Dear Partner,
April is a very special month for me. I met Gloria Jean Neece in October 1961. Then, on the 13th of April, at 8 in the evening, in Little Rock, Ark., we were married. The year was 1962. That was 60 years ago. You have heard me say it and sing it. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. It was her unconditional love that brought me to the moment six months later that I received Jesus as my LORD and Savior. That is absolutely THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!
Let’s begin today by looking at three verses of scripture.
First, let’s look at John 4:34, in the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, which says:
- Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work.
Now look at John 5:30:
- I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Jesus said the same thing in John 6:38:
- For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
All these scriptures point to the fact that everything Jesus did in His ministry here on the earth was the perfect will of God. Let’s read Matthew 9:35 and see what the New Covenant says He did:
- And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
There you have it: teaching, preaching and healing. Now let’s see what He commissioned the 12 members to do. Matthew 10:1 says:
- And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
He gave them power (authority) over unclean spirits to cast them out. But that’s not all. Look at it. It says, “and to heal…all manner of disease.” Now read on down and notice verses 7-8:
- And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Jesus ordained them to do the same thing He was doing, and more. Read verse 8 again. He said, “freely give,” or “don’t turn anyone down.” Why? Because His and our heavenly Father wants all of them and all of us well! Jesus did the same thing when He needed more help. In Luke 10, He ordained 70 more. Let’s turn there and look at verse 1:
- After these things The LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
This was an advance team of men whom He called to go into cities ahead of Him. Now read verse 9:
- And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
That must have been the WILL OF GOD! The kingdom of God is a healing kingdom because God is absolutely, totally against any of His people being sick! Every ministry should be a healing ministry. Every believer should be laying hands on the sick. Remember what Jesus said when He commissioned His Church? Look at Mark 16:15-18:
- And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
- He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
- And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
- They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Every believer, everywhere, should be practicing this. After all, it is His command and direction to us all.
“Brother Copeland, when can I, then, expect to receive my healing, seeing that it really is the will of God for me to be healed and well?”
Jesus said in Matthew 13:15:
- For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
ANYTIME they see what with their eyes? Verse 19: The WORD of the Kingdom! It always comes back to The WORD! And it always comes back to FAITH! Healing always comes. It, however, is not always received. Receiving is the key to everything in the Kingdom, beginning with accepting Jesus as LORD.
Romans 10:9 says:
- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth The LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
BELIEVE IN, OR HAVE FAITH IN, YOUR HEART. Verse 13 says:
- For whosoever shall call upon the name of The LORD shall be saved.
The word translated saved is also translated healed in James 5:15. Romans 10:17 says:
- So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by The WORD of God
The WORD, or covenant bond, of the ONE who sent His precious Son to the whipping post and then to the Cross, sent Him to hell as our substitute. The same day He bore our sins on the Cross, BY HIS STRIPES WE WERE HEALED! First Peter 2:24 says:
- 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.
In the eyes of God, the moment Jesus was raised from the dead, you and I were saved and healed. As far as He was concerned, we were made whole, spirit, soul and body. We were also made whole socially and financially. We were, at that moment, debt free, but it’s all received by faith.
Let’s look again at Mark 11:22-25:
- And 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.
- Therefore I say unto you, 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: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Notice there that Jesus said, “This mountain.” Speak to the mountain of sickness or to the mountain of debt, etc. Success in all these cases depends on having faith in GOD. As you know, faith is the creative force of Almighty God. He created all things with it. HE IS LOVE. He has faith. That’s why Galatians 5:6 says that faith works by Love. Hebrews 11:1 in the AMPC brings all of this together:
- Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
Meditate The WORD in faith. Look at Joshua 1:8 in the AMPC:
- This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.
To me that just about says it all!
As you sow your BLESSING seed this month, name it. What mountain are we—yes, WE!—casting into the sea? Once you take your stand, meditate on the verses and promises on which you are standing. See yourself healed. See yourself victorious in every area of your life. Write those verses down, and pray them out loud. Send them to us, and we’ll stand with you. Then, when the victory is manifested, share the good news with us, as well. After all, we are Covenant Partners, and I pray for you every day.
Also remember, God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!
Love,
P.S. SOW IT FORWARD! Be a blessing. Pass this letter on to a family member or friend.
