Kenneth Copeland - Your Confession of Faith Puts the Devil on the Run
Hello everybody, I’m Kenneth Copeland and again today this is the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast and I love daily television. I’m stirred up in that class, so get ready. Let’s open our Bibles to Matthew and the words of Jesus in the 12th chapter, please. And we’ll read, let’s see, 12:37, let’s go up here. Well, let me tell you, read the whole chapter of this chapter, but the confession of faith and the building of a solid faith confession is vitally, vitally important to the welfare of any human being. People say what they believe. Do you ever notice that?
People say, you know, you say, well, you know, I don’t believe that. I don’t think that’s right. All of that, and somebody say, well, does that count? Let’s see if it does. Okay, here we are in the 12th chapter of the book of Matthew, 34th verse. Generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, do what? Speak. Okay, we’re already there. Good things for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Now that is a spiritual law. It is going on in 100% of the human population of the earth. I don’t care who they are. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What is the abundance of the heart? What you put your eyes on, what goes in your ears, what comes out of your mouth, what the lion’s share of your day, every day, and how you approach it. But let me say this, and you’ve heard me say it a lot. I’m going to continue to say it.
First words every day are going to establish what kind of spiritual environment in which you’re surrounded. Last words at night should not be worried words. The last words at night should not be, oh my God, what are we going to do? And it can be some terrible things going on around you. But the important thing, and this is what we’re going to be dealing with this week and next week, is building a solid confession based on the Word of God, where you put his words in your eyes and in your ears and in your mouth until when something happens, the Word comes out. So that a person is not in a place…
Well, let’s let Jesus tell it. Let’s do this again. Generation of vipers, how can you being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things. An evil man of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Can you see it? Like words, like man. Like man, like words. And he’s not talking about the world. He’s talking to us. Now, continue. But I say unto you, every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. And here is the golden text. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
Now, let’s look at that from the Classic Amplified, and it will help us. The 35th verse. «The good man from his inner good treasure…» I like that «…flings forth good things, and the evil man of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things. But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will give account for every idle, inoperative, non-working word they speak. For by your words you’ll be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced.» So, what are those idle words? In another place Jesus said, let your word be yes and no. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to take all the humor out of your word. No, humor’s good. That’s not an idle word. But idle words are words that have built up through habit. Use words to express something. Just thrill me to death.
That is not an inoperative word. You see what I’m saying? That’s not an inoperative… That thing’s got power in it. That’s not an inoperative word. But it is a lie. But just keep saying it, and out of the… Your spirit doesn’t know any better. It’ll just reach out and try to bring it to pass. An idle word, and this one always comes up, and the reason I use it, because it did eventually come to pass. Well, I’ll see you all later if the train don’t hit me. That is an idle, inoperative word, but it continued to operate. This is the reason we have to stand judgment on these things, because it continued to operate until a train did hit him. It didn’t kill him, thank God. Well, it would have been so easy to say, I’ll see you later. Don’t stick to: if the train doesn’t hit me.
My goodness. Early on, I was playing with John and Kellie, and we were running around in the house, and I got behind the door, and I jumped out and hollered boo, and they giggled and went on, and the Lord said, «What do you think you’re doing»? What? He said, «Frightening a child is not fun. That’s not fun at all. You can have fun with them without doing that». I began to talk to them then about don’t ever be afraid, and don’t ever use fear to express yourself. What do you use? Well, when you’re playing and running around the house and chasing them, I can tell you right now, when they’re little, you can’t keep up with them. Well, that’s fun, but not fear. Now, here we go. The confession of faith, the «in him» words, the «in Christ» words, in the beloved words, and in whom, it occurs 134, approximately 134 times, and there’s one or two of them in the book of Acts.
Now, I learned this from Brother Hagin. I’ve heard Keith Moore teach on it, and it’s something that needs to be taught, because there’s just scripture after scripture after scripture. Let’s go now to the book of Ephesians, and we’ll look at some of them, and we’ll begin to talk about how you use this. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints, which are in Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ. There it is. So, what do I do? Well, I read this. This is a letter to me. I studied it, and I outlined a lot of things, but the only reason I did that is because, right at this minute, I’m in Ephesus. I’m in the congregation. In my heart and in my mind, I see myself there. I’m there.
So, he’s speaking to me. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints, which be at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Glory to God, I’m in Christ Jesus, and I’m faithful. So, say it. Glory to God, I’m in Christ Jesus, and I’m faithful. Can you see? This is the way you use it, and the more you do that, and the more you say that, it begins to build up. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. I am faithful in Christ Jesus, and blessed be the Father and Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me. Why? I’m in Christ Jesus. I’m blessed. I’m blessed. According as he has chosen us in him, I’m in him. Hallelujah. «…before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.»
All right. I am in Christ Jesus. I am blessed, and God chose me to be in him in love before the foundation of the world. Glory to God. Hallelujah. And the more I think about that, and the more I think about that, and I’ve already preached me happy this morning, because I’ve had a few pretty rough days here recently, and the more I think about that, glory to God, that’s little stuff. This is big stuff. This is huge. I’m in Christ Jesus, and he picked me. He chose me. He chose us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, and we stand in him, and we live in him, and have our life, and have our being. All right. Verse seven. In whom? In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.
All right. Here’s an «in whom» scripture. I have been redeemed through his blood. My sins are forgiven according to his grace. And when things are coming up hard, it’s good to just take this and begin to meditate on it, and just put this in your mouth, and just don’t let the other thoughts worm their way in. I am in Christ. In him I’m redeemed. Praise God. Let me back up here. Wherein he has abounded towards us in all wisdom, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed in himself. If you keep coming on down to the 18th verse, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of his glory, of his inheritance. Well, see, that’s me. I’m an heir.
Now, we’re going to wind up touching scripture for it says, «In him we’re joint heirs with Christ». What is the exceeding greatness of his power toward me… Because I’m a believer according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought, which he wrought, say it. Yes, in Christ. That’s what we’re talking about, class. In him, in Christ, in the beloved, in whom… So there it is again. Which he wrought in Christ. I am in Christ. --when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
Now, here we go. «…far above all principality, far above all power, far above all might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head of over all things, which is his body. The fullness of him that fills all in all.» What are we doing? We’re speaking by faith and building it. It starts building. There’s a scripture in the Amplified Classic. The strong spirit of a man will sustain him in trouble and bodily pain. Say this, a strong spirit in a person will sustain them in times of trouble and bodily pain. How do you get a strong spirit? Faith has to be developed. Spending time in spiritual exercise brings forth spiritual strength. Physical exercise brings forth physical strength. Mental exercise brings forth mental strength, a willpower, but it must be built around the Word of God.
You’ve heard me say this before. I got all excited about getting in the exercise room, and when I caught a hold of that thing to do this, it came out my mouth before I could stop it. I hate this. Where physical exercise was concerned, I didn’t like it, and I don’t remember saying that I hate it, but that’s what came out of my mouth. I was not a strong man where that was concerned, but I slapped my hand on my mouth, and I spoke in the name of Jesus. I just cried, oh no, in the name of Jesus, I love this. Now here recently, because of some physical things, I haven’t been able to exercise. I’m ready to start back in there, but I miss it. I go in there. I miss being there, and I’m just now at the point where it’s time to go back again, but it’s there. I yearn for it.
There have been a time in my life, if you’d asked me that, I said, «No, that ain’t never going to happen». Why? Because I always said that’s never going to happen. No, that’s never going to happen, so it didn’t happen, but it had to be changed. I said that so much that it was in my spirit. Why? In abundance. It was in my heart in abundance, and it came out, and you’ve heard me tell it before. I could physically sense that spirit that had to get off my body. Now, let me settle something here for you right now. I am a born again, Holy Ghost baptized man. No evil spirit can reside in my spirit. Are you hearing me? No. Now, Christian people can get over into things, get out of the Word of God, and devils just ruin and run their lives by what they say, and get into a mental state.
I’ve told this again and again. A young woman in Jamaica, when I was there, one night the pastor said, we’re going by this woman’s house, and she’s mad. He knew her and knew the family. She was just on an old cotton-ticking mattress. No bedclothes, nothing. Up in there where there was no electricity, just all lamps and so forth. She had a little stick about that long, and a little red bandana, and everything she owned was in that, and she was just sitting there. The devil manifested himself. She was a waitress. A group had come through, and she accepted Jesus as her Lord and her Savior.
She was so excited. She was so thrilled, but she’s a little baby Christian. She came in there, and when she got to the door of a church, she just went to church, and they said, «What is that on your fingernails? You have cut your hair». They took some fingernail polish remover and jerked all that off of there, and then wouldn’t let her come in the church. They said, «Jesus does not love women that cut their hair». She got that on her mind to the point she was squatted down in that bed for 18 years.
Well, I didn’t have the opportunity to find out what happened to her, but I can tell you what that devil did, and there were men with me, and this devil looked over that way and said, «You must be Dr. Webber». That was a radio preacher. «You must be Oral Roberts». Then looked at me, and said, «I know who you are, and you’re afraid of anything that isn’t flesh and blood». I said, «I fear no man or beast. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you take your hands off of God’s property right now». I said, «Baby, look at me».
Now, see, I didn’t know any of this other. I said, «Look at me now. Look at me now. Look. The Lord Jesus sent me here to tell you he loves you,» and I saw her eyes clear. Glory to God. But the point is, she allowed this to get on her mind to the place where she grieved about it and thought about it until that devil took over her life and had her bound to that bed, but it only took just a few seconds of the Word of God in the name of Jesus to tell her that the Lord sent me there to tell her that he loved her. I could see it in her eyes. It set her free, but she was thinking about it. You see the point? She was thinking about it. She thought about it all the time.
Now, I didn’t hear the details, but it’s obvious, no scripture at all, didn’t know any, but it’s obvious she thought about it, and she thought about it, and she thought about it, and then she quit her job, and she thought about it, and she grieved over it, and she grieved over it, and she grieved over it, and thought about it, and thought about it. What happens when you think about it? Thought about it, and cried about it, and said it, and said it. Jesus doesn’t love me. Jesus doesn’t love me. I don’t know why he wouldn’t love me. I don’t know why, until that devil took over her life, but that quick, that devil could leave. So, the point is, she was in Christ and didn’t know it. There are so many Christian people around the world that are in Christ and know they’re in Christ, but that’s not what’s coming out of the mouth. So, that’s the reason we’re going to study these scriptures, but for today, we’re out of time. Praise the Lord. We’ll be back in just a minute.