Kenneth Copeland - Faith Activates the Anointing Power of God
Hello, everybody. This is the Believer's Voice of Victory Broadcast, and I'm Kenneth Copeland.
Father, we thank You today for Your Word. I'm asking You, Sir, to manifest Yourself on this broadcast any way You desire. We receive You. We're hungry for Your presence. And we thank You in the name of the Lord Jesus for revelation from heaven today. And we believe it, and we receive it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Praise God. I'm so glad you could be with us today. Let's open our Bibles to Mark 5, please. We're going to be looking at some things about faith today and as the Lord leads and the Lord wills. I know some places I'd like to get, but we'll just start off like the Lord instructed me to and just see how far we can go. Thank You, Lord. Mark 5, and I want to look again at the woman with the issue of blood. And we'll start reading with the 25th verse. "A certain woman, which had an issue of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment".
Now, look at this 28th verse. "For she said If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague". Now, for just a moment here, let's flip over to the book of Acts in the 10th chapter. And I want us to look at the 38th verse. "That word", start at 37th verse, "That word, I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power". That's healing power. It's miracle power. It is the power of the anointing.
Now, the Greek word here translated "power" is "dunamis". We get our word "dynamo," we get our word "dynamite" from it. "Dynamic" comes from the same root word there, "with Holy Ghost and power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him". Now then, let's go back here where we were. This woman had an issue of blood for 12 years. Now, we know from what we just read, amen, that this thing, "this issue of blood for twelve years, suffered many things of many physicians, spent all that she had, was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse", amen. Now, we know she was oppressed of the devil, for "Jesus went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him". Amen.
Now, I want you to get something here. "And straightway the fountain of her blood dried up; she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue". Don't ask me why the translators of the King James version translated that "virtue". I don't know. It's the same word translated "power" over in Acts 10. That's one of the reasons I wanted you to see it. It's dunamis, the anointing. Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he anointed me to heal the brokenhearted, he anointed me to preach deliverance to the captive, he anointed me to preach the recovery of sight to the blind," and so forth in the 4th chapter of Luke, 18th verse. And He was reading from Isaiah 61.
If you go to the book of Isaiah and just back up to the 10th chapter, it says, "The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing". Hallelujah. We're right in the groove here with something I want you to see. Now listen to this: "Immediately knowing in himself that healing power had gone out of him," that his anointing had gone out of Him, "turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes"? Now, I want you to notice, He didn't know who touched Him. Amen. But He did know that anointing flowed out of Him into somebody.
Now, there were people, they said, "What are you talking about? We've got people grabbing, you know, touching you". But the touch of curiosity, the touch of wonder, the touch of "I think I'd like to try this. Ohh, I just hope He'd heal me". No, that won't do it. There were all kind of people touching Him. His disciples said, "You see the multitude thronging you, and you said, Who touched me? And he looked around about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth".
Now listen to this. "He said unto her, Daughter, my anointing made you whole". No, that's not what He said. But we know that's what happened. Right? Say, "Right," because it's right. Ha-ha-ha. Amen. "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of that plague". "Your faith made you whole". "Well, yes, Brother Copeland, but, you see, all of these things have been done away with. And when the last apostle, now, they had the power to do this". This wasn't an apostle. This was Jesus. And He hadn't been done away with, right? "But, yes, I know, Brother Copeland, but that's a different dispensation, and blah-blah-blah, ba-bla-blah, bla-bla-bla-blah, bla-bla-blah"
Now, notice, in fact, let me point out something to you. Nowhere in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, no where in the book of Acts does it say the faith of the apostles made them whole; nowhere, none, not once. Amen. Jesus did not say, "My anointing made you whole". He said, "Your faith made you whole". Now, that anointing in Him and on Him as He was walking towards Jairus' house that day, that anointing was there and strong. But it was her faith that made a demand on it, for she had already activated her faith. Her faith was up. Her faith was ready. How do we know that? Well, notice what it said.
Now, let's back up there. "A certain woman, had an issue of blood twelve years, suffered many things of many physicians, and spent all that she had, nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she heard of Jesus. She said, If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole". Her faith had spoken. She had heard of Jesus. She'd been meditating on this. She had been listening to this. Amen. Now, what did Jesus preach? We just read what He preached. Peter said "He published this throughout all Judaea preaching peace by Jesus". Jesus preached that sermon everywhere He went. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor," and so forth and so on. He preached that everywhere He went. And then once He preached that, then He taught on that.
That's the reason they called Him "the Anointed" because that's what He preached, "I'm anointed". He preached, "I'm anointed". Everywhere He went, He preached, "I'm anointed, I'm anointed, I'm anointed". Some believed it, some didn't. Those that believed it got it; those that didn't, didn't. Now, here's what I wanted you to see. It is the touch of faith that makes a demand on that anointing. And it is actually a demand on the Holy Spirit Himself because Jesus said, "It is the Father that dwells within me, he does the works". He is the anointing, He is God, He is the healer, He's the helper, He's the intercessor He's the standby, He's the advocate, He's the counselor, He's the teacher, He's the comforter. Whoa. Glory to God. The Greater One. Hallelujah. But it's faith that activates that anointing.
Now then, let's back up here to the book of Matthew and we'll look for a moment at this same area of ministry. Matthew 9, and let's look at Verse 27. Let's see. Here we are. "And when Jesus departed there". Now, where is He departing? Jesus had gone from the lake shore towards Jairus' house to minister to his daughter. Now, we know, from what we just read, that the woman with the issue of blood interrupted His going towards Jairus' house. Jairus' faith put Jesus on the move toward His house. Her faith stopped Him in the middle of the road.
Now notice this. Verse 22, "Jesus said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith made thee whole". So we know we're right there. The reason I like to use Mark's gospel to elaborate on this is just simply because there's more detail there. But now there's more detail in what I want to show you here in the book of Matthew. Amen. Now, I want you to see this. "And the woman was made whole from that hour. Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making noise, Give place: the maid is not dead," and so forth. "And they laughed. And he put them out, and took her by the hand, and she rose," and so forth.
Now, Verse 27, "When Jesus departed there". From where? Jairus' house. When Jesus left Jairus' house, "two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us". Now, what were they saying when they crying, "Son of David. Son of David"? You find this more than once. They were calling Him the Christ, the Anointed, Messiah. See, that's what the word "Christ" is. It's the Greek translation of the word "Messiah," which is the Hebrew word for "anointed". We're talking about the anointing here. And so they were literally calling Him "Messiah". "Anointed one! Anointed one! Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him". Now look, "Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? And they said unto him, Yes, Lord".
Now, you remember the leper that came to Jesus and said, "Lord, I believe you can. If you will, you can make me whole". Jesus said, "I will," and laid His hands on him, and the leprosy departed. Now, Jesus is asking them, "Do you believe I can do this"? Obviously, they believed it was His will to do it because they're hollering at Him, "Son of David, have mercy on us"! I mean, obviously, they believed He would. But now notice this, "Do you believe I'm able to do this? And they said unto him, Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done unto you".
What's Jesus after here? He's after their faith so that His anointing can flow and heal them. It was His will for them to be well and for them to get their eyesight. How do we know that? Well, He read the book of Isaiah. "He's anointed me to preach recovery of sight to the blind". That's one of the anointings that's on Jesus' life and ministry, was recovery of sight to the blind. Amen. And now we've already read Acts 10:38. We know from that, that it was the devil that blinded them, not God. Amen. And Jesus, we know, had come to destroy the works of the devil. Praise God.
John wrote that in I John. "He has come to destroy the works of the devil". Well, Brother, He destroyed it in that day, didn't He? "Their eyes were open". And praise God. Amen. This is so powerful, right? "Now, so, Brother Copeland, what now"? Well, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. You go back through the scriptures. Find the Scripture that covers your situation and abide in it. Abide in it. Stay in it. Look at it.
I've learned this over a period of time. When you get up in the morning, and you stand and take that first look in the mirror, don't look at yourself and say, "Oh, I'm so tired, and I'm so weak. Oh, I'm so sick. Oh, God, I'm so sick". No, no, no, no, no. All that does is make you sicker. You look at yourself in that mirror, and you say, "This one thing I know. I don't just believe this. I know this: 'Greater is He that's in me than he that's in the world.' And I know this: 'Surely he hath borne my griefs, and carried my sorrows, my sicknesses, diseases, weaknesses, and pains. And we esteemed him stricken, and smitten of God. But he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we're healed.' And I know this: 'That he cast out the devils with his Word, and he healed their sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, that "He took our infirmities and He bare our sicknesses".'"
And I know this, 'He bore my sins in his own body on the tree that I may be dead to sin and live unto righteousness by whose stripes I was healed.' I know that. I believe that, but I know that. I know that's true. I know He did that, and I receive it today. And by His stripes I was healed, then by His stripes I am healed. And I am healed today all day long".
Now, if you don't know those scriptures by heart, lay your Bible right there in front of you, but do it first. Don't put other things before the Word of God. Do it first, and do it every day. And whatever the situation is that you're facing, you find those scriptures. You take the time and you look them up. And you find them. And you feed your spirit person on it. You feed your heart, then you feed your mind on them. Jesus said, "If you abide in me". Do you abide in Him? "Yes, Brother Copeland, He is my Lord, and I am in Christ". "And my words abide in you".
Now, that's what we were talking about there, is feeding the Word into your spirit until it's alive. Abide until it's alive there. And to where you get to where you think about it off and on all day. And you take time to meditate on it. And when you're praying, you're praying based on that. "Thank God. I receive my healing because I know these things". And go back through those scriptures. Now, listen to what He said, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask what you will, and it will be done unto you". Whoa. Glory to God. There's the answer right there.
Now, remember this: The psalmist said, "The entrance of His word brings light". Also remember this: Jesus said, "Continue ye in my Word, you'll be my disciple indeed; and you'll know the truth, and the truth will make you free". Now, listen to this now. "The entrance of His word bringeth light". If I don't have the Word on it, then I don't have anything to feed my faith. My faith is just sitting there waiting because it'll work, but "Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God".
If that Word is not abiding in me, then I'm praying in the dark. "Well, God, oh, God, would you please heal me? I don't... oh, could it... well, oh, I" Huh? If you don't know the truth about it, then you're praying in the dark. And you'll ask and do things that can work against your faith instead of supporting your faith. You know, hey, don't you remember what the Word of God said when it said, "You have not because you ask not"? It didn't end there. It said, "You ask and receive not because you ask amiss".
Let me make an illustration of this. This is so simple you have to have help to misunderstand it. I get in my car, and I take the key, stick it in the ignition, and it won't turn. "What's the matter with this thing? I've got to go here". Has it ever dawned on you you've got the wrong key? Ha-ha-ha. You may have another car, same brand and so forth. I've done this, is the reason I'm saying it. And the key will go in there. I mean, it just feels great. It will not switch that ignition on, and you ain't going anywhere. Why? You've got to have the right key.
There are key issues in the realm of faith where, "Well, I'll just believe that faith comes by praying for it". Well, it doesn't. You can pray from now until doomsday, and faith doesn't come. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". Well, I just believe, you know, it, really, you go back to the thing. "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you". I know what'll work faith because I know what the Word says about it, and I'm not praying in the dark. Glory to God. I'm praying in the light! And I'm a free man.