Delight in the Word

This is a very simple word, yet it is very important so I encourage your hearts to be wide open and to listen intently. That’s what I am going to be doing.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly...

You have two counsels within you: the counsel of the carnal man and the counsel of the Lord. Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the carnal mind but walks in that which the Lord speaks.

Psalm 1:1 ...nor stands in the way of sinners, not sits in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law does he meditate day and night.

This is a tough one, because many people do not delight in the Word. It has to be a delight to you. When it is a delight, then you can partake of the richness of it. Doing it out of duty, “Well, I’m going to read three chapters a day,” doesn’t do much. It must be a delight to your heart. When it is a delight to your heart, you don’t have to remember to do it. It is something you love and you find yourself delighting in God’s word at all times; you meditate upon the law of the Lord.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water ...

A tree planted by the rivers of water is getting the life source that it needs all the time. So is the man who meditates upon the Word day and night. He becomes like a tree planted by rivers of water.

...that brings forth his fruit in his season... It is through your partaking of the Word that your life will be fruitful.

...his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper. That covers a lot of things. Whatever you do, you shall prosper IF the Word is your delight and that you partake of it. When we talk about the Word, we’re not just talking about the written word, the Scriptures, but we are also talking of the living Word which is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. So when you are in the Scriptures, you want to be able to find His life in them and partake of that. That is what brings the delight.

Whatsoever you do shall prosper. Whatsoever you shall do in the realm of spiritual things, whatsoever you do in the realm of your natural life, your career, whatever it is, the Word brings prosperity to whatever you lay your hands to do. It was said of Joseph while in Potipher’s house that nothing was withheld from him. When he was in the dungeon even, whatever he wanted, everything was made available for him. He just prospered because of the Word. But let’s look at verse 4.

Psalm 1:4-6 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Prosperity... a lot of churches are preaching prosperity. “God wants to bless you.” Well, He does, but it is not as simple as they make it. There are those who pay tithes simply because they believe there shall be a return, but their giving of tithes is not worship. There are many who go to churches where the prosperity message is preached. God wants to bless you, God wants to make you prosperous and He does. But He also wants everything within you that is opposed to His will to die, because that is the way it has to happen. We have to be dedicated to the means. Now let’s look at Joshua.

Joshua 1:1-3 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
2 Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon.... They literally walked it. Just hearing a Word is not enough. You have to walk in it. When you walk in it, it becomes a possession, something that is worked in you. There is what brings the prosperity, the walking in the Word. You have to look at both sides. To walk in the Word means there has to be some elimination of things within you that are opposed to the Word. I don’t know anyone who has ever sat down and said, “I’m going to read the Word. I’m going to delight in it and I’m going to love it.” As soon as you sit down and start, you find things rising up within you: “This is not fun. I don’t like this. I’ve got other things to do. Maybe later I’ll enjoy it.” There is going to be opposition so you have to realize we are going to war over the Word. “We are going to love it and the thing within me that doesn’t want me to love it is going to die. I’m going to put it to death!”

Joshua 1:4-5 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of your life...

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee ... including your own man, your man nature. How can I overcome this man that is in me that I might delight in the Word, that I might be prosperous in everything that the Lord sets before me? The Lord said, “There shall not a man be able to stand before you all the days of your life.” That means your own man nature, too. To believe the Word; “I believe. My man nature has to come under subjection to the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord has been spoken and I believe it. So I contend for the Word.”

Joshua 1:5 ...as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

If you haven’t at some time felt like the Lord was failing you, you won’t understand this. In the face of what looks like failure you say, “The Lord is true. The Lord is faithful. The Lord will not fail me.” The Lord realizes all the things of our flesh nature that are in opposition to His will. The thing that will oppose us is the greatest enemy we have. So the Lord will work in such a way as to eliminate the stones in our life that might trip us. He brings circumstances, situations, and He causes things to happen that will make the uglies in your nature rise up. You see it and think, “I’m defeated already.” No, it comes up for a reason – to cut it to pieces like Samuel did Agag. There has to be an elimination of that which opposes God’s will in order for you to walk with the Lord. There is no prosperity in eliminating the work of the cross. That is the means!

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage ... In the face of your greatest foe, be strong and of good courage. ... for unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give them.

It doesn’t mean that you are going to be a big-shot ministry, but nevertheless your faithfulness to be strong and of good courage will open the door for many others - for unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land. When you open your heart to move in this, to delight in the Word, to be an overcomer, it not only affects you but it affects others also.

Joshua 1:7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law...

Replace the word “law” there with the Word. The Hebrew word there is torah and the exact meaning is “instructions.” That you may observe to do according to all the instructions.

Joshua 1:7 ...which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper whithersoever you go.

“I won’t turn to the left or turn to the right. I’ll just keep on course.” Yeah, and everything in your old nature will be constantly trying to get you to turn to the left or right. It is going to be a battle. Why does it have to be a battle? Well, it is a battle, and that is why it says, “Be strong and courageous.” It says that because you will need to be strong and courageous. But listen, because God says it that is the Word that will make you strong and courageous. Believe! He doesn’t just tell you something to do. What God is telling you is the thing that creates it!

God was telling the children of Israel to be strong and courageous because they were getting ready to go into the land of Canaan which was inhabited by giants and other nations. That was on the physical realm. So in the spiritual realm are we to just waltz right in with no problem? It makes sense that if God was telling the Israelites to get ready for battle it is the same thing with us. The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

“This book of the law, these instructions that I am giving you shall not depart out of your mouth. You shall meditate on them day and night.” It is not a matter of you disciplining yourself – “Alright, I’m going to memorize the Word. I’m going to speak it and meditate on it and think on it.” You start doing that and you find that it’s not working. You are missing the point. When God says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth,” He is speaking it into existence. You hear that not as a commandment of what you are to do, but you hear that as a prophecy of creativity that He is speaking to you. You accept it in that light and that is when it begins to work in you. Do you understand?

That you may observe to do according to all that is written therein. It’s that living Word. It is what God says that makes it happen. “But I’ve got to be faithful.” You have to be faithful to believe what God has spoken. He says that this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth. That means you are to speak it, partake of the Word, eat it and assimilate it into your life, into your being and then release it and speak that Word. It is a thing you do, not because you are being strong and courageous. No, He is strong. He is courageous. It is His strength.

God says, “Be strong,” and that means, “I am imparting My strength onto you.”

“Be courageous,” and it means “I am giving you courage.” We have to learn how to hear the Word. A lot of churches are just putting out rules and regulations – “This is what you are to do.” Jesus said, “You have forsaken the Word of God for the commandments of men” (Mark 7:8). It is the Word of God when it is a word that creates what He is saying in you. It is of Him and not of your own strength or your own courage.

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever you go.

That’s it! It is how you relate to the Word that makes a difference. We have a number of messages that have come in The Trumpet that say it is how you relate to the Word that makes a difference. This day have I set before you life and death. Choose life that you might live (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Word of God can be life to you or it can be death to you, depending on how you relate to it. If you relate to it as a commandment that you have to discipline yourself to do, it will be death. But if you relate to it as a prophetic living Word that God is speaking to you, that He is creating it in you and you accept it that way, then it is life to you. It makes a difference. Be like a tree planted by rivers of water, living water. On the surface you may never have enough money or be counted among the rich, but you can be prosperous and successful and rich in God.

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