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Posts Tagged ‘finances’

Kenneth Copeland — The Power of Standing on the Word Part 2

07 Jul

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Discipline your vocabulary. Discipline everything you do,
everything you say, and everything you think to agree with
what God does, what God says, and what God thinks! God will
be obligated to meet your needs because of His Word—not
because of your righteousness or your lack of it—but because
of His covenant that was brought into existence the day Jesus
was raised from the dead. If you stand firmly on this, your
needs will be met!

The Bible says that we are to owe no man anything but love
(see Romans 13:8). I will go to any lengths to love a man with
the fullness of what God has given me. Suppose I had owed
several thousand dollars on that airplane when God said to give
it away. If that had been the case, God would not have been
running my ministry; the bank would have been and I could
not have given it!

How do you operate in financial situations without subordinating
yourself to the world’s system? What is the key that
opens the channel in these things? It is available to us, but
instead, all we have known is borrow, borrow, borrow! The
Bible says if you will meditate in the Word of God day and
night, you will have good success and deal wisely in your
affairs. The Word of God is the key.

Begin to meditate on the Word in these areas we have discussed
and give God an opportunity to tell you what to do and
how to function. Remember, the rich young ruler turned and
walked away. That was his biggest mistake! All he needed to do
was say, “Lord, I don’t understand this, but I have confidence in
You. Would You please explain God’s Word in this matter?” He
just assumed Jesus wanted to take away everything he had,
while actually Jesus was offering him the kingdom of God!

Now I want to take a moment and share something else with
you. First Timothy 2:1 says that we are to pray for all men, for
kings, and for all in authority. Paul wrote that we were to pray for
these men first of all. You are to pray according to the Word of
God for the men who operate around you politically. Government
leaders have a great deal to do with your financial life.

The Word of God says, “[Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due
(Romans 13:7, The Amplified Bible). One of the major things
fouling up your life where prosperity is concerned is your
bad-mouthing the government and its leaders, particularly in
the area of taxation. Most people are operating in strife where
their taxes are concerned, and it has a direct relationship to
the government that provides our financial system. One day
the Lord said, “Quit grumbling and complaining about your
tax money. Pay it cheerfully the way you do your tithe and I’ll
bless it.” From then on, my wife and I started praying over
our tax money—just as we do our tithe—and we have never
had a tax bill that we couldn’t pay. We bless our tax money to
the United States government. That is a change, isn’t it? Get
strife and hard feelings toward your government out of your
heart! The Word says we are to pray and give thanks for our
leaders, not badmouth them!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Gloria Copeland — Making Withdrawals From Your Heavenly Account

12 May

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Once you realize that you have these deposits in your heavenly
account, you need to learn how to make withdrawals.
Colossians 1:4-6 says, “Since we heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope
which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in
all the world; and bringeth forth fruit.
” Everything laid up for
you in heaven is represented by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When you put the Word of God to work, it produces faith.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith
puts spiritual law into operation, and the results are manifest
here on the earth. When it is laid up in heaven, a carbon copy
will take place in the earth if you will stand and act on the
Word. This is how you were saved. Salvation is not waiting for
you in heaven. It was provided for you and laid up in heaven;
but when you believed the Word about salvation and acted
on it, it was manifest here on earth in your life. This same
principle is true in the area of finances. When a man makes
deposits with God, he has a right to call upon these deposits
and make withdrawals.

We have discussed God’s teaching about tithing—how it is
set up and how it operates. You need to learn how to receive
from your tithing. When I first attended Oral Roberts
University, I heard Brother Roberts speak on seed faith, and I
began to realize what the Word said about giving. My husband and
I decided to act on this by joining in a financial partnership
with Brother Roberts, a real step of faith on our part since we
had no steady income. It was during this time that we learned
how to stand on the Word in the area of giving. For almost a
year we gave $10 into this partnership each month; and every
single month someone unexpectedly handed us $20. Later, we
learned how to believe God more specifically, but right then we
were learning the basic principles.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Gloria Copeland — The Power of Praise and Tithing

05 May

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity.
” Again, as in Deuteronomy 26, you are saying to
the Lord, “Send us prosperity.”

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we
have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is
the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice
with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art
my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will
exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

When you start giving this way, just as a praise to God, things
will begin to happen in your financial life. Praise is a tremendous
tool in releasing the power of God. Combined with the law of
giving, it is unbeatable! There is no standard return on giving as
a praise to God, and it took David from sheepherder to king of
Israel. Do you think God loves poverty? Read a literal Hebrew
translation or The Amplified Bible and see the vast amount of
money David put into building the temple. It was millions of
dollars! David was a prosperous man. The Bible says he was a
man after God’s own heart. Where do you suppose he got all his
wealth? From the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who gave
him the power to get wealth.

Now we have discussed these different areas of making
deposits, but there are times when you can combine some of
them and be even more blessed by it. I remember when I was
preaching a meeting that God had said would be a turning
point in my ministry. I wondered if He meant it to be a turning
point the wrong way! The first evening service we had eight
people. My first offering was $4.25. Naturally, I was stumped,
so I went before the Lord and asked, “What in the world am I
going to do?” He said, “You are going to believe Me!” Then He
showed me some things from His Word and circumstances
began to pick up. The offering got all the way up to $33 one
night! I decided to send it home to my wife and the Lord said,
“$33 won’t pay your bills. If you believe My Word about tithing,
if you believe that Jesus will take your money and worship
Me with it, why don’t you tithe now on the amount you are
needing and expecting in the future offerings of this meeting?
In fact, your $33 will do just fine.” That’s all He said. From
then on it was up to me; it involved faith on my part. You see,
the money belonged to me. The Lord didn’t demand that I
tithe beforehand. All I actually owed in tithes was $3.30; He
wanted me to give as a praise to Him for what I expected Him
to do, and that is exactly what I did. I combined tithing with
giving as a praise to God and the Lord blessed the meeting in
every way. It started with eight people, but by Friday night
people were literally sitting in the windows because there
wasn’t enough room to seat everyone. That meeting turned out
to be the best meeting I had ever had financially up to that
time. Praise the Lord! Can you see the blessings that are available
in these things?

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

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Kenneth Copeland — Ready To Sow Part 2

24 Feb

Kenneth And Gloria Copeland

While I was in Ohio, God dealt with me about the television
ministry. At that time I could not understand, or see, with
my own mind how it would work financially, but I had learned
long before not to back off for this reason. I knew the Lord
could work it out. It didn’t matter how it operated or what the
financial details were, I knew there was only one way to succeed—
by giving. Then the thought flashed across my mind,
No man has given until he has given all he has,” and the first
thing I saw was my twin-engine airplane. Well, cold chills ran
up and down my spine! That little plane was my pride and joy.
I had tithed and believed God for it, and He had given it to me
as a tool of this ministry. Because of this, it really meant a lot to
me. Then I realized that I had to get rid of it. I couldn’t afford
to let it come between God and me, so I went into prayer and
the Lord said, “If you will realize what I am leading you into,
you will make an agreement with Me so that I can help you
financially. Make Me Lord over your finances.” That is exactly
what I did. I wrote out an agreement about the airplane and
used it to lay up a treasure in heaven for the time to come when
I would need it. I didn’t want to release that airplane, but I
knew that God would not take it without giving more in return.
My faith dictated that God’s Word was true, so I disciplined my
thinking to get in line with my faith (instead of my fear) and I
wrote out this agreement: “On the fourth day of October 1971,
I give my airplane to the Lord to be sold and the money put
into preaching the Word of God on television and in any other
manner possible.”

I made this covenant with the Lord according to Luke 6:38,
Give, and it shall be given unto you…again,” and Mark 10:30,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time.” The agreement
also contained this statement: “I freely give this money
from the sale of the airplane, and I expect the return on it.”

Then I had the engines overhauled, had some maintenance
done, ran an annual inspection on it, and altogether spent about
$8,000 on a piece of equipment that technically didn’t belong to
me any longer. Since God is love, it follows that the laws governing
the power of God are the giving laws. You can’t stop
these laws and still make God’s power operate. It just will not
work that way! God’s system is really unique. He takes a person
who is absolutely destitute, provides the seed to start his giving,
then gives him the hundredfold return on what he gives. Only
God could manage or afford a financial operation like that!

I made the agreement to release my airplane in October
1971. Then on February 11, 1972, while we were holding a
meeting in Birmingham, Ala., the Lord instructed me to give it
to a particular evangelist. So that is what I did. This is the point
I want you to grasp: When God told me to give it away, I didn’t
hesitate for one moment. You see, God had set up this deal
almost four months before, and there had been time for me
to be healed of a possessive spirit where that plane was concerned.
Therefore, when God spoke, I acted and was thrilled
to do it! We flew it home and gave it away.

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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