Increase Your Faith

What Time Is It? By Gloria Copeland

“[God] is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).

If you’re a born-again child of God and you’ve been struggling financially, scraping along with just barely enough – it’s time for that to change. It’s time for you to wake up to the riches that belong to you in Jesus, kick the limits off your faith and receive your financial inheritance.

Even if you haven’t been struggling, even if your bills are paid and your major needs are met, you need to step up to greater abundance. We all need to do that, because God has more in store for every one of us than we possess right now. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

What’s more, we are now closer than ever to the end of the age. Jesus is coming soon. God is desiring to pour out His Glory in greater measure than ever before, not just in our hearts, lives and church services, but in our finances as well.

Some time ago, the Lord began to speak to me about that. I began to hear, “Do you know what time it is? It’s exceedingly-abundantly-above-all-that-you-can-ask-or-think time!”

I don’t mind telling you, I was thrilled when I heard those words! And I’ve become even more excited about them as time has passed. I believe it. I believe it with all my heart!

We are in the days of the end-time transfer of wealth about which the Bible speaks. In these days, God is teaching us how to draw great riches from our heavenly account so we can glorify Him and get the gospel preached to the world.

He is revealing to us how we can have more than enough to give to every good work and have plenty left over to enjoy! He “giveth us richly all things to enjoy!” (1 Tim. 6:17).

So stand up and stretch your faith. Believe God for more than enough! Not just what you need today, but what the Church needs to minister life to the world. Remember what time it is. If you can think it, then it’s not “above all you can ask or think!” Think about that!

Speak the Word: God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me. (Eph. 3:20)

Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Don’t Give Up! By Apostle Robert Achwera

1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 THE MESSAGE 13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

All of us have been tempted to lose hope and give up. But we always have a choice: focus on God and stay in faith, or focus on the problem and give up.

Problems — no matter how huge they seem to us — are no problem to God. Nothing is too hard, or complicated, for God to solve. But God wants us to trust Him.

So what should you do when you are being tempted and feel like giving in and giving up?

Refuse!

Just keep your focus on the Lord and rejoice in His faithfulness. Remember that God cannot lie, and will never fail. God will see you through.

HEBREWS 10:23 NKJ 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

When the devil tries to steal your faith, he tries to get you to quit speaking in agreement with the Word of God. Don’t let it happen! Hold fast to speaking your faith! Keep on saying what the Word of God says about you and your situation. Don’t be moved by the circumstances.

GALATIANS 6:9 NIV 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Don’t grow weary. Keep your eyes on the Lord. His Word will work and produce a harvest of blessing in your life. Don’t doubt it!

SAY THIS: I will keep trusting in God and never give up!

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You Are A Spirit By Apostle Robert Achwera

JOHN 4:24 NKJ 24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

GENESIS 1:26-27 NKJ 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Because we are created in the image of God, it follows that, since He is spirit — we are also spirit.

To say it clearly, you are a spirit-being, you have a soul (mind and emotions), and you live in a body.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:23 NKJ 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to Scripture, humans have 3 parts: spirit, soul, and body. (Note that spirit and soul are not the same.)

ROMANS 12:1-2 NKJ 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Note that YOU are to do something with your body. So, your body is not the real you, but something that you possess. Also, YOU are to renew your mind (verse 2). You are not told to do anything about your spirit in this passage because your spirit is the part that is born again with new life from God when you receive Jesus.

JOHN 3:6-7 NKJ 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.’

From this Scripture we see that when you are born again, the part that is born again is your spirit — not your mind, and not your body.

So, the real you is your spirit — which is born again, right with God, and filled with His life. You are to control your body, and to control what is fed into your mind, so that it can be renewed by the Word of God to know the truth. Then your life will be changed, and conformed to the will of God.

SAY THIS: According to the Bible, I am a spirit being. I have a soul, and I live in a body.

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Offering Time Apostle Robert Achwera

2 CORINTHIANS 9:7 NIV 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Most people regard offering time as a necessary evil, at best.

As usual, our ideas are much different than what the Word of God teaches.

God does not encourage giving just to meet the needs of His work on earth. No, God does it for our good, so that we can be blessed. (Also, to combat selfishness.)

Every offering time is an opportunity for us to worship God and express our love to Him in a tangible way. But God, being so good, has designed it so that when we do give to Him it also functions like planting a seed, which will produce a harvest of blessing in our life.

God designed His creation to work in such a way that money and blessing will come back to us in even greater measure than we give out.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6,8 NIV 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

One way the devil tries to suppress the spread of the Gospel is by making people believe that messages like this are just to get money, as if preachers dreamed up the Bible for their own benefit. No, God planned all this, and He is smart enough to know that without adequate funding, those whom He has called to teach and equip His people will be held back, unable to be as effective as they should be.

When we give to those proclaiming the Word of God on earth, God considers it giving to Him, and a seed sown.

A farmer does not hate planting his crops. Farmers don’t whine about having to put their seed in the ground. No, they look forward with joy to the time of harvest they know is coming, because they understand how seeds work.

If we believe God’s Word, then we know our giving works exactly as the seed the farmer plants in the ground.

You don’t have to believe this (or anything God teaches us in His Word). But surely you can understand that refusing to believe God’s Word is NOT a way to please Him.

SAY THIS: I will plant my financial seeds with joy and thanksgiving, as I worship God with my money.

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Turn your Ear Toward Heaven By Jerry Savelle

You’re hearing many voices, whether you realize it or not, it’s true. Every moment of every day you’re listening to someone. The voices of family, friends, newspapers, and television are speaking to you constantly. What they say can directly affect your life.

But, if you’re a believer, you have another voice speaking to you as well. It’s the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has something to say about the days in which we live. I think we sometimes fail to give the Spirit of God credit for understanding our times. But He does. He knows what’s coming in the future. He knows the solutions to the situations we’re going to encounter. And if you and I are going to succeed in these last days, we must hear what He’s saying. Even more, we must believe His report!

We’re living in a strange era. Even here in America, people are gripped with fear about the economy because of the many negative reports circulated by the media. They’re afraid because they’re listening to the wrong voices. This barrage of gloom and doom is designed by Satan to create panic and fear. And the bottom line is, it’s aimed at getting Christians to stop giving.

You see, we were no threat to the devil until we got a revelation of giving. As long as we were just the poor folks from the wrong side of the tracks playing church once a week, he didn’t worry about us. But when we found out that giving connects us with the supernatural power of God, and enforces our covenant with Him in the earth, we suddenly became dangerous to the devil.

No wonder we’re constantly being bombarded with fear and negativity about the economy. The devil knows that when we give, we prosper. When we prosper, we give more. So, he’s trying to shut down the whole cycle with FEAR. He’s trying to use fear to keep us from giving.

Yes, the voices of fear are speaking loudly today – but as believers, you and I must refuse to be moved by them. I’m not saying we should pretend a problem doesn’t exist. Faith attacks that problem with the Word of God.

The real truth is that in the midst of a financial crisis, God’s people can prosper as never before. Yes! Isaiah 60:2 says that when …darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people… the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

The Word says that when the world gets darker, the Church is going to get brighter. We don’t have to go under with the world. And we don’t have to listen to the voices in the media that say we do.

There is one voice, however, to which you do have to listen. The voice I’m talking about is your own. No voice on earth has a greater impact on your circumstances than YOUR OWN VOICE. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through today, the outcome of it will be determined by the words of your mouth.

What I allow my ears to hear, especially when it’s coming out of my mouth, has a tremendous effect on my circumstances. Jesus taught about that in Mark 4. He said, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear…” Take heed what ye hear. The New International Version says, “Consider carefully what you hear.” The Amplified Bible says it this way, “Be careful what you are hearing.”

What are you hearing? To what voices are you listening? Are you filling your ears and your heart with the negative cries of the world, or the faith producing voice of the Word and the Holy Spirit? Your answer has a direct bearing on the circumstances of your life.

In Proverbs 8:34 (Amplified Bible), God says, “Blessed is the man who listens to Me.” The Spirit is speaking. So turn your ear toward heaven. Tune out the voices of gloom and doom, and start using your own voice to get in agreement with what the Spirit is saying. Once you do that, it won’t matter how shaky this world becomes, you’ll be standing firm!

Source: Faith Building Daily Devotionals by Jerry Savelle

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Endure Hardness By Gloria Copeland

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3).

There are no “ifs” about it. Hard times are going to come in the life of every believer. There will be times when circumstances will seem dark, times when you face seemingly impossible obstacles, times when defeat seems inevitable.

In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul didn’t tell Timothy, “If hard times come, endure them.” He simply said, “Endure hardness.”

Some Christians become confused when those times come. “What’s happening here?” they cry. “I thought Jesus redeemed me from the curse!”

He did, but you can rest assured, Satan will challenge that redemption. He will try his best to steal it from you by pulling you off your walk of faith. Jesus warned us about that in the parable of the sower in Mark 4:14-17. He said, “Satan cometh immediately, and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.”

Satan will not sit idly by while you sail through life, effortlessly believing the Word of God. He’ll pressure you with hard times. He’ll attack you with sickness or lack, then he’ll lie to you and tell you that God doesn’t care. He’ll try to convince you that God is not going to answer your prayer this time. He’ll attempt to talk you into believing there’s no way out and that you will end up a miserable failure.

When those hard times come, don’t cave into pressure. Don’t give up. Stand on the Word and endure hardness like a good soldier until victory comes.

Speak the Word: I endure hard times as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I stand firm for God has given me the victory. (2 Tim. 2:3)

Source: Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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Sprinkle The Blood By Apostle Robert Achwera

1 PETER 1:2 NKJ 2 . . . in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

By faith we can sprinkle the Blood of Jesus on people who come to us for help. The Blood is a token of Christ’s total redemption, signaling the devil that he must flee. By faith in that precious Blood all can be delivered.

Blood in the human body brings healing to sick tissue. The Blood of Jesus brings healing to His body as well.

LEVITICUS 17:11 NKJ 11 `For the life of the flesh is in the blood . . .

Blood delivers everything necessary for the members of a human body and carries away waste material. Jesus’ Blood also brings life and nourishment to the members of His body, and rids us of everything that is of the curse.

When the Israelites in Egypt had blood on their door, no evil dared enter their dwelling. Likewise, we are kept safe through the protection of the divine Blood of Jesus.

Jesus’ Blood overcomes the devil and all he has done. Believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth — until you see complete victory.

2 CORINTHIANS 10:4 NKJ 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

By faith, sprinkle the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ anywhere there is evidence of satanic effort to stop the complete will of God in your life.

Let us use all our weapons: the Name of Jesus, the Word of God, and the Blood of the Lamb.

SAY THIS: By faith I apply the Blood of Jesus to my life and property.

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Train Your Senses By Kenneth Copeland

“For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb.13:14).

You’re spiritually “grown-up” or mature when, through practice, you have trained your senses to discern between good and evil. You’ve practiced walking in the spirit and renewing your mind by the Word of God until even your flesh habitually goes God’s way instead of the world’s way.

Stop and think for a moment. Aren’t there some things your old flesh used to pressure you to do before you made Jesus Lord of your life that you don’t even want to do anymore?

There are for me. For example, I used to smoke tobacco, and I felt sorry for all those Christians who couldn’t. But you know what? Now that I’m a believer, I have no desire for tobacco anymore. It is not even part of my thoughts – much less my lifestyle.

That’s the kind of thing that happens as you feed and renew your mind on the Word of God. It doesn’t necessarily happen quickly or easily. Your flesh may fight and buck for a while because it’s been trained to go the way of the world so long. But if you stick with the Word and keep growing, your flesh can develop habits of righteousness just like it developed the habit of unrighteousness.

Don’t starve your spirit by trying to get by on just a little spiritual milk now and then. Develop the habit of feeding on the solid food Word every day and find out what real maturity is all about.

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

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Heavenly Food By Larry Ollison, Ph.D.

“After Jesus had been tempted by the devil, He gave this interesting response. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

Consider this. There are two types of bread. Of course, there is the physical bread that you eat with your physical body. But not only is there physical bread, there is spiritual bread. Jesus told the devil – man shall not live by bread alone. He was referring to physical bread. Then He spoke of spiritual bread – but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). We know the way that He did it was He spoke and the heavens and the earth came into existence. We know from John 1:1 that Jesus was there in the beginning also. “In the beginning was the Word.” The book of Genesis starts by saying – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The book of John starts by saying, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made through Him. And without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. Jesus was and is the Word.”

The word comprehend in the Greek can also be translated overcome. The darkness did not overcome the light. So here we see that the Word was in the beginning and Jesus was the Word.

Let’s get a little clearer on this. Revelation 19:13 tells us that there is a name that Jesus will be given and this will be His name that He will have for all eternity. “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” Revelation 11:12 tells us “they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.”

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His name is called The Word of God. His name is the Word of God. So, Jesus was in the beginning as the Word.

If I were to say something to someone, that would be the word of Larry. Right? If Larry is speaking, it’s the word of Larry. If God is speaking, it’s the Word of God. It’s God’s Word. God’s Word is Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God. If Jesus is the Word of God, then what did Jesus mean when He said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread (earthly bread) alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God?”

Jesus was saying, you cannot live by earthly bread only, but you need to live by Me because the word that proceeds from the mouth of God is Me. I am the Word of God. I was in the beginning. That’s what Jesus was saying.

Look at it this way. What if Jesus was quoting John chapter one substituting the word Me. He might say, In the beginning was Me. And I was with God. And I was the Word of God. I was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Me and without Me nothing was made that was made. In Me was life and I was the light of men. And I shone in the darkness and the darkness could not overpower Me. I am the Word of God.

Is that powerful or what? Jesus said, “Man shall not live by earthly bread alone, but by spiritual bread. I am the Bread of life. I am the Bread of God. I am the Word of God.”

Copyright © 2002 Larry Ollison Ministries

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Break the Fear Threshold By Kenneth Copeland

“He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5-6).

Without courage, you’ll never be able to stand on the Word of God for anything. You won’t be able to receive what God has promised you, because fear will come and steal the faith right out of your heart.

You see, your point of fear is your point of failure. Wherever fear begins, faith ends. It takes courage to break that fear threshold, to push it back farther and farther until “I will not fear” is a reality in your life.

I can’t count how many times I have had to break through that threshold. One of the most memorable was the time God instructed us to put our broadcast on television. I really struggled with it when God first put it on my heart. I wanted it, but I knew how expensive it was, and I couldn’t even figure out where to start – much less how.

So Gloria and I began to meditate on what God said about it. We prayed over it. We talked about it in faith. We meditated on God’s Word and on His ability instead of our inability.

This went on for a long time. Then one morning, as we were driving back to Texas from Arkansas, we stopped for breakfast. When we stepped out of the car, I didn’t have any more insight into how we could be on television than I had the month or the year before.

But in an instant, as we ate our breakfast and discussed the television ministry, the faith I needed dropped into my heart. I looked at Gloria and realized by the look on her face that the same thing had happened to her.

“Gloria,” I said, “tomorrow is Monday. Let’s go home and make arrangements to put our broadcast on television.”

Suddenly, it looked easy. We didn’t have the money, but we had the faith, and if you have the faith, the money will come. We didn’t call the bank. The bank would have laughed at us. But God wasn’t laughing.

Now, someone might say, “Boy, it must take a lot of courage to go on television when you don’t have the money in the bank to pay all the expenses.”

Yes, it does. But that courage came as I meditated on the Word of God. As I meditated on the Word, my capacity for faith grew bigger, until one day I thought, “There’s not any reason not to do this! I can do all things through the Anointed One and His Anointing that strengthens me!”

I broke through that threshold of fear. I broke through to faith. It takes courage to do that…courage that comes from meditating on the Word of God.

Speak the Word: The Lord is my helper, and I do not fear what man shall do to me. The Lord never leaves me, nor forsakes me. (Heb. 13:5-6)

For Further Study: Psalm 27

Source: Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

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