Kenneth Copeland - Become Rooted and Grounded in Love
Let's open our Bibles once again this evening to 1 John chapter 4. Little John chapter 4. Back when Kellie and John were really small, Kellie would say, "Matthew, Mark, look at John". It wasn't all that long before John finally got tired of that. What an adventure raising those two, Glory to God. Amen. Yes, amen. This little book, oh man, take time to read it. Take time to sit down and read all five chapters, just read right straight through like the numbers weren't there. Just read and ask the Lord, "Reveal yourself to me in this. You are love". Chapter 4 please, and let's read verse 8, "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love".
Now the 16th verse, well read the 15th verse, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God". Now let's read this like this in order to begin to receive concept. "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, who is love, God who is love dwells in him and he in God who is love". Now this is the way you renew your mind. We've heard a lot about God and not very much about love. We've had such a distorted idea of love by using the word love and the word God, very, very loosely without the command and respect that he and his name deserves. Amen. He is love, he has faith, he is love. You have to realize this, the word God itself was actually came out of German theology, Gott.
Now I'm standing here in front of Billye. Billye has studied the Hebrew language extensively. God is known by his names, amen. Now, God has come into the English speaking Hebrew world, the German speaking Hebrew world because the Jews were scattered all over the world. That came into their language but in Hebrew he is Elohim, he is Adonai. He is... I use the, I actually use the words like this Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei. Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei Rapha. That's his name. The healer. Now for healing to pass away, God would have to change his name. That's the reason you can only sell that to Gentiles. Because every Jew knows that God not going to change his name. You can forget that. But he is also El Shaddai. So he is love.
Let's read now beginning with the 16th verse, we read the 15th verse. Well let's read the 15th verse because you don't start anything out with "And". "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God who is love, God who is love dwelleth in him and he in God who is love and we have known and believed the love that God who is love have to us, God is love and he that dwells in love, who is God, dwells in God who is love and God who is love in him". However big God is, that's how big his love is because he doesn't have love. He is love. Now we're going to stay at this. We're going to keep doing this. We're going to keep confessing this, we're going to keep working at this and working with this to the place where every time somebody mentions God the next thing you think of is love. And somebody mentions Jesus, the next thing you think of is love. And somebody says something about love, they're talking about my God. Then you come to find out they're talking about their car. No, no don't love the things that are in the world.
The word says, the Apostle Paul by the Spirit of God wrote to Timothy, and tell those people, you know, tell the wealthy people to be ready to distribute. He didn't tell them they were wrong, get rid of all of it. No, don't be high-minded and be ready to distribute because that's the way you grow financially. "For he has given us all things richly, richly to enjoy". He didn't give you your new car to love. He gave it to you to enjoy. I was practicing these things, particularly, he gives us all things richly to enjoy. I just got a fresh new take on that and I was really enjoying it, glory to God. I had the Lord say something to me and he caught me kind of off guard. I'll ask you the same question and it's a loaded question, you understand. Does God give us things to meet our needs?
Now see some of you are afraid to answer. I told you it was a loaded question. There ain't no wrong answer here. He asked me that. I said, "Yes, of course". He said no. I give you things to enjoy and they meet your needs. See that's the way love thinks. That's the way love thinks. He gives it to you to enjoy. He didn't give it to you because you needed it. He gave it to you because he knew you'd enjoy it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Now you're going to see this, you're going to see this in the flow of verse 16, 17 and 18. Remember this book is about God is love is God. It's not only knowing the love by knowing God but by believing the love. Having faith in his love. Having faith in the knowledge that he is love.
Not just having faith in his love but having faith in him knowing he is love. He doesn't heal me because I have faith. Of course faith is the connection but he healed me because he loves me. He's not trying to make sure and push me and pressure me to get everything just exactly right so I'll learn something out of this. No. That isn't the way he operates. Amen. No he loves you. Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory. This is so rich. It's working in me but, well watch the flow of this. We have known... Let me put it like this. We have known and have faith in the love that God has to us. God is love. He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect. Don't let the perfect throw you.
That's not talking about flawless. That's talking about growing, developing, maturing. That we may have bonus in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is not fear in love. Well of course not. There's no fear in God. There couldn't be any fear in love because God is love. Amen. But then God who is love dwells in me and dwells in you and the love of God who is love has been shed abroad in your and my heart by the Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of love. Hallelujah. Amen. Oh we're going to see something here in a moment. Glory to God. You're going to be glad you came tonight. There is no fear in love. Perfected love, growing developing love practicing love casteth out fear because fear has torment.
Your heavenly Father, your Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the living God that lives on the inside of you wants you to have nothing to do with torment in any form whatsoever because the tormentor is the devil himself and you're not supposed to have any fear. None, no fear here. Amen. Walking in the commandment of love will flush it out of you. That word casteth out literally means to throw away. It also means to flush. You finally, finally, finally, finally you stir up the gift that is within you because God has not given us the spirit of fear. Love has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. You keep stirring it, and you keep stirring it and you keep loving and you keep practicing love and you keep resisting all of the unforgiveness and all of the mess that goes along with it and all temptation to become offended.
Fear is tied to that and you yield to it, fear is there. But you just keep walking in love and walking in love. I'm going to tell you what folks. There comes a day there ain't no room for fear. It's just God. Just absolutely God. They can bring you bad tidings. Turn with me, hold your place here because we have to come right back here quickly, but I want you to look at the 112th Psalm. Now we established this morning especially if you weren't here, get the recording of it. Blessed is the man, we established this morning, the blessing of the Lord is the love of God in manifestation. It is, the blessing of the Lord and the anointing, that it removes burdens and destroys yokes, is a manifestation of the anointing is a manifestation of the blessing is a manifestation of the love is a manifestation of himself. Hallelujah. Amen. There wouldn't be any blessing if the blessed one hadn't love. Thank you Lord.
Now notice it blessed, say blessed. "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delights greatly in his commandments". Brother Copeland, how could you delight greatly in all those commandments? Because I want you to know, they are born of love and everything God told you to do is because it will bless you and everything he told you not to do is because it will bless you. May I quote just a few of the commandments to you in the Spirit of the way that they were given? Don't be having some other god. I'll bless you. I want to be your God. You don't need some other God. They can't do anything. They can't even talk. Hey, don't be coveting the other man's wife. Boy come on, come on now. I got one planned better looking than she is.
If you'll listen to me, this thing will turn out right. Don't be stealing. That just gets you into trouble. I'll provide far more than you can ever figure out how to steal. If you'll just harken to my commandments, you'll blessed coming in and blessed going out. You'll be blessed in the city and blessed in the field. Just hang around with me Bubba. Everything going to turn out right here God sayeth. Then he provided all kinds of sacrifices. He provided ways to get out from under the heel of the devil so you can keep this thing. Hallelujah. It was in the spirit of blessing that God gave the commandments, not in a spirit of bondage. Hallelujah. He's the blessed God.
Now notice this. "His seed shall be mighty upon earth. The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house and his righteousness endures forever" Here is a man with wealth and riches in a big house and his righteousness is still intact. That blew that old poverty cow right out of the lot, didn't it. Under the upright there rises light in the darkness. He is gracious and full of compassion and righteous. He's full of what? Full of what? Compassion. God is the compassionate one and great is his mercy and his compassion. "A good man soweth favor and lendeth. He'll guide his affairs with discretion or good judgment. Surely he'll not be moved forever. The righteous shall be an ever lasting remembrance".
Now look at this. "He shall not be afraid". Now why shall he not be afraid? Because in verse 4 it says he's full of compassion. We just read 1 John 4:18 right then. "He's full of compassion and he doesn't have fear". Folks, this is pointing us to Jesus. I mean if you can get it in the type, you can sure get it in the real thing. This is a type of the compassion of Jesus but I want you to get this right here. "He hath dispersed, excuse me there. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established. He shall not be afraid until he see his desire upon his enemies".
Now let's go back over there where we were. I want you to see this and understand that when you're practicing the love of God, and you have made the decision to resist sin, sickness, demons and fear, and you follow the law of love, amen, and you're not walking in darkness but walking in light, there is no fear in love. Perfected love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. If there are things frightening you, if you're worrying, all worry, all doubt, all unbelief is fear based and fear dependent. Fear tolerated is faith contaminated. Don't tolerate it and the moment you sense it, the moment... Yeah but what if...
The moment that starts coming out your mouth just shut that up. God said what he said. Believe it. Believe the love, not the yeah, but what if. You can switch that around. That can either be the badge of doubt... Yeah but... But yeah but I know Brother so and so and he believed God and he died. I got some news for you sweetheart. You're going to die too. It's coming so brace yourself. You should have known that by the time you were four years old. You are going to die. Now you have a whole lot to say about when and under what conditions, amen. Hallelujah. Particularly when you learn to walk in love. Now then, go with me to the book of Ephesians. Well I didn't finish my statement there. Yeah, but can be a badge of unbelief. But it can also be the badge of faith.
When the devil comes along and says, you have had it. They're going to take your ministry away from you. You can't do this. You can't make this. You say, yeah but God loves Kenneth. This changes everything. Then the devil starts in on you. Yeah but God loves me. Yeah but God loves me. The doctor says you got the floppy jaundice. Oh really? Yeah, but God loves me. Yeah but God loves you. Yes. Got the floppy jaundice. with a double fling-jitis. Yeah but God loves me. I don't care what they say on the evening news. There's healing for that. You sit there and you know and all, all of those, all of those medicine commercials come on. You know just about supper time, amen. Particularly the guy with the smile on his face and they're reading off the side effects that in some cases can bring severe depression and he's standing there still with a smile on his face. Oh yeah? Oh yes.
Learn to talk back to the TV or cut it off. They go out there and start talking about that, just holler back at it and say, "Yeah but there's healing for that. There's healing for that". I don't care what it is. I don't care what you coming up there with. There's healing for that. There's healing for that. Glory to God because God loves me. God loves my family. I refuse to be afraid. I refuse to take the pain. I refuse to take that sickness or disease. Let's go now to Mark chapter 4. Hallelujah. 14 through 20, I want you to notice this. "The sower sows the Word. These are they by the wayside where the Word is sown, when they have heard Satan cometh immediately to take away the Word that was sown in their hearts. These are they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness and have no root in themselves and so endure but for a time. Afterward when affliction or persecution arises for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended".
You notice Jesus listed become offended the number one listed. That's the one Satan uses the most. Persecution doesn't come to teach you something. The scripture said, Jesus said persecution arises for the word's sake. The sower sows the word and Satan is out to steal it. Now some people quote in the 10th chapter of John, "The thief cometh but for to kill, steal and destroy", but that's not what it says. It says, "He comes but for to steal, kill and destroy". His primary mission is, he's not out to steal your money. He's not out to steal your life. He's out to steal the Word. If he can steal the Word he got your money. If he can steal the Word he's got your life. If he can steal the Word he's got you. Amen. He can't just come kill. Did you hear me? He can't just come kill. He has to steal the word first.
Why is he so excited about stealing the Word? Why is this thing such a big thing to him? Because God designed it, love designed it so you could have 100 fold return. Making heaven the best investment you ever had in your life. Making the Gospel the biggest investment, the most, the highest returning investment on the face of the planet. Glory to God. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. That's the way it was designed because the devil knows, see you believe it in your heart, you say it with your mouth, then God does what you say. That's just the way this thing works. Mark 11:22, "Have faith in God. Have faith in love". Have faith in love.
Well faith works exactly the same in every arena. Mark 11:22, 23, 24, 25 and the 25th verse will reveal it to you right there. "When you stand praying forgive. If you have ought against anyone". Why? Because you want faith to work. And faith worketh by love. Well of course it does. God is love. Faith without God won't work. That was deep. You need to get a hold of that. Now, offense. Becoming offended. I want you to see that. Immediately they are offended. Offense. Strife. Unforgiveness. Things that open the door for Satan to steal that Word. Now they have no root in themselves.
Let's go to the book of Ephesians, chapter 3. Ephesians 3:14, "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". Remember Christ, the Greek word Christ, these people read this in Greek. When they read Christ, it never... There was no way that it ever occurred to him that this was some kind of title or maybe this was some sort of badge or religious name. No. They didn't... Now if they had written it in Greek like this, if they had written Greek up to the word Christ and then put in there anointed, then they would have had the same trouble with the word anointed that you and I have with the word Christ because it's Greek. They would be reading an English word and have no idea what it meant. It's just some religious word. Or he could have written Messiah. But if they didn't speak Hebrew they wouldn't know what that was either. But the Greek word Christ is translation of the Hebrew word Messiah which translated into English is anointing.
Now why was he called that? Because that's what he preached everywhere he went. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. They knew what his name was. His name was not anointed. He preached everywhere he went from the 61st chapter of the book of Isaiah. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he's anointed me". He's anointed me. He's anointed me. Do you remember... I'll just use one case for instance the blind man shouted out, "Son of David, Son of David". They said "Be quiet, be quiet". "Son of David, have mercy on me". He got healed. What was he shouting? Son of David, son of David.
Son of David is the Christ. Amen. He was calling him exactly who he was but I want you to notice, he wasn't calling him that because that's what he preached. Had that been so, he would have called him anointed one or he would have called him Jesus but he called him, he literally was calling him Messiah. He believed he was the son of David and he shouted it and mercy moved him. Hallelujah. That ought to stir you to the core of your bones, Glory to God because he is still full of mercy and compassion. He is compassion manifested, living in manifested love is the plan of the most high God sayeth the Lord.
I intend for you to live there. I intend for you to enjoy life there. Be quick to listen for my words. Account me as the one who tenderly loves and cares for you. Pay attention to my written Word. Pay attention to my preached Word and pay attention and listen and I will speak my Word into your own heart and that love will rise up on the inside of you and begin to manifest in you and you will begin to walk in a life filled with manifested love. If you will, turn in your Bible to the gospel of John and I will show you sayeth the Lord. Well let's do what he said. Turn over there. We'll go back to Ephesians one of these days, maybe. Praise God.
14th chapter of John. Oh thank you Jesus. Look at the 21st verse, "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and I will manifest myself to him". Glory to God. Oh you missed a chance to shout. That should excite you. Do you see what he has said to you and me? Yeah, but Brother Copeland, I'm not going to keep all those commandments. I'm going to read it to you again. Turn over there to the book of Romans, Glory to God. The 13th chapter, oh Glory to God. The 9th verse, "For this thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet. If there be any other commandment", if there be any other commandment, if there be any other commandment, "It is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself".
Now put your eyes on it again and read it slowly out loud with me. "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and I will manifest myself to him". He's not withholding manifestation of himself to us. He's not withholding that. He's not holding out on us. All we need to do is what he said and begin to say what he said and begin to walk in love. It is a commandment you understand. It's not a suggestion. We're soldiers in the army of the Lord and we have a commandment, Glory to God and we'll be walking in it. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, love your neighbor as yourself and love the brethren even as he loved the brethren. That fulfills the law of Jesus. The law of Moses. The laws and commandments of God are all wrapped up in that one place.
That little book of 1 John gives you the keys to all of this, starting in the very first chapter. "I write these things unto you that your joy may be full". So read it until the joy comes. Don't just flip through it a couple times and say well I didn't get anything out of that. Well just keep reading. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over. It's coming. It's coming. It will break forth and you'll break through. Hallelujah. Why? Because he'll manifest himself to you. He'll manifest himself to you. Glory to God. Amen. Things begin to happen that never happened to you before.
And let's go back to the book of Ephesians. I'll at least introduce a little of this. In this 3rd chapter again, verse 16, "That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that the anointed one and his anointing may dwell in your heart by faith that you", remember Satan comes immediately. They have no root. They have no root in themselves and so endure but for a while. Hey here it is right here. Here it is, right here. "That you being rooted and grounded in love who is God, who is love, is dwelling in you, shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit who's the spirit of love".
This is what we're doing in these lessons. We're grounding, grounding, coming to the place where we're quick to realize that God is love and that love is God. When you're talking about one you're talking about the other and he never changes. Never. That you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend divine comprehension, divine understanding. You can't get there without faith and faith works by love and without being rooted and grounded in love and walking in it all the time, and then when you get out, repent. When you get out repent because John started the first chapter right there in the book of 1 John by saying he is faithful and he is just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess it.
Well but you just don't understand what I did. No I know. You don't understand that God is love. Amen. He loves you. You can't make him not love you. There's no crime bad enough to make him not love you. He is love. He'd have to deny himself not to love you. Hallelujah. We're just about there. "May comprehend with all the saints". This is for every born again child of God. "What is the breadth, the length, the depth and the height". Okay, breadth, length, depth and height of what? "And to know we have known and believed the love".
Now he's talking about that you may know the love of the anointed one. He's saying here that's God. God is love and the manifestation of his anointing that removes burdens and destroys yokes is a manifestation of the blessing of the Lord which came on you, the blessing of Abraham when you made him Lord and Savior but you need comprehension of it and unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. That what he is saying here and I'll just read it straight out to you, "That you may be able to comprehend what is the breadth, the length, the depth and height and to know the love", to know and have comprehension of how wide God is, how long God is, how deep God is and how high God is.
Why Brother Copeland, you know nobody can understand God. You can if God's the teacher and you're walking in love because love obeyed your and my little peanut brain in something that's bigger than all of us put together. It passes all understanding but all the understanding that it passes, you understand it. Amen. There's comprehension here and the word translated comprehension is more than basic understanding. You can have basic understanding of something and not really comprehend it. Amen.
I've used this illustration before and it's quick and it works. Everybody in here and everybody watching on television, I guess everybody understands that airplanes fly and that you can for a price, go get a ticket, get on it and go somewhere. You understand that. That's not all that deep. Now the difference is in your understanding of that and my understanding of it because I just spent more time learning it than you have and I understand how to fly the airplane instead of just ride in it.
Well there's a vast difference in there. Well now think about, what we're talking about is understanding God and how he lives and how he works and he how he thinks and the ins and outs of him and understanding him and comprehending him. There are other people that are just kind of skimming the surface. Thank God they're coming to time when they part this life, they're going to go to Heaven and Heaven's good under all circumstances. Oh but let me tell you something my darling. You can have some Heaven on earth. And the more you get into the love of God and the more you begin to comprehend about him and the more you begin to understand and have insight, ideas and concept of his Word and how he thinks and how he works, glory to God.
Well you know he's very mysterious. Yes. He is. But we in on the mystery. He and I speak mysteries. Albeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. I just spoke a mystery to the Lord. Yeah, but Brother Copeland, you didn't know what you said. I know. I wasn't talking to me. He understands every word I said, but I can pray until I can find out what I said. Amen. Oh yeah, it's not hidden. You just need to get in, get on the inside, in the Spirit track and believe you receive according to Mark 11:24 while it's still a mystery. Because it's your mystery and it's for you. You have a way of divine communication. It's you expressing the sound and the words are a supernatural gift from God. Hallelujah. That right there ought to be enough to get you excited about these things.
People, when they're first beginning to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and get nervous about speaking in tongues, well I'm afraid I might say the wrong thing. Sweetheart, you've been saying the wrong thing all your life and God ain't never come down on you for it now. Why should he come down on you now when you're coming towards him. He's a loving Father. Didn't he say it in the Word. If a son should ask a father for food, is he going to get a snake and a scorpion? No. Not from a loving Father. No. Now some fool of a father might say, boy I know what you want. I know what you need. You don't know what you want. You too dumb to know. I know. I'm your daddy. You don't, you don't need bread. You need a rock. I have a word for that. To hell with it.
That's just how I feel about that. That's where it came from. Let it go back. Amen. No. Just open your darling mouth and let her roll. Hallelujah. My Father loves me and we talk mysteries together. Hallelujah. And when I miss it he forgives me and he leads me out of my mess, one after another glory to God and we're still talking and we're still loving and he cares for me. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Hey that will fix what ails you. To know the love of the anointed one and his anointing that passes knowledge, why?
Now notice the steps. Faith then rooted and grounded in love, then comes comprehension. Then comes being filled with the fullness of God. Look at it. That, this is the point of it. This is the point of the whole thing. To know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge, that you might be filled with all, say all, all, all the fullness of God who is love. Now comes the purpose of God. Now unto him. See you're walking all these steps. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power, according to the dunamis. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and dunamis. According to the dynamic power, the miracle power that is working in you right now.
We're a miracle working church. We are a power working church and it's time to get the miracles back. It's time to get the walking on the water back. It's time to get the deliverance back. We saw it in here tonight, Glory to God and it's going to become more and more and more. The time will come and you will see it sayeth the Lord when people walk through the doors and whatever kind of sin is in their life, whatever kind of addiction is on them, they're going to fall in the floor under the power of my love and they'll get up born again and they'll get up baptized in the Holy Ghost and they'll get up clear and delivered from every kind of addiction that the devil has any authority over. You watch it come to pass. You watch it come to pass. I said you watch it come to pass. Glory to God.