i'm pastor steven brooks welcome today
to
our online around the world church
service
i am so happy that you are here and i
believe today that as you join with me
in the study of god's word solutions
and creative ideas are going to come to
you to
overcome every situation that you face
in life praise god it is god's desire
for you to be in a place of victory
a place of success a place of wholeness
well-being in every part of your life
now our lives have different aspects
different
chambers different facets praise the
lord
the lord wants you moving forward in
every area
and his word is going to help you do
that today
praise the lord now we're going to
receive the holy tides and offerings in
just a moment
i want to first give you a scripture and
we're going to bring them into the
storehouse of god we're going to honor
the lord
with our finances but my friends were
coming very swiftly
upon a new year it'll be here in just a
few weeks
it'll be here in just a few days and i
want you to
prepare with some strategic planning
something special that i want you to
plan strategically
concerning the new year i'm going to ask
you to do something
very spiritual wow praise the lord
pastor stephen
what is that are you going to
give me a strategy of how much i should
pray in the next year
pastor stephen are you going to
maybe encourage me the fast for 300 days
next year no not really but i am going
to ask you to do something spiritual
i want you to sit down
in your alone time with the lord and i
want you to think
about how much money you want to make
next year i told you i want you to do
something spiritual
i want you to think about how much money
you want to make
next year praise god money is a
wonderful thing
your bible and my bible too they were
all printed
because money was exchanged for
this job so because of money we have
bibles
because of money we have hospitals
because of money
we have clothes because of money
we have the ability to have a camera and
lights in an internet studio
because of money we can build hospitals
send missionaries
we can support the work of god's kingdom
and
i want you to sit down and think about
how much
money you want to make in this
new year that you're about to enter into
now
some of you have heard me say this
statement that i'm about to make you've
heard me say it before
it is biblically based and i'm about to
say it again
but for those of you that have never
heard it i would encourage you maybe to
find a chair
and sit down because when i first heard
it when it
when it hit me with the revelation by
the holy spirit
i almost fell out of the chair that i
was sitting in are you ready for this
here it is god
does not decide how much money
you make you decide
whoo let that go deep into your spirit
because you're about to go into a new
year
i want you to think about how much money
you want to make in this new year that
you're going to step into
god does not decide how much money
you make that decision is solely
up to you and your choosing praise god
now i already know what some of you are
thinking
that have not yet quite got a good grasp
on that biblical truthful statement that
i just made
some of you are thinking but pastor
stephen i can already tell you how much
i'm going to make next year
because i work a job where either i'm
on salary or i'm on a hourly wage
and i know how many hours i work each
week
let's say it's 40 hours and i can take
that 40
and i can multiply it times four because
there's
four weeks in the month and that that
tells me how much i make a month
and then i can multiply that times 12
because there's
12 months in a year and pastor stephen i
i can already tell you how much money
i'm going to make next year
because i can just work it out on paper
so it's already predetermined
well let me ask you this question who
decided
that you could only have one stream of
income
was that god that told you you can only
have one stream of income that's your
eight to five job or nine to five or
whatever that would be
no god didn't decide that for you that
could have been a decision that you made
sometime years ago
and you just thought well this is what i
am choosing to do and perhaps you never
knew that there were other options
and that god would actually like for you
to have other
streams of income more than just one
well pastor stephen what is going to
decide for me how much money i'm going
to make next year
your decisions because it is your
decisions
that you make not what god makes the
decisions
that you make are what decides
your wealth um praise the lord
now for example
your decision the tithe god said
in his word old testament and carrying
right through the cross into the new
testament or what we know as the new
covenant
ratified by the shed blood of christ
tithing
carries over into the into the new and
god says for the
for his people the tithe not not this
thing around my neck this is a t-i-e
okay pastor steven i'm going to send you
a tithe i'm going to send you a tie
i've already got a lot of ties i don't
need any more tithes praise the lord
praise god but the lord said
not the tie but the tithe belongs to
him oh pastor stephen i'm going to send
god a new tie
well he he's in the in the spiritual
realm you're not going to be able to get
that over to him
but the tithe belongs to him and when
you bring the tithe which is 10
of your gross income when you bring the
tithe
into the storehouse of god
you honor the lord with your finances
and the lord says 10
of all that you earn or all that comes
into uh
into your life whether it's an
inheritance or you get a financial
blessing at work an extra blessing or
something like that
10 the tithe t-i-t-h-e not t-i-e
okay the tithe god said belongs to me
and if you do that
the lord says i'll bless your 90 i'll
protect you
i'll i'll bless every facet of your
life but that's a decision that you make
and a believer has to make that decision
and it's your decisions
that decide your wealth that decide
your level of prosperity praise god
your decision to learn the difference
between what's an asset and what's a
liability
pastor stephen i just bought a new
vehicle praise the lord yes i praise the
lord with you
but you have to under a you have to
understand vehicles
with a few rare exceptions vehicles
are not an asset their liability the
moment you drive them off the lot even
when they're brand new and
shiny and beautiful the moment you drop
you drive them off the lot
they start depreciating you have to
learn the difference
between an asset
and a liability praise god
your decision your decision not god's
your decision to have a no
account pastor stephen what in the world
is a no
account it's just that simple an account
for every time you say no no
to something that you would like to have
but really
you don't need it maybe you already have
20 of them well i want another one
well you've already got plenty how about
a no account
that will reward you for saying no and
every time you say no
you take the money that you would have
spent
on that item and instead of spending it
you take that money and you put it into
your
no account pastor stephen
i got a two thousand dollar bonus at
work i'm so happy
i'm gonna go down to the mall and i'm
gonna buy that luxury purse
it's a two thousand dollar purse and
i've always wanted it
and anybody anybody sees me wearing that
purse
all the ladies out there know that
fashion brand
and i've i'm really styling with that
purse
well what if instead of
spending two thousand dollars on the
purse to impress other people
that instead you bought maybe a 300
purse that still made you happy
and still had the same build quality
okay and
then you take the 1700 that are left
over
and you put that in your no account who
praised
the lord suddenly suddenly you're moving
from
liabilities things that do not increase
your financial
wealth or worth at all and now you're
moving over into assets
praise the lord and that can begin to
grow you know i really do believe
that anyone
who is willing to say no and discipline
themselves
that by the end of the next year
anybody could probably have at least
five to ten thousand dollars
sitting in a no account
oh now pastor stephen now that that's
not going to work for poor people
it'll work for anybody i could prove it
to you
if you came to visit me here
in the county that i live in in the
state of north carolina wilkes county
you could take in it you could pick any
area of wilkes county moravian falls or
any other place
and i could drive you around and i could
show you some really
low income homes some of the lowest
income earning homes in not just the
state
the nation and i can drive you around oh
but what's that thing
sitting there in the back even if they
have an apartment or
or home even if it's an old rundown home
junkie old home
they hardly have any money what's that
thing sitting back there and back
back behind their house i've never i'll
be honest i've never seen anything like
it
you could drive all through this county
you could see people that are
well to do maybe middle class you could
go amongst the poor people but
it doesn't matter how poor they are
there it is
sitting in the backyard a trampoline and
i
i don't know what's up with trampolines
where people that don't have a lot of
money
somehow think that if you have a
trampoline
you have reached the status of extreme
wealth
where all of your neighbors will envy
you and they'll look in your backyard
and see your kids
bouncing up and down on the 800
trampoline
and they'll think i'll tell you what
that family has arrived
that is the family right there that i
want to emulate
they've got a trampoline it's crazy
crazy stuff sometimes people do with
their money
now what if the father instead of buying
the trampoline
would have said to that idea to do that
would have said
no would be fun for my kids but at the
same time they could break their neck on
it
i'll do something else so they can have
an outlet for recreation and exercise
and instead i'm going to take that eight
hundred dollars i'm gonna put it in my
no
account and at the end of the year when
my
no account has built up i'm going to
take all of that money i'm going to use
to start my own business
on the side while i keep working my
full-time 40-hour a week job
i'm going to start an internet business
and i'm going to start selling this
product online
whoa praise the lord hey maybe he wants
to start a
a trampoline company we can sell it ship
them
let somebody else buy them and jump on
them and uh you know and
and do all that stuff ever notice that
most of the time they're sitting
in the backyard not being used but we
have to have it
we have to have this we have to have
that and people just can't say no
and if the even if the poor even if this
will work for anybody
even if the poor said no to beer and
to cigarettes and to buying lottery
tickets i'm telling you it adds up five
thousand ten thousand dollars at the end
of the year for anybody if you say no
to all of these online streaming
services oh pastor steven i gotta have
the latest
latest movies i gotta download them oh
and defile your spirit with all the junk
that's in most of them
and you're paying forty dollars to
download that and to download that
just all that starts adding up adding up
adding up
but my friends the lord he wants to help
you with your
decisions
and i believe that this new year
that you're going to come into the lord
wants you to go into that year
having a number in your heart
that you want to reach concerning the
income
that you bring in praise the lord
it's going to mean that you're going to
be able to give the largest tithes
you've ever
have paid before you're going to be able
to have extra for
offerings and of course your standard of
living is going to go up
your freedom and flexibility is going to
be increased and expanded
but you need to talk it over with the
lord
because god does not decide how much
money you're going to make next year
you do and you need to really sit down
and have a heart-to-heart talk with him
and if you are
on a single stream
of income and you realize that's all
that's going to bring in and you thank
god for it and that's good
well then you need to talk to the lord
lord i'm going to need another vehicle
another wealth vehicle that i can
somehow drive around
i'm not talking about a car i'm talking
about something that creates
money then you're going to talk to the
lord about that and say lord dale
now this is what i'd like to make but
lord i'm going to need some extra help
i'm going to have to start something on
the side or do something but i'm just
telling you
these are things that god's not deciding
they're your decisions
praise the lord and you're only limited
by your decisions and how you govern and
rule and control your life
and the exercise of your faith praise
the lord we talked about this verse
just last week let me read it to you
matthew chapter 9
verse 29 jesus when he's referring to
the two blind
men then he touched their eyes saying
according to your faith let it be to you
i mean you know he's got the anointing
he's filled with the
spirit without measure so he has the
power and the anointing to heal
but he's going to need you to use your
faith in cooperation with that anointing
so that there can be that release of
power so it's
so much of it is according to your faith
what do you have faith for
an increase of 30 in your income
uh faith perhaps double what you brought
in
this year so that next year you could
pull in double well
work with god in this area of your faith
and your belief
and also if you realize there's not the
infrastructure in your life
to bring in more increase ask god lord
what can i do lord what what can be done
and a lot will start with that no
account
just doing that things start to add up
you can be into the uh a thousand couple
thousands before you know it
i've never seen such uh crazy spending
sometimes as i see people
in the body of christ do on things they
buy it and then
they'll just put it away and maybe use
it once and maybe use it once a year and
that's it and if they would just would
have said no
they never would have even have missed
it and they would have had that money
instead
somewhere they could use and not just
sometimes keep it in that a no account
but move it from that a no account over
into an investment
that's a different topic right there but
please don't ever forget the story that
jesus told about the talents
various men three different men getting
different levels of talents one got
one talent the other got five the other
got ten
you have to understand in today's
currency a talent and i'm not over
exaggerating you can do the you could
run the numbers on your calculator
you can pull up uh what a fair day's
wage
was and multiply it by the the roman
standard that brought you up to what a
talent was
and when these talents are being given
out a talent in today's money is worth
2 million dollars so the question
is is if you're using good discipline
and you're making good decisions and
then suddenly the lord sees that
and he releases let's say a talent into
your life
could you increase that because the lord
is going to expect you to
and remember in context the statement
well done
good and faithful servant is to the one
who was faithful in finances
using good stewardship over the finances
that the lord had entrusted him with
to where he's not only maintaining it
he's increasing it
doubling in it increasing it multiple
times over
woo praise the lord i believe it's going
to be a very
very exciting year that you very soon
will be stepping into
please in your quiet devotional time
with the lord
talk to the lord about how much money
yes please do something very spiritual
talk to the lord about how much money
you want to earn
you want to bring in next year
praise god and then just use your faith
for it use your
faith praise god now heavenly father i
pray for your people
that they will have a good heart to
heart talk with you and they will stay
within their
faith comfort level to step up to that
next
phase that you have for them and that it
will be the best
money year that they've ever had since
they have been on
this planet now father we give you the
praise and the glory
we thank you that as we honor you with
the tithe
and with offerings that you are moving
us forward
into new dimensions of blessing
so that we can be a greater blessing and
we thank you for it
in jesus name we pray amen
and amen praise the lord and my friends
god will meet you at your faith
but go higher don't just stay at the
same level year after year after year
doesn't take any faith to do that
believe god to
bring another stream multiple streams uh
flowing
into your life glory to god now those of
you that prefer
to mail in your tithes and offerings
please send them to stephen brooks
international
p.o box 717 moravian falls
north carolina our zip code here is
28654
if you prefer to bring in your tithe
your offering
online you can do so from anywhere in
the world you can do it day or night
please visit the ministry website
stevenbrooks.org
there on the home page is a link it's
it's a red shaped box
it has a heart on it and it says give
and you can click on that
and bring your tithes and your offerings
directly into
the ministry storehouse praise god now
if you would like to sew
extra seed a special offering see
we have two projects and the projects is
listed
just beneath the giving box and you can
click on that and you can see the
current projects that we're working on
one of course which is always ongoing
which is the ever increasing
television ministry that we have to take
the gospel to all the world
and that includes the purchase of
airtime and the other project is the
aircraft hangar praise the lord so take
your pick
sow some seed and the lord will bless
your seed praise god and he'll
increase it multiply blessing back into
your life financial increase and
strength
praise the lord father bless your people
take them into a
wealth year the greatest year they've
ever had financially
we thank you in jesus name we pray
amen and amen hallelujah now today
let's take our bibles and go over to the
gospel of john
and i trust that today we can solve
what for many in the body of christ has
been a mystery
of why their faith
in certain areas has not had the fruit
that they're longing to see
this is a very fascinating topic that
we're going to cover today this
the topic titled today's message is did
i not say
to you we are going to be in the gospel
of john chapter 11.
let's pray heavenly father we ask that
as we
jump into your word with expectancy
that you would meet us with fresh
anointing upon
your word today and that we can consume
your word
as spiritual food and draw strength
from it thank you father illuminate the
eyes of our understanding by your holy
spirit
and let us work with your principles
that you have established
in the earth for our benefit
our betterment and our blessing
in jesus name we pray and we all agree
and say amen praise the lord now
let me say this we live today
in a time within the church where it's
very
popular for prophets
preachers pastors
believers to go around proclaiming
this is what god said to me and
it's become so frivolous
and it's become so light-hearted that a
person can go into their prayer closet
and seven minutes they come out and they
say god has spoken to me again
i'm like wow he seems to be talking to
you what he got in there
like a red phone in there it reaches all
the way up to heaven
every time they come out i've heard from
god i've got another word i've got
another word
god has now said this and
god has not given prophets to lead
the body of christ prophets are to
confirm
what god already speaks to you praise
the lord
prophets the prophetic ministry and the
prophetic word is primarily for
edification exhortation and comfort
but profits are not meant to go around
leading people now god says do this now
we're all supposed to do that
and i see i see it being done uh in a
way where
it it's watering down the great effect
of the the great ability of god's word
and it's causing many people
to get stuck in like a spiritual
quagmire and uh
nothing's happening in their life just a
life just continues rolling on and
they hear all this stuff nothing's
really changing well i believe today
we can get to some of these root causes
because
there are believers who've been in the
church 15 years
five years lord have mercy 40 years
and maybe they know some natural laws
and maybe they know some spiritual laws
but if you don't understand laws that
govern
faith then you can do certain things
thinking it's going to work excited
about it
but it doesn't work because you're
violating a law
that you're not aware of and that law
if it's if it's being disobeyed it's not
going to work no matter how
much you want it to nor no matter how
much
you think you have a right for god to
perform it
um thank you jesus so there are laws of
faith
and we're going to discuss what are
these laws today
let me start by saying this i was in an
outdoor type store
the other day with my wife and then when
i say outdoor it's a
indoor store of course we're walking
around the inside but
they sell products that you would enjoy
in the outdoors they sell kayaks and
uh fun stuff you know camping stuff
hiking stuff and
all of that you know hiking shoes and
backpacks and you know cool stuff like
that so they had a section for caps
baseball hats that you could wear on
your head and i saw one cap
it was it's it was funny it made me
laugh it's it's a funny cat
and it had a image of bigfoot you know
right here on the front of the cap
you know bigfoot the you know the the um
the mythical creature that
uh exists but nobody's ever seen him or
caught him on film
or uh no conclusive proof of course but
he's this big
uh humanoid ape-like creature that's
supposed to be walking around and uh
you know playing tricks on people when
they camp out in the deep woods anyhow
the hat had a picture of bigfoot on it
like a silhouette of bigfoot
and next to it the word believe
[Laughter]
i have one thing to say to that no
i'm not going to believe why not pastor
stephen uh
i mean it seems like people are giving
all kinds of stories who've seen him i
don't believe it
i i just you know what i just don't
believe in bigfoot
and i know he's even had shows uh there
was one show i can't remember what
network it was on but they had a new
show every week and they had the
so-called bigfoot hunters
and the experts and to be honest they
all looked like a bunch of
kooks they looked like a bunch of
weirdos that not only probably believed
in bigfoot but
probably al also believed in all kinds
of other bizarre weird things that are
on the fringe of what we would call
society's acceptable limits
so no i can't believe why there's no
word in here
that tells me anything about bigfoot oh
well pastor steven maybe it's in there
somewhere well you know i i just
uh i'm not interested in it and unless
i've got supportive evidence
which is a word i can't i can't believe
that i can't believe it
praise the lord so that's why some
christians get in trouble they say i'm
believing well believing what
well i don't know i i'm just believing
well you
you have to believe something and if you
do believe something such as bigfoot
you need scripture and if you don't have
scripture your faith
cannot go beyond the word of god
now in your mind you can play these
games like i think it's real i i
i think he's over there behind that tree
pastor stephen well you just go ahead
and keep on thinking that because
that's just wishing hopeful wishing
and there is a biblical wishing which is
hearts desires
but this other stuff comes out of the
soulish area and it leads to
are you ready for it disappointment
disillusionment
because it didn't happen yep we're going
to
talk today about some of these laws of
faith now
john chapter 11 the amazing story of
lazarus
being raised from the dead
and the lord really having to
go upstream against a major
downstream current and you'll read a lot
not a lot but several times where jesus
groaned
and he sighed and he wept
oh pastor stephen jesus went because he
loved
lazarus so much he wept
well you have to understand
the fuller expression of what's going on
with this heavy groaning
and deep sign because
those of the inner circle
mary and martha the sisters who were
very close to the lord and their
brother has died
jesus is surrounded by some of his
closest friends
and they don't believe in him
they believe oh yes prophet
yes miracle worker yes but in this area
no no there there there's a
there's a break in the chain right here
and so the lord is carrying this this
this work that the lord that god wants
to do through him he's walking it solo
he's walking it solo and he's seen
everybody break down around him
that he's taught and he's he's taught
about
you know you know basically believe in
me and uh put your trust in
in the ch and the son of god put your
trust in in the word of god
and he's seen complete failure all
around him everybody's weeping and
thinking they think it's all over and
stuff like that and he's already told
them what he's going to do he's already
told them what he's going to do
and this this thing of no support
and also seen all of that teaching and
all of that labor
it didn't it didn't produce what he was
wanting it produce
it it was very very difficult so he's
going upstream
everybody else going downstream well you
know well
you know he he could open the blinded
eyes yeah we had a lot of hope in him
but this
this is way beyond his league no no
nobody can touch this so only god can
touch this and
on and on it went people weeping and
bawling squalling and stuff like that
and so that's why all of that groaning
is taking place
and sometimes just outright size oh
why nobody believes nobody believes it's
very disappointing
when you sow in the people and teach
people and prep people and prepare
people
here's here's the answers to the test
now get ready the test is coming they
take the test and they fail the test
so it's very very tough pastor stephen
jesus swept
jesus whipped yes because of just
the phenomenal disappointment that they
just didn't get it
they did not catch the revelation nor
hold on to it especially
during the time of testing praise the
lord
i mean if you were walking over to
somebody's house
and you saw their wallet
laying outside by the door
and they're you know all kinds of money
in their wallet and all their credit
cards are in there
driver's license and all kinds of
valuable stuff and you see it and you
pick it up and you take it in but you
don't say anything because
you're going to share with them that you
have already found their wallet
and you see them there crying as you go
inside oh they're weeping oh come in
please come in oh you wouldn't believe
what happened to me i lost all my money
lost my ball and lost everything and
you know and just and everybody else
that they they have heard the news too
they're all weeping and crying oh he's
lost it's always lost all of the cash he
had this wallet
oh and everybody's weeping and crying
and you know would you be weeping and
crying along with them when you've got
it
in your hand no you'd be like look all
of y'all stopped crying
look i found the wallet so jesus
already knows what he's going to do he's
not in a sense weeping because
this is so tragic we already know she's
going to raise him from the dead
the weeping in a larger
picture is the tremendous
difficulty of trying to get the truth
over to people and to get them to
believe
oh it's it's the challenge that any
minister
faces today when you're ministering
god's word to people
to get them to believe it when it really
needs to be believed when it really
counts
praise god now we really get into
the main thrust of one of the laws of
faith
that has three parts to it but if you
can learn
this law of faith it's going to answer
some questions for you
and it's going to help you to start
moving very quickly
very very quickly i would say all around
the bases like baseball
all around the bases uh to home plate
praise god where you can finally score
glory to god
now verse 39 jesus said take away the
stone
he already knows what he's going to do
this is not some kind of spontaneous on
the moment type thing
he already knows what he's going to do
take away the stone
martha the sister of him who was dead
said to him lord by this time there is a
stench
for he has been dead four days
jesus said to her did
i not say to you stop there just for a
moment
did i not say
to you first law
of faith whew you have to understand it
and this is the first step to
one of the most elementary fundamental
laws of faith
step number one did i
not say to you now
that statement that he makes
can come through different formats it
could come
through the anointed word it could come
by perhaps the holy spirit allowing you
to have a vision
and in that vision maybe even the lord
himself
comes and shares a promise with you in
other words
did i not say it so i say unto you so he
says something to you
and tells you you know this i'm going to
do this for you
or maybe god sends an angel and in a
vision you see an angel come
and the angel says i have been sent from
heaven with this
message to give to you and he tells you
the message
okay so did i not say unto you you come
through different ways the word
a visitation an angel the inner witness
of the holy spirit that's very very
strong and you've picked up on that
and you know that god's in this
maybe through a prophecy given by
a great prophet and you knew that was
god god was all over that prophecy
did i not say to you
that my friends is where
it all begins and it's extremely
important
you cannot get into the laws of faith
without first getting into that first
step did i not say to you
thank you jesus step number two are you
ready for it
what was it that he said did
i not say to you say what what was it
did i not say to you that if you would
believe you would see the glory of god
well what was it that he had said
we see it in verse 4.
when jesus heard that he said in other
words heard about lazarus
he said this sickness is not unto death
this sickness is not unto death okay so
did i not say to you say what
what did he say that we're supposed to
believe he told you already there in
verse four
he told you and then you realize in life
oh
he really meant that well now let me say
something
let me say something this this may
challenge some of you theologically
you can have christ the messiah
jesus himself appeared to you in a
vision
i've had it happen to me before and in a
vision
the lord can tell you something that
he's going to do for you
in other words he's giving you a promise
now having said that
let me challenge you theologically even
though
the lord can come to you in a vision in
a face-to-face encounter
and say something to you don't think
that now you're exempted from having to
use your faith oh well
i had jesus tell that to me in a vision
so it's going to happen no matter what
hey jesus told them what he was going to
do
he told them in person in flesh in blood
what he's going to do but he still
he still is going to need some
cooperation
on your behalf in order to see this
thing
come to pass and if you doubt him
if if you don't hold to that word
uh there's another side of him i hope
you don't have to meet
well not an angry sigh where he you know
uh
hits you with a hammer or you know takes
the bible and throws it at you and gets
all mad
but there is another side of him where
he's very very
serious about you believing what he said
and you'll see that if i'm correct i
believe it's the gospel of mark
where after he was resurrected from the
dead
and he's already ascended to heaven and
the the
the apostles they have gathered together
in a room
and they're all in the room afraid
hiding
and so forth and jesus walks to the wall
and comes into the middle of the room
and it says he rebuked them because of
their unbelief
oh pastor stephen that wasn't nice of
jesus to do that
surely he understood what all that they
were had gone through
the the traumatic emotional effect of
going to all of that he should have
taken it easy on them well no
why he already told them what was going
to happen they're going to kill me
they're going to crucify me and on the
third day i'm going to rise from the
dead
and he expected them to believe it and
it said that he walked into that room
and he rebuked them for their unbelief
and i've had him do it to me too
and you talking about having a loose
rope
straightened suddenly i was like or how
can we say the slack
taken out
that's the side of him that is
uh very very strong and it's just as
much
a part of him as the sweet sign
of grace and mercy and kindness let me
tell you
that other side of him that expects you
to believe his word is
just as much a part of him of his
character
and his deity as the other side of his
mercy and love and grace
he takes he takes his word very serious
and he expects
united believe it praise god now
again did i not say to you that if you
would believe
that if you would believe believe what
pastor stephen i am here today to
give a declaration of faith i believe
that the bible is the complete
canon of scripture composed of 66 books
written by jewish men inspired by the
holy spirit i believe it's the word of
god
that's good that's nice that's not what
he's asking for though
in this situation of verse 40. that's
not
what he's wanting to get out of martha
did i not say to you that if you would
believe
oh jesus oh jesus i believe now jesus i
i want you to believe
that story in the bible about jonah that
many of the theologians doubt
i want you to know that i believe it's
true
that's nice yes jonah really did get
swallowed by a large fish now we'll
debate
about what kind of a fish that was
whether it was a whale or
i don't know what it was but we know it
was
a large sea creature a fish type
creature swimming in the ocean
and he swallowed jonah up and took him
on quite a ride
we can't call it a joy ride it wasn't
that
it was a very educational tour that he
went on
but my friends that's not what he's
trying to get out of martha can you see
he's trying to pin her down he wants a
specific
answer to the request that he's making
he doesn't want some kind of a random
like
i believe that that on the mount
that there on that mount when god gave
abram
the the the ram that i believe that that
revelation of jehovah jireh is true
i believe that god's provide look that's
nice that's nice we're
we're but he's not looking for jehovah
jireh jehovah nisi
jehovah shalom jehovah sharma that
that's not what he's after right now
did i not say to you
that if you would believe believe what
that this sickness is not unto death
that's all he wants
that's all he wants he doesn't want to
know how
well-versed you are he doesn't want to
know how many chapters you've memorized
all he wants to know is that you do you
believe this
i told you that if you would believe and
he's trying to pin her down
on this exact thing that he's trying to
squeeze
out which is what this sickness
is not unto death
and he works the same way wherever he
goes
look at this verse hold your place here
let's go over to the gospel of matthew
just for a moment
matthew chapter 9
verse 28 and
when he had come into the house the
blind men okay
two blind men following him they came to
him and jesus said to them
do you believe well pastor stephen i
want you to know i believe
i believe in jesus i believe he's the
son of david that's nice
that's nice that's good we'll give you a
little star
on your on your on your study sheet
we'll give you a little lapel that says
that you know that you think god is
wonderful and he is and he is
we're we're not we're not trying to
belittle that
but that's not what he's after right
here
this is what he's after do you believe
that i am able to do this to do what
to heal their eyes to heal their eyes
he does he's not there for those two
blind men
to start giving a dis a discourse on
their
good theological grip of being able to
exegete the scriptures that's
that's somebody's looking for it all
he's trying to pin them down
do you believe what a certain thing that
i am able to do this do what
open their blinded eyes let's not beat
around the bush
he's looking for specific faith now back
to our story
back to our story this this
thing that happened here is so powerful
the raising of lazarus from the dead
that it sent
shock shockwaves throughout the
community many were many
when that when they saw lazarus come out
that that was it they're like
this guy is the son of god i'm
completely dedicating my life to him
i'm following him no matter what from
here on out and then you had others
that saw the same miracle and they
turned around and ran off to
tattletale on jesus and go to the
religious authorities oh you wouldn't
believe what he's done now he's a great
somebody
from the dead this is not good by the
way
miracles do not bring instant conversion
to everybody
you have some that no matter what
god displays through mighty works
they're not going to believe
they're not going to believe and so it's
not about that
it's just about they have the
opportunity if they want to reject
christ and
spend uh their eternity in the lake of
fire that's a decision they'll make
but you know what others others by the
multitudes will respond
hallelujah and that's what we're after
praise god
because if christ is lifted up he will
draw
all men unto him that want him that
choose him that
desire to go after him that have that
that how can we say a soft heart
now jesus
is looking for the specific word
you have to understand he'll always do
his part
he'll always do his part so
step number one to the law of faith step
number one
is understanding jesus
meaning by did i not say to you in other
words
a word has to be spoken to you that's
that's critical
step number two is
what specifically was he referring to
as step number three is that after
you've
chosen to believe that is that god's
power
will be released if you will do your
part on step one and two
god will always always without begging
without you know oh god oh oh god please
do it
he'll just do it he'll do it you don't
have to
you know do a bunch of push-ups on your
knuckles you don't have to swim on your
back
and do it you know swim on your back
from london to uh new york
across the atlantic oh god i'll do this
if i'll do this miracle
i'll swim like this you don't need to do
any of that stuff just
work the law of faith and god will honor
he'll honor your specific belief in his
word
and you'll see the demonstration of
god's power praise god
thank you lord jesus now
we're back again in john
john 11 praise the lord let me jump
right back over there
verse 40. jesus said to her did i not
say to you
that if you would believe you would see
the glory
of god thank you lord jesus do you see
now we're gonna go deep get ready we're
gonna go deep on something
do you see this bible this whole book
this is the word of god this is
in essence the book of did i not say to
you
this is it right here did i not say to
you somewhere
it's in there for you the did i not say
to you
there is a did not did i not say to you
in here for any and every situation of
your life
there is a did i not say to you
for protection for
healing for wisdom
for restoration whatever it might be
it's in there somewhere
but i want you
to be wise
in the way that you approach
the seeking of that word
here's what many christians have done
and it has proved
consistently to
not produce not not produce much fruit
here's what they do yes
pastor stephen this is the word of god
and in there there's a word for me this
is the book of did i not say
to you and i know when there is a word
for me and i have a need
and i'm going to go into the word and
i'm going to find a scripture
that lines up with that need that i have
and i'm going to claim that scripture is
mine
and i'm going to believe it and god is
obligated
to do it
be very careful in the way that you
approach
this i am in no way
belittling the entirety of god's word
the beautiful logos of god's word from
genesis chapter 1 verse 1 to the
conclusion
of revelation chapter 22 and the last
verse in the bible
i'm not belittling any of you any of it
because it is all
the word of god but if you just try to
take something
oh that one looks good yeah that fits my
situation
i'll take that one right there god i'm
believing i'm believing oh this one
looks good too
i'll take that one god i'm believing i'm
believing based upon these scriptures
i believe it i believe it it's done it's
done
god's not obligated to perform that
why because there is a spiritual
law of faith that
reveals to us it doesn't work like that
now you could get in a place where you
may be like like a machine gun you're
spraying bullets
and you just happen with that sprain of
bullets to hit the target
but you may also just waste a bunch of
ammunition
might not hit anything i would recommend
a very different approach but an
approach
that is very productive praise god that
works
and that agrees harmonizes
with the laws of faith praise god
now to give you an example i'll show
this to you from
the gospel of john john chapter 6
verse 63
jesus said it is the spirit that would
be the holy spirit
who gives life the flesh
profits nothing the words
watch this the words that i speak to you
are spirit
and they are life and i agree with that
completely now remember though the
context jesus is saying
the words that i speak to you are spirit
and they are life oh good pastor stephen
i'll just find anyone
now i'll just find anyone i want i'll
take that and i'll claim that one
the holy spirit has to anoint it if that
word
is not anointed by the holy spirit
it's just head knowledge it's just a
good word
it's it's it's true 100 it is the
infallible word of god
but if you want it to work for you god's
going to have to speak it to you
he's going to have to speak it to you
and it has to be anointed by the holy
spirit
and when the anointing of the spirit is
resting on it
oh yes it is spirited life that's why
there can be times when you read the
bible
and honestly you're just not getting
much out of it
oh it's good yes yes you're enjoying it
it's all good right
good stories beautiful stories it
blesses your heart
but it's not you haven't really caught
something that
fed you you're just having a good time
but how many of you know what it's like
when
maybe you've been in the presence of the
lord or you've had some good prayer time
or and you have those moments when for
whatever reason that anointing is there
and the spirit is there
and it doesn't matter where you go i
mean you can go to the book of numbers
you can go to the book of leviticus you
could read the genealogies
and it is exploding with so much life
you're like oh lord this is like a total
overload
yeah every single thing you're looking
at it's just like oh my goodness i could
camp
on that verse i think for the rest of my
life and be fed by that and you could
when that anointing's there absolutely
you could when the spirit of god is on
that
you absolutely could praise the lord
hallelujah but my friends
you have to feed on that word that is
anointed by the spirit and
when god speaks it will always be
anointed
of the spirit now i want to i want to
press a little further with this
here's an example pastor stephen
i'm believing for longevity i i see in
god's word
psalm 91 with long life
will he satisfy them and show them his
salvation
pastor steven i claim that i want to
live a long time genesis
we go back to genesis the number of
man's days
shall be 120 years no oh pastor stephen
let me underline that one let me
highlight it with my highlighter
that one's for me pastor stephen i'm
going to live to be 120 years old
jesus i claim your word is mine i would
live to be 120 praise god
five years later you go into the
newspaper you see the obituary
and there they are they passed away
didn't quite make 120.
why was it in the bible yes oh
yes but did god speak that to them no
no no
but here's the thing
let me let me say this before i share
this
oh jesus this is this is very important
we can go into the word like tr like
treasure hunters
i'm seeking a word i'm hunting i'm
hunting for a word
to help me with my situation here's
here's the difficulty though
we often don't have the wisdom
or the maturity or maybe even the
insight
if we do have the wisdom sometimes we
don't always have the insight
to ask god for the word we actually
really need
pastor's chief and i need a money
miracle i'm going to find a scripture
that promises me a money miracle
and you just claim claim the scripture
claim this one claimed that one
when the whole time god
wants to do something different for you
he wants you to
not just get another money miracle to
bail you out he wants you to move into
wisdom
oh so you start making wise choices
and good decisions oh that will fix your
financial dilemma and then you don't
need another money miracle
now you moved from the place of stage of
just needing miracles now you're walking
in the blessing
and you're way ahead of those days of
just needing another miracle bailout
so there could be times when god
as it says in scripture his ways are
higher than ours
and he wants to do something beyond even
what we're asking or in a different
direction than what we're asking for
because he knows that's not what you
really need
that's why i want to encourage you to go
into the word but go into the word with
a different approach
god here it is god i need a word
i'm wanting you to do something in this
area of my life
and lord i know there's a lot of good
verses
that do speak to my situation but lord
and your infinite wisdom and
understanding lord
as i'm in here looking not just grabbing
not just try to
but lord as i'm in here lord would you
speak
your word to me would you speak it
to me would you give me a word
now let me say this when
god gives it to you don't ever forget
this as long as you live on this planet
you're going to need this
when god speaks it to you
not you just trying to i'll take that
one oh that was good i'll take that one
too
i'm standing on the promises depending
on the problem that's
nice that's nice that's nice but here's
the difference
when god speaks it to you
it does two things that you could never
do
by just grabbing grabbing it treasure
hunting treasure seeking
it does two things number one it will
cause
the authority invested in his word
to rush into your life and that
authority
that rides on that word will prevail
over any circumstances that would try to
hold it back
it's too much too much authority in it
every knee
will have to battle any opposition it's
gonna eventually even if it's there
saying we'll put up a fight go ahead do
your best
if god spoke it that is the highest
authority
well you don't know what pastor steve
you don't know what the supreme court
said that's the highest court
god's word rules over all and when god
utters his decree there's nothing
anywhere any government any king any
prison any court
that can alter it it is the highest
authority and so when he
speaks his word to you
two things rush in one the authority of
god
because it rides on that word you ready
for this
number two it's loaded
with creative power and when he speaks
it to you
it comes into your heart and boom faith
explodes why
authority and creative power it is the
same
literal power that when god spoke
not not somebody trying to fabricate it
let's create some planets no no
when god spoke planets did get created
why because he actually said it he
actually said it
dr steven i believe god told me there's
no no no i don't want to hear that
unless you know for sure that god said
that
don't go around always spouting off god
said this not two days later but hold on
a minute now god said this
wait he's changed his mind he said no no
no
you haven't been praying enough you
haven't been in the word enough
and you're mickey mousing around in a
realm of
elementary christianity and that
that could lead to a lot of
disappointment in people because
eventually all that
all that stuff plays out god said this
god said that
and then it doesn't work out like you
said
and then suddenly you realize you know
this is not really producing
praise god amen and so you begin to
realize i've got to really hear from
the lord yes and when you do hear that
authority on the word
god's authority rushes into you the
creative power of god
rushes into you it is the same power
that the universe was created with the
planet that we live on stand on the air
we breathe
the trees the mountains the stars
everything were created through the
power of
his word when he said it it was created
so but look
when he says speaks to you
did i not say to you talking to martha
did i not
say to you see
she she was just doubting it she was
doubting it
but if you believe it if you believe it
it's going to happen now jesus is going
to raise lazarus if anybody wants to
come along for the ride or not
it don't matter he's coming out of that
tomb he's coming out of that tomb
because the father has already given him
permission
raise him up that's why jesus said
lazarus come out
if he would have just said come out all
the tombs would have emptied people have
been coming out dead people have been
coming out everywhere
because he's going to release the power
and he's got the power you better
believe it
he didn't say anything unless his father
okayed it
but when he heard it from father boom he
said
it watch out nothing nothing can stop
that
praise the lord hallelujah
thank you jesus whoo
so this is the difference between a you
going
and finding your own scripture and
claiming it i'm not saying there's not a
place for that
but so many people do that
and they just do it real lightly i'll
grab this grab that
but god never spoke it to them so the
difference between
you finding one or finding a scripture
and god speaking it to you is the
authority and the creative power
this is helping somebody who's been in
the word of faith and i love the word of
faith
i'm i've got it in me and i i love it i
am
i am prophetic apostolic i'm i'm word of
faith i
cut my teeth on word of faith and all of
that
and i you know big fan of uh prophet
kenneth hagin who's now in heaven
charles capps who's now in heaven and
charles capps wrote a book about the
creative
force the creative power of words
and so you had a whole bunch of word of
faith people going around speaking the
word
speak the word yeah here's a good
scripture speak that one
speak this speak that and there there is
the need
absolutely i'm not belittling that there
is the need to speak in harmony with
what god said
and not agree with negative
circumstances and all that
but when it comes to speaking a specific
word and remember that's what he's after
jesus was working with martha
did i not say that if you would believe
believe what
believe what he said previously in verse
4 that lazarus
this is not for death no this is not the
end i'm
i'm taking care of this wow praise god
so what is it coming back to what he
said
so that creative power is released when
he
says it whoa praise the lord
lord we give you praise
here's a law of faith you ready for this
one
god is not obligated
to answer just any scripture that you
select
well it lines up with my case i'm not
saying it doesn't
that's wonderful but if the spirit
doesn't breathe life on that
it's just like all of the other
scriptures they're beautiful
they're wonderful but you're going to
have to get the lord to speak
to you in a way where you know
that you know and that's why
that's why when you hear the really cool
testimonies
like uh
like one lady she she she was critically
ill
but as she laid there on the death bed
she had been believing trusting and god
because she was hanging on to the word
she knew that healing was in the
the new covenant and she's hanging on to
god
god spoke a word to you uh to her and
said i'll heal you on tuesday
at one o'clock and that's why when you
hear something like that
and it's authentic and it really does
come from god
that's why she told all of her friends
told the pastor told everybody
come to my house at one o'clock on
tuesday if you want to see a miracle
come to my house at one o'clock on
tuesday if you want to see a miracle
and the pastor you know oh well she's
well she's about to die she's losing her
mind lord
i have mercy she's not she's starting to
lose her mind and he didn't show up
and others thought she was crazy but a
few came just to see
but i tell you what the glory of god
filled that room
exactly at one o'clock on tuesday and
she was completely healed
cancer totally gone got off off the
death bed uh jumping shouting dancing
uh you know got you know ready to go get
some food and eat and stuff like that
and live the rest of her life out
decades
left for her to live the rest of her
life out
how did that happen pastor stephen
because god said on tuesday
at one o'clock i'll heal you
it makes all the difference in the world
when the holy spirit anoints
the word praise god thank you jesus
now whoo
what does what does this bring us to
pastor stephen
well let me conclude by saying this
if you will take the time to take your
your notepad and a pen and
a bible not one on your smartphone or
your ipad
a real bible
if you'll take your time to do that and
go before the lord
and be patient it may take a few days
it could take a couple of weeks and say
lord
i'd really like for you to do this in my
life and lord i'm sure you've noticed
that i actually have a need
in my life in this area but lord i
it would just mean so much to me if you
would speak directly to me concerning
this situation and if you just open your
heart to the lord say no lord i i
i know your will and i could go in here
and grab some scriptures but
but oh god you know everything and maybe
there's some things i'm not aware of
that maybe i could even ask and
accurately because
you know i'm human but lord i come
before you
and i do ask that you would give me your
word
concerning this situation
lord what do you have to say about it
and if you'll just draw near to the lord
and seek god in prayer
wait on the lord maybe you'll feel out
of the spirit to
go through some scriptures or things
like that but if you'll just
stay before the lord he will speak the
god that we serve
is alive he does talk he does
communicate
and he can get it over to you in an
unmistakable way
that trust me you'll never forget and
you'll know
when god speaks to you you'll know why
two things rush in
that are writing on that word authority
and creative power and when it hits you
whoo then you can come out of your
prayer closet
and then you can say the lord has
spoken hmm
praise god and you'll also realize that
when it happens like that
that's not happening just every other
day where you're jumping out of the
closet god said this
god said that god said this
when it's real you realize whoo
i paid a price for that one while i had
to wait
i had to pray i had to get myself quiet
before the lord
i had to go before the lord multiple
times and spend time with him but he
finally spoke
he has finally spoken and when he's
spoken
just believe that's all you have to do
believe he'll
trust me he'll always he'll always do
his part
and perform what he promised
father i pray for your people that they
move
past any stage of impatience
for those particularly the christians
that are watching who have
in their soul they have fabricated words
where
they're just running with everything
that comes and
not understanding that all it takes is
one word
that david took goliath down with one
stone all they need is one
word one authentic word so father let
them get to know you in this way
let them draw near to you and they are
your sheep
and they certainly hear the voice of
christ their shepherd
so we thank you father god that your
holy spirit
is the voice of god
he's the worker in the trinity
in the deity and he's on earth and he
works
and he speaks and he conveys your heart
to us so father we thank you for a very
clear
specific specific word
and when it comes
you can fully expect oh god for us to
believe it
and i thank you father that when you
speak to that person that's watching
right now
they're going to know you have spoken
and i believe that they'll take you
at your word and grab it and wrap
their faith around it and walk with it
and carry that promise and
it will surely come to pass
father we thank you for the laws of
faith
you have created natural laws and
spiritual laws
and the world and the universe operates
by them father help us to never work
against them
or to presume that we know everything
about them
but help us to walk in the light that we
have and
we thank you for good application of
these spiritual truths
thank you father in jesus name
amen if you will really my friends if
you'll really draw near to the lord
he will speak to you about that
situation he will
speak to you about it wow and when trust
me when he says he'll do it
if you will just walk with him and
believe him he will 100
do it for you praise god the lord is
good the lord is good
now if you're watching today's program
i want you to understand christ loves
you
if you don't know christ jesus the
savior of the world as your own personal
lord and savior the holy spirit right
now
is working upon your heart
convicting you and revealing christ to
you in a very real way
he's real god is real and you know he is
because he's working
with your heart right now and you know
that you're not in the right place with
god
lord would like to he would like to
wash all of your sins away and give you
a new start in life
and give you his new life and you cannot
reach heaven without him jesus is the
mediator
he's the go-between the in-between god
and sinful man sinful man that is
separated from a holy god because of our
sins
but he's able to fix that problem he's
the bridge right now
cross over the bridge come into eternal
life right now pray this prayer after me
say lord jesus
i'm a sinner but you died on the cross
to save sinners like me
jesus i give you my life
come into my heart wash all of my sins
away
give me your eternal life
jesus i now make you
the lord and savior of my life
from this day forward step into my life
lead me and guide me i belong to you
you are my lord and savior in your name
i pray
amen and amen
christ has heard your prayer he has
answered your prayer with a resounding
yes you now belong to him welcome
to the family of god praise the lord
let us all together as a internet church
with church members all around america
all around the world
let's take holy communion together
and even if it's this is not your online
internet home church
you're still welcome to take communion
with us just the same because we're
brothers and sisters in the lord
we are in the same body together the
body of christ
so grab some grape juice grab
some unleavened bread
hallelujah and let's pray over it
together
heavenly father thank you for the bread
the juice
we set it apart as holy through this
prayer right now
we consecrate it we thank you this is
the body and the blood of christ our
savior
it's under the form of bread and juice
but it is now the body and blood of
christ
father as we receive the lord's
body we thank you for a living
word coming to us
concerning the specific request
that we're asking of you we thank you
that you would respond
we thank you that in advance we say we
believe praise god father we thank you
in jesus name amen let's receive now
the body of jesus
praise the lord hallelujah
father we thank you for the blood of
jesus
we ask that you would forgive us for any
time we've missed it
any sin we've made perhaps any time
we've presumed that you would do
something
trying to claim a scripture in a sense
but yet you were wanting to do something
differently but we were trying to force
something
maybe prematurely maybe out of your will
and it was something that you could not
perform because
it was not a living word that we were
trying to take hold of
so father we ask for forgiveness we
thank you for the blood of christ
which washes all of our sins away and we
ask that you would forgive us of all of
our sins
we claim your word that is a living word
that when we confess our sins you are
faithful and just
to forgive us of all of our sins
thank you o god and we thank you also
that you give us a clean
conscience because the blood of christ
washes
so pure and clean thank you father that
is first john chapter 1 verse 9.
thank you father for the cleansing blood
of jesus
and we pray that you would lead us away
from temptation
that you would deliver us from the evil
one
that you would keep us strong in your
word strong in the promise
and in the promises that you have spoken
to us
father we praise you in jesus name
amen let's receive the blood of christ
together
praise the lord glory to god well my
friends
this means that you have some time to
spend with the lord
and the lord is a great
conversationalist
he loves conversation so stay with him
be patient
remember you can't force god to say
anything but if you will keep seeking
him
he will talk maybe he'll answer during
your prayer time maybe he'll
answer when you're driving down the road
thinking of something totally else
maybe he'll answer you while you're
shopping for groceries regardless
if you'll seek him they'll come that
moment when he will
speak to you and if he ever does speak
to you because
you have been pursuing the lord and
humbly seeking a word
when he does speak trust me it's load it
with power authority
and take him at his word and watch that
promise
come to pass thank you for watching
today i look forward to seeing you back
next time stay blessed bye-bye