God warned the children of Israel to keep His covenant and His testimonies so they would be protected from the curse. God is not the author of the curse, but the Redeemer of His people under its power. “If there had been no sin, there would be no curse” (Isaiah 33:24; 35:5-6). The curse was a powerful force. It had overtaken the whole world. God was not being hard or demanding in putting a burden on His people through His statutes and ordinances. But only a power greater than the evil could stop the effect of the curse. That power is The WORD of God. The keeping of God’s covenant was Israel’s only deliverance.
Jesus, The WORD made flesh, gave Himself as the sacrifice to redeem mankind from the curse. He was made the curse–made to be sin for us.
In the church of God, where a soul is on fire, kindled with the love of God, there is a deeper love between me and that brother then there is between me and my earthly brother. Oh, this love that I am speaking about is divine love; it is not human love. It is higher than human love; it is more devoted to God. It will not betray. It is true in everything. You can depend on it. It won’t change its character. In divine love, you will act exactly as Jesus would act, for you will act with the same spirit. “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
You cannot bear with others until you know God has borne with you.
As you study the Bible, you’ll find that God often changed, directed, or maneuvered government leaders or heads of state who had influence or control over His people (Daniel 4; Isaiah 44:28; Romans 9:17). God never changes. If His people will intercede in faith, He will change the king or government leader just as He changes the rivers and creeks (Proverbs 21:1). It can take time to change the direction of a river, but James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.”
God’s favor will change your life, and you already have it! Here are 4 points to access the favor of God each and every day.
by Gloria Copeland
How would your life look if you were surrounded, all day and every day, by God’s favor? How different would things be if doors opened for you, and you walked through each one covered with God’s favor? Would your actions and attitudes in every situation be any different if you knew beyond any doubt that success lies ahead, because you are one of God’s favorites? Would you find the courage to lay down your anxieties and fears? Of course, you would!
The truth is God’s favor will change your life! In this article, I’m going to give you four points to help you access God’s favor each and every day. Are you ready? Let’s get started!
1. You Already Have God’s Favor
Many Christians believe they have to somehow earn the favor of God, but the truth is, we already have His favor. God saved us because of His favor toward us.
Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (NKJV).
Simply put, grace is favor.
God’s favor is the power that changes things for us. First and foremost, you and I are saved by His favor, and I’m not just talking about going to heaven when we die. To be saved means to be delivered, protected, preserved, healed and made whole.
God’s favor covers every area of our lives! By His favor, He has taken care of everything we will ever need—spirit, soul and body. His supernatural grace is so vast, the Bible says it is going to take all the ages to come for Him to show us all the riches of His grace in the kindness He’s given us in Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 2:7).
You may be thinking, Oh, I can’t wait until I get to heaven, so I can experience the fullness of God’s favor!
You don’t have to wait! God is pouring out His favor on us right here and now. Even before we were born again, He was giving us His favor. While we were still rebelling against Him, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).
It was God’s grace at work in your life that enabled you to be born again. From the moment you stepped into that new life—the moment you made Jesus Lord—God’s favor began working nonstop on your behalf. Being born again was just the starting place for His favor to pour out. And He will pour out grace and more favor to you every moment of your life if you’ll receive it!
Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life? You can do it right now! Simply pray this prayer.
Psalm 5:12 says, “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield” (NKJV). That scripture is talking about the born-again child of God who serves Him. It is talking about you! Jesus made you righteous. When Jesus shed His blood, He made righteousness available to all mankind, and with it came the favor of God! God’s favor surrounds you constantly! You have been born again into His righteousness.
We should always see ourselves wrapped in God’s favor 24 hours a day. Every morning when you get up, throw off the covers and jump out of bed saying, “I am the righteous; Lord, Your favor surrounds me like a shield.”
Learn how to live in God’s best with this CD series by Gloria Copeland, for just $15 (regularly priced $30). Offer good August 4-10, 2019. Click here to order.
2. You Receive God’s Favor by Faith
Now you may be thinking, Gloria, I know a lot of believers who don’t enjoy the kind of favor you’re talking about. Their lives are full of tragedy and disappointment. Why doesn’t God surround them with favor?
God does surround them with favor. They just don’t know it, so they can’t take advantage of what He has given them.
You see, according to 2 Peter 1:2, God’s grace is multiplied to us through knowledge. The first thing you have to do before you can receive the benefits of God’s favor is to know they are yours. Then, you have to receive them by faith. Remember Ephesians 2:8, “God saved you by his grace….” God’s favor provides every possible blessing and goodness He has to give, starting with being saved. Your part is faith—to believe and receive all He has given.
Our grandson Jeremy Pearsons puts it so simply. He says, “Grace is God saying, ‘Here is all the good stuff I have to give you.’ Faith is you saying, ‘Thank You, I’ll take it.’”
So, where do we get the faith to receive? “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV). We find out the truth about God’s favor, goodness and blessing as we hear His Word on these things. Faith comes, we believe and begin to receive what His Word says.
I remember the first time Ken and I heard that healing belonged to us because it was part of our salvation—part of what Jesus bought and paid for on the cross. Our lives changed that night! We stepped into a new dimension of God’s favor. Until then, we had believed people could be healed, and we always prayed when we got sick. Sometimes we would receive, and sometimes we wouldn’t. But when we realized God’s Word said that healing belonged to us by the blood of Jesus—that it was part of the favor provided by God’s salvation grace—faith came. We received it, and we began to live healed.
That’s exactly how favor works. It’s always surrounding us. Healing was there for Ken and me all the time. It was always part of God’s favor. Once we heard about it, all we did was reach out and take it by faith.
Learn how favor produces opportunity in this video from Jerry Savelle:
3. God Is Searching for Someone to Bless With His Favor
Sadly, many times we are slow to receive God’s favor. We think we’re waiting on Him when He’s actually waiting on us to receive. You see, God has already done everything it takes for you and me to be fully cared for while we’re living here on earth. He has provided every blessing—health, prosperity, peace of mind, joy, deliverance from sin and everything that pertains to our good life (2 Peter 1:3). Then He tops it all off with life in heaven when we leave this earth! It’s all part of His favor. All we have to do is stay ready to receive.
Actually, we can’t get away from God’s favor. Second Chronicles 16:9 tells us, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” (KJV).Perfect doesn’t refer to someone who never makes a mistake. It means someone who is loyal, devoted and faithful. This kind of heart is always ready to receive the good things His grace provides.
God is always searching for someone to bless. That’s His nature. He is full of mercy and compassion. Because of His favor, He looks for someone who is ready to trust Him; someone who is ever ready to reach out in faith to receive His favor and blessing.
Are you that kind of person? Are you the kind of person who is trustworthy, someone who is ready and willing to receive God’s favor and blessing?
When I heard from God’s Word in Matthew 6 that the Lord takes care of His people and provides what we need, faith came and I was born again. I fell in love with the Word of God and my faith grew. Even today, I gladly say, “Look, Lord. Here I am. I’m ready. Just show it to me in the Word, and I’ll take it. I’ll believe it and act on it and receive all You say!”
You can do the same. If you would like to open the door to the favor and grace of God—and who wouldn’t?—begin to find out what He says in His Word. Discover the countless ways He desires to bless you. Believe Him. Begin to expect to receive. Every day declare what the Bible says: “God encompasses me with favor like a shield. Everywhere I go, everything I do, I am favored of God” (from Psalm 5:12, KJV)!
That may not be easy for you to do if you’re covered up by challenging circumstances right now. You will have to stare those challenges in the face and declare to them you’re favored by God when they are telling you, “Hey, stupid, things are terrible. It’s all over. You don’t have any hope.”
But, I’m telling you, you can do it! There are plenty of scriptures for you to stand on that affirm you are surrounded by God’s favor. Here’s an article with four scriptures you will want to begin confessing today! Get them firmly established in your heart and don’t get off them—even when circumstances seem to contradict them.
You may be in need of a job, the next step in your life toward God’s plan and purpose for you. Many people are in that place today. When you go in for that job interview, favor is what you should believe God for. Look up favor scriptures, speak them over that job and just go in there expecting the Lord to give you favor. Remember, He favors you! Someone else may look better on paper than you do, but when you go in there, the favor of God goes before you. That interviewer will think, Well, you know, that guy over there has done more—or been to school more or done something else more—but there’s just something about this guy here. I like this guy. What is it about him? I don’t know, but I like him. I’m going to give him a shot at this job. That’s favor and you’ve got it all over you!
4. You Must Release Your Faith for God’s Favor
God’s favor is yours, but there are a couple of things you must do to fully enjoy its benefits. First, you must receive God’s favor like every other spiritual promise—by faith. Then you must release your faith.
That’s what Abraham, the father of our faith, did. The circumstances looked hopeless when God promised him he would be the father of many nations. His age. Sarah’s lifelong barrenness. How could it be? They received God’s promise by faith and God’s favor.
[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb. No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised…. [Righteousness, standing acceptable to God] will be granted and credited to us also who believe in (trust in, adhere to, and rely on) God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead…. Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand…. (Romans 4:18-21, 24, 5:2, AMPC).
Look at Romans 5:2 again. We have access by faith into grace! God’s favor surrounds us—our faith releases it! Glory to God!
So, we are just like Abraham. That’s how it is in life for all of us. Sometimes things look bad. But we have to learn when we walk in faith and face the natural facts, we believe God anyway. We grow to the point where we can hear bad news without wavering in our faith…and receive God’s favor no matter what the circumstances are.
Receiving God’s favor by faith is a simple act on our part.
Get into God’s Word. Put the Word into your heart and speak it out your mouth. Believe it and act on it. Receive it!
When you do that, you will be victorious in every area of your life. There is no situation, no circumstance—nothing—that is stronger than the grace of God…the favor that surrounds you.
Whatever you may be facing today, stand up and get right in its face and say this: “I’m a born-again child of Almighty God. His supernatural favor surrounds me like a shield this very moment. His grace is more than enough to deliver me out of this trouble. My faith is in God’s Word, and I’m coming out of this triumphantly by the favor of God!”
Then, begin to expect great things to happen. I can tell you from the Word of God and from my own experience, your life will never be the same when you act like the favor of God is yours!
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Although it was the beginning of His creation, it obviously was not the beginning of God. He is outside the realm of time and space. He dwells in eternity. Before He created the heavens and the earth, there was only the spiritual world. When God said, “Let there be light,” those faith-filled words slung this universe into existence at the speed of light, from the inner image that was inside God.
Those words of creation were filled with the substance of God’s faith. He and His WORD are one.
Your sins have not just been covered, but blotted out–a blank slate. There’s no more remembrance of them with God. He is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Jesus, your covenant blood Brother, paid the ultimate price and with His own blood set you free from sin and the remembrance of it forever. Confess your sin before the Father and receive His forgiveness, in Jesus’ name (1 John 1:9).
When you confess your sin is not when He finds out about it. That’s when you get rid of it. He didn’t ask you to beat yourself up over it or be depressed about what you did, to punish yourself–or even fearfully look for His anger, wrath, and judgement against you. No. He forgave your sin for all time when His only begotten Son, the Lamb of God, became sin for you on the Cross.
Believe in His love, and receive His forgiveness by faith! And while you are at it, since your sins are forgiven, go ahead and receive your healing at the same time (Luke 5:22-26). It was all paid for on the same day on Calvary’s cross with Jesus’ own covenant blood (Isaiah 53:3-5). Forgiveness and healing belong to you as a covenant child of the living God!
Do you admire families with a legacy of faith? You can have your own! Here’s everything you need to know to make it happen.
READING TIME: 8 MINUTES
What if you could leave an inheritance to your family worth more than money—one that would allow not only your children, but the lives of everyone you touch, to defeat sickness and disease, continually increase financially, and enjoy supernatural success in relationships? That would be a legacy of mountain-moving, demon-defeating, immovable, unbeatable faith.
Billy Graham said, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is a legacy of character and faith.”
You can live your own legacy of faith—the kind you admire in others from afar—and pass it on to your children and grandchildren, just like Billy Graham did. The only prerequisite is that you must be a born-again child of God. Your past, your family, your education or financial status—even your present—are of no consequence. Your future determines your legacy, and your future begins today.
You don’t have to wait until you graduate to heaven to leave a legacy. You can begin by living it now. Here is everything you need to know about living your own legacy of faith.
1. Start From Scratch If You Need To
“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts.” –Psalm 145:5
Kenneth Copeland’s grandson Jeremy Pearsons says, “The life you live is the legacy you leave.”
If you didn’t grow up in a family of faith, living your own legacy of faith might seem like an overwhelming task. Fear not! A legacy isn’t for a select few—it’s for everyone. It isn’t just for those raised in Christian homes, people who have attended Bible college or the ministers on TV. It is for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you were raised in a broken home, one with abuse or one without any faith, you can start from scratch if you need to. Some of the most powerful faith families began with one person who was willing to break out of their past and create a new future by choosing to live their own legacy of faith.
It’s never too late to begin living a legacy of faith. You can live a life that exemplifies faith before the next generation and change the legacy of your family. That’s a powerful truth!
You know God has a plan for your life, but how do you find it? Discover the answer to that question and more in the Gods Plan for Man CD set by Gloria Copeland! Regularly $30, order it July 21-17, 2019 for only $15! Offer good July 21-27, 2019.
2. Be Willing to Leave Your Current Legacy
“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household…. I will make your name great.” –Genesis 12:1-2 (NIV)
To live your own legacy of faith, there is something important to keep in mind. There are two kinds of legacies: the one you keep and the one you leave. If you were raised in a family of faith, it’s important to learn your place in that legacy. Your parents may be pastors or have their own ministry, or perhaps you come from a long line of Christian authors or evangelists. Whatever the case may be, do not assume that their legacy is also yours to live out.
To have your own legacy of faith, you’ve got to tune in to what the Lord is saying to YOU. He created you as an individual, and He has a plan for your life that is uniquely tailored to your callings and giftings. Indeed, He may desire to use you within the context of your current family legacy, but it’s vital that you hear from Him directly.
Wondering if you’re hearing from Him? Learn 4 Ways to Know if You’re Hearing God’s VoiceHERE.
If He is calling you away from the legacy in which you were raised, be like Abraham and heed the call—even if you don’t know where you’re going. Many Christians allow uncertainty and fear to block them from hearing and obeying the call of God to their own legacy.
On the other side of things, maybe you need to leave a legacy of poverty, sickness, negativity or abuse. It takes courage to break free, remove yourself from those relationships, and create a new legacy, but Jesus has come to set you free from every curse! You can do everything through Christ, who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13).
Whatever you do—have courage and be willing to hear. Fear is an enemy to living a legacy of faith. It keeps people locked in the same place. That’s the definition of prison—an area with walls that limit how far someone can go. Don’t allow yourself to be locked in a prison by the expectations of others or fear of the unknown. Step out into the future God has for you.
3. Get Your Own God
“O God, you are my God.” –Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
Part of living a legacy of faith is developing a relationship with God that is all your own, not based on the experiences of others. If you were raised in a household of faith, don’t live on the faith of your parents or grandparents—get your own God!
What does it mean to get your own God? It means you have your own testimony, your own experiences with Him, and your own miracles.
Your family, your pastors and the ministers you watch on television cannot be the source of your faith. What you learn from them will be nothing more than head knowledge if you do not have your own relationship with the Lord. Let the faith of others supplement and strengthen what you already have, but don’t make it all you have.
When you have your own God, you will:
Spend daily time with Him in your own way.
Hear from Him regularly and respond to His instructions.
Always have a new testimony of His goodness to you.
Trust Him and stand in faith without always needing someone else to pray for you.
There has to come a time in your life where you get your own God—not your mother’s God, your grandfather’s God, or your pastor’s God. As Sarah Pearsons says, “You have to have your own story with God.” That’s your legacy.
4. Find Your Faith Family
“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” –Psalm 92:13 (NKJV)
Part of getting your own God is finding your faith family—the place where the Lord wants you rooted and planted. Many believers don’t seem to realize the importance of finding a faith family. They’re missing out on one of the avenues God uses to bless them and speak to them.
Here’s why finding a church home is important: Christianity is not a religion; it’s a family with a Father. A church isn’t supposed to be an organization—it’s supposed to be a family.
Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the solitary in families” (NKJV). He has ordained that each one of us would have a family to belong to. You may not even have one biological family member in your life, but His plan is to set you in a family—a family of faith.
That’s why the Church is called the House of the Lord. “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house” Psalm 84:4 (NKJV). “But the rebellious dwell in a dry land” (Psalm 68:6, NKJV). It’s dry, lonely and boring to not be part of a family. Yet a lot of people choose that because they’ve been hurt or offended in a family or a church family.
Being part of a church family isn’t just about what you can get—it’s about what you can give. No one is without “church hurts.” But isolation is selfish and damaging to both you and the Body of Christ.
Are you part of the KCM family? Join us today! Kenneth and Gloria Copeland pray over their Partners every day, making sure you are never alone.
Put yourself in a family of faith. Build relationships with other believers without fear and a guarded spirit. It’s an integral part of having your own legacy of faith.
Looking for a church home? Check out our Partner churches here.
5. Build Your Whole Life on the Word of God
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” –Matthew 7:24 (ESV)
To live a legacy of faith, you have to be willing to build your whole life on the Word of God.
That means you work overtime to make sure everything you believe, say and do is in line with the Word, even if it means looking different from everyone else (we should!) or facing persecution.
It means speaking health when everyone else is speaking sickness, and speaking protection when others speak danger. It means speaking prosperity when the news is speaking economic downturn. It’s remaining steadfast in your marriage, even when Christians all around you turn to divorce. It’s staying out of debt when the world says you can’t live without it.
When you build your whole life on the Word of God, you’re living a legacy of faith that will be noticeable to your family and all those around you. They will be touched by the way you live—even inspired. The world already knows how to fail—they’re looking for people to show them how to be victorious.
6. Share Your Glory Story
“One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” –Psalm 145:4 (NKJV)
When you’re victorious in this life through Christ Jesus, you can have your own legacy of faith by sharing your glory story with the next generation—especially your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 11:19 tells us how to share our glory story. We are to talk about the goodness of God and what He has done for us all the time. When we’re out and about, when we’re home, when we wake up and when we go to bed.
Put away the electronics and the cellphones, and find those quiet moments to tell your glory story. You may never know the impact of the things you share—they are seeds planted and watered over time. And they will yield a harvest in your family.
Need more ideas about sharing your glory story and living out your faith before your family? Find them HERE.
7. Just Keep Walking
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord.” –Psalm 27:13 (NKJV)
As you share your glory story from victories past, you can live your own legacy of faith by working toward your next glory story and living it out before the next generation. Show them how to use faith to get where your heart desires to go.
For more on living from glory to glory, find Jeremy and Sarah Pearsons’ new devotional, From Glory to Glory HERE.
If you feel like it’s taking a long time for the visions in your heart to come to pass, this is your moment to live out a legacy of faith before your children. Let them see how you respond in faith.
Jeremy and Sarah Pearsons once asked Gloria Copeland, Jeremy’s grandmother, “How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?”
Gloria said something so simple, but so profound. She said, “Just keep walking.” They wanted a big explanation full of all her secrets. But all they needed to hear was “Just keep walking” in this life of faith.
What does that mean?
It means just keep living by faith. Keep obeying God. Move when He tells you to move, stay when He tells you to stay, and sow when He tells you to sow. Each of these things moves you one step forward in your walk of faith.
The walk of faith can seem long at times! That’s because it’s a process—a lifestyle. But if you keep walking, you’re guaranteed to arrive at your destination.
Watch Kenneth and Gloria Copeland teach you how to build a foundation of faith for your family.
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” –Galatians 6:9
Don’t give up. This is part of your glory story—living your own legacy of faith. It’s easy to give up—but there’s no legacy in that. When you show your children and grandchildren that you don’t give up when things get tough or when your miracle doesn’t come instantaneously—that’s living a legacy of faith. It’s an inheritance that is worth more than any amount of money.
So often, Christians quit right before they see their miracle. Even if you feel weary and faint, it doesn’t have to be the end of your journey. Choose to stay the course. You will reap if you don’t faint. You can have a setback and still remain in the fight. The only thing you can’t afford to lose is heart because once you’ve lost heart—you’re out.
Don’t ever let yourself say, “Unless I see a change, I’m quitting.” Start saying, “I’m believing to see the goodness of the Lord in my marriage, my job, my health.” That’s your legacy.
Watch Kenneth Copeland and Keith Moore teach you how to have faith for your family.
These keys are everything you need to know about living your own legacy of faith! As you put this into practice, you will live a legacy of faith that will change the course of generation after generation to come. It starts with you. You can have the legacy you’ve always dreamed of—all because of your precious decision to pursue God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength!
If sickness has attacked your body, for example, the word of your testimony should be Isaiah 53:4-5 and 1 Peter 2:24. Speak those words over yourself every day, many times a day, thanking God for your healing. Talk to the sickness or disease: “Now listen, disease, in the Name of Jesus, I’ve got a covenant with God. God will not break it. And I’m standing on the agreement between God and Jesus. Sickness, get off my body. You have no dominion over me. According to Isiah 53:4-5 and 1 Peter 2:24, you don’t have any right on me. I belong to Jesus. I’m a covenant person. The law of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Galatians 3:13 begins with the word Christ–the Anointed One and His Anointing. Jesus, the Anointed One, has redeemed mankind from the curse of the law (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). To redeem, in Galatians 3:13, is the Greek word EXAGORAZO, which means “to buy” or “to buy out”, and is used to mean the purchasing of a slave for the purpose of granting his freedom. The whole earth was under a curse because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:14-19). Jesus came to pay the redemption prize to literally “buy us out” from under the curse that was in the earth because of Adam’s sin and subsequent servitude to satan (Luke 4:6; John 8:34; Romans 6:16).
Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross of Calvary, washed away the sins of mankind forever. More than just atonement, or a covering, the blood of Jesus wipes away sin as though it had never been. The Hebrew word KAPAR means “to cover over, atone” (Leviticus 4:13-21). The Old Testament blood of animals covered for sin in the flesh. The New Testament blood of Jesus reconciled and completely wiped away sin in the inner man, taking away the believer’s sin consciousness (Hebrews 10:1-10). Colossians 2:13-14 says, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quicken together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses ; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (King James Version).
