Don’t forget the ministry of the Holy Spirit in all this. He is continually working in you, teaching, interceding and backing your faith with His mighty power. This is where the power of patience is so important. As long as your faith is active, the Spirit of God is active. It’s impossible to please Him without faith. Patience guards against your admitting a doubt or confession of fear into your consciousness. Even when we stretch our faith as far as it will go, He who is within us is greater than he who is in the world.

First Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” This scripture reveals three more important things about trials: (1) Testings and temptations are common to man. No one is ever tested or tried with things that are not common to mankind. Satan does not have the right to call upon his experience as a heavenly being to apply things that are outside the realm of humanity, as tests or trials. (2) God is faithful. You will never face anything you cannot overcome. (3) God always provides the way of escape.

Satan’s weapons are no match for the weapons God has provided for us. Thank God, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but powerful through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Satan is limited to the things that are common to mankind, but we are not. We have access to the full armor of God, Himself. Our patience rests solidly on the full assurance that, no matter what comes next, Jesus has provided more than enough victory to put us over.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Regardless of what storms may come our way, the Father’s Word cannot fail. In that kind of atmosphere, faith is free to move and overcome whatever Satan has put in our way. James 1:12-21 says:

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

In order to properly develop the power of patience, we must know what the Bible says about testings and trials. The Greek word translated temptations in these scriptures is the same word for “trials” and “testings.” It is vitally important that we know, from verse 13, that God is not tested by evil, and He doesn’t tempt or test men with evil. We are warned to never say that we are tested by God.

Verse 14 explains what a test or trial is. It’s anything that applies pressure on the lusts or desires of the flesh. Any pressure that draws us away from God’s Word is the beginning of a test. If we then act on that lust, sin is the result. Still, we have a way of escape, because the Word says we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. He is faithful to forgive us our sins when we confess them. (See 1 John 1:9.) We are still more than conquerors in Jesus. When Satan applies pressure on our bodies to make them sick, we don’t have to succumb to that pressure. When he presents us with financial ruin, we don’t have to yield to the temptation to turn to the world and borrow. Most of the time, this only makes matters worse. Thank God, we can turn to God’s Word in Philippians 4:19 and use our faith. Then, regardless of circumstances, we exercise the power of patience and continue to stand fast in the liberty to which we have been called (Galatians 5:1).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“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” (Galations 3:13-14).

Jesus of Nazareth was a product
of the Abrahamic Covenant. He was
an Israelite circumcised the eighth
day. As we have read from Genesis
17:1, God commanded that Abraham
walk perfect and upright before
Him; but it was not until Jesus that
this command was fulfilled. Jesus
walked perfect before God under the
articles of the covenant, and God
backed His ministry 100 percent.
He used the covenant to control the
laws of nature. He spoke the words
that broke the bonds of death and
brought Lazarus forth from the grave.
God was bound by His own words to
do what Jesus said. The Bible tells us
in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was “in
all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin.” He faced as much temptation
to sin as any man on earth, yet
He withstood it all and continued to
walk perfect before God.

According to Levitical law, the high
priest was to take an unblemished
lamb and offer it as a sacrifice for sin.
Jesus of Nazareth, the unblemished
Lamb of God, served as the final
sacrifice for sin under the Abrahamic
Covenant. The High Priest offered up
the spotless Son of God on the altar
of the cross for the sins of mankind.
The blood of Jesus was poured out in
behalf of the covenant He upheld. He
was our substitute—bearing our sins,
diseases, poverty and spiritual death.

Remember what was listed under
the curse in Deuteronomy 28? Poverty
of every kind, political failure, drought,
war—every calamity known to mankind.
Jesus has redeemed us from all of
it. As we saw in Deuteronomy 28:61,
all sickness and all disease, even those
not mentioned there, come under the
curse. Therefore, we are redeemed
from all sickness and all disease. You
need to fight the temptation to be sick
just as you would fight the temptation
to lie or steal. Satan will tempt
you with sickness, but you don’t have
to give in. You can resist him with the
Word of God like Jesus did!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. Genesis
1:26-27 says:

And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth. So God created man in
his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female
created he them.

From the dust of the earth, God
formed a man, named him Adam, and
placed him in the midst of the Garden
of Eden. This man Adam was given the
awesome authority of lordship over
God’s creation on earth. God gave him
dominion over every living thing on
the face of this earth. He was to
subdue the earth and replenish it. He
was given the right to be the father of
God’s family. He was to sire the human
race. What a privilege!

God set a law into motion at creation
which I call the law of genesis—or
the law of beginnings. According to
this law, every living thing was created
by God to produce after its own
kind. Man was no exception. God is a
Spirit, and Adam was created in God’s
own image and likeness—a spirit being.
They walked in close fellowship
and communion together, and Adam’s
descendants were to live in harmony
with God, their spiritual Father. But
something happened in the Garden
that caused a great and terrible change
to occur. Satan approached Adam’s
wife Eve and deceived her into disobeying
God’s command. Then Adam
willfully followed her in this rebellion.

According to the law of genesis,
man takes on the nature of his
spiritual father or lord. God was
Adam’s spiritual father. But when
Adam disobeyed God and bowed his
knee to Satan, he changed spiritual fa-
thers. Satan became the illegitimate
stepfather of mankind. Adam committed
high treason. At that point, all
the dominion and authority God had
given him was handed over to Satan.
Suddenly, God was on the outside
looking in.

Until this time, Satan did not have
any authority on earth. All his authority
had been taken away when
he led the rebellion against God in
heaven (Isaiah 14:12). He came into
the picture absolutely void of authority.
But by deceiving the woman, he
manipulated man’s authority into his
own hands and became the god of this
world (2 Corinthians 4:4). In Luke
4:3-7, when Satan tempted Jesus in
the wilderness, he took Jesus up on a
high mountain and showed Him all
the kingdoms of the earth. He said,
“All this power will I give thee, and
the glory of them: for that is delivered
unto me: and to whomsoever I will I
give it. If thou therefore will worship
me, all shalt be thine” (Luke 4:6-7).

Some people think this was just
one of Satan’s lies. But if it had been a
lie, it would not have been a temptation
and the Bible says that Jesus was
sorely tempted. This was real temptation,
brother! Satan had it to give.
Jesus was tempted, but He used the
weapon for which there is no defense.
He said, “It is written…” and Satan had
to flee from Him!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries