Kenneth Copeland - The Absolute Boldness of Faith
The Promise of the Father, Acts Chapter One. The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus of all that Jesus began, both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was taken up. After that, he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments under the apostles whom he had chosen. To whom also, he showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 years, or 40 days. And speaking of the things pertaining under the Kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which sayeth he, "You have heard of me, for truly, John baptized with water. But you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence".
When they therefore were come together, they ask him, saying, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel"? He said unto them, "It's not for you to know the time. It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father have put in his power. Now I want you to look, that you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon, you shall be witness to it". Now, look at chapter two. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. They were in complete agreement.
Now, I want you to look 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "Brethren, I came to you. I came then, not with an excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear or timidity, and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God".
Now, I want to talk to you about the word power. But first of all, first Corinthians 14. Now, if tongues were not important, it wouldn't have a whole chapter in the Bible devoted to it. Praise God. 14. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays. If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays. My spirit prays. But my understanding is unfruitful. What is it, then? I will. Say I will. I will pray with the spirit. I will pray with the understanding, also. I will sing with the spirit. I will sing with the understanding, also. Verse 18. "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all".
Now that's the 18th verse of the 14th chapter of first Corinthians. Now, let's look at that in the Classic Amplified. I thank God that I speak in strange tongues' languages more than any of you, all of you, or all of you put together. And the reason he had to get on this bus because they spoke in tongues so much. He said, "I speak more. I speak in tongues more than all of you put together". This is huge. David, bring me my iPad, please. If you do not have a Blue Bible app, get one. First of all, let's go over to Acts Chapter 10. As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, centurion. Now we know the name of the centurion that built the synagogue in Capernaum, where Jairus was president of the synagogue where Jesus attended synagogue.
Now we know his name. There wasn't but one. Anyway. Look at Verse 38. Read it out loud to me. Read it, read the verse out loud to me. "God had anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and the power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him". Dynamis, D-Y-N-A-M-I-S. Dynamis. Strength, power, ability, inherent power, power residing, anything by virtue of its nature or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. Power for performing miracles, moral power, excellence of soul. The power and influence, which belong to riches and wealth, power and resources arising from numbers. Power consisting or resting upon armies, forces of hosts. It's used 120 times in the King James, power. Explosive power. We get our word dynamite from that. When Jesus knew power had gone out of him, Dynamis, explosive power.
Let's go to Ephesians, Chapter three. "For this cause, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. If you've heard of the dispensation of grace of God, which has given me toward you. How that by revelation, He made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in a few words. Whereby when you read this, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed under his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. But the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift and the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given that I should reach among, preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of his grace... To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world had been hidden in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. To the intent that now under the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God".
By the church, that the angels through the church might know the manifold wisdom of God. "According to the eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness". In him, we have boldness. Don't try to be bold, just because you're trying to put on some boldness. You get into these promises and you live with them. You let them live in you and it gets so strong in you, and faith rises up on the inside of you to the place where you're very bold. Absolutely bold. Oral Roberts, in his story, said that when the night he got healed, his lungs got healed and he got healed from stuttering. The Lord said to him that night, "I'm going to heal you, and you will take my healing power to your generation".
That finally got to him, until he couldn't stand it. He sought God. He laid in the floor. He cried out to God. He just stayed with it and he stayed with it and he stayed with it and he stayed with it. And he stayed with it. I mean, he didn't quit. He got to where he'd just wake up outside someplace. Same thing happened to Kenneth Hagin... To cause this great move of God and miracles were taking place right after World War II. And the church in the World War II got into a pitiful mess, because a lot of pastors went to work in the defense plants because of money. And never did go back into the ministry. Didn't know enough about faith. But Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin turned it around. And Oral Roberts changed the complexion of the United States about healing and miracles, and then the world. But he pressed into that place to receive it.
Now, the promise you will take my healing, Dynamis. My power, my healing explosive miracle power to your generation. Glory to God. Glory, I said, glory to God. Glory to God. It is still the same spirit of the Living God. And that power never wanes. It's His power. "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. Wherefore, I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory for this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of the Lord, Jesus Christ". Now here's something you can shout about this, "of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named. Glory of God, that He would grant you... And he will. That he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with Dynamis by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love", because faith works by love, "may be able to comprehend". Now, that word comprehend there, to comprehend something or to have working knowledge off.
Now, how many of you in here know how to fly an airplane? One, two, three, four, five. And if Gloria was here, it'd make six. Now, how many of you know how to go to the airport, buy a ticket and get on an airplane? There's a difference in the knowledge there. See. One is an understanding and the other is working knowledge. Because I don't need somebody else to take me someplace. Because, and there's no difference, except I have been trained. Not anything that anyone in here couldn't do. Some of you probably should. When I was there in Little Rock, there was a man that came. I've forgotten his age. Anyway, he came to the company for which I worked and bought an airplane, and learned how to fly. And was even at his, I don't remember. Anyway, his wife had died and so he decided he just wanted to learn how to fly and just go places. And he did, and he bought a nice airplane.
And so he had checked the weather and wherever the wind was blowing, he just went there with a tailwind. And he'd stay over there, he's a wealthy man. He would stay over there and if it's bad weather, he didn't go anywhere. He didn't care. He'd just wait till the weather changed and he'd stay there and enjoy himself. When he got a tailwind, he'd just take off in that direction. Then he'd just take off from that direction. He just flew all over the country with a tailwind. That is the only one I ever heard of that always had a tailwind. But if you're walking in the wind of God, you always have a tailwind. If you walk in love and keep his commandments, because his wind will be at your back. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. "That you may comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height". And to Ginosko, know intimately. And Adam knew his wife. "That you may have an intimate relationship with a love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you might be filled with the fullness of God. Now under him, that is able to do exceeding..."
Now, remember. Do you remember what Jesus said? "He that believes on me," right there in that covenant meal... "He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than me shall he do, because I go to my Father and I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And when he comes, he'll lead and guide you into all the truth. It is more expedient that I go away, for if I don't go away, than the Spirit of truth will not come". Well, He did, and He did, and He's here. Now I just saved about an hour, right? Thank You, Jesus. Glory to God. "Under Him, that is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we ask or think according to the Dynamis that works in us. Unto him, be and in the Church of Jesus Christ. Glory throughout all ages".
Now, why is that so powerful? Able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you. This has been a wonderful time for me, to have people like you to spend these times together and to know that together, we're a team. And together in harmony We can accomplish anything. Hallelujah. Together, making a symphony together. How many of it have ever been to a symphony, a live symphony where all the instruments there. Okay. It is absolute chaos when they start tuning up. Now that may not bother you as badly as it does me, but man, I just want to stick my fingers in my ears because all of those... It's like doing your fingernails on a blackboard, and nothing works. And then the director get, and all that mess turns into beautiful, because they are all in harmony.
Now wait a minute. What's the most important part of that? They are all in tune. There's not one lousy string in there, that's just fouling up the whole deal. And just sticks out above everybody else. One scratch, one disharmony can mess up a whole church... Continually criticizing the pastor, continually criticizing all that the church is doing. And a very wise man told me one time. He said, "You may have a plumbing church and someone else has a roofing church. But if you have a plumber in a roofing church, he's going to want to put the toilet on top of the house. It doesn't work". And he had a certain situation in his church, it was like that. And he went to him and he just, he called him in and set him down. And he said, "You don't like anything I preach, do you"? "Well, no". He said, "I don't". He said, "Why"? Well, and he told him some things. And he said, "You know what? I know a man right here in this city, that the very things that you talked about are the things that he is called to preach". He said, "If it's all right with you, I'll call and we'll get an appointment and we'll all meet together".
So they did, and he introduced them and they just got along so well together. And so, he moved his family over to that other church. And the other pastor was so thrilled with him, and he was thrilled he was gone because he didn't like anything that was happening in that church. He didn't, he couldn't tell why, but it just worked crosswise with him. You can have a church that's specifically called to preach and teach faith. If you are, that's what you better do. You have a church that's called to preach the glory and magnify the glory of God. Then that's the kind of church you need to be in. But together, you can put those two churches together and they can get along with one another. Amen.