The Book of Joshua offers key insight as to how we may attain success. It involves, not only knowing God’s word but speaking it out, so faith may increase in our lives (Rom 10:17). The Jewish practice of ‘davening,’ involves a slight rocking motion back and forth as the word of God is recited over and over. Christians can learn a lot from this practice, as it helps the practitioner remember God’s Word and increases their faith. The art of biblical meditation has been lost to the modern-day church, but it is one of the key principles for success. Join Carl now, for part two of the series…
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Friend, let’s pick it up for part two of Success from God’s Perspective, live. It doesn’t say, the book of the law shall not depart out of God’s mouth, and when he’s in the mood, he might bless you according to what mood he’s in, and, you know, it’s not God, it’s up to you, right? It’s up to you. It’s not up to God, right? And a lot of people don’t like this, because it’s like, it’s all on me. It’s not all on you, some of it is on you, which is the part that you need to do, and that’s the difference, all right? The word meditate here in the Hebrew is haga, which is to ponder, give serious thought and consideration to, check this out, with an implication of speaking in low tones whilst reviewing the material. Now, this is straight out of the Hebrew dictionary. That means that meditation is actually reciting God’s word out loud, actually speaking it while you’re looking at it, all right? And this is what the Jews did, they still do today. It’s a process called davening, and we’ll look at it in a minute. But speaking God’s word out loud accomplishes three things. Number one, it helps us to remember it, right? Number two, it builds our faith. Why? Because faith comes by hearing, not reading.
Faith comes by hearing, very important. I’ve done this myself, even in devotional time. I’ve read the Bible for, you know, one chapter, and it’s great. But if I read it out, it’s almost like new revelation comes when you actually hear it. I’m getting some nods from the crowd. And number three, it influences the spirit realm and can change things. So there’s a real benefit of actually reading the word out loud when you’re actually studying it. Now, I’m not saying you have to do it every time, but I’m saying that if you want to impregnate a word inside your soul, like I’ve been translated out of the kingdom of darkness, you need to ponder in your mind what that looks like. Are you in darkness? You can see a light bulb coming on.
How would you visualize that? Would you see yourself moving a location from darkness into light? And that’s how you need to think about the scripture when you’re meditating, amen? So, this is davening, okay? Now, the Jews would have the talit, and they would have the word in front of them, and they would actually rock back and forth like this. And you’ll see them in front of the wailing wall doing that. And what they’re doing is they’re reciting prayers and speaking God’s word to themselves, all right? This is how meditation was done back in the day, back in Jesus’ time. And many believe that Jesus would have wore this talit with him, okay? When it said, you touch the hem of the garment, it would have been the hem of this very garment with the actual tassels, because the Jewish tradition is that healing was in the hem of the garment, in the tassels. That’s why the woman reached out to try and grab that hem. But the point is, it is a tradition that we have lost as Christians.
It’s just been lost on us, all right? It’s just meditating on God’s word until it’s in our soul, and then we believe it. Once it gets into your spirit and you actually believe it, oh, you’re in a different realm then. Jesus said, Be it unto you according to as you have believed. So what we believe is important. So if you believe God’s going to supply some of your needs, he’s going to supply some of those needs. Now, if you believe he supplies all, ooh, thank you, Jesus, we just slipped in a couple of extra letters or took one away, and now it’s all, not some.
And that’s the level of faith we need, amen? Hallelujah. So, don’t compare yourself, all right? 2 Corinthians 10, 12 through 13 says, “But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond measure but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed.” If we are a body and one of us is a kidney, the other is a liver, the other is a heart, the other is a toenail, the other is a rib, if we start comparing ourselves, it’s like, man, what is the rib doing? I mean, that looks kind of weird. So, that’s the analogy. We shouldn’t be comparing because we all have unique gifts. And when God judges Michael, he’s not going to say, hey, you should have done what Carl’s doing because these are his gifts. No, he’s going to go, what does Michael have? What gifts does Michael have? And then God’s going to judge him based on what God gave him, amen? Remember the parable of the talents. They were each responsible for a return.
It wasn’t the actual amount that was returned. It was that each was responsible for a return. So, God does actually want a return on his investment, amen? So, Romans 9:21 says, “When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another for practical usage?” God created you, friend. We didn’t choose. I didn’t choose to be born in Wales, but represent, thank you. But it depends on where you’re born. But I moved to Denver as fast as I could. But we don’t choose some stuff. It’s just the way it is, right? There’s some stuff we can’t change. These are the unchangeable characteristics in our life. And we don’t want to resent God for those. We want to say, Lord, this is what you created me to do, and thank you, I’m fearfully and wonderfully made, and I’m going to move on and do what you’ve called me to do.
Amen? That’s accepting things. But the enemy wants you to not accept yourself. He wants you to compare yourself to Cosmopolitan magazine. Not me, that’s the ladies. He wants me to compare myself to Men’s Health, Front Cover, or whatever it is. Okay, whatever we’re comparing ourselves to, Knitting Weekly, Farmer’s Weekly, whatever you’re into, okay? Yeah? All right. Quilting, Quilting Monthly, whatever it is. Whatever Michael’s into, all right? So, Isaiah 45:9 says, “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator? Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, stop what you’re doing? Does the pot exclaim how clumsy you can be?” I mean, this is all in the Bible, guys. This is in the Word, all right? So, we need to accept ourselves, and that sounds like a very benign statement, but I tell you, right, some people have tried their whole lives to accept themselves, and they’re still struggling now.
But even if you struggle to accept yourself, accept the born-again spirit inside of you, because that’s God, and then He’s going to help you accept yourself. Amen? Tough word there. People are like, I’m not sure I buy that, dear pastor. Again, we’re talking about success as far as God’s concerned. We’re not talking about success as far as the world is concerned. Otherwise, this would be a very different list, would it not? All right? But we’re going to be judged directly by Him, one-on-one. And when you’re judged, you’re not going to go, excuse me, let me go and get my buddy. He’s been with me my whole life. This guy has influenced me. He’s going to be like, no. We’re having a one-on-one session here. You’re not going to get your mother and your brother and your sister.
It’s between you and the Father. Amen? You can’t go and grab someone else to help you in that time. That’s why you have to be real to yourself. You have to be real now with the Father and say, Lord, I’m just going to do what I know is going to be pleasing to you. That’s the one I’m trying to please, nobody else. We’re not man-pleasers here. Amen? We’re God-pleasers. And that’s going to take some persecution now, again, if you go that route. Okay? And that’s part of living a godly life. But Jesus said, You cannot serve two masters. Either you will love one and despise the other. Now, notice that. If you’re straddled between the fence, you can’t stay there. You’ve got to pick a side. But if you try to, you’ll end up despising the other one. Now, that’s a strong word, isn’t it? All right? And if you’re not sold out to God and you’re dabbling in the world, you can start to resent God because you’re not really playing by His rules. Hmm, man. Think about that.
Our life consists not in the things we possess; Luke 12:15, “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” 1 Timothy 6:6. And it’s that wonderful word, contentment, personal fulfillment. Whatever situation we’re at in life, whatever position we’re in, we should be content with that position. But Paul actually said that he learned to be content. It wasn’t something that came naturally. Right? So some of us need to learn a little bit of contentment. All right? We’re always stretching for the next thing, but we’re not taking time to thank Him where we’re at. And that’s probably why the next step is so elusive is because we haven’t thanked Him for now. Oh, man. I’ve got to thank Him for now.
That’s tough. In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God. Right? Remember that scripture? In all things give thanks. That’s a tough word, but it’s true, friends. I’m here to tell you the truth. Okay. You must not make riches your God, but you can serve God and have riches. Sure you can. You can have riches as long as they don’t own you. All right? If the riches own you, you’re in trouble. But Abraham, it said he was very, very wealthy, but it also says that Abraham was very, very generous as well. And the two generally go hand in hand.
All right? 1 Timothy 6:17, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” And the trouble with riches is that they’re uncertain. And are not able to be trusted in. Okay? But we trust the living God, and then we steward His resources in our life. But we’re not trusting in the riches. Right? And here’s another one. 1 Timothy 6:9-10, “But they that will be rich, meaning that desire it, will fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil.” People have said that money is a root of all evil. No, it isn’t. Because money is neutral. Which some coveted after they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows. Now, that’s a very strong statement. Notice that they were in the faith. They were already in the faith, but they erred from it. Okay? And so, a desire to be rich, and if that’s our purpose, we have to be very careful with that.
All right? But again, God can make you rich in His sight, but rich in His sight is having more than enough, and able to give away a portion as well, to meet your own needs, and give away to meet other people’s needs. All right? But you can still be a billionaire and do those things. God’s not against billionaires and millionaires. Amen. So, the power of our words. Well, I don’t believe in that, Pastor. That’s a bunch of hokey pokey. Well, what does Proverbs 18:7 say? “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” Okay? Proverbs 11.30, “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” And Proverbs 18:20-21 says, “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth, and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.” Here it is. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it, the tongue, shall eat the fruit of it.” Fascinating, isn’t it? So, when we’re saying the things we don’t want to say, and we’re cussing up a storm, and doing whatever else we do in the darkness, we’re actually going to hurt our own tree. We’re actually going to hurt it. All right? We’re going to start eating the fruit of the stuff we’ve said. That’s what the Word says. I didn’t write it. Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me. I didn’t write it. It’s right there, right? We either believe it or not.
And so, our words, friend, they’re so powerful. Because there’s going to come a point when you may have to speak to the cancer and command it to die. There comes a point where you’ve got to speak to that brain tumor. And if you’ve been in unbelief for so long, or you haven’t really honored God’s Word in this area, it’s going to be hard for you to believe when it comes to that moment. So, what I say is, have some pomegranates, have some melons, have some apples and oranges, and start saying the Word of God over yourself. Right at the beginning, we talked about meditation, as far as God’s concerned, is murmuring the Word of God over ourselves in low tones. That sounds kind of weird, Pastor. Well, here’s the deal. When you do it, you’re going to hear it, you’re going to remember it, your faith is going to rise, and you’re impacting the spiritual realm. So, you were saved by believing in your heart and confessing your mouth, right? You could go up to somebody in the middle of the street and say, Do you believe in God? He’ll say, Yes. Okay, but he’s not necessarily saved. You’ve got to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth.
Those two things have got to occur for you to be saved. You have to confess it. It’s not just believing. Therefore, if you want to be healed, delivered, or prosperous, it works the same way. God has not got a new system for the other promises in His Word. It all works the same way. It’s the same way. Father, I thank you that I’m healed by your stripes. My leg is hurting right now. Father, I just ignore that. I declare in Jesus’ name that I am healed by your stripes. Okay? We have to be dogged about it. Alright? I’m delivered of addiction. I am free from alcoholism. That power no longer has power over me because I have the power of God on the inside of me. That’s the declaration of faith and power that you make. And you claim your authority in the spiritual realm. It begins in the spirit and it ends in the natural realm. Right? It starts in the spirit and ends here. Many people are addicted to stuff because their heart is wounded. Alright? And they’re gravitating towards something to get a quick fix for the pain they feel on the inside. That is the core of addiction. Friend, an addiction is a surface manifestation of a deeper root issue. And I would urge you to ask the Lord what it is if you’re suffering from addiction.
https://carljosephministries.com/podcast/the-true-vine-john-chapter-15/
https://www.intouch.org/read/daily-devotions/god-s-definition-of-success
Title: Success from God’s perspective: part 2 (LIVE)
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