Kenneth Copeland - Your Wealth Is in the Hundredfold
Turn with me to Mark chapter 10. I want to show you something. The Lord has been talking to me about this. He's ministered to Gloria and me out of this for many, many years, many, many times. But then just here recently again, it stirred at me once more in this incident in the life of Jesus. 17th verse. When he, Jesus, was gone forth in to the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, "Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life"? Jesus said unto him, "Why callest thou me good? There's none good but one that is God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud, not. Honor thy father and mother". He answered and said unto him, "Master, all these have I observed from my youth".
Every time I read this, it just thrilled me. Jesus beholding him, loved him. That talks to me. Doesn't it? Jesus beholding him, loved him and said unto him, "One thing thou lackest". Now, that's pretty good. I've never heard him say that to me. "Kenneth, only one thing you lack". It's more like, "Kenneth, there's only 200 things you lack". I've learned that in his role in correcting us as a loving Father and a generous Lord, a generous God, he won't pile it all on you at one time. He won't talk to you about one thing and you get to working on that and then a little while later he say, "There's something else here I can visit with you about it here again". Amen, he's so good. But I have heard him say, "What are you going to do about this"?
Well, there is no use lying. Who wrote that not good. Well, Lord, I really didn't intend to knew anything about it. I'm thinking about one particular incident right now. He said, "Why not"? I said, "Well, I was afraid I'd make a mistake". He said, "Knowing you Kenneth, you probably will". But he said, "The biggest mistake you could possibly make is be disobedient because you're afraid you're making a mistake". He said, "You make a mistake in this and I can fix it". Whoa! It wasn't as big a problem as I thought it was, but it was certainly in my way, particularly financially because I was disobedient. "Now, one thing thou lackest. Go thy way. Sell, whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Come and take up the cross and follow me".
Oh, that is very, very important. I believe that this could very well have been Judah's replacement. This is a wealthy man and he's very observant. He's strong in the Word, loves God and God loves him. And really now when you think about it, he said "Take up the cross and come go to work for me". Now, God will give you instructions, but not explanations. When he gives you instructions, now it's your turn. Amen. Then you accept it, now then again, it's his turn and he'll give you the next step. But if he gave you the whole thing, you wouldn't be walking by faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved.
Now, what does that tell us? Grief comes from a sense of loss. It grieved him. He thinks it's going to cost him everything he has and he left. Had he not left, he could have heard the rest of this teaching, but because he left, he missed it. He got sad and mad and left. Grief separated him from the major, biggest opportunity of his life, for he had great possessions. Jesus looked roundabout and saith onto his disciples, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God". Listen to verse 24: and the disciples were astonished at his Words. "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches"?
Now, there's the problem. Not having riches, but trusting them. If you trust them, they become your god and you grieve when you lose your god. That trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Now, there is a small gate in Jerusalem called the needle gate. It's a small gate, you could get a camel through there, but not loaded. You had to take all that the camel's carrying and get the animal and through and then take all the stuff through and repack. Now you know what he's referring to. You've got all that stuff on you, you can't thread the needle. Praise God. "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God". And they were astonished out of measure saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved"? "Who then can be saved"? Jesus, looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible".
Now, my question to you tonight is who you with? Who do you run with? My dad when I had the opportunity as a young man to work with him and he would walk into a client or walk into a place of business he'd say, "My name is JW Copeland. I'm with National Old Line Insurance Company in Little Rock, Arkansas". That impressed me. And then I got the ministry and I thought, "My name's Kenneth Copeland and I'm with God". I'm with God thank you very much. Praise God. Thank you Lord Jesus. How did I preach myself happy? Praise God. Then Peter began to say unto him.
Now, Peter began to say this means that he began to discuss this with Jesus, and the summary of what he said is this. "Lord, we have left all and have followed thee". Jesus answered and said, "Verily I say unto you, there is no man..." No man, no person, man or woman, no person. This is not talking man as in gender, this just talking about mankind. "There is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospel's, but he shall receive a hundred fold now in this time". Houses, brethren, sisters, mothers, children, and lands. Not wives. Houses, lands. God fully intends for his people. God created the heavens and the earth then he gave the earth to mankind to have dominion over it. Amen. To take authority over it.
We have something to say in this Earth. You shall receive a hundredfold in this time. Houses, brethren, sisters, mothers, children, lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life. Don't ignore the persecution part, but ignore the persecution. Don't be paying a bunch of attention to that, read the fourth chapter of the book of Mark and you'll find out what persecution is about. No, it's not God trying to teach you and me something. He said persecution come for the word's sake. And you get on the Word of God and Satan gonna fight you. Amen, but he's defeated, and his biggest stronghold has always been financial. That's the way he is held such a grip on the body of Christ all these years teaching and preaching poverty.
I'm going to tell you something. All of you pastors listen to me. Teaching poverty to the people from whom you receive offerings is stupid. Boy, don't be doing that. No, no. The people prosper as they're taught. Thank you, Lord. Yeah, I'll do that. Turn back to the sixth chapter of Mark. Mark chapter six, and look with me. Most people begin this passage of scripture with the 35th verse: When the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said..." But go back and look at the 34th verse. Jesus, when he came out saw much people and was moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. Then the disciples came to him, interrupted his teaching and ministering, to tell him it's getting late.
Sometimes words just got to fail me. But now see, they were not paying any attention. They were worried. "We're out here in the middle of this place. Look at people. What are we going to do with them? It gets dangerous out here in the dark. Can't anybody see how to get home? What are we going to do"? Verse 37: Jesus answered and said to them, "You give them to eat". What? Now, what I wanted you to see here particularly, particularly pastors, he taught them many things. This great miracle of increase was because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and they were listening and he taught them many things. The miracle happened in their hands. Because he gave it to his disciples they handed it to the people and as the people passed it on, it just kept being more. Gloria used to make a casserole that our kids named more. Because the whole family liked it so much that we'd say, "We want some more". Well particular John, "I want more mama. Give me some more more". Amen.
Can you see that? Can you see where that miracle came from? The people had faith for it. The disciples didn't. They obeyed, but he taught them many things. Hallelujah. And so in a crowd, under the influence of his compassion and his teaching faith rose to a high level. They didn't care what time of day it was. Amen. Their hope was high. Their faith was high and they ate more than they could hold, and faith paid for it. Somebody say amen. Glory to God. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Okay, let's go back over to 10th chapter. "He shall receive a hundredfold now in this time and in the world to come eternal life with persecutions". When people that live and walk by faith, you're going to get persecuted in whatever you do. When my dad began to prosper back then I was just a young kid. Dad and mother, oh, you talking about a tither. My dad had two bank accounts and he never let them get mixed up. And I'd go to bank with him and he would take his deposit and take his tithe out of his deposit and put it over in his tithe account. Amen. Very, very strong man to tithe. My mother very strong to tithe. Taught me that. And it was amazing how God took care of him over the years.
When that revelation on the laws that govern prosperity, I began to study it as a young man. This was before I was born again. This was before I knew anything about the spiritual laws, but I began to study that and laws that govern it. What was there in common with wealthy people? Come from different backgrounds, but what did they have in common? And it became very, very interesting thing. And then I got over it and I found that the spiritual law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. By what law works? No, but by the law of faith. These are the spiritual laws. Everything happens in the Spirit before it happens in the natural world. If you believe it and it's settled in the Spirit and then it will manifest in the physical world. People want to get it manifested in the physical world. It doesn't come there first. It can't come there first. Supernaturally. Amen. So persecution is coming, particularly, particularly when you begin to believe God financially.
And I remember when my dad first began to prosper, there was some members of our own family that thought, "Now, wait a minute. He's raised in this country like we were. How's this happening for him"? Well, it's because he and mother got a hold of the laws that govern it and they are the laws that govern seeding time and harvest. And the more you get in touch with those laws and the laws of faith, and the more you lay hold of those, the stronger they work. And you come to the place where you're like, what's stated in the book of Ephesians. Let him that stole, steal no more, but let him work with his hands that which is good in order that he may have... For a living? No, in order that he may have to give. Amen. The wealth is in the hundred fold. See, you start where you are. You honor God with what's his first. Amen. Then if you don't have much, say, "Lord, I need seed". Then when he provide you seed, don't eat it, sow it. Amen.