Matthew 18:20 promises that where two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus —He is there in our midst. When the Word is preached, His presence is preached, and His presence fills the atmosphere around us.

In Luke chapter 4 Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to declare freedom for the prisoners…” Mark 16 says that He sends us to do the same thing!

Declare with me today, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for He has anointed me; His Holy Spirit is upon me.” When we speak His Word, His power and His incorruptible presence is in that Word.

When we are born again He dwells in us, His presence is in us, and we have the mind of Christ. He is there wherever two of us gather together. His presence is here in our midst and upon us, dwelling in us and surrounding us.

Now what does this mean to Christians? It simply means that we are not seeking to find a manifestation of God; we are living in the manifestation of His grace and His presence.

I no longer have to beg God for a miracle, because I am a miracle; He’s come to dwell in me! I no longer have to beg God to show up and present Himself, for I know the miracle of His presence exists in His Word!

If you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t do what God tells you to do.

In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will create the Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (author’s paraphrase).

Poverty comes from hell, not from heaven. Sickness comes out of hell, not from heaven. Fear comes from hell, not from heaven. All liars, deceivers and angry things come from hell, not from heaven. Nothing that comes from the gates of hell will prevail against you! Hallelujah! The gates of hell will not prevail against you! I don’t care what has been coming at you, it will not prevail. It will not persist. It will not continue.

Why? Because you have a revelation from heaven, Christ has told you who you are. And when you know who you are, everything that you bind on earth will be bound and everything that you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Because you know who you are!

Moments of great exchange occur for the believer who is acting on the Word of God in the area of giving tithes and offerings. Predicting the exact moment of exchange is as difficult as   predicting the moment of rainfall on your property. But the rain always comes.

As the Israelites were leaving Egypt a moment of great exchange occurred. God released favor on His children and the Egyptians gave them all their silver and gold.

Peter was out fishing one day and Jesus showed up on the shore. Jesus directed him to throw the net on the right side of the boat. Peter obeyed and had such a harvest of fish that he had to call the other boats to help bring it in.

God is a God of more than enough if we will act consistently with His Word and expect the great exchange!

Heaven’s bank is secure from thieves. This bank pays higher dividends and greater interest. A guarantor superior to the U.S. Government backs up this bank! The only requirement for withdrawal is your faith. You must present your faith and the name of Jesus to make your withdrawal, and you must have deposited something into your account.

It doesn’t matter how old, how ugly or how poor you look. You don’t go to the teller with your own check, you go with a check signed in the name of Jesus. His signature always gains the bank’s attention. He paid in full for everything you need or desire in this life, and it is in your account.

We determine the size of our withdrawal by the size of our deposit. God gives seed to all people, but we decide whether to eat the seed, waste the seed in poor soil, or put the seed in a place where we can gain harvest from it. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

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!

When I enrolled in Bible school I only had three dollars in my pocket and no job. The idea came to me to apply at the tennis club called Shadow Mountain. When I applied the manager said there were no openings.

The next day the same idea came to me so I went again. The manager told me again that there were no jobs. On the third day the idea came to me again to apply for a job there. When I approached the manager, he asked me why I kept coming back. Then suddenly another manager in the complex got into an argument with an employee and fired him. She looked up and there I was ready to fill his shoes.

Jesus instructed His disciples on where and how they could get the desired result. When they obeyed the words of their Master, they were abundantly blessed. In much the same way, when we heed His ideas, we will enjoy God’s best and will be delivered from unproductive and fruitless efforts.

It seemed strange to keep going back, but it pays to be persistent. The Bible says that in these last days God will speak to us through dreams and visions. It would pay to listen to all those little “hunches” you get and see what develops!

Christians should be the leaders in the field of science, where discoveries are made. They should be the leaders in the business community, where favor is needed. They should be the leaders in the stock market, where having a hunch is often the key to success. They should be the top surgeons in the medical field, where skill and insight are required.

Why? Because Christians have the Anointed One living on the inside of them, giving them knowledge of clever inventions and showing them things to come. “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him”(1 John 2:27).

We are not left to our own intelligence or wisdom in this life. We have a living relationship with God, Who has chosen to live inside the believer!

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.