I will be the first to admit that I was not always
this devoted and committed.

Back in the late ’50s I was running from the
Church. I planned never to attend one again. Then,
just to please my father, I attended a meeting of the
Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship. What a joy it
was to hear testimonies of men who affirmed that
God was in their businesses. Before that time, we
never heard such men stand up and talk about God.
If they prayed, they were hiding in their prayer closet
somewhere so no one would know about it. None
of them ever wanted to say anything about God out
in the open.

This event was like a breath of fresh, clean air. It
caught my attention. A group of Christian businessmen
got my attention that night. My dad was part of
the chapter in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the first men
I heard speak was Lester Sumrall. The minute I heard
him I knew I was in the presence of a real man a
man of God.

When I walked into that room, those men started
hugging me. I had never seen anything like it! I was
being treated like I was somebody. That got my attention.
The Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship had
gotten the attention of businessmen all over the world
who woke up to the importance of honor and integrity
in business and dealing with others because of
the organizations influence in their own lives.

At this point in my life I had spent a lot of time in
the entertainment business. I would much rather have
been John Wayne than Kenneth Copeland. I also liked
to lie. When someone asked me a question, I would lie
just to see if I could get them to believe it. I said ugly
things, too, just to see people cringe. It was terrible.

My wife said to me one time: “I’m never going out
in public with you again as long as I live. You’ve got
the nastiest mouth I’ve ever heard.” And she was right.
I was foulmouthed, and I lied habitually. It was a
game I played. I knew it was wrong, but there was a
spirit dogging me. Then I came to the Lord.

The very first thing God did was clean up my
speech. He took the profanity and the lying out of my
mouth the night I got saved. That was a night I will
never forget.

The devil tried to tell me, Oh man, you’re just on
some kind of emotional kick.

I was and I’m still on one! I knew my experience
with the Lord was real because something had
changed within me. There was peace on the inside of
me, and I had no desire to lie or curse.

What was working in me? God’s honor.
All of a sudden I had a desire to be honorable. I
didn’t want to lie or be foulmouthed. Today, I have a
new desire a new spirit within me.

As you develop the honor of God in your life, it
begins to work in your heart, in your marriage, in
your business, in your career. The hard decisions
are already made once you decide to live and walk by
faith a life walk. You do your part, God does His part.
The devil does his part and runs!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries