Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Gentleness. Goodness. Faith. Meekness. Temperance. Powerful forces the Bible calls the fruit of the spirit. They’re the character traits of God Himself and when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in you, He brought them with Him, so they could become your character traits too.
They’re designed to bubble up inside you, to gush forth like a powerful stream constantly protecting and cleansing you from the inside out.
Do you need a miracle? Then believe it, confess it and receive it!
"Oh Gloria, I just don't know if I can do that."
Yes, you can! You've already done it once. When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, you believed, confessed and received the greatest miracle in the universe, the miracle of a reborn spirit! Every other miracle you receive will come in exactly the same way.
You start by simply believing what God's Word says concerning your area of need, by letting that Word change your heart and mind.
You shall never fall. When you think about it, that's a startling statement, isn't it? Most of us have been tripped up by the devil so many times we don't like to think about it.
But the Word of God says it doesn't have to be that way. He says there's something that can keep us on our feet. What is it? Diligence.
If you haven't already, you need to realize how important diligence is. You need to face the fact that you simply can't live a life of victory without it.
As long as you live by the Word of God, you never have to be in the dark again. You never have to remain in confusion about which path to take. You never have to grope blindly along, struggling to find your own way.
Isn't that great? Isn't it exciting to know that the Word of God will give you all the light you need every day of your life if you'll allow it to?
Build your faith in that Word and renew your commitment to it as you make this confession today:
We're surrounded by a world which is ruled for the most part by Satan. How can we avoid getting caught up in it? How can we stand apart?
You'll find the answer in John 17:17. There Jesus was speaking to the Father about all those who would believe on Him. "Sanctify them through thy truth," He says. "Thy word is truth." Sanctify means "to separate unto." So Jesus was saying, "Separate them by the Word." The Word separates!
The Word of God is to your spirit as bread is to your body. When your body feeds on physical food, it produces a physical power called strength. When your spirit feeds on the spiritual food of the Word, it produces spiritual power called faith. And just as you can't eat one meal and then feed on the memory of it for several weeks, you can't just remember what the Word says and stay strong in faith. You have to read it. Even if you've read it a hundred times, you need to read it again.
Something very serious has been happening to the Body of Christ. We've often let the things which we have heard—the message of faith and righteousness—slip.
I'm not just talking about those believers who've been so surrounded by religion that they've never heard about the power that's theirs in Christ Jesus. I'm talking about those of us who have heard the Word and have known the thrill of living by faith.
You can never get away with disobeying God.
Some people think they can. They think that if no one finds out about it, it won't hurt anything. After all, God is merciful. He's not going to hold it against them, right? And if no one else knows...what's the difference?
When money gets tight, it's always a temptation to cut down on your giving. After all, it seems like the logical thing to do. Don't do it! You'll end up cutting off the flow of God's financial blessings just when you need them most.
The Pharisees had a heart condition that grieved Jesus. Their hearts were hard and insensitive. If you'll look in Mark 3, you'll see what I'm talking about.
God was right there in their midst, and they, of all people, should have realized it. They knew the Scriptures backward and forward, and Jesus fit every messianic prophecy written there. But the insensitivity of their hearts literally blinded them to who He was.
The hearts of the Pharisees were also hardened to the needs of the people around them.
That very same thing is still happening today.
It's easy to get your spiritual eyes fixed so firmly on the problems in your life, you overlook the blessings completely! As a result, you end up suffering through situations that should have you rejoicing.
Let me show you what I mean. Not long ago, this ministry was facing some great financial pressures. I stood in faith against them. I battled against them with the Word and in prayer.
Did you know that, according to the Word of God, there is no lack in the Body of Christ? Everything we could ever need, every problem we could ever face has been covered by the blood of Jesus. His exceeding great and precious promises have supplied it all.
Why then do many of us keep on suffering lack? Because we haven't, as Hebrews 5:13 says, become skillful in the Word of righteousness.
Are all your needs met today? If not, why not?
According to the Word of God, it's either because you're not praying about them at all or because when you do pray, you're praying wrong.
What does it mean to pray wrong? In many cases it simply means to pray without expecting results. Many believers do that, you know. They use prayer as a kind of spiritual wishbone. They just play around with it. This probably won't do much good, they think, but who knows? It won't hurt to give it a try.
Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. It's a simple concept. One all of us understand. Why, then, aren't all of us producing bumper crops every season? Because we're sitting around waiting for God to do all the work.
He doesn't operate that way. He'll work with you, but He won't do it all. There are some essential things you must do by faith if you want to have a crop to reap at harvest time.
If you really want to get the wisdom of God, you'll have to do more than casually read the Scriptures a few minutes a day. You'll have to feed on them night and day. You'll have to get rid of the rubbish you've been feeding into your consciousness by reprogramming your mind with the Word of God.
"Oh, Brother Copeland," you may say, "that's unreasonable!"
We’ve seen some tremendous medical breakthroughs in our generation. We’ve seen “miracle drugs” developed that can conquer many kinds of sickness and disease.
But, you know, in the 45-plus years I’ve been a believer, I’ve discovered another, much more effective, kind of medicine: the Word of God. There’s never been a miracle drug that could equal it. God’s medicine is the answer to every need. It is life. It is health. It is the power of God. And if you put it in your heart and act on it, you will be healed.
Throughout the Scriptures, God warns us about the danger of strife. Yet, it’s still one of the most common problems among believers. We let it get into our homes, our workplaces, our churches...everywhere!
Of course, we don’t purposely let it in. We don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I think I’m going to stir up some major strife today.” We just inadvertently let it slip up on us one minor irritation at a time.
One of the reasons Gloria and I have seen the results we have in our lives and in our ministry is because when we realized what the Word of God would do, we literally immersed ourselves in it. We turned off the radio and television, put down the newspaper, and spent nearly every waking moment of the time available either reading the Word, listening to tapes on the Word, or thinking about the Word.
All that time in the Word eventually had a powerful effect on us. It began to revolutionize everything about us. It began to turn failure into success.
How does the devil see you? Does he see you as a terrifying and mighty warrior of God...or does he see you as a wimp he can whip in a minute?
The answer to that question depends on you. I realized that one day as I was studying the children of Israel and their failure to enter the Promised Land. The key to their failure is found in these words: “And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
I want to tell you the only real secret to getting ahead in this world. It’s simple. Put the Word of God first place in your daily life.
“Well,” you may be saying, “I’ve heard that before. It’s no secret.” But when you understand what I mean, it could be a revelation to you.
You see, the Bible is not just a textbook, a storybook or a history book. It’s a handbook for living. It’s the wisdom of Almighty God written down so that you can apply it to your everyday circumstances.