When Brother Copeland first began to live by Faith, and eventually preach Faith, he knew nothing about it. He started where we all start—at the beginning. Brother Copeland learned the fundamentals of Faith and how to use them the same way he learned to fly: First he studied the basic principles on the ground and then put them into practice in the air.
For example, the first time Brother Copeland flew solo, he had spent months learning the fundamentals of flying, and although he’d flown with an instructor, he’d never actually flown alone. He’d never put everything he’d learned into practice all at once, all by himself, thousands of feet in the air.
The day he did, he succeeded, but not without the help of the air traffic controller. Although Brother Copeland managed a number of touch-and-goes successfully, he had to be coached and educated even more to get back down on the ground and stay there—and to not intersect with another plane.
In much the same way, God has called us to live a life of resilient Faith, but to do that, we need to first understand the fundamentals of Faith from His Word, and then learn how to put them into practice in our everyday lives.
To get started, study these 7 Principles for Living a Life of Resilient Faith.
1.FAITH IS A FORCE, AND THE LAW OF FAITH GOVERNS THIS FORCE.
“To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” (Romans 3:26-27, KJV)
There are laws of physics that have developed over the years, and the reason they’re called laws is because they’re dependable. But before we knew we could trust them, pioneers and inventors tested their theories over and over. Once they experienced breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough, what they discovered became a law—a mathematical equation that could be trusted and adopted.
The law of Faith is much the same; it governs the force of Faith; and understanding it is the foundation of our living a life of resilient Faith. God wants us to believe this law exists; he wants us to understand that it works by love (Galatians 5:6), and that we’re to work with it in our lives.
2.WE ARE TO LIVE BY FAITH.
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39, KJV)
When Brother Copeland first got hold of understanding that we are to live by faith, he searched throughout the entire Bible for evidence of faith—and he found it from the beginning, in Genesis, to the ending, in Revelation. Over and over again, he read accounts where God released faith and manifestations happened—and he read where people in the Bible did the same. They were ordinary people who lived lives of resilient faith!
3.FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:1-3, KJV)
Faith is not mental; it’s a force God has given us to use. What’s more, did you catch those first three words of Hebrews 11? Do you realize they are the three words that follow Hebrews 10:38-39?
Now. Faith. Is. For every area of our lives. Faith is now, and hope is for our future—and they work together. Brother Copeland has often referred to hope as the blueprint of Faith. You need hope to have Faith. And you need Faith and hope working together in your life to bring into this earthly existence what’s waiting for us in the heavenly realm—provision, answers, solutions, ideas, resources, and change.
The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition reads Hebrews 11:1 this way: “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].”
When God Created the Heavens and the Harth, He didn’t create them out of nothing; He Created them out of something we can’t see, which is the force of Faith. What’s more, we are made in the Image of God (Genesis 1:26-28); therefore, we can create with the force of Faith, too.
4.WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD.
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:4-6, KJV)
When we live by Faith, we please God, though oftentimes we’re tempted to try pleasing God by our work—but works alone don’t please God (James 2:26).
5.FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING THE WORD OF GOD.
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of Faith?” (Galatians 3:1-2, KJV)
Faith comes by hearing…and hearing…and hearing…the Word of God (Romans 10:17). To walk in resilient Faith, we have to read WORD, study it and listen to WORD —consistently. We need WORD coming into us through our eyes and our ears—continually.
We live in a day and age of Christian TV programs, podcasts, websites, social media sites, and limitless access to online Bible translations. No matter where we are on the planet, we can access the Word of God 24/7, including on VICTORY Channel® and the KCM website. Take advantage of the time in which God has placed you. Position yourself to hear the Word of God, so you can get WORD into your heart and say with your mouth.
6.THE WORD OF FAITH IS IN YOUR MOUTH—SO RELEASE IT BY SPEAKING IT.
“…God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” (Romans 4:17, KJV)
We release Faith by speaking it, by calling things that be not as though they were; but to do so, we have to first have an intimate relationship with the Word. For example, once Brother Copeland was preparing to fly overseas for more than 30 hours, and his doctor was concerned his body couldn’t stand up to not only the flying but also the hours of preaching ahead of him, particularly since Brother Copeland was having trouble with his left leg.
Not one to back down from a Faith challenge, and not one to cancel a meeting, Brother Copeland tied two heating pads around his left leg, and turned the heat on high. Then he went out to sit in a chair in his backyard and began to do two things. In addition to releasing his Faith by speaking specifically to his leg, he also began to give God glory in the face of all the pain. He spoke the truth—based on the Word—though it was not yet evident in his body. Isaiah 53:5 was the truth: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
As he did, the pain would ease up. But if Brother Copeland eased up, the intensity of the pain would return. So Brother Copeland matched the intensity of his pain with giving God glory and thanking Him for all the BLESSINGS around him, including his healing.
When you know how to live by Faith, you come to a place where you have intimate relationship with the Truth of the Word, and you believe it. Brother Copeland knew the Word—by Jesus’ stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)—and he believed it and spoke it. What he added to that was God’s Wisdom of giving God glory at the same time.
James 3:17 tells us, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (NKJV). It’s not hypocrisy to have an intimate knowledge of the Word and then to speak it before there’s a manifestation of it. That’s walking in resilient Faith, something God has called each one of us to do.
7.USE YOUR FAITH LIKE A MECHANIC USES A TOOL.
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20, NKJV)
When Brother Copeland first began learning about Faith, God Gave him a Revelation that he teaches to this day: “Use your Faith on purpose like a mechanic uses a tool.”
According to Brother Copeland, when he was a young boy, he delighted in taking everything apart that he could so he could figure out how to put it back together.
This is how he approached learning about Faith. He went to the Word, took it all apart, piece by piece, verse by verse. He underlined it. He memorized it. He meditated on it. He released it by speaking it. He declared it on behalf of his family, his children, the ministry, his partners, his own physical health, the health of others—literally in every situation and circumstance of his life.
As we employ these 7 Principles of Living a Life of Resilient Faith into our lives, our circumstances will begin to change and line up with the Word of God.Faith is a Tool, it’s a Force we can use. It’s a Power we can release. It’s a Life we can walk in. We can live a life of
RESILIENT FAITH!
