12Nov/100

Kenneth Copeland — Exposing the Deadly Nature of Grief Pt 7

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Those kinds of supernatural experiences don’t come to you when you’re squalling and bawling, yielding to the devil’s henchmen. They don’t come to you when you can be bought off with a two-bit rush of emotion called grief. They come to you when you’re willing to fight the devil and live by faith, yielding to the Holy Spirit. They come when you refuse to give in to sorrow—even when the devil puts the pressure on. Can you see how we’ve been robbing ourselves by playing the devil’s deadly game?

Several months after Stanley left, while Gloria and I were in a meeting, a woman who had a prophetic ministry came and spoke to Gloria. “I don’t know what this means,” she said, “but a fellow told me to give you this message.”

Then she explained that she’d been praying and interceding recently when, in a vision, God had caught her away to heaven. She found herself standing in a huge dining room, having a discussion with someone. Their discussion had nothing to do with Gloria and me. Yet while she was there, a young man who had been setting places at the big table nearby came over to her. He said, “Tell Gloria, Stanley wasn’t in the truck.”

Do you see? This stuff is real! Real, you understand? It’s a lot more real than this death game we’ve been playing!

My friend, we can’t afford this devilish game of grief and sorrow anymore. It is killing us—it is stealing the real and powerful experiences God wants to give us, and destroying us in a far deeper way than we ever imagined.

So don’t give in to it anymore. When the devil tries to burden you with grief and sorrow, resist him. You may have to walk the floor all night long. But instead of worrying and crying, walk the floor and quote the Word until that sorry spirit leaves and the real rush and overflow comes—the joy of the Lord, which is your strength.

Remember who you are! You’re the one who shall obtain gladness and joy. You’re the one sorrow and grief shall flee away from. You’ve got no business singing the blues. You’re the redeemed of the Lord.
Don’t you think it’s about time you started saying so?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Tagged as: blues, emotions, faith, grief, joy, sorrow, Spirit, strength, vision No Comments

26May/100

Gloria Copeland — Count It All Joy

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

The Word tells us to “count it all joy when
we fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2) or,
as the Greek text says, “into different trials
and tribulations.” What does the Word say
about joy? There is a difference between joy and
happiness. Happiness is controlled by the
condition or the comfort of the five physical
senses. Joy is not. The Bible says that joy is a
fruit of the spirit. It is a spiritual force—it is
born inside the human heart. We read in
Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is
our strength, so we can count it strength
when these trials and tribulations come our
way. Don’t count it defeat—count it strength!
Don’t count it negative—count it affirmative!
Jesus said, “Ask, and ye shall receive, that your
joy may be full” (John 16:24). Count it
answered prayer.

To count it all joy does not mean that you
are to thank God because your child is sick.
Let’s look at a portion of the Scripture here
that is often misunderstood.

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Some of us have read this verse and
thought, “The will of God is for me to give
thanks for everything.” That is not true. That
thing or circumstance
is not the will of God for you—giving
thanks is the will of God. When
you praise God and give Him thanks in the
midst of your situation, you step under the
protective umbrella of the will of God. You
may not know what the Word says about
your particular situation, but the Word does
say to give thanks. Then, while you are under
that protective umbrella, Satan can’t touch you.

You may ask, “How do you count it all joy, Sister
Copeland?” I had a good opportunity to do this one
night when my little daughter had a high
fever. I went into her room, laid hands on
her and prayed, “Father, in the Name of
Jesus, I count it all joy to prove once again
that the Word is real and filled with power.
I’m a faith man, and I’m not moved by what
I see. I’m turning her over to You, and I
believe that You will take care of her in Jesus’
Name. Now, I just praise You and thank You
for her healing.” I didn’t praise God for her
fever because it wasn’t hers and God didn’t
give it to her. Jesus bore her sickness and
disease. If it belonged to anyone, it belonged
to Satan, who was trying to put it on her.

I have accepted Calvary as the sacrifice
that paid the price for my total redemption—
from sin, sickness, poverty, and death. I
believe that and I stand on it. I have certain
rights, called righteousness, in the kingdom
of God and one of these is the right to a
healthy body. Jesus has provided it for me,
and I take hold of it with my faith.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Tagged as: count, faith, healing, joy, prayer, sickness, strength, thanks, Will of God No Comments

24Mar/10Off

Gloria Copeland — Who Is Your Enemy? Part 3

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Let’s find out what God’s Word has to say in
the book of James about our troubles and shed
the light on religious tradition.

My brethren, count it all joy when
ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your
faith worketh patience. But let patience
have her perfect work, that ye may be
perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him. But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like a
wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord. A double minded man is unstable
in all his ways. (James 1:2-8)

Notice that James 1:3 says that the trying of
your faith works patience. It does not say that
the trying of your faith is to teach you, or that
it perfects your faith, or that it makes your
faith strong. Faith is strengthened by the Word
of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So,
the trying of your faith exercises patience.

Now, what does patience mean? The definition
of patience is not “to put up with” like
many of us think. The dictionary says that to
be patient is “to be constant, or the same way,
all the time regardless of the circumstances.”

This is the way we, as believers, must be—
patient, stable, consistent, the same way all the
time. Regardless of our circumstances, regardless
of what life throws at us, we should always
respond in exactly the same way: “Thus saith the
Word of God!” When we respond this way, we
take on the same attribute as Jesus—the same
yesterday, today and forever. This is the reason
Jesus is always the same—He never varies to the
right or to the left from the Word of God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Tagged as: circumstances, consistent, faith, Jesus, patience, strength, Word of God Comments Off

18Nov/09Off

Kenneth Copeland — When You Need God’s Strength

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Job 36:5
KJV—Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth
not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

NKJV—Behold, God is mighty, but despises
no one; He is mighty in strength of
understanding.

AMP—Behold! God is mighty, and yet despises
no one nor regards anything as trivial; He is
mighty in power of understanding and heart.

NIV—God is mighty, but does not despise
men; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.

Psalm 24:8
KJV—Who is this King of glory? The Lord
strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

AMP—Who is the King of glory? The Lord
strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Moffatt—Who is the glorious King? ’Tis the
Eternal, strong in might, the Eternal conquering
from the fight.

Psalm 59:9
KJV—Because of his strength will I wait upon
thee: for God is my defence.

NKJV—I will wait for You, O You his Strength;
for God is my defense.

AMP—O my Strength, I will watch and give
heed to You and sing praises; for God is my
Defense (my Protector and High Tower).

NAS—Because of his strength I will watch for
You, for God is my stronghold.

Psalm 89:21-22
KJV—My hand shall be established: mine arm
also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not
exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness
afflict him.

AMP—My hand shall be established and ever
abide; My arm also shall strengthen him. The
enemy shall not exact from him or do him
violence or outwit him, nor shall the wicked
afflict and humble him.

Moffatt—My hand shall always be a help to him,
my arm shall make him strong; no foe shall ever
surprise him, no miscreant shall master him.

NIV—My hand will sustain him; surely my arm
will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him
to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.

Psalm 145:14
KJV—The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and
raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

AMP—The Lord upholds all those [of His own]
who are falling and raises up all those who are
bowed down.

Moffatt—The Eternal holds up any who are
falling, and raises all who are bowed down.

NIV—The Lord upholds all those who fall and
lifts up all who are bowed down.

John 17:1, 11, 14-15
KJV—These words spake Jesus, and lifted up
his eyes to heaven, and said, Father.… Keep
through thine own name those whom thou
hast given me, that they may be one, as we
are…. I have given them thy word; and the
world hath hated them, because they are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. I
pray not that thou shouldest take them out of
the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil.

NIV—After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven
and prayed: “…Holy Father, protect them by the
power of your name—the name you gave me—so
that they may be one as we are one.... I have given
them your word and the world has hated them, for
they are not of the world any more than I am of
the world. My prayer is not that you take them out
of the world but that you protect them from the
evil one.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Tagged as: defense, mighty, protection, strength Comments Off

4Nov/09Off

Gloria Copeland — The Lord Gives Strength To The Weak

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Psalm 41:1-2

KJV—Blessed is he that considereth the poor:
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him, and keep him
alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth:
and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of
his enemies.

AMP—Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied)
is he who considers the weak and the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil
and trouble. The Lord will protect him and
keep him alive; he shall be called blessed in
the land; and You will not deliver him to the
will of his enemies.

Psalm 109:30-31

KJV—I will greatly praise the Lord with my
mouth.... For he shall stand at the right hand
of the poor, to save him from those that
condemn his soul.

AMP—I will give great praise and thanks to
the Lord with my mouth.... For He will stand at
the right hand of the poor and needy, to save
him from those who condemn his life.

Moffatt—I will give thanks aloud to the
Eternal...for he supports a helpless man, to
save him from his persecutors.

Isaiah 25:4

KJV—For thou hast been a strength to the
poor, a strength to the needy in his distress,
a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the
heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as
a storm against the wall.

AMP—For You have been a stronghold for
the poor, a stronghold for the needy in his
distress, a shelter from the storm, a shade from
the heat; for the blast of the ruthless ones is
like a rainstorm against a wall.

NIV—You have been a refuge for the poor, a
refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter
from the storm and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm
driving against a wall.

NAS—For You have been a defense for
the helpless, a defense for the needy in his
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from
the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a
rain storm against a wall.

Isaiah 40:28-29

KJV—The Lord...giveth power to the faint; and
to them that have no might he increaseth
strength.

AMP—The Lord...gives power to the faint
and weary, and to him who has no might He
increases strength [causing it to multiply and
making it abound].

Moffatt—The Eternal...never faints, never is
weary, his insight is unsearchable; into the
weary he puts power, and adds new strength
to the weak.

NIV—The Lord...gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Daniel 10:18-19

KJV—There came again and touched me
one like the appearance of a man, and he
strengthened me, and said, O man greatly
beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be
strong, yea, be strong. And when he had
spoken unto me, I was strengthened.

AMP—There touched me again one whose
appearance was like that of a man, and he
strengthened me. And he said, O man greatly
beloved, fear not! Peace be to you! Be strong,
yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to
me, I was strengthened.

Moffatt—One in the likeness of a man again
touched me and strengthened me, saying, “O
man greatly loved by God, fear not; all good
be yours; be strong, be brave.” At his words I
gained strength.

NIV—Again the one who looked like a man
touched me and gave me strength. “Do not
be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he said.
“Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he
spoke to me, I was strengthened.