Kenneth Copeland - Renew Your Mind To His Power
I want to begin this session by saying God is a good God. He is a good God. Yes. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Open your Bibles with me this morning to the Book of Ephesians. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Praise you Lord. In the second chapter, let's begin reading with the first verse. Now nobody just starts with and so back up and it's talking about the exceeding greatness of His power. Huh. The exceeding greatness of His power. That 19th verse in the first chapter, what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe. This is a Believers' Convention so it's towards us. The power is towards us who believe according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, we are in Christ.
So when you find in Christ in Him or in whom, it's referring to you, it's referring to me. Amen. Which He wrote in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places or in the heavenlies far above. Not just above. I'm telling you this is way over yonder, way yonder above far. Far above all principality, far above all power, far above might and dominion. And every name that's named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body in fullness of Him that filleth all in all. And you hath he quickened or made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our conversation. A better term is this, in our manner of life. But when you think about it, it was in our conversation also because what you think about most of the time you will become.
And the reason that is what you think about most of the time is what you say most of the time. So it's in your conversation. Your conversation will reveal your manner of life. Are you walking in a life controlled in fear or you're walking in a life that's very aware of faith? Amen. So among whom also we had our manner of life in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. There's your mind. And we're by nature, the children of wrath, even as others. What does that mean? Well, we're going to look at it in a moment over in the Book of Romans. Even as others according to the 2019 census, something like 40 million people in this country, 65 or older and people went to work when they were 18, 20. And usually by the time 20, 25-years-old, you have a job and a family just like everyone else. And wind up at the end of 60, 65 years broke just like everyone else. Why? Everybody thinks just alike. Thinking being controlled by the media, being controlled by what everybody says.
"Well, you know what they always say". Well, who said they always say that? These are thoughtless words. Amen. Ah, but in the 12th chapter of the Book of Romans it states very clearly, don't be conformed to this world, but be he transformed by the renewing of your mind. Yes, glory to God. Well, how do you do that? It's very simple, but it's something you have to do. The first thing is who tells you what to think? You do. You do. Who do? You do. That's right. And Jesus made it so simple. He just simply said, Steve, "Why take ye thought saying". A thought goes into operation once you say it. A thought stillborn, you think it, don't say it. Hallelujah. Oh, thank you, Jesus. So our thinking is vitally important. So we renew our mind to the Word . You find a thought in the Word and you take that thought, which came from God and say it. Take it and say it. Take it and say it until it comes out of your mouth without you having to think about it.
Now I have... oh, I don't know how these kind of a peculiar way of renewing my mind, but it works for me. Well, right there in the 12th chapter of Romans talking about that telling us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Amen. So I saw that and I realized I was not doing that. I wasn't even mentioning it much less doing it as part of my praise. So for a very long time, a number of years until I became aware of it, I didn't refer to my body as my body. I referred to it as my sacrifice. This is my sacrifice. Now that came in with a real impact when the Lord over the period of time talking to me about Genesis 6:3 that the days of man shall be 120 years. And I didn't know whether I wanted to do that or not. But the Lord finally came right after studying it and thinking about it and Gloria and I talking about it and so forth. I came to that place and finally He said, "Would you do this for me"? And I won't go into all the reasons why, but it had to do with the anointing.
And so, "Well, of course I will". And that meant that I had to go to work spiritually. I had to come to the place where to get my spirit in the best spiritual condition in which it could possibly be. And to get my thinking and my mind and the very best emotional and my will, my thinking in which it could be, and to get my body in the best physical condition. Because in order to hold on to that mandate I have to change what? I have to change my thinking, which changes my words. I have to be very aware that it's a covenant thing between my Father God and me. And so I started doing that and I just stepped up on the treadmill one morning and I heard these words in the spirit. "Kenneth, I sacrificed my body for yours and now you're sacrificing your body for mine. So I'm here doing what I do this morning because of you". That's why I continue to do what I do. That's my calling. Now I tell you, I love the evangelistic calling. And once in a while that evangelist anointing comes on me where you just preach and spit and you know, I mean just holler all the time. Oh, I love it, but that's not my primary calling. Praise God and thank you, Jesus.
Now then let's go back in here because there're some things we need to see. Thank you, Lord. "But God". Isn't that a good statement? Yeah, but God. "But Brother Copeland, what are we going to do in this country"? Yeah, but God. Yeah, but God instead of, "Yeah, but what"? Yeah, but God. "But God who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins has made us alive together with Christ by grace you are saved. And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God". "But Brother Copeland, is it the grace that's the gift of God or the faith that's the gift of God"? Both. But it took the power and the force of faith believing in your heart and speaking it with your mouth. Glory to God. And you became a new creature in Christ Jesus.
"It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast for. We are His workmanship. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember". Oh, let's remember something that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, we were. Don't let the word Gentile throw you. That just simply means someone without God. So who is someone without God? What are they? Heathen. Now I'm so glad y'all came to Texas. Where we can speak the English language correctly. Heathen. You heathen you. Ah, glory to God. No, you're not a heathen any longer. You're in Christ. Glory to God. Created in Christ Jesus. "Wherefore remember you being in time, past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands at that time".
At that time you were without the anointed one so you were without His anointing being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants, plural, both covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world, covenants. "Brother Copeland, he just talk about covenant all the time". Oh, you figured that out, did you? "Don't you ever preach about anything else"? Yes, but it's all tied to covenants. Being a stranger from the covenants of promise. You can be a stranger from the covenants of promise and be born again filled with the mighty spirit of God, speaking with other tongues, healing, believing, prospering Christian, and never, ever be covenant-minded. And it's a very dangerous place in which to be because you go along and all your happiness and all the things that are happening and all of us sudden tragedy strikes. Now what? You will be at a place where one thing or the other happens. You will be thrown into some kind of grief, grieving situation where it looks like there's no way out of it.
And the Apostle Paul wrote and said, "Grieve not". King James says, "Sorrow not". Look it up. Look it up where He talked about the catching away of the church. Look it up for yourself. Said sorrow not, but the word there is grief. He said, "Grieve not for we're not a people without hope". And when you know you have a covenant with God, when it's real, that you're a covenant man, you're a covenant woman. And immediately you just go, you just dive headlong into that covenant. And you begin to say, "Oh my God, my Father, you never leave me nor forsake me. You didn't have any part in this thing. You didn't do this. You're a good God. And Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. There's the oppressor". And you can come to that place where you just fall on your face and say, "I missed it someplace. Where did I miss it? Because this is not going to happen to this family anymore. This is not going to happen to me anymore. This is not going to happen to my finances anymore. I don't have to put up with this. I don't have to put up with junk out of myself".
Amen. Glory to God. Why? Two blood covenants and a reality of this. The life of the flesh the scripture says, is in the blood. It's in the blood. What happens when the blood pumps stops? The blood stops, the body dies. The most precious thing to the physical body there is. It's blood that carries oxygen to the body. Without oxygen, things really get in a mess. Hallelujah. Go ahead and smile. It's good. Amen. But I wanted to impress you with that because this Book of Ephesians, back up there a minute. We are His workmanship. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus that puts us in Christ Jesus. That puts us in a very, very special place.