Introduction

In the last two books of the New Way of Blessing, we laid a foundation. Now in this third volume you will learn how to live using what you learned there.

God wants all of us to live happy lives full of the good things He has made for us. Anything else is less than what He created. So, you should be living a life full of joy and have the good things He made for you. If you are not, then this book is for you.

But before we look at how you can get all the good things, let me explain what they are. There are some things that we all need to make us live a happy and fulfilled life. And most of the time you will find them in these three essentials.

The first is good health in your body. This is a big subject and we will be looking at it in a lot of detail. It is far more than having a body that works well, which you will see soon.

The second is something that we all desire – wealth. And once again, this means far more than just having money. We will cover this subject in a lot of detail so you can understand where it fits.

The third thing that makes us happy is how we relate to other people. This is far more than just having a life partner. You need to give out and receive from others in a good way. This is what makes life worth living.

Of course, there are a lot of other things that we may need in life. But you will find most of them among these three things. So, we will start there and then uncover others along the way.

Why don't you join me as we look for and find some of the best ways to live your blessing?

Chapter 1 - Finding True Happiness

I want to start by sharing one Scripture from 2 Peter 1:2 and 3. It says,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the full knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. Because his power [dunamis] as God, has already given to us everything required for the ultimate life [zoe] and a godly lifestyle, through the experimental knowledge of the one that called us, for the purpose of magnificence and excellence.

What Will Make You Happy?

I want to ask you this question. Are you happy? What would it take to make you happy right now? I'm sure that each person I ask this would give me a different answer, but here are some possibilities that may have crossed your mind.

1. Perhaps you would like to have more energy and be healthier.

2. Maybe you would like to lose some weight and slim down a bit.

3. You would like to have more money in the bank, and a better income.

4. Perhaps you would like to have more friends and relate better with others.

5. If you are single, perhaps you would like to be married; to have someone to love and who will love you.

6. Perhaps you would like to be able to sing, play music, write, act or draw.

7. Perhaps you would just like to be more confident and open.

8. Maybe you would like to serve the Lord better and live a more spiritual life.

Do some of those suggestions sound familiar? I'm sure you could add a few more of your own, but I think that covers quite a range already.

I would like to tell you that the Lord has provided for all these things, and they are well within your reach. I covered a lot of this in the first two volumes of this series, but I want to remind you of the basics.

Basics of the Way of Blessing

Let's review the basics taught in the Way of Blessing. It will save you from ploughing through the first volume. The second volume is more practical, but the first one lays out all the principles.

They are quite extensive, and some people get bogged down when they read them. If you do not enjoy reading, then I have good news. You can watch the videos or listen to the audio recordings.

Can you say yes to any of the things that I said would make you happy? Then you need the teachings in the Way of Blessing. I assume that you know the foundation, so I am going to build on that. But I am going to give you a quick summary of it in this section.

God Has Given Us Everything

Firstly, the Scriptures tell us that God has already given us everything we need. In the Way of Blessing Volume 1, I took Ephesians 1:3 which says,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm in Christ:

I showed that God has already placed within us everything that we will ever need. Peter told us the exact same thing in the Scripture that I shared at the beginning. He said,

His power has already given to us everything required for the ultimate life.

The Greek word there is 'zoe' which is a very rare word for life amongst the Greeks. It became more prominent in the Scriptures because it involves the power of the spirit, the soul and the body. It speaks of the fullness of abundant life, which is what Jesus said we should have.

God has given us everything, but you might say,

"I am still poor. I'm still ignorant and unskilled and all alone."

You already have whatever it is that would make you happy right now. The main principle of The Way of Blessing is that God has deposited everything you will ever need into your spirit, and He gave it to you in spiritual essence.

He gave you the elements that you need. Just as everything in this world is composed of basic elements that God has put together to create matter, so God put the spiritual elements into your spirit.

He gave you everything that you will ever need, to create and to obtain everything you could ever desire in this life.

Release Faith, Hope and Love

All of that is in our spirits. The trouble is before it can be of any use to us, we need to get it out because it is hiding away there.

Within our spirits are three basic spiritual forces which the Scripture speaks about very often. They are the foundational forces of everything that is good and that brings blessing in our lives. They are the forces of faith, hope and love.

We need to release these forces. And when we release them out of our spirits, they go out and create the things that we desire.

They need to come out via your soul and through your body, to be manifest in this world. Because it is in this world where we need these things isn't it?

We already have them potentially in our hearts. But to create them tangibly and physically in this world, we must release those powerful forces in our spirits outwards through the soul and the body and into the earth.

Clear Resistances in Your Soul

I taught quite extensively in The Way of Blessing how to do this.

For them to flow out freely though the soul, the soul must be in a state that allows the flow to take place. If there are blockages in the soul, the power doesn't flow out.

You can have the full power of the main electricity supply. But it will not produce anything if there is resistance in the way.

When you connect the electricity to a light, the light shines. But if you put a heavy resistance in the path between the electricity source and the light, the light will be very dim, if it even comes on at all.

So, our problem is not that we don't have the potential. We have it already in our spirits.

The problem is that firstly we don't know how to let it out. And secondly when we try to let it out, we find that there are things that get in the way. They block it and stop it from coming out and those blockages usually lie in the soul.

Knowledge is Necessary

To get all of this we need knowledge. Peter speaks about us having the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You need to know how to get it out. I began to teach that in the first two volumes of The Way of Blessing, and I am going to now continue to show you some more practical ways of getting it out.

Theoretical Knowledge

There are different kinds of knowledge. We have theoretical knowledge which is where we learn principles. That knowledge kind of sits in our mind there. But did you know that the most intelligent people in this world are usually the poorest?

You might be an absolute genius. But if you don't know what to do with that knowledge, nobody will pay for it. It is not going to benefit you in the least.

Some people are addicted to studying. Their minds are full of knowledge and they are a walking encyclopedia.

Teachers normally get the lowest pay. Did you know that? There is no premium on knowledge, and yet today there has come an explosion of knowledge.

If you want to make money on the Internet, you need to sell knowledge. It is the best-selling product, because everybody somehow believes this. They say,

"If I just knew how to do something; if I just knew how to succeed in the things I desire, then I would be able to succeed. But I don't know enough."

Experimental Knowledge

That is true, but unfortunately theoretical knowledge is not enough. You need practical or experimental knowledge. You need to be able to transfer that knowledge from your mind into your will and into action.

That is what we call hands-on knowledge. You need to be able to take that knowledge and make use of it, otherwise what use is it to you?

Many people feed inwards all the time. They have a wealth in their soul and in their spirit. But if they don't learn how to get it out it doesn't benefit anybody. They will die with all that knowledge in their heads and it will all die with them.

Some people have been studying for years and they still are failing in life. They still don't have the desires of their hearts.

Experiential Knowledge

We also need experiential knowledge. That is the knowledge that comes through experience.

That type of knowledge is true knowledge. Peter speaks about the full, ultimate knowledge; complete and experimental knowledge and experiential knowledge.

These all join together. You need to take the theory or the principles and apply them practically. You need to make them work and prove them through experience.

Many people have a great knowledge of the Word. But they don't know how to take that Word and use it to put bread on the table.

They don't know how to take that Word and use it to bring healing to their bodies. And they don't know how to take that Word and use it to produce good relationships with others, and all the things that we really need to be happy in life.

Use all the Senses

Full knowledge requires the use of all the senses. As you know there are five senses - seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting.

To gain full knowledge, you need to be able to see it. If you don't see it, it is not full knowledge is it? If necessary, you need to be able to hear it, if it is audible. You need to be able to reach out and touch it and feel it. And you might need to smell it or to taste it.

Until you have all those senses involved in this knowledge, that knowledge is still sparse and incomplete.

So, you may have the knowledge that God wants to bless you. Can you see it? You might come to the Lord and say,

"Lord, I desire this from you."

But what are you seeing in your mind? You are probably seeing yourself the way you are. There are people who pray,

"Lord, I feel so sick. I feel so terrible."

What are you seeing? You see until you see the real thing, it is never going to happen.

It is a blockage in your soul. You are praying and asking the Lord to do something. But in your mind, all you see is the negative. That is why you need to change the condition of your mind, to get rid of those negative things.

You might say to me,

"We need to get it by faith, brother. If we need to see it then we didn't get it by faith."

No, faith is a way of seeing. The Scripture says,

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Faith gives it substance. It makes it real; so real in fact that you can touch it.

But it doesn't come easily does it? It also doesn't come automatically. There is a wealth of knowledge in this world.

Books appear daily by the thousands. We have whole encyclopedias of knowledge, but we stay ignorant.

Get Some Training

You need to train to get full knowledge. Someone must teach you what you do not know. Someone must show it to you so that you really know it. You need what we call hands-on training.

When I was first keen on computer programming, in those days I think it was Microsoft Basic that they had. I wanted to program, and I had a little machine. So, I got the training manual for the Basic language. It was a huge, thick book, and I sat down and started to read it.

It was all Greek to me, and I used to go to bed at night with headaches. I had been reading that manual for the whole day and trying to make sense of it. Man, it was tough!

When that happens what do you say? You say,

"Why bother? It is just not worth the effort."

Well I had a passion in me. I forced myself and taught myself how to program Basic using the Microsoft Manual.

In those days we didn't have such freely available things like the Internet, where we could get all the tutorials in the world. We couldn't get video tutorials, and there was nobody who could show you how to do it. So, I learned the hard way.

But there is so much more available to us today. Here is what we have available to train us and to teach us.

Jesus is Your Model

Firstly, Jesus is our source for everything. Jesus, as a man, has been there and done that.

You might say, "But He never learned to program computers. They never had that in those days."

But He knew the principles. Jesus as a man already gave us a model on how we should live, and sometimes all we need to do is copy Him.

Go and read His story. Read the gospels again a few times and see what Jesus did and how He did it. He has given us a model that we can follow.

If your spiritual life is lacking and you are struggling in many areas, ask yourself,

"What did Jesus do?"

Some people have taken the phrase What Would Jesus Do. They have made bangles out of it and they hang it around their necks.

But we seldom do what He did do we? It is all just a catch phrase, but it is real. What would Jesus do? It is a good starting point.

You might say, "I can't afford to get somebody to train me."

Well Jesus is free, and the Word is there. He is also God. He was a man, so He showed us how to live as a man. But He is also God and He is living in you through His Holy Spirit. So, He wants to live through you and in you.

You might say to me,

"I can't do what Jesus did."

Well why don't you let Him do it again through you? You might think,

"You mean I need to be like a little robot?"

No, he doesn't take control of us like that and make us into robots. We willingly submit to Him. And when we face a situation we can say,

"Lord, I don't understand this."

Learning to Tap into Wisdom

Some years ago, while I was still learning to program, I struggled to get it right. My boss at that time was a Christian and we needed to write a program that would help the business to get going. He was depending on me because I knew a bit of programming.

I struggled and I battled, then I went to the Lord. I should have done that first, but we don't do that do we? When we finally reach the end of ourselves, we say,

"Oh, what the heck. Let's ask the Lord."

It was a foolish thing to do. So, I asked the Lord about it and He said,

"Do you not realize that the one who created the universe is living in you? He knows a thing or two even about programming. Don't you realize that the Holy Spirit in you can show your things?"

I said, "Lord, I don't know how, but can you show me? I need to do this in this program. I can't figure it out and I need you to show me and to help me."

I instantly saw a picture. I can't even remember the picture now, but I just saw the pieces coming together and I knew how to do that program.

That was just a small little thing, but to me it was a total miracle. From that day forward I learned that I don't need to struggle and do it on my own.

When the time came that I had to stand behind the pulpit and preach, I said,

"Lord, what do I preach to the people? And how do I stand up there feeling confident?"

Sometimes if you are a minister and it is your job to preach, the last thing you want to do on a Sunday is preach. But it is your obligation and your responsibility.

Sometimes you stand up there and you are empty. Sometimes the Lord is gracious, and He brings His anointing down on you. As you step up there it comes upon you with power.

You minister under the anointing and everybody says,

"Wow, that was awesome!"

Everyone shakes your hand afterwards and says,

"What a great message!"

The next week it seems that the Lord forgot to come. People are avoiding you at the door, because they don't want to lie and say,

"That was horrible!"

The Lord said, "Remember what I showed you. The power is within you."

That was even before I fully knew the Way of Blessing principles. He said,

"My Spirit is within you. You don't need to wait for me to come upon you. It is there. You just need to learn to tap into it and pull it out."

From that time on I have never had a problem to stand up and preach. I can preach at the drop of a hat. Those of you who have dared to ask me a question know you get a sermon when I answer you.

I don't need to think. It just comes up out of my spirit, because I have learned to tap what is inside of me. You see everything you will ever need is already inside of you.

You can put a lot more in there by learning good things. You can do it by training and pushing more knowledge down into your souls.

Doing that will enhance what comes up out of your spirit. Let Jesus live His life through you and stop trying to do it yourself.