Kenneth Copeland - BLESSED Are You Who Believe
— Hello, everybody. We're Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. Isn't she beautiful this Christmas? Praise the Lord.
— You're so kind.
— Amen. And...
— I'm going to get you a Christmas present.
— Good. When, excuse me, when I was a little boy, I was an only child as most of you know, and my birthday being in the first week of December, mother always saw to it that, oh, Christmas was just huge to her. And she always saw to it that we had the Christmas tree up before my birthday. Well, she thought that was a great blessing, but there was a lot of torture in that because here from the sixth of December, oh my, it's over 20 days left and I'm looking for presents here. Well, and I'm thinking, all the time I'm thinking, "I hope nobody gives me a birthday and a Christmas present all in one". Anyway.
— It's a cop out.
— But it was a beautiful time of year for the family then, and I grew up just really rejoicing in Christmas time and I still enjoy it. Our kids have grown up over the years Gloria and I went up to the prayer cabin one time and we were just praying over our children, and there's several things that the Lord said to us. And he said, "Whatever you do, don't ever lie to them. Under any circumstance, don't lie to them. And always, always let them know what's happening". Even when they're young, when there's problems, bring them in on it and pray over it, pray together as a family. Anyway, so we did that and I don't remember, this was, Kellie must have been, I'm just guessing at maybe nine or so. We went into a large department store and Kellie had me by the hand and we walked in there and this woman said, "Merry Christmas, little girl," something like this. "And what's Santa Claus going to bring you"? So Kellie took her hand down and looked up at me, and said, "You think she doesn't know"? So although anyway, but we never did lie to our kids. We always told them "Now, look, this is all about Jesus, and he's the gift. For God so loved the world that he gave". He gave, and the Hebrew word for love, the root word is give. So God so loved, he gave. It's wonderful to give presents at Christmastime. It's not wonderful to go in debt for them. That's just not a wonderful thing, because if you're already in that position where you have to put it on a credit card and you're behind on the credit card to start with, don't do that. Now, we talked about that already, but just don't do that. Celebrate it some other way, but tell your child why. Tell them, "Look, your daddy and I love you, or mother and I love you, and we would love to have bought you something great this Christmas. We just didn't have the money. And so you help us and we're going to pray about all of this. And just as soon as we can, we'll do something about this". As the Lord blesses you, then buy something, and if you can't buy some great big outstanding present, then buy a lot of little things, and just enjoy it, and just enjoy it all the time. Every day. So, now when we closed yesterday, I'll remind you in the gospel of Luke where Zacharias said unto the angel, "Whereby shall I know this? I'm an old man and my wife stricken in years". The angel answering said unto him, "I'm Gabriel that stand in the presence of God and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And behold, you shall be dumb and not able to speak until the day that these things shall he performed because you did not believe my Word". He had already prayed and he didn't believe it, and he grumbled around about it. And so the angel, knowing the laws of faith and how important this birth is, this is a vital thing because John the baptizer was the forerunner to Jesus. And that held through all the way, because they put John in prison and then beheaded him. John had already said, as he baptized him, "Behold the lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world". But then he was put in prison and now he's a bit dumbfounded about this, and Jesus didn't do anything to get him out. He was beheaded. Now, remember he's Jesus' cousin, and he's six months older than Jesus. He was beheaded and went into paradise, which we know from the scripture before Jesus was crucified went to hell and paid the price, suffered more than any man. He was manifested in the flesh when he was born of Mary. He was made alive in the spirit when he was reborn in hell itself. But before then, no man had gone into heaven except Enoch and Elisha. So, but nobody had died and gone to heaven. They had gone into paradise, which was the upper region of Sheol. They were kept there. So, John went into that area and began to preach. "He's here, he's here". And he preached it to David and all of those covenant saints. "He's here, he's here. I baptized him in water. I know. Praise God. He was still his forerunner. "So now let's go down. The people waited for Zacharias and marveled that he tarried so long. When he came out he could not speak to them. They perceived he had seen a vision. It came to pass as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished he departed to his own house". So now, the six month the angel Gabriel was sent and spoke to Mary, and we covered that yesterday. Verse 33, "He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, 'How shall this be,'" and so forth. So, then the 37th verse, "With God, nothing is impossible. Mary said, 'Behold the handmaiden of the Lord, be it unto me according to your Word,' and the angel departed. So Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to the city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias". So, she just left and went to stay with them. Do you have any idea why? Well, there is a certain thing about being pregnant, and there's already a lot of talk going around. So, she just went there and stayed. Isn't that good? And, "She entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass that when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost". Boy, and she began to prophesy. I mean, those two women were having a time. "She spake out with a loud voice, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? For love, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy, and blessed is she that believed". Blessed is she that believed. What did Jesus say to Thomas? He said, "Thomas, reach here your finger. Stick it in these holes. Hand me your hand," and he stuck it in the side. And he said, "My Lord and my God". He said, "Thomas, blessed are those who have believed and not seen". These are just fundamental rules of faith. The woman with the issue of blood, in the fifth chapter of Mark's gospel. I mean, she had been a shut-in for what, 12 long years. This is a whole lot worse than being quarantined because of flu for a few days. No, years. She had been a shut-in for years. But she said it. She believed it in her heart. She first heard of Jesus. She heard that he was anointed. She heard that people were coming back and bringing her words that he had preached and spoken. And she said, "If I but touch his garment I shall be made whole. If I but touch that garment I shall be made whole". And she drug herself. She crawled out in that crowd and she got out there and touched the hem of his garment, his prayer shawl, and she touched it and she knew it. Let's turn over there. Hold your place there in Luke. Mark chapter five. In the 25th verse. "A certain woman, which had an issue of blood 12 years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing better, but rather grew worse. When she heard of Jesus," faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So faith came. Now, when you hear the Word of God, faith comes. But you can kill it before it has time to do anything, like Zacharias did because he needed to see something. He needed to feel something. He just didn't believe what this angel said. I mean, Gabriel, archangel of God, standing there saying something to him and he didn't believe it. "When she heard of Jesus, came in and pressed behind, and touched his garment. For she said, 'If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.' And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and then she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague". She said it, she touched him, or in other words she said it, she acted on it, corresponding action on her faith. She said it, then she did it. She got out there. She ran the risk and got out there. She touched the hem of his garment and she knew on the inside. "Came and touched his garment, for she said, or she had already said, 'If I may touch but his clothes, I'll be whole.' And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague". But she believed it. She did all of those things before she felt it. She heard it, she believed it, corresponding action came before she felt anything. So, that is fundamentally to the law of faith. So now, boy, and I mean, they began to prophesy, both of them. You come down to that 53rd verse. "He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy and he spoke unto our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her own house. Now, Elisabeth full time came that she should be delivered, and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard that the Lord had shown great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her. It came to pass on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child, and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, 'Not so, but he shall be called John.' And they said unto her, 'There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.' They made signs to his father". Now, look what has happened to him over that period of time. He not only couldn't speak, he lost his hearing. He lost his hearing as well. So, that unbelief and I suppose self-condemnation or whatever else, but anyway, he lost not only his ability to speak but he couldn't hear. "He asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, 'His name is John.' And they all marveled. His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke and praised God". His mouth was opened immediately, his tongue loosed, and he praised God. It didn't say anything about him getting his hearing back. I don't know, but that's something to think about. So, his unbelief and his being crosswise of what this notable miracle the archangel of God had spoken to him. So, the lesson we get from that is this Word, this written Word, the covenants of God written down are as powerful as God himself because these are words from God put on paper so that we can study them and believe them and walk in it and know God from this Word. I've never had a vision like that, an open vision to see an angel and so forth. I did see Jesus in a vision. 4:00 in the morning we were in Little Rock, Arkansas and I was preaching at Agape Church in Little Rock for Happy and Jeanne Caldwell. 4:00 in the morning, I mean just right on the dot I just woke up and there was Jesus right at the foot of my bed with this large, big silver tray of cookies.
— You know what? You're not known for waking up early, either.
— Not like that. I didn't set up, my head just went forward from there. He was standing, and he didn't have a mad look, but he had a frown on. He said, "Have a cookie". Well, I was dumbfounded. He said, "Your response, I believe I will". I believe. I believe I will. Have a cookie. I believe I will. And then I didn't see him anymore. But then, now I dropped back in the bed, and then in my spirit I saw myself at this party, and somebody walked up to me and said, "Brother Copeland, have a cookie". I said, "No thank you, I have one". "You have one"? "Yes, thank you". Oh, okay. And then I saw, oh. Jesus said, "Have a cookie". And he said, "I said, I believe I will, thank you". So I have one. Nobody can see it, but I have it. And then I laid there for a while and then he came back again in the Spirit. He said, "Now, these are the six I's of faith. I believe. There's your spirit. I will. There's your will, your intellectual part of you. I believe, I will, I take it. That's what receive means. You've heard Gloria preach and teach that for years. A receiver is a taker. Well, to receive is an action word. Believing is action. I believe, I will, I take it, I have it, I praise you and thank you for it and I forgive if I have aught against any. That's the six I's of faith. So, you can see all of those in all of this. Now, I want to go now in the 67th verse, "His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. And he spoke by the mouth of the holy prophets which have been since the world began. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear". Glory to God. They're back to the covenants since the world began. All of these things happened because God spoke it. Before the foundation of the world he laid it out and said it, and we're out of time again today. Praise God. Well, Merry Christmas. Glory to God. Come on, Jeremy. Merry Christmas, son.