Kenneth Copeland - Practice His Presence To Develop Your Spirit
Hello everybody, it's time again for the Believers Voice of Victory broadcast. I'm Kenneth Copeland.
Father, thank you today. We've had such a wonderful time all last week and all this week. Glory to God and you've just met us and been so wonderful to minister to us and we thank you and we praise you for revelation from heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Hallelujah. We're talking about developing and training or educating. Train up a child in the way that he should go. Training, training. There's a difference between education and training. Training, you know, I've been flying airplanes for 57 years and still you don't ever quit training and the, the Citation 10 that I've been flying now for, wow, 12 or 13 years and we go back to recurrent training and get in that simulator. Well today, glory to God, back in the years gone by when I used to train. Thank you, Lord. I'm glad you reminded me that. I would sit at home... we didn't have simulators and this was back before I was in, well, they've done the... But anyway, I would sit at home in a chair and this was before I knew anything about faith. And I'd see that cockpit, what am I doing? Meditating.
I'd see it and think about it and I'd see myself put the power up, achieve that airspeed indicator. It go up to the, I'm flying a twin, now. You understand, propeller twin. And I put that power up and I'm watching my instruments. And I see my airspeed go up past the red line, which is the minimum control speed. I cannot dare lift that airplane off the ground until I get past that particular speed and I get up. It's time for me to take off. I'm seeing this sitting at home. Oh, I lost that right engine. What do I do? And I see myself going through the procedures. I used to do that by the hour.
And I remember when I first started learning how to live and walk by faith. That we walk by faith, not by sight. That I don't believe because of what I see or what I feel. And it dawned on me, I said, "Gloria, I already know how to do this. I learned to do this when I learned how to fly instruments". I had to learn not to trust my feelings. If I can't see outside this airplane because I get vertigo and don't know it, I can be turning and think I'm flying straight and level or flying straight and level... This is what's most dangerous. Be Flying straight and level and think I'm turning and try to straighten it out. And then I started turning and don't know it.
So you believe those gauges, those instruments right there in front of you. Don't you dare fly this thing by what you feel. Don't you dare do it. You believe those instruments in front of me. And I told Gloria, I said, "This is a piece of cake". I couldn't fly instruments by what I feel and I can't live by what I feel. Glory to God. My feelings will lie to me, but the instruments won't. This is my instrument panel right here. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord Jesus. Praise God. Thank you Lord.
Let's go back over here where we were yesterday in 1 Peter, chapter 3. We're talking about developing training and born again, human spirit. The first thing was meditation and the word. The second one would be a doer of the word. Act on the word of God. Quickly as you would the word of a lawyer, a doctor, or a very trusted friend. Put the word first place in your life as final authority. Believe the Bible. Believe what God said. Amen. And I heard brother Hagan say this years and years ago, and it just stuck to me. act like the New Testament's true. Quit acting like you're sick. Act like the New Testament's so. Act like it's true. Amen.
Now, then 1 Peter, chapter 3, verse 4. "Let it be the hidden man of the heart". Now he was saying something here. Now this is good to bring this up. "Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the congress, by their manner of life". That's just huge. Man, I'm telling you, godly wives have power. Amen. My wife taught me how to love, so we have lived, it'll be 57 years in just a few days. Without strife. I entered into it. She wouldn't, but she taught me. Now we do not fuss. We don't have any fusses. I can't remember the last time. Isn't that wonderful?
Well, we could never do that. Yeah, you're right. You said it so you can't. Anyway. Yes you can. And it ain't too late to start either. All right. "While they behold your chaste conversation or manner of life coupled. With fear whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of plaiting the hair wearing of gold or putting on of apparel". Well, now, you see there now, women are not... You ain't supposed to be plaiting your hair and wearing gold. If that be the case, then you're not supposed to wear clothes. Putting on of apparel. See it's the carnal mind just takes off on that. Has little to nothing to do with anything. Amen. What is he saying? Quit paying so much attention to this, to this body, it's the hidden man of the heart. Pay attention, develop this inner man. Instead of some religious idea of what kind of clothes you're supposed to wear.
Now that's between you and the Lord. You wear what you want to wear. Well, Brother Copeland you just wear blue suits all the time. Gloria likes blue suits. I dress to please her. And besides that I like blue suits. I like blue shirts. I even had on a red shirt yesterday. Amen. But don't. What do you say it? And don't get hung up on this outer man. It's the hidden man. It's the man you can't see. It's the man you can't feel that needs to grow up. Hallelujah. And to him in all things and become and adult. Let's go back to the book of Hebrews. We're going to have to read it that again since it's on Friday. And the fifth chapter of the book of Hebrews and this, from this comes the statement, the ministry statement of this ministry.
Verse 12 of the fifth chapter of Hebrews. "For when for the time you ought to be teaching". By this time you should be teaching this stuff. "You have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God and are become as such as have need of milk and not strong meat". Everyone that uses milk... Now nothing wrong with milk. Peter said, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby, but I'll tell you what. There are churches that don't even have milk. There ain't nothing there you can grow on. Just religion. That's genetically altered Bible. Шf there is a such thing, but it's not the Bible. It's religion made out of the Bible. And a lot of people, a lot of people never read their Bible and carry it to church. And never open it except when a preacher reads a text out of it. That's not a doer of the word. Everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness.
Now, wait a minute. Think about the full armor of God. Huh? That's armor. Unskillful in the word of God. Think about it. The sword. Praise God. Come on, skillful in the use of this word. Strong for word of righteousness, for he is a baby. Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even though those who by reason of use have their senses exercised or trained to discern both good and evil. And you don't get hoodwinked by the con, by the devil. Now let's talk about this a moment. This still small voice.
The reason when we read that yesterday from 1 Kings but because of time I don't want to go back over there and read that again, but you know it says there was a strong wind, but God wasn't in the wind and there was an earthquake. God wasn't in the earthquake, that he was in the small, still small voice. The scripture also says, the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord. The entrance of his word brings light. We are children of the light. God is light so that we're born again people. God is a spirit, so he's dealing with our spirits, not our minds. His word will deal with your mind. How do you come to the place? I said a moment ago when I pick up the phone and Kellie says something, I know it's Kellie. How do I know it's her? Because I listen to her. I've known her all of her life. I know how she sounds. Amen.
So, years ago I was in Oklahoma and I had a meeting in Oklahoma City and during the day before the service at night, I was praying and so forth and so on. And I mean this is, I mean, this is like over 40 years ago. More like 45 years ago or 46. I was not a stranger to listen to the voice of the Lord. But you got to take some time here and don't start with big stuff. Yes or no answer, you know? But in this case, I had been praying in the spirit for quite some time there. And that's one of the absolute keys is being baptized in the Holy Ghost and speaking and praying in other tongues. That's the gateway to the supernatural. Anyway but born again people without the baptism of the Holy Ghost can still hear the voice of God. Because he's in there.
Anyway, I heard that the Lord was about some different things. And all of a sudden I heard something right on the end of it there and it didn't fit right... It sounded like to me that it was bringing attention to me. And I don't like that. It's not about me. It's about Jesus. And I want to bring attention to him. I'm not strong. I'm strong in the Lord. I'm not righteous. I've been made the righteousness of God in him. You understand. So I thought about that and I went back to my hotel room then and I couldn't get that off my mind. So I just sat there and prayed in the spirit in tongues there for a little while.
Now the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching, like shining a light and it uses the word belly. Well, that's pointing to this area right in here. And you can, you can tell it from this more like this, and you need to be where... you just, and don't be, listen to me. Don't be seeking voices. Ah, there's nowhere in here that is promised you will hear audible voices. So don't be after that. Boy, I'm telling you, you getting more and more trouble and you can stir. What God promises you can have faith for. He never promised you He'd speak to you audibly. If he does, fine. But even if you hear an audible voice, you make sure you got at least two, better and three scriptures to back that up. And until I get that, I'm not going there.
And this thing bothered me. And so out of praying that. And I said, well, what about this? And very plainly, right in there, he said, now you have seen and heard impersonators. And I used to do a certain amount of that and when I was back there years ago in entertainment. And and I enjoy it. And I really enjoy people that are, that are good at that. And you hear and see some guy and you think, man, he sounds exactly like that guy. But if you hear him up next to the guy, you can tell the difference. I only know of one that I ever saw. And and it was Sammy Davis Jr. It was back during the days of the Frank Sinatra Show. And it was days of black and white television and Mr. Sinatra would go from this one spotlight to the next, coming down til he got, and singing. Til he got down to the bottom of the stairs. And then he wasn't silhouetted anymore.
And you know, Sinatra wore that signature hat all the time and you could see that as he was silhouetted me had an overcoat, a trench coat over his shoulder. It was very again, most signature and silhouetted it looked just like him. And the voice was Sinatra. Except when he got down here just bottom of the stage and the lights came up it was Sammy Davis. And he's singing. Out comes Sinatra and Sinatra starts singing. And they still sounded exactly alike. I had never witnessed that. But now, let me tell you what I heard Sammy Davis say, now this is important. He said, "I had to quit that. I had to quit impersonating other people". Because he said, "I realized I was losing my own voice in there somewhere".
Now, another very famous impersonator said something. I want to get this over to you too. Familiar spirits. Familiar spirits. I won't use this man's name because of what I'm going to say. And he was really, really good. This particular guy, great singing voice, and this is what he did. I mean this was his claim to fame was impersonation. He could hit notes as a singer whom he was impersonating that he couldn't hit in the natural. He's getting some help from somewhere. Are you listening to me now? All right. This voice, develop it, develop it over a period of time. Talk to him all the time. Practice his presence. Now that's what the Lord showed me that day. And what I heard was a little insert that the devil stuck in there. Now see, yeah I thought I caught you. That don't ring right, see. It sounded right. But it didn't ring right in my heart. I don't care what you get, you check it out with the book and I don't care who says it, me or anybody else, you check it out with the book.
Now, in closing this, Genesis 12:4. Oh, we got to hurry. Genesis chapter 12, verse 4, verse 1. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram get out of your country and from your kindred, from your father's house unto the land I'll show thee. I'll make of you a great nation. I'll bless you and make your name great". And in the third verse, "I'll bless them. Bless them, encourage them, curse you. So Abraham departed". He didn't said, well, Lord, I don't know where I'm going. He just got up and left. Find out the will of God and that's when you ask the questions and search the scriptures and visit with, not everybody, but people in, faith people. Because most people like Brother Roberts told me, he said, "People will tell you you can't".
Number two, confer no longer with flesh and blood. Once you know the will of God, don't talk to other people about it. They'll try to talk you out of it. Number three, get your job done at all costs. Once you know the will of God. Get her done, brother. Now see, I don't have to question anybody about the will of God when it comes to my healing. Hey, this is the will of God. Amen. You go to this. This is the will of God. Faith starts where the will of God is known. I'm talking about when you're praying about what I'm supposed to do about this, but listen to this inner man. Listen here, listen. And I get something in here And I'll sit down with Gloria and I'll say, what do you think about this? Why? What? How does this sit with you?
I don't go out and I'm not going to come ask you about it. I'm sure not going to ask somebody I don't know. I got a certain member of my family, I love them, but I'm not going to ask them about it. Now they're out. I have other members of my family will say, "Well glory to God Brother Kenneth if that's what he's saying, get it done. And we're out of time. Amen. Number one, find out the will of God. That's when you ask a question to search for the scriptures. Listen to this inner man. Number two confer no longer with flesh and blood. What am I telling you? Do what God says do and do it now. And do it like he said, do it. Take the time to find out. Can you say amen?