Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We are in the middle of addressing the question of “What and when do we ask, and what and when do we decree?” In the previous message, “What do we ask” was answered. We ask for God’s “wisdom.” As The Scriptures say, “wisdom is the principal thing.” God tells us in James 1:5 that if any one of us, Believers, ask for wisdom, in faith, God will not withhold it.
The next question we’re answering is “when do we ask for wisdom?” It is a very simple answer. We ask for wisdom when we lack the ability to apply knowledge and understanding to a situation, a desire, a mountain, a need, or future direction. As we’ll see in future messages on this subject, we need wisdom to understand what to decree. We get wisdom by asking so we know what and when to decree.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 to ask, to seek, to knock concerning wisdom.
Matthew 7:7-8
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Jesus is speaking to us about wisdom. Jesus encouraged us to seek wisdom from God. If we ask for wisdom, if we seek for wisdom, if we knock for wisdom, it shall be given to us. Jesus’ instruction on asking, seeking, and knocking goes hand-in-hand with his direction in Matthew 25:29.
Matthew 25:29
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Jesus tells us if we have wisdom, from asking, seeking, and knocking, we will understand how to operate in the Kingdom of God. This will ensure abundance in all areas of our life. However, if we lack wisdom, even that which we’ve managed to obtain through OUR hard work, wisdom, and labor will be stolen from us by Satan because we don’t understand how to stop him. God’s wisdom instructs us how to apply the knowledge and understanding of The Word to be successful in all we do.
II Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour [sweet aroma, sweet taste] of His knowledge by us in every place.
God’s best for us is to triumph in every instance in Christ. Now, it must be possible to triumph in every situation or else God is a liar. Until we can learn to believe this is true, we will not experience “always triumphing in Christ.” The problem is we read the verse and immediately our minds go to the fact we’ve not been triumphant in every situation. The seeds of doubt and unbelief have started. We have to make a quality decision we are going to change our thinking (“…but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…Romans 12:2) and begin to do so by daily, several times a day, reciting verses from God’s Word that begin to transform our minds. Faith develops by hearing yourself decree The Word of God over and over again (Romans 10:17). You may start out not believing what you are saying. But The Word of God says if you keep speaking The Word of God over and over to yourself and to others, The Word has the power to grow your faith. I have done this, and it works praise God! Sometimes it takes days or weeks. But don’t abandon it until you come to believe that which you are speaking. How bad do you want it?
What I find extraordinary is many Believers will pay thousands of dollars to listen to self-help, transcedental, and wealth gurus like Tony Robinson who tell us to think positive, speak positive, do positive, to have a vision, to have goals, etc.; yet they won’t believe The Word of God, they won’t search The Scriptures to find The Word to decree, they won’t ask God for wisdom, or they won’t have patience to allow their faith to be tried and produce. Tony yes, God no. My question always is, “and how’s this working for you?” But Larry, I know people who follow Tony’s advice and are rich, independent, achievers. Yes, and they take a pill to sleep at night, a pill to wake up, and most of their “positive” statements have to do with not losing that which they’ve gained. Sounds like a great life doesn’t it. Satan is death and cannot produce anything new. He can only take something God has said and created and pervert it. Satan has taken The Word of God and twisted it, just as he did in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, and sold it for many dollars to the world – and to many Believers. Yet, God gives The Word to you freely. It was paid for by Jesus, but It has been given to us freely. This is what it means when The Scriptures tell us, “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” We get all the spoils and benefits of the conqueror, but we don’t have to fight the war. Jesus did it for us. What a great deal!!
Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.
I prefer doing it God’s way. I can have ANYTHING and EVERYTHING the world can have – but I can have it without the sorrow (labor, toil, anxiety, concern) that those will have who do it outside The Word of God. The Word of God promises me peace, that the Destroyer can’t touch anything that belongs to me, including me, that I always triumph, that all things work together for my good, even those things Satan tries to bring against me, that if I diligently seek after My Father He will reward me with wisdom to do anything I need or want to do in this earth.
So, we ask for wisdom when we need wisdom. A real-life example is my company was served with its first lawsuit by a former employee and the proceedings asked for a jury trial. Today’s legal environment is not friendly to businesses, especially in a jury trial of an employee versus an employer. When I was first served, my initial reaction for a couple of minutes was fear. The Holy Spirit immediately went to work convicting me of allowing the fear into my head and compelling me to speak The Word of God against the fear. I immediately thought of Psalm 112:7, one of my favorite Scriptures.
Psalm 112:7
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
The lawsuit represented evil tidings. What does God’s Word say about a righteous man and evil tidings? “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings.” Why? Because the righteous man’s heart is solidly stayed upon The Word of God trusting God to do exactly what He says He will do. The Holy Spirit also brought another verse to mind.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD.
Satan formed this weapon against me and is using the former employee and lawyer as tools. However, Isaiah 54:17 gives me the promise that Satan’s weapon will not prosper against me and “the tongue that has risen against me in judgment we shall refute and show to be a lie.” I decreed these verses and others. Immediately my mind went to a state of peace. I asked God for wisdom to handle the case and who to use to represent us. God told me, first, to pray for the former employee and lawyer’s salvation, and to forgive them. I realized why Jesus said what He said from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” This former employee and lawyer have no idea they are being used as pawns by Satan to try and stop a Believer from advancing in the Kingdom of God. They also have no idea they don’t stand a chance. If God is for me, who can be against me!
God provided me with the lawyer to use. I contacted him. God instructed me to pray for wisdom for the lawyer. The lawyer came back to me and said we’re going to try a tactic rarely, if ever, used. The end result of it is the judge dismissed the case, without going to trial by jury, ruling it frivolous and unsubstantiated. As my Father said, “every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment I shall condemn [prove to be a lie].” And, that folks, “is all she wrote.” God had the final say in this matter according to His Word. Praise God.
When we ask for wisdom, we have to believe, by faith, we’ve received it according to James 1:5. If you ask for wisdom, and then doubt you’ve received it, you haven’t. Faith is believing that which you cannot see, taste, touch, smell, or hear. God told us faith is not our emotions, it is simply believing. So many Believers want to see, to hear, or to feel they’ve received wisdom. This Believer will not receive the wisdom from God and will have to rely on their own wisdom. Not a good situation.
I Corinthians 1:30
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
In closing, when you received Jesus Christ as your King and Lord, Christ came to indwell you. When Christ indwelt you, you received wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. When you ask God for wisdom, the wisdom will come from Christ within you. You don’t need to look up to Heaven when you ask for wisdom. It will come from within Christ’s Spirit in you. We MUST come to understand The Treasure within us. I no longer ask God to come be a part of us, or Holy Spirit please be among us, etc. The Godhead is with you EVERY single place you go and in every single situation, good or bad. God promised He would never fail us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5). Praise God for this very assurance.
Next week we’ll address “what we decree.”
Walk with the heart of The Lamb of God and the boldness of The Loin of Judah.
In Christ,
Larry