Kenneth Copeland - God Knows Your Individual Plan, Trust Him for It
Kenneth Copeland: Now the Lord just caused something to come up on the inside of me. If you really, really are impressed about this, you might pray about becoming a student here. Because this goes on all the time.
Greg Stephens: All the time.
Kenneth Copeland: This is what is taught in these classes. And to build over a period of time. And use the building blocks where it's not just, you know, 30 minutes at a time so pray about that. And, Father, we thank You. We praise You again today for this marvelous week of insight, ideas and concepts that comes only from You. Well, cause You're the only one that knows the beginning from the end. You're the only one that is, You're timeless. And I'm looking forward to one day talking to You about this. Glory to God. And what little bitty pieces that we've been privileged to see in this puzzle and this mystery that began before the foundation of the world and all of Your plans, because we'll be there on that day at the time of the New Heaven and the New Earth and the archives will be opened and we will see and know as we're known. We praise You and thank You for it in Jesus' name. Let's go back to the book of the Letter to the Hebrews. I want to go here in this 11th chapter in the 16th verse. "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. By faith", now listen, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises", in blood... offered up his only begotten son, I want to go here in this 11th chapter in the 16th verse. Now they desire a better country. That is a heavenly word, "for God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city by faith..." Now, listen, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises in blood". Don't forget the blood part. exceeding great and precious promises the Spirit said through the Apostle Peter, Covenant promises, blood backed promises. Well what is a sacrifice? Blood is going to be shed here. "Offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure"... He was so completely, totally convinced because of the blood agreement between he and God. He raised the knife and it says so. He fully expected to see him raised up from those ashes because in a figure, he saw him raised up, he already had a promise. That's the way we need to see our healings. We already have a promise. That's the reason I haven't been sick in a long, long time. I didn't know you could live that way until I met Brother Hagin.
Greg Stephens: That's right.
Kenneth Copeland: And I thought, "Is he kidding he hadn't had a headache since 1934 or whatever it was". But now I understand because I haven't either. But it's because...
Greg Stephens: And you're not bragging on you. You're bragging on...
Kenneth Copeland: No, no, no, no. Because I spent my time in the sick bed. But I've had to learn that the healing is in the book. It's already been done. That's the part that people struggle with. But you stay here until you see it. So that and I wanted you to see this. You come on over verse 22, "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels", Don't forget the angels, there in this room right now. There's so much pressure in here that the devil is not here. But the room's full of angels. Amen.
Greg Stephens: Amen.
Kenneth Copeland: Gloria and I, we walked out, she was right in here with me. She stopped, I was behind her. There was a woman sitting right where Rama's sitting today. She was just sitting there, Gloria stopped right by her. She said, "Is there anyone here that needs healing"? She raised her hand. Gloria just put her hand on her and prayed. Come to find out she had stage four cancer and had come that day to sit in the class to receive healing. 12 days later, she went back for an examination and she was totally, completely cancer free. Angels were involved in that.
Greg Stephens: Yes, sir.
— Angels were involved in that, an innumerable number of angels.
— They used to joke around, it wasn't a joke, it was a stupid thing to say with evangelist and different people that wanted to come to my church and preach and, well, how many...? They'd always ask you how many you're running, you know, which automatically told me why they were coming. And I said, "Well, they're staying away by the thousands". And I got it finally one day. Stop saying that and you need to see every Sunday as every seat is filled because there's an angel sitting in every seat that a person's not sitting in. And why don't you tell those angels to go get them.
— That's right.
— I started changing the way I saw that. But I began to become aware.
— They can't do it, Greg unless you say it.
— That's exactly right.
— And you're the pastor of that church and if you don't say it, it's not going to be said.
— And so we began doing it. I started calling them in from the north, the south, the east and the west. Those that were supposed to be here to be here.
— An innumerable number of angels for the church of the firstborn. And they listened to us declare the Word. So I began to realize that there's angels in all those seats and so then somebody... same evangelist. So how's it going?
— Full every Sunday. Full every Sunday. And because I began to get that realization, well you're lying to him. I was not lying to him. I was seeing through the eye of faith rather than... So that first place that faith is found in scripture, we're reading about it here in Hebrews, is found in Genesis 15:6. First time the word for faith is used is Genesis 15:6 is the Hebrew word Emunah. And it's spoken of when God saw Abraham, when he saw faith, he counted him or reckoned it under him as righteous.
— Let's go over there and look at that.
— Okay.
— Because you just said something I didn't know existed.
— Genesis 15.
— That's the reason we keep you around, you know that, don't you?
— Thank you. Thank you, well it's good to know.
— Well, that's one of the reasons.
— That's it. Genesis 15:6. And he believed and the Lord is counted unto Him for righteousness. That word believed right there is in Hebrew if you read it from the Torah, it would say Emunah is faith, his belief, his trust. And literally in Hebrew, it means trust. And so this is the first place that faith is used right there that word is.
— Then Romans 4:3 says, "He believed God".
— Well, that's exactly what he did, that's the moment.
— And it was accounted on him...
— That's exactly right. And that's the moment that that happened in his life. And that's the moment that the first time we see faith and was counted him righteous. So now that hadn't changed for me as a seed of Abraham. Right. I have to use my faith that I am righteous, especially when some truck cuts me off on the highway. I am righteous, because the thought will tell me I'm not righteous because the thought I just thought about that truck. I'm breaking that down into things that we deal with every day, you are righteous.
— Now Greg, I heard this on yesterday's broadcast and I let it slip. So let's go to the fourth chapter of the Book of Proverbs.
— Okay.
— And we usually start with the 20th verse because that is a paragraph break according to the King James Bible, but we're going to start with the 18th verse. Carol, how much time do I have please? Oh, good. Verse 18, "The path of the just is as a shining light that shines more and more under the perfect day", in one translation it says, "Gets brighter and brighter". That's us, just there it means righteous or right standing with God. "The way of the wicked is darkness. But they know not what they stumble. My son, attend to my words, incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they're life to those that find them and medicine to all of their flesh. Keep them in the midst of your heart. Let them not depart from your eyes". See yourself, see yourself with it. Not without it. Because yours are brighter and getting brighter every day. See yourself healed.
— You make a decision to do that going back to last week. We decide that that's what we're going to be.
— That's what we're going to do.
— So I see myself with it. I see myself. I had to start doing that when I was had way too much fat, disobedience when food was concerned. I had to begin to see myself in the condition that I am now, in which I'm in now. I saw this long time ago where my weight would be steady at my optimum weight, which is 160, 161 pounds. Every day I weigh every... and I don't have some silly little scale. The scale that I have in my bathroom cost $500. And they are acceptable in Olympic boxing tournaments and that kind of thing. They're very accurate down to point this and point that. I get on it every morning and it'll bounce around a little there, but I'm at my optimum weight for my health and my body fat percentage is where it should be. Listen, I saw this when I was big as a... I don't want to describe what I thought about myself. I hated it. I hated the looks of it. I'd get on that scale and almost cry, but I had to see myself with it and get up there every day and say, "No, no, I call myself 160 pounds. I call myself 160, I call myself 160, I call myself 160". And all the time I'm drawing up, amen.
— You're making that lighter and brighter. So you see that Hebrew word Emunah for faith, it has a root, a mind and it means to rely and to trust upon, to securely rely and trust upon. It's where we get the word and other word comes from it is amen. So when the Father says amen to something, that's a faith word.
— Yes, so be it.
— It's more the knowing God exists. It's knowing that he saves and he redeems. And he's been here before me, and he'll be here after me. And he always is and he always was. And he has the plan and he knows the plan, he's guiding me in the plan. It is not just a theological idea, Brother Copeland. It's an absolute expression of his trust in his goodness. It's visual loyalty to his person. It's covenant. I trust the guy who's offering me this covenant. That's the point that Abraham was at right there. And it was accounted to him for righteousness. One trusting in Abraham or in your ability to lose the weight, was trusting in him. That he says...
— And his image of me.
— That's it, boy, you got it, that's it.
— He said, "Attend to my words, listen to me". We were, you know, we in Texas we leave the "A" off. Well, I'm just going to tend to this. I put that first, first place and final authority in my life.
— This is how Jesus operated. His total identity was in his Father.
— Now, those of you that were there Sunday and we got tickled at Heidi putting on those huge shoes and he put on her little shoes. I have this. My left foot is a bit larger than my right one. I was never comfortable in a pair of shoes. I now, I mean I am 86 years old, but I bought these shoes when I was 85. They are custom shoes. My shoes fit. Oh. Oh, you think that's not good?
— This is good. Oh, and nobody on earth has a pair like them except me. They were made for me. My feet. The ministry in which I'm privileged and honored to have been in for 56 years. My feet size changed over the years. I wear different spiritual shoes than I used to wear, and right now I'm enjoying my spiritual shoes because I'm not having to make near as drastic shoe size as I used to spiritually. Because over the years, they have been altered a little bit here and there. Now the Lord knew this size exactly because he planned it.
— That's right.
— But I didn't.
— He had faith in you. I remember the first time that that came to me it was like, Greg, I have faith in you. I have faith in you. And I'm like, "What"?
— "What"?
— Let me show you, Romans Chapter three.
— Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir, Absolutely. And I was studying this. What advantage then has the Jew? He's taught Jews and Gentiles are both missing it. "Or what profit is there of circumcision"?... verse one, "Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God". Verse three, "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect"?
— God forbid... that ain't gonna happen.
— It's the faith of God.
— Yes.
— So what if I don't make the choice to follow him? Will it make the faith of God? You see he died in faith. He was resurrected in faith. He called me at 13 years of age in faith that I'd be doing what I'm doing and...
— Greg, he called me at a church camp, Southern Baptist Church camp Latham Springs, Texas. I couldn't find Latham Springs today if I tried. I have to look it up on the map. Southern Baptist Church camp, I knew it, I knew it. I came home and told my mother, I think God has called me. I'm telling you, the devil was there to meet me.
— Immediately to steal.
— And I won't go into what happened but it created a root of bitterness and I didn't have... I was too spiritually illiterate, to my natural way of being. And it made me, well it hurt me. And then when it did that, it made me mad, I immediately went exactly the opposite direction. And I just praise God that he kept me from getting killed on the way. So much stuff happened to me. I got snake bit. We were in the cooks and hills of Oklahoma, way on the river, I think is the Llano River. I remember this... but the floor right behind the cabin where we were flying. Well, I was like a tadpole. I mean if it was wet I wanted in it. And of course, they warned me, well, I would obey a little bit and I'd ask my dad if there was water in a bar ditch I wanted to get in it. I just swimming, would just loved it, I wanted in water all the time, wanted in the water. I wanted to jump out of the boat... just everything. Well, here is all this beautiful water out there, and I couldn't get in it, so I got in the edge of it. I rolled over on a little small water moccasin and I saw him go. I can see it in my mind now. I turned around and it really frightened me and which is a bad thing to do. I ran to the back door and hollered at my mother and she came to the door and I collapsed. I have little visions of I can see and where I'd come too. And my dad went to the desk and said, "Something had happened to me". And he said, "Where's the closest doctor"? Because I collapsed. I was out. They just caught me. Mother put me to bed and he said, Mr. Copeland had to take a long time to get to town, but he said, "There's an Indian doctor". We're in Oklahoma and he works and he keeps men up here working on stationary engines and so forth because dad said, "Is he a good Doctor"? Oh man. Yeah. He said, "He is a fine medical doctor. He knows what he's doing. Where is he"? He said, "He's just right here". And my dad said, "Get him". So he came in and he said, "That boy's been snake bit" because and in my mind I still see where Mother got me out of bed, set me in a chair right here while she took the sheets off that bed that were soaking wet, got the shower curtain out of the bathroom and put it underneath, keep the mattress dry. He could smell that, he said, "That boy is snake bit". Well, I was young enough and the snake was small enough that I didn't die. But it took two full weeks to get over it. The devil tried to kill me in all kinds of different ways.
— Because he didn't know the full plan for your life, though he knew there was something.
— Something coming because well, and my mother dedicated me the day I was born.
— There you go.
— So she pretty well knew I was going the only one there was ever going to be cause of what they told her. And, but, over here on Henderson Street and I think it was Henderson anyway, the signal light right there and it was red but the right hand lane was open and we're out of time. But I pulled up in there and went across and there was a guy T-boned me in that car and it was a car went around like this and when I came to, I was sideways in that seat looking up. There were no seatbelts back there then. God is a good God and he's true to his Word.
— And it was his plan and purpose. He was true to my mother, he was true to her.
— Amen.
— We'll be back in a moment. Hallelujah.