5. Manifesting Miracles!

Galatians 5:25
If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

To the degree that we can grasp this revelation from scripture and actually walk, speak and act in line with these principles will we see the blessing and miraculous manifest in our lives and of others we may minister to. In these perilous times we all need to increasingly walk this way by taking every thought captive. Our habit of carnal thinking should be rapidly drawing to a close and Scriptures demand a changed mind.

Ephesians 2:1-2

And you [He made alive] when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins
in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].

The key to the miraculous power of God is a change of mind and a determination to think, speak and act on the promises of God and a refusal to be limited by meditating on the increasingly troublesome natural circumstances that are coming to the world. We now earnestly need to take every thought that is contrary to a promise of God captive and replace it with meditating on that promise.

2 Corinthians 10:5
[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Which way will you steer your mind?

Mature Christians know these things but knowing and not doing will not help us to succeed in living a more abundant life. In a previous blog posting the I explained the activity of our soul with the following diagram:

The activities of the soul

Thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to decisions and actions. Interrupt the cycle of natural thoughts by inserting the promises of God. A great way to start is to buy a small and inexpensive book of God's promises and start memorizing the Bible scriptures that relate to your needs. 


The following two diagrams contrast the conditions of a natural man or carnal Christian with a Spirit controlled man.Where do you fit in?

The carnal person dominated by everyday worldly thoughts

The child of God dominated by the promises of God

Smith Wigglesworth who is widely known for his miraculous healing ministry, read the Bible to the exclusion of everything else, not even permitting a newspaper into his house. He kept his thoughts on the scriptures and promises, acting on them in total disregard of natural appearances. If you want to walk in this kind of anointing then he is an great example of what is possible. The Lord would  have us all walk in that kind of power as He is no respecter of men.

The truly victorious Christian is not seeking victory but enforcing the victory already purchased for him by Christ. We are not trying to win a battle but should celebrate that a battle has already been won for us. 
Our job is to get rid of contrary thoughts, and the idea that we have to beg God to do something for us, causing us to sit around hoping He will give us a healing, some money or whatever we need or want.

False religious beliefs are what makes us work for what is already ours.We need to start believing that we are already blessed, acting like we are blessed and confessing that we are blessed. Deuteronomy 28 clearly tells us that we are. As we do, we are appropriating what God has already provided for us. If we realize that God has already done it for us then it removes a great burden of performance from us that it is up to the strength of our faith to see things manifest. It is so much easier to believe to receive something that has already been given and is in transit to you than to wonder if God will consider us good enough or loves us enough to give us anything at all. 

Faith is not believing that God can or will do something but that He has done something and that you have it already. Salvation only came to you when you received His payment for your sins on the cross two thousand years ago. That too was the moment that He freely gave mankind all things pertaining to life and godliness. Now can be the moment that you realize that deliverance, healing and prosperity are already yours and that they are flowing to you continually just as eternal life is! The power of such a revelation can be the end of struggle and the key to manifesting the blessing and the miraclulous in your life!

4. It's a Done Deal!

In ignorance, people beg God for something that they need or want and generally believe that He then evaluates if they are good enough to receive it or not. The fact is that everything from salvation to deliverance. healing protection and prosperity has already been provided and available to every person on the planet by the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross at Calvary.

“He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Corinthians 5:15

God has already done His bit to provide everything for you!

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 

2 Peter 1:3

Your actions will not move God to act on your behalf. Your faith pleases God but does not cause Him to do anything or move on your behalf. Again, He has already provided all there is to provide. Your faith simply receives what God has already done by grace.

People pray and wait for a sign that God has approved their request and when there is no response they come up with theories of why God does not want them to have it. The fact is that God has already done His part and provided everything that you need and want. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

His provision is available to all men by grace. All you have to do is by faith to reach over and take it. That's the way you got forgiveness for your sins and got saved. That is the way the sick can get their healing. That is the way singles can get married and the barren can have children. That too is the way that anyone can receive a new house, a car, a vacation, an Ipad or anything else they may need or want!

Salvation is not dependent on how worthy, good or deserving you are and neither is healing or any other free gift from God. You don't have to wander if God will do it for you, He has already done it. If you can get the attitude, then it will work.

As long as you believe it's on it's way it's coming, but as soon as you waiver in unbelief the delivery or manifestation process is impeded.  

You can command what God has already done to come into physical manifestation. Be a commander rather than a beggar. You are commanding that what God has already provided in your spiritual life to manifest in your physical life.

Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me." Isaiah 45:11

Faith is a bridge that allows what God has already provided to cross

Faith is not a struggle, it does not force God to act. It simply appropriates what God has already provided in the spiritual realm and causes it to manifest in the physical world.

Since God owns everything and made everything, He is free to give them. As an heir to all He has, all you need to do is ask, believe you receive it and you shall have it. God has already provided everything for you. Just order what you want and by believing that it is yours as a free gift from God, it is on it's way to you much as you order a book from Amazon.com!

Faith draws into being what is already a reality in the spiritual realm. your faith is a bridge that allows what God has provided in the spirit to cross over into reality.

The process of having your needs and wants met is similar to electricity that has been cabled to your house. It's at your command. All you need to do is to flip the switch. You have to do it, the electricity department is not going to come out and flip it for you. God is your power source. He has already provided all things that you need for life and all you need to do is to flip the switch by believing it to start receiving it.

2. How to Receive from God

Receiving from people

Have you ever received just what you wanted as a birthday gift from a loved one who first asked what you wanted and then went out and got it for you? Of course you have. You trusted that when you were asked, that you would be getting it. You were expecting it to happen, you envisioned yourself getting the gift in your mind’s eye and on the morning of the big day there it was, just what you wanted right there in your hands! Let us analyze the process:
1.You defined what you wanted. 2.You asked for it. 3.You expected to receive it. 4.Someone got it for you.

Receiving from God

The Bible teaches us the same simple and easy four-step process to help us have our dreams come true and yet so few follow through correctly.

When it comes to asking something from God we think that it is somehow different with Him. We may think that we are asking for too much. If fact, God can supply far more than any friend or loved one can. He owns everything and can do anything. He simply brings it to you from His vast store house.

Those of us who believe that there is a God know that He can do anything, even things that seem impossible to the logical mind. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14. “With God, all things are possible.” Matthew 18:26.

It’s up to you!

God wants you to do the impossible too. Why else would the scriptures say, “If you have faith…nothing shall be impossible you.” Matthew 17:20

God created you to do impossible things or rather, what seems impossible to the logical mind. People are only average because they are not aware of this information or following through with it. This is a serious issue because without a way out of difficult circumstances, most everyone is condemned to lead lives of “quiet desperation” as Henry Thoreau put it. The key to a changed life is to change your thoughts.

Change what you think about.

We are what we think about. A well-known scripture reads,

“As he (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7

Thoughts of the heart may be understood as thoughts that are habitually thought and have sunk down to the deeper level, what psychologists call the subconscious mind. These thoughts form attitudes that color our outlook on life.

Matthew 9:29
Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"

The condition of your life depends on your faith or what you believe. If you expect bad things, bad things will happen. If you expect good things the good things will.

Your thoughts create your future! Your habitual thoughts create your beliefs, attitudes and expectations, which in turn cause the results you experience in your life.  According to the scriptures, people allow things to happen because of deep-seated thoughts or expectations, thoughts of the heart. The Bible teaches that we were made in the image and likeness of God. We have God-like attributes such as His creative ability. God conceived by thinking, believing and speaking all things into existence. The simple truth is that we can do the same. A desire that is constantly thought of and imaged as already existing will eventually materialize. This is the method followed by Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho in getting his first bicycle and office table for ministry and going on to building the world’s biggest church in South Korea. Read his thought provoking book, “The Fourth Dimension.”

Nowhere has the power of a man’s thoughts been better explained than in a book written in 1907 by James Allen and called, “As a Man Thinketh.” You can download a free audio book in the mp3 format from the website http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Self-Development/Mind-and-Body/As-a-Man-Thinketh/15183

This book is well worth reading or listening to. It stresses the truth of the scripture in the lives of all of us. If we intend getting different results in our lives, we need to change what we are thinking. What we habitually think will become what we believe.

God's recipe to make your dreams come true.

So let’s get back now to the simple four-step process. Jesus said these profound words to His disciples,

Mark 11:24: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and you shall have it.” We are here instructed to follow the following procedure: 1.Define what you want. 2.Ask for it. 3.Expected to receive it. 4.You will have it!.

Step-1. Define what you want.

Identify what you desire to have or experience.

Jesus pretty much gives you a blank check here by saying, “whatever you desire.” You first job is to identify what you want. For most people this step will be quite easy. To help you in the process, let s break up the word whatever into the main categories that impact our lives: 1.God and spiritual life 2.Career 3.Finances 4.Relationships 5.Health

Write down your desires under each heading. Describe the situation that you want. Don’t ask for too little, God is not poor and nothing is impossible to him. He wants you to dream big!

Ephesians 3:20
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

The scriptures elsewhere say that you need to ask according to His will. As a good Father He will obviously not give you drugs if you have an addiction problem Your desires should focus on improving the quality of your life so that you can be a blessing to others! I don't believe that God cares if you prefer a Mercedes to a beat up truck. He wants above all things that you prosper, that you live in a nice home and own quality items rather than having second best. The choices are yours, as long as your right standing with God is not compromised and you direct the overflow of your abundance to benefit others.

Step-2. Ask for it in Prayer.

The Bible is all about having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Ask by simply going to God boldly and requesting to receive the situation or item you desire. You only need to ask Him once. He gives it to you right away but it is still in spiritual form or substance. Say, you have asked for a car. Be specific as to what made, model and color you want. This will enable you to see the desired item in your mind’s eye.

James 4:2 “You do not have because you do not ask God”

What you can see and experience in your mind’s eye gives what you desire substance.”If you are requesting a relationship, describe the looks and attributes of a person that you desire to have a relationship with. Now be careful, make sure this is what you really want because you will have to live with what you get.

Step-3. Believe you have received it.

Many “believers” ask and ask but somehow never receive.

Note that the scripture reads, “believe you have received it.” The words are in the past tense, in other words Jesus is saying you must believe that it has already happened. This means that in another realm, other than the one where we can see, hear and touch, the situation or item already exists as yours. The situation or item already has substance, but not in the form that can be perceived by the senses.

Right here is where most people will give up by thinking, “How can I get myself to believe that I have something when I don’t?” The Bible teaches that your desire takes on substance in the world of the spirit, or starts becoming a reality when you believe that it is doing so. You have it, but it is in spiritual form! Doubting will bring you nothing. When you keep thinking that you don’t have something you will not get it.

James 1:6-8
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

I like a quote that I read recently, “The poorest of all men is not the man without any money but the man without belief and faith.”

You see, there are a seen reality and an unseen one, a reality that cannot be seen or touched. Once this is understood and accepted, it makes the believing process much easier. From the following verse, we learn that all that we can see was created from something that is not visible.

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Our heart or spirit believes to be true that which we contemplate. The more we think about and feel that we have the desired end result, the more our spirits we will believe it to be true and the quicker it will manifest or materialize. Conversely, the more we think about, speak about and feel about what we don’t have, or how hard life is etc., the more our present situation will be perpetuated. Because every thought that you have is coupled with a corresponding feeling, you need to spend time giving attention to and focusing on thinking and feeling that you already have the desired end result. 

Mark 11:23 

"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” 

Doubt is again connected to deep seated thoughts, or thoughts of the heart. Continually seeing the desired end result in your mind’s eye and confessing that you already have it, will gradually unseat the doubt and replace it with faith or belief and expectation!

Step-4. You will have it!

This is the final and perhaps the most important step. Just allow what you desire and have asked for to come to you. By asking for it and seeing it your mind’s eye as yours, it has already taken on substance.

Every time you contemplate see the desired end result, it takes on substance or faith.
Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..”

The more you envision the desired end result, the more substance it takes on and the quicker it will materialize and the sooner you will have it.

This is a serious business. If you seriously want to change your life, you have to set aside time to do this.

Be sure not to think of reasons why it is not likely to happen. Don’t be double-minded. This will simply put a damper on the process. Endure until you have it!

When doubt comes, deals with it quickly and effectively by asking yourself the question “Is there anyone on the planet who has the item or situation I desire and have asked for?” There are sure to be thousands if not millions. Then ask, “Why should I not have the same thing?” Remember God is no respecter of persons. What he will do for another, He will also do for you.” He has no favorites.

God did not intend for us to struggle in life. I am not talking here about suffering for His Name's sake or when persecution comes to remove a promise of God from your heart as Jesus explains in the parable of the sower. He has given us these simple steps to receive an abundance of all we desire so that we can have lives that are blessed in every way and so that we can give to help others. Don’t struggle to get money, serve it or chase after it. Instead just allow it to come to you.

Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…” 

Deuteronomy 28:2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God…”

A Testimony: 
Having gone through a stage of great lack in my life when developer clients stopped paying the many thousands of dollars they owed me and for work that my design office  had been working on for months, I asked the Lord for me to experience His abundance in my life. I started gradually moving my thoughts from the anger and lack that I was experiencing to thinking about God’s riches and abundance.

I downloaded and created images from the internet that symbolized abundance and looked at them continually. Week after week I saw God’s abundance pouring into my life with the eyes of my spirit. Things got worse before they got better. The one developer who owed me the money suddenly died. The other one had lost most of what he had and could not honor his promissory note.

Eventually the land owner of the project on which we were working and who had not even been my direct client or owed me the money, stepped up and started paying me everything that others owed me! 
Psalm 20: 4, 5 
May he give you what you desire and make your plans succeed. Then you will shout for joy over your victory and celebrate your triumph by praising our God. May the Lord answer all your requests.”