Kenneth Copeland - The Answer Is Yes
Today, we're gonna get right into them. The very very very very heart, the very heart of the Bible and the very heart of why no more people receive than they do. And today we are expecting miracles and healings like that. Now, look in your Bibles with me please. In the second chapter of the book of Ephesians. Now, as I said, we're going to the very heart today. We're going to the very core of the matter today. We talked last night about the covenants of God. That's what this book is. It is record of two blood covenants. The first one in the blood of animals and the second one in the blood of God. Amen.
So this goes, let me remind you of some, we're a Western-minded people. This is an Eastern book. The very first covenant known to man was the covenant between God and Abram and that day changed his name. And I want to talk to you about that. That's covenant practice. But here is the heart, Pastor George mentioned this morning that the heart of all successful Christian endeavor is prayer. Praying. Praying the Word, praying the Word itself.
Start off with the answer, search the Bible for the answer to your prayer because all of his promises in him are yes and amen. No doubt about it. Why? They're covenant promises. They're blood sworn oaths. The new one in the blood of Jesus, the old one in the blood of animals. Blood sworn covenant oaths. They can be stood upon because God is a covenant-keeping God, hallelujah. Now, look at this. Well, praise God. Thank you. I can, but I don't like to preach standing up there. I ended up walking room up. Get down here where I can talk to you, praise God.
Look at the scripture with me, verse 11. "Wherefore remember, that you being in times Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision". See that's circumcision, that's referring to that old covenant, not old first, the first covenant. "In the flesh made by hand. At that time you were without Christ". Now, here it is. Here it is. "You were without the anointed one and his anointing, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants". Plural. "Strangers from the covenants of promise".
If you're a stranger to the, if you don't know you don't know it's your covenant you don't have any revelation of the fact that God has cut the covenant with you. You don't have any revelation of that. I don't care, born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost, speaking with other tongues, believing in healing this morning. And you have no revelation of that. The covenants of promise. Say it. The covenants of promise. These are blood sworn oaths. You ought to be up dancing around the room right now. "But with no hope," no hope, none! "And without God in the world". That's what it said. That's what it's saying.
Jerry, and you were talking about faithfulness this morning. I remember when you promised God that you're gonna get up every morning and you're gonna read the Word, first thing. And you woke up and got your Bible propped yourself up in the bed and fell asleep. Slept the rest of, where you're getting up I think something like five o'clock in the morning? To read the Word, put the Word first place. And so the next day, I don't remember what you did the next day but you fell asleep that day. And you need to, let me tell you let me give you a picture of faithfulness.
You know what he did? I never heard of anybody doing it. He went in the bathroom and stood on the edge of the bathtub and no way go to sleep here and you kill yourself. That's faithfulness. He put the Word of God final authority in his life. He put the covenants of blood as absolute final directory final authority in his life. "Strangers from the covenants of promise with no hope and without God in the world". Even though you're very aware that he's living in me "And greater is he that's in me than he, than he that is in the world," and all of that, but you're not covenant-minded. You don't have any real hope. And faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Now, I'm not putting you under condemnation and you do get results. You do get results, but it's slow when it could be sped up like that. You get so bloody and so what? Just blood-minded, this blood of God-minded shed for me. Now, that's one of the reasons I'll never be sick again not one day in my life here after forever because I found it in the scripture. I found it. I found where it says, "Your angel will bless your bread and water. And I will take sickness from the midst of you and the length of your days, I will fulfill". I'm going for that 120, because I don't have to do it. He will fulfill it because he ministered that to me.
Thank God for you Keith Moore, because you're the one that began to teach Gloria and me about this. And over a period of years, and finally it came down and I already knew I was gonna live to be 92 that God already dealt with me over that. So, but he began daily teaching me about this. And finally he said, you don't and I'm gonna show you this one in just a moment. Yeah, you don't have to do this. Well, I'm asking you to. I said, "Sir, that's a mandate from you. Yes of course I'll do it". And it changed my viewpoint about everything. Changed my physical health, glory to God, amen. Well, because he said it in the Word.
Now, I wanna talk to you this morning about God, a covenant and the contradiction. God, a covenant and a contradiction. Now I want you to turn with me to the book of Romans please. Fourth chapter. Oh, thank you Jesus. Romans chapter four. And we'll begin reading with the 16th verse. "Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end, the promise," every time now when you see promise I mean your spiritual antenna ought to go right straight up. "The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also, which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the Father of us all. As it is written, I have made thee a Father of many nations".
Did you see that in your Bible? Look at it again. "I have made thee a Father of many nations. Before him are like him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were". He is referring to the 17th chapter of the book of Genesis. Let's turn there please. Genesis 17. Now, Abraham had already experienced oh Abram excuse me, pardon me. He had already experienced an outstanding vision and saw God and God before him in the 15 chapter Genesis. I mean, he walked in blood before him. He told him to prepare the covenant animals and they split those animals from the head down the spine.
Now see, these were the first these were the first blood covenants known to mankind. It all began here. And there are places in the world where it is still practiced today. And you allowed the halves to fall where they would and the blood would spill. And God, a burning fire. Thank you Lord Jesus.
"And it came to pass that when the sun went down into a dark, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, unto thy seed have I given this land," and so forth and so on. He walked and I am totally convinced my brother and sister, I am absolutely convinced that Abram he walked in a figure eight which today is the sign of infinity. And I'm convinced he saw God's footprints in that blood. And he swore to him, so shall your seed be. He swore to him.
Now, 17th chapter. "When Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am," now and I want you to notice, am is in italics. I want you to get a sense and the feel for this. He said, "I, the Almighty God walk before me and be blameless". I love it. "I am the almighty God, walk before me and be thou blameless. I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, thou shalt be a Father of many nations". Here is a, if only you knew how significant this is.
Now, I want you to notice something. "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham". The name of God, Hashem was placed in his name indicating that he and this man are in covenant together and he now shares God's name in his name. Hallelujah! Isn't that stunning information. It's just glorious information. Let me bear it out in the New Testament. I'll always like go to the second covenant, forgive me.
The second covenant in the book of Ephesians once more please, in the third chapter. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". Of who? Of the Father, the whole family in heaven and earth is named. You got a name change when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your name was changed. Glory to God, you're named after the Father God. Your named after the Almighty God, you're named after El Shaddai. Hallelujah. The healing God.