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Posts Tagged ‘prayer’

Kenneth Copeland — Tithing Part 3

24 Mar

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

In tithing, you are laying the foundation for financial success
and abundance. You are establishing deposits with God
that can be used when you need them. Don’t wait until your
back is against the wall before you use your faith in this area.
Build your faith first when things are going well. Learn to act
on the Word now, and when Satan tries to pin you against the
wall, you can smile and know that you have it made. His power
over you financially has been stopped! When you stand on the
covenant of God and exercise your rights as a tither, Satan has
no chance against you. God will rebuke the devourer for your
sake. If your back is against the wall financially now, don’t wait
to begin tithing. You cannot afford to wait! The tithe belongs to
God in the first place. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me” (Malachi
3:8-9). This scripture says that a man who does not tithe is robbing
God and is operating under a curse because of it. Start
tithing now! If you don’t have any money, find something you
do have and give it today. There is no faster or surer way to
break that curse. Immediately when money comes into your
hands, FIRST take God’s tithe out and present it to Him. “Honor
the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors],
and with the first fruits of all your income, So shall your storage
places be filled with plenty, and your vats be overflowing with new
wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10, The Amplified Bible).

Remember, the Word says that God gives us the power to
get wealth and the blessing of the Lord makes rich. In tithing,
God is giving you 90 percent and receiving for His work in the
earth 10 percent to provide ministry for you. “And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians
4:11-12). You can’t out-give God! He gives back His 10 percent
to see to it that you are perfected, equipped and edified.

This brings us to the question of where God’s tithes are to be
placed. Some think only churches are to receive tithes. This
would be true if their church is the source of their spiritual food
and growth. The Word says to bring the tithes into the storehouse
so that there would be MEAT in His house. A storehouse is where
the food is. I know thousands of people attending churches of all
denominations that receive no spiritual food whatsoever from
their churches. How could that be a storehouse?

Verse 14 of Deuteronomy 26, The Amplified Bible, says, “I
have not eaten of the tithe…or given any of it to the dead; I have
hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according
to all that You have commanded me.” I would not consider
putting God’s tithe into a dead work. If you want to put money
in a church that is dead—not ministering to people—then put
your money into it, but it is important to put the tithe into a
storehouse that is feeding the life of God to the people. Many
churches and foundations serve as Satan’s reservoir to keep
finances out of the revival that is in the earth today.

To settle this question, since it is God’s money to start with
and since Jesus is the One who will handle and receive the tithe
(see Hebrews 7:8), pray and let Him tell you where it should be
put to work. I realize this is not too popular with some church
doctrines, but nevertheless, it is accurate. Jesus is Lord over
the finances of the Body of Christ! He is fair, and He is just in
the distribution of God’s tithe. When a church sees to it that the
people are fed, that church will receive its portion. When an
evangelist sees to it that the people are fed, Jesus will minister
to him his portion of God’s tithe. All the different ministries
qualify to receive from Jesus more than enough to fulfill their
particular calling when they feed God’s people.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Gloria Copeland — Tithing Part 2

17 Mar

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

This is our confession of redemption equivalent to Israel’s
deliverance from Egypt. The Bible says this is a type of our
deliverance from Satan. Israel pointed to Egypt; we point to
Calvary. Now as a guide for you to use, we have set out this
entire confession based on Deuteronomy 26:

We profess this day unto the Lord God that we have
come into the inheritance which the Lord swore to give
us. We are in the land which You have provided for us
in Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Almighty God. We were
sinners serving Satan. He was our god. But we called
upon the Name of Jesus, and You heard our cry and
delivered us from the power and authority of darkness
and translated us into the kingdom of Your dear Son.

Jesus, as our Lord and High Priest, we bring the first
fruits of our income to You and worship the Lord our
God with it. We rejoice in all the good which You have
given to us and our household. We have hearkened to
the voice of the Lord our God and have done according
to all that He has commanded us. Now look down from
Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless us as You
said in Your Word.

All of this is involved in tithing. You can readily see that it
can’t be done in the few seconds before the plate is passed in
church. It must be done on purpose, but I guarantee you, it is
worth every minute of it! My wife and I write our tithe checks,
hold them before God, and take the time to pray over them.
Our money then becomes a tool used in worshiping God.

Deuteronomy 26:10 says that the high priest will set the tithes
before God and worship Him with them. Can you grasp Jesus
worshiping God with your money? Wow! That’s quite a picture.

There is another part of this confession, from verses 14-15,
which is very important: “I have hearkened to the voice of the
Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded
me. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and
bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as
thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and
honey.” In contrast, we have thought, I’ll just keep giving and
maybe one of these days He will notice it and bless me. This is
wrong. The blessing of God is received by faith in His Word. It
does not come automatically, just as salvation does not come
automatically. You could say, “Well, go to church and God will
save you one of these days, if you’re lucky!” No, the laws governing
salvation must be acted on in order for them to work in
your life. Prosperity comes the same way. As we can see in
Malachi 3:10-11, God has promised the tither that He will open
the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will
not be room enough to receive.

We had an opportunity to put this to work some years ago
when a friend of mine had come to a standstill in his construction
business. He hadn’t received a contract in a long time and
something had to be done, so he and his wife came to us for
prayer. As I was praying about his situation, the Lord showed
me how to handle the problem. He was a tither, so we used
what was his according to the Word in Malachi 3:10-11, “Bring
ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine
house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will
not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke
the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of
your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time
in the field.” We prayed in line with this and believed God for
an abundant blessing. Then we rebuked the devourer, Satan.
We said, “Satan, this man is a tither, and you have no right to
bind his business. In the Name of Jesus, we command you to
get your hands off and do it now!” When I spoke with him
about three months later, he said that business had begun to
pour in. Praise the Lord! These are our rights as tithers according
to the Word of God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — Ready To Sow Part 1

17 Feb

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

While I was in prayer one afternoon during a meeting in
Dayton, Ohio, the Lord drew me to this portion of scripture
about laying up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor
rust corrupts. As I read this, the Lord said, “This rust and corruption
is inflation and depression.” If you will let heaven be
your financial reservoir—your bank and depository where you
place your trust—regardless of what happens to the world’s system,
you will always have more than enough! Then the Lord
said, “I did not say this treasure could not be used until you get
to heaven.” First Timothy 6:19 says to lay up for yourselves a
good foundation for the time to come when you will need it. A
heavenly bank is not subject to theft and ruin; it will always be
there when you need it.

Up to this time I was under the impression that when I
gave, I could expect the entire amount plus the hundredfold
return on it immediately, but there were times when it didn’t
work like that. I was confused, so I asked the Lord about it. My
needs were always abundantly met, but I didn’t fully understand
what was happening. The Lord explained it this way:

“There was no use in My transferring money which you
had laid up in heaven to an earthly bank when you didn’t need
all of it at the time. When money is on earth, it is vulnerable to
Satan and to the world’s system of finance. If I gave you $1,000
today, in nine months’ time, it probably wouldn’t be worth
more than $750. You need to learn to exercise your faith in the
fact that you have this money on deposit, and when you need
it, all you have to do is call for it. Make your deposits with Me
according to the rate of exchange which My Word guarantees
and operate under My system of finance instead of the world’s
system. We can make it work at the current rate of exchange at
that time. It won’t matter if it takes a billion dollars to buy a
loaf of bread—I [God] can afford it!” If God can afford it, so
can I. He’s my Father!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — Putting Prayer to Work!

14 Oct

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Prayer based on the Word is already in line with the will of
God. First John 5:14-15 tells us that we know God hears us
and answers our prayer when we ask according to His will.

I have included some very brief instruction for making
Jesus your Lord and for receiving the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit. Of course, there is much more but these will get you
started. God will honor your prayers and give you direction.

Some of these prayers are confessions of the Word of
God, not petitions. Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the Lord, ye
his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments,
hearkening unto the voice of his word.” The angels
hearken or listen to God’s Word and cooperate with Him in
bringing it to pass in your behalf. God is alert and active,
watching over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). The
speaking or confessing of the Word by the believer activates
the power of God. He has said, “So shall My word be that
goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void
[without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish
that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper
in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, The Amplified
Bible). As you speak God’s Word over situations and circumstances,
it will produce a positive effect and prosper in
those areas.

Do you know where you stand with God?

If you have never made Jesus the Lord of your life, then you
are separated from God through sin. You are the reason God
sent Jesus to the cross. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son for you.

Second Corinthians 5:21 says God made Jesus, who knew
no sin, to be sin for us. Jesus is the spotless Son of God. He
knew no sin, but God made Him to be sin for us. Sin was the
reason Jesus came to earth. He died on the Cross and went to
hell for one reason: to pay the price for sin. Once that price
was paid, Jesus was raised from the dead, triumphant over
Satan, and the sin problem was taken care of.

God is not holding your sin against you. He sent Jesus as
your substitute. He paid the debt. Now you can receive the
credit for what He did in your place (Isaiah 53:3-5).

The price has been paid, but it’s not an automatic thing.
You must choose to accept what He did for you and receive
Him as your personal Savior. If you have never done so,
choose Him now. Repent of your sin (turn totally from it) and
pray this prayer. When you do, the power of God will make
you a new creature in Christ Jesus. Say:

Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I present myself
to You. I pray and ask Jesus to be Lord over my life. I
believe it in my heart, so I say it with my mouth: Jesus
has been raised from the dead. This moment, I make
Him the Lord over my life. Jesus, come into my heart. I
believe this moment that I am saved. I say it now: I am
reborn. I am a Christian. I am a child of Almighty God.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — Unforgiveness and Strife

07 Oct

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Another hindrance to prayer is found in Mark 11:25-26. It
says, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught
against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive
you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will
your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” This is
vital. Prayer will not work without forgiveness. I cannot overemphasize
its importance. Jesus prayed, “Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily
bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that
is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver
us from evil” (Luke 11:2-4). Spiritual principles are involved
here. You can keep these hindrances from stopping the results
of your prayers. Harmony makes the prayer system work.

This attitude of forgiveness begins at home. Jesus said if
any two of you will agree on earth, He will be in your midst.
A man and his wife should be the strongest agreement force
there is. Satan goes to great lengths to separate a man from
his wife and family. He wants them out of agreement.

First Peter 3:7 says, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them
[your wives] according to knowledge [according to the Word of
God], giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers
be not hindered.” If a husband is not honoring his wife as he
should, his prayers are hindered. The burden of harmony is not
on the wife. The husband is the authority in his household. The
power of God is available to the man and wife who purpose to
stay in harmony.

As you come against unforgiveness and reach for harmony,
you will experience Jesus in your midst! He said, “If a man
love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”
(John 14:23).

You cannot say you are pleasing God and hold something
against someone. First John 4:20 says, “If a man say, I love
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom
he hath not seen?” This includes family members as well.

Strife and unforgiveness hinder your prayer life. Strife
is merely acting on unforgiveness. James 3:16 says, “For
where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
work.” When you take confusion and add it to Satan’s work,
problems arise. You will have a disaster in the making. Jesus
is not in the midst of that. Determine you are not going to
respond in strife. The next time someone says something
rude, unmannerly or unkind to you, or about someone else,
make the decision not to join in. Don’t carry strife any further.

Second Timothy 2:24-26 says that because of strife, Satan can
capture Christians at his will. Jesus said the thief comes to steal,
kill and destroy (John 10:10). That is the only reason he gets
involved in your life. The believer belongs to God and has every
right to walk free, but wholeness—spirit, soul, body, financially
and socially—is only achieved through peace and harmony.

The absence of strife is the key to getting rid of confusion
and evil. It is the predominant, primary prerequisite for
answered prayer. Stop Satan from working in your life. You
do not want him in your home or your prayer life. So the first
thing to do is begin to forgive. Get strife out of your life. Jesus
said to ask and you will receive, that your joy may be made
full. Your joy will be strong.

Matthew 18:19-20 will not work just because two people
say the same thing. The prayer of agreement is effective
because of its motivating force—love!

As you read this, take the opportunity right now to rid
yourself of strife, disharmony or unforgiveness. Confess
it. Jesus is faithful to forgive you (1 John 1:9). Give God the
opportunity to create a system of harmony around you and
your prayer life will begin to work.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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