The wonderful Word of God causes you to triumph all the time. If your faith is in God, you will experience triumph. Without faith, it is impossible to please him. Faith is a marvelous gift.
Gifts are given. The giving of a gift is required. If you want the benefit, there is a procedure to follow. When I received Christ into my heart, I said, “Come in, Lord Jesus, I want to be a Christian. I want to be born of the spirit of God.” I didn’t understand what that meant at the time.
Often, we think we have to have this great understanding before we make a decision. When there is passion in your heart and a desire to know a living God, then do what’s simple. Simply say, “I choose to believe.”
A decision is not a conversion, but until you make a decision, things don’t change. You have to have what I call a massive action plan. Call that a map. Wherever your focus goes, your energy, the anointing begins to flow.
There was a story about a man who gave his jacket in the offering where I was speaking. The Lord said everything in the offering, thousands of dollars, belonged to him. That wonderful man went to Gabon, Africa and started an incredible work with the funds that were given to him. He is still doing an incredible job to this day. He is being used of God to do wonderful things.
It’s marvelous when we begin to be faithful. When I was at a conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, I shared that story about the man who gave his jacket in the offering. There was a young man that was there listening to it.
He said to me, “You know when I heard that story, I had just spent a $100 on a vest that was very meaningful to me. I don’t spend that kind of money.
That’s a lot of money for me. I just don’t do it. But this time, I saw it, and really liked it.”
He wore that vest to the conference. After he heard the story about the man putting his jacket in the offering, he looked around. He saw somebody
standing by that had the slacks that went with his vest.
He said, “Why don’t I just give it to him?” When God puts it in your heart to do something, do it quickly. He was faithful and gave his vest away.
That $100 investment he made and gave away didn’t end there. Another person in the meeting was so touched by the story as well. The Lord put this man on her heart. She went and found out about his size and the things that he likes. She spent over $3,000 buying a new wardrobe for him.
That $100 investment he sowed in the next 24 hours reaped shoes, belts,
and socks. First class all the way around. It touched his heart.
Now that you’ve heard this story, begin to say, “I’m going to become more generous with my giving. I’m going to trust that I invest in wonderful things.”
There was a person that I had prayed for a very long time. The Lord spoke to me and said, “I want you to make an investment.” It was a big investment for me of $7,500. This person was at a point where the look of success was not there. I knew in my heart that great success was there. It was there, and somebody needed to believe in them. Somebody needed to do more than just pray about it.
There is a time when action has to take place to get things moving the way they need to move. I took my $7,500, and I gave it. I enjoyed giving it. I released it.
That’s one thing that you’ve got to learn to do. I keep saying this scripture, “Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph.” That individual, and his wife, started a business on that $7,500. I got a report about five years later that the businesses they raised up are all over the place and worth millions of dollars now.
It took just one little seed. How many apples are in a seed? How many seeds are in an apple? Begin to say, “Lord, I am going to become generous in my words, my thoughts, and my actions.”
You’ve got to have those positive thoughts in your life because you draw to yourself what you honor and what you invest in. You speak life to it.
I am so thankful that I have learned when we talk about wisdom and the ability to use knowledge skillfully, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It’s not like, “God’s going to hit me if I don’t do this.” It’s wisdom and we say, “I delight to do thy will.” Doing it is not a grievous thing.
The things of God become yours and become mine by the reason of use.
When we were children and learned how to ride a bicycle. It wasn’t immediate success. You had to keep going until you learned how to do it.
Don’t think that you’ve got to come to God knowing everything, and then I’ll serve him. No. Come as you are. Come with little faith. Your faith will be increased because God says, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God.”
The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of words that’s voice-activated, so when we begin to launch the infallible, inerrant, and awesome Word of God great
and mighty things begin to take place.
When that man came and laid down his jacket, he didn’t know what was
going on. He took the most precious thing that he had, his jacket, and laid it in an offering. You may wonder, “How’s that going to help pay the bills?” That released incredible joy.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. That action releases God to do wonderful and marvelous things.
I’ve had so many experiences in my life of how God releases power. I want to be able to release power, to release joy, to release healing to you today.
Years ago, the great man of God, Kim Clement, spoke a word over me. He said, “God has given you the gift of faith. It’s better than gold. Gold speaks of deity. God has given you that faith to believe. When God gives you something, you can give it to others if they choose to believe, if they choose to receive.”
Make that choice to believe and receive what God speaks over you.