Kenneth Copeland - Faith Has Vision
Believe what that book says, not what your feelings say. We're going to have a faith review right now. Let's just go to first John. When you finally decide and learn, it took me a long time to come to this. I had to study it for a long time. In the fifth verse of the first chapter, "This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin". Okay? His blood. This is a blood covenant matter. That can't be changed. I can be. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". Period.
I was in South Florida and it had been pretty rough meeting, preaching in a small tent and they bought all the tapes I had. So I ordered more tapes and went to the post office to get them and all was left of them was a smashed box with a tire tread over the top of them. And I went by the tent and the tent was... the thing was falling down because it was much water. And I came out from under there and I was laughing. Gloria was laughing. She said, "What are you laughing at"? I said, "I didn't realize I was this big a threat". The telephone man came by, got out of his truck. He said, "This your tent"? I said, "No sir, it belongs to the church, but I'm preaching in it". He said, "It's not put up right. This is sand. You don't hold it with just little tent pegs. I'll fix it".
So he went over there and got in his truck, got the big old logger thing and on, like that. They tied those tent poles, those tent strings and stretched that tent and the water just flew everywhere. Probably another one side fixed. And I got some more tapes in. Well, I lost my temper. I really did. I didn't cuss, but boy, I got close. Now, I won't go into it anyway. I'm walking in that room. I said, "Lord, I'm not going over there tonight". "Why"? I said, "Well, you know why. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that at that fella". I heard it on here. Did you confess it? I said, "Yes, I did". And I got a huge revelation. He said, "Kenneth, when you confessed that sin is not when I found out about it. That's when you got rid of it".
So I learned to believe that book instead of how I feel about it and to just stay with it and just be strong to confess it. Well, I made this big deal about all this money, big check. And I went in the hole $50. Got up early the next morning. Get out of town. So I still rather ticked. So I said, "Gloria, let's go by and see your mom and dad". And we had stopped in Monroe, Louisiana and had lunch with a friend there. Got in there and Mary said, "Kenneth, there's a number here the sheriff needs to talk to you". Me? Yeah, the sheriff wants to talk to you. So I called him. He said, "Are you the Reverend Copeland"? I said, yes, sir. He said, "Just a minute. I have a phone number here for you to call".
So I called back to Monroe, Louisiana. He said, "Brother Copeland, I need you to forgive me". I said, "What for"? He said, "When we had lunch today, the Lord impressed me to give you $500 and I didn't do it, but it's already in the mail". I liked to blow it, brother. And because I heard that there was some things I heard that praying, oh, we got to pay the bills on this thing. Had they said that to me, I said, come on, let's get in here together. I'll help you. But they chose to do it another way and then gave me this big check, but they were keeping money out of it, saying that it was all coming to me. And it wasn't. God had me covered. He had me covered. Just by not allowing that little temper fit, because it really, in fact, I knew what was going on. But anyway, but see, I'm not that man's judge.
Well, it put a vision in me. There's coming a day when I'll have some say so, and that's not going to happen around me anymore. And I'll have an opportunity to teach somebody. Well, hey, what better than a Bible college to teach somebody? You don't do that. You come up front with the integrity. I was driving down the street one day in Oklahoma City, and Brother Roberts said, "Kenneth"! Well, I jumped. Now, listen to what he said. People will always tell you you can't do it. I don't know why people think it's their place, if you come up with something and say, "Well, you can't do that". My dad didn't do that. My dad didn't say, "Oh, you'll kill yourself more than anything". He said, "No, boy, you can do it". He didn't cause me to be disobedient to the heavenly vision.
And so, to be able to sow that and plant that in the people's mind. He said, "People will always tell you you can't do it. Do these three things and you'll always be successful. Number one, find out the will of God. Number two, confer no longer with flesh and blood. Number three, get your job done at all costs". One, two, three. Now, finding out the will of God, that's when you get the vision. You go to him and you spend time with him. I went up there to our cabin, January of 1983. Didn't know what to do. Spent most of the month of January up there. Went through a cleansing fast and stayed up there most of the month of January. At the end of it, he said, "There's a spiritual storm coming". I said, "What is that"? He said, "I have been... I have manifested as the lightning and the fire. I have manifested as the rain. I've been manifested as the wind, but not all three at the same time. And the awakening is coming and it's here right now".
I thought it was going to happen in Fresno the next week, but it didn't. But it started and that's what happened when it hit Asbury. And all of the attention is on all the other stuff. Well, George Washington had slaves. Yeah, he did. Some were debenture slaves. I'll work for you for so many years to be a citizen of the United States. He had black slaves. He paid them a living wage and left it in his will that they were to be freed forever. Tell that part. Abraham Isaac, Jacob, and George. The Liberty Bell.
You know what the great Jubilee is? Have you studied it in the book of Leviticus? Well, I'm going to give you an assignment. Study that Great Jubilee. That's what Jesus called the acceptable year of the Lord. That's when all debts were canceled and people went back. In the Great Jubilee out of the 25th chapter of the book of Leviticus, let liberty ring throughout the land. The book of Genesis, the book of Leviticus, and they rang it until they broke it. Well, we ought to ring it and ring it and get a vision for this nation. We're just going to keep praying and believe in God and let the Lord straighten his nation out because his name is on the door. His name is on that original flag.
George Washington designed that flag. Amen. I mean, God's name is on the door here. The very first act of Congress was to enter into a divine covenant. Come see your president. He shocked them all. Well, he did. He could have done whatever he chose to do, but he entered covenant with God and said, "You'll be our God and we'll be your people". That's the vision we need to portray to our young people about this nation. It's a good place to be. It's a good place to be. Would you stand on your feet, please? Well, I don't know how you'd stand any other way.
Father, we thank You tonight that the ministering spirits of God are moving across this nation. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Father. Praise You, dear Father.
We'll go home on this. Daniel chapter 10. "And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves".
Verse 10, "Behold, an hand touched me and set me up on my knees and upon the palms of my hand. He said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright. For unto thee am I now sent. When he had spoken these words unto me, I stood trembling. He said unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words".
I'm here because you prayed. "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia" which is Iran, "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia". Verse 20, "And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? Now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come".
Wicked spirits in the heavens fighting against this nation, fighting against leaders of universities that don't have a clue what to do about it. But you and I do. And we can intercede for them and we can pray your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And hold fast to what we know. There is, are you listening to me? There is a prince of the United States of America and it's not a devil. Now there are those that come against the leaders of the country. She has an angel. Amen. That came on the day of the inauguration of George Washington as president of this nation. He set it in motion and we're going to depend on that. And we're going to teach our children and we're going to walk in it.