Kenneth Copeland - The Stripes of Jesus Brought You Healing
Now the book of Exodus please, verse 25, "And you shall serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness for the abundance of all things. He, now wait a minute, wait a minute". I have heard this over and over and over. This doesn't make sense. I'm going to read it again. "Serve the Lord your God. He shall bless your bread and water. I will take sickness from the midst of thee". Well, go back down to the 20th verse. "Behold, I'll send an angel before you to keep you in the way. Bring you..."
Okay, now let's go read this correctly. "You shall serve the Lord your God with gladness of heart for the abundance of..." I'm added to what we got in that, in the curse. "And your angel shall bless your bread and water, and I will take sickness from the midst of you. There shall nothing cast their young" or have babies that die, "nor be barren in the land. The number of your days I will fulfill". That is a demand scripture. The prophet Isaiah said, "Concerning my sons, command ye me". Well, I do it. I do it respectfully because the book says so.
And let me say it again. This is Holy Bible. And I wrote in a very fly-leaf. Always stay on the God side of everything. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards you and give you his peace to your whole family. And my being a pilot, may you always have a tailwind. May you always have the wind at your back. And he's the wind in my sails. He's the healer of my life. Hallelujah. Glory be to God forevermore. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Now, one thing. First Peter 2. Thank You, Jesus. Sit down and read the whole letter. It's not a book. It's a letter. Hallelujah. So, First Peter 2. Wherefore, laying aside all malice and guile and hypocrisies, what is a hypocrite? Have you seen the two little masks that indicates it's a theater? One of them smiling, one of them frowning? That's what a hypocrite is. He's got a mask on. And Jesus would say, "You hypocrite, you have a mask on. You are not what you pretend to be". And the only people he said that to were the most religious people of the day. But he knew their hearts. Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
So now notice this. "Envies and evil speakings, as newborn babies desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby. If so, you have tasted, the Lord is gracious. To whom coming as a living stone, disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious, 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 and precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. And to you, therefore, which believe he is precious, but unto them that are disobedient, the stone of which the builders disallowed, the same is made the 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 priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people".
One translation says, a special people, "that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but now are the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers, pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conduct honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, that you may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every obedience of man for the Lord's sake". Did you hear it? Did you hear it? "For the Lord's sake, whether it be that a king as supreme or as governors unto them".
Now, I want you to understand something and don't you, please don't forget this. Anyone out there, don't forget this. There's nowhere that says you have to agree with someone's politics, but you are and I am absolutely commanded to pray for the mayor, for the school board, for the sheriff, the judges. These are officials, president of the United States. I mean, I was griping about Lyndon Johnson one day and I came in and of course, you know, I won't go into that. But, and the Lord asked me, "Do you know him"? "No, sir". "Do you know anybody that knows him"? "No, sir". "Sounds to me like you don't know much". He said, "You start praying for him instead of criticizing him".
And I don't agree with the politics, but I agree with this book. And I get joy out of it. Praise God forever. You're too quiet because it's all right here. Verse 16, "As free and not using your liberty for a cloke 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 the good and the gentle, but also to the froward".
In other words, proper respect "For this is thankworthy. If a man for conscious toward God endure grief, suffering wrongly for what glory is it if when you'd be buffeted for your thoughts, you shall take it patiently. But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take patiently this is acceptable to God. For even hereunto were you called because Christ, the anointed One, and his anointing, the Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps". Hey, follow his steps. Say it, follow his steps. Not what you think or what you think about that person. Follow his steps. Oh, glory to God. Thank You, Jesus.
"Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when he was revived, revived not again. 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 you were as sheep going astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. Likewise, you wives", uh-oh, he didn't quit there... "Be in subjection to your own husbands that if they obey not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by the manner of life of the wives while they behold their chaste conversation, coupled with honor and respect whose adorning, let it not be the outward adorning of the plaiting of hair or the wearing of gold or putting on apparel".
I am not a clothesline preacher. I don't have any, I don't have anyone, but Gloria. What he's talking about is the chain of command. And if you're military, you know it, it has to be set in order. We had a young man back in the day that was on the prayer phones, just like, well, he's out in his own ministry now, but it was just like we have now. He knew how to pray. And this woman called in, "I want my husband back. And I want you to pray that he'll come back". And, he said, "Is he a believer"? "No". "And he's gone"? "Yes". "Well, the scripture says, 'If he's an unbeliever, let him go.'" "I don't care what the scripture says. I want him back". And he said, "I got a pretty good idea why he left" and just hung up.
I said, well, he said "I probably did wrong". "Well, you did". "Likewise, you wives being subjection to your own husbands, that if they obey not the Word, they also without the Word be one by your manner of life. While they behold your chaste conversation or your honor and respect, who adorning, let it not be that the outward adorning of plaiting the hair and wearing of gold and putting on apparel". He didn't say anything that you couldn't do that. You have to keep reading, "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". Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Praise the name of the living God. Thank You, Jesus.
So, and a lot of problems have come up over the years that, uh, over that taking that verse out of its context and women thought they had to just, you know, look terrible. Well, what this is pointing at that a woman does not dress in a way that calls, calls attention to herself with strange makeup, you know, all kinds of weird stuff.
Well, I want to tell you something sweet thing. And, uh, I mean, you may wear makeup if you want to, but that's up to your husband. I said, that's up to your husband. And Gloria wears some gold and diamonds because her husband insists. Cause I didn't, I didn't have anything. And JT Matthews, buddy of mine in high school, and he just went home to be with the Lord just a few days ago. I'll tell you, it's just, I mean, and he's funny and he could sing. And we were there at Poly high school and a young woman by the name of Fraydean Wilson. And, uh, so there's no question about it. Fraydean was the sharpest one in class.
So his finals and, uh, JT stood up and said, "There's something wrong here". The teacher, "What is it JT"? He said, "Kenneth made a 90". This is Bible class. Now in high school, I only got an 80. She said, "Well, what's the matter"? He said, "We both copied off of Fraydean". Well, he and his dad had a jewelry and antique furniture store. And so JT called me, he said, "I found something for Gloria".
And he did. Oh, it was a dome ring, just gorgeous. And I don't know this thing appraised it thousands of dollars. And he said, "It came out of an estate sale. She dresses to please me. And I give her things. Because there was a time..." you should see her engagement ring. It was about big as a BB, but it was real. It's all the money I had. Thank You Jesus. Praise God. Now then... Not bad for 87. I'm not bragging on me. I'm bragging on Jesus.
Now I want to close this with this before we go into our confession. Thank You Jesus. During COVID, I tested negative five times. Now there was twice that our team didn't because there was twice when our kin folks were coming over and that's when Fawn checked me and we went to Nigeria. We went to Columbia, uh, Bogota, Columbia, all of us checked negative. Did you take the shot? Absolutely not. Yeah, I did with this one.
When John and Kellie were small, I said, "We're going to take our flu shots". John's eyes got big. And so we, uh, we got there at home, that first little house we had. And, uh, I read the curse of the law.
Galatians 3:13, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brother, I speak not in the manner of men, but though it be but a man's covenant, yet, if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed where the promise is made, he saith then the seeds as of many, but as of one and to thy seed, which is Christ. And this, I say that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after cannot disannul, that it could not make the promise of no effect for the inheritance of the law is more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serves the law that was added because of transgression until the seed should come to whom the promise was made".
The seed was Jesus. The seed, not seeds. Now then, "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given, which would have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might have given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up under faith, which afterwards would be revealed. The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. But after faith came, we are no longer schoolmaster for you are the children of God in Christ Jesus. As many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, nor neither bond nor free, nor neither male nor female. For if you are in Christ Jesus, then are you Christ. Then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise".