Kenneth Copeland - Covenant Corrections Come First
2 Corinthians 5, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that, which we'd be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Don't you love that statement. Mortality swallowed up of life, the life of God on the inside of us. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also has given unto us the earnest of the spirit. Therefore, we are always confident, we are always confident, knowing that whilst we're at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore, we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that, he, what he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them with, which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it's to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
The love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. He died for all, that they which should live not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation. He didn't exist before that moment. But the moment that you accepted Jesus, and you entered into this blood agreement between he and the Father, glory to God, you were recreated. The whole thing that... hey, look, look, and old things passed away. That old nature, that old sin man, that old thing is dead and gone. Hallelujah. That's where you get the strength. The older your body becomes, not you, you don't get any older, you're renewed every day. But the older your body becomes, the more important it is to realize through the power of this covenant, and you know what you're called to do.
I like what Brother Hagin said, he said, "When you hear that I'm gone, you know I was satisfied". He was 86, I'm 85. Well, I'm not satisfied, now I'll just be truth with you, I sure would like to go, because there's some things over there, oh Lord, oh I want to get in on there. But I can't, I have an assignment. The Lord ask me if I would go that 120 on the Word of Faith. And then I asked him, "Why"? I said, "Yeah, I'd do it, but why"? So he just started in, were you as anointed, when you were 30, as you were when you were 40? I said, "Well, no, because I was 40 when the Spirit of God through Kenneth Hagin separated me to the office of the prophet". He said, "Were you as anointed when you were 40, as you were when you were 50"? I said, "No". He just started taking me up 10 years.
Well, thank God I could answer that. There was no 10-year period there that I was stagnant. I didn't realize that until he started asking me that question. And he just kept taking me up, then he said, "Kenneth, I have anointings between 70 and 80". He said, "I have anointings between 80 and 90, but not all that many, to preach the Word of Faith". He said, "But to 90 and 100, almost none. And from 95 up, it is not in the earth, I need the advancement of that anointing in order to fulfill the anointing of the prophet and others will follow along. And we can develop the fullness of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher. We will go this thing together, and we'll see things happen in this earth that have never happened up until now".
That's what's behind it. I'm a covenant man, and I had an arrangement with the Most High God and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom I represent in earth. And so do you. Amen. And you have a covenant with him in the ministry to which he has called you. That's a covenant calling, and you can find all the way through the New Testament. There are certain things that will equip you for that office. And when you begin to realize, hey, this is company business, this is God's sons, this is family.
Now you remember there is a Friend, put a capital F on that. There is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother, it is a covenant friend, a covenant friend. Let's just praise him, and bless him. In the book of James, fourth chapter, From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even your lusts... cross-reference says, pleasures, that war in your members? You lust, and have not, you kill, and desire to have, cannot obtain, you fight a war, and you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive, not cause you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.
Notice corrections, corrections, corrections, corrections, corrections, corrections. This is covenant correction, because he's about to tell us something. He's about to tell us something right here, but you have to go through this first. You adulterers and adulteresses, know you're not that the friendship of the world is enmity, covenant relationship with the world, is enmity with God. Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do you think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he gives more grace. Wherefore he said, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Submit yourself. Get over all this. Submit yourself. Therefore, step out of all that. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. He's not done yet. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart, you double-minded.
Glory to God, what did you just say? All right, get rid of all this mess. Do what it takes. Go over there to 1 John, and confess all these things and deal with it. Don't call it your problem, call it by its nasty name. It's sin, I did it, and I repent, and I receive my forgiveness, and my cleansing. God, help me. You're my Father, and I'm your child, and I receive it. Now, I submit myself to you, and all this fleshy war going on. I ask, and I don't have it, because I don't ask. Then, when I do ask, I mess it up. Oh, woe is me. No, correct yourself. Now we just got the direction to correct, and then the next direction was resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Clean up, and get right with God, get the blood going, and in the name of Jesus, you stand on that covenant. 1 John... all of these are articles of the covenant. Present your case.
1 John 1, John deals with this in the first chapter. 1:5, this is the message which we've heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him as no darkness at all. I wrote my notes down here. God is light, God is life, and God is love, in him is no darkness, in him is no death, and in him is no hate. If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light parentheses of his Word, and his covenant, walk in that light, praise God, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Here's the covenant part, and the blood of Jesus Christ, the anointed one and his anointing. His son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in it.
Here is an exceeding, great, and precious promises. If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and just, or righteous to forgive us, our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we've not sinned, we make him a liar, and his Word is not in us. My little children, these things right unto that you sin not, if any man sin, we have an advocate, we have an attorney... with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, he is the perpetuation of the sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but all for the sins of the whole world. That is an article of the covenant. And any man, or any woman that will go write down those things in the book of James, and just move right over there to the first chapter, first John, and take care of that one. Move right over the first John of first chapter and take care of that one, and move over and then take care of that one, move over and take care of that. When you get done with all that, I am cleansed all in righteousness, glory to God.
Now I can go back to Mark chapter 11, praise God, when I stand praying, forgive if I have ought against any, I'm ready, I believe, I receive it, and I have it, and I take it, and I walk out of this place with it. Glory to God, because I have a blood backed promise. Exceeding, great and precious promises, 7,000, I think 7,140 of them. Let the word fight its own fight. Find you somebody that will agree. Not hope. And get in agreement, a holy agreement. Bind the devil, and loose the power of God in this situation. Jesus said it. Whatever you bound on earth, is bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth, is loosed in heaven.
And again, I say unto you any two of you... So he taught this before, and if you check it out, he was in his own home when he taught that. And he started out, but taking a little child, somebody brought their family in there that day. They just brought a little child in there, and start talking about... when we get to heaven, I want to see some of those children, and find out what happened to them in life that he laid his hands on, and blessed. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. The covenants of God, the will of God in his covenants. When you see Jesus in action, you see the will of God that was produced by the first covenant. Jesus in his speaking, and in that last meal... 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 chapters of John. He never, ever mentioned testament, this is the covenant in my blood.
And he did things that night, that shocked those orthodox Jewish men. He picked up Messiah's cup, and he did everything, on napkins, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. But this time when he broke Jacob, he said, "This is my body broken for you". Changed heaven and earth. I give you a new commandment, now they were commandment-minded. Everything was based on commandments, everything, healing, delivers, everything based on the commandments of the covenant. I give you a new commandment that you love one another, as I have loved you, and all men shall know you're my disciples. They were not apostles yet. They will know you are my disciples, by the way you love one another. That's a commandment, whether you like it or not. And when you break it, it is trouble. Mess your faith up. Amen. Be quick to repent.
Put it up one more time in a Classic Amplified, Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for, and be it. See there, hope for, hope is great. But it's the title deed of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see. And the conviction of their reality, faith perceiving as a real fact, what is not revealed to the senses. And if Jesus said it will be done of my Father, which is in heaven, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them. What? To carry out the agreement. He is there by his Spirit, and his angels are responsible for it. Glory be to God. Thank You, Lord.
Well, you better stand up. I am very, very aware of the covenant that I have with Gloria. But if I'm not careful, I don't think about it as a covenant... I said some things on Friday, the 13th day of April 1962. I said some things. I wish there was a way it could have been recorded. I could go back, and listen to it, go back and listen to it. Say, "Well, glory to God". Say, "Come on, sweetheart. Let's just sit down here and listen to this again". You know, you and I stood there and said that, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And go back, and listen to this thing. Now, if it's messed up, deal with it in repentance, and in those things, don't let there be any bad things hang on, settle those, settle them in your own heart, where you don't carry anything, any kind of hurt. Well, you don't know what he did to me. No, but I know what Jesus did for you. And you have a covenant with God, that's stronger than that marriage covenant. Because men can know that, but you can know this covenant it's in blood, it is in blood. Amen.