What You Need To Succeed

What are the essentials of being a victorious follower of Jesus Christ? There are some uncompromising essentials that are the foundation of anyone who wishes to live a life that is not just extra-ordinary, but profoundly supernatural, and demonstrating the power of God, as well as character of Christ. Let’s list them in order of priority and then give the details of their value and usage.

1. Faith In God

2. Believe the Bible as The Absolute Truth

3. Live In Covenant With God (Faith in His Word)

1. Renew the Mind

2. Obey His Word

3. Pray According to His Promises

4. Discover His Promises

4. Make God Your Greatest Treasure

Let’s use these four essentials as an outline for this purpose of this text. One could have said, simply “Just believe the Bible,” while we should, it isn’t very helpful when you want to have a vision placed in the forefront of your mind as to what is essential on a daily basis. Something that you can daily remind yourself of. That is why I have chosen these four, they can and should be imprinted on the mind and heart of the follower of Christ implicitly and explicitly recalled when you face all of life's challenges. Let’s get started with explaining the practical necessity of each.

Faith In God

Faith is the non-compromising essential of the follower of Jesus Christ. There is not one thing you can do that is acceptable to God without it. We must live by faith, there is no exception to this necessity:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): ...”

Heb. 11:6a

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Rom. 1:17

As a follower of Jesus Christ, faith is to be the very expression of your being. It should define who you are. There are many professing followers of Christ, who are attempting to make “their Christianity” intellectual. While, that may have very good intentions, it can be a road to dead religion (what I am saying is that if you want to be alive in Christ [see miracles], Intellectual Faith is not going to get you there). You can easily miss heaven by 12 inches (the distance between heart and brain). Faith is from the heart. By Faith, I am referring to Faith in God. Now, that is a lovely phrase, but it means a thousand different things to a thousand different people. What exactly do I mean by this phrase. The same thing that I believe Jesus meant when he said it:

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.”

Mk. 11:22

Jesus in talking about faith, prefixed one of his most amazing statements (Mk. 11:24), that we should “Have faith in God.” It is a two fold phrase, the first being, the most obvious to most people, and that is “believe that he exists” (which is not Christ point here), which if you are reading this article likely you are past that test (and obviously his disciples were past that too). The second, and most meaningful, is to “trust God.” This is not an intellectual proposition, this is a request for a heart felt devotion to believe that God is “for you.” One must view God like the most intimate of all friends you can “trust with anything and everything.” That is a heart felt vulnerableness that you will do whatever He says whether it cost life or limb, because you have absolute trust in Him, that he loves you. This “faith in God,” is a heart bound loyalty with no limits or hesitation that He means you well (Jer. 29:11-13). If you do not have that level of “faith in God,” you will never move on to higher ground with God. It is without question the starting point of true devotion, foundational, and up which all else is built. Fail here, and you will fail everywhere with God. One must make that decision, that will be their banner and move on from that base.

Now, let’s get a bit more specific about faith, let’s give it definition. It is of the utmost importance to know with absolute certainty what faith is and looks like. As a young Bible student, preparing for ministry, I can distinctly remember word for word the definition of Faith given me, now even being 40 years ago. Not because it was true, but it was terribly misleading, and was a sure guarantee for failure in the life of a successful follower of Jesus Christ. Here is what my professor stated:

“Faith is the intellectual evaluation of propositional truths.” [hmm… really?]

That is as far from what would be a biblical definition of faith as a monkey is from possessing a Ph.D in theology. I bring this up, because here are some of the teachers of the future ministers of their generation providing misinformation, and setting up future world changers for failure. I do not wish to stain his name, as his intentions were of the upmost sincerity, may he rest in peace now. Intentions, as good as they be, are not the definers of truth. So what would we define faith as from a Biblical perspective? Most would turn to Hebrews 11:1, and with vehemence and passion say, that is faith! And, that may have even been myself in my early career. However, in the utmost honesty, that verse is really difficult for most people to get their head around. My intent here is to make the operation of faith in your life a crystal clear by example that could be possible. For this intent, I turn to Abraham, the “Father of Faith,” as he has been entitled by so many, and perhaps for good cause. I see the most perfect illustration of faith given to us by Paul the apostle, in the book of Romans. In fact Paul even states that his example was for us who were to receive the promised salvation through Christ:

“20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”

Rom. 4:20-25

I see this as perhaps one of the clearest examples of faith that is given us in scripture. Abraham, had received a promise from God (the Abrahamic Covenant), and Abraham was “fully persuaded” what God promised he was going to do. This resulted in God’s declaration of Abraham as righteous. In this example we can see that the Faith demonstrated here was hearing the promise (the covenant), believing (being fully persuaded in the heart) that God would do what he said he would do. Faith is based upon God’s promises (covenant), and what God has declared as Truth. And as Paul states, that wasn’t purely for his benefit, but also for us to use in application in believing Christ. Can you see the usefulness of this? What Abraham did in his Covenant, was the principle of Covenant living for ALL Covenants, including the final Covenant through Christ, because it is the operation of faith, which is for all times. In fact the “seed of Abraham” are the heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gal. 3:14-16) which we shall address later.

Faith is then the full persuasion that what God has promised, he will do with absolute confidence. It is indeed, trust in Him, as being trustworthy. Get a hold of this as it the core of all you live and do as a follower of Jesus Christ. This is why faith is essential, and it is impossible to please God without it. Everything that follower of Jesus Christ is to do, is to be from the basis of believing with full persuasion what God has said He would do, He would indeed do (for you!). That is living in the Covenant with God. We shall address that in that section that follows. Suffice it to say, the Bible contains promises, which are Covenants made by God to us. We enter into Covenant with God, because we are now in a New Covenant, but the basis of receiving the promises of the Covenant are the same as Abraham, and that is a fully persuaded heart of believing that what God said he would do, he would absolutely do (that is faith!). That definition of faith is the most practical, useful and clearest to understand in real life application, which produces supernatural results. Just to be clear when I say “what faith is,” I mean specifically its application as a verb.

This section has addressed what faith is in its verb usage, and how it operates. Its foundation is upon what God has declared, that is why one must be also absolutely convinced what God declared in His word is true. It is on the basis of Biblical declarations that faith has the foundation to be “fully persuaded.” If one does not believe the Bible is correct, then his or her mind is clouded with doubt, and there is no basis of real faith. This we shall address in the next section.

Believe the Bible as The Absolute Truth

Faith has a foundation, and that foundation is what God has declared in His Word (the Bible). If one questions the Bible as the absolute truth of God’s expressed revelation, then there is no foundation in which to base faith upon. In other words, you can’t have confidence in what you are not sure is true. You must abandon all doubts that the Bible is not trustworthy. Others have given their lives to the defense of God’s word, via apologetics and other theological, philosophical, and scientific credibility, which have and do serve their purpose. However, the Bible itself is the greatest of defenders of the credibility of its contents when in faith it is believed and practiced. Let me put it this way, in straight terms. When in faith anyone believes God’s promises, acts upon them, the miraculous and supernatural begin to operate in that persons life, and demonstrate that the truth claims contained in the Bible are true and provable. Faith, therefore becomes the best method of self-accreditation to the unbelieving world of the Bible. However, if one doubts its reliability, they will never be able to obtain faith for its affirm-ability.

If you grasp what is being said here as did Jack Coe, William Branham, A.A. Allen, F.F. Bosworth, T.L Osborn, John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, E.W. Kenyon, and others with a legacy of thousands of miraculous healings that are fully documented and even recorded live, then you too can demonstrate the absolute certainty of God’s word being trustworthy. Regardless of what one’s opinion of these individuals, they demonstrated the truth’s contained in the pages of the Bible by simple faith, and there have been hundreds of thousands of lives each has touched, and even in the case of T.L. Osborn, the numbers are perhaps in the millions of lives that have been healed/saved under his influence, because he had Faith!

If you grasp what is being stated here, you will understand that the life of faith is the greatest validator of the Bible, because it results in the “demonstration of power,” which itself attests would result. The faith of a true follower of Jesus Christ does not rest in the wisdom of men (the intellectual arguments for its defense), but in the demonstration of the power of God:

“4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

1 Cor. 2:4-5

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance”

1 Thes. 1:5

“For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”

1 Cor. 4:20

Understand and know that when speaking to the lost world about the Kingdom of God, words are not sufficient enough, it is the power of God, in demonstration that commands their attention. Paul points out that our faith should not “rest” (be based in) in man’s wisdom or intellect, but our faith rests in the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” It could not be more clear that faith results in the miraculous, when it rests upon the promises of God made to the Believer, when they act on them with simple faith. Now I am talking about foundational truth’s here, and that is what Paul is addressing in 1 Cor. 2:4-5, these are the essential, foundational truth’s which our faith should “stand in.” Faith stands in the power of God (his willingness to do what he promised), and when done, the Gospel is demonstrated, and its truth validated by the nature of the experience of God’s involvement it verifying His word. This is exactly the truth stated at the genesis of the Church, it precisely began with this dynamic, and was recorded in the pages of scripture for our learning:

“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

Mk. 16:20

The preaching of the word was confirmed by the followers of Jesus Christ simply believing what God had promised He would do. God looked for that opportunity to show himself for strong (2 Chron. 16:9), and did so to CONFIRM His word. Miracles generally spring for as the confirmation of God’s promises. There were and are God’s idea of the attestation of the truth of His claims. Believe the claims of scripture, and act on them in faith, and the Bible becomes a “Living Truth” in confirmation by God Himself.

However, this does not happen defacto. As is seen in most “Christian” circles today, they typically are trained in the “wisdom of men” (theology), and that is where their faith “stands.” Hence, we have the powerless, undemonstrative power that some affirm, but even some do not even affirm it is for today (2 Tim.3:5). Well, they may keep their dead religion, but as for the true follower of Jesus Christ, we must love them and ignore them as irrelevant. The Believer must live in this wonderful “knowledge of the truth,” and set the life giving example. Paul recognized the fact that it must be entered into, and even offered his prayers for the Thessalonian believers that God count them worthy of this calling:

“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:”

2 Thes. 1:11

So in short that “counting worthy” is living holy, that one’s conscience is clear to have confidence in faith for exercising the promises (1 Jn. 2:28, 3:21, 5:14). That of being “worthy” implicitly means there is a “standard” of life and practice, which is none other than the New Covenant which is given to us in the form of the Gospel teachings (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), and epistles which are the contextualizing of Jesus teachings to the diverse situations the authors addressed.

I am not going to spend anytime more to attest to the certainty and reliability of the scriptures in regards to faith, as many who have shown that when believed miracles are the result of believing the promises (i.e. A.A. Allen see https://xristozo.org/article/AA-Allen-Go-And-Sin-No-More--Deaf-Ears-Miraculous-Healing). I do want to state that the new testament itself affirms that its teachings are authoritative (2 Tim. 3:16), and that the epistles are affirmed by Peter as “scriptures” (2 Ptr. 3:16).

I want to address something here that probably 95% of the so called professing “Christian” would probably drop off from reading any further. This is actually the heart of this section title, of Believing the Bible. I dare say the majority of those who profess to be “Christian” don’t believe 100% of what they read, and still not even 80% of what they read they don’t believe. Now for the 5% that would still be reading this article, I am going to state the case of what really believing the Bible means. This is where the true follower of Jesus Christ is seen, and those “weak in faith” drop off, because the significance of what is stated is too difficult for them to accept. Let’s talk about what a true Believer is. A true Believer, is a follower of Jesus Christ teaching who believes EVERYTHING that Jesus said as absolute Truth. Now let’s get really personal now. Jesus said:

“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, 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.”

Question, is your name in the “ye” (you)? Do you believe what Jesus said is true in the “you” category. In other words, do you believe that you can say to this mountain move, and it SHALL remove, and that NOTHING shall be impossible unto you? Be honest, no one is here to criticize you. This is so that you can see clearly where you are at in believing what Jesus said. If your answer is “No,” you are in an honest place and can grow from there, if it is “Yes,” you are in a wonderful place and will also do exploits from there (Dan.11:32). This is a standard of measure of faith Jesus is presenting here to us. You see, many claim to have faith, but the question is, is by the standard of Christ? Christ standard of small faith is that you move a mountain, not “symbolically,” he not speaking hyperbolically here, the context is that he is quite serious and speaking literally. As a true follower of Jesus Christ, you should not bring in your experience, or ideas, in interpreting such passages as theses. You are to “accept them at face value.” Your heart should say “Jesus said it, it is therefore true.” That should be your heart resolution. Whether it is “true”of you or anyone else, is irrelevant, the question is whether what Jesus said is accepted and believed as absolute truth. You must come to the place in the affirmative, of agreeing with Jesus. That brings you at peace with Him.

Let’s look at another passage with the same resolution:

“12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

Jn. 14:12-14

Same Question here: Are you in the “ye” of that statement. What is my point here? It is to find out whether you are honest with yourself, do you believe everything that Jesus said, and do you act upon it? I am not trying to shame anyone, that is not my point. My point here is to use the golden standard of Jesus Christ words so that we may compare “what we are to be in reality,” versus “what we are in practice.” This is where 95% drop off of so called “Christians.” They can call themselves whatever they want, but the reality is, that a true follower of Jesus Christ” BELIEVES EVERYTHING JESUS SAID. So in this section I said we must believe the Bible as absolutely true, but even more emphatically what Jesus taught to be “Truth.” What I am attempting to do here is clear the board of all falsehood, and get to the clear honest truth of “do we believe what Jesus said.” If the 95% would believe this, there first “doctrine of devils,” (1 Tim. 4:1), of “healing has ceased with the apostles” would be out the window, in the trash heap. Here Jesus placed the only qualification of doing the works/miracles he did as “believeth on me.” That does not mean “apostolic succession,” or “apostolic anointing” or “special anointing” at all, just those that “believe on Jesus.” This is why the idea of the “cessation of gifts,” is utter nonsense. He gave the golden standard of “every believer in him,” can have it and do it. That is the simple explicit meaning of the text. So many are either ignoring, excluding, disqualifying, etc, what they pick and choose to believe. You may pick and choose what you want to believe, but if you do so with the scripture, you are “making your own image” of truth (called an idol), and cannot truly call yourself a true follower of Jesus Christ. We must embrace every truth regardless of it being present or not in our lives or experience. Why this is this foundational, because if you are not embracing all of God’s declared truth, you cannot possibly be living in Covenant with God. God declares the terms of the Covenant, not us, it is on our part only to agree to live in them or not. I would to God that you choose to live in Covenant with Him, and have all of His wonderful promises, and God Himself define who you are. The topic of Covenant we shall address next.

Live In Covenant With God (Faith in His Word)

I have mentioned the importance of Living In Covenant with God, and to many professing followers of Christ this is an estranged term. The reality is, Christ came to bring us a New Covenant:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant [Heb. 8:8] … But this shall be the covenant that I will make ... I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; [Rom. 2:15; Heb. 8:10, 10:16] and will be their God, and they shall be my people [2 Cor. 6:16]. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me [1Jn.22:27], from the least of them unto the greatest of them, [Heb. 8:11-12] saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. [Heb. 8:12; 10:16-17]”

Jer. 31:30-34

This passage taken from Jeremiah, is quoted in several places in the New Testament referring to the New Covenant that Christ came to bring. This is affirmed by Paul in the book of Hebrews 8:9-12 quoting the text above, and then a second time affirming that is this new covenant by which God will remember our sins no more:

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

Heb. 10:16-17

The important point here, is that the work Christ was to bring and establish a New Covenant, and that this New Covenant would result in God directly placing his “moral laws” into our heart and mind (Rom. 2:15). That his work is a supernatural work of his Spirit in us (1Jn. 2:27). In this New Covenant the Spirit of God will live within the believer and cause them to cry out to God (Gal.4:6). It will also intercede for us when we lack the words to say (Rom.8:26-27). This work of the Spirit of God, will accomplish many important roles, which I will not detail here, but in relation to the Covenant itself, these items are explicitly expressed.

This principle of living in Covenant with God is largely a lost concept. It has been replace with the religion of “Christianity.” Christianity is a conglomerate of many theological opinions and a plethora of denominations with a diminishing common creed. This is where things have all gone wrong. What should every follower of Jesus Christ have in common? Do they accept all of his teachings? Do they all live in Covenant with God? I don’t think in good conscience we can honestly say yes, to the following two question without a thousand and one qualifications. Some of those denominations even reject the New Covenant irregardless of the fact is it clearly stated. This is a tragedy for the Modern Church.

Let’s talk about what the New Covenant is, so that we can make clear its necessity. The New Covenant, like any of the Covenants with God. are promises that God makes in a mutual agreement. Every promise is contingent upon the obedience to the conditions of the Covenant. God declares that in regard to His covenant it is an immutable promise (Heb. 6:17-18) by which he will neither alter nor break. Without getting off topic, God in one of his exclusive attributes is “Immutable” this cascades to his promises because he will not “change his mind.” His Covenants that he has established in the past and in the new, are promises as seen here:

“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises”

Heb. 8:6

This “better covenant” is ESTABLISHED UPON better PROMISES. This is very significant. This passage is telling us that Christ, himself, is the mediator of this New Covenant. If you get this understanding you get one of the pearls of great price that has been lost by “Christian” traditions. This is the very foundation of Faith, if you don’t get this, you don’t have a foundation for faith. Remember that the operation of faith defined as seen with Abraham, was based upon God’s promises (Rom. 4:20). Stop for a minute and just think at what is stated here in the scriptures as to what Christ is done and doing. He brought a new covenant with new promises, that are better than what was previously given. Let me be clear here. If God has made a promise, you can be guaranteed that He will do it. Realize that the most reliable trustworthy being in all existence and eternity (God), has made a promise (a guarantee), that if you do your part, God will do his without fail. Think long and hard about it. This is the foundation of a Covenant, meet the conditions and the guarantee is certain. You don’t meet those conditions are the failure is certain. This Truth is Colossal in its implications, but yet the truth of the New Covenant is treated like a strange proposition. Can you see the value and importance here of walking in Covenant with God? This is no light proposal here. This is a game changer when it comes to how the Believer is live and pray in relation to the Promises they have been given. If you get this, and it sinks down deep in your heart and mind, you will see that these promises of God extend to virtually all facets of life and death. Yet “Christendom” or “Christianity” has rejected “Coventantal Theology” as some would call it for “Dispensation theology,” this not an absolute statement, but in the definitions I am providing here to deny or reject the covenant that Christ has brought is a catastrophic action. Yet, that is exactly what has happened in the modern Church. This one lost precious pearl of great price, can in and of itself be the core reason, that the modern Church in no way resembles the supernatural manifestations as demonstrated in the early centuries of its genesis.

This is why its important to understand that God has already declared His promises, and when the conditions are met, the result is guaranteed. Now, let it be known, that there is not one promise that can be obtained without Faith. Faith is the full persuasion, that you believe God will do it for you (Rom.1:11). When you live in Covenant with God, God will guarantee the fulfillment of his promises given to you. The wonderful things it that Paul mentions that God’s promises extend even beyond that of the teachings of Christ, to ALL the promises given by God, are undeniable to those who walk in covenant with Him:

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

2 Cor. 11:22

This tells us that there isn’t a “no” from God regarding his promises when the conditions are met. What kind of conditions are there? This is where the numbers start dropping. There is a cost to Covenant living with God, it is on His terms declared in the New Testament. For example we have a glimpse that there is the necessity of godly living, and removing of sin from your life:

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”

2 Cor. 7:1

But one should not be discouraged, that they are not able to live up to the standards of God. Two points I want to make about that, 1. God would never ask you what you could not do (or rather he will empower you to do), 2. He give promises that to help you accomplish all that he asks. As one living in them, and walking in them, God will not fail you, you can trust Him above anything else in life. But, you have to understand how faith works, because everything related to God and His promises is done through faith, even our salvation, our receiving of Grace, etc.

My purpose in this document in this section is not to enumerate all the promises of God, that would be a volume, as there are over 32,000 promises given to us.