Kenneth Copeland - Wake Up to Righteousness
Now Lord, we come before your Word tonight with expectant hearts. Open the eyes of our understanding and just fill us with revelation from heaven, glory to God. And we give you all the praise, all the honor and all of the glory. I've said it before and I'm praying it again this evening, not one person in the sound of my voice tonight will go untouched by the power of the living Almighty God who's more than enough. The El Shaddai God, in Jesus' Name we pray, amen.
Glory to God. Somebody give the Lord praise. Somebody give the Lord praise. I said, somebody give the Lord praise. Thank you, Lord Jesus, praise you for it Lord. Now, we've been talking about the righteousness of God, and let's recap here just for a moment. If you'll open your Bibles please, to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Powerful, powerful chapter. Let's begin reading with verse six. "Therefore we are always confident knowing that while we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord". Read it with me, "for we walk by faith and not by sight". Say it, "we walk by faith and not by sight".
So now sight would indicate the five physical senses. We walk by faith and not by what we feel. We walk by faith and not by anything the physical body says. Say this, "I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm not moved by what I see. I'm moved only by what I believe. And I believe the Word of the living God. For I walk by faith. I live by faith. In the name of Jesus". Now, how many times does the Bible say, the just shall live by faith? You know what that says? Just and righteous have the same Greek root word. The righteous live by faith. The right-standing with God live by faith. Oh, glory, glory, glory. I say, glory, glory, glory, glory. Hallelujah. I'm already happy.
Now, let's go on over here now, verse 15. "And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again". We live unto him, we don't live unto ourselves. We're part of a body, we're part of a team, we're a family. Sir? Yeah, well, of course I'll do that. Hold your, put your marker or something there, and just bump over here quickly to the book of Ephesians. In chapter three, those of you that are partners, you recognize this because it's right there on the bottom of your partner letters. One of the things that I've prayed for you.
Verse 14: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father". "Unto the Father". "The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom"... Not of Jesus, but of the Father. "Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named". The whole family in heaven and earth is named after the Father. What's his name? Jehovah-Rapha. Jehovah-Rapha, that's his name. He's my healer, glory to God, that's his name. Amen. Jehovah-Jireh. Aha, my provider. Praise God. And you could go on and on and on. Praise God.
Now, let's go back now where we were. "Therefore, now, because of all this, if any man, any person, any man or any woman be in Christ, he is a new creature", a new creation, a species of being, a very unique person. There's not one more human being like you ever in existence or ever will be. You are absolutely unique. Oh, brother, calm down, don't start that all business, I mean, nothing but your fingerprints to prove that. Amen, glory to God. "Oh, things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new, and all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To know that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself and not imputing, or not holding against them, their trespasses, and as committed under us the word of reconciliation".
Well, what do you mean he's not holding against them their trespasses? No, no, no, Jesus already fixed that. Oh, Brother Copeland, I don't know, well, okay. All right. Here's what that means. He is not holding against you, me or anyone else any sin that we have ever committed. No, no. He's not holding against you. Jesus bore the sins of the world with his own body on that tree. Praise God. He bore them.
So, oh. I baptized a serial killer in the County jail in San Antonio, Texas. Let me read you something. This man, a serial killer, 21 women. 21! March the 13th, 1985. I was the last person to visit with him, and he accepted the Lord in the car of a woman that he'd kidnapped. And she just kept telling him, she loved him. Maggie just kept saying... And he said, "Woman, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna kill you". And she said, "Well, all right, can I listen to my tape"? He said, "I don't care what you listen to, just shut up". And she had one of my tapes in her tape player in her car. And he listened to that. And I won't go into all of that, but he accepted the Lord Jesus. And then he asked if I would come baptize him, and of course I did. And then he and I became good friends. And I was the last one to visit with him right before they executed him. And this is the prayer that he prayed:
Heavenly Father, I give thanks for this time. For the time that we have been together, the fellowship in your word, the Christian family presented to me, and he called the names of the personal witnesses. Allow your Holy Spirit to flow as I know your love has been showered upon me. Forgive them for they don't know what they're doing as I know you've forgiven me as I've forgiven them. Lord Jesus, I commit my soul to you. I praise you and I thank you.
Oh, Brother Copeland, he's a serial killer. No he wasn't. You just said he was. That's what he used to be, a new creation, brand new spirit man. Hallelujah. This is powerful. This man went to heaven, the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I've seen it happen over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. I've been ministering in prison for a lot of years, and I've experienced this. Hey, I won't take time to go into all of that, but I wanted you to see the reality of this, the new creation, the new creature.
Now then, let's turn to... Well, let me read on down here. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ stead, you be reconciled to God. He's already reconciled. Now, you be reconciled to God for he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". And as I said, did you ever commit any righteousness? No, our righteousness was as filthy rags. None righteous, no, not one. Did Jesus ever commit any sin? Absolutely not, he was made to be sin.
So, he was made to be sin with your and my sin. And we were made the righteousness of God with his righteousness. What does righteousness mean? Right-standing with God. Right-standing in all ways. Praise God. We all the same rights that Jesus has, we have all the same authority, we have every right to use his name. Praise God. Absolutely, amen. We're his joint heir, we're the righteousness of God in him.
Now then, 1 Corinthians: 15. Let's go back a couple of pages. The 34th verse. "Awake to righteousness and sin not. Awake to righteousness and sin not". Awake, wake up. Wake up to the fact that you are the righteousness of God. Wake up, wake up. What is it saying here? Come on, develop a right-standing with God consciousness. I'm in right-standing with him. Praise God. I don't wanna, hey, I don't wanna mess that up. No, no, no, you're not gonna mess that up. Well, Brother Copeland, it just seems like to me that this is the same old sin, this same old things just keeps coming back and just keep coming back and just keep coming back. Well, yeah, it will, as long as you allow it.
All right, 1 John: 1. "That which was from the beginning which we have heard, excuse me, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, the word", that's spoken about Jesus, "he's the word of life for the life was manifested, and we've seen it. And bear witness and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ". Hey, we fellowship with him, we're a family, we're family. We're named after the Father. We're family. Hallelujah. And we're a right-standing, we're the just and we live by faith. We're the righteous and we live by faith. Hallelujah, praise God. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Now, follow me in here. "These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full". Whoa, and the joy of the Lord is your strength, right? "This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful".
Are you seeing that? He's faithful and just. He has to forgive us our sins when we confess them. He has to, he's righteous. He's righteous. And he forgives. He's righteous, and he cleanses. Not when you feel better about it. I know you just feel, but I'm not moved by what I feel. I'm not moved by what I see in here. I'm moved by this. This is a covenant promise, we're covenant people, a blood covenant. We're covenanted together as believers. We've been talking about that for weeks and weeks and weeks now, particularly if you've been watching the dailies on the network, praise God. And the things that the Lord honored me to teach to the students of KCBC. Hallelujah. This blood covenant.
When you become covenant-minded well you just think covenant, you think that way, covenant is everything. I mean, every time I see that, "if we confess our sins, he's faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". That's a blood-sworn oath, glory to God. And I'm a blood covenant believer. And the fact that he said in this book of the second covenant, in his blood, the fact that he said in this book that we have been made the righteousness of God in him, then I am the righteousness of God in him. That's who I am, that's what I am, glory to God. And I awake to that righteousness, I awake to that, and I'm quick to repent. Glory to God. Quick to receive by faith that forgiveness, I'm cleansed, glory. And I may still just feel dirty, well, our feelings don't have anything to do with. I mean, you get to where you... Just go ahead and smile anyway. Say thank you, Lord, thank you.
You know, you know the whole truth about this, but sir, Oh my God, Oh my Lord, Jesus, Oh God, Oh God. I wish I hadn't done that, but I did. I did, I did it. Don't call it your problem, call it the sin, and call it by its nasty name, whatever it was. Well, I'm working on it. Well, you're wasting your time, you'll be still doing it this time next year if you live that long. No, no, be quick to repent. Say, Lord, forgive me, sir. Glory to God, in the name of Jesus I confess that, I confess that sin. I did that, I did it. But in the name and the mighty name of Jesus, thank you, Lord Jesus. You are my high priest, sir. Glory to God. Oh, oh, my, my, my. I confess that sin. And right now I believe I'll receive my forgiveness. I believe I take it now. It's mine. I take my cleansing from this unrighteousness. I take my cleansing because you're righteous and you're just, and you promised it and you'd do it. Hallelujah. Thank you, sir. I'm cleansed and I'm clean of it, I'm innocent of that charge. Glory to God.
Isn't that marvelous? Thank you Jesus. Now, then, you are the righteousness of God, so the struggle is over. You are the righteousness of God, your struggle is over. What? I don't understand that Brother Copeland. The struggle to trying to have faith, the struggle under the pressure... Ah, I don't know. Oh, this is bothering me. That's not a righteousness consciousness, that's a sin consciousness. 1 John 4:4. "Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world". Oh yeah, he's in there. Yeah, he's in there. He's right here. Well, sometimes Brother Copeland, I just don't feel like my prayers, got any higher than the ceiling. Really? They don't need to get any higher than this. Cause he's right here. Once you get that concept, you're not praying off like this.
Hey, come on. Of course, we worship him, and of course he's in heaven. And of course he hears and he's interceding, he intercedes for us day and night. But hey, he's right here. When you were just a little guy, and they said, "Now you asked Jesus into your heart". And you said, "Jesus, come into my heart". And they said, "Now, where is he"? "He's right here, He's right here in my heart". That's exactly right. Ain't that wonderful? Well, now that you're grown, believe that. Stay with it, hang on to it. As he is, so are we in this world. As he is, so are we in this world. How is he? He's righteous, so are we.
Now, you don't grow in righteousness. Righteousness... I agree with Brother Hagin and the more I teach it and preach it, I see where Brother Hagin is absolutely correct. This is the most understood thing in both covenants, righteousness. That's not holiness. It's righteousness. It's being right with God. The moment you got born again, you got right with God. That's an old saying, you better get right with your maker. What'd that mean? You need to become the righteousness of God. Right-standing with him.