Standing Firm
//CRAIG W. Hagin
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
—John 10:10
There are two sides to John 10:10. The devil's side is to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus' side is to give abundant life. For many people, living in abundance seems elusive.
Sure, they know they'll experience abundance when they get to Heaven. But Jesus wasn't referring to heavenly people or angels in John 10:10. He was talking to "earthlings." He wants us to experience abundance before we cross over to glory and enter into Heaven.
Nowadays, we usually think of abundance in connection with our pocketbooks. However, abundance is more than just money. It encompasses every area of our lives—healing, happiness, peace, and so forth. Someone can be prospering financially, but if he's lying in a hospital bed, he's not experiencing abundance. Or if he's constantly battling depression, he is not living life more abundantly.
We experience all of
God's promises the same way
we are born again—
by faith.
We experience all of God's promises the same way we are born again—by faith. We ask God in faith, and we believe that we have what we've asked for.
Here is a passage of scripture that is familiar to anyone who is associated with this ministry.
MARK 11:22–24 (NKJV)
22 Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
Many of us have claimed these verses. But the results don't always happen immediately. Sometimes we have to stand in faith day after day after day to see what we're believing for.
What often happens is that after we believe we receive, the devil immediately knocks on our door with bad news. Maybe it's a bad report from the doctor or news about layoffs on our job. Something happens and we're suddenly faced with a choice.
Will we continue standing in faith? Or will we give in to fear and doubt? But no matter what it looks like after we've prayed, we must continue believing God and only say what the Word says. If our circumstances don't look good, we can't continually talk about what we see. We must only say what the Word says.
For example, because of what is happening in the economy, many people today are troubled about their financial situation. Years ago the Lord showed my grandfather, the late Kenneth E. Hagin, how to believe for finances. The Lord told him to do three things: first, claim whatever you need; second, command Satan to take his hands off your money; and third, send forth ministering spirits to cause the money to come in.1
Once we have done these things, the only praying we're supposed to do about the financial need is to thank God for the answer. Why? Because according to Mark 11:23 and 24, it's already done. If we truly believe when we pray, we won't become upset if we don't see our answer right away. That's because in our hearts we'll "know that we know that we know" that we'll see the manifestation of our prayer.
CONSIDER: Do you often cave in to doubt and fear after praying? What can you do to build your faith so you stand strong no matter what your circumstances look like?
Jesus said in Mark 9:23, " 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes' " (NKJV). But on the flip side, if we don't believe, nothing is possible.
My grandfather used to say, "God's Word works! God's Word works for you. And God's Word works for me." If we'll just stand firm and not doubt, we will see His Word come to pass in our lives.
So any time we're faced with a situation where it doesn't look like we'll see the end result of our faith, we only need to rest in God and His Word. God is not a man that He should lie (Num. 23:19), and His Word will come to pass if we'll just stand firm.
1 See the minibook How God Taught Me About Prosperity by Kenneth E. Hagin.
FAITH NUGGET: Are You Using What You Have?
We can do just about anything on a smartphone. We can send text messages, search the Internet, play games, take pictures, manage our calendars, watch movies, and more. But some people only use their smartphones for phone calls. They've never read the owner's manual to find out everything their phones can do.
This same scenario can be true in our lives as believers. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given everything we need to put us over in life. But manyChristians don't understand Who they have inside them and what they've been given. They're saved all right and will spend eternity in Heaven. But they've never taken advantage of what God gave them to be victorious here on earth.
Our "owner's manual" is the Word of God. It's filled with promises that guarantee our success in every area of life and in every situation. And the only way we'll live that successful, abundant, victorious life is to read our manual and find out what we have. Then, as we believe what we've read and do it, we will enjoy everything that is ours.