Kenneth Copeland - The Power Of Your Faithfulness To God
Now open your Bibles with me once again this evening and receiving our offering. We're going to go back to John chapter six and continue from there so that when Jesus... verse four. The Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he sayeth unto Philip. Now listen, this is so vitally important. Most particularly when you're under a lot of pressure and you need to hear from heaven. Amen. You don't do all the talking.
The great preacher Rufus Mosley. Praise God. He'd say, I heard tapes of him and he went home and be the Lord long... I think 1940s? Something like that. You can look him up. He was praying. Lying in the floor, just praying this as hard as he could, and he stopped and thought, here lies a fool, that knows nothing, doing all the talking to somebody knows everything. Yeah, I've been through that. I told you about that last night or this morning before the service service. I did the same thing.
Anyway, now listen to this very, very carefully. He said, to Phillip, where? Didn't say anything about the people didn't say anything about money. He said, where? Where shall we buy bread that these may eat. Where? Where are we going to locate it? Well, they're out in the desert. This is looking rougher all the time. Where shall we buy bread that these may eat? This he said to prove him. He said this to test him. He wanted to see. He wanted to see if he's listening or not. For he himself knew what he would do. He already had it planned out. He already has your deal planned out. Amen? Philip answered. 200 pennyworth. In other words, a whole year's wages.
I showed you that, that that little Denaris last night in the service, a real one. It's not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little. One of the disciples, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, sayeth unto him, there's a lad here which has five barley loaves and two small fishes. Those little Triscuit sized crackers that I showed you last night.
Well, what are they among so many crackers and sardines? I mean, come on. But where, Jesus said. Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would, and when they were all filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore, they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above under them that had eaten. Isn't that marvelous.
Now, then tonight, let's look at the 10th chapter of Mark's gospel. Mark chapter 10. And lets begin to read at the 17th verse, and when he was gone forth into the way they came, one running and kneeled to him and asked him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life, Zoe, eternal life. Jesus said unto him, why call me good? There is none good but one that is God. You know, you already know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud, not honor your father and your mother. And he answered and said unto him, master all these things I have observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, one thing you lack, that's pretty good isn't it? One thing, one thing you lake, go your way. Sell whatsoever you have and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Come, take up the cross and follow me.
David, He didn't say that to anybody, but the apostles that he picked, this is a good manager of money. Now, I'm just saying, now, just think about it a minute. Wouldn't this have been a great replacement for Judas? He didn't have, I don't care how mad he got. I don't care how sad he got, I don't care how grieved he got. He didn't need to leave. He didn't need to go away. He could have said, Rabbi, I don't understand a word of that. I don't get it. That grieves me. It kinda makes me mad at you for even telling me something like that. But Hey, you're the one with the eternal life. I'm not leaving. I'm sticking. That changed his entire existence, but he left and went away.
My, my, my, my, and he was sad at that saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions. No, he didn't have great possesion. His possessions had him. Are you listening to me? His possessions had him. Jesus looked round about and sayeth unto his disciples, now we all know brother Copeland, We all know these disciples and Jesus, you know they, they are poor people. They lay down with the leper. The goofy, sad, stupid stuff that the minds of men just make up. That's like, I'll tell you one thing, brother. I'll tell you something about God and how he looks at things. Every tub has to set on its own bottom.
I've heard people say that I heard people say that. Every tub has to sit on its own bottom. Okay, I'll do the best I can here. I'm not a tub, thank you very much. What are you laughing at? How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his word. But Jesus answered again and sayeth unto them, Children, how hard it is for them to trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 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? He was not talking about, he was talking about this other guy that walked off.
He wasn't talking about rich people. No, no. He was talking about this man that walked away. He said it's hard for him. Hard... Didn't say he couldn't. It's hard for him. These are astonished out of measure. Jesus, looking up on them and sayeth, with men, it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, lo, we have left all and have followed thee. Jesus answered and said, verily I say unto you, there is no man or no person that has left house, brethren, sisters, father, mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospel but shall receive.
Now, here's what I want you to get. This applies right now. The Lord the the lord just dropped this in me this afternoon. He shall receive a hundred fold now in this time, houses, brethren, sisters, mothers, children, lands with persecutions and in the world there come eternal life. Persecutions? Well of course! The devil hates it when believers get money. Happens to me all the time, particularly in times like this because I'm a believer, I'm not a doubter. I walk in love. I keep the commandments of God. I'm not like that rich young ruler. Amen. Whatever he says is a command to me. He says, give this, I give it. He said, do this. I do it. Glory to God.
But now here you are again. You have to listen to what he's saying. It's not just talking about it, it does include his commandments. It does include that and most particularly our commandment, which is to love one another. Amen. And that satisfies all the others. But oh my my my my my. Yeah, well thank you Lord. John chapter 14 verse 21. You have to remember now, you must remember this... John chapters 13:14, 15:16 and 17 were all in that covenant meal. That lasts supper. Amen. Now, listen to what he said in John 14:21. Oh! man, I've got this thing, I've got it marked. I've got a bordered in red and just he that has my commandments and keepeth them. He it is that loves me and he that loves me shall be loved of my father and I will love him and I will manifest myself to him. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Now, Hey, God loves everybody, David. We know that. But it's not the ones that just pray all night long. Now. It's those that listen to him. It's those that do what he says. It's those that, that are on call 24 hours a day. Those that say, Lord, I'm yours to command. What would you have me to do? I want you to get up in the night. I want you to go down there at that hospital, walk around and just start praying in tongues.
I was at the funeral of a very, very, very, very close friend of mine. Very, very close friend of mine. I was with him when I met Gloria. Used to work for him. And I got home and I noticed that there was a pink slip there, uh, that, that he had, he had called. So I thought, wow, man, Bill has called me and I picked up the phone. I called him, somebody answered the phone. I said, is Bill there? I got a notice that he called. They said, uh, bro, bro, brother Copeland, um, he passed away. And it was just a couple of days or so after that call. I thought, man, I missed him. I missed him.
Now, Gloria and I had had prayed with him, but it just really bothered me. And of course I was at his home going service and out at the grave site and I was just standing there thinking about him and thinking about all the times. And, now George helped my mother in her prayer groups and in her teaching time in her Bible class and so forth. And this woman walked up to me, I'd never seen her in my life. She said, brother Copeland, you don't know me, but she said, I'm part of your mother's prayer group earlier and Bible class and so forth. And she said, I couldn't sleep. I could not sleep and something was wrong and I couldn't, I didn't know what it was. And I just praying in tongues and praying in tongues. I said, Lord, help me, Lord. Help me have what, what is it here? What is it here?
And George, he spoke a hospital to her. Man, it's up in the morning. Something like two o'clock in the morning. He said, I want you to go over there and I want you to walk up and down the halls and just pray in tongues. So she said, brother Kenneth, that's what I did. And she said, I'm just walking up and down the halls and I'm just stopping and praying by each room and just praying in tongues. And she said, I was walking along here and this man said, excuse me, excuse me. And she said, I went in there and he said, do you know how to pray? Like Kenneth Copeland and his mother pray?
Well, see he lived two doors down from my mother. She said, yes, I'm a very close friend of hers. She said, I don't know Kenneth. But she said, I know his mother very well. He said, would you pray like that please? She said, in tongues? Yes. Would you please pray it that way? Like you were praying out there in the hall? Yes. Would you do that please? And she said, brother Copeland, I was able to lead him to the Lord. Jesus just brought him to the Lord. He died the next day. And I just stood there and cried. I just stood there and wept. This is somebody that's a soldier in the army of the Lord. This is somebody that's available. Isn't that good?
Anybody can do that. Anybody can do that. I could just tell you story after story. Another one was just almost exactly the same as just different circumstances and well I'll tell you, it was another man, very close friend of mine. I worked with him in the aviation business and I got, I got a call from him when I got home and and they said, no, no, no. He died. I thought, not again man, nothing again.
Well brother Schambach was having a tent meeting over in Arlington at Jimmy Hester's church grounds if I remember right. Anyway, he had his tent set up over there and they invited me to come over. And well, a Gloria and I did cause we, we love brother Schambach and he and Jimmy Hester, he said, come on up here. I said, no, come on up here. So I went up there and sat down by him and the praise and worship is going on. He said, Kenneth, you ought to know this. He said, you know a man by the name of Tommy Baker, don't you? I said, yes I do. And he said, you aught to know this. He said, Tommy came into my office and he said, I need God. I tried to get ahold of Kenneth and he's out of town and can you help me?
He said, yeah, Kenneth's a good friend of mine. He said, well I think he said something like, well, that's what I heard or something. Anyway, he said, Kenneth, I led him to the Lord. Hallelujah! And a few days later he dropped dead of a heart attack. Just dropped dead on the floor. Faithful God, faithful people make great victories. Hallelujah. Can you shout, Amen?
Hallelujah! Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, glory. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus. We receive our offering tonight and we thank you and give you praise and Thanksgiving. Hallelujah. Oh, glory be to Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus. Praise you Lord Jesus. Praise you. Let's just praise him, praise him and thank him. God's working right now on your behalf. He's working right now to get things to you that you need. He's working right now to see to it that somebody's maneuvering around just to get things into your hands. Faithful God, faithful people make great victories.