If the only news you ever hear is what comes from the secular media, you might think everything that’s happening these days is bad. You might think the only tide that’s rising around the world is the tide of evil. But I have a news flash for you that will give you a more accurate perspective.
The big story right now isn’t what the devil and his bunch are doing. The big story is what’s happening in the kingdom of God.
Although you won’t see it yet in the headlines, God is doing unusual, over-the-top things all over this planet. Not only is He still on the throne, He’s on the move! I see evidence of it everywhere I travel, and I can tell you, the back of the Book is true: Jesus is LORD, and at this very moment we’re in the early stages of an end-time outpouring of God’s glory, the likes of which we’ve never seen.
“Yeah, but Brother Copeland, there’s also a lot of trouble in the world. Things out there just keep getting darker. Problems just keep getting more and more complicated.”
I know. But as a believer you don’t have to get depressed about it. You can keep right on rejoicing because Jesus has given you the key to living in victory right in the midst of it all. He’s summed up in four simple words what you need to do: “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).
“But what about the economy?”
Have faith in God.
“What about the mess the Democrats and Republicans have made?”
Have faith in God.
“What about the Supreme Court?”
Have faith in God.
Faith in God is the secret to solving any problem. It’s the answer to anything the world can throw at you because it connects you to Jesus, and in Him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). It doesn’t matter how complicated the devil tries to make things, Jesus can tell you how to deal with them because He knows everything the Father knows…and the Father knows everything!
He knows the end from the beginning. He knows every detail about the past, present and future. He knows what the devil is going to do before he does it.
Science has discovered that even the human brain has the capacity to contain three million years’ worth of information. So just think how awesome God’s brain must be! His mental capacity is beyond calculation. Yet you can tap into it because, as a believer, you have the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth—living inside you, and Jesus promised in John 16:13-15: “The Spirit of truth…will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.”
If you want to get a picture of what this really means, imagine yourself standing in front of an enormous building that’s gorgeous beyond description. Imagine that inside the building is a supercomputer that contains all the plans God made before the foundation of the world. Included in them are the plans He designed especially for you—plans so wonderful they’re beyond anything you can ask or think and so powerful the devil can’t touch them.
As you’re standing there admiring the building and marveling over everything that’s in it, a very kind, wonderful person walks up to you. His eyes are lit up with fire and love at the same time, and He says to you, “May I help you? I’m the One who built that building. I programmed that computer and I’d be happy to assist you in finding out anything you need to know.”
Sounds like a wild, wonderful dream, doesn’t it? Yet, for us as children of God it’s a spiritual reality. Jesus has said to us, “Everything the Father has is mine, and the Holy Spirit will take of what is mine and show it to you.”
He’s Talking All the Time
This is why you don’t have to be depressed over all the mess the devil is stirring up in the world these days. Jesus hasn’t left you to deal with it on your own. He didn’t just pat you on the shoulder and say, “Well, I hope you figure out a way to make it through.”
No, Jesus is the Head of the Church. He’s taken full responsibility for everyone in it. He’s done everything necessary to provide all of us with everything we need to live out God’s glorious plan for our lives, and He’s speaking to each one of us about that plan all the time, by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is never silent. He’s always hearing from Jesus on our behalf and telling us what He’s saying. He’s always leading us, guiding us and teaching us “all things” (John 14:26).
Some believers claim God never talks to them, but they’re wrong. When they get to heaven, Jesus isn’t going to say to them, “Oh, you pitiful little darling. Did I forget to speak to you about My will for you? I guess we’ll just have to chalk that up as My mistake.”
On the contrary, if those believers try to tell Jesus He didn’t talk to them, He’s going to remind them about the church He put in their city so they could hear His WORD preached every week. He’ll remind them that they had a Bible; they had the Holy Spirit living inside them; they had the ability to pray; and they could watch preachers like the Copelands, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Keith Moore, Creflo Dollar and many more on television almost every day of the week.
“What were you doing?” He’ll say. “Why didn’t you take advantage of those things?”
“Well, LORD, I was always too busy.”
“I know you were. That was the problem. I spoke every day, over and over, but you were always occupied with something else. You weren’t paying attention.”
I remember one time when The LORD said something very much like that to me. It was shortly after I started this ministry. I received a call one day from my spiritual father, Brother Oral Roberts, and he told me he was coming to spend the weekend with Gloria and me.
I was thrilled. “Yes, sir!” I said. “Just tell me what time you’ll be here, and I’ll be at the airport to pick you up.”
When we finished our conversation, I told Gloria about it and both of us sprang into action. The prophet was coming; we had to get things ready!
The first morning after Brother Roberts arrived, when I went into the kitchen for breakfast, he was already there at the table waiting for me. He had his Bible lying open in front of him, so Gloria and I grabbed our Bibles and sat down with him. We spent the whole morning talking about The WORD and having a marvelous time.
Some really outstanding things happened that weekend, and afterward I was praising The LORD for them.
“Oh, God, thank You!” I said. “It’s just been glorious having Brother Roberts here.”
I’ll never forget how The LORD responded.
“I’ve been there every morning,” He said.
That’s right! I thought. You’re Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, and You’re right here with me every day. You’ve put Your Holy Spirit within me to answer my every question and impart to me Your wisdom. But instead of taking the time to sit and visit with You, a lot of times I just rush right past You because I have something else to do.
I resolved right then and there to make some adjustments. I decided my time with Jesus would always be my No. 1 priority. It would always come first.
A Dangerous Time to Be Spiritually Lazy
These days, more than ever before, all of us, as believers, need to make that decision. We’re living in intense times. On one hand, God is on the move in a mighty way. He’s doing things we don’t want to miss out on. On the other hand, the devil is stepping up his operations. He’s pushing ungodly people to cross lines we never expected them to cross.
Who would have ever thought in the 21st century people would go back to crucifying Christians? Who would have ever thought we’d see beheadings posted on the Internet? Just a few years ago, such things would have been unimaginable. Yet they’re happening.
Right before our eyes, the world has sunk lower than we’ve ever seen it, and it’s not going to get any better. We can snatch some people out of it by the power of the gospel and the grace of God, but this world isn’t on the way up; it’s on the way down because these are the end times. These are the times when, as 2 Timothy 3:13 says, “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
As believers, we can’t afford to be spiritually lazy anymore. We don’t have time to lie around, get an answer or two from God here and there, and just kind of hope everything will be all right. It’s time for us to clean house, spiritually—to walk according to The WORD of God and make seeking Him and His plan for our lives a daily matter. It’s time for us to put Him first, listen constantly to the Holy Spirit, and get His direction about everything we do.
In other words, it’s time for us to get completely committed to walking with Jesus every step of the way.
How do we do that?
By having faith in God! By obeying Hebrews 12:1-3, which says: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”
If we set our faith on Jesus, we won’t faint when the world around us gets darker. We won’t be wearied by all the problems it’s throwing at us. We’ll tap into the wisdom of our heavenly Father and find out everything we need to know about how to finish running our race.
“But Brother Copeland,” you might say, “I’ve made some major mistakes in my life. I’ve gotten so far off course I can’t even figure out what race I’m supposed to be running.”
Then don’t try to figure it out. Just act on James 1:5-6. It 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.”
According to those verses, even if the problems you’re facing are problems you created yourself, God won’t “upbraid” or find fault with you when you ask Him to help you solve them. He won’t punish you by withholding the answers you need.
You could be sprawled on the floor of a jail cell, locked up because of a crime you committed, and if you repented and asked God for wisdom He’d immediately start helping you. In spite of all the mess you made to get there, He’d start telling you how to handle the situation, how to give Him glory in it, and how to get out of there.
God is for you, not against you! You can ask Him for anything you need. Just be sure to ask in faith.
Jesus said in Mark 11, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them…. And when ye stand praying, forgive…” (verses 24-25). So when you pray for wisdom, believe it’s yours the instant you pray for it. Say out loud, “God promised me His wisdom and I receive it now. From this point on, I declare it’s mine. I say I have it, and I’ll keep saying it no matter how I feel or how much pressure the devil puts on me to say something else.”
Then, finish up your prayer by forgiving anyone who’s wronged you. That’s vital. If you don’t forgive, your faith won’t work, because faith works by love (Galatians 5:6), and love forgives.
This is how we as believers were born to live!
We weren’t created to worry about all the bad news in the world and focus on what the devil is doing. We were created to walk in God’s wisdom and love, and tell people the good news about Jesus. What He’s doing is the real story these days. So stay focused on Him. Wake up every morning expecting Him to say things to you that you’ve never heard before. Spend time with Him in The WORD, expecting Him to show you things you’ve never seen before.
Jesus will give you the answer to every situation. No matter what happens in this crazy, complicated world, He’ll keep you on the path of victory, as long as you have faith in God!
Points to Get You There
What’s the secret to living in victory in the midst of it all? It’s simple. Just have faith in God! Here are some points to get you there:
- Faith in God is the secret to solving any problem—Mark 11:22-23: “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.”
- Faith connects you to Jesus, and He knows the answer to every situation you’ll ever face—Colossians 2:3: “In [Him] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
- Jesus promised to speak to you by the Holy Spirit and tell you everything you need to know—John 16:13: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
- Receive all the wisdom you need by asking for it in faith—James 1:5-6: “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.”
- Since faith works by love, when you pray and receive wisdom, always finish your prayer by forgiving anyone who’s wronged you—Mark 11:24-25: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any.”
*This article taken from January 2016 issue of BVOV Magazine. Read the PDF version here.
