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Jack Hayford

Jack Hayford (June 25, 1934 – January 8, 2023) was an American preacher, author, and Pentecostal leader whose calling from God transformed worship and ministry within the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and beyond for over six decades. Born in Los Angeles, California, to Jack Hayford Sr., a former military officer turned switchman, and Anita Dolores Farnsworth, a Bible teacher, he faced life-threatening illness as an infant and polio at age four, both miraculously healed through prayer, igniting his lifelong passion for God’s power. He graduated from L.I.F.E. Bible College in 1956 and earned a second bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in 1970, grounding his ministry in practical theology. Hayford’s calling from God was affirmed in 1969 when he became pastor of First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys—later The Church on the Way—growing it from 18 members to over 10,000 by the 1980s, serving until 1999 with a brief return after his successor’s death in 2003. Ordained in 1956, he preached a balanced gospel, emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s vitality, notably through his hymn “Majesty” (1978) and over 600 songs, alongside founding The King’s University in 1997 and serving as Foursquare president (2004–2009). His sermons and over 50 books, like Worship His Majesty, called believers to Spirit-filled living and unity across denominations. Married twice—first to Anna Marie Smith in 1954, with four children (Rebecca, Jack III, Mark, Christa), until her death in 2017, then to Valerie Lemire in 2018—he passed away at age 88 in Los Angeles, California.
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Jack Hayford preaches about the importance of trusting in God's timing and plan, using Jesus' resurrection as a powerful example of waiting for God's miracle deliverance. He emphasizes that rushing a resurrection, whether in a literal or metaphorical sense, is not in alignment with God's perfect timing. Hayford encourages listeners to walk in the path of God's will, knowing that they may be down but not out, and that God will raise them up at the appointed time.
Mandatory Nine-Count
I can't number the times I have wished God would hurry up...with an answer to my prayer...with a bailout in the middle of my muddle...with a fresh sense of His working in my life. But there is one well-established principle in the Scriptures, and it is dramatically demonstrated in Jesus' experience. You can't rush a resurrection. Matthew's Gospel records no less than three times that Jesus clearly prophesied that He would be killed by His adversaries and that He would rise again (16:21, 17:23, 20:19). He not only stated precisely that it would be the third day, but He predicted His resurrection upon an Old Testament type: the third-day deliverance of Jonah from the belly of the great fish. (Matthew 12:40) These advance notices of His resurrection are forceful arguments for Jesus' sense of purpose and power. They also offer a valuable lesson for you and me. If I am walking in the simple path of God's will for me, I can never be conquered by anything. I may be down, but I'm not out. He will get me up again, and He says when it will be...on the count of three. Have you ever seen boxers, flattened by their opponents, try to scramble to their feet too quickly? Rather than taking the nine-count, using the time to recover their equilibrium, they attempt a quick bounce-back. It's almost as though they're trying to convince themselves, the crowd, and their opponent that they weren't really hurt. Somehow, a downed boxer's identity seems wrapped in his ability to show a "can't hurt me" facade, when, in fact, his hurried rising--I've seen it often--leaves him wobbling, staggering, and open prey for a quick kill at the hand of his competitor. Consider with me, friend: If Jesus could have called for angels to spare Him the suffering of the Cross (Matthew 26:53), don't you know that He could have called for an early deliverance from death? The message of His submission to the Father's timing as well as the Father's plan is profound in it application to your life and mine. Don't attempt a humanly energized "bounce-back" from those circumstantial "knock-downs" you encounter. God has His own kind of "mandatory nine-count": it's a third-day rising for everyone who will wait for His moment of miracle deliverance. "Easy to say, Pastor Jack, but I've waited longer than three days, or three weeks, or three months...in fact, more than three years. What about my resurrection? I hear you. And I know the pain often wrapped in that kind of inquiry. But the answer is in a return question: "Have you entrusted everything concerning your case to Jesus?" If you have, then the entire matter is sealed and delivered...in His resurrection. The message is this: As surely as Jesus rose on time, your triumph will be on schedule also. Lazarus' schedule probably seemed a day late to him, too.
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Jack Hayford (June 25, 1934 – January 8, 2023) was an American preacher, author, and Pentecostal leader whose calling from God transformed worship and ministry within the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and beyond for over six decades. Born in Los Angeles, California, to Jack Hayford Sr., a former military officer turned switchman, and Anita Dolores Farnsworth, a Bible teacher, he faced life-threatening illness as an infant and polio at age four, both miraculously healed through prayer, igniting his lifelong passion for God’s power. He graduated from L.I.F.E. Bible College in 1956 and earned a second bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in 1970, grounding his ministry in practical theology. Hayford’s calling from God was affirmed in 1969 when he became pastor of First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys—later The Church on the Way—growing it from 18 members to over 10,000 by the 1980s, serving until 1999 with a brief return after his successor’s death in 2003. Ordained in 1956, he preached a balanced gospel, emphasizing the Holy Spirit’s vitality, notably through his hymn “Majesty” (1978) and over 600 songs, alongside founding The King’s University in 1997 and serving as Foursquare president (2004–2009). His sermons and over 50 books, like Worship His Majesty, called believers to Spirit-filled living and unity across denominations. Married twice—first to Anna Marie Smith in 1954, with four children (Rebecca, Jack III, Mark, Christa), until her death in 2017, then to Valerie Lemire in 2018—he passed away at age 88 in Los Angeles, California.