Increase Your Faith

The Heart of the Matter By Kenneth Copeland

“For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

Too often we ask God to fix the problems around us when what He really wants to do is solve the problem within us. I did that myself for years where my weight was concerned. I prayed and prayed for God to help me lose weight. Yet I experienced repeated failure. I lost literally hundreds of pounds, only to gain them right back again.

Finally one day, I made a firm decision. I told God, “I am not going one step further until I find out what to do about this!” Then I went on a fast, shut myself away from everyone and determined to hear from God.

During that fast the Lord revealed the real source of my problem. He showed me that I wanted to lose weight, but I didn’t want to permanently change my eating habits. I was like an alcoholic who wants to be able to drink constantly and not be affected by it. I wanted to eat nine times a day and still weigh 166 pounds!

Suddenly I realized God wasn’t content simply to rid me of the extra pounds on the outside of me, He wanted to rid me of the sin of gluttony on the inside of me. So I repented of that sin right then and there. (It was then that I realized just how hard it is for a man who drinks to face the fact that he’s an alcoholic. It hurts to admit something like that.)

Then instead of asking God for deliverance from my weight problem, I asked Him for deliverance from my food problem.

Sure enough, He did it.

If your prayers don’t seem to be changing the problems around you, maybe it’s time to take a look inside. Maybe it’s time to ask God to go to work on the heart of the matter.

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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No Deposit, No Return By Kenneth Copeland

“Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Ps. 112:1,7).

Are you ready to face a crisis? Don’t wait until one hits to find out. Prepare yourself now.

That’s what a couple of my Partners did. They faced a situation that would have made many people panic. But when the crisis hit, their hearts were so deeply established on the Word of God that their first response was not one of fear but of faith.

What affected me most when I heard their testimony was one particular phrase they kept using:

No Deposit – No Return.

What they meant by that was that if you don’t take the time to deposit the Word in your heart now, it won’t be there later when you really need it. You’ll end up in a crisis with only doubt and unbelief instead of the faith and power you need to see you through. In a situation like the one this couple faced that could be deadly.

You see, their 2-year-old son had suffered a fall that had cracked his skull and critically injured his neck. He had no feeling in his arms and legs and was unable to move. Yet as they rushed him to the emergency room, a great sense of peace rested on them. Rather than crying with fear, they prayed in faith and declared, “By Jesus’ stripes, our son is healed!”

Sure enough, within hours their boy was totally restored. Even the X-rays verified the fact that a miracle had taken place.

What’s important to understand about that story is this: The victory was not won when the damage to that little boy’s body disappeared. It was won all during the days and weeks and months before when his parents were listening to tapes and studying the Word and praying in the spirit. It was won because these people had spent time building a foundation on the Word so that when this storm came, they were able to stand.

Now is the time for you to build a rock-solid foundation! Don’t wait around until you’re faced with a crisis. Get the Word in your heart in abundance now, so when you really need it, it will flow out in power.

Remember: No deposit-no return. Start making those precious deposits today!

Scripture Reading: Psalm 112

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Get the Two Together By Kenneth Copeland

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7).

Established in the faith and abounding with thanksgiving. These days it seems that’s a rare combination.

A lot of people have been taught faith over the last several years, and a lot of people have been taught to abound with thanksgiving. But it’s been hard to set the two together.

Faith folks want to confess the Word all the time, but they don’t praise God very much. And those who like to praise God just want to jump and shout and dance and have a good time in the Lord. You can’t get them to get very serious about the Word.

Success comes from combining the two.

So do it! Put them together in your life. When you run into a challenge, don’t just stand around grim-faced and white-knuckled holding onto your faith. Raise your hands high and praise. Start thanking God in the midst of what’s happening around you. Keep thanking Him for the answer until it comes.

Instead of just standing on the Word, let the joy of the Lord enable you to dance around on it a little. It will get you where you’re going a whole lot faster…and you and God both will have a much better time on the way.

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Don’t Let the Bullies Get You Down By Kenneth Copeland

“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” (2 Cor. 4:8-9).

Remember the class bully when you were in grade school? He intimidated everyone. He was nothing but a five-foot, 140-pound heap of trouble who scared everyone silly. Well, you’re over that situation by now, but trouble is still around.

In this life there is trouble…trouble with every opportunity the devil gets. The Apostle Paul said he was troubled by circumstances on every side…but on the inside he was not distressed.

Paul fixed his attention, not on external circumstances, but on the light of the gospel in his inner man, because that’s where the excellency of God’s power is. Knowing the truth will always make you free. “We’re perplexed,” he said. The Greek word for perplexed means “to be cornered by the circumstances.”

“But we’re not in despair.” In other words, even when it looks like there’s no way out, I can find a way out if I look to the Word that’s living in me.

“Persecuted, but not forsaken.” If I’m persecuted on the outside, how do I know God hasn’t forsaken me? Because when I look on the inside, I can hear Jesus saying, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you, even to the ends of the earth.”

Perplexed…persecuted…cast down. There’s no doubt about it, Paul was under more pressure than most of us today will ever experience. But he handled it…and so can you if you’ll do the following three things:

ONE: Remember where the pressure is coming from—the outside! And remember where your life force comes from—the inside!

TWO: Stop running on a spiritual deficit. Take time to feed your inner man with the Word of God. Fast your body if necessary and feast your spirit on the Word so your inner man can get stronger more quickly.

THREE: Focus on Jesus inside you until your inner picture of Him is bigger than the outside situations you’re facing.

If you’ll build up your spirit man in those three ways, when pressure comes, it won’t affect you like it may be doing today. Soon, the problems that are knocking you flat won’t even bother you anymore.

Remember the bully? He couldn’t even make you blink today, now that you’re six-feet-tall. What happened? What changed? You grew. You’re stronger now. He’s no longer a threat. That’s what happened to Paul. He grew! He kept feeding on the Word until the image of Jesus within him grew bigger than the pressures around him. So just keep feeding your spirit man on the Word. Get strong on the inside. And don’t let the bullies get you down!

Speak the Word: I am troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. The life of Jesus is made manifest in me (2 Cor. 4:8-10).

For Further Study: 2 Cor. 4:8-12

Source: Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Don’t Look at the Storm By Kenneth Copeland

“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14:30-31).

If there’s any way the devil can get your eyes away from the Word, he’ll do it. He’ll cause trouble. He’ll make the circumstances around you pitch and roll like a rowboat in a hurricane. He’ll do anything he can to get you to concentrate on the realm of the physical senses and the situation around you instead of on the promise of God – because he knows that if he doesn’t, you’ll take that promise and beat his brains out with it.

That’s what he did to Peter. When Peter first jumped out of the boat that day in response to Jesus’ word, what happened? He walked right along across that water without a problem. His whole being was fastened on that word Jesus had spoken to him, “Come!”

But when he took his eyes off that word, he started looking at the storm. He started looking at the impossible thing he was doing. After all, he was a fisherman. All his training and experience told him when the waves were that high, you were going under. He started to focus on what he knew in the natural instead of what Jesus said; and when he did that, his faith slipped out of gear and he started to sink.

Don’t let that happen to you. Once you get a revelation from the Word of God, hang onto it. Don’t focus on anything else.

The devil will do everything he can to get you to turn loose of it. He’ll stir up things around you. He’ll try to get you into fear. He’ll push every button he can from the past to get you back into your old way of thinking.

But don’t let go. Keep your eyes on the Word of God until it’s more real inside you than anything else. If you do, you’ll be able to walk your way across the water just fine.

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Free Your Faith By Kenneth Copeland

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any” (Mark 11:25).

Few people realize just how closely connected faith and forgiveness are. Jesus taught about that connection in His sermon on mountain-moving faith that’s recorded in Mark 11:22-26.

He said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive.”

Jesus backed those two sentences up together on purpose. He wanted us to know that releasing those who have wronged us is fundamental to receiving from God. He wanted to impress on our hearts the fact that we cannot have our prayers answered and hold grudges in our hearts at the same time.

Unforgiveness clogs the faith channel and keeps you powerless against the mountains in your life!

If you’ve been praying for something and you just can’t seem to get an answer, check your heart for unforgiveness. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring any grudge that’s hidden there to light. Unclog the channel of faith and you will soon see things you’ve been praying for come to pass.

Scripture Reading: Matt. 18:21-35

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Go for Revelation Knowledge By Kenneth Copeland

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

If you were to look up the Greek word that’s translated “knowledge” in that scripture, you’d find out that it means more than just a mental understanding of something, more than the kind of knowledge that can be gained through your senses. It means exact knowledge. Knowledge that’s been revealed directly to your heart by the Spirit of God. I call it revelation knowledge.

The lack of that kind of knowledge has caused more faith failures than anything else I know. That’s because most Christians believe the Word with their minds, but they haven’t meditated on it enough for it to “light up” in their hearts. If they had, that Word would absolutely revolutionize their lives. Nothing in heaven or earth would be able to shake them loose from it.

I know a widow who got hold of that kind of revelation one afternoon. She’d been meditating in the scriptures that say if you’re a widow, God Almighty has taken His place as your provider and leader of your household.

She’d been feeling a little sorry for herself up until then. But when she received the revelation that God was actually head of her household now, she started talking to Him like she would a husband.

“I’m telling You, Lord, the plumbing in this house is pitiful. Will You please get it fixed?” she said. From that moment on, she never had any more trouble with her plumbing.

If you need something from God, determine right now that you’re going to do what that widow did. Determine that you’re going to meditate the Word until you get a revelation like that. Keep that Word before you until you receive a revelation of Jesus as your healer or your deliverer or your financier – whatever you need Him to be.

Don’t settle for a shallow mental understanding of Him. Get a deep revelation and His grace will be multiplied to you!

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Why Did God Create You? By Kenneth Copeland

“What we have seen and [ourselves] heard we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have (which is a distinguishing mark of Christians) is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, the Messiah” (1 John 1:3 AMP).

Man is something really special. He is made in the image of God. He is made to have fellowship with God.

Some people get the idea that God made man so He’d have someone to dominate. But God is not a dominator. God is love, and love needs to have someone to give to. That’s why God made man. He made him so He could give him His love.

God could have given His love to the angels, and He did that. But giving to angels didn’t provide total fulfillment. Why? Because angels aren’t made in His image.

You’re the same way. Let’s say, for example, you have a puppy as a pet. You can fellowship with that little pet just so much, but then there comes a time when you need somebody to talk to. There comes a time when you need to have communication on your own level.

The reason you’re like that is because you’re created in the image of God. That’s how He is. He has a desire to fellowship with someone like Himself.

Dare to believe you’re something really special today, a one-of-a-kind creation made by God in His very own image. Dare to receive His love and dare to love Him back!

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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The Three Most Powerful Elements By Kenneth Copeland

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity [or love], these three” (1 Cor. 13:13).

Wishing won’t accomplish anything in the kingdom of God. But hoping will, especially when you couple it with faith and love!

Hope is one of the three most powerful elements in the universe. It is one of the three eternal and living substances that run the entire kingdom of God.

I preach a lot about faith. I’m constantly teaching believers that they can’t get anything done in the kingdom of God without faith. But do you want to know something? Faith can’t get anything done without hope-intense expectation!

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for….” In natural terms you might say faith is the building material and hope is the blueprint. You have to have hope before faith can begin building anything in your life.

For instance, someone who has liver cancer might say to me, “I fully expect to be healed of this liver condition.” I might say to them, “What makes you believe that, when the doctor just declared your condition incurable?”

If he has Bible hope, he’ll say, “I’m going to be delivered from this liver condition because God’s Word says every sickness and every disease is under the curse of the Law, and Galatians 3:13 says Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. In other words, Jesus has already redeemed me from the curse of this liver condition. That’s why I fully expect to be delivered from it.”

When you have that kind of clear, Word-based image inside you, you have real Bible hope-and it’s an absolute must for anyone who wants to live by faith.

So put hope to work in your life today…and couple it with faith and love. Then you will have the three most powerful elements in the universe working for you!

Speak the Word: I hope and expect in the mercy and love of God and He takes pleasure in me. (Ps. 147:11)

For Further Study: Colossians 1:21-24

Source: Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Expect a Harvest By Kenneth Copeland

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

Give and it shall be given unto you. That statement came straight from the mouth of Jesus. Yet there are a great many believers who flatly refuse to believe it. In fact, they actually have the mistaken idea that it’s wrong to expect to receive when they give.

The truth is – it’s wrong not to!

What would you think about a farmer who planted seeds, then let his crop rot in the field? You’d think he was a fool, wouldn’t you? And if he did it when others were starving, you’d think he was criminally irresponsible.

Well, it’s just as irresponsible to give financial seeds and ignore the harvest God promised. Especially when that harvest could help send the gospel to people who are starving to hear it. It’s just as wrong to ignore the key to prosperity that Jesus Himself gave us as it is to let a wheat crop rot in the field.

God wants us to receive from the financial seeds that we plant. He wants us to be prepared to require no aid ourselves and to be “furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation” (2 Cor. 9:8 AMP). He wants us to have plenty-not so we can hoard it selfishly – but so we can give generously.

Next time you give, don’t be afraid to expect a harvest! Release your faith for the financial rewards Jesus promised. Then when they come, turn right around and plant them again. Keep the flow of giving and receiving going so that the Lord can bless the world through you!

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Source: From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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