by Kenneth Copeland

Everywhere you turn these days, there is fear in the world. The Bible tells us that men’s hearts will fall them for fear of what’s coming on the earth—it seems we’re right in the middle of those times.

But as a believer, you don’t have to live in fear. You have the power over it through your heavenly Father. When you know and believe in your heart that God loves you—you won’t be afraid of anything.

As 1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror!” (The Amplified Bible).

Develop faith in God’s love for you and develop a fear-free life!

2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised).

Hebrews 10:35-36
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Hebrews 11:11
Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 5:14-16
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

1 John 3:21-22
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in
his sight.

1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

3 John 2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

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

You are probably familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Are you in
Christ? If so, then you are committed to Colossians 2:2-3: “That
their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the
acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of
Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
We read earlier from Proverbs that one hand of wisdom
holds riches and honor and the other hand holds length of
days. These are some of the treasures of wisdom—all of them
are hid in Christ. Wisdom is in Christ. You are in Christ.
Wisdom is in you! It belongs to you! Welcome to where the
riches are!

In financial dealings, the truly wise man, one who is operating
in the covenant of God, will not borrow money. He will not
obligate himself in this way. A man who borrows money is relying
on the world’s system of finance and will never be in absolute
control of his affairs. God has a system of finance which
will provide everything you need. It is not a sin to borrow
money, but there is a better way. Why not use it? There is a
higher life. Reach for it!

This is a very difficult area where businessmen are
concerned, but God can and will provide everything any businessman
can conceive in his heart or mind. God has a way!
This is something you grow into spiritually. If you want to
believe God for thousands of dollars to operate your business,
you will have to start by believing Him for your next shirt and
tie. As you do, you will grow into a position where you can
believe Him to provide large amounts of money. The wisdom of
God will cause these things to happen, and it comes forth only
by spending time in the Word.

Suppose Henry Ford walked up, handed you a book, and
said, “This book contains every secret that I have learned in the
automobile industry, in the manufacturing business, and in the
stock market. It has been tried and proven over a period of years
to produce absolutely if you will read it one hour each day and
meditate in it.” Would you trade an hour’s sleep for the success
Henry Ford enjoyed? This and so much more is available to you
by reading and meditating in the Word of God. Commit yourself
to it. Make up your mind and heart before God.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

The established heart comes by meditation in the Word of
God. We have seen from the book of Joshua that if a person
will meditate in the Word day and night and do all that is written
therein, he will prosper and deal wisely in his affairs. It is
through this kind of meditation in the Word that you will discover
what God has to say about finances.

Proverbs 3:13-14 says, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise
of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof
than fine gold.” In other words, there is a better market for wisdom
and understanding than for gold and silver. The merchandise
of it is greater; and will provide more. Solomon proved
this. People from faraway countries heard about the wisdom of
Solomon and brought him wealth and riches because of it.

Verses 15-16, “She [wisdom] is more precious than rubies: and
all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and
honour.” Wisdom actually possesses riches and honor. Does wisdom
belong to us? Again, we go to the established covenant for
the answer. Let’s see what the Word has to say about it.

First Corinthians 1:30 states very plainly that Jesus has
been made unto us wisdom. James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering.” Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9-10 “that
ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.” We
should bear fruit and succeed in every endeavor, and the wisdom
of God enables us to do this.

Now I take for granted that you understand the importance
of prayer in all these areas. Spend time before God and in His
Word. Let Him reveal to you His wisdom and His understanding.

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

God has established His covenant in the earth, but it is not
enough just to know this. For the covenant to be of any value,
we must have our hearts established in it. Psalm 112 is a perfect
description of the established heart. It describes the prosperous
man and gives insight into his prosperity. Let’s examine it closely.

“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,
that delighteth greatly in his commandments.” What type of man
is blessed of God? The man who fears the Lord and delights
greatly in His commandments, in the established covenant
of God.

“His seed shall be mighty upon the earth: the generation of the
upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house:
and his righteousness endureth forever.” No one can take it
away! When God gives you something, you should have no
fear of losing it. God has given you His Word. You can stand
firmly on it because it belongs to you!

“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious,
and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man showeth
favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion [or
good judgment]. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous
shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of
evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is
established.” God has established His covenant, and this man
has established his heart in the covenant. His heart is fixed,
trusting in the Lord. You can’t scare him with bad tidings about
the fuel shortage, high interest rates or anything else. He trusts
completely and totally in the Lord and gets what he needs by
his covenant with God. When you are established and operating
in the covenant of God, Satan can’t corner you.

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

From the time of Adam’s fall, man was cursed. Through
the years he was trained under deception and did not have the
necessary spiritual knowledge and understanding to escape it.
After several generations had passed, Adam’s teachings to his
own sons had been forgotten, and no one knew anything about
God or about spiritual law. Most of the things God had said
were absolutely foreign to the human mind. Jesus said “Give,
and it shall be given to you again,” but this is contrary to our
thinking. We say, “That’s stupid! It doesn’t make sense…anybody
knows that if you give it away, you won’t have it anymore!”
But God knows the foundation principle of the law of
giving. Satan knows it too, but he will try to deceive you in
order to keep you ignorant, weak and powerless so that he can
govern you.

When God made His covenant with Abraham, most people
could not understand. As long as they obeyed God, they were
blessed. However, when they relied on their own understanding,
they would go back under the curse again. God was telling
them, “If you won’t follow My Word and do what I tell you,
there is nothing I can do for you. I cannot usurp authority over
your own free will.”

Let’s stop and consider for a moment that when God made
His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He promised
to take care of them and their descendants. They were free men!
Consequently, every Jewish slave who bore the lash under
Egyptian rule was a free man! There was only one problem…
they didn’t know it! Therefore, God called Moses and gave him
the ability and authority to write down the covenant God had
made with Abraham. This way, the people would know what
had been done and what had been agreed to. Moses went forth
in the name of the covenant, performed miracles by the power
of God in the face of Pharaoh, and led God’s people out of
bondage. They could have gone free 400 years before, but they
didn’t know their covenant! God has laid out His innermost
thoughts and desires, His perfect will, in the form of a contract
and placed them in the Bible. They are available to set us free
from Satan’s authority, by the Spirit of God in the Name of
Jesus. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free” (John 8:31-32).

We have seen from the Word that the covenant of God has
been established. We have seen that prosperity is a blessing of
Abraham and that poverty is under the curse of the law. How
does this affect us as members of the Body of Christ under the
new covenant?

Galatians 3:13-14, 29 says, “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.”

Jesus bore the curse of the law in our behalf. He beat Satan
and took away his power. Consequently, there is no reason for
you to live under the curse of the law, no reason for you to live
in poverty of any kind. Many born-again believers live in spiritual
poverty, spiritual malnutrition. They are mighty, spiritual supermen
in the embryo but not growing an ounce because they are
not being properly fed. Spiritual growth comes only by feeding
and acting on the Word of God. “Desire the sincere milk of the
word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland

In Deuteronomy 28, we see the blessings that come from
obeying the Word of God. For instances, verses 11-12 state,
“And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of
thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy
ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give
thee. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure.” You see,
God blessed Abraham and his descendants with prosperity
because He swore it in the covenant. Praise God!

Then beginning with verse 15, we find an outline of the
curse of the law. “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken
unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments
and his statutes…that all these curses shall come upon thee,
and overtake thee.” This curse spells complete and total poverty
in every area of life. Poverty is not a blessing of God. To believe
that it is, that it carries with it some sort of humility, is to
believe that God is the author of the curse, and He is not! God
is the author of the blessing.

God did not curse Adam; He built a garden for him and provided
everything he could possibly ever need or want. Satan is
the one who brought in the curse. When Adam united with
Satan, everything in the earth was cursed. Then the covenant
God made with Abraham provided an umbrella—a protection,
an avenue of escape from this curse. As long as Abraham walked
with the Lord and listened to His Word, he was protected; but
the moment he disregarded the voice of the Lord, relying on his
own understanding, he would step from under this protective
umbrella and become vulnerable to Satan once again.

Why does it seem so difficult to get along with God? He
knows the difference between right and wrong and the foundation
laws upon which these values are constructed. He has
understanding and wisdom about the laws governing life. He
established His system to work a certain way, then Satan
deceived us into believing that the opposite was true. God is
not being disagreeable with us. He is refusing to agree with
Satan. This happened with Eve in the Garden of Eden. God had
said, “If you eat the fruit, you will surely die.” Then Satan came
along and convinced her that it wasn’t true by saying, “Can it
really be that God has said…?” He convinced her that God’s
Word was not true, so she disobeyed God and Adam followed
her. The law functioned and at that very moment they died
spiritually. Physical death was to follow years later.

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland