Good success is a way of life that comes from being established in the Word of God. It comes from spending so much of your time and your thought life on the Word that it becomes what you and I could call "second nature." It comes from hearing and obeying the Word so consistently that it begins to guide your actions even when you're not consciously thinking about it.
Living in a home filled with the love and the peace of God Himself is almost like living in heaven right here on earth. We all know that's true. And we long to live in such a home. Yet, time and time again, we shortchange our families. We spend our kindest words and our most winning smiles on those beyond our front door.
Have you ever wondered why?
I admit, it's tough to be enthusiastic about going through tests and trials. But can you get excited about being totally supplied in every way, in want of nothing? Well, according to the Word of God, if you'll use your trials to develop patience, you're going to be in precisely that position!
You see, patience doesn't mean what you thought it meant. It does not mean settling sweetly for second best. It does not mean standing meekly by while the devil romps all over you.
If I could give you a gift this Christmas, the Word is what I'd give you. I'd rather give it to you than a check for a million dollars. Because you can run through a million dollars real quick, but the truth of God's Word never quits—and it will get you out of situations a million dollars can't get you out of.
Ken and I are just ordinary people. But when we latched on to God's Word, we latched on to something out of the ordinary, something that changed our lives. Every area of our lives.
Preparation. When it comes to fighting spiritual battles, that's a word you'd do well to remember. Most believers don't pay much attention to it. They don't prepare themselves in advance. They fiddle around until the devil makes his move, then they jump up and try to fight him with the Word... and they usually lose.
Are you ready to face a crisis? Don't wait until one hits to find out. Prepare yourself now.
That's what a couple of my Partners did. They faced a situation that would have made many people panic. But when the crisis hit, their hearts were so deeply established on the Word of God that their first response was not one of fear but of faith.
What affected me most when I heard their testimony was one particular phrase they kept using:
No Deposit—No Return
Whenever Ken and I talk about living by faith, I know there are some people who think, Oh, that's easy for you. You're preachers. You have it made! And, in some ways, we do. We have it made because our calling demands that we give God our attention, and giving God your attention always brings success.
Established in the faith and abounding with thanksgiving. These days it seems that's a rare combination.
A lot of people have been taught faith over the last several years, and a lot of people have been taught to abound with thanksgiving. But it's been hard to set the two together. Faith folks want to confess the Word all the time, but they don't praise God very much. And those who like to praise God just want to jump and shout and dance and have a good time in the Lord. You can't get them to get very serious about the Word.
Success comes from combining the two.
Things in this old world aren't getting any better, and in recent times, the Holy Spirit has been speaking an urgent message to my heart. He's been saying, Press in. Draw in to a more intimate relationship with your heavenly Father. If you don't, you won't make it. If you do, you will see more glorious outpourings of God than you can imagine.
Jesus didn't say, "Whosoever shall speak to God about this mountain." He said we should speak directly to the mountain the desired end result.
From a worldly point of view, that sounds foolish. But 1 Corinthians 1:27 explains that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. It's always going to sound foolish to the world when a Christian talks as if what God has promised is reality, especially when those promises seem to contradict the natural evidence around us. But if you want to keep the enemy defeated, that's the kind of talking you'd better be doing.
It's happened to all of us. We get a little of the Word of God under our spiritual belts. We have a few victories. Our lives are going great for the first time in years. Then suddenly we slip and it all falls apart. We find ourselves having to start all over again.
That's what happened to the people the book of Hebrews was written to. They made such great spiritual progress that they got to the place where they should have been teachers. Then they slipped back so much, they needed baby food again. (See Hebrews 5:12.)
That word abide is so important. When Jesus told us to obey His commandments and keep His Word, He wasn't just telling us to follow a bunch of religious rules and regulations.
He was telling us to allow His Word—which is a living thing!—to make its home within us. He was telling us to spend time with it, to meditate on it, to fill our minds and our mouths with it, and to let it guide our every action.
"Well, brother, in the end I'm sure you'll see these financial problems are actually a blessing in disguise." Have you ever heard anybody say that to someone who's hurting financially? Chances are, you have. It's a popular idea. The problem is, it's a lie used by the devil to keep believers down.
As a result, many believers today are suffering one financial defeat after another. So let's go to the Word of God today and get the issue of prosperity and poverty straight. Let's find out, once and for all, which is the blessing, which the curse.
Apart from the Word of God itself and prayer, nothing can do more for you than watching and imitating a real man of faith. I found that out in a big way many years ago when I was a student at Oral Roberts University. As co-pilot on the airplane that transported him and his staff to his healing meetings, I had the opportunity to study Oral Roberts up close. I followed him around. I heard him preach. I watched him lay hands on the sick.
The Bible teaches that as believers, you and I are to occupy until Jesus comes. Occupy is a military term meaning to hold possession, or control, of conquered troops and territory. If we're to do that effectively, most of us are going to have to change our attitudes. We're going to have to recognize that Jesus has already won the victory.
That's right. Satan is already defeated. He was whipped at Calvary. We're not on the defensive—he is!
There are times when you know what God has called you to do, but you just don't feel you have the inner resources you need to do it. Somehow you've simply run dry. You know the Word says that "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). But, during those times, you can't even find the creek bank, much less the river.
The Word of God tells us how to handle those situations through a clear command: "Stir up the gift inside you."
Have you ever wanted to take on some really big project in the kingdom of God, but the Lord just wouldn't seem to let you? If so, there's probably a good reason why.
You can see what I'm talking about if you'll read about what God did with the children of Israel after He brought them out of Egypt. He wanted to take them on into the Promised Land. But before He could do it, God had to know if they would obey Him. He had to know if they would listen to His voice. Because if they didn't, the enemies they were about to face would wipe them out.
There's an old Full Gospel tradition that says God gets glory from the wonderful way His children bear pain and agony and that the world is impressed by that. What a lie! That's simply a tool of the devil to keep God's children in bondage.
People of the world already have all the pain and agony they want. They aren't looking for a way into it. They are looking for a way out. They don't care what you preach. It's the religious people who get worried about that. The world, the sinners, are smarter than that. All they care about are the results.
Creating new things, changing old things. Because you and I are made in the image of God that's something we're always trying to do. But if we're to be successful at it, we need to learn a lesson about it from the Creator Himself, our very own heavenly Father.
You know, He didn't just come upon creation by accident and say, "Well, what do you know! There's light!" No, before He began to make His universe, He first had a desired result (an inner idea, or image, of what He wanted to create) and then said, "Light be!" and light was.
When you're up against the wall, don't start begging God to break through it for you. That's not the way He works. He'll give you the plan. He'll give you the power. And He'll guarantee the victory. But your hand, not His own, is the instrument He's going to use to get the job done. You're going to have to stretch forth your hand by speaking and acting on the Word, even when circumstances are against you.