Kenneth Copeland - Faith Filled Words Bring Life
Hello, everybody. I’m Kenneth Copeland, as if you didn’t know by now. But, you know, I’m supposed to do this for television and everything. And this is the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast. And as we’ve talked about before, that every believer has a voice and it is the voice of victory. And I use that so much that, you know, I forget about where people don’t really know where it came from. We’ll go way back in the beginning days of this ministry. And there is, if we have time today, there’s another thing that happened there that I’ll let you know about in that same meeting. But anyway, we talked about being a new creature. That’s open to the new creature.
Now, and yesterday we were talking about, you know, the profanity thing and that I didn’t know I was a new creature. I didn’t know anything about this book. And so let’s go to the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians. Oh, the fourth chapter. Well, yes, Sir. All right, chapter four. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the Anointed One and his anointing, whom… The reason I keep doing that is because he’s living on the inside of us. Messiah… who is the image of God should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure, what? The light of the knowledge. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of power may be of God and not of us.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death works in us, but life in you. We having the same Spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, also believe and therefore we speak.
Now, verse 18, «While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, are subject to change, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. If so, that being clothed, you shall not be found naked, for we are in this tabernacle, so do groan, being burdened. Not to be unclothed, but clothed upon that might be mortality swallowed up of life. Now, he that hath wrought for us the self-same thing as God, also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit, therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we’re at home in the body, we’re absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight». That’s shouting ground right there. For the sake of time, I won’t read all of that.
Let’s come on over here. Verse 14, «For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then all are dead. That he died for all, that which we have learned henceforth live under themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ, the Anointed One, after the flesh, yet now henceforth know him no more by the flesh. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to know that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, you be reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him».
Now, righteousness is not holiness. That’s rightstanding. But in Galatians 5, we find the fruit of the Spirit, that’s holiness. Hallelujah. So, March 1985, praise God, a man by the name of Stephen Morin kidnapped a woman, Margie. I didn’t plan to do this or I would’ve… Anyway, he just kidnapped her, took her car, and told her to shut up or he’d kill her. She said, «You’re not going to kill the only person that ever loved you». «You don’t know who I am». She said, «No, I don’t know who you are».
And he kept telling her to shut up until they got all the way out of town. She said, «Well, do you care if I listen to my tape»? «I don’t care what you do». So, she put the tape in and it was me preaching. He slammed on the brakes and said, «Who said that»? She said, «What, Stephen»? He looked in the backseat of the car. Who said that? «Who said what? Stephen, this is your last chance, son». He said, «Yeah, I have a five-year-old boy. Do you think I could surrender to Mr. Copeland»? Margie Palm. She said, «Stephen, I don’t know where he is». But then she contacted me after listening to that tape. So, I baptized this young man in the Barrett County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. I mean, they were so afraid of him. I’m telling you, those guys had their hands… Now, sir, gentlemen, everything’s okay. Because I visited with him and talked to him for a good bit and had already prayed with him, baptized him in water.
So, I was on record as his spiritual advisor. He called me and he said, «Can you come, please»? I said, «Where are you»? He said, «I’m in Golden, Colorado». He said, «They’re clearing their books. There’s other serial killers out there. They’re clearing their books with me». So, I went in this little cage and I said, «Okay, Stephen. Now, you have time to become a expert on prayer». He said, «Well, yeah, I do. I don’t want any reprieve or anything. I want to get out of here». I said, «Give me your word that you will pray about everything you do from this moment forward».
Well, I couldn’t shake his hand, but there’s a little cup right here in front of me. So, we just did this. He went on upstairs and he got upstairs and he said, «I was just thinking about this deal and I looked down and my cell door was not closed». And he said, «I can tie these sheets together and over that and I am gone». But I promised Kenneth I’d pray. So, he said, «Father, in the name of Jesus», and he slept all night and he realized they were going to kill him when he used that to get out of there. So, he just shut his own jail door and waited for the next day and they couldn’t figure out what is this man all about. So, lethal injection. Listen, this thing makes a horrible noise. I was as close as from, oh, this close, right down in front. And a lot of other people here behind and they’re blacked out. We were down there and I said, «Stephen, let me know if grace is enough». «Yeah». I said, «Can you do it»? «Oh yeah. Yeah. I’ll do it».
And Warren Harvey was a good friend. In fact, through Warren Harvey, our prison ministry actually began. And so, Warren Harvey said, «See if you have any last words». And he started preaching. I mean, he started preaching and then finally he said, «Heavenly Father, I give thanks for this time, for the time that we’ve been together, the fellowship in Your Word». He killed 21 women now. He’s a new creature. The Christian family presented to me and he called the names of the personal witnesses. Allow your Holy Spirit flow as I know your love has been showered upon me. Forgive them. Forgive them for they know not what they do. As I know that you’ve forgiven me as I have forgiven them, Lord Jesus, I commit my soul to you. I praise You and thank You.
And he’s preaching. I mean, I mean, he’s just, that Holy Ghost do that. And then Warren said, «Stephen, Stephen, son, we got things to do here». He said, «I know it». And he said, «Well, you want to pray»? And when he said, we got things to do here. And he looked over there at me. More than enough. New creature, more than enough. And that’s the prayer that he prayed. I carry it with me, in my book all the time. The prayer of a serial killer. No, he’s never killed anybody. A man that had a son. The heaven says, «No, no, no. He never killed anybody. Amen. My Son died for him».
Now, I want to go on with this. What happened there in Herford, Texas and where this will come in on faith filled words, three weeks in an abandoned drugstore building. And that’s where this outline thing had happened there. And, you know, people were getting born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost and just, I mean, and a big man. I’m telling you a big man. He looked like he’s probably six, three, six, four. And they had just had a little, little makeshift platform there. And I was standing there, I was standing there just like this. I didn’t know him. And I just said, well, Lord, here he comes. I didn’t know what, he walked up there to me and he said… Well, some of them came in and told the pastor that Jesus went to hell. He said, «There is no way a righteous man go to hell».
Well, come to find out he is an alcoholic truck driver and God got ahold of him and called him to preach. And he is a pastor of the Methodist church there. And didn’t believe in the Holy Ghost, baptism with tongues, and he sure didn’t believe Jesus went to hell. Brother, well, can you read, just read the first three chapters of the book of Acts and it settles it all. Anyway, you’ll not leave my soul in hell, neither would my body see corruption. And that’s in the 22nd Psalm. Well, he came back in and he said, «Copeland, I didn’t believe in speaking with other tongues and you found out what happened to me last night».
So he said, «I didn’t have anything to say about that. Well, I couldn’t sleep. I went over there and, I got on my knees over there in the sanctuary and I just got on my knees. And I said, Jesus, did you go to hell»? And he said, «Yes, I did big boy. If I hadn’t would, you would have». So he said something about looking up the scripture. He said, «Copeland, this has changed my life forever». That is what this message is supposed to do. It is supposed to change lives for ever. How much time I have Tim? Okay.
I was in California and advertised as a non-denominational church. So we booked it for three weeks and got there and it was a wedding meal. It wasn’t a church. They had different chapels and they had weddings in different places. Well I started preaching these same things. And they did not like that a bit. They just came all out against that. And the pastor’s daughter got baptized in the Holy Ghost. That made him so mad. I mean, he didn’t like that at all. So they decided they’ll just set us up in a different chapel every night. And then, well, so the people never had heard the Word of Faith before.
So the people were following around. They were filling up wherever we went. And I thought, I don’t know what this disaster is all about, but anyway, three weeks. And the last night I thought, well, I mean, and they’re busting tables while I’m trying to preach. I thought, well, I might as well, what I’d planned to do anyway, but, and I can tell they’re trying to cut me off here, but I’m going to do it. What happened from the cross to the throne? The devil ain’t what he used to be. And so, and I mean, they’re walking in front of me and I absolutely had to step out of the way and closed it. I’m glad to get out of here.
There’s a young man stopped me. He said, «Kenneth Copeland, my name is George Otis». I said, «Hey, George» He said, «I guess you know about the Learjet». I said, yeah. I used to fly Lear 35. Why? He said, «I was Bill Lear’s CEO». And said, he just walked into me one day and said, «George, I need somebody more… Well, I need somebody with a doctor or somebody in front of their name». Goodbye. I don’t have a job. And he said, «I already got ulcers». So he said, «I went to see Pat and Shirley Boone. And I know you know them». I said, «Oh yeah, I’ve known Pat since I was a teenager». And he said, «They said, George, sit down here. And well, they got me born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost. And he baptized me in Pat’s pool. And I bought Clark Gable’s home».
And so I have put the whole Bible on tape. I said, «Wait, whoa, George, you mean you have the whole Bible on tape»? «Yes. I do. My company’s the first in the world to do that». And he said, «I just set that tape recorder up to clean out that house. Would you come hold a meeting in my house»? Well, I got over here and his house was some kind of house. And Gloria and I, we had three weeks there in that house.
It made a connection with George Otis. And he said, «If you’d like to have the Bible on tape, I’ll provide it for you. And then you can use it in your ministry». We sowed it into the lives of people. And how much time, Tim, do I have? Yeah, I have time to do this. Jerry and I, there was a dentist, we’re in Hamilton, Ohio, and a dentist, and he was actually in a coma. And so we played, I told her, you play these tapes for him and so forth.
Now here, here’s the close of it. And I said, when you get tired, play the tape. She got tired. And so she had her person came over and she’s playing a tape. And suddenly he just sat up and said, «Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen». But he said, «Here’s what I want you to tell. Don’t say anything for me you didn’t want me to hear. Cause I heard every word you said. I just couldn’t break out of my cage». I wanted you to hear that. Amen. We’ll be back in just a few minutes.