Kenneth Copeland - Know and Believe God's Love for You
— Hello, everybody. I'm Kenneth Copeland. This is professor Greg Stephens, and this is the Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast, and Jesus is alive and on the throne.
— Yes, he is. Amen.
— Glory to God. Amen. Hallelujah. Now, we've been talking for some time now about the Spirit of power. Glory to God. I just get excited just saying that. Let's go to the introduction in the book of Genesis, chapter one. In the beginning. Now, that's a good place to start. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said... The Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters. So, Noah's flood was not the first one. Amen. There was a pre-Adamic creation and they were destroyed. All you need to do is study the book. It's all in there. You can find it all. So in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, and God said... So, that's the first action recorded of the Spirit. That's the first action of how faith works. Because if you read the book of Hebrews, we find out that faith was the creative agent, and in the book of Hebrews, we have a name for it. And that is the name of God's creative power. That's its name, is faith, and faith in God changes things.
— He released it when he spoke.
— Yes, he did. And if there's anything that, and of course that's what the devil fights and tries to convince people that it doesn't make any difference what you say, that words are just words. No, they're not. Words are containers. They were not created by God primarily for communication. They're carriers. Words carry love, words carry hate, words carry fear, words carry faith. So right there, you can settle that argument.
— The greatest lie I was ever taught when I was a kid is that little phrase, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It's a lie.
— Yes, it is.
— Because words will hurt. You can divide people and nations by words.
— Yes, and how do they make treaties? By shaking hands? No, they write down words.
— That's right.
— Because with written words, then generations live by those words and documents are words, and words are the basis of all covenants. I can have a good intention. That doesn't count for anything. The action is what counts. Now, let's go over to the book of Ephesians. Thank You, Lord. I want to look at something right here before we get over there. Something just rolls up in my spirit. The book of Ephesians, in the sixth chapter. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee and you may live long on the earth. Now, when John and Kellie were small, we talked to them about that. You want to live a long time on the earth? Well, pay attention. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ. Not with eyeservice as menpleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men. Now, this is what I wanted to get to. Look at this eighth verse. Knowing what? Knowing. Knowing something. We know something. That whatsoever good thing any man or any person does, the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free. Isn't that good?
— That's something. That explains Joseph. That explains Daniel.
— Yes, it does.
— That explains a whole lot of people.
— Especially Joseph. You talk about a man's mistreated, and all he's trying to do is what's right. I mean, his family. But something was in the making there, and the thing that was being established at that point with the 12 tribes of Israel, it was being established. And he was born into a really messed up family, so God had to put an unusual prophet right in the middle of that family. Not only to save the family, but to save the plan. A faith man that could not be insulted. Amen. Now, notice this. Verse 10. Finally, my brethren. Now this is a wrap up of the letter. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Who is that? That's the Spirit of God.
— That's right.
— Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on. You put it on. You have to suit up. Nobody's going to do it for you. And here's what's the amazing part. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wicked spirits in the heavenlies. You notice he started at the bottom.
— That's right.
— Principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world. Those are the ones that possess people here on the earth. The wicked spirits in the heavenlies. Now, we mentioned this at the beginning of our lesson today, but those are the high intelligent spirits of the wiped out pre-Adamic creation. That's where the dinosaurs were, that's where the saber tooth tigers were, and that whole thing was wiped out completely. It's all in the book. That fossil record doesn't lie. It's there and you can't excuse it, but it's in the book. So, now, those are the ones and you can find them in the book of Daniel. The prince of Persia, the prince of Greece. Gabriel was trying to get through to Daniel. He said, "We heard you the first day". And the prince Michael, the angel of war, had to come and help Gabriel get through. These were high ranking spirits fighting against the government and against Daniel. Amen. So, and the Spirit of power is involved in all of this. Those wicked spirits were strong. Gabriel was a messenger. He couldn't deal with it. He had to call on some army. Those are the hosts of the Lord of hosts.
— Lucifer was an archangel.
— Yes, so he was perfect.
— Yes, until iniquity was found in him.
— Iniquity was found in him.
— He was the anointed chair that covereth. So, he wasn't weak in the angelic realm before the fall.
— No.
— Now, he's spiritually dead now, and he's been defeated by Jesus now. So it's a different day.
— And his name, Lucifer, was morning star.
— That's right.
— Well, Jesus is called that. I'm convinced, because of that and other things, that at one time he was Jesus's personal angel.
— I absolutely agree. Absolutely agree with you.
— The angel of worship and his beauty was what did him in. But then he tried to say it and make it happen. "I will exalt my throne above the stars. I will do it. I will exalt. I will exalt me. And I will do it. I will do all that". He didn't have the right to say it. He only had the right to say what God told him to say.
— That's exactly right.
— He's an angel.
— That's exactly right.
— And it destroyed him.
— He's a messenger. He's a ministering spirit for heirs of salvation, because they all are.
— That's right.
— And he decided he wasn't going to be that any longer. The Lord will ask him, the Father ask him, have you been in the garden? And I believe, based on what I'm seeing, what some of the rabbis teach, that he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before Adam and Eve did. That's how he knew how to tempt him with it.
— Well, well, well.
— And that's when the iniquity entered into him. Because the Father will ask him, have you been in the garden?
— Yes, he did.
— And iniquity was found in him and he was cast out it. It happened that fast. There wasn't this long, prolonged war.
— No.
— It happened that fast. But then once he got control of the planet from this being that God created and breathed into, Adam, then now it's tougher for Gabriel and all to get back in the planet.
— Yes, and where he was, he was in the earth before the garden.
— That's right.
— He was here and he said it. "I'll exalt my throne above these clouds".
— That's right. And he still does that. That's why you see this written here, wickedness in high places.
— High places.
— He still tries to get the high places.
— He tries to do it, yeah.
— Even with mankind's governments, he tries to get into the highest places.
— And he is always seeking someone to worship him. Always.
— He did it with Jesus in the temptation.
— That's what he did.
— And he had the authority. If you'll worship me, I'll give you all these kingdoms. He had the authority for all those kingdoms.
— Yeah, because Adam gave it to him.
— That's absolutely right.
— Glory to God. Take onto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Or in other words, steadfastly resisting. Stand there. You're on top of the mountain. Stand there. You have the high ground. Stand against him. Having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Now, wait a minute. What did the apostle Paul by the Spirit, what did he already say? The gospel is the power of God.
— That's right, unto salvation.
— So he is saying, "Put your power shoes on".
— Amen.
— Put your power boots on.
— That's right.
— And above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench how many?
— All of them.
— All the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation. Now notice, you had to put this whole suit on, but the final one, you put that helmet on. That covers this whole part. That's where the fiery darts go.
— Right at your mind.
— And you've got your shield of faith up over that. You put that helmet on, now you're fully clothed. Put down the face plate. I had the Lord say to me, now he said, "You put it on". I had the Lord say to me one day, strong in my spirit, I was studying this. He said, "Get up there and get dressed". So I went through all that and I put the helmet on. He's talking about Roman armor. He said, "Now, put the face plate down". Okay. He said, "Kenneth, that's my suit. That's my armor".
— Wow.
— "And when you have that face plate down, the devil can't tell whether it's you or me". And he said, "Don't say something stupid and give yourself away".
— That's true.
— Don't say something.. No, that's not God. That's what's his name.
— Yeah, looks like him.
— Looks a whole lot like him.
— Sounds like somebody.
— Did you ever notice the armor, and you see this all guy suited up and he's got all these abs in that armor? Makes him look good. It may be hurting his old fat belly on the inside, but he's got it all covered. Makes him look good on the outside. That's what armor does for us. It makes us look good on the outside because it's God's clothes.
— I like that. David wouldn't wear Saul's armor.
— That's right.
— But he went with the armor he had that he had proved with the Lord, that sling and that rock. And so he went with what he knew, what he knew God had anointed him to do. He didn't try to wear somebody else's, naturally. But we've been given the right to wear God's armor.
— Yes, sir.
— Because of our adoption, because of our position in Christ Jesus.
— Yes, sir.
— We're not wearing somebody else's things. We're wearing what's been rightfully given to us. Praise God. That's good stuff.
— Amen.
— Amen.
— So put your face plate down. Cover your mouth. Now, notice, we're not done yet. Take the element of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Word is the sword. So let the Word fight its own fight. The Word of healing, the Word of your prosperity, let the Word do it. And you just take the sword of the Spirit, which is sharper than any two edged sword, because this will cut the heart. Amen. But you take the sword of the Spirit, in the name of Jesus, I'm healed. In the name of Jesus, my needs are all supplied according to his riches in glory.
— In glory in Christ Jesus.
— My God, I'm doing good. I'm healed.
— Amen.
— But we're not done yet. Praying. It's prayer armor. Glory to God. Praying always, with all prayer and supplication, in the Spirit. Glory, there it is. Now, 1 Corinthians 14, look at the 13th chapter. Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels and have not love, I've become as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Now, if we took time to read that, you just read down through there, he talked about the gifts of the Spirit in the 12th chapter, and then right there, he just wipes them all out. He wipes out Mark 11:23, faith to remove mountains. Without love, forget it.
— That's right. Wow.
— Isn't that amazing?
— It is.
— And you come on down, of course, that turns you into the love chapter. And you come over to the 14th. Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy. And then he begins to talk about, oh, it's just so amazing. But all of it is wrapped around God, who is a spirit, who is love. Hallelujah.
— Amen. Well, that's the very nature that was deposited inside of us. We were born again.
— Yes, sir.
— We have that. You're not trying to get something you don't already possess. You already have this. Everything works off of that. Faith works by that. It's part of our DNA the moment we were born again.
— And let me encourage the audience here. If you have not received the infilling of the Holy Spirit, speaking with other tongues, that is first of all your supernatural prayer language, and you can enter into it standing in a grocery store line. And I want to go back over there at the book of Ephesians and I want to show you something here. Go back over here to this fifth chapter. In the 18th verse, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourself to one another in the fear of God. Well, he has to be referring to that when he gets over here and talking about the full armor of God.
— That's it.
— Speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And you just say, "Brother Copeland, I can't sing like that". He didn't say record. He just said... I got that from Keith Moore. I wasn't smart enough to come by that.
— I'm joyful noise. That's what I've got.
— Oh, glory to God. So what we're seeing here is what God, by his Spirit, it was the Spirit of God in this great apostle that wrote this. He said so. He persecuted the church.
— This man knew love.
— He said, "I did it ignorantly". In other words, I thought it was right. Now, notice his name was changed.
— That's right.
— If we get ahold of anything, we need to realize that these are blood covenants, and the first written name change because of covenant, that God appeared to Abram...
— And changed his name.
— ...And he said, "My covenant is between me and thee. Behold, I make a covenant. I make a covenant. As for me," he said. So, he didn't have to do it. God gave him a choice. You can be in covenant with me or I'll find somebody else.
— That's right.
— But when he agreed to it, he said, "Your name will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham". The H right in the middle of his name, Hashem. And that is the name, correct?
— Yeah.
— The name.
— Yod hey vav hey The H is in there again. So there's many names of God that are in that name, but that's when the power went into him.
— And he changed his name, in covenant.
— He'll do it with Jacob.
— Yeah. We're out of time. But he changed Saul of Tarsus' name to Paul.
— Yes, he did. Yes, he did.
— Amen. Oh, yeah. We'll be back here in a minute.