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Have You Settled This? The No. 1 Thing About God You Can Build Your Faith On

by Gloria Copeland

“[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!”

(Psalm 27:13, The Amplified Bible)

A few years ago, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to my heart and said, Preach the goodness of God and fear not the reproach of men.

As I began to search out what the Bible has to say about God’s goodness, I found it was a theme that ran from Genesis to Revelation. Why do you suppose the Bible would so strongly emphasize the simple truth that God is good?

Because it is the foundation of our faith in Him. It is the number one thing we must know about God so that we can build a strong foundation of faith.

The more we know God’s goodness, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the easier it is for us to put our lives into His hands. Only by placing our lives in His hands can we open the way for Him to save us, bless us and work through us, so that His wonderful will can be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

When I began teaching on the goodness of God in healing services, I saw more miracles and healings than before. As people understood God’s goodness, they found it easy to trust Him. That trust enabled them to open their hearts to His healing power. When they saw from the Word that it was the “Father’s good pleasure to give” them the kingdom (Luke 12:32) and that “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11), they realized God was for them and not against them. The truth dawned on their hearts that He was not holding out on them. He was not trying to keep healing away from them. Instead, because He loves to do good, He was endeavoring to help them. Seeing that, they were able to relax and by faith receive what they needed from Him.

My prayer is that the same thing will happen for you.

Until you settle the fact that God is good and you can trust Him with your life, your faith is never going to be great because you will always draw back in fear. You will always be thinking, What if He doesn’t come through for me? What if He is not listening to me? What if He asks me to do something that will harm me in some way?

However, once your heart grasps the goodness of God, you will be confident that He will never hurt you, abandon you or let you down. As long as you follow Him, He will always be there—loving you, helping you and blessing you.

God Isn’t Confused

Traditional religion has made people think they couldn’t depend on the goodness of God. Religion has taught that one day God might make you sick. The next day He might make you poor.

But that is contrary to the written Word of God. God is not confused about good and evil. He knows the definition of a blessing and a curse, and His definition is the same as ours. (That’s because we got ours from Him.)

In Deuteronomy 28, you can read the blessings and the curses as He described them to the nation of Israel. He sums up the blessings in verses 11-13:

The Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them (New King James Version).

Obviously, God has figured out what’s good for us and what’s not. He knows it’s good when we have more than enough natural provision in our lives. He knows if we plant crops, it’s good to reap big harvests. He knows if we have livestock, it’s good for them to increase. He knows it’s good for our children to be blessed and for us to be physically healthy and whole.

On the other hand, He knows it’s evil for us be sick, poor, frightened and oppressed.

Actually, the Hebrew word shalom that the Lord uses so frequently to bless His people means to have wholeness in your life—spirit, soul and body. It means you have nothing missing, nothing broken. God knows that is the way things ought to be, and that is the way He wants them to be—not just for a few of His people but for every one of them. As Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all.”

The Key to the Courage of David

When I think of someone in the Bible who truly understood the goodness of God, David always comes to mind. God calls him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). As a young shepherd tending his flock on the hills of Israel, David fellowshiped with God and came to know His nature. He knew He was a loving God. He knew that He was good, kind and patient. David knew that God would take care of him, provide for him and deliver him from danger.

From that revelation, David wrote Psalm 23. My, what insight it gives us into God’s goodness! You may have quoted it religiously for years. You may have even thought it referred to the care God gives us in heaven. But this psalm reveals what God wants to do for us here on earth—in the “valley of the shadow of death,” where we must deal with our enemy, the devil.

With those things in mind, read Psalm 23 and let it speak to your heart in a fresh way about the kindness and loving care God wants to give you:

The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over. Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place (The Amplified Bible).

The more deeply you understand the truth of those words, the more you will be able to trust God in every circumstance of life. Your confidence in Him will make you bold when others are timid.

That is what happened to David. The revelation of Psalm 23 filled him with confidence in God. It made him bold and daring in dangerous situations. When a lion came after the sheep of his flock, David didn’t run away. He single-handedly caught that lion by the mane and killed it. When the bear came, David killed it too.

Later in his life, when everybody in Israel was afraid of the giant Goliath, David was the only one courageous enough to fight him. What was behind this great courage? David revealed that in 1 Samuel 17:37 when he said, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”

David not only knew about the goodness of God, he had seen it work in his life. He had seen the victories God’s goodness had gained for him, and just thinking of them made him bold.

You and I can be the same way. The more we understand the goodness of God and the more we see that goodness operating in our lives, the more victories we will have to remember. The more victories we remember, the harder it is for the devil to talk us into letting him run over us.

We’ll remember the victory over the lion and the bear in our own lives and think, You know, God got me this far. He will not let me down now!

Look What the Lord Has Done!

I have had that thought more times than I can remember in the past 35-plus years. My life was such a mess when I first learned about God’s goodness. I have often wondered, What would have become of me if I had not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living?

I might not even be alive right now. I certainly would not be enjoying the blessings I am enjoying today. Over the years, as Ken and I have continued to trust God with our lives, we have seen the evidence of His goodness continue to increase until it has totally overwhelmed us.

The more I have come to know the goodness of the Lord, the more I have come to believe that God wants all of us to give our lives to Him so He can lavishly, without reserve, pour His blessings upon us. He wants all of us to be so blessed that everywhere we look, we see the goodness of God. Every time we drive up to our homes we say, “Look what the Lord has done!” Every time we get in our car and turn the key we say, “Thank You, Lord, for this good car!”

God’s desire is for us to feel so good when we get up in the morning that we cannot help but be grateful for a well body that functions faithfully and feels so good!

Every time we look at our children and see the peace they enjoy, we praise the Lord. God’s desire is that every direction we turn, we experience His goodness!

Notice, I said “we,” not just me. Not just my husband, Kenneth. God wants to bless you too—in every area of your life. He wants to bless you spiritually. He wants to bless you physically. He wants to bless you in your finances, in your relationships, and in your career. He wants to give you the desires of your heart.

I know that sounds too good to be true, but that’s not surprising. If you think about it, Jesus Himself seemed too good to be true. The fact that God sent Him to pay the price for all our sins, the fact that He died so we could live by simple faith in Him, sounds too good to be true. But it’s true nonetheless. And Romans 8:32 says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

Where Will You Be Next Year?

If you’re still somewhat skeptical, let me ask you a question. Where will you be this time next year if you don’t start believing to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living?

You’ll be right where you are now. Things will be no better in your life. In fact, they’ll probably be worse because the devil will still be unhindered in his work to steal, kill and destroy.

But if you’ll find out what the Bible says about God’s goodness and dare to believe it, things will begin to change in a wonderful way. Your life will immediately begin to improve. A year from now, you’ll not only see that goodness on the pages of your Bible, you’ll see it around you every day of your life.

That’s what I call living! 

Excerpted from Gloria Copeland’s book, Blessed Beyond Measure.

6 Truths About God’s Goodness to Be Thankful For

by Gloria Copeland

Throughout my years of getting to know God, I have learned that He is absolutely good. He has nothing in Him that even resembles selfishness. Since the first day of Creation, He has always been giving of Himself. Every aspect of His nature flows from His love for His creation and it is all good. Every day of my life is filled with His goodness.

When God sent His Son into the earth, Jesus was anointed to preach good news—and only good news—and to demonstrate the goodness of His Father. He made this very clear the day He stood up among the religious leaders of His hometown, opened the book to the place of the prophet Isaiah, and described His purpose. We read it in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

After reading from that book, Jesus closed the book, sat down and proclaimed, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (verse 21).

True to His Father’s Word, right up through the day He made His way to Calvary, Jesus did nothing but good. He never did an evil work His whole life. He didn’t know how to do evil. Evil wasn’t part of His makeup. It wasn’t in His character. He was anointed to be and do only good—just like His Father.

Below are five truths about the goodness of God to be thankful for.

# 1 – He is eager to do good to all.

It’s surprising the number of people who can read Scripture and determine God to be anything but good. All anyone really needs to do to come to the right conclusion about God’s nature is look at the actions of His Son.

Jesus told His disciples that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father (John 14:9). He went on to say, “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (verse 10). He told them later, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19). What did Jesus see His Father do?

The Old Testament is filled with images of the character of God. Psalm 145:7-10 gives us a great picture of the goodness of our unchanging God: “[All men] shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.”

Let’s look a little more closely at the psalmist’s description of the Lord.

The Lord is gracious. In other words, He is disposed to show favor. That day Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, He declared that the favor of God was present in their midst.

Full of compassion. According to one Hebrew source, the word compassion means “eager yearning to do good.” The proof of our Father’s motivation to do good is clearly seen in Jesus’ ministry—providing the best wine at a wedding party, healing people with all kinds of diseases, casting out demons from tormented souls and raising people from the dead. He was God in the flesh—doing the goodness He yearned so eagerly to do.

God is slow to anger and of great mercy. So many people think God is sitting on the edge of His seat, just waiting for someone to make a mistake so He can lower the boom. Nothing could be further from the truth. His mercy is great—He is ever ready to forgive. Jesus’ words to everyone He met were words filled with mercy, even when He confronted their sin.

The Lord is good to all. It would not be God’s will to heal or deliver a few people and leave everyone else bound up by the devil. Peter preached in Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

His tender mercies are over all His works. Tender mercies means “deep love and affection.” “For God so loved” the world—all His works…He gave His Son. Glory to God! His deep love and affection—His goodness—cover us every moment of every day.

This is the picture of our good God—always giving of Himself.

#2 – Jesus is a picture of the Father.

Now, we’ve heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words! All anyone needs to do is look at Jesus—the walking, talking, moving picture of God’s goodness in action.

In Matthew 11:2-6, we see that John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus to identify Himself. Jesus said, “Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

In other words, “tell John you hear and see the goodness of God.”

Jesus was created in the image of His Father, and all His ministry and works were expressions of His Father’s goodness!

He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father…”(John 14:9).

#3- We are created in His image.

And we are born again in that same image.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Since the day He ascended to the right hand of His Father, Jesus Christ—the Anointed One and His Anointing—has fulfilled His ministry through His Body, the Church. It is still the ministry of Jesus, and we get to do the actual work of the ministry. The words of Isaiah 61 apply to His Body, just as they did to Jesus.

The same Spirit of the Lord who anointed Jesus anoints you and me. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead brings us out of spiritual death to life, out of darkness to light. And the Father’s purpose in our being born again is the same as it was for Jesus. We preach the gospel to the poor. We are anointed to announce freedom to captives and recovery of sight to the blind. Just like Jesus, we have the ability to send forth as delivered those who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed and broken down in calamity.

In this Year of Total Fulfillment, the goodness of our Father is flowing through the Body of Christ in unprecedented ways. The devil is fighting hard to keep people thinking God is angry at them, or He’s out to get them. But he is fighting a losing battle, because we are out there preaching that God is good and His mercy endures forever! (Psalm 118:1).

#4 – This is THE day of God’s goodness.

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue that day in Nazareth, “This day….” Total fulfillment of the goodness of God began on that day when Jesus declared His anointing. And it has never ceased. This is still THE day! This is our day!

Jesus said to Zacchaeus in Luke 19:9, “This day is salvation come to this house.” Salvation means deliverance. Every one of us comes into the kingdom of God from the same beginning. We receive pardon. We get deliverance from danger and apprehension—freedom from fear. We receive protection and liberty. We receive provision. We receive health, restoration, soundness and wholeness. We receive God’s love and goodness!

The day we receive the gospel is the day everything changes!

This is the day of God’s grace. We don’t have to do a thing—we can’t do anything—for these favors from God to come to us, except believe and receive.

Thanks to the participation of the Body of Christ, the good news of God’s grace is covering the earth. He is moving freely throughout the earth today in the Church He has established in every corner of the planet. Every day His Body is growing as more people believe and receive.

Our message is the same as Jesus’ was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). The kingdom of God’s goodness is here!

#5 – God is always ready with goodness.

            Jesus was always ready to do and be good! His power was never in the “off” position. He was always “on” by the power of the Spirit. He was always in a healing, delivering mood. He was never in such a hurry that He didn’t have time to give out the goodness of God—lay hands on the sick or cast out demons.

Anyone who came to Him received what they needed, if they simply put their faith out there. They came because they had heard about Him and believed what they heard. They came because they had a need and expected to receive. And He delivered!

Every person who enters the kingdom of God enters a new day—a new way of life! We enter the life where the only thing God desires to do is cover us with His goodness. And once we take our place in that kingdom of “goodness,” we can’t help but tell other people about it.

People come to Healing School at our meetings because they have heard about someone who was healed there. People come to me when they see me in the parking lot at the grocery store because they’ve heard me say God heals today and because I lay hands on the sick. People come to you because they heard you are a Christian who prays for people and things change.

We are surrounded by people with needs of every kind. We just have to stay on the ready, just like Jesus did. We have to be available to them, and be willing to release the anointing of His goodness that God has deposited in us, and let someone make a draw on it.

#6 – God is always ready to pour out His goodness.

By always being ready, we stay in the flow of God who is always ready to give out His absolute goodness. He pours out His goodness to His children through us. His Spirit of goodness was always on in Jesus and He is on in you and me. Just like He did with Jesus, He disperses His goodness through us—His Body in the earth.

Psalm 31:19 in the New Living Translation says, “Your goodness is so great! You have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.”

How do we stay “on” so we can release God’s goodness into our world? We must simply be receivers.

The 20th century born-again rabbi David Baron commented on this scripture, “Goodness is that attribute of God whereby He loveth to communicate to all who can or will receive it all good. Himself is the fullness of good, the creator of all good. Not in one way, not in one kind of goodness only, but absolutely without beginning, without limit, without measure. He possesseth and embraceth all excellence, all perfection, all blessedness, all good. This good His goodness bestoweth on all and each according to the capacity of each to receive it.”

God is no respecter of persons, but some people have more capacity to receive His good. That’s because they prepare for it more. They believe His Word, and act on His Word more. These people expect it more. They are receivers.

Anyone can be a receiver of His goodness. And we can all increase our capacity to receive. All it takes is our going from faith to faith. Hearing the Word, believing the Word, speaking the Word, acting on the Word—with each step, our capacity increases.

When we open ourselves to receive His goodness without measure, once the flow starts within us, He will make us conduits to allow His goodness to flow to others.

God is not holding back any good thing from anyone. First Corinthians 2:9-10 in The Amplified Bible clearly tells us, “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit.”

By the Spirit—by the same anointing that was in and on Jesus and is in and on you and me—we can know all the absolute goodness God has in store for us. Our job is to keep ourselves ready…to simply be “on.” We need to always be ready to tell someone about the good things God has done for us. We should be ready to share the compassion He has given us. We can willingly show His love and deep affection by the mercy we give others as He has given us. And we can graciously give free favors as He has bestowed so many on us.

Every day God brings people across our path who have believed a lie about His nature. He has given us the same mission He gave Jesus, and He has anointed us to do it. Let’s stay “on!” Let’s be ready to tell them the truth—to demonstrate the truth—God is absolutely good!

 

Want to be a part of God’s plan for your generation? Start by developing these two traits.

by Gloria Copeland

Every generation has had its role to play in God’s ultimate plan for all the earth to be filled with the glory of the Lord (Numbers 14:21).

During the time of Moses, God manifested His power on behalf of the children of Israel in such spectacular ways that they commanded the respect of the Egyptians. When Moses led the Israelites out of bondage, they were truly regarded as God’s people because of the unquestionable demonstration of His supernatural power.

I believe our generation will experience that same high privilege. The day has come for God to raise up the Body of Christ—the glorious Church—without spot or wrinkle. This Church will command the respect of the world because it has the miraculous power of God in manifestation with signs and wonders! The Church will show forth the glory of God.

But for all this to happen, God’s people must exhibit two distinguishing traits: they must become faithful and available to God—just like Moses did.

Moses was faithful, and God needed his obedience because Moses’ job was to stretch out his hand in the earth and command the will of God to be done. God had to have someone who was loyal and would dare to act on His Word. When Moses stretched out his hand, God extended His hand and performed miracles, signs and wonders!

God was able to use Moses because Moses knew His ways (Psalm 103:7). If Moses had not been faithful to know God’s ways, the children of Israel would never have seen His acts. Moses’ heart was loyal toward God, and he made himself available to God.

Today the Spirit of God is dealing with us much in the same way as He dealt with Moses. We have experienced a move in the Body of Christ in which God has taught us His ways. We have learned to live according to the Word. We have been taught to walk by faith and not by sight because God needs people with a solid foundation in His Word.

God needs faithful, obedient people in this hour because He is going to once again show Himself strong in the earth. He needs those who will not be blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He needs those who have made His Word the final authority in their lives. Those who know how to depend on God’s Word will be the backbone of this move of the Spirit.

Vessels of God

You see, God has determined to reveal and manifest Himself in the earth in the Body of Christ. We have been born again to live and operate in the spirit. We have the Holy Spirit—God Himself—abiding on the inside of us!

The Body of Christ is made up of spiritual beings, living in bodies of flesh, who are capable of manifesting the glory of God. Ephesians 4:24 says these beings are created after God in righteousness and true holiness. But God has not been able to reveal Himself to the degree that He desires because we have been dominated by the flesh.

That is why, by His Spirit, God is revealing how we can walk in the spirit and not be controlled by the flesh. As we fine-tune our lives to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, God will have available the vessels necessary to manifest Himself in the earth.

The key element is: God is not looking for ability. He is looking for availability. He needs you and me to do the work that must be done. He must have people who are faithful.

God has a plan for this generation: To sweep the souls of this earth into the kingdom of God, supernatural power will be required just as it was required to deliver the children of Israel! The Spirit of God through the Body of Christ will deliver the children of men from the power of darkness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you see why, when God called Moses, He chose a man who would be obedient? Moses made mistakes, but God was patient with him and would not allow him to draw back. God needed him. Moses had what it took to accomplish the great feat of delivering Israel: He was faithful. Faithfulness results in action. That is called obedience!

If God is to use us as He used Moses, we must be faithful too. We have learned to practice faith. But God wants us to learn to practice faithfulness to fulfill all that He has planned.

God Wants Your Heart!

Far too often men and women have heard the word of faith and have tried to walk in the integrity of God’s Word without putting their heart into it. They want the good things—health, prosperity, victory and blessings—without giving themselves to God and serving Him with their whole heart.

Jesus said, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). In other words, we can confess the Word of God from now until Jesus comes, but if our heart is not right, it will not come to pass.

Until we get our priorities right, the things of this world will continue to steal time and energy from us that we should be giving to the things of the spirit. We can get so caught up in using our faith for the affairs of this world that our desire will be for the things of the world instead of for God.

Too many have tried to have the best of both worlds—prospering but not dedicating to the ways of God (which in reality is the way to prosper). There may be some outward success that way, but you will not experience the blessings and power of God to the degree He desires for us. Money without peace will only increase the problem.

God requires more of us because we have revelation knowledge of His Word. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48).

We are a generation to whom much has been given. God has not trained us in His Word so we could consume it on our own lusts. He has revealed His Word to us so we would walk in the spirit while we live in a natural, physical world and yet He desires that we enjoy all good—including abundance.

We must walk in the spirit to fulfill God’s plan for this hour. We must let go of our allegiance to this natural world and put God first place in our lives. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). If we follow the course of this world instead of serving God with our whole heart, we will miss out on the glorious things of the Spirit and the wonderful plan that God has for us.

We have a job to do. God needs us to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel. We are the carriers of His Word. We are the Word made flesh, just as Jesus was. If this world does not hear the good news about Jesus from the Church, it will never hear the good news at all.

We have the same opportunity Jesus had to do the will of the Father. He laid down His life in glory to come to the earth and make a way for us to be born again.

He came to set up His kingdom, and He did. We enter into that kingdom by grace through faith. We are messengers of God’s grace, telling the world they can be born again by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Faithful Are Blessed

We have learned to walk by faith. Now we must be faithful with what we know and do whatever is necessary to harvest the souls on the earth. As we become more faithful to God than we are to ourselves, we will experience the power of God that we have sought.

God is calling us to be faithful and alert to spiritual things. Jesus frequently spoke about faithfulness. He said, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?” (Matthew 24:44-45).

I put my name by this verse in my Bible: “Gloria is a faithful and wise servant.” I made the decision to be faithful.

Commit yourself to be a wise and faithful servant. Say from your heart, “God, You can count on me.”

According to the parable in Matthew 24, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”

Doing what? Doing what he is told to do: Being faithful to his Lord.

Jesus did not say just any servant would be blessed. The slothful servant was not blessed. He was not enjoying the benefits of the faithful one. The faithful and wise servant was blessed of his lord.

In Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable about the wise and foolish virgins. He was making the same point: Those who were diligent and prepared were blessed. Then Jesus continued to teach the disciples about faithfulness:

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey (Matthew 25:14-15).

The one who was given five talents made five more talents. The one who was given two talents gained two more. They were faithful with what was given to them. “But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:18).

When the master returned, they all reported what they had done with their talents. To the two who had invested and increased theirs, he said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (verse 21).

Then the last servant reported to him and said:

Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury [interest]. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath (Matthew 25:24-29).

The wicked and slothful servant did not know his master very well. He did not trust his master, so he was afraid. The slothful servant had no faith in his master because he did not know him.

You must become faithful and diligent to spend the time it takes to get to know God. Set apart time every day to fellowship with Him and get to know Him personally. When you know Him, you will trust Him. You will know that He rewards you for being faithful!

Assigned to Serve

When Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave us His Name, His authority and His power. He said to preach the gospel to every creature, cast out devils and lay hands on the sick. He gave us our assignments and sent the Holy Spirit to endue us with the power necessary to fulfill those assignments (Mark 16:15-20; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4).

In Matthew 28, Jesus told the disciples to teach the converts to “observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The Body of Christ is to carry on exactly as Jesus did.

You can look at Church history and see the talents the Master has given each generation. He has brought one revival after another, waiting for the Church to do what He commanded. Now we are entering into the revival of the glory of God and of the Spirit being manifest to all flesh. Jesus is giving this generation the responsibility of walking in the spirit so the glory of God will be revealed in us.

It does not matter if you received five talents or two. God expects you to be faithful now. He wants you to grow right where you are and become faithful over what He has assigned you to do. Prove yourself faithful over little, and God will make you ruler over much.

Did you notice Matthew 25:21 says the faithful servants entered into the joy of their Lord? The higher life—the life that is lived in the spirit—is where the joy is! But only the faithful will find it.

God is offering us the high life. He is urging believers to walk in this higher realm, where they can absolutely dominate the things of this earth! It is the blessing and joy of the Lord that we receive when we become faithful.

We need to tell God every day, “Lord, You can count on me. I love You, and I am here to serve You. I deny my own interests. I lay aside the pleasures of this life, and I make myself available to You today. What do You want me to do?”

As we come to that place spiritually, we will begin to walk in an area with God which you thought would be possible only after you got to heaven! God will take you to heights that will amaze you.

Are You Available?

How will we be able to walk in the spirit even though we are clothed with this flesh? By spending more time pursuing the things of the spirit than we spend pursuing the things of the flesh.

We will have to become dedicated to prayer and fellowship with God. We must be dedicated to the Word of God and be willing to pull aside from this busy life around us to get alone with God so He can guide us, teach us and communicate with us.

Your natural ability does not determine your usefulness. All you have to be is one who lives in the presence of God. He has the ability!

Make yourself available to Him by praying in the spirit, worshiping and fellowshiping with Him. Then He can manifest His character, His nature, His glory and His Spirit in you. That is what He wants to do. He came to live inside you so He could radiate from the inside out! That’s what happened with Jesus.

When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, the glory of God within Him radiated outward and He was transfigured. “His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Matthew 17:2).

And since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, it will happen the same way in our day. God has never changed His ways. The glory of God will come from the inside of us—from our inner man—as we give ourselves totally to Him and walk in the spirit.

We were predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29-30). God has reproduced Himself through believers—the Church—so He can show Himself to the world.

Now it’s time for the glorious Church to shine!

 

 

Adapted from Gloria Copeland’s book Hearing from Heaven formerly published as Walk in the Spirit.

 

Be An Overcomer! The Key to Fulfilling Your Heavenly Ministry

 

by Billye Brim

What would be your reply if I asked you, “How is your life going?”

Or “How is your business doing?”

Or “How is your ministry getting along?”

You might say, “Everything is going pretty good! The kids are doing well,” or “My business income picked up a little last year.” Or you might reply, “We are building a new church facility, and we had 250 in service last week.”

You would speak to me about things in your life in terms of performance.

The success of our earthly life has everything to do with how well we are able to perform. And by “life” I’m talking about every realm—personal, family, church, community, state, nation and world. We speak of the progress of God’s purpose and plan in our generation in terms of our and others’ performance.

For most of us, our lives go along very smoothly, but we may have certain persistent obstacles or periodic detours that challenge us. And for others, their lives just seem to be one long rocky road, filled with potholes and breakdowns at every turn.

In this life on earth we are going to face challenges that hinder our productive performance. But the question I’m really asking is, how are we handling the hindrances? Have we identified their origin? Are we responding according to God’s Word when we face them?

Over recent months, the Lord has renewed my understanding of how our performance and fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for our lives is accomplished and how hindrances are overcome.

The key is this—the authority of the believer.

The renewal of this biblical foundation to the Church couldn’t be more timely. I know in my own life and ministry, and from accounts I’m hearing from other people, we are under attack of the enemy of our soul like we have never known before. Satan and his demonic powers on every level are on the move. Actually, they are on the run because their time is short, and they are attempting to drag down everything and everyone in their path of destruction.

We know Jesus’ return to this earth is close. And the devils know it, too. By standing up and taking its rightful authority over the works of enemy, The Body of Christ will pave the way for total fulfillment of God’s purpose and plan for the earth and humanity.

We Must Be Who We Are

Our days of complacency and ignoring the Word on this subject are over. The time has come that the Church step up and be who the Word says we are and exercise the authority the Word says we have. The authority of the believer is a heavenly ministry to which we have all been called.

Pick up your Bible right now and read Ephesians 1-2:7, paying close attention to verses 17-23 in chapter 1.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Look also at chapter 2, verses 4-7:

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

I have focused on these scriptures for over 40 years. But in these prophetic days, my eyes are more enlightened toward them than ever before. The Holy Ghost has awakened me to see the vital position of the authority of the believer in His end-time plan—His last-day move as we fulfill our heavenly ministry.

We are at a threshold—at the doorway to a great realm of revelation and operation in our authority. The Lord has shown me that, as Ephesians 1:20 and 2:6 so clearly reveal, the ultimate goal of the gospel is that we assume our position in Christ—risen and seated with Him at the right hand of the Father.

When the Father raised Jesus to this exalted place, He raised us and seated us there. Even when we were dead in sins, God made us alive and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Everything Jesus accomplished from His birth to His ascension was to lift us to that place of authority.

Before He went to the cross, He laid out all the truths of the new covenant for the disciples, and for those who would come after them. He emphasized the relationship we would have with the Father in the days ahead. In John 14:1-2 we are told that Jesus was going to prepare the place. He said to the disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

The Body of Christ throughout the centuries has accepted these truths. But we have relegated them to life after death or after-the-Rapture status. Of course, our future holds wonderful things for us. Yet, there is a place at the right hand of the Father we are to occupy now. It is the place from which we can work with Him to perform His plans and purposes for this last hour.

It’s Time We Take Our Place

In his powerful little book The Authority of the Believer, John A. MacMillan wrote:

The elevation of His people with Him to the heavenlies has no other meaning than that they share His throne. To share a throne means without question to partake of the authority which it represents. Indeed, they have been thus elevated in the plan of God, for this very purpose, that they may even now exercise, to the extent of their spiritual apprehension, authority over the powers of the air and over the conditions which those powers have brought about on the earth and are still creating through their ceaseless manipulations of the minds and circumstances of mankind.

The time has come that we take our place and refuse to be unseated. We must stop putting up with the work of the enemy in our lives. We must stop his attempts to distract us from the purpose and plan of God on every level.

Do you believe we share the throne with Christ Jesus? Do you believe we have the right—the responsibility—to take authority over these things from our position in the heavenlies? I believe it and I’ve begun to act on it!

I have been dealing with a once very close, personal relationship that has been broken for more than 10 years. One morning last December, I took my place in the heavenlies and began to exercise authority over it. I spoke to the enemy who had contributed to the break and fueled it through the years with his harassment and lies. I commanded him to cease and desist in the Name of Jesus. That was on a Friday. I phoned that person and thought I left a voice message. As it turned out, I had dialed the wrong number. Yet, on Sunday afternoon I received a call from that person. Before the call was over, our fellowship was restored. We spent Christmas together for the first time in years! We went to church and worshiped the Lord together at Prayer Mountain. We have talked several times now, confirming our love for one another and praying together. How wonderful to have that sweet relationship restored.

My children and staff are taking their place and exercising their authority in the Name of Jesus in their families and ministry. They are even taking authority over demonic influences against their children’s academic and athletic activities. Things are changing on all fronts. As a family and ministry team, we are becoming skilled at exercising authority against the enemy’s attempts to hinder our performance of God’s plans and purposes for us.

We Are the One

God has a plan and purpose for the earth and all mankind…to show forth His glory, to bring the revival and move that will bring the greatest harvest of all time. We know it’s true. We want it! But, there is a hindering force. The enemy is so frightened that he is endeavoring with everything in his power to stop it.

We must take our place and stop his maneuvers. The enemy recognizes the authority we have and he must obey us, just as he obeyed Jesus.

The unified, glorious Church, walking in the love of Jesus, is the one force that will usher in this end-time work of the Lord. We are many gathered into one Body. We need each other and God needs us! We each must “take care of business” with what I call low-level devils in our own homes and churches, and then cooperate with the whole Body of Christ in taking our authority over principalities and powers that are wreaking havoc around the world.

God has opened doors for us to walk through in 2007—doors no man can shut. The only thing that can keep us from being in the right place at the right time is our unwillingness to take our place. I am willing and I trust you are, too! Let’s firmly plant ourselves with Jesus at the right hand of God and take our authority over the enemy. He’s depending on us to fulfill our heavenly ministry!

 

Billye Brim is president and founder of Billye Brim Ministries and Prayer Mountain in the Ozarks. For information or ministry materials write to Billye Brim Ministries, P.O. Box 40, Branson, MO 65615, call 417-336-4877 or visit her Web site at www.billyebrim.org.

Don’t Know Which Way to Go? When you have this from God, you’ll know what to do

by Gloria Copeland

One of the functions of the peace of God—the peace Jesus left with us (John 14:27)—is to help us know the will of God and to help us make decisions.

Long before I had any instruction in walking in the spirit, the Lord taught me from the Word how to hear from Him when making a decision.

Colossians 3:15 in The Amplified Bible says, “Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from the Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds].” That peace is in you, if you’re born again. When you have to decide between two courses of action, let the peace of God—or the lack of peace—in your heart act as umpire and make a ruling on which way to go. When you have peace, the deep peace that comes from your heart, you’ll know what to do. But if you don’t have peace, if there’s unrest in your heart, you’ll know you’re making the wrong choice.

I use this method frequently. When someone suggests I take a particular action, follow a certain direction or do something in a specific way, I stop, examine my heart and say, “Do I have peace in my heart?”

Sometimes a course of action looks reasonable, sounds like the intelligent thing to do, and may even appeal to me, but before I make a move, I endeavor to find out what’s in my heart about the matter. I always try to go with my heart. When I don’t, when I do something just because it looks reasonable or because someone else thinks it’s the right thing to do, I usually regret it. When I find I’ve made a mistake, and it’s obvious I’ve chosen the wrong way, I look back at what I had in my heart at the time. Usually, I find that I allowed myself to be talked into something when I didn’t really have peace in my heart about it.

It pays to go with your heart! The peace of God will act as an umpire, deciding and settling all questions that arise in your mind. Learn to listen to the peace or lack of peace in your heart before you decide on a course of action. When peace is there—go for it! But when it’s not, just wait until peace comes.

Let peace rule, and peace will be the outcome

Was That Me, Lord, or Was That You?

3 Hints to Hearing the Lord’s Voice

by Gloria Copeland

I have asked believers all over the world this question: “When you think God may be directing you, do you say, ‘Was that me, Lord, or was that You?’” I believe this uncertainty to be the major drawback to our following God through our spirit, directed by the Holy Spirit.

Most serious Christians would do anything God told them to if they knew for sure they were being directed by God—if they heard Him with their natural ears or saw Him with their natural eyes. But most of the time God does not deal with us that way. He sent His Spirit to live in our spirit to constantly teach, enlighten and guide us. We must learn how to hear God in our spirit.

As we spend time daily praying in the spirit, it becomes easier for us to hear the direction of the Holy Spirit as He reveals His will to our spirit. Below are 3 hints to help discern the voice of the Lord.

Hint #1 – Recognize the Promptings

“So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]” (Romans 7:6, The Amplified Bible). We are no longer bound to obey written regulations, but we are still to serve by obeying the promptings of our reborn spirit, which is controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit. He dwells in our spirit.

I believe this is an area of confusion when we are learning to walk in the spirit. As the Lord was clarifying this to me, He made me realize that most of the time I would hear my own spirit speaking to my soul, which is my mind, my will and my emotions. The audible voice of the Lord is rare in most of our lives. Almost every leading we will receive in everyday life will be a prompting, an impression, a thought, an inward witness, a leading or an unction from our spirit.

The reason it sounds like us is because it is ourselves that we hear. The Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit, and our spirit prompts, or enlightens, our mind. “But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17, The Amplified Bible). The key word united in Greek means “to glue or cement together.” Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). This describes being joined, or united, to the Lord.

When we start our day by praying the will of God by the Holy Spirit, many times we will have already prayed concerning the problems we will face during the day. We will perceive an interpretation, a prompting, an impression, a word or a sentence that will enlighten us and give us the answer to the situation. It will be so natural to us that we might not even realize it is the Holy Spirit leading and revealing Himself to us. Things that would have been stumbling blocks to us before will now be handled with ease by hearing and obeying the will of God as the Holy Spirit leads us.

Hint #2 – Trust the Voice of the Spirit

We need to learn to instantly obey the voice of our spirit. I don’t think there is any way to cultivate this communion between the Holy Spirit and our spirit, and between our spirit and our mind, except by spending time in prayer and in the Word of God. We read that the Holy Spirit teaches by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.”

Only the Word of God will separate or differentiate between the soul and the spirit. Our soul relies on natural knowledge to form its opinions until natural knowledge is replaced by the supernatural knowledge of God. In Romans 12:2, this process of replacing the thoughts of natural, carnal man with the thoughts of God is called “the renewing of your mind.”

You might be asking, “How can I tell the difference and be sure when it is God or just me?” You will have to begin a quest for the things of God. The Scripture lets us know that if we seek God, we will find Him. Spiritual things do not come without serious effort.

We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We know that we have to approach God in faith—that is, without being able to see proof in the natural realm. We must learn to believe Him without seeing Him. From that verse we also find another key to knowing God: He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hint #3 – Give God Entrance

There is no selfish, easy way to walk with God while we live in the earth and in a natural body. We will do it God’s way or not at all.

His way is for us to serve Him with our whole spirit, soul and body. We have to change our thoughts, opinions and actions to agree with His. God wants us to live the rest of our time in this earth not conforming to the will of man, or to our own will, but conforming to His will. When we put ourselves in a position of obedience, we give God the freedom to overwhelm the natural circumstances of this life with His supernatural power.

Remember God’s Word comes to us in two ways: (1) by the written Word, and (2) by the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit. We begin with the assurance that God’s written Word is our sure word. The Holy Spirit will never lead you contrary to the written Word of God. If you receive a prompting that is in opposition to the written Word, you will know it is not from the Holy Spirit.

Simply ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to follow Him. Give Him control of your life and He will reveal to you the will of God, step by step. He knows how to bring you to maturity. All He requires of you is your attention and your obedience.

Does Your Heart Agree With Heaven?

by Kenneth Copeland

Time is running out. All you have to do is read your Bible to know it. We’ve moved into the final days of this age—days so difficult and dangerous that Jesus Himself talked about them during His earthly ministry and told us how to handle them.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass (Matthew 24:3-6).

Notice that right in the middle of His description of these perilous times, Jesus gave us a direct and powerful command. He told us in six simple words what we must do to live safely and victoriously in these last days.

He said, “See that ye be not troubled.”

Then He went on and warned us in detail of the trouble ahead. He talked about nation rising against nation. He talked about murder and betrayal. He talked about false prophets arising and the love of many waxing cold. In other words, He talked about the very things we are seeing in the world today.

Jesus warned us about these things so they wouldn’t take us by surprise—so we would know there would be trouble. But He also commanded us to see to it that we don’t let that trouble trouble us!

Upheld by the Word of His Power

How can we possibly obey that command? How can we possibly live in the middle of a world filled with danger and distress without it troubling us?

Those are fair questions and Jesus answered them in that very passage. He said: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (verses 34-35).

Thank God, no matter what is happening around us, the Word of God remains the same. It is the unchangeable force that upholds us in every time of trouble. It is the solid rock, the foundation that, if we build our lives upon it, will bring us safely through every storm (Matthew 7:24-25).

The Word of God is far more real, far more permanent than anything in this natural world. It is, in fact, the very power by which this world and everything in it exists. The Bible tells us that Jesus upholds all things—that’s right all things!—“by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

I used to wonder why God said it that way. Why didn’t He say that He upholds all things by the power of His Word? Then it dawned on me. If we were just depending on the power of God’s Word to see us through, we might find we needed Him to say something He hadn’t said yet. And if He hadn’t said it, the power of it wouldn’t be available to us yet.

But glory to God, He has already said everything that needs to be said! We’re not waiting on Him to say something. He’s already spoken and all things are being upheld by His words! Everything in the earth, every natural and spiritual force on this planet, is under the influence of what God has already said.

What Do You Say?

Psalm 119 confirms that fact. It says: “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants” (verses 89-91).

What does that mean to you in these troublesome times? It means a great deal!

It means that in the midst of danger it’s already been settled in heaven that “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:10). It means that in these times of financial failure it’s already been settled that you “shall not want any good thing” (Psalm 34:10). It means that when the rest of the world is failing around you, it is already settled that you will “triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Those are the words God has spoken about you as His child and they are settled forever in heaven. They are never going to change.

But here’s what you have to remember. You’re not living in heaven yet. You’re living on earth and to activate those words here, you must make sure that your heart agrees with God’s Word. Why? Because Jesus said it will be unto you according to your faith! (Matthew 9:29)

Heaven has already spoken. Now the earth is waiting to hear what you say.

Are you going to speak the Word of God? Or talk about the trouble around you? Are you going to agree with the heavenly decree? Or agree with the earthly circumstances?

Don’t Push the Envelope

You are living today in what you said yesterday. And tomorrow is waiting to hear what you say today. Your eternal destiny is being shaped and formed by your agreement with the Word of God that is upholding all things.

That’s always been true…but now that truth is becoming more crucial than ever before. The reason is simple. We’re running out of time. In years past, if we got our hearts and mouths out of line with God’s Word we had some time to get ourselves straightened out before we ran into the consequences of that disagreement. God, in His grace, would just keep dealing with us until we repented and got back into a place of faith.

Although God is still as gracious and merciful as He ever was, time is short. We’ve hit the end of the age and, frankly, many Christians are pushing the envelope. They’re letting the world fill their mouths and getting their hearts out of agreement with heaven, thinking one of these days they’ll change. One of these days (when circumstances get easier) they’ll start confessing the Word again.

But friend, we’ve hit the end times. Circumstances aren’t going to get easier. They’re going to get harder and we’re running out of days. We’re about to step into that time when we are permanently stuck with the consequences of our confession!

This is not the time to ignore Jesus’ words by saying things like, “I’m just so sick. I’m so worried.” When you say things like that you’re not agreeing with heaven—you’re agreeing with torment and trouble. You’re opening the door for those things to manifest in your life.

Jesus specifically told us not to do that. He said, “See that you be not troubled.” That wasn’t just some kind of Sunday school suggestion! It was a command from the Son of the living God instructing His disciples who would live in the last days. It was Jesus Himself speaking personally and emphatically to us!

Take Your Heritage

Now more than ever before, we must pay attention to His instructions. We must obey that command, take hold of the Word of God and refuse to let go of it. We must be like the writer of Psalm 119 who said: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (verses 105-106, 110-111).

It’s not enough for us to just lie back and say, “Well, if it’s God’s will for me to have victory I guess He’ll just give it to me. If it’s His will for me to be healed, He’ll just heal me.”

No! It is His will. He did give it to you. By His stripes you were healed. Now you must take God’s Word as your heritage. You have to aggressively pursue it and get it in your heart and mouth. You have to fight off every unbelieving devil and every troublesome circumstance that comes to steal that Word and say, “Bless God, I have taken God’s promise as my heritage. It’s my future. It’s my life. I refuse to be troubled by the temporary troubles of this world. They’ll pass away but God’s Word will never pass away. God upholds all things by the Word of His power and that Word will come to pass in my life!”

Then just stay with the Word all the way to the end. No matter what happens around you, don’t turn back. Don’t change.

Fear not. Only believe. And you will see your way through these troubled times in triumph as the end-time overcomer God destined you to be.

Why I Live on the Believing Side of Life

by Kenneth Copeland

I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, and gullible is one of them.

Maybe I am gullible. But I would much rather be gullible than hardhearted.

For instance, if a guy came up to me and said he had fallen out of the space shuttle last week, drifted through outer space a couple days, then re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean and swam to California under the power of the Holy Spirit…of course in the natural, I’d pay no attention to a wild tale like that. But if the Holy Spirit is brought into it, that changes everything—I would believe him. At least, I would believe him until someone proved otherwise.

Now, I realize that some people might think it would be foolish to believe a story like that. But they can think what they like. I just make it a habit to always believe. I choose to live on the believing side of life.

I purpose to stay on the positive side…the side that says, “All things are possible!”

It’s a Matter of the Heart

We know of at least one time when Jesus got on to His disciples for being hardhearted. It all started when Thomas made a faithless decision after hearing reports about Jesus being raised from the dead. Thomas told his fellow disciples, “Except I shall see [Jesus]…I will not believe,” (John 20:25).

Well not long afterward, Jesus “appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen,” (Mark 16:14).

Jesus called Thomas “faithless” (John 20:27). And rightly so. Thomas rejected the Word of God. He rejected the things Jesus had said for the past three years. And he rejected the testimonies he had heard of Jesus’ resurrection.

Thomas wasn’t the only one, however. The other disciples didn’t believe what Jesus had told them concerning His death and resurrection. They, too, rejected the testimonies of those who said they had seen Jesus alive.

So Jesus rebuked them all for their “hardness of heart.” Their hearts were hard because none of them was in the habit of believing.

Like many believers today, the disciples had processed almost everything they heard and saw through their minds, instead of their hearts.

Faith is an action word.

A lot of Christians fail to understand that faith is a definite, purposeful act of the heart. It is not a mental exercise.

Accepting something as fact, is not faith. That’s merely giving mental assent. It’s reasoning with your mind. You can mentally acknowledge that something is true and still never really believe it in your heart.

Real Bible faith is a matter of the heart, and it carries with it God-given responsibilities.

A man once went to Jesus for some help with his son.

“Master,” he called out to Jesus, “I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away…” (Mark 9:17-18).

Then he challenged Jesus with this statement: “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us” (verse 22).

When the father pleaded for compassion, Jesus threw the responsibility back on him, saying, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (verse 23).

The boy’s father was trying to get Jesus to do his believing for him. But Jesus cannot do that.

Finally the man broke down in tears and cried out, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (verse 24). He was believing in his heart, yet he was having trouble with it in his head. His heart was saying, I believe, I believe, I believe! But his mind was resisting.

Had this man known Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding,” there would have been no problem with his head. He could have trusted more in his heart and less in his head.

In the end, when the father cried out in faith, “Lord, I believe,” he enabled Jesus to cast the deaf and dumb spirit out of his son and the boy was healed.

Jesus will do the work for you, but He cannot do the believing for you. You have to do that.

But remember, heart-faith grows out of God’s Word.

If you want to condition your heart to be in the habit of believing, then you must give God’s Word first place in your life. You must feed it into your heart constantly. And you have to realize that the Word is actually God speaking to you…personally. It’s not just a lot of information for your head to carry around.

Then, you must make the quality decision that your body and all its physical senses will never override the Word of God in any given situation.

If your body screams, I’m sick! I’m sick! I’m sick!…don’t allow that natural, physical evidence to be the final authority about what you believe. Go to the Word as your final authority. And the Word says, “By [Jesus’] stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

So abide in the Word and let the Word abide in you (John 15:7).

It will get out of your head and into your heart. It will get you out of the impossible and into the possible. You will get into the habit of living on the believing side of life

Believers’ Academy Helps Build a Strong, Spiritual Foundation

The verdict is in! A few weeks ago, we asked for your feedback about our online Believers’ Academy courses, and the response was overwhelming! Many of you wrote and shared how Believers’ Academy has blessed you, and even helped you discover foundational truths you thought you already knew.

Here are some of the tremendous stories we received from people just like you, who have taken Believers’ Academy courses:

“Have done this course and loved it. Made a major difference to my prayer life. Praying with purpose and getting results. Thank you.” – Bernadette

“It is great…hungry for more. PLEASE keep it going. It is really helping me.” – David

“I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this new format! It is exciting; it enables me to study at my own pace. I have several lessons downloaded and am planning my schedule around the Word of God. Thank you so very much for following the Lord and placing this new arena of learning at my fingertips!!! God bless your ministry for many, many, many years to come.” – Sandra

“Yes, I love it. Thank you! I’ve taken 2 courses.”  – Pam

 “The Believers’ Academy has been a true blessing. The lessons really help me to better understand, what I thought I already knew. Thank you so much.” – Angela

“I absolutely love Believers’ Academy! I’ve been working my way through the courses, as I want to take all of them. I am also trying to share them as Bible studies with family gathered, so we can watch them together. I print extras of each course related handout and it’s fantastic. KCM has definitely been prepared for such as time as this. I know there are other ministries out there that are doing their best as well to educate and support the Body of Christ – God bless them too – but to my mind and heart, KCM is the top, the main ministry.  I believe your technology/web team and ministry/teaching/design teams are the absolute best (and I’m speaking as an IT person). KCM is family to me. I have been learning so much from all you provide… you are such a blessing. I hope you will continue to build on the courses and content. Thank you and God bless you for all you do!” – Karen

“I found the academy very user friendly and valuable in my studies. I want to thank you for allowing access to the excellent materials it contains. I will be using it even further in the near future as time allows. Again, thank you.” – Thomas

“I’ve been so thoroughly blessed by the Believers’ Academy! The videos and lesson materials are awesome! I’ve been taking the Faith course, and learning how to cultivate my faith to help me walk closer to God and receive His promises for my life. I have been speaking “faith words” and God has been blessing me tremendously!! God is so awesome! I have tasted and seen how good God is!! I have been sharing the information about KCM.org and the Believers’ Academy with members of my church and family. They have registered to become Partners. They are also taking courses in the Believers’ Academy and enjoying the WEALTH of information that KCM.org provides. May the blessings of God overtake all aspects of Kenneth Copeland Ministries and the Partners!” – Kelesha

“Just started it today on prayer and am planning on using it for our church midweek prayer and bible study. Thanks for making this available.” – James

“This has helped me so much. I love downloading the teachings and hearing them when I get off work. Thank you so much for making this available. Thank you.” – Susan

 “So excited to have this teaching. Didn’t know I didn’t know some of the basics. So very encouraging to have confirmation on what a believer is supposed to know. I have caught up on so many teachings through these lessons. It’s a wonderful feeling to have the joy of the Lord and the witness of the Holy Spirit through these teachings. I appreciate that the Lord is using Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and ALL the helpers and staff to bring the Word so open (free) and faithfully. I finally understand what is being taught and can see the connection to the continued teachings of the Word. Thank you so much!” – Christine

 “I just watched the first lesson on prayer and I was blessed. I want more…thanks for doing this. Somehow I lost my way and Kenneth’s teaching is so powerful. The word is life and the strong presentation is what I need to wake up and take my place as a believer.” – Maria

“It’s GREAT, WONDERFUL, MARVELOUS!!! I feel so blessed that God, through your ministry, has made available to us the teaching you have been so obedient and gracious to provide. My prayer for you is that God will bless me to be a blessing to and through your ministry and teaching in JESUS’ NAME, AMEN!” – Valerie

 “I am so blessed to enjoy your knowledge and to apply this to my life. Please do not take it down. I am also starting to teach my grandchildren using the one on faith.” – Merlyn

 “I just discovered the Academy online and I absolutely love it. The courses are very foundational and very easy to follow. I co-pastor alongside my husband and would love to take these lessons and teach to the congregation.” – Sherry

 “I truly enjoy the Believers’ Academy. It is a wealth of information, easy to access and very convenient. I have learned a great deal from watching it. Thank you.” – Kathleen

 Have you taken a course yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It’s easy to get started and it’s absolutely free. Click here to view our list of courses and begin building your strong, spiritual foundation today!

Spiritual Leaders Pray for Donald Trump on 9-28-15

Kenneth and Gloria were invited to meet with presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday to give Mr. Trump a spiritual perspective about the most critical issues facing our nation. In this video, you can see Jewish and Christian leaders gathering around to pray for Mr. Trump. You can hear Kenneth specifically praying that God would give Mr. Trump wisdom according to James 1 and that God would reveal Himself to him.

One of the foundation principles of Christianity is prayer. As Christians, we are called to pray for all people, which includes not only those we love and care for, but also those we may not agree with, our enemies and all of those in authority. As we are obedient to sincerely pray as the Bible instructs, the door is opened for God to work in the hearts of those we pray for. 

 

Note: The Copeland’s attendance at this meeting does not mean that they are endorsing Trump. Brother Copeland is willing to pray with any candidate that asks for prayer, no matter what the party affiliation. This is according to I Timothy 2:1 & 2.