Kenneth Copeland - Your Confession of Faith Pleases God
Welcome to the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast. This is Kenneth Copeland and our class, and we’ve been studying all last week, and again this week, we began on the confession of faith by your words, Jesus said, «You’re justified, and by your words are you condemned». I want to remind you, we’ve been right here in the book of Hebrews, right? So we’re in the seventh chapter. Just slip over to the 11th chapter, and I want to bring something up here. In verse six, But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he’s the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Why is it impossible?
All right, let’s go back to the book of Deuteronomy chapter eight. Deuteronomy chapter eight, let’s work at verse 18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he swore unto the fathers in this day. Do you see that? Remember it, he said. Most people don’t know it, much less remember it, because the devil has worked for centuries to keep Christianity and poverty tied together with a real short rope, and it’s a lie from hell. Absolutely not true. And the scripture’s going to prove it right here. Then we’re going to go back where we were and enter that flow once more, because this is where we’ve been headed all this week. You just didn’t know it yet.
And of course, the class, I told you about the scripture first, but we’re just now there. And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. I’m a self-made man. Well, that’s probably the reason you’re not worth much. Self-made man. I used to be a self-made man. I didn’t have money enough to get out of sight long as I was doing it. Anyway, well, I know where people come with that. They came up short and worked hard over their lives, but this is important. Don’t say that, and the power of my hand has gotten this. Remember the Lord your God, for it is he that gives you the power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he swore unto the fathers, as in this day…
Now let’s go to Galatians chapter three. Praise God. You having any fun yet? Okay. And 3.8, And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying, In you shall all nations be blessed. In you shall all nations be blessed. That’s where this came from. Now, let’s go to the 17th chapter of the book of Genesis. This is after Genesis, right? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy. So let’s go to the base then at Genesis 17. Praise God. Don’t lose your place in the book of Hebrews. When Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am El Shaddai. I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly. Well now wait a… Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. That he may establish the covenant of which he swore. He swore a covenant and now he had… God initiated this covenant.
So in order to do what he planned for it to do, what? Bless the earth. Go back to the very first about Elohim and the creation itself. And the blessing comes right in there in just the first two, three, four chapters. The blessing of the Lord. The blessing of the Lord became the blessing of Abraham and we’re about to see it right here. I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply you exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face and God talked with him saying, As for me behold, my covenant is with thee and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham for a father of many nations have I made thee. I will make you exceeding fruitful. I will make nations of you and kings shall come out of thee. I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee and their generation for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I’ll give you thy seed for thee.
Praise God. And God said to Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore. Well, somebody has to finance it. So he gave him the power to get wealth. He gave him the power to get wealth. If you read the blessing of Abraham in the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, then you will find why and how the devil has just fought the state of Israel all this time. We hear about the wars and the problems, what most of the world does not know. The state of Israel is one of the most benevolent countries on the face of this earth. They help people that are their dire enemies and nobody ever hears about it. They hear about the fighting and the fussing. This, then, let’s come back over here in the book of Hebrews. Remember now, in the sixth chapter, we’re going on to perfection, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ.
Okay, let’s go then. Verse 12, Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham… see where we were? God made promise to Abraham, not Elohim. In the beginning Elohim, El, God, Ohim, plural. Right there is the first picture of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God was moving on the face of the deep, and God said, the Spirit of God was moving, but nothing happened until somebody said it. It’s in chapter one, verse one. You got to say it. God couldn’t create it without saying it. It’s mentioned in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. God made promise to Abraham because he could swear by no greater. He swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, multiplying I’ll multiply thee. After he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them, an end for strife.
Now, what’s that talking about? Well, there comes a time when we don’t talk about it anymore. In reading this and studying it, the Lord dropped in my heart and said, «Make a decision, a quality decision, based on my Word. Once you make it, then a quality decision is a decision about which there is no more argument and from which there is no retreat». We’re about to get into that right here. Verse 16, Men swear by the greater, an oath for confirmation then to them, an the end of strife. God willing more abundantly to show under the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel. Now, that’s what I wanted to get into. I’ll go right here. Glory to God. Thank You, Jesus.
So, the result of patient waiting, our forefather obtained what God had promised. He added an oath in order that through two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for him to prove false, we may possess mighty encouragement. We who for the safety have hastened to lay hold of the hope set before us. That hope we have as an anchor of the soul, an anchor that can neither break nor drag. It passes in behind the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become like Melchizedek, a high priest forever. An anchor of the mind, the will and the emotion. And like I said, in the last eight or nine months, I experienced things that I didn’t think were coming my way. But my soul has been anchored all this time. Has to be. Because it just goes day by day by day. That by two immutable, two unchangeable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, that we might have a strong consolation.
Now, two immutable things. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave the 10th part of all. First being by interpretation, king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is the king of peace. Melchizedek, it was a title. Like mayor of a powerful city or something like that. It wasn’t a name. It was a mayor, a title. So, without mother, father, descent, it didn’t mean that he just happened on the earth. If you go ahead and study it in these other cities, he had no pedigree. God picked him as a priest. Now, who is our high priest? Huh? Did he come from the tribe of Leviticus? That’s where the priest come from. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And somebody said, oh, yeah. Well, what does all this mean? He’s our High Priest. Hallelujah.
The Levitical priest, we don’t have any avenue in that. We’re the wild olive branch that’s been… I mean, he’s our Christ. He’s our… glory to God. He’s my Priest at the right hand of the Father. Ever make intercession for me. And I have an anchor of my soul behind the veil and his name is Jesus. And his blood is in the heavenly mercy seat. Glory to God. Thank You, Jesus. These two immutable things, the oath and the promise, but not only that, the bread and the wine. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. The bread and the wine. What is that to us? Every time we take communion, mm. Oh, we have immutable things in the heavenlies, glory to God. And our Christ is there. Our Jesus is there. Our High Priest is there. And he ever makes intercession for us. And I take the bread and the wine and I do it in remembrance of him until he comes. Praise God.
Here, now, in the seventh chapter. Thank You, Jesus. He gives us the power to get wealth. Someone is going to have to activate that power. Oh, what happened in chapter seven? Go back there. This Melchizedek, king of Salem. Now, Salem became Jerusalem. He is king of Salem, returning from the slaughter of the kings. You remember that? And these kings came together against Abram and he armed his own household servants and they fought at night, which never had been done before. And the king came to him and said, «You take the gold and I’ll keep the people». And Abram said, what? I have lifted my hand to the Almighty God. Never let it be said that any man made Abram rich, but my God. He’s in covenant with him. That’s what that means. I’ve lifted my hand to him. I don’t want anything you have. Keep it yourself. Just whatever my men took, whatever it took to feed them. Otherwise you can forget it, king. You may be king, but I serve God. He gave him a 10th of all. That’s the first step.
Now notice this. We’re right here. Verse six, He whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises and without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater. Now, what does that mean? You remember what the apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God said in the book of Philippians, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be called equal with God. I had to let that mind be in me because it said he’s… Well, let’s go over there because we’re going to come right back here to this. You have to do it. In chapter two, verse five, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men, being found in fashion a man humble himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him his name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.
You notice «things» is in italics. Every knee should bow of names in heaven, names in the earth, and names under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now, class, how do we have license to do this? The same apostle wrote a letter to the book of Ephesians and said, his name is above every name that is named. So it’s the same writer and the same Spirit. Let this mind be in you. Class, remember, that is actually chesed. It’s the hardest word in the Hebrew language, in my opinion, to translate into English. It’s translated loving, kindness, and so forth, but that’s a good design of it. You have to let the mind be in you thought it not robbery to be equal with God like Jesus, his Father and Son. Well, he’s my Father. He’s your Father. Amen.
All right. Verse six, Whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. He gave him the power to get wealth. Without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater. And here, men that die receive tithes, but there he receives them on whom it is witnessed he lives. Now, if you go back, which we won’t have time to do here, but there’s coming a time that we will. Along about the 26th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, the different tithes are mentioned. There are confessions to be made there. Amen. That the priest puts the tithe in a basket and goes before the High Priest, which represents God. Well, that’s what that’s talking about.
That’s what he’s referring to there. But he says, it happens in heaven. And Father, You have my tithe today. I’m a hilarious tither. I take such great joy in tithing. That’s the first step to getting wealth. That blessing of that, the moment Gloria and I began to do that on a regular basis, I want you to know, it just seemed like somebody lit a rocket on our finances. And we just began to rejoice and just giggle when we tithed. We didn’t have much at the time, but it didn’t take long. Tithing the tithe. And let me just slip over there quickly. And verse 12, When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and has given it to the Levite and so forth and so forth. Say, before the Lord thy God. There are tithing scriptures. The book of Malachi, the book of Malachi says the Lord of hosts. Most Christians don’t know what the Lord of hosts means, but we’ll be right back and I’ll tell you.