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Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

Gloria Copeland — Enter Into His Rest

11 Feb

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Teaching His disciples, Jesus said:

I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:25-30).

We should labor to enter into that rest. What is the rest of God? Walking in the Spirit. Walking in a life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. This is the high life Jesus was talking about—walking in liberty from the bondages of this world. Nothing in this world can defeat us if we enter into the rest of God. To walk in His Spirit will make us obedient to Him, and the power of God will be manifested in us. People’s souls are so pressured in this hour. There are so many problems in the world today, so many problems in individuals’ lives. Jesus was talking to us in this passage. He was saying: “Whatever you learn of Me, cause that to be the path of your life, and you will find rest for your souls.” Take His yoke upon you. It is easy. You’ll love the results of obedience!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Gloria Copeland — Harden Not Your Heart

21 Jan

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

For so many years I walked on the written Word of God and depended on it. It changed my life. The Word renewed my thinking. I began to think like God thinks in many ways. But one area in which I was insecure was making decisions when the Word did not give me specific directions.

The Word does not tell us whether to move to another city or what person to marry. We have to make these individual decisions by the direction of God’s Spirit in our spirits. We have to learn to listen to our spirit who is being communicated with by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 says the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits.

You cannot wait until you see a burning bush or hear an audible voice to follow God. If you did, you would not know where you are going most of the time. I wish it were so plain when God talks to us that we could hear His audible voice, but that audible voice happens too rarely to rely on for everyday guidance.

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness…. Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:7-8, 4:7).

You must be willing to hear His voice and harden not your heart. How do you harden your heart? You resist the Word of God and the promptings of the Spirit. You decide, “No, that is not my will; I have decided to go another way.” You might not make that actual declaration, but if the Spirit of God leads you to do something and you fail to do it, essentially you are saying, “I shall do my own will in this matter.” If you harden your heart, it is unbelief to the written Word and to the voice of the Spirit of God that comes up within you. Harden your heart and you will not live in rest.

One definition of harden is “to make firm, solid or rigid.” In Ezekiel 36:26, God says He will take away the stony heart and give a heart of flesh, or a soft heart, a pliable heart. You could say it is a heart that the Holy Spirit can maneuver.

So, if you harden not your heart, what happens to you?

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:9, 11).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Gloria Copeland — Faith: A Violent Force Part 1

01 Dec

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Most people don’t see faith as a violent force. But spiritually speaking, it is! Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12).

Faith is aggressive. It uses the Word of God as a weapon and brings down every stronghold of unbelief and every demonic obstacle in its path!

You must become spiritually aggressive if you want to walk in the supernatural. You have to do it by faith using the Word of God or you won’t do it at all.

People who don’t know about aggressive faith waste a great deal of time. When they find themselves in a difficult situation, they often just sit back and wait for God to rescue them.

But you won’t get anywhere just waiting for God to do everything. He’s already given you the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. He won’t do your part! As one minister says, “The Holy Spirit is
your helper and if you don’t do what you’re supposed to, He doesn’t have anything to help.”

So, don’t just sit there—do something! Fight the good fight of faith! Put the Word of God in your heart and in your mouth every day. Get aggressive. Make it your lifestyle. The Apostle Paul did. He said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

I’ll tell you something else: No matter how much you know or how long you’ve been in the walk of faith, the basics don’t change.

Ken and I have never encountered a problem from which God didn’t deliver us. On the other hand, we’ve never been in a situation that didn’t require us to walk by faith and do all the basic things we learned many years ago. It has never changed. It never will.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — Don’t Be Caught by Surprise

13 Sep

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

One way to keep them a priority is by cultivating the expectancy of Jesus’ soon return. The Bible says, “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as [Jesus] is pure” (1 John 3:3).

Do you want to be ready? Then spend time studying and meditating the scriptures about Jesus’ coming. Build your hope to the point where you wake up every morning looking expectantly for Him.

Live every day watching for His return. Don’t let it catch you by surprise. It’s not supposed to, you know. Even though God hasn’t disclosed to us the exact day or the hour, according to the Bible, if we’re alert we will know the season of Jesus’ return. In fact, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24 that His coming would be like the Flood in Noah’s day (verses 32-33, 36-39). Think about that for a moment. That Flood took the world by surprise, didn’t it? They were just going about their natural business, not expecting anything unusual, when suddenly they were swept away. They were completely in the dark about what was happening.

But Noah wasn’t caught by surprise. He’d been working on the ark for years. He’d been expecting that Flood. He didn’t know the day or the hour, but he knew it was coming and he was ready. When it started to rain, Noah wasn’t in the dark, he was in the ark!

That’s how we’re supposed to be concerning Jesus’ return. We’re to be aware of the season (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6). If you’re watching and walking in tune with the Spirit, you won’t be in the dark. You won’t be caught unaware at the time of Jesus’ coming. You’ll know in your spirit He is at the door.

Personally, I believe that on the day He comes, I’ll wake up with the anointing of God flowing through me so strongly, I’ll know something is about to happen. Spiritually speaking, my hair will be standing straight up. And when I hear that trumpet sound, when I hear that joyful shout, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!” I’ve already made up my mind, I’ll be ready. Will you?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — The Holy Spirit and Your Finances

28 Oct

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Father, in the Name of Jesus, I realize that as a believer, my
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. My acknowledgment of
Your presence on a daily basis makes my faith in You effectual.
I believe that You, heavenly Father, are leading me and
guiding me by the Holy Spirit through my spirit, and illuminating
my mind.

As I yield to the Holy Spirit, I believe that my steps are
ordered of the Lord. I commit and trust myself wholly to His
guidance, expecting Him to cause my thoughts to become
agreeable to His will, so my plans will be established and succeed.
I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my
own understanding. As I acknowledge Him, He directs me in
paths of righteousness.

I confess that as I become more God-inside-minded, I can
more easily recognize the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. I
hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and a stranger’s voice I will
not follow. I am aware that my spirit is the candle of the Lord.

I meditate in the Word day and night, not letting it depart
from my mouth. I test my inward witness with the Word, for
the Spirit and the Word agree. I am quick to act on the Word,
as well as the prompting of my spirit. I am not a hearer only,
but a doer. Therefore, I am blessed in all my deeds.

Heavenly Father, I have chosen Jesus as the Lord of my life
and I seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, believing
that the material things I need will be supplied. I choose
for my character and moral disposition to be free from the
love of money, greed, lust and craving for earthly possessions.
I am satisfied with my present circumstances and with what I
have, being confident, because You have promised You will
not in any way fail me, nor leave me without support. I am
confident in Your faithfulness, that You will never leave me,
nor forsake me, nor leave me helpless.

I take comfort and am encouraged. I boldly say, that the
Lord is my helper and I will not be seized with alarm. I will
not fear, or dread or be terrified.

I believe, Father, that You wish above all things that I
prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. I will
meditate in Your Word day and night, not letting it depart
from my mouth, keeping it in the midst of my heart, observing
to do all that is written therein. I believe then I shall
make my way prosperous and have good success. You have
promised that as a doer of the Word I will be blessed in all
my deeds. I am assured that You will withhold no good thing
from me as I walk uprightly. The uncompromising are never
forsaken. I make it my ambition to live quietly and peacefully,
to mind my own affairs, to work with my hands so that I may
bear myself becomingly, correctly and honorably and command
the respect of the outside world, being self-supporting,
dependent on no one and having need of nothing.

Knowing through Your Word, Father, that You are the Lord
my God who teaches me to profit and who leads me by the
way I should go, I will put Your principles to work in my life
regarding employment. I choose to apply myself to good
deeds—to honest labor and honorable employment—so that
I may be able to meet necessary demands whenever the occasion
may require, and that I may not live an idle, uncultivated,
unfruitful life, in Jesus’ Name.

I labor so that I may walk honestly toward those who are
without. As I give, it is given to me again—good measure,
pressed down, shaken together and running over—do men
give into my bosom. I do not sow sparingly and grudgingly,
but rather, I sow generously, blessing others. Therefore, I can
expect to reap generously and with blessings.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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