«  Back to Article Archives

The Place of Blessings

By Bobbie Jean Merck

            To be blessed is to have the power to succeed!

       On our way to renewing our minds to a greater dimension concerning being blessed, God is revealing more and more about how greatly He wants to see us live a blessed life.  When I was led to make that my number one priority for 2007, I quickly understood that to walk in the blessings of God, I would have to walk in the Spirit at all times.  It truly is His way and not my willful way.

       At the beginning of my personal journey in renewing my mind to a greater intensity (for the greatness God is now manifesting), the Holy Spirit led me to continually decree, “I am separated and I am dedicated to blessings!”  Since then, I have been led to add, “I am prepared for blessings!”

       A part of our declaration is Deuteronomy 28:9 which says, “The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shall keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.”  To establish is to prepare.  Therefore, we desire to be established and prepared.  The Holy Spirit and the Word will do that as we keep His commandments and walk in His ways.  To live the commandment of love will accomplish and fulfill that work.

       As our minds are continuously being renewed unto blessings, we understand more fully the two conditions of the covenant.  God has made a covenant by Christ Jesus to and for us.

       First Corinthians 11:25 says, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”  We need to do our part to fulfill that covenant.  I not only want to know what He has done and will do, I want to know and do my part.

       It would seem that God says, “Hear and obey so I can keep My covenant that I have made with you by My Son, Jesus Christ.  You are the recipient of My covenant.  I have made covenant with My Son and He is in you and you are in Him!  I will bless you! I will give all to you!  I will perform it for you and through you!”

       Hebrews 6:17-20 tells us, “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

       Why do we need to continuously renew our mind to being blessed and receiving the blessings of God?  Let me share one major and vital principle with you.

       We understand that we must avoid putting ourselves under the letter of the law, because that would mean we are placing a death sentence around ourselves as Second Corinthians 3:6 tells us.  We also understand “that no one gets a right relationship with God by trying to keep the rules…” (Romans 3:20 The Heart Of Paul).          

        Then what is this renewing our minds and being willing and obedient to God all about?  Why do we need to do these things?  We are blessed, aren’t we?  Aren’t the blessings of God simply going to be manifested to us? Why all these rules?

       Yes, there are laws that work for the positive or the negative.  This ‘working’ does depend upon obedience or disobedience to the laws.  They will work for or against you, depending upon what you do.  But, let’s consider this truth.

       Paul says in Romans 3:20, “…The rules only make us aware of the boundaries and tell us how the game is to be played” (The Heart Of Paul).  This is absolutely vital because anytime we go beyond the set boundaries of life we suffer.

       We cannot live beyond three days without drinking water.  Water is necessary for life.  However, there’s a boundary set in drinking water. A woman recently entered a contest of who could drink the most water.  She drank too much water and died.  The rules and boundary for water drinking were broken.  Did God cause her death?   No, her decision and consequent actions caused her death.

       The ‘game’ has to be played according to the rules.  If a football game is not played according to the rules, you have a mess and nobody wins.

       “And all of us who believe God have a right relationship with him through his unconditional love which he revealed in Jesus Christ.  When Christ offered himself on the cross, God was declaring that our failures and futile efforts to fulfill our lives are completely forgiven through his patience and love.  Through Jesus Christ, God shows his consistency in being faithful to himself and to us who believe in Jesus.  Who can brag, then, about having a right relationship with God?  Nobody!  Why?  Because it’s not an achievement earned by keeping rules or doing good.  A right relationship with God is received by faith.  So you must see that each person receives this right relationship without keeping the rules” (Romans 3:24-28 The Heart Of Paul).

        No one has a right relationship with God by keeping rules, but by trusting in Jesus Christ!   Let us continuously grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  As we do so, rule keeping will not be done by us for the purpose of receiving a right relationship to God.  We will live to please Him, to trust Him, and to have a blessed life!

       We have considered the purpose of renewing our minds to receive God’s blessings, and that purpose is for revelation concerning rule keeping and boundaries, and revelation of how the game is to be played.  Now, let us consider the number two purpose.  It is that our heart (our conscience) will not condemn us (thus causing us to doubt) as we approach God for His blessings.

       “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment” (First John 3:20-23).

       Our heart (conscience) is an altogether sensitive compass directing our actions.  ‘That’ compass is calibrated, it is set, to direct us into God’s will and way.  When we do ‘otherwise’ the compass reacts like a fire alarm does.  It signals something is wrong, fix it, make it right!  Even though God has indeed blessed us, we must renew our minds, so we will have a good heart (conscience) when approaching Him to manifest these blessings to us.  Otherwise, we are not in a position to receive those blessings.  Our heart (conscience) says, “no,” and we ‘think’ that we are guilty and unworthy to receive from the Lord.  God doesn’t stop the blessings; we do, if we have an unrenewed mind.

       Actually, God has given us specific and simple strategies to do that we may live a blessed life.  Let’s consider Isaac.  Genesis 25:5 says, “And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.”   That sounds like God giving us “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (See Ephesians 1:3.)  If God gives ‘it,’ it is a spiritual blessing because God is spirit!

       Genesis 26:1 states, “And there was famine in the land….”  The lesson we learn from this is that we do not consider the circumstances of the natural if our goal is to receive “all spiritual blessings.”  Verse two tells us “the Lord appeared.”  Let God appear and speak to you.  Yes, He speaks through His Word.  We must see the Lord and not the circumstances.  We must enjoy and trust the Lord even when the circumstances are not enjoyable.  We must listen to and obey what the Lord tells us.

       The Lord gave Isaac two directions: (1) go not down to Egypt; (2) dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.

       Genesis 26:3 says, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father.”

       Our staying with God in fellowship and in relationship and where He wants us to be is the place where His blessings will be manifested in our lifestyle.  It would seem that God says, “Hear and obey so I can keep My covenant that I have made.  You are in My covenant.  I will bless you!  I have given and will give My all to you!  I will perform the oath….  I will perform it for you and through you!”

       Psalms 89:34 tells us, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

       God told these things to Isaac and purposed to do them.  Why?  Because his father Abraham obeyed His voice, kept His charge, and obeyed His Word.  God would do it for Isaac because Abraham had done it for Him!  Jesus Christ did it for us, and now because of Christ’s obedience, God will manifest blessings for those who are in Christ!  Hallelujah!

       It is vital to understand that Isaac stayed where God wanted him to stay.  The circumstances also remained.  But, the unchanging God was about to change His obedient servant’s circumstances.  All else might fail, but His obedient servant would not fail and neither would Isaac’s actions fail.  Where there was nothing, Isaac acted by sowing in the land of famine.  Genesis 26:12 tells us, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold:  and the LORD blessed him.”

       Who did that?  God caused that seed to increase and multiply a hundredfold!  It is as if God said, “And Isaac, there’s more than a hundredfold for you.  I AM going to bless you!”  Wow!  Consider that!  The impossibility truly became a possibility and exceeding abundantly more when God got involved.

       Where God says, “dwell in this place,” is the place where your dominion, authority, increase and multiplication will rule and manifest.  Dr. Lester Sumrall strongly exhorted ministers by saying, “Don’t leave the throne of your authority.  Your throne of authority is the place God has ordained for you.”

       Faith demands that we don’t know everything God has planned for our future.  His Word and will is, “the just shall live by faith.”  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

       Let me relate to you a perfect example of that.  I did not ever want to return to Toccoa, Georgia to live.  After being away 20 years, the Lord told us to go “home” to Toccoa.  Obedient, but not willing on my part, we returned May 30, 1980.  Toccoa truly seemed “a wilderness” as Second Chronicles 20:20 says, “…the wilderness of Tekoa….”

       Upon our first visit to a local church (actually, the church of Dr. Oral Roberts first pastorate), Dan stood and read Second Chronicles Twenty.  He then said, “We are here and from this time forward, Toccoa will not be a wilderness.”  I wanted to crawl under a pew!  But today, I know he was decreeing and prophesying that God placed us here to cause the desert to blossom like a rose.  He gave us this place to be our “throne of authority” so He could use us along with others to establish His Kingdom and covenant.  Indeed, “His ways are not our ways!”

       It would be impossible to detail all the wonderful and miraculous events that God has performed for us since May 30, 1980.  Today I am so grateful for His leading us to Toccoa, Georgia.  It has been as the opening of a rose whose beauty was hidden when it was still in the very early stage of the bud.

       In 2007 we are celebrating many events that happened in 1907 and since that time.

CELEBRATING EVENTS FROM 1907-2007

       Rev. G. B. Caswell of Dunn, N. C. went to the Azusa Street Revival in 1906.  There he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  Upon returning, he chose Toccoa, Georgia as the first place (in Georgia) to bring the Azusa Street Revival.    This was in February 1907.  He reported February 27, 1907 in the Apostolic Faith (Azusa Street Papers, page 32 column 3) that hundreds had received the Holy Spirit and that he experienced great success in Toccoa, Georgia.

       Toccoa Falls College is celebrating their centennial this year.  Dr. R. A. Forrest founded the college as a Bible College one hundred years ago.  Students from many of the states in America, and from other nations, have attended the college.

            Toccoa, Georgia was raised up by God to reach the world!

        Dr. R. G. LeTourneau became a very wise man with a skill for witty inventions, and a very wealthy man after he began tithing his income.  You see, tithing is a vital key to unlocking and receiving the blessings of God.  He is known for the way he continuously increased his giving until he could, and did, give 90% of his income into God’s work.  Not only did he bless America, but he also blessed mission works in Africa.  He lived in Toccoa, Georgia and built a large industry here.  His son, Richard, married the daughter of Dr. A.T. Cline.  Dr. Cline pastured the First Baptist Church of Toccoa.  Dr. Oral Roberts pastored his first church in Toccoa, Georgia.  He also experienced his first miracle in Toccoa.  A car that was being repaired fell on the foot of one of his parishioners.  The foot was crushed.  Dr. Roberts went to the hospital, prayed for the man, and his foot was instantly restored!  Mr. Lawson received a creative miracle!  God’s special chosen man was thrust into a lifetime ministry of miracles, along with the powerful message of seedtime and harvest, and the blessings of God, and the famous anointed phrase (and theme song), 8 “Something good is going to happen to you today!”

        The history of Toccoa, Georgia is rich and is daily becoming richer.  There is a history of multitudes of great happenings in and out of Toccoa.  Thank the Lord for putting A Great Love in this place to reach America and the world!  And, “You ain’t seen nothing yet, in Jesus Christ the best is yet to come!” Amen! 

       Remain in your place and be blessed!  Remember, as Dr. Oral Roberts says, “Something good is going to happen to you today!”

HOME PAGE     ABOUT     CONTACT US     INTERCESSORS' CORNER     ITINERARY     PRAYER FOCUS

OVERFLOW SIGN-UP     PRODUCTS     24-7 PRAY USA SIGN-UP 

Return to Top of Page