Someone might say, “I’m going to believe God.” Well, what
about Him are you going to believe…that He is God? This is
fine, but it won’t go very far. You must find out what the covenant
says God has agreed to do. A businessman has that much
sense. When two people enter into partnership together, they
must know what to believe. If they don’t, they will get into a
misunderstanding. Both of them can be completely honest and
still destroy the partnership simply because they do not understand
each other and do not know what to expect from one
another. To avoid this, they must come together, decide the
terms of their partnership, and write them down. When they
make this agreement (or covenant) together, they know what to
expect from each other.

You as a believer have God’s covenant, God’s Word. It is
available to you. However, if you don’t put it to use, you are on
the same level as the man who does not know salvation is for
him. He is hell-bound. You are poverty-bound or bound in
some other area where the Word gives you freedom. If you do
not use the covenant, you will live in defeat. This was true in
my life. I was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit but
lived almost four years in total defeat as a Christian, particularly
in the area of finances. I was trying my best to believe God. My
intentions were good, but I had no idea of what was available
to me and no knowledge of what God had provided in Jesus
Christ. Satan kept me behind the eight ball continually! You
see, a man can have a million dollars in the bank, but if he can’t
write a check, he is as destitute as the next guy!

A good illustration of this is the man who saved his money
to come to America. He scrimped and saved and finally got the
money for a boat ticket with just enough money left to buy a box
of crackers and some cheese. He rationed it to provide a little
each day until the boat landed. During the voyage, he would
look into the dining room where everyone was eating and then
go back to his room and eat his little food ration. When the boat
was anchoring in the New York Harbor, a steward stopped him
and said, “Sir, I’ve noticed that you haven’t eaten a meal throughout
this trip. Is our service offensive to you? Is the food unsatisfactory?”
The man answered, “Oh, no! I’m not offended. It’s just
that I only had the money for my ticket. There wasn’t enough
left over for meals.” Then the steward said, “Well sir, the meals
were included in the ticket!” You see, those meals were his, but
he didn’t know it! His ticket was an agreement. It belonged to
him, but he didn’t know the terms of the agreement! He had as
much right to those meals as the captain of the ship, but he settled
for crackers and cheese instead. Most Christians have been
“eating crackers and cheese” by not knowing their covenant with
God, by not knowing what is already theirs through Jesus Christ.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland