Kenneth Copeland - Faith Takes Practice, Practice, Practice
Hello everybody. I'm Kenneth Copeland, and this is the Believer's Voice of Victory. Many, many, many, I'm talking about a lot of years ago, back in the very beginning stages of this ministry, I heard the Lord say this in my spirit, every believer has a voice, and it must be the voice of victory. In fact, since we're going to be going back to the basics, I want to go back to something right here before we turn to the third chapter of the Book of Acts. I was preaching in a little north Texas town called Hereford.
Now, a lot Texans all know what Hereford cattle are, but the Hereford breed was actually English. And when it was brought to this country, nobody wanted it because they had bred that animal to get rid of the horns. Now, the Texas longhorn was dangerous anyway, but there was only one rancher and all of the cattle people that would have that animal, and it turned out to be one of the most successful breeds in history. And his ranch in the panhandle of Texas was called Hereford. Now, in English, it's head offord, but that's not the way Texas said, there is Hereford. That's where it began. So it's very important to go back to these things. I was in Hereford, Texas preaching, and I had my outlines. I do my outlines in blue and red.
So the blue is the topping and the red are the scripture notes. So I had my outlines in the hotel right there in front of me, around in front of the bed on my knees before God praying over these and had outlines there. And so I was going through salvation, which I should, Where should I start? There's salvation and the baptism, the Holy Spirit and faith, of course, faith and the name of God and the name of Jesus, which we're going to study this week. But I want to go back to the fundamentals of these. So I want to tell you the fundamentals of this ministry, and I was on my knees and I heard the Lord say, "Every believer has a voice, and it must be the voice of victory". He said, "There is victory in the new birth". Well, absolutely. He said, "There is victory in the baptism of the Holy Spirit moving over into the open door to the supernatural". Which is speaking with other tongues. He said, "There is victory in faith".
You know that from First John, Chapter... Well, the whole book of First John is all about, but this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. So I just began to write victory on all of these things, but I wanted you to know where that came from. Now, while I was a student at Oral Roberts University, I came across the scripture that says, "Whosoever shall..." I'll tell you what. I thank You, Lord. I'll do that. Before we begin today, in the third chapter of the Book of Acts, let's go to the 10th chapter of Romans since this is fundamental. Chapter 10, verse eight. What does faith say? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the Word of Faith, which we preach.
So Brother Hagin didn't come up with that. I didn't come up with that. The Holy Spirit came up with it in the mouth of the Apostle Paul. If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus or Jesus says, Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For what the heart man believes under righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto. With the mouth confession is made unto. With the mouth confession is made unto. With the mouth confession is made unto healing. With the mouth confession is made unto prosperity. With the mouth confession. Now, what is that? That's engaging faith. With the heart, man believes, but it hasn't been engaged yet because it has not been spoken.
How many of you have a cruise control in your car? Everybody. It doesn't work unless you engage it. You can drive without it and get tickets. But then in another scripture, whether the Apostle Paul said, "No man can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Spirit of God". So while I was a student at Oral Roberts University, now when I was a student in school, I drew airplanes all over my book covers because that's what I wanted to do. And I eventually did that. And I've been flying now for a little over 60 years.
Now, I was mentioning to the group today before we opened, flying is a discipline. Safety is an attitude. And yesterday, I hadn't flown an airplane in about a month and a half. And yesterday afternoon while I went to the airport and had my instructor with me, and all I did was landings. But by the third one, I got it right. They were safe, but not to my standards. And there was one, had the runway been a little shorter, I would've gone around and do it again. I've been flying for over 60 years, but I have to practice, practice, practice. In the Word of God, you have to practice, practice, practice. Where faith is concerned, you have to practice, practice, practice. You go back and read these and you practice it and practice it and practice it.
Now that airplane has a perfectly good functioning autopilot, but it has to be engaged. The cruise control has to be engaged. And I had the Lord, he didn't talk to me. He yelled at me. I was driving a car that was less than good. And you've heard the story. And we had a terrible car wreck in Marshall, Texas and completely destroyed... And it was all my fault, but I don't want go into that. But then the car that Gloria had, had 90,000 miles on it when we got it, and it leaked at every joint. Well, I drove from Tulsa to Lubbock, Texas, that's where I was born in 1936. That's a long time ago. Anyway, and it gets longer every day. But for the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship at Luby's Cafeteria, this is back in the day when all you had was those old carbon batteries.
So I was listening, Brother Hagin's tapes, and they'd start running down. I had a grocery sack full of them. Coming back I was driving along there about 45 miles an hour holding this thing together. Well, I said out loud, I'm listening to Kenneth E. Hagin, and my faith is just... So I engaged it. I said out loud, I said, "Lord, you can hold this thing together at 65, the same as you can, 45". And he roared back at me. Yes I can. But when you get out over the speed limit, you're out of my hands. That's one of the problems with that other thing. I enjoyed speed. I still do. But did you notice it's speed limit? Not speed suggestion, limit. So it seemed like I slow down so slowly, but now with good cruise control, and as all of you know, but maybe some of the television audience doesn't know.
Our ministry is out in the country and so to come into town, to the restaurant that Gloria likes very well, better than any. So we start off coming out of our home driveway at 50 miles an hour, and then it comes up the hill to 60 miles an hour, then it slows back down to 50. So I just drive it with a cruise control. I drive it with my left thumb and keep it right on the speed limit or a mile or two lower all the time. All the way. But you have to engage it. This is the way you engage your faith. You believe it in your heart and you say it with your mouth. Once you say it with your mouth, now you have to learn this. I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I hear. I'm moved only by what I believe, and I believe the Word of the Living God. Hallelujah. Say it:
I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm moved only by what I believe. And I believe the Word of the Living God.
Yes. Amen. So now turn in the Word of the Living God to Acts chapter three. Now, Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being ninth hour or three o'clock in the afternoon. A certain man lame from his mother's womb. So he had never taken a step in his life. So analyze that a little bit. Can you imagine what muscle atrophy had done to him in his legs? Didn't say he couldn't move his arms, but for some reason or other he'd never walked. "...Was carried". So somebody, they didn't have wheelchairs back there. Then somebody had to carry him and put him in that same spot every day. Now that meant that the priest examined him and his parents and they knew for a fact, that's where we get these words. No question about the fact that he was lame. So he had a right to be at that temple gate. That's a prime spot.
See, everybody's coming in and out of there. So the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple. Who's seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asking alms. And Peter, now this is important, "...Fastening his eyes upon him". What does that mean? He looked him straight in the eye. And said, "Look on us. Don't be looking down". Not like this. "You look on us". He got eye contact with him. That's huge. You can read by that over and over and over and over and over again and not pay any attention to it, but eye contact. Hm... Oh, it's powerful. He gave heed under them expecting to receive something of them.
Now, why would he do that? You just go back to the 11th chapter of Mark and see how many times Jesus walked through that gate. You think Jesus is going to pass him up after what he taught? So now I'm thinking with this man's mind. He looked up and said, Oh, it's my boys. Of course I'm going to get something from them. Because every time Jesus came by there, he had Judas put something in his hand. And look at this, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. What did he have? In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, immediately. His feet and ankle bones received strength.
So the problem was in his bones, his feet and ankles. Immediately, the muscle work will come later. But you got to have the basic structure that his feet and ankle bones. Praise God. We just keep learning things. You only learn these things if you're looking for them. And spend time meditating these. His feet and ankle bones received strength and he leaping up and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. They knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man, which was healed, held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
When Peter saw it... Listen, he answered the people, and I want you to listen to what he said. This will upset a lot of old sacred cows. He answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look you so earnestly on us as though by our own power or holiness, we had made this man to walk. If you put that in today's vernacular, it's not because I'm an apostle. That's not what did it. Apostle just means, one sent. Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. That's just high rank. But right now and throughout the world, particularly in the United States, the office of the evangelist just coming on strong. Because any nation that is in trouble when things are inflated and problems, here comes the evangelist with the signs and the wonders, and used to be Oral Roberts, and now it's Mario Murillo. And others. Jesse Duplantis and others. And others. That's when the evangelistic ministry is so important.
So now, look, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers have glorified his Son Jesus. Now we know what happened, "...Whom you delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you and killed the Prince of life whom God has raised from the dead". Ah man, he's preaching. He's on a roll. This man is standing there next to him. They cannot deny what's happening. The anointing has come on him big time. Whereof we are witnesses. Now they get it. Here it is. His name, through faith in his name, have made this man strong whom you see and know, yea the faith, which is by him, hath given him this perfect soundness.
Now I'm telling you, this chapter right here is pregnant with revelation in this sermon. And now brethren and I wot that through ignorance ye did it. Yes, I know that. And did also your rulers. But those things which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets. In other words, you had the prophets, you should have known, "...That Christ should suffer and he has so fulfilled. Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all of his holy prophets since the world began".
And then he began to talk about that. Now, here's something that is so vitally important. Verse 25, "You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant, which", Oh, now he, and now he's pulled the big covenant word out. Oh, now we're back to blood. They were familiar with circumcision, started out with the blood of animals, and then the 17th chapter of Genesis, then through circumcision, and that there was... "entered into a covenant. But now we're talking about the blood of Jesus, the precious blood of Jesus. The covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you". He sent him to bless you.
Now, make sure I didn't miss anything here. Oh, you just go on. Oh, that fourth chapter just is just so, so powerful. And anyway, if you continue to read in this section here, you find out that in this is where you find out, you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you leave my body to suffer corruption. And we're out of time. Praise God. We'll be back in a few minutes. Thank You Lord Jesus.