The Word says God inhabits the praises of His people (see
Psalm 22:3) and that He will maintain our right and our cause
when we praise Him (see Psalm 9:1-4). God instructed me to
use Psalm 118 when I give a praise offering. Let’s examine it.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because
his mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, that his
mercy endureth for ever. Let the house of Aaron now
say, that his mercy endureth for ever. Let them now that
fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever. I
called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me,
and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side.
By the time I reach this last phrase, I am about ready to
shout! The Word says that if God is for you, then nobody can
successfully remain your enemy (see Romans 8:31).
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do
unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help
me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate
me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence
in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence
in princes. All nations compassed me about: but in
the name of the Lord will I destroy them. They compassed
me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name
of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassed me about
like bees; they are quenched as the fires of thorns.
This word thorns stands for “strife.”
For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Thou
hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord
helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and is
become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand
of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
Of course, the “right hand of the Lord” is Jesus. You are
praising Jesus when you do this.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the
Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath
not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of
righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the
Lord: This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous
shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me,
and art become my salvation. The stone which the
builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will
rejoice and be glad in it.
You have probably heard this last verse all your life, but
with the whole psalm around it and in the light of what it is for,
you can see its full significance.
Kenneth Copeland — Psalm 118, A Praise Offering
Kenneth Copeland — Giving, A Form Of Praise
Just as Israel made sacrificial offerings of praise to God,
believers today can use giving as an instrument of praise. It is
interesting to note that Israel never gave a blemished animal
as a sacrifice. In light of this, if you give a secondhand pair of
shoes, then that is what you will get in return. Don’t give your
old worn-out things; give your good things and you’ll never
lack good things. This is what I did by giving my airplane; it
was the best thing I had at the time.
A few years ago an evangelist came to me and said, “I don’t
understand it, but my income has completely stopped. I haven’t
had a dime come in for weeks!” Since I had just preached that
morning on Luke 6:38, I told him that the key was giving and
that he should give whatever he had; if not money, then something
else. He went home and gathered up all his clothes
(except one suit, one sport coat and one pair of slacks), passed
them out to the men at the unemployment office, and preached
the Word to them. When he came to the meeting that night, he
was beaming. He had given as a praise to God and was really
high because of it! Well, before the service was over, people had
handed him nearly $200 in cash! No one in that service said
anything about what he had done; he was merely seated in the
congregation. The people sought him out and gave to him as
God directed them. This thing really works!
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Gloria Copeland — Investing in the Gospel
As we have read in Mark 10:29-30, Jesus said, “Verily I say
unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my
sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in
this time.” This is an investment in spreading the gospel
throughout the world. The Great Commission says, “Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark
16:15). We all are obligated to this; and if we can’t go, we are to
send someone in our place. Everyone is to function in this
commission. The missionary is an apostle of God, an instrument
to evangelize the world. Unfortunately, he has been grossly
underrated and occupies the bottom rung of the ladder instead
of the top. However, they deserve our support both in finances
and in prayer. God will support the communication of the gospel
with whatever power and resources it takes. Unless the
Word is preached, there is no faith (see Romans 10:14).
Without faith, no one is saved (see Ephesians 2:8). To the man
who has never heard the Word, Jesus has never died. You can
see that if God did not support communication of the gospel,
the Cross would have been in vain.
Another area to invest in the gospel is supporting ministries
that are assigned the job of teaching God’s people how to function
in spiritual affairs. The teaching ministries have a great
responsibility placed on them by God. Consequently, they are
greatly blessed.
Any investment expert will be quick to tell you that the
most productive form of investing is a steady, regular investment
into solid business. There is nothing more solid than
God’s work! Begin to be a regular investor. Be faithful to it.
Let’s go back to what Jesus said in Mark 10:29-30, He has
said that this will work for every man. Peter had said, “What
about us? We have left all and have followed You.” He asked
this as if he thought Jesus’ staff stood in some special place
where these laws are concerned. Jesus answered him in no
uncertain terms. Every man who invests into the gospel has a
right to expect the staggering return of one hundredfold.
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Gloria Copeland — Giving To The Poor Part 2
This puts a different light on the subject. The poor consider
this a rich man’s world. Satan has dominated them with poverty
and suppression of all kinds. When you realize that Satan is
behind their oppression, you will see their need for the power
of God in their lives. Then you won’t be afraid to obligate them
to the gospel when you give material things to them. Whenever
I give in this way, I always explain what the Word says and tell
them about Jesus. I let them know that Jesus is my source of
supply and is willing to be theirs. Show them that they, too, can
become God’s channel in the earth to someone else. You see,
you can feed a thief all day long, but all you will have is a thief
full of food. The food won’t change him, but the Word of God
will transform him on the inside. If you give to the poor in the
proper way, then you can witness to them and introduce them
to the power of God. I never give to the poor without telling
them about Jesus. If they are to get my material goods, they will
first have to listen to what I have to say about Jesus.
Jesus taught about giving alms, which is giving to the poor.
Evidently, Jesus was well-known for giving to the poor from the
scriptural accounts of His ministry. In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus taught about giving alms. He said, “Let not thy left
hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Matthew 6:3). You can
get more fun out of giving to someone anonymously! It is a joy
you will never get from anything else, and the next verse says,
“And thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee
openly.” HE HIMSELF shall reward you. Praise the Lord for His
generous propositions!
Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Kenneth Copeland — Giving To The Poor Part 1
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.”