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Life Works – When You Work with the Law: Part 1

The Law of Success www.advancingthekingdomonline.org

I. Introduction.

A. Psalm 119:97 “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” (KJV)

B. Definitions:

1. Law = to parcel out; law through the idea of prescriptive usage; the body of rules and

principles which govern the natural universe and the affairs of man.

A statement that describes invariable relationships among phenomena under a

specified set of conditions.

That which governs or has a tendency to rule; that which has the power of

controlling.

2. A law is something that happens every time with every person everywhere. It does not

discriminate, and shows no favoritism. The Law is not a respecter of persons.

Luke 16:17 “But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for

the smallest detail of the Law to be done away with.” (TEV)

3. “The law is the uniform and orderly method of an omnipotent God.”

(Bob Proctor)

4. “I shall call God working in our lives ‘LAW’ . . . Then as we strive to work with the Law

we are living closer to God . . . ” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

C. Everything comes to us by Law . . . including success, and the absence of success.

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall

meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

(NKJV)

II. God Is Calling Every Person on Earth to Come Up Higher.

A. “ . . . the desire to become something more than we now are is nothing else

than the Eternal Spirit of Life seeking ever fuller expression.” (The Law

and the Word, Thomas Troward)

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B. “Every blade of grass has an angel that bends over

it and whispers, ‘Grow, grow.’ ” (The Talmud)

C. The world recognizes this upward call to

continue to grow.

1. “Rise to a new level or perish.” (The Meaning

of History, Arnold Toynbee)

2. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting

worse.” (Tiger Woods)

D. God’s recommended solution for continued growth, achievement and advancement.

Matthew 6:31-34 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What

shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we

wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your

heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But

seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and

all these things shall be added to you.” (NKJV)

“Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness” means to

ask about, inquire and seek to understand the principles and

precepts . . . the laws that govern the operation of God’s

kingdom . . . and then to operate in harmony with these

laws.

E. Our dilemma.

“The difficulties of life are caused by disharmony in the individual. There is no discord

in My Kingdom, only a something unconquered in My disciples.” (God Calling, April 29)

“To conquer adverse circumstances, conquer yourselves.” (God Calling, May 2)

F. Growth accelerates when we operate in harmony with the natural and

spiritual laws of God’s kingdom on planet earth.

Our growth is stunted or blocked when, either through ignorance or willful

disobedience to God’s laws, we find ourselves out of sync with them.

III. The Influence of Our Current Beliefs.

A. Not all of the beliefs we are currently holding may be helpful in supporting our continued growth.

Some need to be “tweaked” from time to time. Some may even need to be “trashed.”

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B. From the standpoint of currently held beliefs that are operating to our

detriment, it may help to think of them like leaves on a tree . . . i.e., “be-leafs.”

C. Just as a tree must release its leaves in the fall to make room for new growth in

the spring, so we also, from time to time, may have to release some of our

cherished “be-leafs” when we sense that they are no longer serving us well.

D. Releasing erroneous beliefs is a prerequisite for success, to allow new growth

to come forth in our lives.

E. It’s not always easy to give up beliefs we’ve held for a long time.

“People are addicted to their beliefs. This is why, when you try to change

someone’s belief, they act like an addict. We act like addicts when someone

tries to take away our cherished way of thinking.” (Dr. Bernie S. Siegel)

F. Being willing to change, to release thought patterns, beliefs and paradigms

that are no longer serving us well, opens up a whole new realm of

opportunities.

G. Listen for truth, be open to receive and embrace it, and allow it to change you.

“A wise man changes his mind; a fool never.” (Spanish Proverb)

“When you hear the truth and reject it, you leave deep, emotional scars.”

(Billy Graham)

IV. The Power and Importance of Laws.

Proverbs 3:1-2 “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” (KJV)

A. All power, natural, spiritual and civil, comes from God.

John 19:11 “Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against

Me unless it had been given you from above . . . ” (NKJV)

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there

is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” (KJV)

B. The Law flows from the Word, and operates either for the benefit or the detriment of each

person, according to how they respond to and harmonize with its precepts.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “Today I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses. I am offering you life

or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live.” (NCV)

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C. God’s Laws of Science and Success are equally powerful, impartial, and unvarying.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the

Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (NKJV)

Whether a person is evil or good, just or unjust, young or old, rich or poor, Jew or

Gentile, black or white, the law operates with exact precision according to its

governing principles.

Each person is treated equitably, based on their degree of harmony with these laws.

D. The key to successful living is to understand, embrace and adhere to these laws.

Our objective is to harmonize our lives with the unchangeable laws – natural, physical,

spiritual – that govern the universe.

Every challenge we’re facing, every desire we hold, every force standing either for us or

against us must bend its knee and become subject to the governing laws of life.

“We are free to use our powers of Personality as we will, only we must take the

consequences. Now one error we are all very apt to fall into, is the mistaken use of the

will. Its proper function is to keep our other faculties in line with the Law . . . but

many people seem to think that by force of will they can somehow manage to coerce

the Law; in other words, that by force of will they can sow a seed of one kind and

make it bear fruit of another.” (The Law and the Word, Thomas Troward)

“But if we work with the Law instead of against it, we shall find that our word . . . will

become more and more the Word of Power . . . The Law will serve us exactly to the

extent to which we first observe the Law.” (The Law and the Word, Thomas Troward)

E. Spiritual power works through laws, not in opposition to them.

Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:

I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” (KJV)

The power behind every Bible promise is power that flows according to the Law.

Disagreement with universally applicable laws causes us to be antagonistic to God, and

places us in direct opposition to forces immeasurably greater than our own.

F. Ignorantia legis neminem excusat - “Ignorance of the law excuses no one.”

1. We ignore God’s laws, whether they be the laws of Science found in Nature or God’s

prescriptive laws of Success found in the Bible, at our peril.

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“The Creative Spirit thought one way, and Eve thought another; and since the

thought of the Creating Spirit is the origin of Life, this difference of opinion

naturally resulted in death. Then, from this starting point, all the rest of the

Bible is devoted to getting rid of this difference of opinion between us and the

Spirit of Life, and showing us the Spirit’s opinion is truer than ours, and so

leading us to adopt it as our own.” (The Law and the Word, Thomas Troward)

2. Ignorance of the laws of gravity or electricity will not prevent us from falling

down or being shocked if we run counter to their precepts.

3. Ignorance (or willful disobedience) of the posted speed limit will not prevent

us from receiving a speeding ticket from an “officer of the law” who is pointing

his radar detector at us.

G. Jewish Nobel Prize winners.

The Jews only comprise .2% of the world’s population, yet they have been awarded 22% of all

of the Nobel Prizes awarded since1901 . . . 162 of 750 Prizes awarded.

This is 100 times more than they “should” have won, based on the

numbers of their population alone (~ 13 million people) relative to the

population of all of the other nations in the world (~ 6.5 billion people).

What could cause so small a people to win so disproportionately

large a share of the Nobel Prizes?

Could it have anything to do with the Jewish cultural tradition of

studying God’s laws as children, then continuing to honor these

laws throughout their professional careers?

Psalm 119:99-100 “Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of

your decrees. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.” (NLT)

Daniel 1:19-20 “And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none

like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all

matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten

times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” (KJV)

V. The Law and the Mind.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (NKJV)

A. God gave man dominion.

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Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after

our likeness: and let them have dominion . . . ” (KJV)

John 10:34 “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I

said, Ye are gods?” (KJV)

B. In giving man dominion, God placed the responsibility for man’s success and achievement

into his own hands.

“Every man is his own designer and builder; like the Creator, he makes

his creations within before they materialize on the outside. All fears

of sickness, poverty, and old age, are impressions, ideas, and mental

pictures, long before they become painful realities. Every idea and

mental picture must produce after its own kind whether the picture

is good or bad; the Law determines it so. The Law does not question

or challenge the kind of picture we give to it. It only knows that it must

take what is offered or planted, and then proceed to materialize it into a

visible form . . .

Mechanical engineering is the same as mental engineering; they are both dependent wholly

upon a creative intelligence. Mental photography, like mechanical photography,

produces exactly what it sees . . . We cannot picture thoughts of poverty, failure, disease

and doubt, and expect in return to enjoy wealth, success, health, and courage.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

C. Each of us is being changed into what ever image we are holding in mind.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we]

continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the

Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image” (AMP)

“Thinking is a perpetual process. It is a creative junction of life that is ever

going on. We are engaged in it and are producing results of some kind every

hour and day that we live, registering within ourselves the exact effects of all

our thinking . . . The great self-evident fact, which cannot be too often

repeated, is that when we change our thinking for the better, we

automatically change our lives for the better. Modern psychology has

conclusively demonstrated that a change of thought must precede every

change in the life and in the affairs of man.” (Working with the Law,

Raymond Holliwell)

D. When we align our thoughts with God’s thoughts, we are “working with the Law.”

“When your intention becomes reconciled or cooperative with the Universal intention, then

we become an expression of that good. This is working with the Law . . . Life with all its

attributes of good is a something that doesn’t just happen to touch a fortunate few. It is a

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something you must create. It is a something you must plan, mentally picture, and think

about. You, who are seeking love, fortune, happiness and success, must understand that it is

not something you may find, you cannot buy it nor borrow it from another. No one can give it

to you; you must create it within yourself.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

“Once you are born of the Spirit, that is your Life’s breath. You must never

doubt, never worry, but step by step, the way to freedom must be trodden. See

that you walk it with Me. This means no worry, no anxiety, but it does not

mean no effort. When My Disciples told Me that they had toiled all night and

taken nothing, I did not fill the boat with fishes without effort on their part.

No! My command stood. ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets

for a draught.’ ” (God Calling, April 24)

“Your desires and ideas are like seeds you plant in the soil, but they are planted in the

soil of mind. After planting the thought-seeds, you cultivate them, nurture them, and guard

them well until the harvest time. Then you will reap all that you have sown, and abundantly.”

(Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

E. The problem isn’t the problem . . . our thinking is the problem.

1. The only thing that can stop us is the way we think.

2. “There cannot be toxicity in our body without their being toxicity in our mind.

Everything is created twice. First as a thought, before it becomes a thing. The implication

is that any toxicity in the body had to have a genesis, and that genesis was a thought.”

(Mary Morrissey)

3. Romans 12:2 “Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God

transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will

know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and

perfect his will really is.” (NLT)

VI. The Law of Success.

“He can who thinks he can.”

A. What is success?

“We do not define it in terms of money, position, fame or wealth, although

it may include all these. True, genuine success of the largest kind lies in the

results obtained, harvest reaped and distributed, so that our fellow

beings at large are benefited and the world enriched . . . Success is not a

creature of circumstance, not a game of chance, nor luck, for not until the

Golden Rule is the basis of commercial activity can we be in harmony

with the principle.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

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“Success is accomplishing what you were created to do.” (Bishop T.D. Jakes)

“Do you know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others what you

have to give.” (Morrie Schwartz)

B. God greatly desires you to be successful.

“God intended every individual to succeed. It is God’s purpose that man

should become great. It is God’s will that man should not only use, but enjoy,

every good in the universe. The Law of God denies man nothing . . . Man is

made for progress. Every man contains within himself the capacity for endless

development. Advancement into all things is the Law’s great purpose . . .

Infinite resources are at man’s disposal. There are no limits to his possibilities . . .

Do you wish to succeed? You can. You possess all the essentials within yourself; all you

need is to gain a right understanding of the principles and laws upon which success is

based, and then to apply the right methods of operating these causes until success is earned.

The law of success is as definite as the laws of any science . . . It is the Law’s intention that

you shall move forward.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

“Keep the eye of your spirit ever upon Me, the windows of your soul open toward Me. You

have ever to know that all things are yours – that what is lovely I delight to give you.

Empty your mind of all that limits. Whatever is beautiful you can have.” (God Calling,

May 5)

C. Why some people fail to achieve success.

1. Flawed thinking. Thinking thoughts that are out of sync with the Law.

Proverbs 4:23 “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.”

(NCV)

“The question uppermost in the world of thought today is whether a man has the capacity,

equipment, and power to control his life; whether he can be what he wants to be; or whether

he is a drop in the great ocean of life. Millions are affected by unemployment, poverty, and

want. Can they help it? Where we have thousands of homes broken on the rocks of

matrimony, can such a breach be repaired? Millions complain of sickness and disorder in

countless forms. All this gives rise to the belief that we are victims of circumstance over

which we have no control. Such belief makes of us fatalists and karmic addicts instead of

masters and controllers of our destinies. A fatalistic belief is contagious, and when man

submits to its influence, believing that the circumstances around him are stronger than

the power within him, that man is defeated BEFORE the race is run.”

(Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

“Most all the failures and defeats in life are due to mental blindness. When the heart is

right the head thinks right. All our acts are judged by our inner motives, not by outer

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accomplishments. ‘Out of the heart are the issues of life.’ Moral cowardice, indecision at

critical moments, a desire to have one’s own way, inability to cooperate, have shattered the

hopes of millions. They have wrecked their prospects of success. To eliminate these

mental handicaps is the first move for all who wish to aim high.” (Working with the

Law, Raymond Holliwell)

“We’ve come to believe that the natural limitations in life are really something that comes

at us rather than something that domes from us.” (Mary Morrissey)

2. Fear.

“The fact that a man is honest and truthful and industrious does not insure his success.

More may be necessary than this, for if a man is timid, backward, or fearful, fear will act

as a brake to retard his progress . . . Fear cannot be eliminated either by drugs or by the

surgeon’s knife. The only remedy known for fear is understanding. When one

understands that the universe is filled with the presence of God, there is nothing to fear.

Most of us could meet our obligations if it were not for fear of some

kind that tells us differently. We hypnotize ourselves into a belief

which incapacitates our power. ‘God does not give us the spirit of

fear, but of courage and a sound mind . . . ’

If we think supply depends upon people or material conditions and then are worried when

people fail us, conditions go from bad to worse. The only safeguard is to feel and know

that God (the Law) is our supply, and to affirm it constantly. If we desire success, we

must think success, we must talk and act success, and we can do this more easily if we

know that God, the Law, is on our side. ‘No good thing will God, the Law, withhold from

them that walk uprightly.’ The religious-minded man realizes that He that is for us is

greater than that which is against us.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

3. Hold “failure” in the proper perspective.

a. “A rocket ‘fails’ its way to the moon.” (Price Pritchett)

But by making continuous mid-course corrections,

it ultimately arrives at its exact destination.

b. Failure is just feedback. It isn’t final unless you give up.

c. Failing doesn’t make you a failure. You’re only a failure if you stop trying.

d. Michael Jordan video clip.

D. What do you really want?

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“No person can succeed who is not imbued with the desire to advance . . . The fact that you

desire to succeed is evidence that you have the power to succeed; otherwise you would not

have been urged to aspire successward. You cannot aspire to succeed unless you have the

power to succeed. Desire creates the power; power inspires the mind of the individual,

and success is the result of that inspiration rightly applied.” (Working with the Law,

Raymond Holliwell)

E. The power of “I can.”

“Simple as it may seem, in most every case the difference which decides success or failure is

the ruling mental attitude . . . In short, the positive mental attitude of the man who thinks

he CAN in contrast with the negative attitude of another who thinks he CAN’T, is

practically the only difference between the one who succeeds and the one who fails. The

former learns the truth and discovers he can do things and the idea liberates his sleeping

energies, stirs them into activity, thrills him with the desire to advance, inspires him to get

things done, so he moves into success . . .

Begin now to take a superior view of yourself, your life and circumstances and of things

and persons in general. As you mentally perceive the better and greater, you will consciously

and unconsciously reach out for the better and greater. In other words, your thoughts,

desires, words, and mental actions will gradually become filled with the ‘spirit of progress’

and your faculties will grow stronger and your powers will increase.

Catch the spirit of the words ‘I can’ and you have the key to the

successful attitude. Know that you can succeed, and proceed to think,

live, and act in that strong conviction. You may search every where,

anywhere, to discover the mystic secret of success, only to find that in

the end it is all contained in these two little words, ‘I can.’ Modern

psychology has discovered that the person who thinks he can will

speedily develop the power that can . . . There is no miracle about it;

the law works that way.” (Working with the Law, Raymond

Holliwell)

All in the State of Mind “If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don’t;

If you would like to win and don’t think you can,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;

For out in the world you’ll find

Success begins with a fellow’s will;

It’s all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost

Ere even a step is run

And many a coward fails

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Ere even his work is begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow.

Think small and you’ll fall behind:

Think that you can and you will—

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are:

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man;

But, sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the fellow who thinks he can.”

F. Obstacles along the way.

“Obstacles serve as an opportunity to call up our latent powers. They draw us out and make

us strong; they lead us to the goal we have in view . . . One’s state in life is largely

determined by one’s mental attitude. Men radiate discouragement, gloom, and failure

because they accept the ‘I can’t’ attitude. Others positively emanate success through a

cheerful, confident, energetic ‘I can’ attitude. We meet them everywhere. One gravitates

to conditions of adversity, ill luck, and misfortune, the other attracts the very best and rises

on and on to success.

The negative weak one, the ‘I can’t’ individual, repels us; we instinctively shun

him; that is the Law warning us to avoid him because he is out of tune with

the Divine order of things. On the other hand, the strong type of ‘I can’

individual attracts and draws us to him. He is optimistic and we are glad to

associate with and to do business with him. Everyone has his own individual

atmosphere, the same as a flower has its aroma.” (Working with the Law,

Raymond Holliwell)

G. Make a mental picture of your goal.

“The next step is to encompass your life or to state your ideal or your objective.

Make a mental picture and hold in mind that which you are aspiring to

achieve. Begin with a persistent effort to work towards the final goal. Life,

after all, is just like a series of many steps; each step may provide you with new

problems, but as you meet each new problem, keep your eye ever fixed upon

the top – your objective, your aim, your goal. No matter how crude or how

poor your first efforts may be, they are but the beginning. You may not

compare yourself with another; everyone has had to commence at some time at

the very bottom. In the meantime, know that you cannot fail until you give

up. You can never fail if you never give up.” (Working with the Law

Raymond Holliwell)

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H. Use your time wisely.

“The worst enemy you will encounter on life’s highway is within your own self. Its name is

PROCRASTINATION. Procrastination kills ambition. It gets one into the habit of

indecision, which causes failure. Practice making your decisions clearly and promptly; take

care of the little questions that come to you and they will automatically take care of any other

big questions, should they arise . . . We are dealers in time. Our success depends upon the use

of our time and its many by-products which we call ‘odd moments’ . . . The one who is killing

time is destroying his opportunities, while the man who is succeeding is making his time live

and making it useful.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

I. Summary.

“Success, then, summarized, is the way we learn to use two valuable things – our time and

thought. Knowledge alone is not success; it is the way we use that knowledge. It is important

always to remember that back of all our toil and struggle, under the dust and smoke of things,

there are the arms of the Father guiding, guarding and supporting us. Whatever you lack, He

has; whatever you need, He can supply; whatever obstacle you encounter, God, within

you and about you, can overcome it.” (Working with the Law, Raymond Holliwell)

Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the

kingdom.” (KJV)

VII. Close. Who am I?

“I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me and I’ll be able

to do them quickly and correctly if you just give me guidance.

I am easily managed, but you must be firm with me.

Show me exactly what you want done, what you want created,

and I will work on it automatically.

I am the servant of all great men and women, but, alas, I am also that which

brings failure to them as well.

Those who are great, I have made great.

Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine, but I work with the precision of a fine machine, plus the

intelligence of the smartest person you know.

You may run me for profit or run me for ruin. It makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.

Be easy with me, casual with me, convenient with me, and I will destroy every

dream you have.” (Who am I? I am your thinking!)

(Adapted from “The Power of Habit and Commitment” by Ed Hirsch)

Copyright 2008 © by Bill Fries. All rights reserved.

www.advancingthekingdomonline.org