The Wood Cutter Story - Paying Attention

One day a woodcutter took his grandson into the forest for his first experience in selecting and cutting oak trees. These they would later sell to the boat builders.

As they walked along, the woodcutter explained that the purpose of each tree is contained in its natural shape: some are straight for planks, some have the proper curves for the ribs of a boat, and some are tall for masts.

The woodcutter told his grandson that by paying attention to the details of each tree, and with experience in recognizing these characteristics, someday he too might become the woodcutter of the forest.

A little way into the forest, the grandson saw an old oak tree that had never been cut. The boy asked his grandfather if he could cut it down because it was useless for boat building - there were no straight limbs, the trunk was, short and gnarled, and the curves were going the wrong way. "We could cut it down for firewood," the grandson said. "At least then it will be of some use to us." The woodcutter replied that for now they should be about their work cutting the proper trees for the boat builders; maybe later they could return to the old oak tree.

After a few hours of cutting the huge trees, the grandson grew tired and asked if they could stop for a rest in some cool shade. The woodcutter took his grandson over to the old oak tree, where they rested against its trunk in the cool shade beneath its twisted limbs.

After they had rested a while, the woodcutter explained to his grandson the necessity of attentive awareness and recognition of everything in the forest and in the world. Some things are readily apparent, like the tall, straight trees; other things are less apparent, requiring closer attention, like recognition of the proper curves in the limbs. And some things might initially appear to have no purpose at all, like the gnarled old oak tree.

The woodcutter stated, "You must learn to pay careful attention every day so you can recognize and discover the purpose God has for everything in creation. For it is this old oak tree, which you so quickly deemed useless except for firewood, that now allows us to rest against its trunk amidst the coolness of its shade.

"Remember, grandson, not everything is as it first appears. Be patient, pay attention, recognize, and discover."

 

Why Practice Makes You Perfect

A dramatic ballad singer student under a stern teacher who insisted he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any farther.

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to consider another profession.

 

One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest. Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and of course performed the one passage that he knew so well.

 
When he had finished the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance. Despite the student's embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe he had barely heard a beginner perform. 

"Tell me," the sponsor said, "who is your master?" He must be a grand instructor. The student later become known as the leading performer.

 

In this manner, practice develops, excellently’ express the ideas that:

Practicing a lot enables us to do well.
Perfection is achieved by repeating an activity several times.
We can achieve the state of flawlessness by working hard at that thing.
It is significant to put in time and effort if we want to get good at something.

 

Encouragement: If we do not achieve such an excellent standard as we would wish the first time around, this proverb encourages us to keep trying!

Appreciating hard work: This is a great proverb to cite when we want to acknowledge how much hard work someone has put into something. Perfection is achieved through hard word. It is rare to get something perfect first time around.

Versatility:This proverb is applicable to so many diverse contexts, from professional sports to playing chess!

Accurate: All things considered, ‘practice makes perfect’ is a very accurate way of expressing what it takes to succeed in life.

A sense of achievement: With its celebration of practice and skill, this proverb encapsulates the sense of achievement that we feel when we have achieved perfection in something. Hence, we can achieve whatever we desire – as long as we practice.

Give 100% in Your Relationships

A young boy and girl were enjoying a pleasant afternoon playing outside in their neighborhood together. The boy showed the girl his collection of beautiful, unique marbles. In turn, the girl showed the boy the handful of candy that she had just gotten for her birthday. 

 

The boy proposed that the two of them switch–he would give her all of his marbles if she handed over all of her candy. The girl agreed, as she found the marbles to be beautiful as well. 

 

The boy handed over all of his marbles, but kept one–the most exquisite one of them all–in his pocket. The girl kept her promise and gave the boy all of her candy.

 

That night, the girl was happy with the exchange and peacefully went to sleep.

 

The boy, however, couldn’t sleep, as he was up wondering if the girl had secretly kept some of her candy, just like he did with the marble.

 

The Moral: If you don’t give 100% in your relationships, you will always assume your partner isn’t giving 100% either. If you want your relationships to be built on trust, you have to be a participating factor in that.

Right Environment

A mother camel and her baby were lying down, soaking up the sun. The baby camel asked his mom, “Why do we have these big bumps on our back?”

The mom stopped to think and then said, “We live in the desert where there is not much water available. Our humps store water to help us survive on long journeys. “

The baby camel then stopped to think and said, “Well, why do we have long legs with rounded feet?”

His mother replied, “They are meant to help us walk through sand.”

The baby asked a third question, “Why are my eyelashes so long?”

The mother replied, “Your long eyelashes offer you protection from sand when it blows in the wind.”

Finally, the baby said, “If we have all of these natural abilities given to us to walk through the desert, what’s the use for camels in the Zoo?”

The Moral:

The skills and abilities that you possess won’t be useful if you’re not in the right environment.

How My Spiritual Eyes Opened Testimony Of Prophet Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj

Years ago before I started walking in the realm of the spirit and before my spiritual eyes were opened greatly desired to have my spiritual eyes opened. I got born again from being a Hindu in a meeting that was organized by a denomination that doesn’t believe in the baptism of the holy spirit. They don’t believe in all that. However, they are very good at proclaiming the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a Hindu, I received this flyer in my letterbox announcing about a thirty-day crusade. I just felt compelled to go. Being a Hindu, we do not know anything about all the Fighting’s that go on in a church. Whether my denomination is right or your denomination right. We don’t know anything. We only know one thing. There is a God called Jesus Christ and the Christians go to a church. That’s all we know being, an outsider.

I went to this meeting. It was in an auditorium like this. I was sitting right up on the balcony getting the message and when the preacher an American man gave an altar call deep down in my spirit I heard a voice. This is the true God go and follow him. A real voice, real audible voice coming from deep inside me. This is the true God go and follow him. I thought in my mind what about all the gods that we have been worshipping all this while. The Hindus worship 330 million gods. Don’t ask me how they counted. Some of them got it all figured. Every Hindu, a good pious Hindu, will worship at least a dozen gods in their houses. We have a small altar in our house, and we keep pictures of some of the popular gods. There’ll be one patron god. He’s like the guardian of the family. Then with all the other gods. We worship a dozen gods and here I’m in this meeting. I’m hearing this voice this is the true God go and follow him so there was a battle inside of me.

What about all the other gods? What about them? But the voice kept on speaking each time I stopped it. The only thing was it was getting louder and louder. This is the true God go and follow him. I didn’t know what to do, what to makeover. Do you know, so I just set on the seat and after a while, I felt that the chair on which I was sitting began to shake. It shook. Literally shaking. Keep on speaking this is the true God and the impression is coming into my mind get up and go. Guess what I did, I just held onto the handle. I wouldn’t go. I didn’t know what to make out of it. Why is this voice telling me this is a true God? I didn’t know but I was just very stubborn so I saw a lot of people getting up from the chairs and going to the front.

Then suddenly a third thing happened. I felt a hand below my back it gently lifted me up on my feet. Now I was up at the balcony, so I thought in my heart. First, it was a voice, second came the shaking, then came the hand then lifted me up. If I were to resist any longer, this hand is going to take me up and throw me down. I thought, let me just submit myself to it. I felt his hand just clutching me no, and it gently let me down three flights of steps. I came, and I stood on the left part where the preacher was standing.

I clearly remember this whole thing as if it happened yesterday. As soon as I came, it seemed that the preacher was waiting for me all the while. I don’t think he noticed me. A Nice white man. I don’t think he noticed me because there were about fifty other people. I was standing in one corner not surrounded by anybody. So as soon as I came, he said let us pray so he started leading the people in the sinner’s prayer. I didn’t understand anything. I was just a Hindu sixteen years old. So standing there whether to repeat the sinner’s prayer or not, I don’t Know. To repeat the sinner’s prayer, I did not know anything. I stood there, I said okay I’ve come this far. Let me go one step further I looked up. Jesus, if you are the true God please set me free from this cycle of rebirth.

Hindus believe in the cycle of rebirth. I said Lord if you are the true God please set me free from the cycle of rebirth. As soon as I said that I felt a pot of oil being poured on my head. I literally felt it. I turn around to see if anybody was standing beside me. There was no one within a 3-foot radius. No one. But I felt a part of my head. It cools down my head, and it was oozing down. I felt a cleansing taking place inside my heart. He flowed down my hands, flowed down my body all over my face, and he reached my legs and when he washed the toes and then he left. I felt all my sins are forgiven me and a great peace that I cannot explain came and filled my heart.

At that moment I knew this Jesus Christ is the true Living God. It was a forced supernatural encounter. I came to the Lord, so after I got saved this church that held the meeting gave me some pamphlets and some books as a follow-up to read. So I came back home, I kept my faith hidden. My father was a priest, so he doesn’t want me to go and tell him I just became a Christian. So I kept it hidden as long as I could until I was caught red-handed with the Bible and then all hell broke loose.

 

So he severely reprimanded me from reading the Bible or anything to do with Christians. So I obeyed him. I forgot everything about the meeting the church everything. But I was back to my normal life as a Hindu then came our annual school vacation. So during the vacation, I had nothing else to do. I had no friends, my father never allowed us to mix with any friends. Very strict man. Home school home that’s all. No playtime. So sitting at home one month of vacation not knowing what to do. I was sitting all alone in my bedroom and I thought okay let me read the book that they gave me at the meeting six months ago. It’s called steps to Christ.

I didn’t know what that church was. I didn’t know what denomination it was. All I knew was I got saved. It didn’t matter to me which Church they were. As I was reading the book the same voice that spoke to me this is the true God once again it spoke. It said you made a mistake go back to the church and get baptized. Very distinct, very clear just like how I heard six months ago. So I remembered all those events. I immediately went to the church. Good thing they had services on a Saturday. So I could lie to my parents that I have extra classes in school. I would put my school uniform on and go to school. I would be the only person in that Church that came with the school uniform. I’d met the pastor, and I said I wanted to get baptized.

To make a long story short after he said you know first, you need to learn about the Bible then only we can baptize you. I asked him how long will they take. Three months. I said all right, so every Sunday afternoon during that period when my father sleeps that was the time I’ll sneak out of the house go to the church and have my Bible study and run back quickly home before he gets up. All during the three months of Bible study, I did not learn anything about the Bible except the teachings of the church denomination. It didn’t matter to me. My goal was to get baptized. It didn’t matter to me what they thought about sabbath-keeping? What they thought about not eating clean food unclean food. It didn’t matter to me.

My goal was to go through all the studies so that I can be ready to get the price in the water because that’s what the Lord told me you know go and get baptized. So I got baptized on the 3rd of March 1979. After that, I was now in high school. One day I was walking down the road to school when I felt something come from heaven and drop into my spirit. When he dropped in the voice, spoke God is calling you to the ministry. This was how I was led step by step, so eventually, I became a member of the Church. That church doesn’t believe in the Holy Spirit experience. By the way, it’s called the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which I’m sure you have guessed by now.

I was so naive so like a baby Christian who knows nothing about church denominations. Whether it’s a Methodist Church or an Anglican Church of the Episcopal a Presbyterian Church or United Methodist or Divided. I’m sorry they have all divided anyway. They all disunited anyway.

Whatever it is, my one goal was I was led by the spirit. After I got my call, to make a long story short, after a year and a half I came out of the church. Realizing that all the wrong teachings are the wrong teaching. When I came out of the church, I was introduced to the Pentecostal church. I didn’t like them much. So much of shouting. Look, this is what happens in 1979. In their 70's they all straitjacket Christians. They only sing hymns, no clapping of hands no moving of your body, nothing straitjacket Christians.

Then here I came into a Pentecostal church just jumping up and down they’re clapping their hands I felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t like going to the Pentecostal church. All this hooliganism. Then I came to know about the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit but I had so much of the Seventh Day teaching inside my mind. That I could not accept what these Pentecostals are telling me about. Speaking in tongues in the Holy Spirit. I told the Lord, Lord I don’t want to listen to this guy or that guy I want you to teach me, Lord. I took the Bible, and I read the Gospels over and over again until I was convinced of the truth that this baptism of the Holy Spirit is real.

So once I knew it was real, I began to pray honestly from the middle of 1980 up to September 1981. I prayed honestly. Lord fill me with the Holy Spirit. Lord filled me with the Holy Spirit. Then in 1981 September a mighty man of God came to our town and he conducted a crusade and in the crusade, I was gloriously filled with the Holy Spirit for three days in a row. I felt like a hundred and ten thousand-watt electricity would flow through my whole body for 15 whole minutes. I will feel it flowing and flowing and flowing mightily three days in a row every day. I was so happy, now I’ve got baptized in the Holy Spirit after that I began to earnestly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Because I saw that in that preacher's life how all the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested in his life. How he used to call our people’s names and tell them their problems.

I said, Lord I want this. I earnestly prayed for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After I had started exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life, I was not satisfied with that. There must be something more then I came to know about another man of God by the way both these men of God have all gone to be with the Lord. But his other men of God had a deep intimate walk with God in the heavenly realms. He used to be caught up into the heavens. He used to see angels. He was translated, and he has this communion of saints in the glory that began to captivate me. I said I need that. That is the next step. To pray earnestly, Lord I want to walk with you like that man of God. I want the same anointing Lord, open my spiritual eyes.

In this pursuit, during this period of time, I do not know how I got this book but a book called the Believers Authority written by the late Kenneth Hagin book into my hand. I read through the book. When I read through the book, I came to the part where he one day was dissatisfied with his own spiritual life and he wanted something deeper. Have you read the book? He locked himself in his church, and he told his wife I’m going to pray and seek the Lord. Don’t wait for me to come for dinner, I’m not going to come out until I have an encounter with God. He opened his Bible to Ephesians chapter 1 verses 17 to 21 in chapter 3 verses 17 to 22, where the Apostle Paul prays a prayer for the efficiency of believers. He prayed the prayer. These prayers are spirit-filled prayers and they are not only meant for the efficient believers they also meant for me.

So I claimed those prayers. He prayed and he prayed and he prayed until the Lord told him from this day onwards the spiritual eyes are opened. So when I read that something stirred inside me. So I thought, if it can work for a white man it can certainly work for an Indian because our God is not colorblind. He’s not colorblind so I wrote down that prayer and I personalized that prayer. Lord fill me with the spirit of wisdom and revelation that the eyes of my understanding would be enlightened that I may know what is the hope of my calling and what the riches of the glory of my inheritance in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of your mighty power that worketh in me.

I wrote it down on a piece of paper and I prayed and I prayed and I prayed every waking moment. Every little moment of time that I get I will kneel down in one corner and earnestly pray this prayer. One day as I was praying I saw like a flash of light, it says after hundred and eighty days you will get this gift. I don’t know why there are a hundred and eighty days. But I made a note of it in my diary. But I still kept on praying every day I prayed that prayer. When I’m traveling on the bus, I pray. When I’m walking, when I work, I pray every little moment I can. Go to one small corner, kneel down, and pray this prayer. In the third week of September 1983, I think you see that the 23rd or the 24th I was in a spiritual meeting and when the prayer was going on suddenly my spiritual eyes were opened.

I saw the Lord Jesus Christ hanging on a cross for 20 minutes. I saw that vision from all different angles you know from the right side from the left side from the front from the back from the top from all corners and tears flowed from my eyes like rivers. I wept and I wept. I do not know why I was weeping, and I could not control the tears it just flowed like rivers that night.

When I went back to my room I was recording this incident in my diary. I have a habit of writing down all visions that I see whatever the Lord speaks to me in my diary. When I wrote that incident in my diary, I thought to let me see what day is the day. When I counted back, it was exactly the hundred and eightieth day that was the exact 180th day. My spiritual eyes were opened from that day onwards. Every time I’m praying I’ll see a vision. A spiritual vision and I were not satisfied with that. No, this is not enough I must go to the next step what is the next step. Seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, that is my next step.

I began to pray earnestly Lord I want to see you. I mean I heard what that man of God talked about. When he shares all his wonderful experiences, how he was caught up to the third heaven, how the Lord Jesus Christ would come into his prayer study, or when he is reading the Bible how the Lord Jesus walked into his bedroom and said do you understand what you’re reading. It was so nice to hear all that. But I did not stop there I said no I need that Lord. I need that. If you can do that for him, you can do it for anybody because you love everybody. So I prayed honestly. I prayed honestly.

One day after about two months I decided to spend a whole day in prayer. This man of God receives, I served in his ministry for about two and a half months, so he received hundreds of letters every day people writing to him for prayer so it was my duty when he goes out of town to pray for all those requests on his behalf and then to reply send replies to all the people.

On one that one particular day in November 1983 I decided to spend a whole day in prayer from 10:00 in the morning up to 5:00 in the evening. So I told my associate look I’m going to pray today please don’t disturb me. You take care of my part of the work. Tomorrow I’ll make up for you. So here it’s a very nice young guy. So from 10 a.m. I went into the prayer room then knelt I began to worship the Lord and began to meditate the word and just wait on God and when the evening came about.

I said alright let me now pray for all these letters. So I knelt on besides my bed and just as I was about to say Lord Spirit of God I’m going to pray for all these letters. Help me to pray. Yes, I was about to say that sentence I heard the sound that somebody was turning the doorknob. I wondered when I told that no one should disturb me how come somebody’s coming. So the door opened and just as I was about to say who goes there the Lord Jesus Christ entered in as real as you see me standing before you.

I saw him standing there wearing a beautiful blue robe a blue robe. He stood there, and he closed the door behind him and he walked so gently so gloriously. No one can imitate how the Lord walks there’s such a gentleman style of walking. He walked, he came straight to me. So this is an experience of a lifetime. You are hitting the jackpot now. Previously I thought to myself if I ever see the Lord these are all the questions I’m going to ask him. Have you ever thought like that but the moment I saw the Lord the mind goes blank. The mind goes blank and it’s just hard all at the beauty of the Lord Jesus. The beauty, extreme beauty you know.

When Solomon wrote he is fairer than ten thousand, I think that’s not correct you know it’s more than ten thousand so glorious he came and stood beside me and what he said next shocked me.

He said I have come to pray with you. What do you mean Lord I’ve never heard anything like this before and then what he did next shocked me further. He kneeled down. This is getting worse, in bed I didn’t know how to react. Here first I was shocked by his beauty second I was shocked by the statement that he made third I was shocked by his action of kneeling beside the dust. King David rightfully said, Who am I but a worm but a dog. Who am I for the King of glory to come and kneel down beside me? I couldn’t digest all this you know then he said put your hand on those letters and let us pray. I told the Lord.

I somehow plucked some courage. Lord, I do not know what all these people have written. Shall I read them one by one to you so that we can then pray? See how naive and stupid we are. He already knows what’s in the letter, but he said. My naivety and my innocence now it’s a lot. I don’t know he just smiled at me now. One beautiful smile. He said just lay your hands. We will pray. So I let my hands, and the lord laid his hands on my hands and he said let us now pray and he lifted his face. Of course, I didn’t pray. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so I opened my eyes I looked at him. We were this close and I looked at him he lifted his face and he began to groan and groan and tears float like rivers.

I saw Romans 8:26 personified before my eyes. The Holy Spirit groaning in prayer. I saw the Lord his spirit his inside and he just groans. His whole chest and his whole body were moving and groaning and tears flowed down his eyes and when he was finished. He told me now this is how you shall reply to them and we went through all the 300 letters one by one. Not a collective prayer like how we popularly do today. That day I learned every person meant to the Lord. Every request meant to the Lord. It’s not a collective prayer. Lord, we pray for all these letters. Lord answer them every single letter. Every single tear meant to the Lord. When we would through with all those letters then he looked at me. He stood up. He laid his hands on my head, and he blessed me. From that day onwards every time, I close my eyes to pray I see the Lord Jesus Christ standing by my right side so I was very happy but I said Lord this is not enough.

There’s something more. What’s more now? I want to see your glory, Lord. I want to see the heaven that’s what I started praying next. Honestly prayed Lord I want to see your glory I prayed earnestly.

He said I have come to pray with you. What do you mean Lord I’ve never heard anything like this before and then what he did next shocked me further. He kneeled down. This is getting worse, in bed I didn’t know how to react. Here first I was shocked by his beauty second I was shocked by the statement that he made third I was shocked by his action of kneeling beside the dust. King David rightfully said, Who am I but a worm but a dog. Who am I for the King of glory to come and kneel down beside me? I couldn’t digest all this you know then he said put your hand on those letters and let us pray. I told the Lord.

I somehow plucked some courage. Lord, I do not know what all these people have written. Shall I read them one by one to you so that we can then pray? See how naive and stupid we are. He already knows what’s in the letter, but he said. My naivety and my innocence now it’s a lot. I don’t know he just smiled at me now. One beautiful smile. He said just lay your hands. We will pray. So I let my hands, and the lord laid his hands on my hands and he said let us now pray and he lifted his face. Of course, I didn’t pray. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so I opened my eyes I looked at him. We were this close and I looked at him he lifted his face and he began to groan and groan and tears float like rivers.

I saw Romans 8:26 personified before my eyes. The Holy Spirit groaning in prayer. I saw the Lord his spirit his inside and he just groans. His whole chest and his whole body were moving and groaning and tears flowed down his eyes and when he was finished. He told me now this is how you shall reply to them and we went through all the 300 letters one by one. Not a collective prayer like how we popularly do today. That day I learned every person meant to the Lord. Every request meant to the Lord. It’s not a collective prayer. Lord, we pray for all these letters. Lord answer them every single letter. Every single tear meant to the Lord. When we would through with all those letters then he looked at me. He stood up. He laid his hands on my head, and he blessed me. From that day onwards every time, I close my eyes to pray I see the Lord Jesus Christ standing by my right side so I was very happy but I said Lord this is not enough.

 

 

There’s something more. What’s more now? I want to see your glory, Lord. I want to see the heaven that’s what I started praying next. Honestly prayed Lord I want to see your glory I prayed earnestly.

The bible tells us in the book of Hebrews chapter 12 that in the last days the communion of the Saints will be restored with the judge. Are you familiar with that? You have this man of God used to share wonderful experiences of how he had this communion of saints. You’re not talking with big people. You’re not dead. Because the Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said. God is not the god of the dead. He’s the god of the living. He’s the God of Abraham, God of Isaac God of Jacob.

He’s the god of the living. If they are living then, we are not practicing necromancy. It’s not that. Come and see they are living Saints in glory and we have a proof in the scriptures in Matthew chapter 17 where Elijah and Moses came and talked with the Lord Jesus.

The scriptures are there. Isn’t it? And also in Matthew 27 verses 51 and 52, you read it that after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the graves opened, and the Saints rose and they appeared unto the people in Jerusalem. They appeared. Appeared and spoke with the people so we have scriptures for all that. So before I prayed to see the glory of heaven, before that I prayed Lord now I would like, I didn’t pray to see all these saints. I didn’t pray. I just decided to walk with God. The Lord gave me a commandment. He said to do this commandment. Spend this number of hours each day in prayer. I’m not going to say how many. Because that is specific only for me. It will not apply to everybody. I learned that didn't apply to everybody because when I shared this with a few other people when they did that, that same number of hours nothing worked. So then I realized it was not for those. That was tailor-made for me.

The principle is waiting on God. That’s the principle walking with God. Fellowshipping with God pursuing honestly. This is what you must now learn. Pursue earnestly and sharing all this with you not to brag about my spirituality now but to provoke you unto jealousy. That’s what I’m doing. This is not what I prepared to share with you tonight. I’m just provoking you. I say all this with great humility. I’m just provoking, My one intention is to provoke you into holy jealousy so that when you leave this place and when you go home you will kneel and you will pray Lord if you can do that to that Indian you can do it for me. That’s my desire. You will do that. If God can do that to an Indian, he can certainly do it to you because God is not colorblind.

So I began to spend this number of hours every day in prayer after seven days one day I was just waiting on God meditating the word certainly I felt someone just entered into my room. I turn around, and I saw a very aged looking Saint full of glory with long white beard long white hair standing in my room and he walked towards me and he asked me what are you reading?

I said sir you know in India we are taught to address elders as the father. You call them fathers. I said father this is what I’m reading. So I then looked at him. Sir, who are you? He said I am the one who wrote the book of Revelation. I did not say the word John you know, and he sat beside me. He said turn your Bible to the book of Revelation let’s go to chapter 1.

You know how I wrote that. He explained to me how he wrote that. For a long time, I had a question in my heart. I told Sir you were on the island of Patmos how did you write those seven messages and got it delivered to the seven churches all over Asia Minor. He said when God gave me that revelation the angels of those cities, they all came and stood before me. I wrote on the scrolls, and I will give it to them and they took it to the various Churches to the Angel of the church. In obedience they took it. This was how he explained to me. After that brief visit of about half an hour, he left. From that day onwards every other day, he would enter into my room when I’m waiting on the Lord. Either to pray together or to explain to me some scriptures. Some things that I don’t understand about the Bible they say do you know what it means? I’m reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah, comes. He said let me explain to you what this means. Every day this went on.

I was very elated. But I was not satisfied. Now there must be something more. What’s next? See the glories of heaven. That became my next goal. So I began to pray earnestly Lord I want to see your glory. Lord, I want to see your glory every day I earnestly passionately prayed. Lord, I want to see your glory. On my birthday a saint visited me in the night when I was praying. Today is your birthday I have come to bless you. Very soon that which you have been praying for it will be granted to you. As soon as he said that I knew this was the one. I said thanked the saint, and he left. I kept on praying earnestly Lord now you have given me a sure promise. It’s no more just by faith now I have a sure promise.

I honestly began to pray continually. Lord, I need this Lord I need that. One day on March the 24th 1984 at two o’clock in the morning as I was waiting on God suddenly I saw myself in a strange place. I opened my eyes I looked around so beautiful Park. Beautiful park. I was in my room in India. It’s a small room six by six, and it’s all. Cemented ground how come? This is a park beautiful park. I’ve never seen such greenery anywhere else in the world. Just as I was wondering where I was two angels, about eight feet tall came and stood beside me and said welcome. I ask them where’s this place? This is paradise and they took me around. To a place where children are. Little children three years old five years old. Saw them staying in that part of paradise. That was another great way that was opened likewise. Till today I don’t want to stop hungry or desiring. It is not good to just here. But preachers like me come and tell you. Oh, I’ve had this experience or have at this walk. This is possible. That is possible. Don’t stop there. It is your father’s desire that you press on. It is your father’s desire I say this with all-knowingness and surety.

It is not your father’s desire. He would not have shown me that yesterday. He would not have shown me. It is your father’s desire. A Syrophoenician woman came to the Lord Jesus Christ for her daughter. Her daughter was demon-possessed, and she asked a lot to heal her. The Lord just couldn’t. Careless about her. First, the disciples ignored her. Then it was the Lord Jesus Christ who ignored her. He said you are a Syrophoenician your time has not come. I am sent to the house of the Jews. It’s not good to cast the children’s bread to the dogs. In the Eastern culture to call someone, a dog is a very very high insult and the Syrophoenician woman. Even today in Eastern culture you don’t call a person a dog.

That is the meanest and the most insult that you can give to a person. But look at this woman. Even though the Lord Jesus Christ insulted her and call her dog instead of feeling offended and just walk away saying you called me a dog. Instead of reacting like that she humbled herself, she says yes Lord I am a dog. Lord but I’m not going to give up. She remembered to know what dogs do. Dogs keep on going around the Masters's feet. Don’t they? You try to shoo away your dog. It keeps on coming back right. It keeps on coming back again and again and again. That’s what dogs do. They don’t give up. That’s what that lady that woman did.

She did not give up. She said yes Lord even the Dogs will come and sit at the Master's feet and hope for the crumbs to fall down. Now when she pursued the Lord. Then that moved the heart of the Lord Jesus and he said according to your faith let it be done. How faith moves beyond time technically the Lord cannot bless her because he’s under the Old Covenant. So how did he heal her then? Have faith. Faith has no time. It exists in all time because she moved in that faith dimension. It transcends. Time to the cross. When the blood felt it. Made the way open for the gospel to go to the Gentiles in that time dimension. The Lord turn around and spoke to her according to your faith let it be healed and she was healed. Pursuing after the object of your passion. This is what God expects you to have now.

By the end of this conference, you’re going to have a breakthrough, and I’m sure you desire that. Don’t you? You have not just come here for head knowledge. Have you? If you are here for that purpose, I have bad news for you. You have wasted your time. You have wasted your time. At the end of this conference on Saturday, you must have a powerful encounter with God. Even before that and the only qualification is for you to earnestly contend for your destiny. Earnestly contend.

This is my destiny, Lord. I want that. Pray earnestly pursue. If you do that the coat that rested upon Joseph. The coat of many colors it’s not just many colors you know it’s many promises. The Seven fold Spirit of the Lord that rested on the coat will also come upon you.

Success principles taught by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Let us talk about success. Having a vision is the first rule of success. If you don’t have a goal of where you go and if you don’t have a vision where you go you drift around and you never end up anywhere. I was born in 1947 in Austria after the second world war.

I was very fortunate that I happened to had a vision and I didn’t really like Austria. My vision was totally different I felt that I was born for something big, for something special and for something unique.

When I grew up I couldn’t wait to get out of Austria. I couldn’t see myself becoming a worker in factory or a farmer or anything like that even though my parents wanted me to stay there and have a normal life. But that was their vision not mine.

When I was 11 years old I went to school and one day I remember, they showed a documentary about America. In that documentary they showed the huge bridges, the high rises, the six lane freeways, the huge skyscrapers all of this in that massive city. I decided that day that I want to be there one day.

I don’t want to be around here with these little farmhouses and these little buildings. I want to be in America. One day after school I walked by a store in graze, so I went inside and I looked around and then I saw a magazine there’s a bodybuilding magazine that had Reg Park on the cover.

Reg Park was then a three-time Mr. universe and I saw him on the big screen as Hercules. I read that and I said to myself wow this is the blueprint for my life. This is exactly what I want to do. I want to become a bodybuilding champion just like Rag Park.

I want to get into movies just like Reg Park and I want to make millions of dollars and be rich and famous just like Reg Park. Do you know how great it felt that I knew where I was going. Imagine the majority of people don’t know where they’re going. I knew where I was going that I'm going to become this bodybuilding champion just like him. It was just a question of how do you do it.

I was so relieved because when you have a goal, when you have a vision everything becomes easy. People always ask me when they saw me in the gym in the pumping iron days they say “why is it that you’re working-out so hard five hours a day six hours a day and you have always a smile on your face” and I told people all the time. I said because to me I'm shooting for gold. In front of me is the Mr. universe title.

So every rep that I do gets me closer to accomplishing that goal. To make this core this vision turn into reality every single set that I do every repetition every weight that I lift will get me a step closer to turn the score in the reality. I couldn’t wait to do another 500 pound squat. I couldn’t wait to do another 500 pound bench press. I couldn’t wait to do another 2000 reps of sit-ups. I couldn’t wait for the next exercise. With the age of 20 I went to London and I wanted to miss the universe contest as the youngest Mr universe ever and it was because I had a goal.

Let me tell you something visualizing your goal and going after it makes it fun. You’ve got to have a purpose no matter what you do in life. You’ve got to have a purpose. 74 percent hate their job in America. Now there’s not much different when you come to Europe. The majority of people don’t like what they’re doing because they’re really not doing it because they didn’t have a goal and they followed the score.

They just aimlessly drift around and then all of a sudden, if there’s a job opening, they get their job because you have to work. Then when you work it’s a chore. It’s work. It’s not fun. If you think about only a quarter of the people really enjoy what they’re doing in life that is unbelievable. If you think about it. I felt so blessed that I knew what I was doing. It’s like a medical student that studies and knows he wants to become a doctor.

You know where to go and the same thing is also in politics. I remember that in politics I had a very clear vision. That I will be the leader of California this is as far as I could go because I was not born in America. I could not run for president. Being the governor of the fifth largest state, or I should say the largest state, the fifth largest economy in the world was for me really the ultimate title. The ultimate accomplishment in politics.

Even though people came up to me and says why don’t you go and run for something smaller you’re never gonna make it. I ran for governor and then two months later I became governor of the state of California again because I had a very clear vision. What I'm gonna do with California. That’s rule number one. Have a vision.

Rule number two is don’t listen to the naysayers.

Rule number two is don’t listen to the naysayers. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Everything I ever did, the thing that they heard out of people’s mouth was that’s impossible. That can’t be done or no that is exactly what I heard and of course I proved to the people that it can be done. Whenever someone said to me it can’t be done I heard it can be done. When they said no I heard yes. And when they said it’s impossible I heard it is possible.

I'm a strong believer. What Nelson Mandela said that everything is always impossible until someone does it. Well, I'm gonna be the one who said to myself. I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna show it to them. Maybe it has never been done before. That’s perfectly fine with me. But I'm gonna do it and I did not listen to the naysayers.

It’s all about the hard work that you put in. I said I must have been bodybuilding. I worked out five six hours a day. I'm gonna do the same thing now for acting and of course I went to college to study English. I studied the accent, removal acting classes and all of this stuff all day long. I worked and I worked in the works. And within a short period of time I made one movie called Hercules in New York which of course went right into the toilet. But it didn’t discourage me. I still had the same vision and then all of a sudden I did Streets of San Francisco. 

 

I did stay hungry and pumping on and the villain and then all of a sudden I was asked by Dino De Laurentiis at the universal studio to star in Conan the Barbarian. After I did Conan the Barbarian the director at the press conference said to the press, the director was John Millius, he said to the press if we wouldn’t have had Arnold we would have had to build one. Think about that the very body that they said can never be sold because the time is wrong. A few years later I'm doing Conan the Barbarian and it was the number one hit at the box office when it came out in the summer of 82.

Think about that and the director says if we wouldn’t have had his body we would have had to build one. All of a sudden my body became an asset not a liability and the same thing was with terminator. After we were finished filming terminator Jim Cameron said to the press if Arnold wouldn’t have had that accent and talk like a machine, I think the movie wouldn’t have worked.

So think about that the body and the accent that they attacked was an asset. But I didn’t listen to those losers, I didn’t listen to them at all. It’s just the reality of it is that you cannot listen to the naysayers. This is a very important lesson for all of you. When someone says no, this is a stupid idea, you in your mind you don’t have to say so

Love and Money

There was once a very wealthy man who lived in a sprawling palace with many servants. Among the many servants, he had three special servants. One day, this man called all the servants, gave them hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits and dismissed them. He then called his three special servants and told them, “My dear servants, you have been special and have faithfully served me all these years. Now, ask what you want and I will freely give them to you.” The servants could not believe their ears.

The first servant said, “Master, I will be satisfied with just one million dollars.” The master immediately wrote out a cheque and gave it him. The second servant said, “Master, I’ll be satisfied with just a hundred acres of your fertile land.”  Since the wealthy man had his lawyer present too, he immediately made out a deed to that purpose. The third servant fell at the feet of the Master and cried. The master lifted him up and asked him why he was crying. The servant said, “Master, all these years you had loved me dearly. Now where shall I go? I don’t want gold or silver. I only want you. Please allow me to serve you till I die.”


The master was pleased and granted the request. Day by day, the Master and servant became like father and son. Finally, on his death bed, this Master called his servant and said, “My dearly beloved servant, you have faithfully served me all these years, not desiring gold and silver. I now adopt you as my legal son and bequeath all my wealth to you. As my son, you shall inherit everything that I own.”