Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Romans 4:16-21
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Romans 8:2, 11
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Galatians 3:13-14, 29
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Matthew 21:21-22
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mark 11:22-24
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mark 16:14-18
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Luke 6:19
And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Luke 9:2
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luke 13:16
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Acts 5:16
There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

This is operating and using what the Bible calls “the royal
law.” Love your neighbor as yourself. Be as quick to care for the
needs of others as you are your own needs. The world knows it
exists; they call it “the golden rule,” but they don’t understand
how it functions and neither do most Christians.

This whole system of finance must be operated by faith in
order for it to function properly. My dad was tithing as God had
said, but he was not believing for the return on his giving. He
had it stacked up in heaven, yet he was getting no benefit from
it here on earth. Finally, when he learned some of these things,
he started believing God and he is better off financially today in
retirement than he was when he worked so hard. He began to
mix his faith with God’s Word concerning finances. There are
many tithers who say, “Why, I couldn’t ask God to give anything
back to me!” This shows that they don’t really know what
the Word says about tithing. When God introduced tithing in
the book of Deuteronomy, He commanded the people to say to
Him, “Look down from thy holy habitation and bless your people
with a land that flows with milk and honey.” They were
commanded to say this to the Lord!

Remember, the basic, fundamental law for establishing your
heart in the covenant of God is meditation on the Word. You
must commit yourself to the fact that God’s Word works.
Meditation is fixing your mind on the Word. Here are seven steps
to help you learn how to meditate God’s Word:

1. Apply the Word to you personally.
2. Allow the Holy Spirit to make God’s Word a reality in your heart.
3. Carefully ponder how this Word applies to your life.
4. Dwell on how this Word from the Lord changes your situation.
5. Place yourself in agreement with what God’s Word says about you.
6. See yourself as God sees you.
7. Begin to realize the integrity of God’s Word. You must commit yourself to the fact that God’s Word is true and that it works!

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Then the story continues with, “Jesus…said unto him, One
thing thou lackest.” What he lacked was a working revelation of
the covenant. The young man only did as he was supposed to.
He presented himself as knowing the Word, and Jesus tested
his knowledge by saying, “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come, take up the cross, and follow me.” What did the young man
do? He walked off sadly because he had great possessions. Jesus
could have stopped him right then and explained what He
meant, but if He had, the man would have obeyed in the natural
and not by faith. If he had asked Jesus to explain Himself,
He would have. Each time His disciples asked Him to explain a
parable, He did, but He never explained it in order to get them
to act on it. If the man had really known the covenant, he
would have thought, “What does the covenant say about giving to
the poor?” He would have remembered Proverbs 19:17 that
says, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and
that which he hath given will he pay him again.” This was the
biggest financial deal that young man had ever been offered,
but he walked away from it because he didn’t know God’s system
of finance. He didn’t take the time to inquire; he just
assumed that God wanted to break him. Instead of being Word minded
that young man was money-minded.

When the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus said, “How
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
Then an interesting thing happened. The next verse says, “And
the disciples were astonished at his words.” We have just taken
it for granted that Jesus and His disciples didn’t have anything.
But the Bible describes Peter, James and John as professional
fishermen. They owned more than one boat, and they had
household servants! When Jesus spoke those words, it shook
them. It was adverse to what they had seen. They were astonished
at His words! Jesus was not poor in His ministry. He had a
treasurer! Turn off your religious head and read the Word of
God as if it were your newspaper.

Another point I want you to grasp is the reality of Jesus’ words,
“Come, take up the cross, and follow me.” What does “the cross”
refer to? The “cross we are to bear” is selfish, unlovely people. The
greatest commandment is that we love one another. Unfortunately,
some people are not easy to love, but we are to love them anyway.
We are to bear one another’s burdens and uphold one another. We
must stop strife with the love of God. This is our cross. Do you
realize the significance of His words, “Come…follow me”? These
are the words Jesus spoke to every man He commissioned as an
apostle. When I saw this, the Lord said, “Wouldn’t this man have
been the logical replacement for Judas?” Judas failed because of
the love of money. He even stole from the bag! This young ruler
was an excellent businessman; he was honest and had operated
the covenant from his youth. He was perfect for the job, but he
turned his back on this tremendous opportunity to follow Jesus.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

One time I was meditating about Peter catching the fish
with the money in its mouth. I realized this was a financial
operation, so I decided to find out what God had to say. I must
have read that story 50 times and ran into a blank wall each
time! I could see that Peter needed tax money and Jesus told
him to go fishing. He caught the fish and got the money out
of its mouth. I would run that through my thinking, sometimes
for hours, then get up and say, “Well, Lord, I know it’s here
somewhere, and by faith, I claim the revelation on it!” Finally,
in prayer one day I picked up my Bible, flipped it open to that
passage, and read it once more. Then I saw something I had
read over and over again. Jesus said, “Get the money out of the
mouth of the first fish.” Peter was going to catch a mess of fish!
Then the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Daughter, don’t bind Me
to finances. I can handle the fish just as I can the money.” I saw
what I had been missing! I had been centering on the one fish.
Now if I had been in Peter’s place, I would have jerked the
money out of the fish’s mouth, run down to pay the taxes, and
then realized that I didn’t have anything to eat. I would have
been so shortsighted that I would have thrown the fish back
and missed out on the rest of the catch. If there was a first fish,
there had to be a second and so on. Peter was a commercial
fisherman and knew how to market those fish. Jesus obviously
loaded his boat again. I would have spent part of the money on
something to eat and still couldn’t have paid my taxes. I thought,
“I have been believing for the money to buy an automobile when
I should have been believing God for the automobile itself!” The
Lord said, “That’s right. You have had Me bound to that little
channel of money.” Then He said something I’ll never forget,
“Son, if I send you a cow with a bag of money around her neck,
for goodness’ sake, milk her before you send her home!” The
Lord has a tremendous sense of humor, but I didn’t know it until
I began to fellowship with Him and meditate in His Word.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

It is the responsibility of every member of the Body of
Christ to believe God for the abundance He provides. When
one of us falls short in this responsibility, the whole Body of
Christ suffers because of that one cell. (You may not use your
little finger very much, but if it is sore, your whole hand suffers.)
As believers, we have a responsibility to provide for the
needs of our brothers and sisters around the world. If we lack,
they will suffer for it.

Now you can see that the basic reason for the operation of
faith is to meet the needs of mankind. You may not need much
money to be happy and successful in your own life, but people
are starving and dying throughout the world. Someone must
provide for them. They don’t know how to get it for themselves.
There are even preachers going hungry! The biggest complaint
from people is that all the preachers are wanting money. Do you
know the best way to stop that complaint? Give to them! Don’t
get into strife with them; bless them with your giving and pray
for them.

The covenant is yours. The wisdom of God is yours. It
resides within you. Bring it to the surface by meditating in the
Word of God and giving God the opportunity to share His system
with you. When you let Him be your source of supply, you
can live independently from the world’s system. The Word
states so plainly in 2 Corinthians that without aid or support
you can continue to be generous in every good work. This is
the attitude God is looking for. This man is unlimited in the
things of the Lord. Praise God!

When we began plans for our first television series, people
said that we couldn’t do it because of the tremendous cost of
such an operation. One man offered us, at half price, an estimate
of $750 per finished minute. For a 60-minute program,
the total production cost would have been $45,000. The
thought of financing a weekly series for one year at that price
was overwhelming! For a series of five programs, they quoted
us $350,000. Then the Lord said, “Why don’t you give Me a
chance? You’ve asked the experts about it; now let Me in on it!”
So I did. God moved—and we filmed the five-part series for
$3,750! The Apostle Paul said, “…the world is crucified unto me,
and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

You must realize that prosperity is the will of God for you.
Knowledge of His will brings results. Once you know for sure
that something is God’s will, you should not be without it any
longer. If you do not know that healing belongs to you, you
will hesitate, wondering if it is God’s will and never establish
it in your own life. You will never really believe it for yourself.
Many people have been healed through the prayers of other
believers and still have difficulty with their health even after
God has healed them a dozen times. However, once they see
in the Word that healing belongs to them, that Jesus bought
and paid for it at Calvary, that He bore the stripes, then they
will not accept sickness again. Why? Because the Word
becomes established in their hearts and a force rises up within
them—the force of faith. This is also true in prosperity. Poverty
is under the curse of the law, and Jesus Christ has redeemed
us from the curse and has established us in abundance, not
bare necessity!

Stop and think for a moment. What is your heart established
in? Sin or righteousness? Death or abundant life?
Sickness and disease or healing and divine health? Poverty or
prosperity? Faith or fear?

The only way you will establish your heart so that it is
absolutely fixed—concrete and immovable, trusting in the
Lord—is by the Word of God. Go to the Word and feed on it:
read it, study it, meditate in it. Then your heart will be established,
fixed, trusting in the Lord, and Psalm 112 will be a
description of your life in Christ Jesus.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Since God’s covenant has been established and prosperity is a
provision of this covenant, you need to realize that prosperity
belongs to you now! Someone might say, “God can see into the
future. He knows that if I had money, I would spend it unwisely
or act ugly with it. That’s why I don’t have any.” Well, you are
probably right! The fact that you have more faith in this than you
have in the Word of God and in your own competence as a
Christian is keeping you robbed. Satan sold you that lie, not
God. You must realize that it is God’s will for you to prosper (see
3 John 2). This is available to you, and frankly, it would be stupid
of you not to partake of it! When a man realizes that prosperity
belongs to him, takes the Word of God, becomes prosperous, and
then gives it away, he is valuable. The Apostle Paul learned
the spiritual law of giving and operated it proficiently. He was
strong enough in the Lord to believe for prosperity, receive
it, then give it away. This is a valuable sacrifice; it really
means something.

The Word of God says, “Give, and it shall be given unto
you again.” As you begin to operate this law, you will see
that you can’t get rid of it! As you give, it will be returned to
you faster than you can keep giving it away! As we read in
Deuteronomy 8:18, God gives us the power to get wealth in
order to establish His covenant. He does it because He said
He would! When you fully realize that you have Him and
He has you, that you can do all things through Christ who
strengthens you (see Philippians 4:13), all the pride in your
heart melts and you know that without Him you can do nothing.
As you begin to understand these things, you won’t be
afraid to give. You won’t be afraid to turn loose of it. When you
give, you will receive and have even more to give, a constant
flowing! Praise the Lord!

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Matthew 8:16-17
KJV—When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed
with devils: and he cast out the spirits with
his word, and healed all that were sick: That
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our
infirmities and bare our sicknesses.

Amp—When evening came they brought
to Him many who were under the power of
demons, and He drove out the spirits with a
word, and restored to health all who were
sick; And thus He fulfilled what was spoken
by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took (in
order to carry away) our weaknesses and
infirmities and bore away our diseases.

Moffatt—Now when evening came they
brought him many demoniacs, and he cast
out the spirits with a word and healed
all the invalids—that the word spoken by
the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, He
took away our sicknesses and our diseases
he removed.

NEB—When evening fell, they brought to
him many who were possessed by devils;
and he drove the spirits out with a word
and healed all who were sick, to fulfil the
prophecy of Isaiah: ‘He took away our
illnesses and lifted our diseases from us.’

Matthew 9:18-29
KJV—While he spake these things unto
them, behold, there came a certain ruler,
and worshipped him, saying, My daughter
is even now dead: but come and lay
thy hand upon her and she shall live. And
Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did
his disciples.

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased
with an issue of blood twelve years,
came behind him, and touched the hem
of his garment: For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment, I shall be
whole. But Jesus turned him about, and
when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of
good comfort; thy faith hath made thee
whole. And the woman was made whole
from that hour.

And when Jesus came into the ruler’s
house, and saw the minstrels and the
people making a noise, He said unto them,
Give place: for the maid is not dead, but
sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
But when the people were put forth, he
went in, and took her by the hand, and
the maid arose. And the fame hereof went
abroad into all that land.

And when Jesus departed thence, two
blind men followed him, crying, and saying,
Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
And when he was come into the house, the
blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto
them, Believe ye that I am able to do this?
They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched
he their eyes, saying, According to your faith
be it unto you.

Amp—While He was talking this way to
them, behold, a ruler entered and kneeling
down, worshipped Him, saying, My daughter
has just now died; but come and lay Your
hand on her and she will come to life. And
Jesus got up and accompanied him, with
His disciples.

And behold, a woman who had suffered
from a flow of blood for twelve years came
up behind Him and touched the fringe of
His garment; For she kept saying to herself,
If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored
to health. Jesus turned around and
seeing her He said, Take courage, daughter!
Your faith has made you well. And at once
the woman was restored to health.

And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house
and saw the flute players, and the crowd
making an uproar and din, He said, Go away;
for the girl is not dead but sleeping. And
they laughed and jeered at Him. But when
the crowd had been ordered to go outside,
He went in and took her by the hand,
and the girl arose. And the news about this
spread through all that district.

As Jesus was passing on from there, two
blind men followed Him, shouting loudly,
Have pity and mercy on us, Son of David!
When He reached the house and went in,
the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said
to them, Do you believe that I am able to
do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then
He touched their eyes, saying, According
to your faith and trust and reliance [on the
power invested in Me] be it done to you.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

Matthew 8:5-10, 13
KJV—And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion,
beseeching him, And saying, Lord,
my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto
him, I will come and heal him. The centurion
answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof:
but speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. For I am a man under
authority, having soldiers under me: and I
say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to
another, Come, and he cometh; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and
said to them that followed, Verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not
in Israel.

And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go
thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it
done unto thee. And his servant was healed
in the selfsame hour.

Amp—As Jesus went into Capernaum, a
centurion came up to Him, begging Him And
saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the
house paralyzed and distressed with intense
pains. And Jesus said to him, I will come
and restore him. But the centurion replied
to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have
You come under my roof; but only speak
the word, and my servant boy will be cured.
For I also am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one,
Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and
he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he
does it. When Jesus heard him, He marveled,
and said to those who followed Him [that is,
who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming
to His example in living and if need be
in dying also], I tell you, truly I have not
found so much faith as this with any one,
even in Israel.

Then to the centurion Jesus said, Go; it
shall be done for you as you have believed.
And the servant boy was restored to health
at that very moment.

Moffatt—When he entered Capharnahum,
an army-captain came up to him and
appealed to him, saying, “Sir, my servant is
lying ill at home with paralysis, in terrible
agony.” He replied, “I will come and heal
him.” The captain answered, “Sir, I am not
fit to have you under my roof; only say the
word, and my servant will be cured. For
though I am a man under authority myself,
I have soldiers under me; I tell one man to
go, and he goes, I tell another to come, and
he comes, I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he
does it.”

When Jesus heard that, he marvelled;
“I tell you truly,” he said to his followers,
“I have never met faith like this anywhere
in Israel.”

Then said Jesus to the captain, “Go; as you
have had faith, your prayer is granted.” And
the servant was cured at that very hour.

NEB—When he had entered Capernaum a
centurion came up to ask his help. ‘Sir,’ he
said, ‘a boy of mine lies at home paralysed
and racked with pain.’ Jesus said, ‘I will come
and cure him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Sir,
who am I to have you under my roof? You
need only say the word and the boy will be
cured. I know, for I am myself under orders,
with soldiers under me. I say to one, “Go”,
and he goes; to another, “Come here”, and
he comes; and to my servant, “Do this”, and
he does it.’

Jesus heard him with astonishment, and
said to the people who were following him,
‘I tell you this: nowhere, even in Israel, have I
found such faith.’

Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go
home now; because of your faith, so let it
be.’ At that moment the boy recovered.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland