Finishing the Work of the Master

by Gloria Copeland | Uncategorized

“What is God’s plan for my life?” That question, more than any other, seems to be on the lips of believers today. Christians everywhere are longing to answer God’s call. They’re eager to fulfill the divine purpose for which they were created. But the plain truth is, many of them don’t know what that purpose might be. If that’s your dilemma today, what I’m about to show you in the Word of God is going to thrill you.

You see, God never intended for us to be in the dark about His plan for us. He left us clear, written instructions about what He intends for us to do. What’s more, He gave us a pattern to follow so we could see how to carry out those instructions. The pattern I’m talking about is Jesus. You’ve been sent forth into the world to continue His ministry. I know that sounds like a tall order, but it’s true. He said so Himself: “As the Father hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them; those who believe on me; into the world” (John 17:18).

Once you understand that, the next thing you need to know, of course, is exactly what it was Jesus was sent to do. First John 3:8 gives us the answer to that question: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the d

evil.” Think about that. You’re called to finish what Jesus began: to destroy, undo and bring to nought the works of the devil on earth. That is the job God wants us to do.

A Divine Strategy
The ministry of Jesus was threefold: 1) He healed the sick, 2) cast out demons, and, 3) preached the good news of the kingdom of God. There are people today who want to do the preaching without doing the other two works. But the gospel was never designed to be preached without proof that Jesus is alive today. Jesus didn’t just say, “The kingdom of God is here.” He demonstrated it. He proved the truth of His words by operating in the supernatural power of God.

When Jesus trained the first 12 disciples, He taught them the same strategy. He told them to “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'” (Matt.10:7-8).

Later, in Luke 10, we see Jesus sending out 70 more disciples. What does He tell them to do? The same thing He told the first 12 men! “And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you…heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (vv. 8-9). Some people might say, “Well, yes, that’s how Jesus said to do it back then, but He has a different plan for us.” No, He doesn’t! In His last words before ascending to heaven, Jesus repeated the same instructions He’d given His disciples while He was with them on the earth. He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:15, 17-18).

A Supernatural Revelation
God didn’t change His plan when Jesus went to sit at the right hand of the Father. He didn’t say, “Now, We’re going to go at this ministry in an entirely different way. I’m going to change My directions.” God’s program is still the same. Jesus is still the same. He’s still expecting us to do the things He did and finish what He started. He is sitting at the right hand of God this very minute. He is waiting for us to rise up by the Spirit of God and make His enemies His footstool (see Mark 12:36).

Praise God, we’re just the ones who can do it, too! We have the same new birth, the same Holy Spirit, and the same commission those first disciples had. And you remember what happened to them after Jesus left, don’t you? They kept right on doing what Jesus had done, and the crowds treated them just like they had treated the Master. They brought the sick so they could be healed. In Jerusalem, they actually laid the sick in the street so Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he walked by. They had a reputation. It was the same reputation Jesus had. As a result, the early Church grew at the rate of thousands a day! That’s the way it should be for us today.

You and Jesus are one. He is the Head and you are the Body. You are His instrument in the earth. Dare to believe that. Be bold enough to speak the words the Bible speaks and do whatever Jesus tells you to do. The Spirit of God will anoint you and great things will happen.

Dare to Be Bold
God can take the most simple person in the world, and if that person will dare to believe what is written in the Word, God will empower him to do any job. The reason I’m so blessed today is because I am so simple that I believe God is smarter than I am. When I see something in the Bible that doesn’t agree with what I think, I change what I think and believe the Word. Jesus admonished us to come as little children. So do that; humble yourself and just take the Word as it is written. If God says you’ll do the works, don’t argue, just agree with Him and get busy! Say: “Father, Jesus said, ‘He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also.’ I don’t know how to do the works, but your Word says I will. So I place myself at Your disposal. I expect to do the works that Jesus did!” Then step out boldly and act on your faith. The bolder we are, the more power can be released through us. It’s when we hesitate and we’re afraid of what people might think that nothing happens. So make up your mind now to be bold whether you want to or not.

Get Started Today
Just start where you are. If you know someone who is sick and you don’t know how to preach healing to him or her, get a book on healing and read it to him. Read healing scriptures from the Bible to them. Call someone who’s having trouble and invite him to come with you to church or to a Believers’ Convention. Sometimes I’ll run into people who need the Word of God, and I just take them on as a project. I do everything I can to get the Word of God in them until they understand that they have victory and authority over the crises in their lives. But however you choose to start, remember, you have to get yourself in motion by faith. You’ll never receive the gifts of the Spirit until you start ministering. You can’t wait around until you receive the gift of healing and then go lay hands on the sick.

God wants the Church in our day to have the same reputation Jesus had when He was on the earth. He wants people to say about us what they said about those first generation disciples: “If you go where they are, you can get healed.” Now that’s exciting. In fact, you haven’t had any excitement until you start doing the works of Jesus. It’s fun to be spiritually on fire, going all out for God. When you live like that, you never know what’s going to happen. You don’t know where you’ll wind up or who you’ll be ministering to or what amazing things the Spirit of God will be doing next.

But you will know this: You’re doing what God sent you to do. You’re destroying the works of the devil. And in Jesus’ Name, you’re turning this old upside-down world right side up again!

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries

For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God's WORD to their lives.

They have seven ministry offices around the world: United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Ukraine and Latin America. Their God-given directive is to preach and teach the uncompromised WORD of God on every available voice, which is being accomplished through a variety of channels, including our Believer's Voice of Victory TV and radio broadcasts, podcast and magazine; Believers' Conventions, Victory Campaigns and Living Victory meetings; published books, website, and social media channels, to name a few.

With the expansion of technology, they have more work to do now than ever. They are determined to let the world know Jesus is LORD, and they are not slowing down anytime soon!

Website: https://www.kcm.org

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