Living in the Fullness of the Blessing Read online

  HE CAN AND HE WILL

  And let me tell you this - I know that He can do it for you. I have seen it happen to many people. I have many testimonies that people have sent to me to prove it.

  I saw a vivid example of it a few months ago. I have been on the Board of Regents of Oral Roberts University since 1981. You probably remember seeing the news that the university was in a major financial crisis.

  It was in debt. Huge debt. It got to the place where we thought we were on the verge of closing the doors to one of the last real Christian universities in the world. Oral Roberts put his heart and soul into that university, and it looked as though it was finished.

  We were sitting in a Regents meeting faced with the decision: What do we do next? Then the Green family from Hobby Lobby came in and made a proposal. Over a period of time, and after making some adjustments that we all agreed upon, we accepted their proposal. One day we were millions of dollars in debt and faced with the question of what we were going to do, and the next thing we know the University is out of debt. I walked over to Oral Roberts, and I said, “Brother Roberts, it just goes to prove seed faith still works. That’s your harvest, sir. That’s your harvest from all these years.”

  Now, you can’t tell me that God can’t supernaturally deliver you from your debt. He can. I have seen it. I’ve seen it big time.

  If God can do that, then surely He can get you out of your debt. I don’t think there are very many people reading this book that are millions of dollars in debt, but if you are, you now have an example that God can do it. The barrier has been broken.

  You know if you stop and think about it, the first time God supernaturally got His people out of debt was when the Israelites left Egypt. He told them to go to the Egyptians and get all of the silver and gold that they could possibly carry out. And they did. They carried it out, as some people would say, “by the truck loads.” And then when the Egyptians tried to follow them through the Red Sea, God closed the sea up. It swallowed them up. That’s supernatural debt cancellation.

  I have had letters written to me from people testifying about how God supernaturally cancelled their debt. I have one letter where a lady and her husband were faced with a tremendous debt with the IRS. They owed something like $85,000 in taxes, and some way or another, they negotiated with the IRS and got them to accept $40,000. They began to sow significant seed toward that breakthrough. They later got a letter from the IRS saying that they forgave them of the debt. They sent me a copy of the letter from the IRS. When I read it, I said, “Our redemption draweth nigh.”

  I don’t know how God can do that. That’s not my job. And it’s not yours either. You don’t have to figure out how God can do it. All you have to do is believe that He will do it for you. He said there is a blessing explosion coming. I don’t think it is a hundred years down the road. I think we’re in it now.

  Just imagine how much better your life will be when you are debt free. Take a moment right now and just think about that.

  You have got to think bigger. You have got to stretch your thinking and stretch your faith. Come up higher. It’s time to go to the next level. It’s time to become the lender and not the borrower. How? By living in the fullness of the blessing.

  CHAPTER 4

  Value the Blessing

  Have you ever wondered why Adam and Eve commit- ted high treason against God? I mean why did they do that? Just think about it. They had everything they needed. They had everything they wanted. Why would they risk losing that?

  Once again, God’s first words to Adam were, “Be blessed.” He pronounced His blessing on Adam, and it was something that came on him that very moment. It was on him and he had the ability to do things that would cause his lifestyle to be one without limits. But Adam lost it. Why? Because he got to the place where he no longer valued it. He didn’t value the blessing of God.

  If he had valued the blessing, he would have never committed high treason. If he had valued it, if he had esteemed it and if it had great importance to him, instead of partaking of the fruit that God said they were not to partake of, he would have said, “No, I am not going to do that because to do that would mean to forfeit the blessing.” But he didn’t. He no longer valued the blessing that was on his life.

  I believe that many Christians today don’t value the blessing either. The word “blessing” is a just a byword to a lot of Christians. It’s just something they hear spoken about in church. They may see it in the Bible, but they don’t really value it. They don’t esteem it like they should.

  I would hate to think about what my life would be like if God’s blessing wasn’t on it. I don’t even want to think about that. God has brought me so far from where I came from. I know you have heard me say this many times before, but I am presently living life far better than I ever dreamed possible. Why? Because of the blessing.

  I know where I came from. I know that I would be nothing without the blessing on my life. And when you know that you would be nothing and that you would have nothing without the blessing of God on your life, then you prize it. You value it.

  One reason why many Christians today aren’t walking in a greater level of the blessing is because they don’t value it.

  When I asked God to show me the primary keys for positioning ourselves to move into the fullness of the blessing, He said, “The number one key that I want you to focus on

  is this: You have to value it. You have to value the blessing.”

  YOUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD OF YOU,

  NOT BEHIND YOU

  Most of the people in the Old Testament understood what the blessing meant. They understood that the blessing of God on your life guaranteed a bright future.

  An example of this is a man by the name of Esau.

  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

  – Genesis 25:31-32

  Esau was starving. And the birthright represented the blessing. His brother wanted that blessing. And he said, “I’ll sell you this food if you promise to give me the

  blessing” (author’s paraphrase). Esau didn’t value the blessing enough and he actually sold it to his brother for a plate of food.

  Now later, their father Isaac is about to die, and before he dies, he’s got to pronounce the blessing on the firstborn. Esau was the firstborn but he had sold his birthright to Jacob. And you might know the rest of the story. Isaac’s sight was not very good, and Jacob deceived his father into giving him Esau’s blessing.

  Here is what Esau said when he came back and discovered that the blessing had been pronounced on his brother.

  . . . Bless me, even me also, O my father.

  – Genesis 27:34

  What happened? Esau suddenly realized what he had lost. He suddenly realized the value of that blessing, and now he had lost it, and he was devastated. The birthright, the

  blessing, finally came to a place in his mind where he

  realized how valuable it was and now he was going to be

  without it.

  Understand that in Old Testament times, once the blessing was bestowed, it was irretrievable. They couldn’t go back and retract it. Esau now understands what is missing in his life and how it’s going to affect his future. The blessing on a person’s life, as described in the Old Testament, guaranteed a bright future. It does the same for you and me today.

  That’s the reason you should keep saying that your best days are not behind you. They are ahead of you. Why? Because you have the blessing of God on your life.

  So, let me ask you: How valuable is the blessing to you today? Is it something that you just hear preached about? Is it just something that you have seen written about in the Bible? Is “blessing” just a word to you? Or do you truly understand that the blessing is an empowerment that comes on your life and enables you to do what you cannot do in your natural might and achieve what you cannot achieve in your own natural ability? How valuable i
s it to you today?

  BEYOND HUMAN ABILITY

  God’s not going to shove anything on you that you don’t value or something that you will take lightly.

  Stop and think how differently your life might be right now if you didn’t know that the blessing of God is on your life. Living in and walking in the blessing of God starts with placing a high value on it. Esteeming it. When you have the blessing of God on your life, it inspires you. It motivates you and causes you to believe that what men say is impossible is not impossible at all.

  I can tell you from personal experience that if I didn’t know that I had the blessing of God on my life, I would not have even attempted some of the things we have done over the last 39 years. I know that there is something on me that enables me to tap into a strength and a power and a knowing that is beyond my own human ability. That’s the blessing of God.

  The blessing to you has to become like Peter talked about concerning the promises of God. Precious. Precious promises (2 Peter 1:45). When the blessing of God is precious to you, you are not so quick to take it lightly. You are not so quick to do things that might jeopardize it.

  My wife is precious to me. We have been married for 42 years. She is so precious to me that I am not interested in another woman. I don’t want to lose what I’ve got. I would have to break covenant with God and with her. We have known each other almost all our lives. She’s precious to me. My relationship with her is precious, and I am not going to do anything that would jeopardize it. And that is the way you have to feel about the blessing of God.

  Let me ask you once again: How important is the blessing of God to you today?

  When the blessing has great value in your life, then God says that He can trust you with more of its benefits.

  CHAPTER 5

  Agree That the Blessing Is On You

  When Carolyn and I first came into the Word of Faith, we had a lot of debts. I had shut down my automotive business to go into the ministry. Our car was worn out and we didn’t have any money. We were broke.

  We heard that Kenneth Copeland was preaching in Fort Worth, Texas, and we just knew that we had to be at that meeting. It was about 200 miles from where we lived at the time. We got in our car with our two babies, believing that God would get us there, and we headed to Fort Worth. The meeting was going to last for three days. Now you have to understand, like I said before, we were broke. We didn’t have money for a hotel. We didn’t have money to go to a restaurant after the meetings. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and crackers and cheese, and we carried them with us in our car. That was what we ate.

  Our plan was to go to the morning services and then go sit in our car and eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then go to the meeting that night and after the meeting, just sleep in our car. We were going to do that for the duration of the meeting. We didn’t have any money but I can tell you that we were happy.

  If somebody would have come up and said, “Bless your hearts. Poor things.” I would have turned around to see who they were talking to. Why? Because I knew the Word I was being taught was about to get me out of Egypt and take me to the Promised Land. Now, at that moment in our lives, it didn’t look like we were blessed, but the blessing was on us. You just couldn’t see the effects of it yet. It was there, but the by-products weren’t – yet!

  This brings me to the next key to living in the fullness of the blessing: Agree with God that the blessing is on you.

  IT IS ON YOU

  At this very moment, it may not look like the blessing of God is on your life based on your circumstances, based on your present conditions, and based on what you are going through right now. Maybe you are experiencing a lot of lack in your life. If that is the case, you have got to agree with God that the blessing is on you.

  It is on you! God has pronounced His blessing on your life. So agree with Him. Don’t let other people (or your circumstances) determine what you believe. Only believe what the Word says about you. The Word says you are blessed and highly favored. The Word says that you are the head and not the tail. The Word says you are above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28). The Word says that you are the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).

  No matter what your circumstances are, you have to keep proclaiming that the blessing of God is on your life, keep decreeing it and keep agreeing with God. God doesn’t lie. If He says you are blessed and highly favored, then you are. So all you need to do is agree with Him.

  DON’T QUIT

  Don’t quit just because it looks like nothing is working. That’s why Paul talked about pressing. You have got to press. You have got to outlast the devil. You have got to let him know once and for all that you are in this for the long haul. You are not trying something. You are going to do it. You are going to live in the fullness of the blessing. It is going to happen.

  Today, one of my favorite things to do when I find out somebody has come to one of my meetings and doesn’t have money for a hotel or for food, is get them a hotel room and feed them. Why? Because the blessing came on me. And when the blessing comes on you, you are no longer the tail. You’re the head. You are no longer beneath, you’re above.

  God is no respecter of persons. If he can do it for this Mississippi boy, then He can do it for you!

  Don’t say, “Someday, Brother Jerry.” No. Say it now. Agree with God now. The blessing of God is on you, even in your present circumstances.

  FAITH IS NOW

  Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is . . .

  I like to say it this way: Faith is now.

  So, put your faith in the now. If God says that His blessing is on you, then let His Word be final authority. The more you say it, the more you decree it, then the more you will believe it. And the more you believe it, eventually, your believing will turn to knowing. And when you know that you are blessed of God, when you know it’s on you and that it empowers you to do the impossible and achieve things you couldn’t do in the natural, then no devil will be able to talk you out of it. When you truly know that His blessing is on your life, then nothing will ever look impossible again.

  Let me tell you again, it doesn’t matter how much money you owe. It doesn’t matter how much money you need. It doesn’t matter if you are down to your last meal; agree

  with God right now that His blessing is on you. Say it out

  of your mouth. Decree it everyday, several times a day. Constantly decree that the blessing, the fullness of the blessing is on your life, and then continually praise God for it.

  Every morning when you get up, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I am highly favored. I am extremely blessed and everywhere I go today goodness and mercy are going to follow me. Blessings are going to come on me and overtake me. I am the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. Today is my receiving day!”

  It doesn’t matter what your circumstances look like right now. They are subject to change because there is something on you greater than your circumstances, and it is the blessing of Almighty God! So agree with God that the blessing is on you and that you live in the fullness of blessing and watch your circumstances come in line with God’s plan for your life.

  WORDS

  Why is it so important to confess with your mouth that you live in the fullness of the blessing? Why do you need to agree with God? Because what you say out of your mouth matters. God knows it and the devil knows it. That is why the devil has worked so hard to deceive us into believing that what we say doesn’t matter. Just think about the phrase we use to say as kids. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

  The truth is that words can hurt you. The Bible even says they can bring death.

  Death and life are in the power of the tongue . . .

  – Proverbs 18:21

  If you are going to agree with God that you are living in the fullness of the blessing, then you can’t agree with the devil (by speaking your circumstances) at the same time. That’s called mingled seed (Lev
iticus 19:19).

  I am not saying to pretend that negative things are not happening. I am not saying to just pretend that your light bill isn’t due or that your mortgage isn’t due. I am not saying to pretend that sickness and disease do not exist or that marital problems don’t exist. Pretending is not faith. Faith doesn’t pretend. Faith attacks. And faith is now.

  Your situations do not change the Word of God. What will change your situation is when you get your words in line with THE Word, and THE Word says that you are blessed and highly favored.

  . . . let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth . . .

  – Ephesians 4:29

  Most people think that verse is talking about “cussing.” And it definitely includes cussing or profanity. But as far as God is concerned, there is more to corrupt communication than just cussing.

  God can’t come in agreement with you if all you talk about is poverty, lack, sickness, disease, failure, and defeat. That is not what He talks about. Now, if you ask Him what He has to say about that, He will say, “I have redeemed you, and I said, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Talk about your redemption. Let’s talk about that.”