The second form of depositing is giving to the poor.
Proverbs 19:17 says, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth
unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him
again.” When you give to the poor, you can expect back what
you gave. You can’t give away your money by giving to the
poor. You are actually lending to the Lord, and He will repay
you. He considers it a loan, and since He teaches us not to owe
money, He won’t owe money either. As soon as you lend it to
Him, He will pay it back. If Jesus walked up to you and asked
to borrow $100, don’t you think He would repay you?
It is important for you to realize that all material wealth is
in the earth. It will not be rained down on us from heaven. It is
already here, and there is more than enough for everyone. The
Bible says that we will suck of the abundance of the seas and of
the treasures hid in the sand (see Deuteronomy 33:19). The
problem is that we don’t know how to reach it. However, by
giving to the poor we are giving God an opportunity not only
to work with us financially and bless us, but also to help the
man in need.
There are some things you need to understand about this
form of giving. I remember when a close friend of mine was
telling me about taking some things to a poor woman. She said,
“You know, before I could even get out the door, the woman
was asking if I had any pots and pans or anything else she
could have.” This attitude of the poor woman disturbed her, so
we prayed about it. The Lord spoke to me and said, “That’s the
way you do Me. I give you one thing, and before long you’re
jerking My coattail over something else. Now that’s all right
with Me, but you must realize that you are the only hope a poor
person has. You represent supply to them and they have never
had that before.”
Archive for March, 2010
Kenneth Copeland — Giving To The Poor Part 1
Kenneth Copeland — Tithing Part 3
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
Gloria Copeland — Tithing Part 2
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
Gloria Copeland — Tithing Part 1
This is, of course, the most familiar financial subject to
Christians. Nearly all of us are aware of the practice of tithing,
but very few actually realize its true significance. It was a commandment
of God to Israel that 10 percent of their first fruits
belonged to God. As I mentioned earlier, when God told me to
teach this subject for the first time, He led me to Deuteronomy 26
where He first introduced it to Israel. Let’s start with the first
verse and relate this to our role under the new covenant.
“And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which
the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it,
and dwellest therein.” How does this relate to the Christian? The
Word says in Colossians 1:13 that God has delivered us from
the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom
of His dear Son. We are living in the kingdom of God. We have
entered into our inheritance in Jesus Christ and possess it in
His Name. We have the title deed to this kingdom through faith
in Jesus Christ. The authority has been given to us, and God is
showing us how to exercise our tithing privileges in order to
maintain control efficiently in the financial world.
Verses 2-3, “That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of
the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God
giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place
which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And
thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days.” Who is
this priest? Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is our High Priest.
Hebrews 7:8, speaking of Jesus, says He receives our tithes
personally. Therefore, we are to go to Him with our tithes and
say to Him, “I profess this day unto the Lord God that I am
come into the inheritance which the Lord swore to give me.”
This is a very important point in the tithing procedure: Make a
confession before your High Priest.
Verse 4, “And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand,
and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.” Can you see
where we have been missing it? We quickly drop our tithe
money into the offering plate as it passes by or stuff it into an
envelope without a thought. Instead, we are to present it to
Jesus, who, in turn, will set it before the altar of God.
Then in verses 5-10, the Lord builds Israel a confession telling
of His mighty work in their lives and of delivering them from
bondage in Egypt. At this point, we Christians need to switch to
our position under the New Testament. We were sinners in the
world, and our confession should be something like this: “I am
in the land which You have provided for me in Jesus Christ, the
kingdom of Almighty God. I was a sinner serving Satan. He was
my god. But I called upon the Name of Jesus, and You heard my
cry and delivered me from the power and authority of darkness
and translated me into the kingdom of Your dear Son. Jesus is my
Lord, and I bring the first fruits of my labors to Him as the High
Priest and worship You with it. We rejoice in all the good which
You have given to us and our household.”
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Kenneth Copeland — Ready To Sow Part 3
My schedule was already set up, and it dictated that I use
an airplane. You can’t operate on our schedule and use the airlines
or an automobile. It was set up around a private plane.
Airlines service 650 airports in the United States. We service
8,000 with our own plane. So you can see that there was an
immediate need for another airplane.
God said, “When you give the airplane, this deposit will
enable you to call for a withdrawal to handle your television
ministry.” Well, in order to film it and put it on the air before
the people, we needed several months’ time and thousands of
dollars. The Lord had already shown me how it was to operate—
the people who heard the Word would support it in order
for others to hear it. But there was a certain period of time
when the television ministry would not be exposed to anyone.
This created a need in addition to the need for an airplane. The
Lord said, “I’ll handle it for you if you’ll make the proper
deposits.” So we did.
On February 21, just 10 days later, we had a new airplane
and the money for the television ministry. Just 10 days! Only
God could handle a situation like that. The second airplane was
worth five times more than the first one. It was larger and faster,
flew higher and farther. In fact, it was exactly the plane that I
had asked for, and all the bills were paid! Praise the Lord!
We need to learn how to make the proper deposits in our
heavenly bank so that we can withdraw from it when needed.
Once you realize you have this on deposit, it will become easy
to believe God for it. Your faith will not work easier. It’s not difficult
to believe God for the money you have on deposit at the
corner bank. You don’t have to exercise your faith to write a
check on it. But it takes a considerable amount of faith to get
money when you don’t have any on deposit. The same principle
works with God. The reason this action took place so fast in my
case was because the deposit had already been made. It was
there in heaven and available on call. There are many people
who have made these deposits with God and have never called
for them because they don’t realize they are laid up in store for
them now.