Second Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be to God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ.” Hallelujah! He always causes us to triumph! Always! Always!

Not, “I win sometimes, I lose sometimes,” not, “well, I’ll see…maybe it will work, maybe it won’t work…” No!  Thanks be to God, who always causes me to triumph! Always! Always!

I don’t care what the government says, I don’t care what the people say, I don’t care what religion says, I don’t care what my finances say, I don’t care what the economy says!

Thanks be to God, who always causes me to triumph. ALWAYS!!

We were preaching in Mariupel, Ukraine, at the top of the Black Sea. There we stayed with a Pastor who had a church of four hundred people. I noticed that the Pastor had no phone and no car. In conversation I asked him, “How can you minister to your flock if you can’t talk to them or visit them?” He told me communication was very difficult and He spent much time on the trolley busses.

That night I challenged the church to pay to connect a phone in his home. All agreed, but with half of his church unemployed and the others only making fifty dollars a month it looked like the biggest miracle in the world to his congregation. Some waited for a phone for thirty years because they couldn’t afford to pay the required thousand dollars.

I encouraged the congregation to trust God to use them as a source to purchase the phone. I asked how many would allow God to use them as a channel of supernatural blessing, and most agreed.

The next night as we were about to begin preaching, a salty old sailor came up to us with big tears in his eyes and shouting, “I’m the one! I’m the one!” I watched him approach thinking, you’re the one? What does that mean? 

 He continued, “I’m the one to give the phone! I stood up last night and committed, and when I got home I received two phone calls from foreign shipping companies. They have asked me to work at European salaries for the next two years. I’ve been unemployed for two years!”

Only when more people will stand up in their faith and pledge to a Godly cause will we see more miracles of supernatural supply in the body of Christ!

By faith you can receive your miracle from God. Confess God’s Word over your life, “By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). In faith come to God in prayer and say, “Lord, in Your Word You said that by the stripes of Jesus I am healed. I believe and I receive my healing from You!”

You know, sometimes I don’t feel well either. For example, if I have a cold and my throat is sore and I can hardly lift my head off the pillow, my flesh wants to be sick and stay in bed too. But instead, I start proclaiming the Word of God, “In Jesus’ name, I am healed by the stripes of Jesus! I strongly believe in it and I thank you, Lord, that You are touching me with Your healing power! And now, body, listen to me…” And I start speaking to my body, head, throat and to all the symptoms. I proclaim that I simply cannot be sick because I am already healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ.

This is my faith. This is what Jesus calls “faith,” and it’s very important!

Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you”(John 15:7 author’s emphasis).

He reveals that the power of His Word in your mouth is as powerful as rain upon the earth. When I lived in a desert for three months it became easy to appreciate a little rain. Hidden seeds that lay dormant for years under the sands would spring forth immediately when drops of life from above would fall.

We experience this in our crusade meetings all the time. A little word will bring to life a dormant dream hidden for years in the hearts of people. A word spoken releases a healing from above for those trapped by cancer, lameness, deafness and all types of disease.

“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: 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 author’s emphasis).

God’s Word in your mouth on any subject carries the same weight as if Jesus Himself were speaking. Spoken in faith, it is never empty or ineffective. It brings the rain of blessing from heaven on a cloudless day.

Keep saying what God says and the earth will yield its abundance to you!

I believe there are moments that transform a life.  Your future doesn’t always hinge on the long hours you put into building your present. A new person, new opportunity, or new thought can set you on a dramatic new course.

One of those moments occurred in my life over 30 years ago when a small, $1.25 book called “The Believers Authority” was put into my hand.  I had already made my decision to follow Jesus, but a few words from that book shot into my heart: it was not a special anointing, or special education, or special will of God that would change my future. But rather, it is the authority God has given to me already that must be exercised over the devil, the flesh, and circumstances that will be the major determining factor. He had already defeated my enemy, and it was up to me to do something about it!

This took me from stagnation to action. This empowered me for today instead of waiting for tomorrow. This energized my value of decision for destiny, over resignation to circumstance. Understanding what God has done for you and in you, and that His expectation is for you to use it, is a defining moment. He will not do what He gave you the right to do.

Discover this, and you are on your way to an exciting life!

Jesus had 3 ½ years to show us how to live and minister. Why did He only need a little over 1,277 days to establish the pattern for mankind? Some church leaders preach for 20 years to try and get their people ready for service, but Jesus wrapped it up in a few years.

He was confident in His finished work, called redemption.

He was confident of His Spirit in us continuing the training.

He was confident in the new nature we received from Him through the new birth.

He was confident of God’s favor on us and our new right-standing that connected us to Him and God forever.

What does the world want? The world wants deliverance from the emptiness of life. The world wants dignity based on self-worth and inherent value. The world wants a destiny—a greater purpose for living. The Creator is offering all three to every person.

God has called us to live, not just exist. We live when we discover our purpose, our potential, our power, and our position. We are seated in Christ at God’s right hand without shame, guilt, or inferiority, but with power and authority! We are co-heirs with Jesus to the throne of the Almighty!

In the face of storms, Jesus spoke peace and all became calm. In the face of taxes, He said to go fishing and gold was found. In the face of lack, He spoke blessing over bread and multiplication occurred. In the face of devils, He spoke a word and they were cast out. In the face of corrupt governments, He remained steady while they trembled in His presence.

We are called to walk in His likeness!

Jesus is calling us to follow Him into this same kind of life that He had on earth. He came as our miracle model. He gave us the power to live the miracle life when He gave us the Holy Spirit. Let us discover what we have so we can be who we really are!

When we know what we have from God, we know who we are. When we know who we are, we know what we can do!

We all are familiar with sitting down in a restaurant and placing an order. We look at the menu and enjoy making our choices. I have seen some people get very anxious about it, and I have seen others wait and wait and wait because they can’t make a choice.

Years ago in Russia, where the food was rather bland, I recall looking forward to working on the border of China and going to a Chinese restaurant in the city of Khabarovsk. I was excited to eat spicy food, and with over 200 items on the menu, I was ready!

I asked for a certain type of rice but was told they didn’t have it, so I asked for another.  They replied, “Don’t have it,” so I asked for another.  They again replied, “Don’t have.” I gave up and asked what they did have.

“No rice, only potatoes.” Then I ordered Peking chicken. “Sorry, don’t have.”  So I switched to Szechwan chicken. “Sorry, don’t have.” Hunan chicken? “Sorry, don’t have.” I finally gave up and asked, “What do you have??”

“Only Russian chicken legs.”

What would you do? I tell you this because some people believe it doesn’t matter what they really want in life. Many people think there is only one thing, opportunity, or flavor on the menu of life, just like I experienced. It might feel like you have no choice—but you always do!

Joshua 24:15
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

You may not immediately get what you ask, but you can respond in a way that keeps your faith alive and an answer coming. Anger, disgust, frustration, or even hate is NOT the response that will bring a miracle. Forgiveness, mercy, joy, patience, and love toward others will turn the decisions of others into a triumph for Christ.

When Paul and Silas were thrown in prison, they could have responded with great anger because it was Jesus who told them to go to that city. They could have responded with tears, depression, resignation, etc., and everybody would have agreed to their sob story…but they chose to sing!

When the presence of Jesus is fresh in you, then you will have a good response to whatever is on the menu of life, or not on it. Your response is what makes you different, because you know you have a different source. The jail shook and doors flew open, and Paul was led out of the city as a dignitary, because he saw beyond the situation!

What do you see when you look into the mirror? Do you see your weaknesses, your inadequacies, your imperfections? Or do you see what God sees? He sees you as the righteousness of Christ Himself. He sees you as more than a conqueror in Christ!

We have an opportunity to look into the mirror of God’s Word—the perfect Law of liberty—and allow it to transform us from the inside out! We must not form opinions of ourselves based upon other people’s opinions or our own failures. They do not define us!

See yourself as God sees you. His idea of you is as wonderful and glorious as the Apostle Paul wrote: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV).