God is faithful! Think about all the ways He’s been faithful to you; then examine your faithfulness to Him. How does it compare? This teaching will take a closer look at both, beginning with God’s faithfulness. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (I Corinthians 1:9). Our faithful God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s a divine, pure, heavenly fellowship; and God has offered it to each one of us. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). Note that He’s a faithful God who keeps every promise He makes to those who love and serve Him.

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it (I Thessalonians 5:24). God has called us to help Him take Jesus to the world; and with Him, we can do just that. All we have to do is let Him work through us and use us. But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). It pleases God when we work for Him.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (I Corinthians 10:13). God is faithful to never allow us to be defeated. He’ll always make a way of escape for His children.

Old Testament Faithfulness

Joshua was a great man of God, but it took God years to prepare him. He was one of the twelve spies Moses chose to go into the land of Canaan, but only he and Caleb were faithful to God and to His promises. They returned to Moses proclaiming, “We can take the land!” And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh…spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey (Numbers 14:6-8).

Joshua later proclaimed the faithfulness of God before he died. And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof (Joshua 23:14). When we, who are children of God, come to the end of our way, we’ll also be able to say, “Lord, everything you promised us was fulfilled.” He promised to fulfill all that His Word says to those who are obedient and love Him with their whole hearts.

Faithfulness Rewarded

Caleb was the other spy who gave a good report concerning the land of Canaan while the rest of them only told about giants. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature (Numbers 13:30-32).

Caleb wasn’t concerned about the size of the people because he knew his God stood taller than all of them. He also knew that his God was faithful, so he staked out a mountain for himself and claimed it. [Caleb spoke to Joshua] And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day…And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance (Joshua 14:9,12,13). It was a long time before the Israelites finally entered the land of Canaan and Caleb received his mountain; but God was faithful, and he did get it.

Be Ye Separate

God’s faithfulness is never-ending, and there are many more scriptures that prove this; but now it’s time for us to look at our faithfulness to Him. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world (Romans 12:1,2). Don’t be like this world. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you (II Corinthians 6:17). God wants us to know that He expects us to be faithful in separating unto Him. He’s called us into the greatness of this end-time hour to go beyond any other people on Earth today. This is our hour of great visitation and revelation from on High; types and shadows are now becoming living realities.

Present yourself daily before the Lord until you come into the unity of the faith, until you’re in harmony with God and have His heartbeat. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). We must all join together, saith the Lord, in pure, holy unity. We must all have vision of what we can be in this final hour by looking beyond what we are now and earnestly seeking for what we can be tomorrow.

Act on the Truth

The Lord said that it’s time for each of you to take your place in His truth and stand for Him, but you first have to accept the truth and practice it. You can’t choose only what you want to use; the whole truth was given to be used, so you must accept it and let it be manifested in your life.

If you don’t know the truth, it will never shine forth through your life for other people to see. You must live in the truth all the time. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). We have to be living examples of Jesus Christ by being faithful to the Word and acting it out! So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Face the truth in the Word. Are you embracing it and practicing it, or are you coming up short?

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5,6). I acknowledge the Lord and His truth in everything I do, in every path I take and in every one of my thoughts. His thoughts are thoughts of truth, and His truth can always destroy all weak and unwanted thoughts that come to your mind—and the Bible is filled with God’s good thoughts.

Divine Love

You must be faithful to God’s divine love. Do you cling to His love over and above everyone and everything? Do you treasure His love more than your love for yourself? The Lord tells us that we must come out of self-love. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Being faithful to God’s love means never failing Him. Don’t let anyone get you down or cause you to fail God, and don’t let anything prevent you from going forward with Him regardless of how much you’re fought. God’s great love will lift you up above every trial. There is no end to God’s eternal love; it reaches beyond the ends of the earth and even beyond the heavens. God’s love is available for each of us to use, and we can carry all that we want in our souls. The Lord created our souls to be able to hold the entire Godhead and all of Heaven, so just think about all the love they must be able to hold!

The Measure of Faith

Let’s be faithful to the divine faith God has given us. God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). Don’t worry and fret all the time because you’ve been given a measure of faith that you can use; don’t ever doubt or fail it! You couldn’t have found Calvary without that measure because it took divine faith for you to find the reality of true salvation through the Christ who died for you. When the Bible says that a measure of faith is dealt to everyone, that means it’s given to all who will accept it. However, the Lord can’t give you anything that you won’t accept.

Through the Word, the Lord tells each of us to examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates (II Corinthians 13:5)? Are you obeying all of the Word—the truth—or just part of it? Examine yourself with the help of the Holy Spirit to see if you’re living in faith.

It’s time to get rid of all your spots and wrinkles. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27). Can the Lord say that about you today? Can He call you His beloved? That’s what the Father called Jesus when He was here on Earth. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). The Bride today is greatly loved.

Divine faith and divine love will enable us to be faithful to our holy calling. We’re called to be separate, and the Lord expects much from those of us who have accepted that call. But not everyone has accepted it; and the Lord is reaching out to all in great love, trying to get them to separate from all things that don’t edify or bless them and others. Be very careful of what you watch and what you listen to. God can use only holy hands, and your hands can only be holy if you have a holy heart.

Part-Time Faithfulness Brings Defeat

In writing to the church at Smyrna, the Lord dictated to John the Revelator, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Revelation 2:10). This is your promise of eternal life, but you have to be faithful all the time if you want to receive that crown of life; and the faithfulness has to begin in your heart.

Read all seven of the letters John wrote to the churches in the second and third chapters of Revelation. Separate the good characteristics from the bad ones and study them. Notice also that the Lord said seven different times, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). Only listen to what the Spirit is saying! Don’t listen to people and their gossip. As long as your ears are tuned into gossip, you’ll be in trouble!—And if you repeat it, you’ll be in even greater trouble.

God hates gossip; so if you become contaminated by it in any way, your spirit takes on a foul odor before God. Some of you will listen to gossip and then feel guilty, but you could easily speak up and say that you don’t want to hear it. You’re going to have to take a firm stand for God in this hour, saith the Lord.

Be a Good Soldier

God promised you the whole armor of God, so be faithful to that armor. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:11,12). When you don’t use the armor of God, you’re not a good soldier; and you’ll be defeated. Paul told Timothy, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier (II Timothy 2:3,4). It’s time for all of us to be good soldiers of the Cross!

You have eyes that can witness the moving of God’s mighty hand every day, so turn from looking at that which is wrong and see that which is wonderful and great. Let this be your prayer: Lord, the time is late, and we want to do your work. We’re building a wall of love around the world, and we have to move fast. We don’t have time to listen to the critics, the lukewarm or those who grumble and complain.

Good soldiers never complain; and even if you think you have a legitimate reason to complain, don’t do it because God won’t accept it. No one will ever go through as much as Jesus did, and He never complained.

Have Divine Vision

The Lord tells us to get rid of every weight and to run the race of faithfulness. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Our race is one of divine vision given by the Lord Himself, and we must be faithful to it night and day. Are you running hard with His vision?

My wife, Angel, and I had to be faithful when God called us and gave us His plan. He only told us that He was sending us on a divine mission, but we didn’t know where that mission would take us. Angel and I had traveled many, many miles for the Lord in the United States and in other countries; but the Lord took us from our evangelistic work and sent us to Akron, Ohio to establish a work for Him. We followed His plan, and it’s been a long journey; but it will be worth every step when we’re all safely home with the Lord.

Jesus Was Faithful in Death

Let’s be faithful to all that God is doing today and praise Him for every mighty work; however, many Christians aren’t faithful, and they live in their feelings. If they feel like praying or praising God, they will; but when you’re faithful, you’ll praise God all the time. Don’t be discouraged and fail to enjoy what the Lord is doing because there’s no defeat in Christ Jesus! You have to forget about self on this divine mission. Jesus, our example, denied self; and He was even obedient to the death of the Cross. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).

Crucifixion is a terrible death; and when God turned His back on Jesus, that death became even worse. Jesus never thought His Father would do such a thing, but God couldn’t stand the sight of His Son’s suffering any longer. Evidently, God hadn’t looked ahead in time to see what His redemption plan would cost Him, and He probably didn’t want to know.

The sight of Jesus on the Cross was more than even God could take, and He had to turn His back and hide the sight with darkness. He turned deaf ears to His Son or He would have come down to save Him when He cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me (Matthew 27:46)? But God knew He couldn’t do that. If He had come down at that time, we could never have been brought out of our sinful state; and that’s what Christ’s Crucifixion was all about. Jesus came to redeem and pardon us and to make us free citizens fit for Heaven.

Persecuted for Christ’s Sake

When you’re being persecuted, remember that Jesus was persecuted, too; and you must take it if you’re going to be like Jesus. You also have to take it in the spirit of Jesus, and that means with no grumbling or complaining. When things get bad, it’s better to laugh instead of cry; and remember that the Holy Spirit is always there to help you.

The devil wants to depress and discourage you so you’ll stop your work for the Lord. He seeks to hinder you in every way he can, and he’ll give you all kinds of bad feelings if you’ll accept them. Don’t accept anything from the devil. If you constantly talk about what the devil is doing, you’ll soon be giving him more honor and credit than you do God.

The Bible says, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). God is a God of faith, so through faith is the only way we can serve Him and hold onto Him. When faith works daily in our hearts and lives, it will bring divine joy. Use God’s joy, but don’t combine it with human joy or it won’t have the effect on you and others that it should. If you’re faithful to divine joy, it will give you plenty of strength. For the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Divine Peace

Divine joy will bring divine peace. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). The peace of God is beyond any human understanding. When those around you see what great peace you have, it will make you a great witness for the Lord.

The devil wants to destroy your peace; but if you’re faithful to that peace, he can’t do it. Don’t let people talk you out of your peace or bother you and hurt you until you can’t enjoy it. Don’t let the enemy get your attention and turn your mind in other directions. Just as faith has to work through the mind, joy and peace also have to work through the mind. But if you’re unfaithful to divine peace, you won’t use it even if you have it.

Know the Truth

Let’s be faithful to the divine blood and truth that Jesus brought. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). When you know the truth, it will take you into the full reality of the blood and of God Himself. Learn everything you can about the divine blood because it’s the most valuable weapon the Lord has given you. It has power over everything, and it will bring you into the fullness of God’s truth.

How much do you know about God? Have you studied the Word to learn everything you can about Him? Do you yearn to be shut away with Him? Does your heart and does your soul really long for the truth? The more time you spend with the Lord, the more you will change.

When I got saved, I wanted to be with the Lord all the time. I could hardly wait to get home every day so I could go to my room, shut the world out and be with God. I wanted to learn everything I could about Him and His Son. I ate the Word and dined on the Spirit; and the more I did, the more I wanted. The cry of my heart was, Oh, Lord, I’m hungry, and I want to be fed!

When you really learn Jesus, you will be like Him in every way, even in all you say. What kind of tongue do you have? Is it cruel? Does it backbite?—Or is it a tongue that God can use? The Lord said, If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (James 1:26). God says that when you can control your tongue, you’ve mastered your whole life in Him. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body (James 3:2). We must be just like Jesus, and I’m always ready for Him to use me at any time.

The Spirit of Truth

Let’s be faithful to the Holy Spirit of truth, the third person in the Trinity of the Godhead, so He can use us. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13). He is called the Spirit of truth because He only works with divine truth and divine love, and the amount of truth within us determines how much He can use us. We must yield to the truth completely.

Jesus brought the truth, but only the Holy Spirit can use the truth that’s within us in perfection. If we hide that truth in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will use it in a profound way. But we must never doubt or hinder Him from doing His great and mighty works before us and through us.

Being faithful to the Holy Ghost also includes being faithful to His teachings. Listen carefully to His directions; He is your guide, and you must stay in touch with Him or you won’t follow the right paths. Outside of Eden, it’s necessary for all of us to have this special, divine guide; but how conscious are you of Him? Do you depend on His direction at all times? You must feel the need for Him, and you can only feel it through faith.

Divine Forgiveness

Be faithful to holy obedience and humility. Humble yourself before the Lord, and don’t fail or disobey Him. Don’t hold anything in your heart against anyone, not even your enemies, because those things will only hinder you. That’s why the Lord brought divine forgiveness and divine humility.

You can’t depend on human humility and human forgiveness. People may say they forgive you for something, yet they never stop talking about it; but that’s not God’s way. When He forgives you for something, you’re totally forgiven; and God casts all your sins into the sea of forgetfulness. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins (Isaiah 43:25). And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

When people do something against you, turn them over to the Lord—even if they’re saints of God—and let Him take care of things. The Lord said that we should focus on only those who are perfect in faithfulness to Him. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Psalm 37:37).

Stubbornness and rebellion can destroy your faithfulness to God, so don’t allow them to get in your spirit. The Lord told Saul through the prophet Samuel, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry (I Samuel 15:23). This verse places those two sinful traits in the pits of hell right along with witchcraft and idolatry.

Give to the Lord

Don’t count yourself out of the blessings of the Lord! The devil will try to rob you of your faithfulness and make you think there’s no need to try any longer. It may seem that the harder you try the less others appreciate you, but I don’t serve God to be appreciated by people; I serve God because I’m called of Him, and I love Him. Don’t let people get you down; carry the sweet fragrance of Heaven and move forward with the Lord. People will fail you in this life, but God will never fail you; He’ll make you a blessing for His Kingdom in this final hour.

One very important way to be a blessing is by tithing and giving to the Lord. When you don’t obey the Lord in these things, you’re hindering Him and His outreach. There are people who want to serve others and use their talents in the work of the Lord, yet they won’t tithe. They’re robbing God of souls by not providing Him with the means needed to bring the lost into the fold. Thus saith the Lord, they’re taking God’s holy money out of His loving hands. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8).

Thus saith the Lord, some of you have seared your conscience toward tithing and giving God His part until you have no feeling of guilt. You may say you don’t believe in it; but if that’s so, then you don’t believe the truth, and you’re headed for trouble. You’re not being true to His divine faith and truth; and you’ll never be what God wants you to be, saith the Lord. God said, The tenth shall be holy unto the LORD (Leviticus 27:32). Abraham paid tithes 700 years before the law was given; God’s people paid tithes under the law, and now under grace it’s a must that we pay tithes. You can’t ignore this scripture and then wonder why God doesn’t answer some of your prayers.

You must believe the truth, and then God said He would supply more than you need. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10). Some people don’t treasure that promise, but I think it’s as strong and powerful as God Himself.

Obey the Truth

When we have the true righteousness and holiness of God working in our lives, we will obey the truth. Nevertheless, some people will continue to do what they want to do, while others will say they’re doing the whole will of God when they’re not. Saul told Samuel that he had done the whole will of God, but Samuel knew the truth. Saul said unto him [Samuel], Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear (I Samuel 15:13,14)? Just as Samuel could hear the noise of the animals, I too can hear noise through the Spirit of God when people are disobedient; and it troubles my spirit. Divine faith, divine love and disobedience won’t mix. The Lord loves people, but He hates stubbornness. It’s a terrible sin that robs Him of what rightfully belongs to Him, and it hinders His plans. It’s time for all God’s children to come into the unity of the Spirit and obey Him in everything. My prayer is always, Lord, I don’t want there to be any noise when I say I’ve done your will. I want the Holy Spirit to bear witness that I have done the whole will of God.

God’s Promises Are for the Obedient

How do you treat the promises of God? Is there even one promise you’re not faithful to? When you don’t meet the condition of a promise, God is under no obligation to fulfill it for you. Paul said, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). But this can only be done through His righteousness and holiness. When you’re stubborn, disobedient and unfaithful to the promises of God, then you can’t claim them. But when you obey God, He will make the way for you.

I started years ago relying on the promise of the loaves and the fishes, knowing that God would provide. When Angel and I were sent by God to build a work for Him, we had no money to build with; but we had something greater than money—we had the divine faith and love of God. It worked for us, and it will work for you, too.

Put Away Childish Things

People need to grow up and have faith in God. Paul said, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things (I Corinthians 13:11). Some of you act just like little children when something goes wrong or doesn’t agree with you, saith the Lord. Why?—Because you don’t depend on divine wisdom and divine knowledge. Also, you’re not true to the nine fruits of the Spirit, and you don’t believe them even when they’re being manifested.

When you’re not prayed up and you’re not living close to God, it’s easy to give over to self and say childish things; but it’s time to put them away. Paul told us that he did, and look what a godly vessel he became. He knew that, at one time, he had acted like a child when he didn’t get his way; but he said that when he became a man, he put away childish things—and he didn’t consider himself a man until he became a true God-man. Therefore, Paul realized that he wasn’t a man at the time in his life when he considered himself to be the chief of sinners. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (I Timothy 1:15).

The Lord wants to know if you’re growing in Him. How tall are you in the Lord? God loves His children so much that He’ll spend untold hours with a mere human being like me just to tell me what He wants you to know. Everything He tells me is in accordance with His Word, and the Word is our safety. You must use it, and it must be real to you. Examine yourself in light of the Word often.

Draw Closer to the Lord

I never count the hours I spend fellowshipping with or working for the Lord. I just ask God to give me the strength to do even more because I’m never satisfied. My only desire is to do His perfect will. When I come to the end of a day and know I’ve done God’s will, then I call that a perfect day. I don’t make plans for myself. My heart’s cry is, I have come to do your will, oh, God. I lift up only holy hands before the Lord, and that’s why people all over the world are saved and healed. I am a holy instrument, and the Lord uses me with His mighty power; and He gets all the honor, the praise and the glory.

Does the Lord ever have to ask you, “Where art thou?” Take time to be with Him. Be faithful in your prayer life, your fasting life and your Bible study. When you’re close to God, these things are as simple to do as breathing. Jesus said, Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).

Faithfulness calls you to prayer without procrastination. First thing in the morning, you should talk to the Lord and get ready for the day. People think that living the Christian life is so hard, but that’s only because they don’t live by faith. With God, you can go to sleep in His faith and wake up in it. When you’re completely separated from the world, you will rest in the arms of the Lord; and the Holy Spirit will work in you while you sleep. You have to live by faith all the time or you’ll get into big trouble without even realizing how you got there.

Working Faith

The best way to insure that you’re living by faith is to have working faith. The Bible says, Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). When you live by feelings rather than faith, you have only dead faith; but live faith works! When it’s put into action, it brings results. Peter gave great insight into receiving and nurturing working faith. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord (II Peter 1:2). How do you receive this knowledge of God?—Through faith.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue (II Peter 1:3). Faith takes you to Calvary where you receive divine power. Faith also calls you to God’s glory, which has nothing to do with man’s glory. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (II Peter 1:4). The Lord only gives His promises through divine faith, and with that faith come divine love and the divine nature.

Take On the Divine Nature

Children of God are partakers of the divine nature that Jesus brought because they have received Him. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [or daughters] of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). People are made children of God only through faith in the divine blood of Jesus. Then through faith, we must separate from the world and depend on His Word and His promises.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue (II Peter 1:5). You can’t add anything to dead faith, but to working faith you can add the divine things of God straight from the table of the Lord. When you add virtue, the goodness and greatness of the Lord give you the character of Jesus so you can be like Him.

And to virtue [add] knowledge (II Peter 1:5). This refers to the divine knowledge of God. You can find the world’s knowledge in any library, but divine knowledge only comes from God and His Word; and with that knowledge comes obedience.

And to knowledge [add] temperance (II Peter 1:6). Temperance, or self-control, is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22,23; but many people don’t have it. They talk too much and constantly fail God. When people are out of control, they’re also out of the hands of God and the Holy Spirit; and the Spirit can’t use them. They’re not using faith or living close to God, and they haven’t really come out of the world. You can’t give over to self and the Spirit at the same time. The Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). If we don’t walk in the Spirit, we can’t have self-control; and we’ll say and do things that will hurt the Kingdom.

Keep Adding to Your Faith

And to temperance [add] patience (II Peter 1:6). This is referring to divine patience because human patience is not sufficient. We must have divine patience just like Jesus had, but we can only use it through divine love and faith. You can see that each of these traits that Peter mentions must be added before you can move on to the next one.

And to patience [add] godliness (II Peter 1:6). Godliness brings with it holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). God’s virtue brings about this holy righteousness.

And to godliness [add] brotherly kindness (II Peter 1:7). Being kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ does not involve arrogance, insults, hate or unforgiveness. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32).

And to brotherly kindness [add] charity [love] (II Peter 1:7). Divine faith and divine love go hand-in-hand, and they always work together. Jesus said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:35). When you have divine love, it multiplies. But if you don’t show kindness to your brothers and sisters in Christ, that love won’t multiply. Instead it will fade, and you’ll find yourself carrying grudges, envy and strife. You’ll find yourself overwhelmed with confusion, and the Lord has nothing to do with that. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (I Corinthians 14:33).

Confusion doesn’t come from God, and you can never add it to your divine nature through His faith. Only the devil brings confusion, and he’ll work day and night to confuse every mind he can; but love and faith will keep your mind as clear as the mind that Jesus had when He was here on Earth. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).

Bear Fruit for the Lord

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:8). All of these qualities can’t just be in you; they have to work in your life and bear fruit. We must have the same love, the same faith, the same grace and the same favor with the Father that Jesus had.

But he that lacketh these things [those that He told you to add] is blind, and cannot see afar off (II Peter 1:9). Some Christians follow the Lord only halfheartedly, but God can’t depend on them. He gets very little benefit out of their lives, even after paying such a great price for them. They don’t have the reality of Jesus’ soon coming, and they can’t see the harvest all over the world that needs to be brought in. They don’t feel God’s burden for the lost because they won’t use His divine feelings or faith.

And [he] hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins (II Peter 1:9). Never forget that you are made pure after God brings you out of sin. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to forget, and He prayed for them before He went away saying, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one (John 17:16,22,23). You must take on the image of God at Calvary to be in that oneness with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.

The Divine Nature Never Fails

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (II Peter 1:10). You will never fail if you add all of these qualities. Are you faithful, and do you have working faith today? Do you depend more on someone else’s faith than you do on the faith that God has given you? There’s no end to how much faith you can have because there are no limits on the capacity of your soul. It can hold all of Heaven, so just think about how much love and faith it must be able to hold.

Your mind, on the other hand, is like a little cup; it can hold just a small amount. But if you have the Holy Ghost living and dwelling on the inside of you, He serves your mind what you have in your soul. He flows the love of God through your mind any time you need help. You may think that He reaches up to Heaven to get your help, but that’s not so; He can only use what’s already in you.

The Lord told the disciples that after they received the promise of the Holy Ghost, rivers of living water would flow through them. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:38,39). These mighty rivers contain the grace, power, righteousness, holiness, peace, goodness, gentleness, courage and greatness of Almighty God. All of these are yours when you take on the divine nature.

Little Faith Is Human Faith; Divine Faith Is Great Faith

O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt (Matthew 14:31)? Jesus referred to human faith as little faith. He never rebuked the disciples when they used divine faith because divine faith can move mountains. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you (Matthew 17:20). Jesus also said, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). Divine faith makes everything possible because it takes you right into the healing and miracle powers of God.

I have to constantly battle against human faith when I minister to people because many see only as man sees rather than as God sees. The Lord said that people are blind because they don’t want to see and deaf because they don’t want to hear. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed (Matthew 13:15). Many people, even so-called Christians, don’t want to see or believe the miracles of God. The Bible tells us that we have to have the faith of God because human faith won’t bring miracles and healings.

What kind of faith do you have? People will say, “Oh, I have all kinds of faith!” But I’m just looking for one kind of faith, the faith that Jesus brought. His divine faith will lead you in His footsteps, and you’ll follow hard after Him! It will make plain paths for your feet and take you into the divine will of God.

Let Faith Work

God’s permissible will can put your soul at risk. That’s why I have a standing order in Heaven that says, Lord, if I ever ask you to do anything that’s not your divine will, don’t grant my petition. If I ask Him for something and He doesn’t move on it, I don’t contend with Him. He said, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). Divine faith doesn’t worry and fret; it will enable you to get quiet by bringing your spirit under subjection through the Holy Spirit and the divine blood of Jesus. Be still and know that God is God. You’ll never learn anything by always running from one thing to another; you have to settle down.

God gave us His Holy Spirit so He could teach us all things; He instructs us and comforts us. You can continue on in your sorrow and despair, or you can give over to the Holy Spirit and let Him comfort you. Divine faith will take you into the arms of the Lord—into the reality of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost and the divine blood. You’ll lose sight of yourself and your desire to satisfy the flesh, and you’ll want to please God.

The Lord has more available for each one of us than we could ever use. He’s given us all of His promises, and we’ll never be defeated if we claim them because the devil can’t sink even one of the promises of God. You can walk the waters with Jesus any time; and every time your foot comes down, it will step on a promise as strong as God Himself. Don’t live in fear because it comes from the devil, and it will hinder you in doing the whole will of God. Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). The Lord walks with us, talks with us and declares we’re His very own; so put both of your hands in His and let Him lead you on.

Jesus Will Come Again

The end-time signs recorded in the Bible are all around us today, so we must bring in the harvest and be ready to leave this world at any time. But we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (I Corinthians 15:51,52). The Bible warns, Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh (Matthew 24:44). Don’t give over to self or you won’t be ready to get out of here!

Jesus said He will come for those who are watching for Him; but if you’re not faithful in adding the things listed in II Peter and you’re not using working faith, you won’t be watching or working for Him. You’ll fail God in many ways and be left in the Tribulation Period.

Jesus said, According to your faith be it unto you (Matthew 9:29). The Lord weighs people on scales of faith; and it’s the amount of faith we have working within us that determines how close we are to God, whether we’re following hard after Him, and if we’re ready to meet Him in the air.

Give Your Life to Him

Today is a great day of mercy, but tomorrow there may not be any. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2). The end is almost here; so if you’re unsaved, say this prayer right now. Oh, God, save my soul. I’m so glad Jesus died for me and that He’s calling me to salvation. I know He loves me and that He wants me in Heaven with Him one day. And I know that if I confess my sins, He will forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe that the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come in!

If you meant that prayer, now you can say, Hallelujah, Jesus is mine! One day, I will see Heaven for myself because of Christ’s divine blood.

You Can Be Healed

With that divine blood the Bible declares that we also have physical healing. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus became our sin-bearer and our sickness-bearer; and when He was here on Earth, He healed all manner of sicknesses and diseases. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people (Matthew 4:23).

If you’ll use your working faith, you can have a miracle right now. Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you. Those who are faithful and using working faith are reaching out to you. You said a believer would lay hands on them, and you would get them well; and this prayer is a form of laying on of hands. Heal! in the blood name of Jesus. I curse AIDS and HIV, cancer, diabetes, heart trouble and any other deadly diseases. Heal! in the all-powerful blood name of Jesus. Now watch yourself and your children get well, but you have to live for the Lord. Jesus healed sinners and said, Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (John 5:14).

The Lord gave me this message, and now I have delivered His message to you. What will you do with it? Let’s be faithful to the Lord in everything.

Thus Saith the Lord

Thus saith the Lord, I am here to move for you; but you have to let me move. I am reaching to you, but you must reach to me. I want to give you more of my greatness than I’ve ever been able to give you before, but you must reach for it with a heart of total obedience. Then both of your hands will fit into mine, saith the Lord; and I will lead you in all the ways that I want to lead you and will use you in the ways that I want to use you. I am yours; are you mine? You must be mine, totally mine!