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TWENTY QUESTIONS 
1. What Is The Kingdom Of God? A kingdom is a place where a king rules. The Kingdom of God is wherever God reigns over the lives of His subjects. The Kingdom of God is not visible because God is not visible. It is a spiritual kingdom, not a visible one. Jesus Christ said, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).Jesus gave us, in the Lord's Prayer, a petition to God: "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). This prayer shows the priority Jesus gave to the Kingdom of God. Can we not say that the Kingdom of God will come on earth when the will of God is as respected here as it is in heaven, when the visible world totally reflects the invisible world? I think we can. In the Kingdom of God, everything is subject to God's power, instantly, with no question. In the visible world, there is resistance to God's will. The Kingdom of God is eternal. It is the place where all Christians ultimately will dwell. At the present time, it is an invisible kingdom here in our midst. Wherever there are those who honor the king, and wherever the Spirit of the king is, there is the Kingdom of God.
2. How Does One Enter The Kingdom? A ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. He was looking for teaching that would enable him to discover God. Nicodemus was a righteous Jew, a godly man, and yet he sensed a need in his life. He wanted to enter the Kingdom of God.Jesus answered him, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). There ensued a discussion with Nicodemus about what "born again" meant. Nicodemus wanted to know how an elderly man could go back into his mother's womb and be born again. Jesus was not talking about a rebirth of flesh. He said, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). When a human being is born the first time, it is a natural birth, springing from a sexual relationship between a man and woman. The second birth occurs when the individual voluntarily submits his or her life to God. It comes about when someone receives Jesus' sacrificial death to cleanse from sin, makes Jesus the Lord of his spirit, and receives the indwelling Holy Spirit. This experience is so profound that it is equivalent to a second birth. With the new birth, the spirit of man is re-created and joined with God's Spirit, thereby enabling the individual to have the spiritual vision necessary to see and enter the Kingdom of God. When Adam and Eve were created, they had within themselves the spiritual equivalent of a reflecting mirror that reflected the image of God. Therefore, they could see the kingdom and could know spiritual things naturally. With the onset of sin, that mirror, the image of God within man, became darkened. When a person is born again, that mirror is polished and brightened, and the individual can once again see God and His kingdom. That person can enter the Kingdom of God and be a part of it. But God's kingdom is only for spiritual beings: It is not for those who are carnal or fleshly or natural. The apostle Paul said, "The natural man (or the soulish man) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Corinthians 2:14). So, access to this kingdom is gained only through the new birth by the Spirit of God.
3. What Is The Greatest Virtue In The Kingdom? If pride is the greatest sin--and it is--then humility must be the greatest virtue (II Chronicles 7:14, James 4:10). It is humility that allows me to acknowledge that God has a claim on my life, that I am a fallible, mortal creature, and that God is the Master of the universe. It is humility that says, "I am a sinner, and I need to be saved." Humility is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverbs 22:4). The truths of the kingdom are only perceived by those who are humble. No one who is proud will ever gain anything from God, because "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).Those who are humble receive the grace of God and are given the secrets of the kingdom, because they come as beggars. Jesus Christ said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). The real meaning, in Greek, is, "Blessed are spiritual beggars, for theirs is the kingdom of God." A spiritual beggar is not proud or rich. He has his hands out, saying, "I am poor. I am needy. I need help." This is the one who receives from the Lord.
4. What Is The Greatest Sin In The Kingdom? The greatest sin is pride--for a number of reasons (Psalm 59:12, Proverbs 8:13, 16:18, 29:23).First, pride was the fundamental sin of Satan when he first sinned. Pride says, "I can do it better than God," and Satan thought he could do a better job of running the universe than God could! Second, pride inevitably leads to the sin of rebellion. By proudly carrying on our plan for our lives and those around us, we necessarily come into conflict with God's plan. That is why the Bible says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). There is no way of being neutral in the kingdom. You are either for Jesus or against Him. If you are proud, you are automatically against Him, because your life will not be yielded to Him and to what He wants to accomplish. You will be fighting Him every step of the way. Finally, pride leads to a sense of self-sufficiency where we are unwilling to learn or receive from God or man. Jesus said, "Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (see Matthew 18:3-4). Children are trusting and they are teachable. Children ask questions all the time. "Daddy, why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? Why do dogs bark?" They always want to learn. But once a person becomes proud, he says, "I am supposed to know this. Do not tell me." A person who thinks he knows everything cannot possibly learn anything. But the good things of the Kingdom of God are given only to those who ask; if you do not ask, you do not receive. God's name reveals this truth. He is "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). I am what? The answer--I am the supply of your need. I am healing, wisdom, sanctification, provision, victory, and salvation. His great power extends to His people like a blank check. We are to fill in the blank according to our need. It is only when you realize that you are needy that you can truly experience God. God reveals part of Himself to us each time that He meets our urgent needs. If we feel that we have no needs, if we are totally self-sufficient, then we have closed God out of our lives. That is why pride cuts off all of the blessings of the kingdom. By pride we sin against God and against ourselves.
5. What Law Of The Kingdom Underlies The man who had the five talents went out and traded. He bought and sold. He took chances. He invested into ten talents. The man with the two talents did exactly the same thing. He took risks, traded, invested, bought, sold, and he doubled his lord's money. However, the man who received one talent was suspicious. He knew that his master was a hard man, and he was not sure whether he would be rewarded if he worked hard or not. He was not only distrustful but also selfish and lazy. For safety and ease, he took the one talent and buried it in the ground. When the master came back, he called his servants to him and asked for an account of the way they had used their talents. The first two were praised and rewarded for their diligence. Then the one came who had the single talent. He said, in essence, "I have not lost anything. Here is your money back." His master was furious. "Wicked and slothful servant! You knew I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered. Therefore, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest." So he took the money away from him and gave it to the man who had ten talents. When Jesus told this story, there was a great gasp in the crowd, because the ending seemed so unfair--taking away the one and giving to the man with ten. Jesus firmly announced this law of the kingdom: "To everyone who has, more will be given ... But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away" (Matthew 25:29). In other words, if you use what is given to you, you will gain more. If you fail to use what is given to you, you will lose even what you think you have. The physical realm illustrates this truth. If you exercise a muscle regularly, that muscle will grow. You will get more muscles, more stamina, and more ability. This works in running, swimming, weight lifting, football, in any physical activity. Each level of activity opens up new vistas of opportunity for you. Likewise, if you tie your arm to your side for five or six months, it will get so that you cannot even use it. The muscle will not function, and you will hardly be able to lift a cup of coffee with it. The law of use applies in intellectual pursuits as well. One level of knowledge opens up another. As knowledge is used, more becomes available. The biology student becomes the medical student. The medical student becomes the intern. The intern becomes the resident. The resident becomes the specialist. The specialist may become world famous as he uses his growing skills. In finance, money invested at interest multiplies at an awesome rate. A business which grows at 30 percent annually will double in less than three years. Just think, a $1 million company will grow to a $128 million company in less than twenty-one years at 30 percent increase per year. Yet during inflationary times, money that is idle will lose much of its value in a short time because it is not used. The law of use underlies all personal growth and development. Whatever is given you, however small it is, use it. Use it diligently and use it on an ever-increasing scale. Set a goal to increase whatever you do by a certain percentage, whether it is 10, 20, 30, or 40 percent. Before long, the amount of your achievement or the opportunity available to you will become absolutely awesome. This is the secret of the kingdom which guarantees success to any Christian who applies it.
6. What Is The Year Of Jubilee? The law of use, in terms of money, is an awesome principle. Money, compounded, grows at an astonishing rate. Baron Rothschild called compound interest the "eighth wonder of the world." If a person takes $100 and doubles it every year for twenty years, he will have $50 million. If he continues doubling it for thirty more years, he will have $12.8 quadrillion, which is more money than there is in the entire world! Such is the power of compound interest.But God is not unaware of the law of compound interest. After all, this is His basic law of personal growth in the kingdom. Therefore He wisely made a provision in Israel to counterbalance the effects of compounding, the year of Jubilee (see Leviticus 25:8-55, 27:17-25, Numbers 36:4). Every fifty years during the year of Jubilee the people had to do three basic things. First, they had to cancel debts. Every debt outstanding, by every debtor, was canceled. Second, they had to release slaves, because slavery is a form of indebtedness. Every person had to be given his freedom, unless he voluntarily and freely acknowledged that he wanted to remain a slave. Third, all agricultural land, what we would term today the means of production, was to be returned to the families who had originally owned it. There was, every fifty years, a redistribution of wealth through the cancellation of debt and a reassignment of land. Then another fifty-year cycle began. For the next fifty years, the people were permitted to accumulate as much as they wanted to without any arbitrary limits. At the end of that time, there was another year of Jubilee. Debts were canceled, slaves were freed, and the basic means of production redistributed. In our capitalistic Western society we have a redistribution mechanism called a depression. Every fifty to fifty-six years, the accumulation of debt becomes insupportable, and the normal free market mechanisms fail to function. Over-capacity develops, prices fall, and we have a crash. During that time, banks fail and debtors go into bankruptcy. As debtors are released one way or the other, credit is contracted, the accumulation of debt is diminished, and many of the means of production are put into new hands. There is a new, fresh vitality that comes about in society. Society, in a sense, starts over again. Our way of doing it is very painful. The biblical year of Jubilee is something that our society ought to learn. Otherwise, we will be faced very shortly with a major crash and a depression.
7. What Law Of The Kingdom Is At The Heart You would not want a neighbor to steal your tools, so do not take his. You would not like to be struck by a reckless driver, so do not drive recklessly. You would want a helping hand in time of need, so help others in need. We should not want the person upstream from us polluting the river, so we should not do it to the person downstream from us. We would not want to breathe chemically polluted air, so we should not pollute someone else's air. We would not want someone to squander our money, so we should not squander money that is entrusted to us. We would not want outrageous taxes taking money away from us; therefore, if we are in government, we should not confiscate the money of others. We would not want automobiles that would fall apart when they are driven, so, if we are carmakers, we should not make that kind of car. We would not want to be oppressed in the workplace, so we should not oppress our employees. Think of the effects this kingdom law would have on the world if it were applied. We would not need any armies; we would not need any jails or prisons; our traffic problems would be relieved tremendously, because there would not be any speeding or drunken driving. If practiced, the law of reciprocity would minimize the burden of government, while freeing the productive energies of all the people. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," if put into practice, would revolutionize our society. This is the kingdom foundation for all social relationships.
8. Is It Unreasonable To Think That All Men The only thing that keeps it from happening on a worldwide basis is the selfishness of most people. Thus, I do not expect that the law can be universally adhered to in an unconverted world (see I Corinthians 2:10-16). But we as Christians can help to change this world for the better. Demonstrating the excellence of the law of reciprocity is one way to help bring about the change!
9. What Is The Secret Of Financial Prosperity? The laws of reciprocity and use, put together, can greatly enhance your financial prosperity. The Bible says, "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38). If you give good service, you will get back good service. If you give an honest, intelligent day's work, you should receive a promotion and better pay. If you give kindness and mercy to people, you will get kindness and mercy back.If you give to God, He gives back thirty-, sixty-, and one hundredfold (see Matthew 13:23). Regarding tithes, He said in the Old Testament, "Prove Me now in this" and see "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). So, we are looking at a measure of prosperity that exceeds what we could imagine! God is saying, "If you want My blessing, give to My work and to other people." If you want to succeed as a worker, a businessman, or in any field, give generously of yourself, your time, and your energy. If you are generous, open-handed, and open-hearted, you will get back more. That is the law of reciprocity. The law of use, coupled with reciprocity, makes an unbeatable combination. Whatever talent God has entrusted to you, use with all your might. To illustrate, some years ago I talked one Sunday night to a volunteer receptionist who was completely upset. She was partially disabled, but under revised guidelines she no longer qualified to receive welfare assistance. Her world had collapsed around her. I knew that despite her physical disability, she was uniquely gifted in making exquisite Christmas ornaments with religious scenes. I challenged her to use her talents. In fact, I offered modest financial backing to get her started in her own business. The backing was never called for, because her creations were an instant success. Not only did her new income considerably exceed her previous welfare payment, she was able to employ four people to assist her. Perhaps you have a small amount of money. Why not use it to make more money? If you can begin an investment program where you can set aside $100 or $200, and then $400, pretty soon, you will have $800. After a while, the money will begin to work for you. The law of use and the law of compounding interest will begin to build up an enormous amount of money. If a person could simply double $100 every year for twenty years, it would become $50 million! As you give, God will begin to pour His blessing upon you. As you use your talents, under His direction, and allow your resources time to grow, His blessing will multiply beyond anything you can now imagine.
10. What Law Of The Kingdom Is Necessary God makes us reach high for the better things. Only a few will strive hard enough to win them. Those who keep going in spite of problems, pain, and difficulty will eventually overcome them. It is necessary to keep at something long enough to let the laws of use and reciprocity work for you. If you give someone $1 and expect to get back $100 by tomorrow, that is just magic. If you invest $100 at interest, and when you get $110 back you spend it, you will never see the marvel of compounding. If you begin a course of running, weight lifting, or dieting, then quit after two weeks, you will accomplish nothing. The apostle Paul proudly declared, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (II Timothy 4:7). He wrote to the Galatians, "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9). In whatever task God places you, do not quit, but stay the course.
11. What Kingdom Law Accompanies Prosperity? Jesus Christ said, "Everyone to whom much is given, from him will much be required" (Luke 12:48). There is a saying, noblesse oblige (nobility obligates). If a person is diligent in the kingdom and applies the laws of use and reciprocity, he will have the type of success that brings honor, recognition of some nature, power, authority, or increased scope of responsibility. To such an individual, the Lord says that when you are given much, much is going to be required of you.With every increase of your station in life, more demands will be made of you and higher performance will be expected. Someone who is a student, just learning medicine, can be excused certain errors in his judgment and in his knowledge of biology. If he becomes a neurosurgeon, he cannot be excused any errors when he is cutting into someone's brain. The person who handles $100 may or may not make a profit with it. He might make $5 or $10, which might be considered a good performance. If one day he happens to be the president of General Motors, however, he cannot offer an annual profit of just $100. His trust involves the stewardship of tens of billions of dollars. Performance is expected to be commensurate with his opportunity. The person who is in the high school debating society may make a speech that would be considered worthy of an A. Were that student to become president of the United States, his oratory would be judged by a different standard. Now his speech must motivate a Congress, move a nation, and lead the free world. In short, every level of privilege involves a higher level of responsibility. Revolutions develop when those who are given wealth, privilege, and power fail to live up to their responsibilities. At no time in his life can a person say, "I have arrived at wealth and power. Therefore I can ignore my obligations to God and my fellow man." Unto whom much is given, much will be required.
12. What Law Guarantees The Performance In Mark 11:22-24, there is the master key to miracles: "Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." First, have faith in God. With God nothing is impossible. He is the One who created all from nothing. The circumstances--the mountains that stand in your way--seem large in your eyes, but they are nothing to God. Second, Jesus tells us to say to the mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea." He did not tell us to take a pick and shovel and move a mountain, but to say to the mountain "be removed." Speak to the disease. Speak to the financial load. Speak to whatever it is you want to have accomplished. Give that situation a direct order, springing from faith in God. Once a believer has received an order from God and knows His will, it helps to speak that order aloud. Do not ask the storm to stop. Tell it to stop!! Do not ask cancer to leave a sick body. Command it to leave. But a condition must be noted. Jesus continues: "And shall not doubt in his heart." Those who are double-minded will not receive anything. There cannot be doubt in the inner man in the heart. In fact, there has to be such a strong persuasion in the heart that the believer knows the thing spoken of will happen. It is as if it already has been received. You know without question the storm is going to be stopped. You know the finances are going to be provided. You know the little child is going to get well. I have experienced this. I actually begin to see the building I want to build. I begin to experience the opening of a nation to the gospel, or someone accepting Jesus Christ, or a financial matter being taken care of. Begin to possess it. Taste it, touch it, feel it in your spirit. When it is already yours in the Spirit, it is also yours in the visible world. However, Jesus goes on to say, "If you stand praying, and you have aught against any, forgive, that your heavenly Father might forgive you" (Mark 11:25). The great hindrance to miracles is a lack of forgiveness. Whether or not the attitude is justified by the circumstances, there must be freedom from bitterness and resentment or there will be no mountain-moving miracles. There can be no resentment, no bitterness, no jealousy, no envy--none of these things. To see miracles, there must be forgiveness and love.
13. How Is It Possible That A Kingdom This is a universal truth. The best of all plans can be destroyed if we lack unity. When there is division, plans cannot succeed. This is the reason Satan does everything he can to cause division among Christians. Because we are so divided, suspicious, and focused on each other's weak points, we are breaking the most important key for corporate success: Unity. Jesus said that the world would know that God had sent Him if His disciples were one (see John 17:20-23). Unity is exhibit A to the world showing the supernatural origins of the Christian church. "How these Christians love one another" was the amazed observation of the people of the Roman Empire. With unity, the church can win the world. Without unity, it is powerless. Even evil men can find success through unity. God looked down on the tower of Babel and said, "indeed the people are one and they all have one language ... Now nothing they propose to do will be with-held from them" (Genesis 11:6). This is God's own appraisal of mankind in unity. Unity brings incredible strength! Nothing is impossible for people working in unity. In Old Testament times, when God desired to destroy the enemies of Israel, He sent division among them and caused them to fight themselves. Israel often did not have to go into battle to fight because the enemy destroyed itself. Any time an organization begins to fight itself, it will go down. Any time it moves in unity, there is absolutely nothing it cannot do--for good or evil. If the Mafia, working together in harmony and unity, can accomplish incredible things until God or society stops it, think what God's people working in unity under His blessing can accomplish according to the laws of His kingdom!
14. Do The Laws Of The Kingdom Work, You must submit to a law before it does you any good, of course, and universal principles give us a system for organizing all society, not just the society of believers. If you follow these laws, you will benefit from them. If you rebel against them, even though you do not know them, you will be broken by them. This would not be an instance of good working for evil. The laws of physics are impersonal. Ballistics laws, for example, work to drill an oil well or to shoot a bullet. They are truth, and truth works because it is true. However, few laws of the kingdom will benefit the unrighteous over a long period. Remember the warning of Jesus: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:21-23)! Thus, Jesus was warning people against believing that success or even miracles in His name would guarantee a place in heaven. Only those who are born again by receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord will gain eternal life and a place in God's kingdom. Although people who do not know Jesus can profit from the application of kingdom laws such as use, reciprocity, and unity, they will never see and enter the fullness of God's kingdom until they are born again.
15. How Does One Become Great In "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves" (Luke 22:25-27). In the kingdom, the great are humble like children. The greatest is the bond slave of all. A child has three significant characteristics that Jesus must have been referring to: A child is humble, trusting, and teachable. Instead of emperors and generals, the great in the kingdom are children and slaves--those who in Jesus' day had virtually no social status at all. Is this standard something merely for heaven, or does it work today? Some people want to be "great." They want to drive the biggest cars, employ the most servants, own the biggest houses, and have the most money. These people are not great, just self-centered. The great in our society are people like Albert Einstein or Mother Teresa or those who, like Florence Nightingale, serve the sick, the needy, and the wounded. These are the great people, because they have given themselves to serve others. Jesus Christ leads the list. He is the greatest of all because He gave Himself for the sins of the world (see Philippians 2:1-11). There is a very practical outworking of the law of greatness in the everyday world. Those who do serve the most people can often become the most famous and prosperous. Thomas Edison brought electric lights, phonographs, and other great inventions to people. In the process, he became enormously famous and rather wealthy. Henry Ford served people in our country by providing cheap transportation. He devised a means of assembling low-cost automobiles so that the average man could afford one. By serving many people, he became rich himself. J.C. Penney believed in serving. He tried to serve as many as he could with his stores. His early mottoes all spoke of honesty, integrity, and service. Because of this, he built up a huge chain of stores, and he became a multimillionaire.
16. How Does Power Flow In The Kingdom Of God? The ultimate source of power is God Himself. He is the author of power. The sun, the moon, the stars, the galaxies, the light in our universe--all of this power flows from God. Since God is a Spirit, the ultimate source of life and energy is in the spiritual world.From God's Spirit power flows to the human spirit, from the human spirit to man's mind. With God's enablement through the mind of man, there can be control over the natural world. Winds, storms, disease, sickness, death, finances, even demons must obey. I believe that, in heaven, thought will become deed. We will have only to desire a thing to see it accomplished. We will travel at the speed of thought, which is faster than the speed of light. In heaven, we will be able to think of ourselves as being on a distant planet and instantaneously be there. Through thought, we can change ourselves and that which is around us. As the Bible says, "As he (man) thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). Customarily, the flow of power comes from our minds through our mouths. We transfer power by the words we speak. The Bible says, "From the produce of his lips he shall be filled" (Proverbs 18:20). Few realize the power of the words we speak. We can kill with words, we can make alive with words, we can bring blessing with words, or we can bring a curse with words (James 3:10). Our mouths are extremely important, because they can be the conduit for power from God--through the spirit, through the mind, and out to the world around us. If we realize the authority we have, it profoundly transforms the way we live. Not understanding the power in the tongue, we say negative things like, "I feel terrible," which is almost a command for our bodies to hurt. We say: "I think I'm going to die." "I am exhausted." "I can't go another step." "I'm broke now and I'm going to stay broke." "The devil has me on the run." We make negative confessions constantly, thus assuring our failure. By our mouths, we extend an invitation for Satan to dominate us. We submit to the forces around us, instead of exercising dominion and authority over them. In our spirits, we must always see God. In God there is no sickness, no failure, no defeat, no problem. Our mouths must declare our victory in God. If we do that, we will see victory. I do not mean that you should ignore material reality. Sickness and suffering are real, but God's reality is greater. For example, let's assume you had an accident in which your leg is broken. You can say, "I broke my leg. It hurts. But God's power is healing my leg right now. The pain is leaving. Jesus is doing a miracle, and I thank Him for it. I thank Him that regardless of what happened to my leg, a miracle is taking place. Therefore I command my leg to knit together and be healed. Praise God!" This type of confession will mobilize spiritual power toward healing and victory. But suppose instead you say after the accident, "Oh, I can't stand the pain! It's the most horrible pain I've ever had! It will take a long time. My leg may never be healed." That negative confession admits defeat and directs the flow of spiritual power to ensure a long and painful convalescence. The Bible neither denies the existence of evil and pain, nor teaches mere mind over matter. It does speak of a reality beyond the natural world that is so powerful that a mere mustard seed-sized portion of it would give virtually unlimited power over the visible material world.
17. What Are The Secrets Of Miracles? The first secret is to have faith in God--to understand that in God all things are possible. In God, there is no suffering, no sorrow, no defeat, and no want.The second secret is to recognize that God has total authority over everything in this world--over devils, angels, circumstances, and all of the physical world (see John 14:12). When you stand in His presence, you are standing in the presence of the One who can fix anything. All He has to do is speak the word. The third secret is to learn God's will in any given moment (see Romans 12:1-2, I John 5:14-15). "God, what are You doing in this situation? What do You want to do?"! As you commune with Him and spend time with Him, you will discover what His intention is (see Psalm 85:8, Hebrews 12:25). Then agree with it. The Bible says Abraham amened God, "And it was accounted to him for righteousness" (James 2:23). He assented to the word that was spoken by God. That is what we must do: Amen God and agree with whatever He wants to bring about. Abraham agreed with God when God told him he was going to have a son, even though he and his wife were well past childbearing age. Instead of doubting or growing weak in faith, the Bible says he "was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God" (Romans 4:20). The fourth secret is to disregard your own inability. Don't consider that the whole world is against you. Don't consider that the task being assigned to you seems impossible. Don't think only about your own inabilities, or your previous failures; rather grow strong in faith, giving glory to God. (see Psalm 84:11, Isaiah 65:24, Jeremiah 32:27, Matthew 19:26). The fifth secret is to be fully convinced. The Bible tells us that Abraham " (was) fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform" (Romans 4:21). Abraham was fully convinced. In his spirit, he not only assented to God but also became fully convinced that what God had said was going to happen. Being fully convinced is what Jesus talked about when he said that if you believe, you will receive the thing that you say (see Mark 11:24). There is something inside you that says, "It's mine. It is mine. It is mine. Now I have it. There is no question about it. God has said it, and I believe it. I am fully persuaded. I am not considering the circumstances. I receive that now!" Abraham began to live as if he were going to have a son. In time Isaac, "son of promise," was born. Such belief cannot come from mere human effort. It comes only from depending on God, for "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). It has to come from the Lord. The attempt to force yourself to believe will come to nothing. You must use the faith God has given you. God's help comes to you when you consider Him, when you realize His power, when you praise Him, when you read His Word, when the Word is quickened to your heart, and when you have heard His spoken word in your heart saying, "This is what I am going to do. Believe it!"
18. What Sin Particularly Blocks The Flow The first person you probably have not forgiven is yourself. I think more people have a lack of forgiveness toward themselves than toward anybody else. They are unwilling to forgive themselves and to recognize that God says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). If you are a believer, He has already cleansed your conscience from dead works so that you might serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). God cleanses us for service in order to not leave us with the guilt of past sin. That should be dead, buried, and forgotten. People must forgive all who need forgiveness. If the first person to forgive is yourself, you need to say, "God, before You, I forgive myself. Whatever I have done, I accept Your forgiveness, and I forgive me." That's a very simple but profound statement, because as long as we feel that we are under condemnation, we will never have faith to see miracles. "If our heart does not condemn us," the Bible says, "we have confidence toward God" (I John 3:21). Obviously, we cannot have continuing sin in our lives and expect forgiveness. We have to be free from ongoing conscious sin and rebellion against God. But if we are walking in the light, and walking in forgiveness, then the blood of Jesus Christ is continuously cleansing us from all sin (see I John 1:7). The second person we have to "forgive," if we have bitterness, is God Himself. There are people who blame God because a child died, because a husband ran away, because they have been sick, because they have not had enough money. Consciously or unconsciously they think all of these things are God's fault. There is deep-seated resentment; yet you cannot be resentful toward God and experience miracles. You have to rid yourself of any bitterness toward God. That may take some soul-searching. You must ask yourself, Am I blaming God for my situation? The third person you may have to forgive is a member of your family. I spoke to one woman in an Asian country, and I asked, "Do you have any resentment against anybody?" She said, "No." I said, "What about your husband?" She said, "Oh, well, I resent him, but I don't think he counts." You have to get rid of resentment, especially toward those closest to you. The husbands, the wives, the children, and the parents--all must be forgiven when slights and resentments have built up in family situations. Many people say, "Well, I didn't think that counted. I thought that was just a family matter." All lack of forgiveness has to be eliminated, especially toward every family member. Finally, there has to be forgiveness for anybody else who has ever done anything against you. It may be that your resentment is justified. The person may have done a very evil, terrible thing to you. You may have every legal and intellectual right to hold a grudge and to hate that person. But if you want to see miracles in your life, it is absolutely imperative that you forgive. Forgive them to the point where you actually feel yourself cleansed of resentment and bitterness and are actually praying for them. If you do not, the lack of forgiveness will make it impossible for God to forgive you. Every miracle depends 100 percent on your relationship to God the Father. That relationship is built strictly on the strength of His forgiveness of your sin. Forgiveness is the key. Other sins can be present, and if your heart condemns you for something else, then of course you do not have confidence before God. But it is lack of forgiveness that most often comes between people and God.
19. What Was God's Intention For Mankind? The book of Genesis clearly shows God's plan for mankind. God created the world through a series of acts. And it follows that along with the creation came order and government. God made day and night, and the sun and the moon to govern the day and the night. He made the water; then He made the fish to occupy or rule the water. He made the sky, and then the birds to occupy it. He made the land and the creatures to occupy it. Finally, He made man to govern all of it (see Genesis 1:1-26).God's declared purpose for man was to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over it (see Genesis 1:28). The key word is dominion. The Latin word dominus, from which it is derived, means "Lord." Man was created to have lordship over the earth and its creatures as a representative of God. In the Hebrew, the word translated "dominion" speaks of something that is stretched out before man in submission, the way a rug lies on a floor. Man was to take charge of whatever would voluntarily submit to him. He was to walk over the ground and take charge of the trees, the plants, the herbs, the animals, the birds, the fish, and the reptiles. The Lord God also told man to "subdue the earth." In Hebrew, the word translated "subdue" speaks of beating the dirt out of laundry. What does not voluntarily submit must be subdued. Satan is present on earth, and man's authority extends to taking dominion over Satan and subduing him and his forces. Man's sweeping grant of authority extends obviously to every manifestation of demonic power, especially disease, poverty, misery, and war. In the beginning, man had the authority, in God, to restrict evil and to exercise benevolent leadership over all the earth--over rivers and seas, the air, the birds, anything that crawled upon the earth, and anything that walked upon it. It all belonged to man. It was his gift from God. Instead of exercising his power, man surrendered his grant of dominion to Satan, who came to him in the form of a snake (see Genesis 3:1-7). Subsequent to that tragic incident in the Garden of Eden, man has been a slave to the things over which he once had authority. We find today that man is not only a slave to Satan, but he is even a slave to fruits, and flowers, and vegetables. Tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are all vegetable and plant matter that man was supposed to cultivate and take authority over. Instead, he is a slave to these things. He is held hostage by disease and sickness, often a slave to natural disasters, and in most areas of this world, a slave to satanic power. God is not happy with this situation. He desires that man's dominion be re-established. He is going to re-establish it when Jesus Christ comes back again. Meanwhile, His people have a mandate to understand His Word, to be filled with His Spirit, to enter His kingdom, and then to go forth in His Name to exercise dominion over the earth. The forces of evil will be subdued by the forces of good. Principalities and powers will learn God's order for the universe (see Matthew 24:14, 28:18-19). God wants to demonstrate, through the church and through those who belong to Jesus, that great cosmic lesson of love. At the same time, He intends to re-establish His reign and His dominion. Proper order will be restored to the creation, and chaos and anarchy will be ended.
20. Has Man Blocked The Advancement The Bible also tells us that God, in His foreknowledge, chose us to be His children (see I Peter 1:2). God knew everything that was going to happen and had even planned how He was going to bring about a solution. Nevertheless, the fall of man must have hurt God. It grieves God to see any perish. He is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9). And God loves humankind very, very much. John's gospel tells us, "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 is grieved by sin, and He is grieved by rebellion. He grieves for those who will suffer for all eternity. So it is true that man's disobedience grieves God. But man could never frustrate God's plan. God's plan is going to be accomplished, regardless of what man does. Blessed are those who willingly accept a part in God's eternal purpose. |
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