Kenneth Copeland - Why Christians Cannot Stay Home on Election Day?
Kenneth Copeland: I'm so excited about this week of broadcast, that to talk about... To talk in depth, with an investigative reporter like Stephen Strang. A man that's been doing it a long time. And has a proven record of accuracy, and compassion, and the goodness of God. But I want you to know, he is hard on the devil. And hey, he's been hard on some of us. And some of the things that he's written, I think, "how come he had to say that" And I thought, well, no, wait a minute, wait a minute. That's his business, not mine. And thank God for him. That's what a reporter is supposed to do. If he's one-sided, he's not worth his job. Particularly a Christian reporter.
So, let's look at 2nd Corinthians, chapter 10. And, if you have your Bibles I want you to get them and look at them now because, this is Friday. And, this, we're gonna to touch on the core. The heart of the whole issue. The heart of the victory in it. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war, after the flesh". Do you remember, in the book of Ephesians? We do not wrestle, with flesh and blood, but with... Now, here's Satan's entire rank, from the bottom up: Principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits in the heavenlies. And if we had just a few moments, we could go to the book of Daniel and the book of Ezekiel. The wicked spirits in the heavenlies are the political demons. They're the highest ranking evil spirits, other than Satan himself, in that whole spiritual army.
We are not wrestling against Democrats. We are wrestling against the devils, that have deceived, and worked with... And, there are politicians on both sides, that have really good ideas and go to Washington, D.C. and say just the opposite. Don't realize, what kind of devils they've come up against and don't even know they're there. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal". They are not human. "But they are mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds". It's the spiritual strongholds. That's where the fight is. Prayer. Intercessory prayer. Prayers of petition. The weapons of our warfare, are not carnal. They're not human. Somebody said, "Well, after all Copeland, I'm only.. I'm just human". Are you born again? Well, yes. Then you are not just human. You're a born again human.
Stephen Strang: Amen.
Kenneth Copeland: Don't you ever say that. "Oh I'm just human". No, you're not just human. You're a superhuman. And you've been empowered by him and he's living on the inside of you. So get a grip on who you really are. That's where the battle was won four years ago, and it's where the battle will be won this time.
Stephen Strang: And it's where it's been won at many times through history. The problem is, that often it's not documented, or not documented well. Or, we hear about cancel culture. There's something in our culture that wants to cancel anything that is, according to the Word of God, or shows faith.
Kenneth Copeland: It's what I call the "yeah-buts". Yeah, but let me tell you. Yeah, but let me tell you what's real.
Stephen Strang: But, there's evidence that during the darkest days of world war two, when the allies lost like every single battle for the like, the first two or three years, that there were there were lots of prayer going up. Lots of prayer warriors. People like my grandparents, who are long dead, and people that you forget. But, there's evidence that that was one in prayer and we have to believe that during the civil war and at other very important times, and even like you just referred to in 2016. Mike Pickle is my friend and he said that millions of people were praying that God would raise somebody up, but we just didn't have anybody in mind.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right. And that was his humorous way of saying that God raised up Donald Trump. And I really believe that he did but, we also... This battle is bigger than just this election.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is.
Stephen Strang: And we need to pray that God will raise up other people. And undoubtedly he has. God has a plan that's way beyond this election. And I love...
Kenneth Copeland: Well excuse me, Stephen, but, now look what the devil did. He raised up people... You would never dream that a muslim would ever be elected in the House of Representatives of the United States. Or an avowed socialist.
Stephen Strang: Would run for president.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes. And then, the little woman, that doesn't even know what socialism is, but she's still a socialist.
Stephen Strang: It makes no sense.
Kenneth Copeland: No it don't make any sense.
Stephen Strang: And you're right it's spiritual warfare.
Kenneth Copeland: That's what it is.
Stephen Strang: And, people's eyes are blinded. And you wonder why some people can do all manner of evil. Like even all the stuff that was done against Donald Trump, so far, I'm gonna to say nobody, or nearly nobody, has had to pay the price for that. It's almost like, there's forces, keeping the forces of good from bringing justice. And we have to pray and believe that ultimately that will be, justice will be found but, in the Spirit-filled community, in the Pentecostal community, in the Word of Faith community, whatever we want to call it, we believe in spiritual warfare.
Kenneth Copeland: Absolutely.
Stephen Strang: And probably many of us have been, even in deliverance sessions or prayed, known people that did. And usually it's like, praying against the spirit of nicotine, or the spirit of pornography or something like that. And people that are bound with that, need power through the blood of Jesus, no question. But those are the easy demons and that's why I'm mentioning it. Those are the easy ones. The ones that we go after. It's these principalities and powers that it's almost like we don't even understand. We don't have spiritual discernment. We don't... You don't learn in this Bible college, that's for sure. I mean, how do we even know to pray about what's going on in the Islamic world or the EU, or in communist China, which is far more vile, and I touch on this in my books. It's far worse than Russia. Now, we dislike Russia more because they were our enemies and still are. But really what's happening in China is far worse in my opinion. With the things with technology and, what they've done to our economy...
Kenneth Copeland: Let me give you a valid example. We go back to World War II. Fighting the Germans, and the Italians, was one thing. They're a whole lot like us. Then you just push them too far, and kill enough of them, they surrender. But fighting the Japanese, was totally different because of their background and the way they were raised, and the way they thought, except surrender, they'd rather die than surrender. And it made that war so much horrible, in the Pacific, rather than the Atlantic. And now we're dealing with that oriental mind now, and it's thousand year commitment, to become the biggest thing that exists, and they don't care who they kill to get it and they don't care if they die getting it. That's the difference between the two. If you don't fight it in the spirit you're going to lose it.
Stephen Strang: And that is something that each of us can do. We can, intercede.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes we can.
Stephen Strang: We can pray. We can pray in the Spirit. We don't even have to understand what's going on or who we're praying for. We can pray in the Spirit.
Kenneth Copeland: Romans 8:26 and 27. "He takes hold together with us against by our infirmities when we know not what to pray for as we ought". I mean, come on. That's the key to the whole battle. Amen.
Stephen Strang: So if people's eyes can be opened and our spirits are opened, and we can grab hold of this, we can make a difference. There's enough Christians in this country, to move things in this country. And it's a lot more than just an election. There's got to be repentance. There's several calls to prayer and repentance between now and the election, but it needs to go... We have to have a vision longer than just the election.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: I really do believe, that Trump is going to win, unless they steal it. And we believe that God can stop that. But, like I said earlier, I almost hate say it cause I don't want anyone... You don't go out to play a football game, thinking you're gonna win by three touchdowns and you don't have to work very hard, because there are some mean people, there are some bad people, doing a lot of bad things, that want to see this president brought down and he's not perfect. We all know that. None of us are perfect. But the people who hate Donald Trump, hate you and me. They just don't know our names.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: And, that's in a general sense. The kinds of things that he stands for. The basic believe in Judeo-Christian values, and the, sanctity of life and all these things and, the fact that we don't go along with all of that nonsense. They hate all that. And he's... In fact, somebody sends me these funny memes, and there's this picture of Donald Trump, looking kind of pensive and it says, "They don't really hate me, they hate you. I'm just in the way". And I thought there's some truth in that.
Kenneth Copeland: Well, that's true.
Stephen Strang: He's a lightning rod, so he's getting all the lightning. But think if he's not there, we're all gonna be...
Kenneth Copeland: Still...
Stephen Strang: We're going to be out there all by ourselves in a way.
Kenneth Copeland: What is he doing? He's making it very hard, to sin. He's making it extremely hard, harder, and harder and harder to kill babies. He's making it harder, and harder, and harder, to destroy churches. He's making it harder, and harder, and that's what the devil hates, and I don't care who you are, if you're making it hard to sin, they don't want you around. That's the reason they hate Republicans and what they stand for. We make it hard for those people to sin. It's just that it comes down to that.
Stephen Strang: I agree with you a hundred percent.
Kenneth Copeland: This whole country.
Stephen Strang: Well, I admire you so much for speaking up. There are a lot of ministries that just avoid all this stuff. Kind of look the other way and hope it'll go away. But, the other side is coming for us. They really are.
Kenneth Copeland: That's the reason I was, so energized and, pressing and pressing, to be a network and not just a broadcaster, and, the Victory Network. And of course we were on Dish, but now we're on Direct and Dish. We got our own network. And, all of our broadcasters, black and white, all faith people, all baby lovers praise God, and strong staunch Americans, all of us. Amen.
Stephen Strang: Praise God.
Kenneth Copeland: Our microphone just got a whole lot bigger. And, I did it, back, I mean, I pushed the envelope back when it was illegal to do it. And,
Stephen Strang: You're talking about the Johnson amendment, but you know what? Since 1954 only one ministry, lost the status and they just stuck their finger in the IRS's eye. They took out ads. They were against something. I don't even remember what it was. At the bottom, they were asking people to send them money so they could buy more ads, to whatever it was. And the IRS said, "You just went too far". and they wouldn't back down. One, more people have been killed by lightning than that. This is 1954.
Kenneth Copeland: It was a fear tactic in the beginning.
Stephen Strang: Exactly. And, it's done this. Put shackles on the hands of people. And even to where now, there are a lot of very sincere Christians who think that it's not right to meddle in politics. Like they're doing something wrong.
Kenneth Copeland: Well they don't like Jesus then. But he didn't meddle in it. I mean, he sat down on it.
Stephen Strang: He threw the money changers out of the temple. He called the Scribes and Pharisees, what were they, whited sepulchres full of dead men's bones. That's worse than anything that Trump has ever tweeted.
Kenneth Copeland: Don't give him any ideas. But we're living in a time that, others would have given anything to live at this time. In our, COVID-19 we entered into the spiritual World War three.
Stephen Strang: We really did.
Kenneth Copeland: And, thank God we won. And we're winning, and we'll keep winning, and we'll keep winning, and we'll keep winning, and we'll keep winning. The fight gets bigger, we just get bigger.
Stephen Strang: Amen.
Kenneth Copeland: Cause God's as big as it gets. And this nation still belongs to him, in spite of all of them that don't want to admit it. It's a privilege and an honor, to be in this kind of combat. I love it. And, somebody said, I'd have made a, maybe a good lawyer. Nah, never would've made. I'm not smart enough to be a lawyer. But, I'm smart enough to be a brawler. I used to be accused of that. (Kenneth B.C.) But, it's an enjoyable fight.
Stephen Strang: And to think that God, put us here at this time. And, someone said there's... Nowadays you can change just about anything but there's two things you can't change. Who your parents were, and when you were born.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: And so we were born, now.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: There was a reason God put us here, now. And we have to... We've talked about all kinds of people. You reeling off George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, all of these great men. But you know, that was their era.
Kenneth Copeland: That was their era.
Stephen Strang: And we look back, and hopefully sometime, somebody can look back at our era and say that we were faithful in the same way. Although things change. I mean they could not have imagined, all the changes that have taken place in America and the world. With the communication and everything else that's happened. But it's also, the way that we can spread the gospel around the world in a way that they couldn't do back then. And I believe that God is ushering in the end of time.
Kenneth Copeland: I do too. I'm so...
Stephen Strang: And the millennium is apparently going to be a really nice time, isn't it?
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is. Praise God.
Stephen Strang: So the sooner it gets here, the better.
Kenneth Copeland: I'm all for that.
Stephen Strang: Except we don't know what's gonna happen between now and then. And then of course the apostle Paul and all of them well they were looking for Jesus's return in their lifetime, as we are. My Pentecostal grandparents, didn't think they would live, longer than what Jesus would return. In fact, Kathryn Kuhlman told me that one time. I asked... I was a naive young reporter and I asked her who was going to carry on her ministry, after she died. And, she told me that Jesus was going to come first. And we moved on to the next question. And she was in heaven a year later.
Kenneth Copeland: Somebody said to Gloria, Gloria said we're living in the last days. And she was teaching that and preaching that. And someone said, "All people just keep saying that I don't believe that". she said, "well, it's your last days, whichever way it goes".
Stephen Strang: That's right.
Kenneth Copeland: And that's right. These are our last days. And we need to make them... We need to make a count for it every hour of every minute of every day, with the Word of God.
Stephen Strang: And the Bible also talks about the beginning of sorrows.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes.
Stephen Strang: And I don't know if the stuff we're going through. How can you define beginning of sorrows, any differently? Some thing's happening.
Kenneth Copeland: He's referring to, the beginning of the birth pangs. The beginning of when a woman is entering into that phase. Now, most women, are not like Gloria. When she was pregnant with Kellie. She did the same thing when she's pregnant with John. Her cousin and her husband came up and took us out for dinner that night. And, came, took us back to our apartment. And, they just stood at the door and talked and talked and talked. Gloria just stood there, this big smile on her face, and just talked. They just talked, and I talked, she didn't. And they were driving off she said, "I'm having pains". And still got a smile on her face. I said, "Really"? I said, "How close are they"? "They're about five minutes". I said, "Gloria Jean, you get in there"! She said, "No, no Ken". I said, "If I had to put you in a car myself, you get in there". And we were not all at too much, too early. She did the same thing with John. But we're there. That's where we are.
Stephen Strang: That's right. Because with God a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day, and we're down to about 30 minutes. So, now I mean, the pains are getting closer, and closer and closer and closer. And, it's here.
Stephen Strang: But God's Word is true.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is.
Stephen Strang: We have the authority, the Name of Jesus.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes we do. We have to occupy until he comes.
Stephen Strang: Yes, we do.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes.
Stephen Strang: Don't we believe that?
Kenneth Copeland: Yes.
Stephen Strang: And, so... And we can't control these events. They're in God's hands. But we can be faithful.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: And that's what I tried in these, two books. Well, really all the books I've written, "God, Trump and the 2020 Election", to try to wake up. This book was written for Christians.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes, it was.
Stephen Strang: And...
Kenneth Copeland: This thing is so good.
Stephen Strang: And I hope that I hope that people will, use it even, to help fill in pieces that you don't get. There's so much misinformation out there. And after a while, when you don't know what the right information is you start believing it.
Kenneth Copeland: The one thing we didn't talk about that I wanted to talk about...
Stephen Strang: Was the borders.
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah.
Stephen Strang: I have a whole chapter.
Kenneth Copeland: This, God loves borders. "A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation". Ronald Reagan. 40th president of the United States, and the first man, with guts enough to do it, is doing it.
Stephen Strang: Well, the Bible says a lot about, walls, and borders. God wants us to have borders in our own lives in terms of, staying away from sin and those kinds of things. I mean, I used a lot of stuff from a lot of different preachers including Matt Hagee. I remember he preached a good old sermon and, boy it's amazing what you can find on YouTube nowadays. And try to... Because everything has become a political thing, Democrat or Republican. But, listen even Canada shut down it's borders when COVID happened. Remember that? Wasn't it amazing how, even our Southern border shut down when COVID happened? The border is very important. And trying to look at it from what the Bible says rather than what, this politician that politicians says. And we need to understand. And also there's a lot in that chapter about how God told the Israelites to treat the foreigner among them, and to have compassion on the poor. And, the bottom line is we're a nation of immigrants. All of our people came from somewhere. Even the native people, they came over here over the Bering Strait. Didn't they a long time ago?
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Stephen Strang: And, we love him. We have a million legal immigrants a year more, than any other nation on earth. It's just, we want it to be done legally. Period. End of discussion. All you gotta do is go stand in line, and eventually, fill out whatever paperwork there is and eventually you'll be able to get in. But it's become a political hot potato. And I think that that was the first thing that he said, when he came down the escalator, that really got everybody's attention. He was the first one who had the guts, to actually stand up, and say we needed to do something.
Kenneth Copeland: And get that wall one way or the other.
Stephen Strang: And he's doing it.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes he is.
Stephen Strang: They've built hundreds of miles, made a big improvement, and, again, we've talked about this before, he's a leader. That's what leaders do. Leaders get it done. If there's an obstacle they go around it, over it, beneath it, through it...
Kenneth Copeland: You know Mike Huckabee is that kind of man.
Stephen Strang: He really is.
Kenneth Copeland: When that, terrible mess, and hurricane and it's horrible problems. And he's governor of the state of Arkansas. He said now, "Make it work, we'll do the paperwork later". Let's do the paperwork later. Not, can we do the paperwork? How are we gonna... No. He just turned it around the other way. I love that man. And he said, "Hey, no, get the job done then we do the paperwork".
Stephen Strang: He would've been a great president, but God had other plans.
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah. Man, praise God. It's the kind of place, where, victory is essential. God has provided it. Now we have to join the army.
Stephen Strang: Amen.
Kenneth Copeland: And we're out of time. Stephen Strang, God bless you sir.
Stephen Strang: God bless you. Thank you for coming here and sharing this with our audience.
Stephen Strang: Thank you for the opportunity.