dead. I had to walk down the aisle and say this with my mouth. When I stood in front of the preacher and said this, I became born again. I was saved. I believed Jesus was the Son of God all my life, but I never acted on it. After I acted on the word of God, I received a new life in Christ Jesus.

It is a beautiful thing to watch people understand the idea of no more limits and put it into practice in their lives. People who put these principles into action will see results. People who only think about it briefly will never experience the fulness of God in their lives. The idea of no more limits in your life will only work if actions are taken.

Here is a story I have heard that illustrates the importance of faith in action.

Two Boats and a Helicopter

This story is about a man who is waiting for God to save him from a flood. The waters begin to rise and his street and yard becomes flooded with water. A neighbor comes by with a small boat and asks him if he needs help. The guy in the house says, “No I am waiting for God to save me.”

The water continues to rise and the guy goes up to the second floor of his house. Another man comes by in a bigger boat and asks him if he wants help. The guy in the house says, “No, I am waiting for God to save me.”

The water rises to the point where the man is on the roof. A helicopter comes by and the pilot asks him if he needs help. He tells the men in the helicopter he is waiting for God to save him. The helicopter flies away.

Finally, the flood washes the man off the roof and he drowns. He goes to heaven and stands before God and asks, “Why didn’t you save me?”

God replies, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter! What else did you expect?”

The moral of this story is you have to do something. You have to take advantage of the opportunities God sends you. You have to step into the boat. Do not miss the opportunities God sends you and drown because of your lack of action. Put your faith into action.

Tomorrow Never Comes

When I was in school at Henderson State College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, I was not a Christian. I was lost just like most of the other students. Every Friday night, whenever we could, we would drive a few miles over to Hot Springs. One time we went to a pizza parlor. The pizza parlor had a sign which read, “Free Beer Tomorrow!”

We saw that sign and decided we were going to come back to this place tomorrow and drink “free beer.” The next day we drove back to the pizza parlor. We went in and said, “We want our free beer.” The owner looked at us and pointed at the sign. He laughed and said, “It’s tomorrow!”

We were college students, and we thought we were so smart, but we learned a valuable lesson that night. Today is always today and tomorrow is always the next day. Tomorrow never comes. When you wake-up tomorrow, it is not going to be tomorrow, it is going to be today.

Life brings us one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow. Forget the past. Live your life one day at a time. Realize God is with you today.

Living a life of faith is a daily thing. Faith is an invisible force that directs your life every day. Faith is not found in the future. Faith is not found in the past. Faith is always now. Faith is always in the present tense.

Today, God is working with you. Today, God is blessing you. Today, God has caused you to be an overcomer. Today, God has caused you to be triumphant in Christ. Today, God wants you to live and enjoy your life. Today is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice in the day he has given you and be glad (Psalm 118:24).

Everything You Do In Life Is Daily

Life is a daily process. You have to take action every day to remove the limits in your life. Do not wait for a crisis to overtake you. You should not wait until they back the truck up to your door and repossess your furniture to take action. You should not wait until the Doctor says you have six months to live to take action. You should not wait months or years to forgive a person who has you all bent out of shape. You have to remove the limits in your life starting now, today.

If your Doctor gives you a prescription for medicine, you probably have to take it daily or several times a day. You should take care of your personal hygiene daily by bathing and brushing your teeth daily. Your food intake and excretion are daily. If it is not, something is wrong and you are going to be grumpy. I am saying all this to make a point—much of life is daily. God created you with daily needs. Even in creation God did things on a daily basis.

If you want to increase your physical limits, you need to exercise every day. If you start exercising daily, it may take you six months or a year to see results. You might be tempted to quit before you reach your goal. If you do not work at it daily, you will not succeed. Exercising once a month is not going to accomplish the results you are seeking. If you are going to increase your physical limits, you have to work at it daily.

Daily Prayer

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray for their daily needs. He taught them to pray for their bread every day.

Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)

Bread can represent more than food. Bread can represent other daily needs in your life. Bread also represents Jesus himself. Jesus referred to himself as the bread of life (John 6:35).

It should be as important to pray on a daily basis as it is to eat. If you eat every day, you should also pray every day. You need to enter into the presence of God every day with your prayers (Psalms 140:13).

The key to success in anything is to discipline yourself to do daily tasks related to your goals. Daily discipline is what sets champions apart from most other people. Praying on a daily basis will determine how effective you will be as an overcomer and champion in Christ. Praying daily is an important part of overcoming limits in your life.

Daily Bible Reading

Champions in Christ need to read and study the word of God on a daily basis. The word of God is taken into your spirit and provides fuel for spiritual power just like food provides the fuel for your physical body.

The first Psalm talks about the impact of daily Bible devotional readings. You should not delight in listening to ungodly counsel or to people with negative attitudes. You should delight in the word of God.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Daily Bible devotions feed and develop you spiritually. Spiritual growth requires taking the seed, the word of God, and watering it daily. Fruit tree seeds take years to become trees. It takes years to become a mature Christian. After a fruit tree matures, it produces fruit. Spiritual growth will also produce fruit in its season. The key to spiritual growth is to feed yourself daily. You need spiritual food every day in order to have the essential nutrients to grow spiritually.

Joshua took over ruling the nation of Israel after Moses died. God used Joshua to take the nation of Israel from the desert, where they had wandered around for forty years, into their Promised Land. The Promised Land was full of enemies and Joshua had to lead the Israelites through many battles. He would not have been successful in achieving victory if he had not stayed connected to God daily. Moses had written the first five books of the Bible and left them with the Israelites. God told Joshua to read these books daily.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

God told Joshua to meditate the Bible. Meditate does not mean to read quickly. Meditate means to read and consider what is being read. Meditating on the word of God is thinking about what you have read and then applying what you have read to your daily life.

Joshua was triumphant over his enemies. The Israelites, with God’s help, conquered cities and established a nation based upon the Bible. If you are going to establish yourself and enjoy triumph over your spiritual enemies, you must read and study your Bible daily. You must base your life on the Bible.

Daily devotion to the word of God is an important part of being a successful Christian. Daily Bible reading and study are essential for living a life with no more limits.

Don’t Worry about Your Daily Needs

Jesus taught his disciples to pray for their daily bread. He also taught them not to worry about where it was going to come from.

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:31)

When Jesus says to take no thought, he is not saying to never think about or pray about what you are supposed to eat or drink. Taking no thought means not to worry about your food, drink or clothes. Jesus is saying not to be anxious about your needs. Jesus already taught them to pray and trust God for their daily bread. Jesus is now teaching them not to worry once they had prayed for their needs.

Anxious thoughts come to everybody. Some people seem to worry about everything. When you are worrying about your needs, you are failing to put God first in your life. When you are worrying about your basic needs, you are demonstrating a lack of confidence and trust in God’s ability to meet your needs and to answer your prayers.

Jesus went on to tell his disciples to establish their priorities on God.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

When you make God your number one priority in life, you will never have to worry or be anxious about what you are going to eat, drink or wear. God is going to provide these things for you when you pray.

Notice that Jesus said in Matthew 6:31 to take no thought saying, “What are we going to eat?” “What are we going to drink?” or “What are we going to wear?” Jesus is saying not to talk negatively. If you have faith in God, you should already know the answer to these questions. God is going provide your food! God is going to provide your drink! God is going to provide your clothes! Do not worry or question how or by whom these things will come. Seek God first and all these things will be given to you in God’s perfect way.

The Apostle Paul reinforced Jesus’ teaching about praying and not worrying. Paul said:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6)

Paul said do not to worry—pray. Pray about everything that is bothering you. Let all your needs be known to God. After you ask God for your needs, give thanks that he hears your prayers. Give thanks that he knows your needs. Thank God for answering your prayers and do not worry about them after you pray.

Are you seeking God in your life? Is God your top priority? If you are obedient to him and seeking him, you will have your needs met.

If you pray, “God, I don’t want limits in my life anymore.” God says, “That is good. You are on the right track. I will help you.”

If you pray, “God, I don’t want to lose my temper anymore.” God hears that and says, “I will help you.”

If you pray, “God I am petitioning you, and I am thanking you right now that I am not going to be limited by fear anymore. I’m not going to worry; I’m not going to be anxious for anything.” God says, “Keep it up. Keep petitioning me for your needs. Keep thanking me for it. Thank me for it every day.”

After you have made your requests and thanked God for answering your prayers, the scripture goes on to say:

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

There is a release that comes from prayer. Once you pray with thanksgiving you do not need to worry. When you believe God has heard and answered your prayers, you will have peace. The worries are gone and peace floods your heart and mind.

Always Think Pure Thoughts

The next verse in Philippians goes on to tell you how to keep peace in your heart and mind. Once you have prayed, given thanks, and received peace, you must take control of your thoughts.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

Have you noticed that the things you worry about do not usually come to pass? Most of the time the things that you are worried about never happen.

Your mind might tell you the whole world is tumbling down around you. You might build up obstacles and limits in your mind that do not exist. Since most of these things will never happen, why worry about them? Replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts.

The Bibles says think on things that are good, just honest and pure. Stop filling your mind with negative thoughts, and you will enjoy the peace God gives your heart and mind after you pray.

Continue to Increase Daily

You have to live one day at a time. The word “disciple” means “disciplined one.” You have to be disciplined at seeking God. When you become disciplined, you are going to start seeing the results. You eat daily. You clean yourself daily. What you do for God, you should do daily. Disciplined people develop good daily habits. You should read your Bible and pray daily.

Do not despair if you miss it or make a mistake. I have exercised and pulled muscles. After time passed, I healed. I did not quit exercising because I hurt myself. I just stopped for a little while to heal, and then I started exercising again.

If you fall down and make a mistake, ask God to forgive you. You say, “Father I am sorry. I repent. Please forgive me.” Do what you need to do to make it right. Forgive yourself. Forget it and move on with your life.

You may have prayed like this: “Father, I am going to walk in your divine favor today. I’m not going to become upset today. I’m not going to be offended today. I’m going to walk in your perfect peace. I’m not going to be worried. Amen.”

After you pray a prayer like this, you may go on about your daily business, and, suddenly, a situation arises which could cause you to become upset and worry. You may have missed it yesterday and the day before, but this time something is different. You have been praying, and you have been reading your Bible daily. You have been keeping God first in your life. You have set a goal not to be angry and upset. You have prayed about it, and now you realize you are not angry or upset at this situation. Yesterday it bothered you, but today you have victory.

Whatever limits you may have in your life, if you continue to pray and read your Bible daily, you will find yourself conquering your limits. Spiritually, you will grow when you read your Bible and pray daily. A tree may not look like it is growing, but if it is healthy and receiving the proper nutrition and sunshine, it will grow. You are the same way. If you receive the proper spiritual nutrition and spiritual sunshine daily from the Bible, you will grow. Daily spiritual growth will help you reach new levels of Christian maturity. Those things that used to bother you will no longer hold you back. Your limits will be broken.

Living a life pleasing to God will remove limits in your life. Time will prove this true. Months from now, maybe even years from now, you will look back and see how you have changed. You will see how you have grown into a different person.

As you continue to grow on a daily basis, you will increase in many areas. Your tithe will increase. Your energy will increase. Your prayer life will increase. Your spiritual life will increase. Your strength will increase. You will be amazed at how many ways you have increased.

Living a triumphant daily life means you will keep expanding your boundaries. Living a triumphant daily life means you always glorify and please God. Living a triumphant daily life means your life is filled with joy. This is the way life with Jesus was intended to be lived—abundantly—a life without limits!

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Additional Ministry Materials and Resources

From Happy Caldwell

If you would like to have additional materials and media resources from Happy Caldwell, please contact Agape Church.

Internet Website Address

http://www.agape-church.org/

Email Address

info@agape-church.org

Mailing Address

PO Box 22007

Little Rock, AR 72221-2007

Physical Address

Agape Church

701 Napa Valley Drive

Little Rock, AR 72211

Phone

501.225.0612

Epilogue

By James Strand

God’s Faith Hall of Fame

Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence

Persevere and Be Rewarded

Before we talk about God’s Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 let us look at the thoughts at the end of Hebrews 10 that immediately precede it.  The original readers of the book of Hebrews would have seen a seamless transition between the thoughts at the end of chapter 10 and those in the beginning of chapter 11.The original book of Hebrews was a letter written to first century believers without chapter and verse numbers. These were added hundreds of years later. These verses at the end of Hebrews 10 help set the stage for the verses about faith that follow in Hebrews 11.

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:35-39)

The writer of the book of Hebrews says to not cast away or throw away your confidence in the promises of God. He encourages you to persevere, have patience and remain faithful until you receive what God has promised you. Faith operates in a dimension that is not limited by time and circumstances.

The writer of assures you your soul will be saved from destruction at the end of days, and you will be rewarded for your faith if you refuse to turn back to your sinful way of living. He tells you that you are not like the faithless that give no pleasure to God and are headed for eternal destruction. He encourages you to continue to live by faith until you receive what is promised, but not yet seen, the saving of your soul and eternal life.

God Honors Men and Women of Faith

Every year during the summer in the United States there is an all-star baseball game. Baseball fans select their favorite players from the two major league baseball divisions to play each other. Fans cheer for their all-star favorites during this game. Someday many of these all-star players will be further honored when they are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

God has a Faith Hall of Fame. Some of the members of God’s Faith Hall of Fame are mentioned in Hebrews 11.  Throughout eternity these all-stars will be remembered and honored in God’s Faith Hall of fame for what they did by faith during their lives.

The first verse in Hebrews 11 opens with a statement about what faith is.

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. (Hebrews 11:1-2)

The all-stars in God’s Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 have received a good report from God because they believed in the evidence of things unseen.

Most schools have a grading system. When a student does well in school they get a good report from their teacher. This report shows they are making progress in their studies and are advancing in school. Their parents will be pleased. A good report with God shows you are making progress by faith, and you are pleasing God.

The next verse tells us how the universe was created by faith.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)

Everything you see in the heavens and earth was created by the unseen faith-filled words of God. God’s all-stars live a life of faith, and they speak and act on the word of God by faith. They understood everything is possible by having faith in the power in God’s unseen spoken words. They were fully persuaded God would fulfill all his promises to them.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The men and women in God’s Faith Hall of fame in Hebrews 11 pleased God. The Bible says God will reward those like them that diligently seek him and have corresponding actions to go with their faith.

Beginning in the fourth verse of Hebrews Chapter 11 the words “by faith” occur over and over again. These words are followed by what these faith all-stars did to please God and be honored in God’s Faith Hall of Fame.

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found …

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; …

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: …

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son…

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible…

29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace

32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:4-40)

The Old Testament men and women mentioned in God’s Faith Hall of Fame did not live to see the promise of God’s redemption from sin fulfilled, but before it happened, they believed it would happen. They believed in the substance of the things they hoped for. They did not give up their confidence that God would someday fulfill everything he promised them.

When those mentioned in Hebrews 11 died, they had faith that there was something better in the future. These Old Testament men and women of faith did not live to see Jesus Christ, but they had faith he would come and fulfill all of God’s promises.

When we received the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, what they died believing was revealed in us. Their faith was made “perfect” or complete by those of us who have received Jesus Christ by faith and live by faith in God.

Those who are mentioned in God’s Faith Hall of Fame lived their lives by faith, and they are worthy to be honored as all-stars in God’s Faith Hall of Fame.

You and I should be inspired by the examples of these “Champions of Faith” mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11. Even though they did not receive all the promises of God in their lifetimes, it did not stop them from believing that God was able to do as he said. When you have faith to believe God is able to do what he has said, you please God. When you please God, all things become possible!

Become a Future All-Star in God’s Faith Hall of Fame

Hebrews 12 concludes the discussion on the topic of faith found in Hebrews 10 and 11. In Hebrews 12 the emphasis shifts from the past heroes of faith to the present. The writer uses these past examples of faith to encourage you to continue to live by faith regardless of the adversities and setbacks you may face in your life today.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1)

The men and women in the Faith Hall of fame are in heaven, and they are waiting for you to finish the story of faith they helped to write.  You are to lay aside any weight or sin that holds you back.  You are to patiently run the great race of life that is set before you. For inspiration you are to look to Jesus Christ the author and finisher of your faith. Jesus Christ is the ultimate member of the Faith Hall of Fame.

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Jesus Christ looked beyond his crucifixion and had faith he would be raised from the dead and returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the throne of God.  He had faith the end result would be joyful. He had faith what he was doing would rescue and save a dying world and enable many, who would have faith in him, to regain a personal relationship with God. You should consider the faith of Jesus and be encouraged knowing the end result of your faith will be joyful.

Since Jesus Christ by faith endured so much, you should look to his example and not grow tired or weary. You must believe you can finish your race with confidence knowing you are part of a story of faith that is bigger than you are. The story of faith is a story that stretched through the past, present and future. The story of faith will last for eternity. This life will pass a way and the story of faith, and what men and women endured to keep their faith, will be told over and over again throughout eternity.

You have a more complete picture of faith than those mentioned in the Faith Hall of Fame because you know the story of Jesus Christ; however, the story of faith in Jesus Christ is still being written. Jesus Christ will return one day and he will restore all things the way they should be. Until then, you will have to live by faith in what you cannot see and believe that one day every promise God has made will be fulfilled.

Your successful finish to the race of life will be joyful and you can also experience that joy in your life right now. You can live a life of joy and look beyond your present circumstances if you know that your faith will produce endurance. If you know that the end result of your faith is an endurance that will mature you to the point where you will be complete and lack nothing.

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4 HCSB)

You must believe that your faith in Jesus Christ will cause you to be victorious over all challenges, adversities and the evil in the world.

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. (1 John 5:4)

Until Jesus Christ fulfills every promise he has ever made, you have to patiently persevere and remain faithful on your journey through life. Then someday, when the stories are told of what happened during your lifetime, you could be honored like those mentioned in the book of Hebrews. You will have finished your course with joy, and you will be known throughout eternity as an all-star in God’s Faith Hall of Fame!

About This Book’s Editor, James Strand

James is a graduate of Oral Roberts University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. He has attended Rhema Bible College for one year. He started his career working on staff with Morris Cerullo World Evangelism in California. He has been involved in several startups of churches and small businesses. He has been a co-author of two training and certification guides for IBM software and has worked briefly as an IT Consultant with Fortune 500 companies. He is the Founder of Word Catcher Press and edits and publishes Christian books. He is also the Editor and Publisher of goodnewsreporter.com, a Christian blog.

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ABCs

The ABCs of How to Be Saved—How to Have Faith in God

Acknowledge You Need to Turn to God

and Be Forgiven of Your Sins

Turning to God and turning away from going your own way is the first step to having faith in God to be saved. God promises eternal life, peace and joy for those who believe in Jesus Christ. He said he will forgive and blot out the sins of anyone who believes in him. Make a quality decision to believe in Jesus Christ today. Then, you will experience new life and peace in your heart that will go way beyond your understanding and expectations.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Turning toward God and turning away from going your own sinful way is the true meaning of repentance. Jesus Christ said:

I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

Turning to God is no small thing. The angels in heaven rejoice when you turn away from your sins and turn toward God. When you turn to God you will receive his complete and total forgiveness.

…there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43)

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)

Believe in Your Heart Jesus Christ Is the Son

of God and He Rose from the Dead

God loves you and he has provided a way for you to escape being condemned for your sins.

16“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16-17)

Jesus Christ came to the earth from heaven to show us the way to God. God punished him for your sins so you could be made right with him. God is rich in mercy and wants you to receive his forgiveness.  Jesus Christ was the only sinless and perfect man that ever lived. Jesus Christ sacrificed himself and died for you.  He did this because he loves you, and he wants you to have peace with God and be reconciled to God. The prophet Isaiah said this about Jesus Christ more than 700 years before he was born.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Confess with Your Mouth Jesus Christ Is

the Son of God and Follow Him.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)

Accept God’s Free Gift of Salvation Right Now!

If you do not already know and trust Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life, you now have the opportunity to make the best decision of your life. Right now, you can accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Turn your life over to the one who loved you so much he gave his life for you and died for your sins.

You can be forgiven. You can be washed clean from your sins. You can make peace with God. You can experience a new joy and peace that cannot be described by words.

Here’s how you can take a step of faith and accept God’s free gift of grace and be made right with Him.  Do this and you will be saved, and you will receive new life in your heart! Do this, and you will experience his love, joy, peace and receive eternal life!

Please Pray this Prayer Out Loud Right Now!

Dear Heavenly Father I turn to you now and turn away from my sins.  I believe you sent your Son, Jesus Christ to die in my place for my sins. I believe in my heart that you raised him from the dead. Jesus, I now give you my life. I want to live for you and please you from this day forward. Amen.

Congratulations!

When you prayed this prayer out loud and sincerely meant it in your heart, you became a new person in Christ Jesus. You have been changed from the inside out, and you will never be the same again. You have been given a chance to start a new life with Jesus Christ coming to live with you inside your heart.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Remember, it is your faith and not your feelings that makes you right with God. Living a life of faith pleases God, and he will reward you for remaining faithful to him during the ups and downs in life.

Make a Public Commitment to Follow

Jesus Christ and Obey His Commandments

After you prayed to Jesus Christ to save you, you need to acknowledge you have chosen to start a new life of faith by being baptized in water. Water baptism is an act of faith that demonstrates your sins have been forgiven and washed away. Baptism is also a public commitment that lets others know you are turning away from future sin, and you want to continue to obey and follow God’s commands and continue to please him.

Pray Often, Read Your Bible Daily and Find Your Place in the Family of God

You are beginning an exciting new journey based on the eternal principles of God, and you have a great destiny in front you. You do not have to take this journey of faith alone. Other believers can help you grow in faith and show you how to experience more of God’s grace in your life.

You should begin to set aside time to pray and seek God for his wisdom and guidance in your life.  You should pray and ask God to show you where you belong in the family of God.

It is important to read the Bible on a regular basis. A good place to start in the Bible is the book of John. This book contains many promises and has beautiful word pictures about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is not God’s plan for you to continue to live in your old ways. He wants you to live an abundant and fruitful life. He has provided the Bible and an earthly Christian family of believers to help you continue to grow in your new life of faith.

Gathering together regularly to worship God gives you a chance to thank him for all his blessings he has provided to you through his son, Jesus Christ. It also gives you the opportunity to experience his presence together with others.

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:20)

Continue to Follow Jesus Christ,

Love People and Grow in Faith

Jesus Christ wants you live your life to be an example for others to follow. Share your faith Jesus Christ with others and you will continue to grow in faith. God’s purpose for you is to live not only for yourself. God has a wonderful plan for you to find happiness and fulfillment by living a life of faith, and you demonstrate your life of faith by loving and helping others.

Be Wise. Be a doer of Jesus Christ words—don’t only be a hearer. Talk your walk and walk your talk!

This Book Is also Available as a Kindle eBook

In addition to the printed version of this book, Faith the Master Key to Life: Five Perspectives for Living a Life of Faith, can also be purchased as a Kindle eBook from Amazon.com. This format can be read and enjoyed on Kindle eBook readers and other devices. FREE applications are available from Amazon to read Kindle eBooks on PCs, Macs and smart phones.

For a direct link to the Kindle bookstore to buy this and any of our other Kindle eBooks or printed books go to www.wordcatcher.ws.

Other Kindle eBooks from Word Catcher Press

Victorious Faith by Pastor Happy Caldwell.

First Steps to Faith by James Strand.

Faith for Living in Difficult Times by James Strand.

FREE ABCs of How to be Saved Tracts

Several versions of the ABCs of How to Be Saved message at the end of this book are available to download and print for free from Word Catcher Press at www.wordcatcher.ws. These can be folded as brochures or pocket-sized gospel tracts.

Word Catcher Press

Thank You for Reading this book.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1: Jerry Savelle

God Is Who He Says He Is

1 God Is Who He Says He Is

2 God’s Names Reveal Who He Is

God Wants You to Increase

3 How I Learned God Could Bring Increase

4 God Gives Increase to Those Who Believe

5 Three Reasons for Believing for Increase

6 Moving to a Higher Level of Increase

7 Six Ways to Position Yourself for Increase

8 God’s Way of Increase Is Perfect And It Always Works

Part 2: Dr. Frederick K.C. Price

The Importance of Faith

9 Nothing Is More Important than Faith

10 The Testing and Proving of Your Faith

11 Faith and Belief Are Not the Same

12 Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God

Part 3: Charles Capps

Faith-Filled Words

13 Release Faith With Your Words

14 Watch What You Say

15 Abraham’s and Sarah’s Journey of Faith

16 You Can Have What You Say

Part 4: Keith Moore

Turning Little Faith into Big Faith

17 Can Your Faith Increase?

18 Consider What God Says—Not the Devil’s Lies

19 Faith Gives You Strength To Overcome Your Weakness

20 Believe You Receive

Part 5: Happy Caldwell

Victorious Faith

21 The Victory of Faith

22 The Triumph of Faith

23 Overcoming Hindrances to Faith

24 Living a Daily Life of Faith

Epilogue

God’s Faith Hall of Fame

About James Strand

ABCs

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