Kenneth Copeland - Receive From Jesus a Life Worth Living
Thank You, Lord Jesus. Father, we do bless You and we thank You. You are the healer.
Let’s begin in the book of Isaiah 53, beginning with verse 4. «Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows». So if there’s anybody carrying any grief and sorrow, you don’t need to be carrying that. It’s deadly. But because Jesus bore your grief and carried your sorrows. «But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed». Verse 7, «He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth».
Now, the Classic Amplified, Isaiah 53. «He was despised and rejected, forsaken by men, a man of sorrows and pains, acquainted with grief and sickness, and like one whom men hide their faces. He was despised and did not appreciate his worth or have any esteem for him. Surely he has borne our griefs, sicknesses, weaknesses, distresses, and carried our sorrows and pains of punishment, yet we ignorantly considered him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted by God as if with leprosy. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace, need to obtain peace and well-being was upon him. And with his stripes that wounded him, we are healed and made whole».
And now, turn to the book of Matthew, please, 8, verse 14. Now, I’m going to read the 13th verse. Jesus said, under the centurion. So who was that centurion? Cornelius. We don’t learn it, but I mean, a centurion had at least 100 men under him, maybe more. I liken him under our terms, a garrison commander. He was the centurion of that entire area, and anybody that was Roman worked for him. So it was Cornelius. «He said to Cornelius, Go your way, and as you have believed, so it be done unto thee». How? Because you believed.
«And his servant was healed that self same hour. And when Jesus was coming to Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid sick of a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She arose and ministered unto them. When evening was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with his Word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses». He bore them.
This is good news. Well, I say, I’m going to have to come down there. Praise God. Get down here where I can get to see the whites of your eyes. I can step on your toes, and do like Brother Hagin. He just walked over here. I was right there on the corner, and he walked over there, just stand there and leaned on me, and preached. And the power of God just shoot through me. Come on, loosen up. Dear Lord. This is a healing service, not a funeral. Our Savior didn’t have a funeral. He is very much alive. And He’s the healer by His Spirit. All right. I just touched on a few things. Now, let’s get down to business here. Thank You, Jesus. I’m supposed to be healed today. Faith works by love. Amen. So, it was fulfilled.
Now, that’s the way this book works. For those of you that really don’t understand that, it began in the Garden of Eden. Now, Cain killed Abel. There was no law against it. It was not against the law. So, the law began in the Garden. The law and the prophets. The prophets, by the Spirit of God, would speak, and it would be recorded. And once it was recorded, the devil couldn’t get it out of here. And that’s the reason Jesus kept saying, it is written. It is written. He didn’t say, I have memorized. I have memorized. No. He said, it is written. It is also written. So, the prophets… and we have the copies of them, so we can do the same thing.
Now, hallelujah. So, we go from Matthew 8, 13, and 14 to 1 Peter 2:24. So, we go to 1 Peter. We don’t start with the 24th verse. There are some conditions. «Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking,» hey, you can spend some time right there. And if this is in your life, we just repent. Praise God. And just repent your way all the way down to the 24th verse. «To whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed, indeed of men, and 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, the Anointed One. Wherefore also it is contained in Scripture».
Here we go. It’s contained in Scripture. «Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. But those who are disobedient, the stone which is built is 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, wherein to also they are appointed».
Now, listen. You are a chosen generation. Well, that was for them now, but that’s for us now. This is an eternal book. You are a chosen generation. Say, I am a chosen one. I am a royal priest. I am holy, a peculiar or special person, «that you should show forth of 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 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 lusts which war against the soul». Fleshly lusts will war against your mind and your emotions.
«Having your conversation or your manner of life honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, may they by your good works behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake». For the Lord’s sake. Submit yourself to that ordinance for the Lord’s sake. What does that mean? Testimony for the Lord’s sake, making him first and putting us in line to receive what he’s already done. And that’s by grace. «Or under governors as under them that sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God».
Now, faith begins where the will of God is known. And his book is his will. Because if this was ever true to anyone, it’s still true to you and to me, and to those of you that are watching online. «Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims». Now verse 12, «…having your manner of life honest among the Gentiles, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, that they may by your good works, which shall behold, glorify God in the day of… Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king supreme or under governors as under them and so forth with the will of God». And you just continue down. Verse 17 is interesting. Honor all men. The word «men» is in italics, meaning mankind. All people, men and women. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
So you honor the politicians. You may not agree with their politics. Amen. Pray for all men, kings and all those that are in authority. Obey the book, not the way you feel about it. And I’m going to say it again, if you didn’t vote, just shut up for another four years. You don’t have any comment to make. Just sit around and do nothing. Okay, so much for that. But we’re working on the midterms. And we’re praying your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Verse 23, «When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to them that judges righteously. Who his own self bear our sins».
I read this every day of my life. As I told you, I use a little mini iPad and write these scriptures out where I see them. Amen. I feed my eyes and my ears. He bore my sins in his own body on the tree that I be dead to sins and live under righteousness by whose stripes I was healed. Say that. By whose stripes I was healed. If I was healed, then I am healed. However, say it. However, it does me no good if I don’t believe it, obtain it, and walk in it. Praise God. Now then, we’ve talked about redeemed from the curse. And let’s go over to Acts.
Now we’re at Cornelius' house. Chapter 10, verse 37, «That word I say you know which was published throughout all Judea and began in Galilee after the baptism with John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost who is the power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil». Sickness and disease is a satanic oppression. But Jesus, but Jesus, this same Christ, the angel said, this same Jesus, why look ye so earnest into the heavens? This same Jesus will return again. And he said, «In the last days», this has to be the last of the last days. But we’re still in the last days. We’re still there.
And someone said, well, in fact, Gloria was speaking at a conference. And this man stood up and said, «Well, I really don’t want to burst your balloon, but it could be another 800 years the way I figure it». And Gloria said, «Well, one thing for sure, it’s your last days. Because you’re sure not going to live any 800 years». And for some reason or another, he didn’t say anything else. Hallelujah. We are in our last days. Thank You, Jesus. And somebody said, you’re not going to live forever. Yes, I am. Just not in this old body. Glory to God. Well, I need to get on with it here. Thank You, Jesus.
Now, let’s look in Proverbs 3:1. I want to read it in the Classic Amplified. «My son, forget not my law or teaching. Let your heart keep my commandments. For a length of days and years of a life worth living, tranquility inward and outward, continuing through old age till death, these shall they add to you». Old age. And I certainly agree with this. because it has been a life worth living. Amen. Had a lot of knocking around and going on and, you know, and all that kind of thing, but it’s been a life worth living. Never had a extended hospital stay until my appendix ruptured, and that wasn’t a big deal. I just had to keep laughing for the joy of the Lord and telling silly jokes, because a merry heart does good like a medicine.
So now, let’s go on over to the fourth chapter of the book of Proverbs. I’m going to read it here from the Classic Amplified in the fourth chapter, verse 20. «My son, attend to my words. Consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight. Keep them in the center of your heart, for they are life to those that find them, healing and health to all their flesh». All right. Listen to this from the King James. «My son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings». Inclined. Have you ever said that? You know, I’m inclined to believe that. Yes. «Let them not depart from their eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh». And then number three, and it says, medicine. This book is medicine to your flesh. It is medicine to your flesh.