When these facts become a reality on the
inside of him, then he becomes a powerful
believer, a joint heir with Jesus Christ. He
knows that his Father has carefully planned
for his deliverance and for his victory. From
that point forward, he’ll never question
whether or not he should prosper or whether
or not he ought to be healed. He is no longer
on the defense—he is on the attack. He no
longer hesitates—he is constant and stable.
Jesus said He would build His Church on
the rock and the gates of hell would not prevail
against it (Matthew 16:18). In other
words, the powers of hell would not succeed
against it. That rock is the Word of God.
Jesus compared the man who acts on the
Word to a man who built his house on the
rock (Matthew 7:24). When the storm beat
against the house, it stood strong. In this
parable the storm beat against both houses—
the one on the rock and the one on the sand.
The same storm hit both houses. It wasn’t the
storm that made the house strong. The house
was strong before the storm hit. It was built
on a firm foundation. This is how the Body
of Christ is to be—built on the firm foundation
of the Word of God.
Become single-minded. Make the decision—
choose life and blessing. Decide to
win—decide to overcome. Until this decision
is made, you will be double-minded. But the
moment you make your decision to be a
winner, you will be out on top! There will be
times when you’ll have to stand and be
patient and consistent, but when a man is
consistent on the Word of God, he will know
the Truth and the Truth will make him free.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
With every situation and every circumstance,
we must make a very definite choice.
Notice Deuteronomy 30:19:
I call heaven and earth to record
this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and
cursing: therefore choose life, that both
thou and thy seed may live.
The choice is yours—either life or death,
blessing or cursing. God has set this choice
before you with His written Word. The only
way you can find the true definitions of life
and death is by studying His Word.
Jesus said, “My words are life” (John
6:63). God told Joshua that if he would meditate
in the Word day and night, he would
prosper and have good success. Proverbs
4:20-22 tells us to attend to the words of
God “for they are life unto those that find them,
and health to all their flesh.”
In order to choose life and blessing, you
will have to choose the Word of God, for it is
life. You will have to become Word-minded
instead of trouble-minded, life-minded
instead of death-minded. You will have to
become single-minded on the Word of God.
When you become Word-minded, you begin
to realize that He Who raised Jesus from the
dead is residing in you and He that is in you
is greater than he that is in the world.
The dividing line between life and death
is this: The thief, Satan, comes only to kill,
steal and to destroy. Jesus came that we
might have life and have it more abundantly
(John 10:10).
Satan is the thief. He is trying to rob the Body of
Christ of its power. The believer has the whole
armor of God available to him, and Satan has no
defense for that armor. He must deceive the
believer and sidetrack him. He must operate
in the world of the natural because in the
world of the spirit, the believer can beat him
with his powerful spiritual weapons. The
Sword of the Spirit, God’s Word, can wound
Satan deeply, so he uses deception.
He comes against the believer in the
physical world and tries to convince him that
God is actually the one who made him sick
or that God took his baby or that God wants
him to live in poverty. If the believer entertains
those thoughts for any length of time,
he will begin to doubt. He will hesitate. He
will become double-minded. That hesitation
will give Satan a valuable advantage. Then
the next time Satan attacks, that believer will
be a little easier to defeat.
The believer must decide not to back up
any longer. The man that is single-minded
on God’s Word has to know for sure that
God’s will was Jesus on the Cross; that God’s
will is for him to prosper and be in health;
that God’s will is to meet all his needs
according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus; that God’s will is for him to receive
the blessings of Abraham through faith in
Jesus Christ.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
What about the question of whether or not
God permits bad things to happen to us? The
answer to that is yes, He does permit them.
There isn’t much He can do about it! Why?
Because we have been given authority in the
earth. God gave Adam the authority to rule
the earth, to have dominion over it, and to
subdue it. God didn’t butt in on man’s business
after that. He kept His Word with Adam,
even though He had to swear to His own
hurt to keep it. Did God send the devil in to
get Adam? No, He kicked out the devil and
gave Adam authority over the whole situation.
Adam was the one that let in the devil.
Jesus said, “All power has been given unto
me, both in heaven and on earth, so you go
into all the world and preach the gospel. In
my Name, cast out the devil” (Matthew 28:18;
Mark 16:15-18). He gave the believer His
Word and the commission to do it. There
should be no hesitation, nothing dubious
about our thinking.
We have been given authority in the earth,
and when we let the thief run loose, there is
nothing God can do about it. A city judge has
legal authority, but if the policemen out in the
field just let the thief run loose and never get
him to the judge, then there’s nothing the judge
or the law can do about it. It’s the man out in
the field with authority to make arrests that
makes the difference between law and order and
a riot. You and I, as believers, are God’s policemen
in the field. We have the authority of the Name of
Jesus and the Sword of the Spirit. There is no
reason why Satan should run roughshod over any
born-again believer.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Make up your mind to control your vocabulary and do not
let words of strife, envy and that sort of thing come out of your
mouth. God will be able to use you. Suppose God gave you His
power and anointing and then turned up the volume inside
you. If you got mad and said things you shouldn’t, you could
deeply hurt a person with the words of your mouth. The Word
says don’t let corrupt communication proceed from your
mouth; be kind and tenderhearted toward one another; minister
grace to one another; grieve not the Holy Spirit (see
Ephesians 4:29-32). When you make the commitment that
your words will minister grace to the hearer or else you won’t
say them, then you will see the anointing of God begin to rise
up within you. Your words will begin to mean something. Then
God can trust you with His power in your mouth. This is the
secret to ministry, to life, to prosperity, to healing. Jesus said
you can have what you say. When your words line up with
God, the problems are over.
Decide to make your conversation becoming to Jesus. If it is
not becoming to Him, do not say it. If you have to talk to somebody,
talk to Jesus. He can do something about the situation.
Don’t criticize until you can do better. Don’t criticize
Billy Graham until you have won millions of souls to Jesus.
Don’t criticize Peter until you have walked on the water.
Husband, don’t criticize your wife’s cooking until you can do
better. Wife, don’t criticize your husband for watching ballgames
in his undershirt until you start looking decent in the
morning. Don’t go around the house with curlers in your hair
and wearing a 42-year-old bathrobe! Begin to look your part.
The wife is the queen and center of love in the home—act like
it. The husband is the prophet and priest of the family, not the
court jester! The children represent what God has done with
the whole human race. They are born of love. Their parents’
love brought them into existence. When these roles in the family
are lived according to God’s Word, the power and anointing
of God will dwell in your home. If you want to fix your church
situation, fix your family first. If you want your nation righted,
start with your own family. My wife and I are on a lifelong honeymoon.
We learned some of these things right after we got saved
and have hardly had an argument. I fought some, but she
wouldn’t—so it never came off. I used to come home looking
for a fight, but the soft answer turns away wrath. We have the
love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (see
Romans 5:5).
This is life! It’s what living is all about! The love of God.
Why don’t you make a quality decision now and commit to
this life of love, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost? Pray and
ask God to forgive you of the sin of unforgiveness. As an act
of your will, forgive those who have wronged you. Don’t hold it
inside you. Release it and let God cleanse your heart. Then
make this your confession before God:
“My heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I have seen
in Your Word a glimpse of life free from strife, free from
unforgiveness, and full of Your love and Your peace. I
lay hold on it now by faith and confess that Your love is
active in my home. I commit myself to perfect the love
of God in my heart and life and to bring it to a place of
predominance. Jesus is my Lord. You are my Father and
I am Your child. I am born of the love of God, and this
love in me never fails through the power of the Holy
Spirit. I thank You, Father, and praise You for it, in
Jesus’ Name.”
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
