Kenneth Copeland - Get Rid of the Care and Be Healed
Turn to 1 Peter 2, verse 24. You're laying there in the bed. Oh, I wish I hadn't done that. Boy, you're just remembering it in your mind. Oh, Jesus, I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I hadn't done that. Oh, God, I wish I hadn't done that. I don't even want to remember that. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. He bore my sins in his own body on the tree. Oh, that I being dead to sins should live under righteousness by whose stripes I was healed. Oh, yeah, but I don't... Get into combat right now, but don't start at the 24th verse. There's 23 verses ahead of it. And there's some tough stuff here.
"Wherefore, laying aside all malice and guile, hypocrisies, envies, all evil speakings, as newborn babies desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious to whom coming as unto a living stone, allowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious". Yes, very. "You also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect precious he that believes on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them that are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the Word being disobedient. Whereunto also they were appointed, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priest".
Oh, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar, actually the Greek says a very special people that you should show forth the praises of him who have called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conversation or your conduct honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evil doers, that may be your good works, which they shall behold. Glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake".
Hear that? For the Lord's sake, not for your sake, for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Now he's talking about you're going to have to get right with the government, whether you like it or not. Well, we've talked about this. I am obligated and so are you. Now the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said, "I beseech you first of all, prayers, intercessions and givings of thanks be made for all men, kings and all that are in authority, all that are in authority, that the church might live in peace and honesty, that there's one in peace and honesty and godly and believe that there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all to be testified of in due time".
So I don't care who's president. I don't care who's mayor. We must not be a voice against them because the devil will use our voice and make a mess with it. Not for them, for me. I must not do that and believe God all the way through. I did not like the way Lyndon Johnson prosecuted the war in Vietnam. Anybody who had any military sense would know you can't run a war from Washington DC. And I didn't like the idea. He picked a Ford dealer for secretary of defense, but that wasn't my business. I didn't have anything to say about it. And I heard, I was preaching and it came up on the inside, the Lord said, "You know him"? I said, "No, Sir". "You know anybody that knows him"? "No, Sir". "Sounds to me like you don't know much". "Yes, Sir". "And what did I say in my Word? Did I not say pray for him? He's not a king, but he's president of the United States, whether you like it or not".
All right. So I began to pray for him. And I was on the road by myself and this was back in the day when you didn't have the kind of locks on the doors. They were actually keys. So you turn the TV up on the inside. And so I walked in there and he was on there. And so I walked around and began to undress and all of a sudden when I heard his voice, I had been praying for him and all of a sudden the love of God rose up on the inside of me for him. And I really began to pray for him. I had no idea, but God already knew that president Kennedy was about to be assassinated in Dallas, Texas of all places. And Lyndon Johnson would be thrust into the presidency of the United States. And there it was. So this comes into play.
Now, let's finish this. "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, unto governors as unto them that were sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well". What's happening here? We're getting rid of the care. You're getting rid of all that problem. You're getting all that out of your life. It took longer to write this than it does for you and I to read it. "Or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do evil."
Well, this is the will of God that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. "As free and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God, honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently? But if you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently." This is acceptable with God.
"For even hereunto were you called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile or deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. And when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For we were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of our souls".
Now you can get healed. That's the reason so many people go straight to that verse and maybe don't receive anything because you don't take care of all this other. Amen. And all of these things, all of this was prophesied, all of these things. And Jesus told Peter how he was going to die. He was crucified upside down. My, my, my. Now that qualifies us to continue to read once we get to that place. "Likewise, you wives be in subjection to your own husbands that if any obey not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by the manner of life of their wives. While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning, let it not be the outward adorning of plaiting the hair, wearing of gold, putting on apparel".
Well, people have misread all of that, "but let it be the hidden man of the heart". When he said, uh, the plaiting of the hair, wearing of gold, putting on apparel. Well, you better put some apparel on. No, what he's talking about are outlandish stuff that just calls attention to you the minute you walk in the room. Amen. And Gloria wears nice clothes. She does now. First time, well, I won't get into all that, but I don't have time, but she dresses very... she doesn't dress down. She doesn't dress up. She's just good looking and she wears her clothes well. Amen. "But let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is great price".
Gloria has a meek and a quiet spirit about her. She was so shy when we got married, she wouldn't, she wouldn't even... she wouldn't even say anything in public. We went to a church one time, we were back in the speaker room and the pastor said, "Sister Gloria, would you just, uh, when we get out, would you just greet the people"? She said, "No, sir, I don't do that". So, and sure enough, his wife and Gloria was sitting right down in front and introduced me and he said, "Sister Gloria, would you just rise and greet the people"? She stood up and said, "I told you, I don't do that". And she sat down and she said, "I felt like a dog. I'll never do that again". Anyway, those days are over for good.
Father, in the name of Jesus, a meek and a quiet spirit, that place of quietness that comes from thinking on these things, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are good report, whatsoever things of virtue or moral excellence, honest, trustworthy, think on these things and continue to make our wants known by giving thanksgiving and praise. And we praise You and thank You. And we've come to that place in the Spirit in certain places where we don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk, which is in love. We walk in love and we walk by faith and not by sight. For we are confident that to be home in the body is to be absent from the Lord. Knowing this one thing to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But we walk by faith and not by sight. And any man that is in Christ is a new creature and old things have passed away and all things have become new. That old nature's gone. And all things are of God. And he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Hallelujah.
You don't become righteous by living right. The moment you're born again, you were made righteous. Righteous is an old English word. You just had right standing with God. That's really what that means. Amen. And here in our day and hour, we are so blessed to live at this time.
Father, we thank You. We praise You, worship You, bless You. Thank You with all of our hearts. Thank You, Jesus.
Anyone online that have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, no one can promise you your next breath. But the Bible, the book itself, the book. There was a man long time ago, said a hundred years from now, there won't even be any Bibles, much less anybody reading them. Are you kidding me? It's still the best selling book in the world. In every language of the world. And all the different translations. And here we are. Just open your heart to him and say, "Jesus..."
Oh, wait a minute. No, no. No, don't do that. Don't do that. Don't take your own life. Give it away. Don't do that. Whoever you are, whomever you are, don't you dare kill yourself. That's not an end. That's just the beginning of something you don't want. That time I'd tell you something about that from an old bank robber, what he told me. Became close friends. Hallelujah. No... Give your life to Jesus because he's already given his life for you. And just simply go to him and say:
Jesus, come into my heart. Come live on the inside of me. By Your Spirit, take up Your abode in my spirit. So that now I can... my spirit can be the temple of the Living God.
And he'll do it. Millions and millions and billions of people have done it before you. And they're still doing it all over the world.