Effective Dec. 31, 2021, at Noon ET, Spectrum TV subscribers can watch the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast and all their favorite shows on VICTORY Channel.
We are so excited to finally share this breaking news with you—VICTORY Channel® is now available to watch on Spectrum!
It’s official. Beginning Dec. 31, 2021, at 11 a.m. CT / 12 p.m. ET, our 24/7 faith-based programming was added to the Spectrum channel lineup.
“Throughout our 55 years of ministry, our God-given mission has been to get the uncompromised Word of Faith out on every available voice,” says KCM founder Kenneth Copeland. “This expansion is another significant step to fulfilling that vision, and with all that’s going on in the world right now, we’re especially thrilled to touch more lives with the gospel than ever before.”
If you’re a Spectrum subscriber, this means— starting right now—you can watch the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast and all your favorite shows, including VICTORY News and FlashPoint, on VICTORY!
So, be sure to look for VICTORY on Spectrum today. Availability and channel numbers vary by location, so find your channel and all the ways to watch HERE.
If you are a Spectrum customer, let us know if you have any questions by contacting us HERE.
Now more than ever, this uncompromised Word of Faith must be preached from the top of the world to the bottom and all the way around the middle on every available voice. We’re beyond excited about all the lives that will be impacted by this new voice that will allow us to reach many more new households—all to the glory of God!
VICTORY is growing like never before, and without our Partners, this expansion wouldn’t be possible. Thank you for partnering with us and helping us continue spreading the gospel because…
Maybe you haven’t thought about it in a while or had resolved to get over it and move on. But the devil has stolen something from you. The failed business that robbed you of your retirement account, your sleep and your joy. The opportunity that was pulled right out from under you. The money spent on a health problem that persisted. A relationship that suffered damage or ended altogether.
God never intended for you to accept defeat in that area. He still doesn’t. That’s because God is a God of restoration. Not as the world would define it—putting things back as they should be. No. He doesn’t do things the world’s way. God’s plan for restoration always involves restoring things to you better than they would have been.
Brother Copeland recently prophesied that in 2022, things are going to happen that you know should have come to pass a long time ago. It’s going to be the greatest year you’ve ever had. Like any prophecy, we each have a part to play in seeing it come to pass. It’s time to see a full restoration of everything the devil has stolen. Here, we’re sharing how to receive restoration from God this year and always.
1. Make a List of What You Want Restored
“Write the vision; make it plain.” –Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
Most of us know what’s been stolen and would love to see a turnaround, but often we’ve put much of it out of our minds and haven’t known to expect restoration in certain areas.
That’s why it is so important to take time to identify those things—big and small—that should have been. Restoration begins with making a list of what you want restored. During your next quiet time, grab your journal and a pen, and get quiet with the Lord.
Think about the things that have been stolen in one way or another, but not in a sad or self-pitying way. You’ve likely already mourned those things. But rather, you are bringing to your remembrance the things that need restoring with the intention of seeing a victory. That is how you receive restoration from God.
Then, write it down. Make a list of everything you’d like to see restored. It could be your marriage, a friendship, finances, time, sleep, health, joy, the return of taste and smell after COVID, an opportunity, a promotion, your reputation, or anything else. Acts 3:21 tells us that God restores everything. Hallelujah!
Then, get ready to….
2. Ask God for Restoration
“No one says, ‘Restore!’’’ –Isaiah 42:22 (NKJV)
Have you said it out loud?
Have you said, “Restore!” as Isaiah 42:22 mentions?
It’s time! It’s time to walk your house saying, “Restore! God, I ask You to restore my marriage, restore my finances, restore the car that was wrecked, restore my reputation, restore that promotion, restore the years I lost to illness. Restore!” Something turns loose when you do this. Something breaks free in you and around you. It’s how you receive restoration from God.
God says He will restore to you the years the locust has eaten, and He will do so because He is Compassion (Joel 2:25; Zechariah 10:6). So, when you ask Him to restore, it is imperative that you also believe that He will. James 1:6-8 says if you ask Him but don’t really, truly, excitedly believe it will happen, you won’t get it. And it’s OK to ask God to help you have faith to receive it. He wants to help you!
Ask Him. Go down the list. Ask for restoration. Put pressure on the circumstance with the Word of God. Against, hope, believe. Against what you can see, taste and smell—believe. When all hope is gone in the natural—believe. This is what pleases God.
Quit looking at the ashes and the pain. Look up to God. Begin to tell Him that you love Him and inquire of Him. There is a miracle and a double portion at the end of this. Ask Him to show you what to do. He will show you. Now, it may not all come to pass by next Tuesday, but when He shows you the first step, move on it. It could be so simple, but take that step and then the next one; and before you know it, this whole thing will be turned around.
Watch this timeless message from Kenneth Copeland and Keith Moore about Restoration of that Which Is God’s Heart.
3. Seek Correction
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” –Proverbs 12:1 (ESV)
When it comes to restoration, one thing is sure—nothing changes if nothing changes.
Restoration is God’s will for you. But seeing things come to pass that should have manifested a long time ago begins with seeking correction.
Correction—though not always pleasant—gets you in perfect position to receive what you’re believing for. If you don’t ever want to hear anything about yourself that involves making an adjustment, you’re lacking in wisdom. Worse, you’ll never be in alignment to receive the restoration God wants to give you.
It’s easy to get caught up in what others have stolen from you or where you feel you’ve been shortchanged. But no matter what is going on in your life, God is concerned with one thing—your growth and development. You want promotion, but if you don’t have it, it’s because you aren’t prepared for it yet. It would be dangerous for you to receive it without making the necessary adjustments.
Terri Savelle Foy once shared how God told her she would receive restoration of her marriage, finances and life dreams: Forget everything going on around you. You work on you.
Maybe you’ve allowed yourself to fall into a victim mentality—the idea that life just happens to you, and you can’t do anything about it. The idea that people control your circumstances or that things will never change. The idea that you’re powerless (read: “I have no one to put me in the pool” John 5:7 or “He stole my birthright and my blessing!” Genesis 27:36).
If you’re always the victim, you’ll never be the victor. A victim approach refuses to take any personal responsibility, but rather, focuses on unjust events or perceived wrong treatment from others. It specializes in the blame game, as in, “It was that woman You gave me!”
It’s time for you to see a restoration of everything that’s been stolen! It begins by understanding this one thing: You are not a victim. In Christ, we are no longer powerless. Through His power, authority, grace and mercy, we are victorious overcomers!
Becoming a victor, rather than a victim, begins with not just being willing to receive correction when it comes, but seeking it out! Ask a trusted mentor or friend to share one or two items for you to work on. And don’t be easily offended when they do. Love isn’t easily offended—and neither is wisdom. None of us is above correction, nor are we ever without a time when we need it.
At the same time, ask the Lord to shine His light on the dark places in your heart, too. Allow Him to dig around and reveal those areas of weakness you may not have even known were there. Then, ask Him to help you fix them. When He gives you a step to take—do it! It may be something humbling or uncomfortable but do it anyway. The road to restoration isn’t always an easy one, but the reward is sure.
4. Sow a Restoration Seed
“If [the thief] be found, he shall restore sevenfold.” –Proverbs 6:31 (KJV)
Jerry Savelle says it best: “When you say ‘need’, God says ‘seed’!”
Once you’ve made a list of things that need restoring, asked God for restoration, and sought correction, you’re ready to sow a restoration seed. Proverbs tells us that the enemy must not only give us back what was stolen but restore sevenfold. That kind of harvest needs seed.
Go the Lord and ask Him, “Lord, what would You have me sow for restoration?” He may have a specific seed for each area of restoration. Be tuned in to hear His direction, and give with a thankful and expectant heart.
5. Ramp Up Your Gratitude
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you.” –1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
You won’t see a Christian harvesting a blessing without gratitude any more than you’ll see a farmer harvesting a crop without going out and intentionally bringing it in. Gratitude is the harvester.
You prepared the soil by asking God for restoration and seeking correction. You planted the seed by sowing where He instructed. Now, you’re ready to harvest by ramping up your gratitude.
A gratitude journal is a perfect place to start. Take the time to write down 10 things each morning that you are grateful for. It can be anything—even something as simple as your cup of coffee. Then, spend time thanking God for each of them. You’ll be amazed at how much it will lift your spirit over time. In fact, Dr. Don Colbert prescribes keeping a gratitude journal to many of his patients for physical and emotional healing.
There is so much untapped spiritual power in praise and thanksgiving.
The devil wants to keep you from being grateful while you’re in the process of believing, because he knows it’s an important key to breakthrough. Remember when Paul and Silas were locked up in the bowels of a prison? Things looked pretty grim. Most people would be begging and pleading with God to get them out, or considering all the ways they’d served Him and wondering how they could possibly deserve what was happening.
Instead, Paul and Silas “were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25, NIV). The result? “All the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (verse 26, NIV).All the doors. Every chain. All because of praise and thanksgiving—hearts of gratitude toward God.
So, as you’re believing for restoration, when you pray, “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4, KJV). A heart of praise, thanksgiving and gratitude are integral parts of prayer. They are you and God working together—your prayer and His power. You can pray amiss, but you can’t praise amiss.
Never underestimate the importance of gratitude and praise in receiving restoration and manifestations you’ve been waiting to see for a long time. It’s one of the most powerful spiritual weapons you have!
You can take these steps to receive restoration from God and turn it into a year you’ll remember forever! It’s time to move into the victor’s circle again. It’s time to shout, “Restore!”
That’s how Brother Copeland sums up the word of the Lord he received for the upcoming new year.
Most of us can remember life without GPS (though it sure does make life easier!), but none of us has ever been without a map. Knowing where you’re going and how to get there is the key to success, not only when you’re in your vehicle, but even more so in life.
The word of the Lord to Brother Copeland for 2022 is:
2022 is the year of correction, direction, protection and perfection—in spirit, soul and body, in finances, churches and government.
As we break down what that means for you individually and how you can experience this supernatural acceleration, you’ll find that the wisdom of God—knowing how to pursue and receive it—is at the heart of it all.
What’s in store for 2022? The Lord is speaking, and here’s what you can expect.
1. 2022 Is a Year of Correction
“For the Lord corrects those he loves.” –Proverbs 3:12
When the Apollo spacecraft traveled to the moon, it wasn’t as simple as blasting off, then landing perfectly on the designated target. Astronaut Jim Irwin explained that this journey required course corrections every 10 minutes! Even then, they only landed a few feet inside the 500-mile landing zone. The trip was still a success.
God has each one of us on a path to our dreams and His purpose for us. But our arrival is dependent on continual course corrections along the way. If we fall asleep at the wheel or stubbornly turn off our spiritual ears, we’ll be circling the moon of our dreams for far longer than God ever intended (think 40 years in the wilderness).
The good news is that God only corrects those He loves. Correction leads to direction, which is for your protection and perfection—in your health, family, finances, career, business, ministry and anywhere else. But, here’s the key—you have to be willing to receive correction. There is no path to promotion without it.
Brother Copeland says it like this: “If you’re unteachable, then there’s no correction. If there’s no correction, then there’s no direction.”
If you’re going somewhere in your car where you’ve never been, you’re going to turn on your GPS—or at least pull out a map! No one wants to waste time driving in circles. Correction is your spiritual GPS. You’ll get where you want to go much faster when you accept and respond to the correction of the Holy Spirit.
How does the Holy Spirit bring correction?
Three ways—by His Word, by His Spirit and through other people.
Some people say, “I only receive correction from God,” but that’s a dangerous place to be. God uses other people and if they are the vessels He’s chosen to bring correction to you, but you’re intentionally tuned out, you’ll miss it. There’s value in hearing the outside perspective of other wise and godly people whom God has placed in your life.
Now, you don’t just listen to anything anyone in the world says, but there is wisdom around you. Find it and heed it. Get around God-fearing, God-seeking people, and let their experience speak to you.
The Holy Spirit is leading and guiding all the time. It’s not hearing Him that’s the problem. That’s why if you’re mindful of your flesh all the time, you’ll only believe what you feel or what you see. That gives Satan access to your innermost counsel, because all he has to do is stir up your feelings a little bit, and you’ll follow that. And at that point, God can’t get a word in edgewise.
Correction, direction, protection and perfection all come from putting God’s Word first place in your life. When you see something in the word, you obey it.
Arriving at your destination starts with hearing and responding to continual course corrections. That’s when you’ll be prepared to hear the divine direction of the Lord for 2022!
2. 2022 Is a Year of Direction
“He will show you which path to take.” –Proverbs 3:6
Are you at a crossroad in your life?
Where do you go? What do you do? Which job should you take? Is it time to end a season or begin a new one?
We all face times when we have a choice to go one direction or another. The answers are not always so simple, and if we really want to stay on the path God has for us, we need to seek the wisdom of God for His direction. Once you’ve received His correction, you’ll be primed to receive His direction. He will show you what to do, where to go and who to talk to. He will help you avoid these common pitfalls.
Moving too quickly. The enemy likes to use the ticking clock to pressure believers into making hasty (and often wrong) decisions. Don’t take the bait! Brother Copeland encourages you to “never underestimate a delay” and the power of right timing—even if it isn’t the timing you expected.
Taking the wrong turn. Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) says, “There is a way that seems right to a man….” If you haven’t heard from the Lord, don’t move. Follow the cloud and the pillar of fire. That’s where you are safe.
Being Led by Emotion. Believer, you are called to be led by the Spirit, not your emotions. Feelings are terrible advisors. Before you decide to move in one direction or another, be sure that fear, frustration, hurt or bitterness have no part in your decision.
Following the World’s Ways. There are a lot of successful and wealthy people in the world, and they could tell you how they got to where they are. There are many ways to get rich, but only one that will add no sorrow. The wisdom of God is the only way to find wealth and success without sacrificing everything else.
3. 2022 Is a Year of Protection
“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High….” –Psalm 91:1
Receiving correction and direction paves the way to protection. If God can’t correct you or direct you, He can’t protect you, either. To live in the shelter of the Most High, you must be completely yielded to God’s correction and direction.
A child who won’t listen to a parent instructing him to not run in the street will be in far greater danger than one who listens and obeys. Consider what happened to a faith-filled woman who called into a ministry for prayer.
She had just been hit over the head and mugged on the street. Now, she was on the other end of the line, sobbing.
“How could this happen to me?” she asked. “I confess Psalm 91 protection over myself every day!”
Maybe you’ve felt the same. You’ve confessed a scripture, and then seen the opposite results and wondered why.
The man on the other end of the line was a young Keith Moore. He didn’t immediately have the answer to her question until he heard the Holy Spirit quicken it to him. The Holy Spirit told Keith to ask her why she had been where she was that day.
“Well, I was just running some errands in that part of town. I did have a check in my spirit about going there that day,” she recalled.
The idea that you can ignore God’s correction and direction and just confess scriptures over yourself is a grave misstep. This woman was standing on a scripture while ignoring the warning God gave her—the direction for her protection.
Everything God instructs you to do is for your protection or for your benefit. It doesn’t always make sense to the natural mind, and it isn’t always what we want to hear, but if we want to stay safe and increase in BLESSING, we’ll yield to His direction.
4. 2022 Is a Year of Perfection
“Love…is the bond of perfection.” –Colossians 3:14 (NKJV)
Many Christians have fallen into the trap of following after perfectionism. They have somehow come to believe that they must be perfect in every way, that they must clean up their act before Jesus will love them or bless them. Jesus never demanded perfection—not while He was on earth and not while He sits at the Father’s right hand. He loves us. Period. He loves us so much that He gave His life, so we could be reunited with our heavenly Father. That’s an eternal, extravagant love, and it’s yours!
The way we reach the perfection referenced in Colossians 3:14 is by loving God and loving others. First John 4:16-17 says it this way:
“God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us…because as He is, so are we in this world” (AMPC).
The Apostle Paul prayed “that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection)” and that “enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ” (Ephesians 4:13, 15, AMPC).
Perfection is the completion of correction, direction and protection. That can only be achieved through the wisdom of God, which is a direct result of receiving God’s love and mercy and then giving that love and mercy outwardly to others.
When God’s love and mercy flow through you, you will move from victory to victory on a continual basis. The only thing that can stop you is a lack of love in your life.
Love never fails. That means if you’re walking in love, you can’t fail! That’s a simple (though often challenging) recipe for success!
You’ll Know What to Do
What’s in store for 2022? The Lord is speaking! In 2022, you’ll know what to do. Take the word of the Lord and begin applying it, expecting every part of it in your life. Make seeking and receiving the wisdom of God for every part of your life a priority. Then, you’ll see correction and direction bring you to a place of protection and perfection—a place of realized dreams and goals and fulfilled purpose in your life—spirit, soul and body; in finances; and in your church and government.
Following the severe weather and deadly tornadoes across the Southern United States and Ohio Valley, Dec. 10-11, 2021, the KCM/EMIC Relief Team has been fast at work locating our Partners and Friends in the various areas and assessing needs.
On the night of Friday, December 10, into early Saturday, a family of tornadoes tore through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. The largest of the tornadoes barreled through 227 miles of land, with 220 miles of that land being Kentucky, leaving in its wake a devastating path of destruction. Currently, there have been at least 88 confirmed deaths, and as of this writing, more than 100 people are still unaccounted for.
As tens of thousands of residents remain without power, we are making every effort to make contact with our Partners and Friends in the affected areas and assess needs. We are working on assembling self-sufficient, boots-on-the-ground teams that will minister directly in affected areas. Meanwhile, we are also partnering with Operation Blessing, as they have many teams ready to help.
As we seek the Lord and make plans to help Partners, Friends and others, our first order of help is to pray. In the face of this tragic disaster, may we pray with compassion, understanding and faith.
Join us in this prayer today:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We pray for everyone affected by these storms and lift them up to You today. As many are facing extreme devastation and loss, may You wrap them in Your presence and peace, and help them to not be afraid and to put their trust in You, their God. We ask for You to strengthen, help and uphold them according to Your promises. We ask that You would restore everything the devil has stolen through these storms—spiritually, emotionally and physically. Pour out Your wisdom so each person knows what to do and how to do it, and we ask for a supernatural supply of everything they need, especially finances. And finally, show us how we can help our fellow brothers and sisters during this difficult time. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Thank you for praying as we seek to be a blessing and an aid to those in need.
If you’d like to financially support our Relief Team efforts, please click HERE.
If you’d like to volunteer and join our Relief Team, please visitwww.emic.org/relief.
The KCM/EMIC Relief Team is made possible by the financial support and prayers of our Partners. So, if you are a Partner with Kenneth Copeland Ministries or a member of Eagle Mountain International Church, thank you. Your support through prayer and giving affects lives spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially worldwide.
Christmas dinner with the family is only a few days away. How can we have a peaceful holiday with those family members we choose to see only once a year at Christmas?
A friend of mine recently shared with me that often people don’t want to go home or be with family over the holidays because it makes them relive the past. Yes, I understand. Especially when there have been abusive circumstances, I can see why people wouldn’t want to be around certain family members.
I have always felt obligated to spend time with family at Christmas, because that’s why we celebrate the holidays, right? At times my wife and I have wanted to spend Christmas break on the beach somewhere, but as parents, we have created certain traditions for our kids and know that they expect them. Or we see on TV that to have a great holiday everything should be perfect—the house should be immaculately decorated, every dish should be prepared with the finest ingredients, and yes, our favorite NFL team should win the game. I like all these things, but they don’t make the holidays easy when things are hard with family members.
The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:13, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT). I have had to forgive family members and friends in the past, and I’m sure that I will have to in the future. I think every one of us has had to forgive. It’s time that we look past our differences and appreciate the people in our families because they are in our lives.
I have heard it said that offense only hurts the offended. It’s true; the person who offended us is going on with his or her life. But too often we stay upset and want to change our family and friends who are not like us—who have different beliefs and thoughts than we do. We are afraid that they may not turn out the way we think they should.
Why do we want to change people? I believe it’s because of a deficiency in love. But Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up” (NLT). For a long time I allowed a family member’s presence to always trip me up. I finally had to realize that the problem wasn’t with that person—it was with me. I had made their problems my problems.
The Bible says that “love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection” (1 John 4:18, TPT). Perfected love will remove our fear that our family members will never measure up to our standards. We shouldn’t hold them to our standards anyway; each of us needs to align with God’s standards. I want love’s perfection. I want to see the person who doesn’t speak, think, or act like me through the eyes of love. I want to have a home in which my family and friends can come and not feel judged but loved. We can’t change other people, even if what they are doing is wrong. Only God can change a person’s heart. “God is love” (1 John 4:16), and only love can change a person’s heart. Love never fails. The goodness of “love” will bring people to repentance (see Rom. 2:4). My prayer this holiday season is that love will be supreme in our gatherings—that it will overtake our dinners and parties and bring about restoration in our relationships.
You’re reading the Word every day. You’re making the right confessions. But…something isn’t working. You aren’t seeing results.
The temptation is to think, Maybe I just need more faith. Here’s food for thought: What if you don’t? What if your faith is just where it should be, but you’re missing another key ingredient?
Pastor Nancy Dufresne recently raised that question while ministering at Eagle Mountain International Church. She likened it to baking a cake, saying, “When you bake a cake, you need the right amount of each ingredient. If you don’t have eggs, you can’t just add more flour and think it’s going to turn out right. The same is true of faith. If something isn’t working, you can’t just double up on faith. Faith needs something added to it.”
Where is the recipe for faith that works?
Second Peter 1:5-7 lists the 7 companions of faith—the things that keep us on course and cause our faith to work. Faith itself is not a substitute. Nancy Dufresne says, “If something isn’t working, you can’t just throw more faith at it.” You need all seven of these companions of faith to see a manifestation and victory in your life!
1. Virtue Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith, virtue” –2 Peter 1:5 (NKJV)
Virtue in this verse is translated as moral excellence. You know, the world mocks morality, but God is a moral God. The government may legislate things as acceptable, but if God doesn’t call it moral, it doesn’t matter who else does. You can legislate sin all you want, but it’s still sin.
We go to the Word, not the world, to find our standard of moral excellence.
A lot of people want to give Jesus their heart but stop short of giving Him their lives. If He’s Lord of your life, He wants to have something to say about how you live—what you say, what you do, who you fellowship with. All those things matter to Him. YOU matter to Him.
Having virtue doesn’t mean you’re perfect. It means you’re putting in effort and making progress. It means you’re producing fruit. It is who we are when no one is looking.
Sin puts us right into the devil’s territory, and when we’re in his territory, he has a right to attack us. Sin binds people and takes them captive. Jesus came to make you free. Virtue won’t ever willingly participate in anything that is going to hold you captive.
So, how can you get free from sin?
Nancy Dufresne says, “You can get free from any sin if you decide to hate it.” She shares how you choose to hate sin by faith. Your flesh may really like it, but you can make a decision to hate that which you think you like. That’s important because she says, “You’ll keep everything you’re OK with.”
You don’t get free from sin by willpower. For every opposition we face, we have something in the spirit that exceeds that opposition. Romans 8:13 says, “Through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature.”
That’s why the devil will keep you occupied with trying to get rid of it. He knows you can’t get rid of it by struggling in your own ability. You get rid of it by pouring in the Word that washes it out. Quit trying to remove what’s wrong from your life. Just pour in what’s right and flush it out.
Honor and integrity—virtue—will keep you from having weak spots in your life. When you’re living in moral excellence, there is no place for the devil to get in.
2. Knowledge Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…knowledge.” –2 Peter 1:5 (NKJV)
Faith is not compatible with ignorance. So, if you are without the right knowledge of the will of God, your faith won’t be supported. Ignorance doesn’t mean stupid—it means untaught or not being a good student.
Faith is only compatible with knowledge. That’s why the devil is counting on our ignorance to work his plan. Knowledge of the will of God is an important support to the bridge of faith.
How do you get knowledge? By the renewing of your mind.
You may listen to teachings every day, and ministries are wonderful, but the most important thing is for you to renew your mind every day by reading the Word. No one else can do that for you. Kenneth E. Hagin used to say, “Your mind doesn’t stay renewed any more than your hair stays combed.”
Stay in the Word every day!
3. Self-Control Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…self-control” –2 Peter 1:5-6 (NKJV)
Faith is going to have a tough time of it without self-control. That’s because God designed self-control to keep us safe.
Your body was never designed to lead your life. But you have to allow your spirit to take the lead and remind your flesh to back down. That’s why we have to give ourselves spiritual, mental and physical boundaries. But just like anything else, we can’t do this through human ability. We have to have the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Nancy Dufresne says, “Your faith won’t work right when you let your body do whatever it wants. Your greatest defense against the devil is a submitted body and a renewed mind.”
A very important part of self-control is not letting our mouths say whatever they want to say. “Just because you think it doesn’t mean we need to hear it,” she reminds us.
You can make all the faith confessions you want but undo every bit of what they could accomplish by what you say. That’s why Proverbs 13:3 says, “Those who guard their lips preserve their lives” (NIV).
Beyond controlling your body and words, it is important to exercise self-control in our thought lives, as well. Worry will weaken the support of temperance in your life. Bitterness, unforgiveness, fear and anger are all the result of an uncontrolled thought life, and these things will hinder faith.
4. Patience Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…patience.” –2 Peter 1:5-6 (NKJV)
Patience is what keeps your faith going. Gloria Copeland sums it up this way, “Without patience, faith will quit.”
It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). If we’re not patient, we’ll settle for the wrong thing. We’ll accept something that comes quicker to satisfy us. We’ll accept the wrong spouse because we’re tired of waiting, or we’ll accept the wrong job because we didn’t want to wait for the right one.
Patience is not a calendar watcher. Real faith ignores the calendar because it is fixed on what God says, not what the calendar shows. Sometimes people blame the devil for things that were caused by stepping out of patience with God.
When we’re ready, He will bring us into the things that He has put in our hearts.
5. Godliness Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…godliness.” –2 Peter 1:5-6 (NKJV)
Godliness is God-likeness in all we do. If He wouldn’t think it or say it or do it, neither should we. Godliness is being interest in His plan and His will. If we’re going to be like God, we have to be interested in His plan, not just our plans.
Godliness is doing the will of God with joy—being glad to do what He wants you to do. That is a critical companion of faith. The further you go with God, the less you’ll care about your own preferences. You’ll prefer what God prefers.
Godliness is also consecration—it is an intentional keeping away from anything that will rob you of what God makes available to you.
The willing and the obedient will inherit the land (Isaiah 1:19), and godliness will strengthen your faith to get there.
6. Brotherly Kindness Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…brotherly kindness.” –2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV)
There is a distinction between love for our brothers in Christ and love for all men. There’s a divine order in things, and we find that order in Galatians 6:10, which says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (NIV).
The way you treat the Body of Christ matters more than how you treat a stranger at a store. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter how you treat strangers, but there’s a divine order to things.
For example, of course you’ll be kind to the neighbor children, but you’ll show even greater love for your own children. The same needs to be true in the Body of Christ.
We’re not walking in love if we’re volunteering for secular activities when we aren’t serving the local church, or if we’re giving to the homeless but not tithing. It’s not right to give to random people when you aren’t giving to your assigned location.
Walking in brotherly kindness will undergird our faith and keep it working!
7. Love Is a Companion of Faith
“Add to your faith…love.” –2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJV)
Love is perhaps the greatest companion of faith. Galatians 5:6 tells us faith won’t work without it!
If you’ve been feeling stuck in your spiritual life—not seeing manifestations of what you’re believing for—your love walk is a critical place to check. You’re stalemated, and if you’re not walking in love, your faith won’t work.
To take love to the next level and walk in love as God has commanded, you will put others’ interests ahead of your own, and you won’t be touchy and easily offended. This is the divine love gauge. As long as you take account of the evil done to you, you’re not walking in love. This might seem difficult at first (it takes practice!), but the reward is great.
As you put these 7 Companions of Faith into action, your faith will flourish, and you will always receive what you need. Second Peter 1 doesn’t just list the seven companions of faith, it also tells us, “If anyone lacks these things, he is blind” (verse 9, TPT.) It’s tough to fight the fight of faith with a blindfold on. So, make sure the companions of faith are always at your side!
Worldview. While not a new word, it’s a concept gaining popularity in the Body of Christ. It asks the question: How do you view your world? What defines you, your perceptions, your opinions and your belief system? Many Christians promote having a Christian worldview—or a biblical worldview—but I want to challenge you to have a Christian worldview of faith, one that trusts in Jesus and God’s Word to answer every question you’ll ever have and to help you through any situation you’ll ever face.
Why a Christian Worldview of Faith?
God framed the worlds by faith. Everything God made, He made by faith. Everything He does, He does by faith. For you and me, it’s no different. What works for God will work for us.
The key to shaping our everyday world is understanding faith—and living by it. We must know what it is, how to get it, and how to use it.
By faith, we choose to receive the promises of God. We receive financial prosperity by faith. We receive divine health and supernatural healing by faith. We receive our spouses, our children, our homes, our food—all our earthly needs and desires—by faith. Our faith is an opening through which God can save us, deliver us, baptize us in His Spirit and anoint us for ministry.
In short, faith is heaven’s window into our lives.
Where Do You Find a Christian Worldview of Faith?
Given the right conditions, faith always comes, and it is the only way to have a Christian worldview that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is always available when we need it. It’s “on call” to anyone who will give attention to the Word of God (Proverbs 4:20-22).
We receive God’s Word into our hearts by reading it, speaking it, hearing it, meditating on it and acting on it. His Word causes faith to rise up within our spirit to draw the promises of God into the natural realm (Romans 10:17).
So faith comes by hearing the Word of God—and when it is released from our hearts with our mouths, it brings the fulfillment of God’s promises. Faith gives the blessings of God natural reality or substance. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
A Christian Worldview of Faith Acts!
Looking to God as our Guide, we find in the book of Genesis that faith is released with words. Faith words demand results.
In Genesis 1, we read an account of Creation that goes something like this:
“In the beginning God said, Let there be light…and there was light. God said, Let there be a firmament…and it was so. God said, Let us make man….”
Do you see the pattern?
“God said…and it was so. God said…and it was so.” God literally spoke all of Creation into existence. Hebrews 11:3 says that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. That is the very same way we frame our world. We are created in God’s image to live like Him!
Notice that Genesis doesn’t say “God thought…and it was so.” No, God spoke. That’s how He operates. That’s how faith operates. What’s more, God has never stopped speaking.
Down through the Old Testament and into the New, we see how God continued to pour His Word into the earth, primarily using prophets to speak His Word. The reason God released all that Word into the earth was to give substance for when the time came for Jesus—the ultimate Word given by God—to appear in the flesh. He brought Jesus into the earth by His Word!
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Faith is the heavenly materiality, or tangibility, of those things for which you and I hope. But now, here’s where we need to be aware of being deceived.
Oftentimes, believers think they’re walking in faith when in reality they’re not. They’re actually walking in unbelief. In the first place, they really don’t have true, Bible hope. All they have is a wish list. They’re wishing God would do this for them, and wishing He would do that. They heard how He did it for Brother and Sister So-and-So. And now they’d like Him to do it for them.
I cannot tell you how many people I’ve known in 45 years of ministry who thought they were “faith people.” For years, I watched them hang around the faith teaching, yet never did I see any substance, and never did they see any real changes in their lives and circumstances. What was wrong?
Well, I’ll tell you. When it came to God’s Word, they didn’t use any faith. They merely gave mental assent to it. They didn’t put faith in it enough to act on it. They only agreed with what they read in the Scriptures. (Read James 1:22-26.)
Remember, “God said…and it was so.” God’s act of speaking released faith to that which He believed. When He said, Light be! He fully expected light to be. His faith took action. It spoke.
Likewise, our faith must take action, and it must take action based on the Word of God.
A Christian Worldview of Faith Speaks!
I like to describe faith like this: Faith is movement. It’s a mouth in motion.
To illustrate this, imagine my body is being attacked with symptoms of sickness.
Thousands of years ago, God spoke a promise about healing into the earth. He spoke through His prophet Isaiah and said: “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
Many years later, Jesus came—God’s promise in the flesh—to fulfill that Word. Galatians 3:13 describes the results of Jesus having come to this earth: “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Looking back on Jesus’ ministry, the Apostle Peter also wrote, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).
Now, here I am with symptoms of sickness attacking my body. What do I do?
Remember, faith is what gives substance to that for which you and I hope. In this case, I’m hoping to be delivered from this sickness.
Faith also gives God the opening necessary for Him to pour His favor and blessing into our lives, bringing the manifestation of that promise from the spiritual realm into the natural realm—which is where my body needs it at the moment.
But now, how does faith make that draw on God’s Word?
By taking action.
And how does my faith take action?
By speaking the Word and then acting as though it is done.
Romans 10:6-10 describes the process like this: “But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” In fact, this passage is telling us, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
A Christian Worldview of Faith Gets Results!
The provision for all that God has promised us—health, healing, salvation, protection, prosperity—has already been established in heaven and earth. The work was completed 2,000 years ago. It is like having money in the bank, but to spend it, you have to make a withdrawal. Receiving that provision is up to us. That’s where mouth and motion come into play.
In Isaiah 55:10-11, we read, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Our new hearts, like the earth, are good ground for the Word of God. They are the abiding and functioning place for His Word.
Likewise, our mouths are the implements of faith that speak the words out of our hearts to enable us to reap the harvest we desire. We reap that harvest by believing and thus speaking the promises of God into fulfillment. That’s why we read in James 2:14 and 17, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
Our faith must act. The faith stored in our hearts must come out. Otherwise, it is dead and of no use. You release faith with your words.
When the Pharisees tried to back Jesus into a corner concerning His true source of supernatural power, He told them, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things…” (Matthew 12:34-35).
Then, as Jesus explained faith to His disciples, He said, “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” (Mark 11:23-24).
You and I have the responsibility of getting our hearts and mouths in gear, speaking and acting as though we’ve already received the fulfillment of our desire. We believe we receive when we pray. From the moment we release our faith, we must talk and act as though it is done. We must take action by speaking as God spoke and give substance to His promises. As we do, we give substance to something we can drive, something we can eat, something we can wear, something that can heal our bodies. We give substance to our world. That’s when our Christian worldview of faith gets results!
A Christian Worldview of Faith Forgives!
The final principle you and I must understand about developing a Christian worldview of faith is that it works by love—that is—faith forgives.
Returning to Jesus’ teaching on faith in Mark 11, let’s read the rest of what He told His disciples on the road to Jerusalem.
“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too” (Mark 11:24-25).
Now, I understand that when we’ve been hurt and the Holy Spirit reminds us of this verse our flesh wants to say, “Yes, but, Lord, You heard the terrible things those people said about me…. Yes, but, Lord, You know how that person abused me….”
While the hurt we suffered may have been a cruel and ungodly act against us, nonetheless, we have to walk in love toward those people. After all, God had to forgive. Jesus had to forgive. You and I are no different. We must forgive if we want to walk in faith and in the full favor of God.
Besides, if someone is against you, why do them a favor? Why let them ruin the rest of your life by short-circuiting your faith through unforgiveness?
Don’t let anyone keep you sick, broke, mentally tormented and without joy because of unforgiveness. Don’t help people close the door to God’s blessings in your life and open the door to every curse loosed in this world. No, forgive them. Stay in the flow of God’s love.
So as you commit to developing a Christian Worldview of faith, remember to avoid taking or living with offense. Don’t carry around hurts. Release them to the same blood of Jesus, which cleansed you, redeemed you and set you free. As you do, you will free yourself to live out your Christian worldview of faith successfully, completely and happily!
Watch Kenneth and Gloria Copeland discuss how Faith Is NOW.
“This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand.” –1 Samuel 17:46 (NKJV)
Have you ever met people who are eternally engaged? You ask when they’re getting married, and they say, “Oh, well, we haven’t set a date yet.” They’re not serious! If you’re serious, you pick a date. There’s something about picking a date.
Picking a date says you mean business. That’s what David did when he faced Goliath. He picked a date when he said, “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand.” He said it by faith. And what happened? David got manifestation of his confession on the date he said it would happen!
Picking a date stirs up your faith. It puts pressure on your faith to perform, to expect and to receive.
Think about July 4th. We celebrate on that day, but that isn’t the date when America actually acquired independence. That was the day the Founding Fathers declared independence. They picked a date. The manifestation came later, but the declaration set their faith in motion to receive.
If you’re believing for something that seems to be dragging on with no timeline attached to it, you need to draw a line in the sand. You need to put your foot down and pick a date according to your faith. Now, we aren’t talking about presumption. Bishop Bailey says, “Presumption gets ahead of God, fear lags behind God, but faith moves with God.”
When you pick a date, you include God in your plans. You choose a date with God and by the Spirit of God. Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.”
When you pick a date, you’re making a faith declaration like David did concerning Goliath when he said, “This day!” Job 22:28 tells us we can do that: “You will also declare a thing and it will be established for you” (NKJV). When you declare something—pick a date—by faith, heaven will back you up. Jesus said it this way: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18, NIV).
It’s empowering to pick a date because it gives you something to point your faith toward. Picking a date makes you get aggressive in your faith.
2. Picking a Date Determines Your Behavior
“Elisha replied…‘About this time tomorrow.’” –2 Kings 7:1 (NIV)
When you get a bill in the mail with a due date, or worse, a date when they’ll cut off service if it isn’t paid, it’s going to stir you to action much more than if the bill came with no deadline!
That’s what picking a date does for you in your faith life—it determines your behavior and gives you a healthy push toward acting on your faith. It’s time for you to pick a date for the things you’re believing for.
Pick the date, speak the date, believe the date, receive the date. We already talked about how David picked a date for Goliath’s taunting and terror to end, but Moses picked a date, too. In Exodus 14:13 (NKJV), the Israelites had the enemy army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. Moses responded by saying, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvationof the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.”
When you pick a date, you’ll speak the date. You’ll say, “God is going to deliver us today. God is going to defeat our enemy TODAY.” Then, stick to your confession. Don’t change it; don’t weaken it; don’t start making excuses about it. Stick to your confession!
Elisha also picked a date. He said, “About this time tomorrow” the whole economy is going to change (2 Kings 7:1, NIV)—within 24 hours. Did you know your whole situation can change in 24 hours? It’s time to hype your faith up to believe God for things eye has not seen and ear has not heard!
3. Picking a Date Gives You Strategy
“The battle is not yours but God’s.” –2 Chronicles 20:15 (NIV)
For every warfare, there is strategy. For very financial need, there’s strategy. For every sickness, there’s strategy.
Picking a date will give you that strategy. While you’re trying to figure it out, God has already worked it out. But when you pick a date with God, you’re bringing Him into your situation instead of trying to do it all on your own.
That’s what Jehoshaphat did in 2 Chronicles 20 when a vast army was coming against him. He sought the Lord and God gave him a strategy for victory. God will give us strategy of things to do that don’t always make sense to the world.
Maybe it seems like everything and everyone is against you. God already has a strategy in mind. And the best part is, you will not need to fight this battle. God will fight it for you. Stop looking at who’s against you and see the salvation of the Lord.
When Jesus wanted to feed the 5,000, the disciples didn’t know where they were going to get enough food. However, Jesus had already had a plan. He had a strategy.
God already has a plan for your deliverance. God already has a plan to reverse your lack or your health. God already has a plan for your marriage and for your children.
Pressing into God is how you find that strategy, and picking a date puts you in a place where you need to press in!
4. Picking a Date Calls Your Faith Higher
“About this time next year…Sarah your wife will have a son.”—Genesis 18:10 (NIV)
God picked the date for Abraham and Sarah to have a baby, but they had to believe the date. Abraham and Sarah know this: Picking a date calls your faith higher!
God is a covenant-keeping God. We have to continually call our faith higher to receive all He has promised. Throughout the Bible, and in the lives of believers, we’ve seen dates including “today,” “24 hours,” “by the end of this year” and “by this time next year.”
Will you dare to believe that next year at this time you’ll be out of debt? Will you dare to believe that by this time next year you’ll own a home?
God remembers what He said. He remembers His covenant, and He will do what He said!
Will you still have faith, or will you have given up, and use a credit card? Will you have faith, or will you have given up, and quit on your dream?
It’s never too late. When man says no, God can still say yes. God is still in the blessing business. Picking a date calls your faith to a higher level. It says, “I still believe God!”
If things haven’t worked out like you thought, shout out, “God, I still believe You!”
God appoints set times—not just seasons, but specific dates. He picked a date for Jesus’ birth. “When the time arrived that was set by God…” (Galatians 4:4). The Lord also appointed a time when He would bring a plague upon the Egyptians. “The LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing” (Exodus 9:5, ESV).
It’s time for you to say, “The Lord will do this thing!”
This is why it’s time to pick a date for what you’ve been believing for. If you’ve been tolerating it this long, being taunted this long by opposition, what do you have to lose by picking a date? Pick a date with God, and watch Him work!
There is a place where you are untouchable from any kind of attack.
There is a place where everything is going to be all right no matter what is going on in the world around you. God has revealed to us, in His Word, the way to stay in that “untouchable place.” We need these specific instructions for walking in victory more than ever these days.
Kenneth Copeland delivered a word from the Lord at the 2010 Southwest Believers’ Convention that began this way, The world is in serious trouble. But for the household of faith, everything is going to be all right.
In spite of all the “breaking news,” those of us who live in the household of faith are going to be all right. The devil can’t touch us.
No matter what happens or what is going on, we are the untouchables. We have God’s covenant of protection, and the devil cannot touch us when we are safely behind the following four walls of protection:
1. The Word
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” –John 17:17 (NIV)
God’s Word is referred to as our protection throughout Scripture. Psalm 91:4 (KJV) says His truth is our “shield and buckler.” The shield protects from in front and the buckler protects behind. The Hebrew translation of this verse says He is our “circle of protection.”
When we stand on God’s Word, we become rooted and grounded in something that is unshakable and unmovable. We are surrounding ourselves with God’s impenetrable shield. As long as we stand on the Word, stay out of fear, walk by faith and exercise our authority, we will remain completely protected in the household of faith.
Of the protection found in the Word, Gloria Copeland says, “If you’re in fear, it’s not the secret place. If you’re having trouble with fear, go back to scripture until you get rid of fear.”
When we stay in the Word of God, we keep the wall of the Word up and protecting us. It separates us from the evil the world is subject to. That’s when we are in the world, but not of it.
To keep your wall up and standing strong, read the Word, meditate on it, and let it become so real on the inside of you that when pressure comes, the only thing that comes out is the Word.
Learn 7 Strategies for Building a Psalm 91 House HERE.
2. The Blood
“When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you.” –Exodus 12:13 (NIV)
As Christians, we know about the blood, sing hymns about it and remember it during Communion. But how many of us truly know how deep its power runs, and all that it has provided for us? Even more importantly—how many of us use it and apply it in our lives every day?
The blood of Jesus is one of the four walls of protection God has given us. From Genesis to Revelation, the words the blood are kept before our eyes—a reminder of its importance and significance to God and to us. The blood symbolizes cleansing and purification—the settling of a matter.
God is Love. And the greatest expression of His love toward us is the blood of Jesus. That love covers every need man has had or ever will have, and every time we apply the blood, we experience an outpouring of this love. It is love, through the blood, that has created a barrier—a wall—between you and all the works of the devil (Revelation 12:11).
To live behind the protection of this wall, we have to elevate the blood of Jesus to the same place in our hearts that it has in God’s heart—and awaken in our spirits those powerful things the blood has procured for us. The power of the blood of Jesus has provided everything you need to live a life of victory.
When we apply the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of our lives in faith, we access the power to defeat every part of the curse that tries to take up residence. When you speak the Name of Jesus in the face of sickness, disease or danger, the blood of the Lamb is behind it, and you are protected!
“He will give his angels charge over you.” –Psalm 91:11 (NKJV)
It’s not an exaggeration to say that every one of us, or someone we know, is facing some kind of problem today—some kind of trouble we can’t escape without God’s help.
For one person, that trouble may be a disease that medical science can’t cure. For another, it may be financial problems or a family crisis. But no matter what kind of wall the devil has backed you up against, you can count on one thing: God has promised to deliver you.
One way He does this is by giving His angels charge over you. He charges them to protect you…to keep you…to minister to you…to deliver you. It’s one of the four walls of protection God has given you. But you are responsible for keeping the wall up!
Angels are at your service—to carry out God’s will—to protect you from danger and harm (Hebrews 1:14). When you plead the blood of Jesus over yourself, your vehicles, your home—you’re employing angels. When you declare Psalm 91 over your life—you’re employing angels. When you speak out, “Angels are protecting me. I send forth ministering angels to protect me and my family”—you’re employing angels.
4. The Name
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run to it and are safe.” –Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)
The Name of Jesus is your supernatural protection, your emergency number and your rescue vehicle, all wrapped up in one. It responds immediately, acts perfectly, and gets the job done without delay or hiccup. It should always be your first line of defense and will help you when there seems to be no way out. And it is one of the four walls of protection God has given you for a fully constructed spiritual fortress.
That is what happened to a Christian man who was on a 747 airplane that crashed into another commercial airliner, killing most of the passengers. Both planes went down and were on fire. All the exits were blocked or engulfed in flames, and he was trapped inside. In his moment of impossibility—he did what he knew to do—he called on the Name of Jesus.
Now, before he had left on this trip, he had prayed over his travel and believed God for safety. He put his faith stake in the ground before he even left. And now, as he called on the Name of Jesus, the next thing he knew, he was out on the wing. He didn’t use an exit—he was just translated out. He was just suddenly out of danger without any natural explanation.
That’s the power of the Name of Jesus—one of the four walls of protection given to you by God for your use!
A Greater Purpose
Though God’s protection is an amazing blessing to us individually, we aren’t protected just to be protected. First Peter 1:9 reveals that the goal of our faith is the salvation of souls. The Body of Christ has an important end-time mission to the people who will experience the ravages of the world’s evil.
That’s why, when trouble comes, we don’t just “head to the hills and hide out in the household of faith” until the storm passes over. We walk right into the midst of trouble, being totally insulated by our circle of protection. Our mission is to rescue those who are caught in the devil’s reign of terror and pull them into the household of faith. We are protected, so we can get people to the place in their lives where everything is going to be all right.
The Word, the blood, the angels and the Name—when you build these four walls of protection around your life, you are covered on every side! No person would build a house with only one, two or even three walls. You have to have all four to make it work. The same is true in the spirit realm. It’s time to live with the full protection of God!
For some reason, whether Christians should participate in Halloween has been quite the subject of debate. Some believe it’s just harmless fun and don’t want to feel left out of the festivities. Others recognize the spiritual implications behind the day and warn against its dangers. Ultimately, as Christians, every decision we make should be done through the lens of the Bible, not the opinions of man. At KCM, we believe the Bible is clear on the matter of Halloween. We’re providing answers to the question, Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? with these five reasons to steer clear.
1. Halloween Is Rooted in Fear
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” –2 Timothy1:7 (NKJV)
Fear is front and center at Halloween. Haunted houses, horror movies and scary costumes abound. Decorations are focused on death and ideas that instill fear, especially in young children. Some people see this as harmless fun, but God’s Word says otherwise.
The Bible tells us repeatedly to fear not. That’s because fear involves torment and opens the door to the devil in our lives (1 John 4:18). Fear is the opposite of faith. It’s an opposing force, and it outright opposes God. Fear is not fun, and it should not be tolerated in the life of a believer.
When we entertain a spirit of fear—on any level—we are engaging with and giving audience to the devil, and that is dangerous. You may not necessarily see the fruit of it on the night of Halloween, but when you participate in Halloween, you plant a seed in your heart that gives Satan place to take ground in your life. You don’t want that!
This doesn’t mean you have to turn off your light and shut your door to the world. In fact, KCM’s pastor of evangelism, Riley Stephenson, has some tips for how you can reach out with light in the darkness during Halloween HERE.
Watch Kenneth and Gloria Copeland teach you why fear is not OK!
2. Halloween Is a Wiccan Holiday
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.” –Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)
Halloween is considered a high holy day in satanic ranks. Christians should have no part in anything celebrated by those who operate in the deepest realms of darkness.
So serious is even the slightest engagement with evil that when Paul had taught the truth to the Ephesians, “those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all” (Acts 19:19, ESV). They knew any type of engagement with evil would become a snare, and they wanted nothing more to do with it!
That’s how we need to look at things like Halloween, astrology, mediums, psychics or movies filled with the spirit of fear. Additionally, witchcraft is detestable to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10-13). All of these things are dangerous, and no temporary entertainment is worth compromising our faith and opening any part of our lives to the work of the devil. He is the one we are wrestling with every day in our health, finances and family. To join hands with him, even for a moment, is operating outside of wisdom (Ephesians 6:12).
3. Halloween Doesn’t Honor God
“Do all to the glory of God.” –1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV)
As witnesses to the world of who Jesus is and what He’s done for us, everything we say and do should bring glory and honor to God the Father. If it doesn’t, we should ask ourselves if it is really something we should be doing. Dressing up like a goblin, playing dark music and celebrating the devil’s day does not bring glory to God.
Colossians 1:10 (ESV) tells us “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Halloween has never been a day to honor God. That’s enough reason alone to steer clear.
4. Halloween Magnifies Death and Darkness
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”–Isaiah 5:20 (NKJV)
The Bible makes it simple—light and darkness do not mix. Halloween magnifies death and darkness. Tombstones, zombies, witches, skeletons and the like are not of God, and they are not life. We are called to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19) and to magnify the things of God, which Philippians 4:8 tells us are true, noble, lovely, excellent, praiseworthy, pure and admirable.
The activities surrounding Halloween have occultic roots that have nothing to do with light, life and the nature of God. They are contrary to Him. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are also committing to renounce Satan and his practices.
5. Halloween Joins You With the World
“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner withwickedness? How can light live with darkness?” –2 Corinthians 6:14
Christians will always look different from the world—in a good way! That’s because God has called us to be set apart. Some people want everyone to like them, to always fit in and feel included. The problem with that is found in James 4:4, which says, “If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”
Many times, our difference from the world will cause others to persecute us. It comes with the territory (2 Timothy 3:12). But beyond that, it serves as a light shining in the darkness. Those same people who persecute you will turn to you first in a time of crisis because they know you have something they don’t—something they need (John 8:12).
We are called to be set apart (2 Corinthians 6:17) and choose who we will serve (Joshua 24:15). It is an honor to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)
Celebrating Festivals of Harvest
“Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.” –Exodus 23:16
While the Bible doesn’t support the celebration of fear and darkness, it has much to say about celebrating the harvest. That’s why many churches choose to hold Fall Festivals in place of Halloween activities. This is a great time to get away from the darkness to fellowship with believers and even make new friends. Kids often dress up in non-scary costumes and treats are handed out. This is a great way to reach your community and point people to Jesus! Finally, our job is not criticize or condemn others who may not understand the dark roots of Halloween. If you see someone at your Fall festival dressed as a ghost or goblin, that’s your queue to show them the love of God.
We hope this information has helped you look at Halloween from a biblical perspective and make a positive choice moving forward. Even if you have celebrated Halloween in the past, don’t feel guilty! The purpose of this information is not to make you feel condemned or ashamed, but to help you steer clear of the things that will hinder you from living the most victorious life possible. Make a decision to renounce the activities and celebration of Halloween and declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”
Watch Gloria and Kellie Copeland teach you how to eliminate fear at the root.
