Kenneth Copeland - Get Close to God
— Oh, hasn't this been a good week? Praise God. And I'm Kenneth Copeland. This is our daughter, Kellie and this is our great class. And we welcome you again here today. Hallelujah.
So, Father, thank You. Thank You for the things and the directions that You have taken, praise God, we're off of my outline. But they were all your outline. Hallelujah. We praise You and thank You for that. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Now, today, of course, we began with what Jesus preached in the eighth chapter of John's Gospel... John's good news. That verse 30, "As he spoke these words, many believed on him, then said Jesus to those Jews..." What? That believed on him. So when it says Jews like that, it's referring to Pharisees, lawyers, doctors, not to people. All the people were with him, but those were the people that were hardest on him, mainly because they preached the law and he preached the blessing of Abraham. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for his anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor". Amen. Now look at this. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". Now, yesterday we found out the truth about worry and cares. So you remember what the key truth in that was, sister?
— There to walk it with you?
— Humble yourself.
— Oh, humble, yes... Well, that's the same thing, because if you know he's walking with you, you're not in charge. So it is humbling...
— But you have to recognize that and come before him. I had a pretty lengthy vision about this one time, and there was a lot of things and a lot of financial things and so forth. And I was already on my knees and I saw it. I saw myself suited up in that armor. And I just took my sword and laid it at his feet and I said, "I humble myself, my liege. Let me fight the battles. Let me go with you. I have on your armor. You give me the Word and I will obey because he just got saying 'Let the Word fight its own fight.'" It's the good fight of faith because it's already won. All we have to do is carry it out. But now I want you to... let's take a look now. First in two places.
Luke 11:46, "And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchers. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles". You see what he said? This is the wisdom of God, this book. This is his wisdom. Hey, the King of the universe and his Son and his Spirit, aw man, that's shouting happy right there. Now let's go back to the Apostle's letter to the Ephesians and we will humble ourselves. Chapter 3, verse 10. Oh, let's read down verse 9. "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God".
The Church should be the one from whom the angels of God find out what the manifold wisdom is and the devil is also principality and powers, they are fallen principality. Let them find it out and just slap them with that sword, glory to God. So now, let's continue through this verse 12, "In whom we have all boldness"... That's the truth. It's in him, but we have it. It must not be a phony boldness. I'm not afraid of the devil. Well with an attitude like that you better be. Well, because you're not suited it up. That's in your own strength. 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," on your behalf for this cause. Say it, for this cause I bow my knee. For this cause I humble myself...
Now that's what that means, for this cause I bow my knee... onto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of whom, say, "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named". Glory be to God. We have been named after the Father. Now Jesus said, "When the Spirit of God comes, the works that I do, shall you do also and greater works than these shall you do". Well, people have struggled with that because it's right here in this... "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that you being rooted and grounded in love..." Now, if you could read this in Greek, it says Agape, not Phileo. Jesus said to Peter, "Peter, do you agape me"? He said, "Lord, you know I phileo you". He said to him the second time, "Peter, do you agape me"? He said, "Lord, you know I phileo you". Then Jesus said, "Peter do you phileo me"?
So he came down to his level. Peter was so hurt and so broken because he had denied him. But Jesus just rebuilt him. And who preached the first sermon on the day of Pentecost? This great man of faith. Hallelujah. But now, listen. "Christ may dwell in your heart by faith. that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend"... That Word there is working knowledge. You have working knowledge of how to go to the airport, buy a ticket, get on an airplane. Just through training is the only difference that I actually soloed an airplane in August of 1961 and came on up and learned how to fly so that I don't have to depend on someone else. That's the difference. But I'm going to say that to you, because that's what this is talking about. "That you may have working knowledge with all saints".
Listen, what is the breadth, the length, the depth and the height. And to know and to Ginosko. We've talked about that earlier. Have an intimate relationship with the love of Christ, which passes all knowledge that you might be filled with the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do... Say, "He's able to do it". Here's the greater works... "Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us". Glory to God. The length... Look at it. Grounded in love. Comprehend working knowledge with all of saints what is the breadth, the length, the depth and the height. And I have an intimate knowledge of the love of Christ. Oh, which passes all knowledge. It passes anything you can learn with the natural mind. You have to get it by faith. That love wherewith he loved us. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.
I remember Gloria was teaching one time, she said, "You know what time it is"? Everybody looked at their watch. She said, "No, that's not what time it is". Everybody kind of sitting there, she said, He's able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think time... Glory to God. Amen. Here is the humbling of ourselves. We bow our knee to the Most High God. He's our champion. The great King of the universe. Hallelujah. And his marvelous, wonderful Son, Jesus. But then at equally great is the fact that he sent the Spirit of God, Jesus did... He prayed the Father and sent the Spirit. What does that mean, Brother Copeland? Well, read. He came up out of that tomb and Mary thought he was a gardener. He said, "Don't touch me. I have not yet ascended to my Father and your Father, my God and your God".
Then you go to the Book of Hebrews and you find out what that was all about. He had to present himself spotless before God the Father and his blood cleansed all of the heavenly utensils of worship because Adam's sin went all the way to Heaven, up to not including the very throne of God, but now it's the throne of grace because of that blood. And he indwells us. And so we need to be a voice in this nation. We need to be a voice in the churches and to believe this. I heard Mac Hammond say this Kellie, I heard Oral Roberts say something very familiar. But he said, "When I lay hands on someone he said, I'm very aware, it's Christ within me, my hope of glory".
Now, I have seen Oral Roberts do this. He would say and call someone's name. And he said, "Now to me, Christ is right here. And he told me to lay hands on you because he told me that years ago, and I'm going to lay hands on you in his name and he is going to heal you. He's going to... in this case, he's going to heal you in your eyes. He's going to heal you and the nerves of your hands because she couldn't do this". And he stood there as he sat there on that chair and talked to her a good while, a good little while. And kept telling her, he's right here. He's right here. See he's building an image, so that she can see it. And he said, "And now are you ready"? "Oh yes, sir" she said. And so he just, by this time he just took hold of like this and laid his hands on her head and she just buckled. And she looked up. He said, "Look at me, look at me". He said, "Can you see me"? She said, "Clear as a bell" and he said "Do this".
Oh, she just went on, she began to cry. But he said, "He's right here". Actually, he was in here doing exceeding abundantly beyond what we can ask or think. And we humble ourselves by bowing our knee to him. You are everything... I bow my knee to you. And I refuse to exalt myself. But you exalt me. I was in a parking lot. I was driving a pickup truck back in those days, the one that Jeremy has now. And a man hollered at me, "Brother Copeland, Brother Copeland, Brother Copeland," ran up there. I rolled the window down, he said, well, he just got serious all of a sudden. God didn't say he would meet our wants, he only said he'll meet our needs. I said, "Is that right"?
— That's right. Just wanted to just crawl up in there.
— Oh, you just made his day, people will tell you that. I said, "Well, isn't that something... The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want".
— Well, glad to see you Brother Copeland. Well, see, he didn't hang around long enough to find out. That was a strong spirit of correction because he had heard some truth, but he didn't take it. Because I had been... But see, that isn't what it said, he'd meet our needs. No. Is it says my God shall meet all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He just took that little lie. The devil made a lie out of the truth to him. And I expect he's suffering financially and it's hurting him. But he wanted to teach me that.
— Well, I bet he couldn't get that out of his mind when you shared... Because you can never get the truth. We've got the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus in us. When we hear truth, it won't leave us alone.
— That's right.
— You know, it will keep... No, that's the truth, no, that's the truth. And when you're telling the Lord, "Lord I want the truth, no matter how much it hurts," it may hurt. It may feel like it hurts, or it may make me make some changes or do something that I thought I couldn't do. But when I say I want it, no matter what, he'll just keep feeding it. He's so gracious, feeding it, feeding it, feeding it.
— Because your freedom is right on the other end of this thing.
— Yes. That's what he wants. We read Romans wrong. He's in an all out war against sin. And sin is not just the thing you do. Sin is those thoughts like that was sin because that was unrighteousness... It was not right. It was not truth. And so those things that caused us to sin, he's in an all out war against that, not us. So he'll just keep at that tree. He's going to keep pointing it to you because he told me, he said, "I can't destroy it while it's in you. You've taken a thought and it's in your heart". But as soon as you say you see it and you cast that, he said, "I can kill it then".
— Yeah, that's right.
— We just have to see it. You know, no.
— A major truth that came into my life many many years ago. I was in a tent meeting in a town in Florida and on the church property where I was. And it came a big rain. And I had gone downtown. I sold out of tapes and I called home. They sent a big new box of tapes. And I went the post office got them and a post office truck ran over them and there wasn't anything left but the label on the box, a bunch of crushed tapes. And I went out and there was the tent about to fall in and I got up under there with a broom trying to get the water off of it and the tent fell in on me. And I just standing there laughing and I walked out and Gloria said, "What are you laughing about"? I said, "I'm laughing that I'm that big a threat to the devil". Well, and then they took up this check for me every day. This is Brother Copeland's check and so forth and so on. Anyway. And I got upset with one of the men there and now I didn't cuss, but I thought about it... Anyway, and then I said, Lord, I'm not going over there and preach, not tonight. I can't do it. And right down in here he said, "Why not"? I said, "You know why not..." I'm not going to go over there and just say thus saith the Lord, not after all that. Here comes the revelation. He said, "Didn't you confess that before me"? I said, "Yes I did". He said, "Kenneth, when you confessed that, it's not when I found out about it". Oh, really? He said, "That's when you got rid of it. Now believe it".
— He told you the truth and it set you free. It set you free to preach, set you free to be loosed from what they did to you, set you free to be not hurt anymore.
— And you know what? I'm glad that you bring that up. They made a big deal out of that Brother Copeland's offering. And, you know I just thought, what in the world is this going to be? Got up there and it lacked about $50 paying for the gas and so forth that it took me to get there. And so I got up real early the next morning and left. And so we drove to Gloria's mother and Dad's house. We stopped in Monroe, Louisiana, and had lunch with a close friend. And in fact, he and his dad owned the studio where I recorded Jesus Country, the first album ever in this ministry. And so we got in there to, uh, they had moved from Beleverance to Prescott by that time. And I walked in there and Ma Dear said, "Kenneth, there's a phone call here, the sheriff calling wanting you..." I don't understand. So I made the call. He said, "Mr. Copeland"? I said, "That's right". He said, "This telephone number, they were looking, trying to find you and didn't actually... but he heard you say you're going to..." Anyway. So I called him, he said, "Kenneth, when you and Gloria and I had a lunch together today, I am so ashamed of myself. The Lord told me to send you 200 and gave you $200 and I didn't do it. But I want you to know it's already in the mail". That made up the whole difference, that God knew... He already knew what had me upset to start with. So he just made up the whole difference, met all the needs, met the whole budget and had some left over.
— So when you told the truth, he set you free from that other church or this pastor from being your payer. You could stick with that guy that wasn't gonna pay you.
— That's good Kellie.
— But he released you for him to pay you.
— And the man that was officiating, he was just doing what he thought this was all the deal, you know, but I heard the pastor when he was praying over this meeting. Oh, Lord, you know how many bills we had to pay in this church. Had he told me that... had he said, Brother Kenneth, we got a lot of bills in this church. And we're just going to, let's just believe that this meeting will meet them. I would have gotten in agreement with him and the offerings would have been a way lot bigger than they were instead of holding it back. So then I knew how to forgive him and the Lord met all of our needs. He already had it planed out... There wasn't any use for me getting irritated or mad about anybody. Amen. I'm going to live like that in 2023 all the time. I'm just going quit thinking about all this out here all year long.
— All year long and we're out of time again, Hallelujah. Oh, we'll be back here in just a moment, watch these announcements.