The Goodness of God - Part 3 - Prosper Today

We're living in victory The battle's won in victory We've overcome whatever comes our way No one can change the scene We're living in victory Through our Lord Jesus Christ Hello, this is Mike Kennedy with the Living in Victory broadcast. We're going to continue our series today titled The Goodness of God. This is part three of the series. In this series, we're going to study and learn more about the goodness of God. We're also going to cover how to experience more of His goodness. And some of you may say, well, He hasn't been good to me. Well, He's been better to you than what we realize. How many times, if we look back over our course of our life, was there a car that ran a stop sign when we were getting ready to go through it? But we hesitated. That wasn't just us. That was the Lord protecting us. There's many times that the Lord has done things to us to give us time, to be merciful, to be good to us. And we're going to study a little bit about how to experience more of the goodness of God and what the enemy does to try to prevent that goodness from operating in our lives, to prevent us from experiencing the goodness of God. So there's a couple questions on this series that I'd like you to answer for yourself. Is God good? How good is He? When is He not good? I hear some people saying He's good all the time. Well, that's true. But we've also got people that think that, you know, they had a relative in their life that they were taken out before their time when they were young. God was not in that. The second verse that we use in this scripture is John 10, 10.

It says, The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. If they were taken out early, it's because of Satan, not because of God. Amen? It goes on to say, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. But the first basis of our series is on Psalms 34, 8. It says, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. We're supposed to taste the goodness of God. We're supposed to see the goodness of God. That means experience it. Amen? When you taste something good, whether it's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you know if it's good. Amen? Only theologians of religious people that don't have revelation of the word would say, Oh, God took that person out early, that little baby, because he needed another angel in heaven. No, there's no scripture to back that up. Being an angel would be a demotion. We're supposed to be kings and queens in eternity. Amen? Not an angel. Psalms 37, verses 3 and 4. It goes on to say, Trust or have faith in the Lord. Amen? Do good. In other words, not just be good. We're supposed to do good.

Faith without action or works is dead. We're supposed to do good, be good. Amen? Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord. That word delight means to enjoy. Man, if you're around somebody having a good time, they know it. But if they're all hard, stiff, they know it as well. No, when you're talking to the Lord and experiencing His goodness, you should be happy, right? I want to enjoy the time I have with God. People say, oh, we've got to go to prayer. You aren't doing it right. Oh, we've got to go to church. No, you're not doing it right. You're not experiencing it properly. Times with the Lord should be days of refreshing, days of enjoyment, days of fun. Amen? If you're going to church and not having fun, you may need to either check your heart or check the church you're going to, because you should be having a good time there. Amen? Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Whose heart? Your heart. Amen? Think of this. God, the creator of heaven and earth. HE DESIRES TO DO GOOD THINGS FOR YOU. AMEN? WHAT ARE GOOD THINGS? GOOD MARRIAGES, GOOD HEALTH, GETTING YOUR KIDS BACK, RESTORATION, GETTING A NICE CAR,

A GO FAST, MAYBE A BENTLEY, AMEN? YOU MAY SAY, AW, I'D BE HAPPY JUST TO HAVE MY TRUCK RUN. HE CAN DO THAT AND MORE. HE WILL BRING YOU UP HIGHER AND HIGHER IF YOU DO THINGS HIS WAY. MAYBE A HARLEY. I DIDN'T SAY A LITTLE JET BIKE, NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, BUT YOU MAY DESIRE AN INDIAN OR SOMETHING WITH A BIG MOTOR, A LOT OF CHROME, NOW THAT'S GOD, AMEN? PSALMS 35, VERSE 27 SAYS, LET THEM SHOUT FOR JOY AND BE GLAD. DO WHAT? SHOUT FOR JOY AND BE GLAD, WHO FAVOR MY RIGHTEOUS CAUSE, AND LET THEM SAY CONTINUALLY, LET THE LORD BE MAGNIFIED, WHO HAS PLEASURE IN THE PROSPERITY OF HIS SERVANT. LET'S READ THAT IN DETAIL. LET THE LORD BE MAGNIFIED, HOW? BECAUSE HE HAS PLEASURE IN THE PROSPERITY OF HIS SERVANT, I'M THE SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. HOW ARE YOU? WHAT ABOUT YOU? GOD HAS PLEASURE. HE SMILES WHEN WE PROSPER, WHEN WE DO GOOD. WHAT GOOD PARENT WANTS TO SEE THEIR KIDS FAIL, TO BECOME LOSERS, HAVE NO FRIENDS? NO GOOD PARENT WANTS THAT. A GOOD RICH DADDY DOES NOT LEAVE THEIR KIDS ON THE SIDE OF THE STREET, ON WELFARE, NO, HE HELPS THEM UP, AMEN? WE HAVE A GOOD GOD. YOU MAY SAY I'M A CHILD OF GOD, BUT I'M NOT EXPERIENCING THESE THINGS, WELL WHY NOT? YOU CAN BE A CHILD OF GOD, JUST LIKE A CHILD ON EARTH, YOU CAN HAVE A RICH DADDY, BUT YOU RUN FROM THEM, YOU DON'T CALL THEM, YOU DON'T CHECK IN ON THEM, YOU LIE TO THEM, YOU STOLE FROM THEM, THERE'S A REASON WHY THEY AREN'T BEING GOOD TO YOU, AMEN? YOU NEED TO BELIEVE GOD AND COME UP. YOU KNOW YEARS AGO WE HAD SOME FRIENDS, AND WHEN WE MET THEM, THEY HAD TWO LITTLE KIDS

AND THEY WERE LIVING IN THEIR CAR. AND SHARON AND I TALKED TO THEM, WE PRAYED WITH THEM, AND WE TOLD THEM NOT TO QUIT, GOD HAD PLANS TO PROSPER THEM, IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE IT, THEY WERE LIVING IN THEIR CAR WITH TWO LITTLE KIDS. AND LORD PUT IT ON MY HEART TO TELL THEM THAT HE HAD PLANS TO MAKE THEM VERY WEALTHY, WELL THEY ARE VERY, VERY WEALTHY TODAY, AMEN? GLORY TO GOD, GOD WILL DO THAT FOR YOU AND FOR ME. YOU MAY SAY, AW, YOU KNOW, WEALTH, RICHES, MONEY, THAT'S OF THE DEVIL. NO IT'S NOT, THE LOVE OF MONEY IS OF THE DEVIL. PROSPERITY INCLUDES HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, VICTORY. MANY TIMES IN THE BIBLE WHEN YOU SEE THAT WORD PROSPERITY, IT'S TRANSLATED AS PEACE OR SHALOM. IN OTHER WORDS, EVERY NEED MET, NO FEAR, AT PEACE, AMEN, GOOD HEALTH. JUST THINK ABOUT THIS SCRIPTURE, THE CREATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND EARTH, HE CARES ABOUT YOUR PROSPERITY AND HE WANTS FOR YOU TO PROSPER, AND HE GETS A SMILE ON HIS FACE WHEN YOU DO THIS SCRIPTURE. WELL, THEN WHY DOESN'T HE MAKE ME RICH? WELL, WHY DON'T YOU OBEY HIM AND DO IT HIS WAY, AMEN? YOU MAY SAY, I AM DOING IT HIS WAY. WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD ASK HIM TO GIVE YOU A REVELATION OF WHAT'S NOT RIGHT IN YOUR LIFE AND TO HELP YOU COME UP, AMEN? DON'T BE ARROGANT, DON'T BE STOUT AGAINST HIM, DON'T BE PROUD, SAY, LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME. LET ME SEE YOUR WORD IN AREAS I NEED TO CHANGE IN MY LIFE THAT I CAN BE DOERS OF IT, THAT I CAN EXPERIENCE MORE OF YOUR GOODNESS, AMEN? IT TAKES FAITH, IT TAKES PATIENCE, IT TAKES ACTION. BUT IF YOU TRUST GOD AND DO IT HIS WAY, HE WILL BRING YOU UP AND OUT, AMEN? JEREMIAH CHAPTER 29 VERSE 11 SAYS, FOR I KNOW THE THOUGHTS THAT I THINK TOWARDS YOU, SAYS THE LORD. IN OTHER WORDS, GOD'S CLEAR ABOUT THE THOUGHTS HE HAS TOWARDS YOU, THOUGHTS OF PEACE AND

NOT OF EVIL. REMEMBER, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT WORD, PEACE, SHALOM. IT'S NOT LACKING ANYTHING, IT'S PROSPERITY, IT'S HEALTH, IT'S PEACE, AMEN? THOUGHTS OF PEACE AND NOT OF EVIL. SO IF PEACE INCLUDES PROSPERITY, HEALTH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, EVIL MEANS LACK, EVIL MEANS TAKING YOU OUT. destruction, ungodly things. It goes on to say, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. Thoughts, that word thoughts in Hebrew means this is what I live for. God lives and enjoys to increase you, to increase prosperity, peace, and health into your life, amen? And he has more than what we realize. If Satan had it his way, all of us would be dead right now in hell, but now he has plans to bring us up to prosperous and to give us eternal life. My end, the future is health, wealth, goodness, and I expect it. That word hope in the Bible means confident expectation, not some wishy-washy I desire. No, I expect his word to be fulfilled in my life, for me to live in prosperity, health, peace, goodness, amen? You may want to write this down. The plan of God is the glory of God prepared by the love of God, especially for the child of God, you and me. Let me repeat that. The plan of God is the glory of God prepared by the love of God, especially for the child of God, you and me. Well, God gets glory when his children do well, amen? The NIV version of Jeremiah 29 11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope in a future. The TEV version of this scripture says, instead of hope, plans to give you a confident expectation in a future. Glory to God. But see, Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy you. That's why you don't want to serve him. You don't want anything to do with him but to shut him down, amen? God wants you to prosper. He wants to bring you up. Well, money is the root of all evil, is a lie, amen? 1st Timothy 6 10 says, For the love of money. What do you love? Do you love God? Do you love people? Or do you love money? For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves

through with many sorrows. You can be rich, have lots of money, and not love it. It can be the fact that you have a lot of money and it's there to serve you, to build the kingdom, to love on people, for you to enjoy life. But you can also have no money and love money. And because of that love for money, you become selfish. You use it for ungodly purposes. You steal it, amen? It's the love of money. God wants to give us good things for us to enjoy, amen? Jeremiah 29 12 says, Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me. Who will do that? It says, Then you will. That means you and I should call on the Lord, not just call our pastor and expect them to pray for us. You know, I've heard guys say, Oh my wife does the praying in my house. Well, this is one of the reasons why you may not be getting the results you want. It says, Then you will call upon me. He wants a relationship with you, amen? Glory to God. Don't expect the same results in your life if you're not willing to do what God told you to do, but your brother, sister, or friend is doing what God's told them to do, and they're walking in a greater level of blessings, amen? If you can pray, then God expects you to pray. He expects you to call upon him. Oh, you can call others and ask them to pray with you, to join their faith with you, but you need to ask God. You need to seek him. You need to ask him as first to be the Lord and Savior of your life. Ask him for forgiveness, for mercy, help, wisdom, and then ask him to bring you up out, amen? It goes on to say, Jeremiah 29 12, Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Notice, IF YOU CALL ON HIM, HE WILL LISTEN TO YOU, AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME. WHO WILL SEEK HIM? YOU SHOULD BE SEEKING HIM. AMEN? AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME. YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. NOW, THIS IS AN ANSWER TO A LOT OF PEOPLE LISTENING TODAY. AMEN? THERE'S AN ANSWER RIGHT HERE. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING, OH, IT DOESN'T WORK. THAT CHRISTIAN STUFF DOESN'T WORK. NO, YOU'RE NOT DOING IT GOD'S WAY. WITH ALL YOUR HEART. THAT MEANS DON'T PLAY AROUND WITH IT. GET WITH IT. AMEN? DON'T PLAY CHURCH. DON'T PLAY RELIGION. I HATE RELIGION.

YOU SAY, WELL, YOU'RE PREACHING THE GOSPEL. YOU'RE PREACHING ABOUT THE BIBLE. ISN'T THAT RELIGION? NO. I'M TELLING YOU ABOUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD. GOSPEL MEANS GOODNESS OF GOD. I'M TELLING YOU ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS HE WANTS TO DO FOR YOU. I HATE RELIGION. IT'S FAKE. IT'S FALSE. IT'S HYPOCRISY. I WANT A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. AND THAT'S WHAT HE WANTS WITH YOU AS WELL. AMEN? NOT, THUS SAYETH THE LORD, HE'S GONNA COME AND GET YOU AND TAKE YOU OUT AND PUT YOU IN HELL. THAT'S NOT GOOD NEWS. GOSPEL MEANS GOOD NEWS. GOOD NEWS MEANS THAT JESUS DIED FOR US AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS RECEIVE HIM AND WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO HELL. NOW THAT IS GOOD NEWS. AMEN? GLORY TO GOD. PSALMS 27 VERSE 13 SAYS, I WOULD HAVE LOST HEART. WHO WOULD HAVE LOST HEART? THE MAN HERE, KING DAVID. I WOULD HAVE LOST HEART. SEE, IF SOMEONE LOSES HEART, THEY DON'T PUT MUCH INTO IT. A BASEBALL TEAM, A FOOTBALL TEAM, WITH NO HEART, THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA LOSE THE GAME. AMEN? THEY'RE NOT GONNA COME OUT OF THAT FOURTH QUARTER AND THEY'RE DOWN BY 14 POINTS AND THEY HAVE NO HEART. THEY AREN'T FIGHTING. THEY AREN'T TRYING TO PLAY HARD. THEY AREN'T COMING OUT AS A VICTORIOUS TEAM THAT CAME BACK. AMEN? ROCKY BALBOA. MAN, I USED TO ENJOY THOSE AS A KID. IT WASN'T ABOUT HIS ABILITY AND TALENT AS A BOXER. IT WAS ABOUT HIS HEART. THE DUDE NEVER GAVE UP. HE WAS AGAINST THE ROPES AND HE WAS GETTING PUNCHED. HE WAS GETTING WHOOPED. AND HE'D SAY, I'M WINNING. I'M WINNING. THAT'S THE WAY WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH GOD. WHEN THE ENEMY COMES IN, DON'T LET HIM KNOW HE'S HURT YOU. HE GOT IN A SUCKER PUNCH. NO, I'M WINNING. I'M COMING UP. GOD LOVES ME. AMEN? HE'S GOOD TO ME. HE'S GONNA RESTORE EVERYTHING THE ENEMY STOLE FROM ME.

I'M COMING UP. AMEN? Psalms 27 13 goes on to say, well let's back up to the beginning. I would have lost heart unless I had believed or trusted that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Notice, unless I would see the goodness, not correction, not hardness, not oh you're going to hell, but the goodness of God. You know, a lot of people, they preach hellfire, brimstone, oh God's gonna get you. That ain't good news. That's not the gospel. Amen? Glory to God. If you've seen anything good in your life, it's because of God. His mercy, His patience, His love. Amen? He has so much patience. Think of how many years it's been that you did not serve God or didn't do something right. Even if you were at church, you gossiped, you judged. Amen? God is so merciful. Amen? You know, I've said this frequently, Lord you are so good to me and the more that I say it, the more I experience His goodness. I decree it and it's been established and it's happening in my life. But the more you say that, He wants to do more for you. He says, hey you think that was good? Let me show you this. Natural mom, you come up. Mom, I love you. Thank you. You are so good to me. What does she want to do? Go get the boy ice cream. Amen? Glory to God. Whatever you confess to God and about God, He is in your life. Amen? If you confess He's not real, He doesn't do anything good for me, you have it because you declare it. If you declare He is so good to me, He's bringing me up. Amen? He's like, yeah I'm going to help you boy. I'm going to bring you up. I'm going to bring you out. I'm going to have mercy on you. You need to declare how good He is to you. God, you've been so merciful to me. I didn't deserve it, but you have been so good to me. Hallelujah. I'm still here. Glory to God. Are you saying the Lord never did anything good for you?

He doesn't do anything good for you? You know, I had a relative and they'd say, I never get to do anything. And he did. Well, I've noticed over the last few years he doesn't say that. And man, he's come up, been all over the place. You know, I said to him, I wonder why things don't happen for you. Don't be surprised when good things don't happen for you, whenever all you do is say, I never get that. Amen? Yeah, well, you're making it work in your life. Amen? Say, that doesn't work for me. Well, it just did. Hallelujah. The New Living Translation in Psalms 27 13 says, Yes, I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I'm here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. The Message Bible says, I'm sure now I'll see the goodness in the exuberant earth. Stay with God. Take heart. Don't quit. I'll say it again. Stay with God. Always stay on God's side. The Living Bible says, I am expecting. Remember the word hope, confident expectation. I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again. Man, He's done it for me time and time again. Times whenever I opened up my mouth, said the wrong thing, and He's rescued me, had mercy on me. So that once again, I will see His goodness to me here in the land of the living. Not when I die. I want to see it when I die. Streets of gold, but I'm going to experience His goodness, His mercy right now in this life. The Amplified Version of Psalms 27 13 says, What would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the goodness, the Lord's goodness in the land of the living? Wait and hope for and expect the Lord. What are you expecting? This is a key aspect here. Wait on the Lord. Seek Him. Expect His goodness. Amen. Be brave and of good courage and let

your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Expect what His goodness in your life. Amen. Don't be stout, stubborn, hard towards God. We need to have a heart saying, Lord, I missed it. I failed. I sinned. Forgive me. Amen. And He is faithful and just to forgive you. God is a God of mercy and compassion. Think of this. He sent His only son, Jesus, to the cross. Be nailed to the cross. Go to hell. Pay for our sins. That's how good He is to you, even though you may have rejected Him. He loved you enough to send His only son to hell for you. Amen. We need to confess Jesus as Savior, as provider, not just a healer, a provider. No, He's my healer. He's my provider. He's my Savior. Amen. Not just God. He is my Savior. He's my provider. Amen. Millions of people believe in God, but they don't believe Jesus as their Lord and their Savior. You know, a couple weeks ago we were talking to an individual. He's been an outlaw club for decades and one percent outlaw biker and we were talking to him and the Lord opened up a door. Thank you, Lord. And I talked to him and found out that he was an altar boy. I said, do you believe in God? Oh yeah. I was an altar boy when I was a child. Well, okay. What brought that about? Oh, my grandmother took me to church, made me be an altar boy. It wasn't that he had a heart for the things of God. He was taken to church, but I said, have you ever received Jesus? And I shared some scripture with him about you must confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life because he said, well, I hope I go to heaven. He wasn't saying that as a confident expectation, but as a desire, a wishy-washy, well, maybe if I'm good enough, I will. So I told him about how he could know that his name is in heaven. He says, man, I want that. I got goosebumps.

What do I have to do to have that? So I said, man, we can say a prayer right now. You can receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. It's a spiritual law. THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH IS IN YOUR WORDS, IN YOUR TONGUE. SO HIM AND I HELD HANDS RIGHT THERE, WE BOWED OUR HEADS, AND I LED HIM IN A PRAYER. I'M GOING TO LEAD YOU IN THAT. IF YOU DON'T KNOW JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR, IT'S A GOOD TIME TO DO IT. AMEN? YOU KNOW, THERE'S A PERSON, A FRIEND OF MINE WHO JUST PASSED AWAY, TWO OF THEM, THAT JUST PASSED AWAY IN THE LAST WEEK. THEY WEREN'T THAT OLD, THEY DIDN'T EXPECT TO GO THIS QUICK. DON'T WAIT. AMEN? I WANT YOU TO SAY THIS AFTER ME. SAY, HEAVENLY FATHER, I BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT YOUR ONLY SON, JESUS CHRIST, TO BE A MAN ON EARTH. HE DIED AND WAS PUT ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS. HE WAS BURIED AND WENT TO HELL FOR ME. LORD, I ASK YOU TO BE SAVIOR. MY LORD, MY SAVIOR, I ASK YOU TO FORGIVE ME OF MY SINS, TO HELP ME WALK ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD, TO LIVE BY YOUR WORD, TO EXPERIENCE YOUR GOODNESS. FATHER, I THANK YOU FOR IT. I DECLARE JESUS IS MY LORD. I AM A CHRISTIAN, A SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, A CHILD OF GOD. AMEN. WELL, BROTHER, SISTER, IF YOU SAID THAT, YOUR NAMES, THINK OF THIS, YOUR NAME IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS IN HEAVEN. THINK OF THAT. NOT THE WHITE HOUSE, IN HEAVEN. GOD PERSONALLY HAS YOUR NAME WRITTEN IN HIS LIBRARY AS ONE OF HIS CHILDREN.

YOU'RE PART OF HIS FAMILY, THE ETERNAL, LIVING, BLESSED FAMILY OF GOD. HALLELUJAH. GLORY TO GOD. IF THAT'S YOU, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LET US KNOW. AMEN. HALLELUJAH. WELL, THIS IS MIKE CANADA WITH LIVING IN VICTORY. HALLELUJAH. REMEMBER, WHATEVER IS BORN OF GOD. AMEN. WHATEVER IS BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES THE WORLD. THAT'S YOU IF YOU JUST SAID THAT PRAYER, AND THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD, OUR FAITH. AMEN. FIRST JOHN 5-4. VERSE 5 SAYS, WHO IS HE WHO OVERCOMES THE WORLD, BUT HE WHO BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. THAT'S YOU IF YOU JUST SAID IT. THAT MEANS YOU OVERCOME THE ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY, THE SCHEMES OF THE ENEMY. YOU WIN. YOU'RE VICTORIOUS. AMEN.