Kenneth Copeland - Putting the Force of Faith to Work in Ministry

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Our theme, as you know, is sustaining impact in ministry. There are laws of the Spirit. The same as there are laws that govern the natural physical world. Open your Bibles with me, please, to Hebrews chapter 11. Amen. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it, by faith, the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things, which are seen, were not made of things which do appear".

I've heard people, I even heard one situation I'm thinking about right now, where I heard a person say from the pulpit, "God created the heavens and the earth from nothing". No, no, no. Look at it again. They were made of things you cannot see. The invisible forces are far more powerful than the ones you can see. Amen. His Word and faith in that Word created everything you can see. Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Glory be to God. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And by it, he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found. Because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house".

Now notice this. "He warned of God of things not seen as yet". Do you realize... This is a magnificent picture of faith. It had never rained. What's a flood? If God said to Noah, "It's going to flood," what's that? Such a powerful word took equally as powerful faith. He and the seven other members of his family were the only two on Earth that believed Him. That's a good place to shout right there. Glory to God. I don't care if you're the only one in your whole area that believe there's a flood coming. Hallelujah. Woo, glory to God. Thank You, Lord. "Prepared an ark to the saving of his house by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out not knowing," not knowing where he's going. He went.

Study the life of Abraham, and you will find this amazing, amazing fact. God said to Abraham, "Do this," and the Scripture says and immediately he went and he did it. That's faith. Amen. That's faith. I said that's faith. Immediately he went and did it. I haven't been that sharp, but I've learned, and for many years now that has been the heart, my heart to God's heart, I want to be that man. I am determined to be that man. When He tells me what to do, and I understand what He's saying, I'm going to do it now. Not later. There ought to be one amen in here somewhere. Amen. All right. "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. He looked for a city which hath foundation whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed. And was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged Him faithful who had promised".

Write that down and make it large. Large, in your study life. When we confess our sins, 1 John 1:9, He is faithful. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, or righteous, to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Amen. There's no call for feeling guilty. There's no call for carrying that guilt, and going over and over and over and over and over. Oh. No, no, no, no, no, no, just shut up. Whenever you get into a place where you want to do that, just slap your own jaws, pow. He's faithful. When we're not faithful, He's faithful to be faithful. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord Jesus.

"Therefore spring there even of one and him as good as dead. So many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. All these died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded by them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For though that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned, and died in the desert. But now they desire a better country, that is a heavenly, where God is not ashamed to be called their God. For He hath prepared for them a city, and by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that, 'In Isaac so shall thy seed be called'".

Now listen to verse 19. This is what faith does. "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead". There's no record of God ever raising anyone, anybody from the dead at that time. But he had a promise. He had a word. Are you listening to me? He had a covenant of blood with the maker of the heavens and the Earth. That word is good enough for you, it's good enough for me. His Word is good. Bishop said to me, "Sir, it's burned in me". I'll never forget it. You looked me right in the eye and you said, "When Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you," that is backed by His blood. It is a covenant. It is a covenant". In blood. This is a blood backed book. It has no lies in it. Not only the covenant blood, previously in animals and so forth, but the precious blood of God. Thank You, Lord Jesus. I want you to look at this now.

Now notice this. "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure". He, because of that word, because he'd heard God and saw God walk in blood. Amen. Because of that, I believe with all that's in me that night when God commanded Abram to prepare the covenant, and he cut the animals from head to tail, and the halves fell, God came and walked in that blood between those animals. I believe it. I believe He saw God's footprints in that blood. If he didn't physically see them, he saw them in his spirit. Hallelujah. That's how real the covenant promises of God are. Hallelujah. Are you with me?

Now notice this. He had by faith developed an inward image of himself plunging that knife into Isaac, lighting the fire, burn the sacrifice, and watch the Almighty God raise him up from the ashes. He already had an image of that on the inside of him. This is one of the secrets of faith, real Bible faith, real Bible hope. Hope. Most people use the word hope as wish. "Are you going to receive your healing tonight"? "Well, I sure do hope so, brother Copeland". No, hope is expectant. Hope is a blueprint. Hope is a divine image. You get in the promises, you get in the Bible facts concerning healing. "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we being dead to sins and live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed". That's not a promise, that's a Bible fact. That happened. Amen.

Now as you meditate that, and meditate that, and look at that, and talk about it, and worship the Lord Jesus, the Healer, with that promise, it begins to build that inner image. You no longer see yourself sick. You no longer see yourself without. You no longer see yourself in poverty and broken down without finances to fulfill your calling and ministry. You no longer see the people in your church and the people you minister to broken down and sick. It begins to build. And all of a sudden you see it. Whoa. "I see it. I see myself healed. I see myself wealthy. I see myself full of faith and strength". I found out about 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 who hangeth on a tree,' that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles". And I thought, Well, what I need to do, I need to see how God blessed Abraham.

So accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead from whence also He received him in a figure. "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob, and Esau, concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshiped leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph...", I want you to remember now here what you're hearing and what you're seeing in the Word. What happened when by faith Isaac blessed Jacob? What did he have to do? He had to believe that what he said would come to pass. Is that not the definition of faith? "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, "Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea," shall not doubt in his heart but believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass". Believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass. "He shall have whatsoever he says". Hallelujah.

By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of departing of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child. And they were not afraid of the king's commandment. And by faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land. When the Egyptians assaying to do so were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace.

What shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, and Samson, Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised alive again, and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they may obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskin and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us.

All of these great exploits. This is the hall of fame of faith right here. If they could walk in that kind of faith and victory in the old covenant... They weren't born again. Thank God they are now, but they weren't then. Jesus had not gone to the cross. He had not died, He had not been glorified, not seated at the right hand of the Father. That's the better thing for us. We're born again. We're not believing God and His accounting to us righteousness. We've been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.