4-SIMPLE PRINCIPLES ANYBODY CAN APPLY TO ALWAYS RECEIVE FROM GOD (REVELATION)

One night as some friends were preparing to serve refreshments after a service in Phoenix, Arizona, I had an unusually strong urge from the Holy Spirit to pray. "I have to pray. I must pray. I have got to pray now," I told my friends. "Let's just all pray, then," they agreed. My knees had hardly touched the floor until I was in the Spirit. Do you know what it means to be in the Spirit? You become more conscious of spiritual things than you are of your natural surroundings. John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10). At that moment I didn't know I was in Phoenix, or even in that room. It seemed as if I knelt in a white cloud. For 45 minutes I prayed in tongues, with groanings, as hard and fast as I could. I knew that I was interceding for someone who was lost. At the end of that time of intercession, I had a note of victory.

Then I had a vision. The Lord showed me a detailed vision of a 72-year-old man who was going to be saved in the coming Sunday night service. Then the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to me. I saw Him as clearly as I would see you. He stood within three feet of me. He discussed things concerning my ministry and finances, and He even discussed things concerning our United States government. All of these things came to pass just as He said they would. He concluded by exhorting me, "Be faithful and fulfill thy ministry, my son, for the time is short." This vision took place in December 1953.

Jesus turned around to walk away, and I said, "Dear Lord Jesus, before You go, may I please ask You a question?" He retraced His steps, stood close to where I was kneeling, and said, "You may." I said, "Dear Lord, I have two sermons I preach concerning the woman who touched Your clothes and was healed when You were on earth. I received both of these sermons by inspiration. I preach them everywhere I go. And every time I preach them, I seem to be conscious in my spirit that the Holy Spirit is trying to get another sermon from this fifth chapter of Mark to me—a sermon that would complement the first two.
"Then, at times of prayer when I have a great anointing," I said, "I will come to the place where it seems I am going to receive that message into my spirit, but somehow or other, I fail to. If I am right about this, I wish You would give me that sermon."

He said, "You are correct. My Spirit, the Holy Spirit, has endeavored to get another sermon into your spirit, but you have failed to pick it up. While I am here, I will do what you ask. I will give you that sermon outline. Now get your pencil and paper and write it down." I opened my eyes to ask for paper and pencil. I didn't see Jesus any longer; I saw the people who were praying with me. When I closed my eyes, there Jesus stood as before. This was a spiritual vision. There are three types of visions: (1) a SPIRITUAL VISION, when you see with the eyes of your spirit; (2) a TRANCE, when your physical senses are suspended, and you do not know at that moment that you have a body; and (3) what I call an OPEN VISION, the highest type of vision, when your physical senses are all intact. You are not in a trance. Your eyes are wide open, yet you see into the spirit realm.

I am not smart enough to have figured all of this out. One time when Jesus appeared to me in a vision, He told me there are three kinds of visions. He explained them to me and proved them with Scriptures. But you do not have to accept this just because I said so. Do not accept anything anyone tells you just because they had a vision if it cannot be proved by the Word of God.

If Jesus tells you anything—if the Spirit of God brings any revelation to you—it must be in line with the Bible, or it is not from the Spirit of God. Jesus said, "Write down: 1,2,3,4." With my eyes shut, I wrote down 1,2,3,4. I knew the sermon had four points. He said, "If anybody, anywhere, will take these four steps or put these four principles into operation, he will always receive whatever he wants from Me or from God the Father."

Jesus said, "Step 1: SAY IT."
Jesus asked me this question: "What was the first step the woman with the issue of blood took toward receiving her healing?" (Mark 5:27). She knew about Jesus. She knew He was healing people. The 28th verse tells us, "For SHE SAID, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole." That is the first thing she did: She said.

In my vision, Jesus said, "Positive or negative, it is up to the individual. According to what the individual says, that shall he receive." He said, "This woman could have made a negative confession instead of a positive one, and that would have been what she received. She could have said, 'There's no use for me to go. I've suffered so long. Twelve years I've been sick. All the best doctors have given up on my case. I've spent all of my living upon physicians. I'm not better, but growing worse. I have nothing to live for. I might as well die.'" He said, "If that had been what she said, that would have been what she received. But she did not speak negatively. She spoke positively. For she said, 'If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.' "

Step 2: DO IT.
Jesus dictated to me during my vision, "Your action defeats you or puts you over. According to your action, you receive or you are kept from receiving."

Step 3: RECEIVE IT.
Say it. Do it. Receive it.
Jesus said to me, "Power is always present everywhere."
Step 4: TELL IT.
Jesus said to me, "Tell it so others may believe." In the vision, I said, "Lord, I can see that. I can see if anybody would take these four steps, they would receive healing just like that woman did. "But now You said if anybody anywhere would take those four steps, they would receive from You whatever they wanted. Do You mean that people can receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit that way?" He said, "Most assuredly, yes." Then I said to Him, "Lord, what about Christians? So many believers need victory in various areas of their life. They have the world, the flesh, and the devil to deal with. Some need victory over the flesh. Some need victory over the devil. Some need victory over the world. And some need victory over all of it. Are You telling me that any believer anywhere can write a ticket of victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil? They can do it?" He said emphatically, "Yes!"

He continued, "If they don't do it, it won't be done. It would be a waste of their time to pray for Me to give them the victory. They have to write their own ticket." "But, Lord," I said, "You're going to have to give me some Scripture to prove it. Your Word says, 'In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established'' (Matt. 18:16). So give me more Scripture having these same four principles in it, and I will believe it. I would not accept any vision, even if I did see You, if You could not prove what You said by the Bible." No, He didn't reprimand me. He smiled and said, "All right." "There is a story from the Old Testament," He said, "that you have known since you were a Sunday School boy." I couldn't think of any story that had these four principles in it, so I said, "You will have to tell me where it is." He said, "In First Samuel, the 17th chapter, the story of David and Goliath."

"Now wait a minute," I said. "You're not going to tell me that is what David did?" He said, "Exactly. Those are the four steps he took. The very first thing David did was he said " (v. 32). David ran and hastened to meet the giant. He cut off the giant's head.
First, David said it. Second, he did it. Third, he received it. And fourth, they told it.

Jesus said to me, "Israel is a type of the people of God. Goliath can be any giant that might be in your life: a type of the devil, demons, the world, the flesh, sickness, or anything else that stands between God's people and victory. Every child of God can write a ticket of victory." (Kenneth Hagin)