Thursday 8 February 2007

Keys to Success

Part Transcript of Message by Kenneth E. Hagin


Let’s begin this morning with a text found in Joshua the first chapter the eighth verse – a verse that I know that you are very well familiar with.

I tell people all the time you know that I’m familiar with t-bone steaks – I’ve eaten a good many of them – but I never turn one down.

The Word of God’s like that – it’s always good, isn’t it.

[Crowd says – Amen]

So let’s go back and chew – hallelujah! – on the good Word of God.

Here in Joshua the first chapter the eighth verse God said to Joshua at the very outset of his ministry:

JOSHUA 1:8

8 This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth…

Paraphrasing that in our language today to fit us, we would say: “This Word of God – this book, the Bible – praise God – shall not depart out of thy mouth…”.

…but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS, and THOU SHALT HAVE GOOD SUCCESS.

Now you know the Word of God – the Law of God – wasn’t just given to Joshua – and so this didn’t just fit him even though God said it to him – because it would work for anyone who would do it.

Now then God evidently then wanted him to have good success – didn’t He – and to be prosperous – or He wouldn’t have told him how to get it. Amen.

If you didn’t want somebody to come to your house, you wouldn’t be out to tell them how to get there.

[Crowd laughs]

Amen!

And so if God didn’t want you to be in prosperity and have good success – He wouldn’t tell you how to get there!

But you know He gives explicit directions – doesn’t He – I mean no need to deviate and say, “Well I lost my way somewhere here” – because this is so plain.

I thought about a story I heard one time – a Baptist minister I heard preaching on the radio – he’s talking about there in Isaiah where Isaiah prophesied about salvation – the plan of salvation – and he went on to say that “even a fool shall not err therein”.

And so this minister said – in their home town – his town where he pastored – there was a fellow that just stood around, you know he’s just not all there – and he’d go along down the street a murmuring – and he said, “I thought about it – I’d seen him in church several times – wasn’t a member of my church but he had been in the services…”

He said, “One day I was walking along behind him in the street…” and this helped me – thinking about that Scripture about it’s so plain and so-on that even a fool will not err therein, “…and the fellow’s going along just sort of murmuring to himself you know…”

And he said, “I just called him – I named him – I said, ‘Do you know the way to heaven?’

‘Yeah - the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour,’ and said, ‘I’m going to heaven when I die.’ “

Glory to God!

Well he might not have known much else – but thank God that’s the most important thing. He was a way ahead of the professor wasn’t he – amen – that didn’t know that; he’s a way ahead of the theologian that doesn’t know that; he’s a way ahead of the educator that doesn’t know that – that’s the most important thing in all the world to know.

[Crowd applauds]

Well thank God the way to prosperity and the way to success is given to us in the Bible – and it’ll work for every single one of us – praise God.

…and then thou shalt have good success…

I like another translation that said:

“Thou shalt be able to deal wisely in the affairs of life…”

Well if you couldn’t deal wisely in the affairs of life you couldn’t have good success, could you. So saying it either way is saying the same thing.

The reason that there is so much failure in the church – and you understand when I talk about the church – use the term the church – I’m talking about as a whole, overall or what we call the church, you know church people in other words, whether they’re really saved or not you know they’re church people – and there is so much failure, and there are so many that are not successful – successful in life, successful in Christian living.

Well there’s a reason for it: you know the main reason is that the church as a whole has not had the right diet.

You know a lot of times if a person is not in good health and have not enjoyed good health, many times the reason is naturally they haven’t been on the right diet – means everything – all the difference in the world – doesn’t it.

Did you know spiritually speaking the same thing’s true?

And so the church as a whole has been very strong in teaching man his need of righteousness and teaching man his weaknesses and teaching man his inability and so on. But the church as a whole has failed greatly to really feed people on the Word of God; and to teach them who they are in Christ Jesus; and teach them their rights and privileges; and teach them how faith can be obtained; and teach them how to be successful: Walk in the light of God’s eternal Word!

So much of the time the songs that we’ve sung – we don’t sing them in churches like this – but in times past even in Full-Gospel/Pentecostal circles – the songs that have been sung are songs of failure and songs of doubt.

So like John Alexander-Dowie said, “Most of our hymns are embalmed with unbelief.”

[Crowd laughs]

And we’ve sung them so long you see until they’ve registered on our spirit and we think they’re so – and they’re not necessarily true.

Did you ever notice in so many of the hymns that we sing – understand I’m talking about the church at large – so many of the hymns really put redemption off until after death – but thank God I’m redeemed now.

Now I know my body’s not redeemed yet but I said I am.

You see the man on the inside is the real you. And he’s already a new creature in Christ Jesus:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature…” and then one of these days I am going to have a new body – praise God.

And so, many of the songs that we sing you know “I’m going to have rest – when I get to heaven”. When I hear them singing those songs sometimes I always think about rest now – you know Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will make it worse for you…”

[Crowd laughs]

Isn’t that what He said?

“I’ll burden you down even more…”

No!

“Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will…” – do what?

[Crowd answers, “give you rest”]

Do what?

[Crowd answers, “give you rest”]

“…give you rest”!

I like the next verse:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and YE SHALL FIND REST unto your souls”.

Hallelujah! Glory to God.

You know I just wonder – the way some folks act and talk – just what they’re yoked-up with.

[Crowd laughs]

“Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find REST” – yes thank God we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to find rest – there’s rest now, in Jesus.

And then you know even – the Word of God teaches – that we can go beyond even finding the rest that there is in Jesus by being yoked-up to Him – the Bible teaches us that there is a rest and a refreshing in speaking with other tongues!

You remember Isaiah prophesied: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will I speak unto this people…” now notice what he said “…and this is the REST wherewith the weary shall REST; this is the refreshing…”

Oh hallelujah! You don’t have to wait until you get to heaven to enjoy the rest! You don’t have to wait until you get to heaven to enjoy the refreshing!

Now there’s something else about that – let’s go back just a moment – the Holy Spirit brought something else up here – uh there in – that was Matthew 11:28 that we were quoting – and 29 – a while ago – where Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden…and I’ll give you REST”; and He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me…and ye shall find REST unto your souls”.

Now you need to – the Bible differentiates – you need to differentiate between your spirit and your soul.

Your soul is your intellect and the emotional part of your being.

Now so many Christians you see don’t have rest – now they’ve got rest in their hearts but their mind’s in a turmoil – their emotional being’s all tore-up.

But you see, “Take my yoke upon you…” now notice what He said, “…and learn…”

Did you notice that? “…learn…”

How are you going to find rest?

See, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you REST”

See you’ll have rest in your heart and in your spirit by coming to Jesus.

But then notice what He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn…”

How are you going to find rest in your soul?

You see your spirit and soul is not the same.

No comments:

Post a Comment