​GRACE IS ENOUGH
Gloria Copeland
2 Corinthians 12:7
The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul’s thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin—and to do it of our own free will.
It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I’ve gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they’d been taught about Paul’s thorn.
And most of them have been taught wrongly.
Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What’s more, tradition makes the “thorn” into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn’t say that at all!
It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God—Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was—a “messenger sent from Satan.”
You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan’s kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him.
When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn’t answer Paul in the negative. God said, “My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)” (W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words).
In other words, when Paul didn’t have enough human strength to overcome, God’s miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness.
Don’t allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord!
Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10

THE BLESSING
Blessings for Obedience
28 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
3 Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
4 Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
6 Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.
 
7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!  8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.  9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.  11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. 12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.  Colossians 3:17
Did you know your name has been changed? It's no longer the same as it was before you were born again. You gave your old name away when you made covenant with Jesus.
To fully appreciate what that means, you have to think about it in the light of what we know about blood covenant. When someone enters a covenant of blood, he is giving himself completely away. He is no longer his own. His assets and his debts, his strengths and his weaknesses belong forever to his covenant brother.
When you're in blood covenant with someone, that person's name becomes your name forever. You cannot escape it—good or bad—it's yours.
When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He took your name! Your name was sin. Your name was weakness. Your name was fear and poverty and every other evil thing you inherited from Adam.
Jesus took those names from you and gave you His own in exchange. That's right! Ephesians 3:15 says that the whole Body of Christ has been named after Him both in heaven and earth. That means you have been given Jesus' Name. Its authority is now yours!
Just think about who you're named after:
"Jesus, Mighty God, Wisdom, Deliverer, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Word of Life, Advocate, Provider, The Great I Am, Helper, Savior, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Lamb of God, Lord of Hosts, Root of David, Author and Finisher of Our Faith, The Way, Healer, Son of God, The Truth, Chief Cornerstone, King of Kings, Light of the World, Chief Shepherd, My Strength and Song, Righteous Judge, Son of Righteousness, Resurrection and Life, The Alpha and Omega."
Praise God, those names cover any need you'll ever have. What's more, the power of God is in His Name to bring that Name to pass in your life (Acts 3:16).
You can't call yourself discouraged anymore. That's not your name. You can't answer when the devil yells, "Hey, poor boy." That's not your name. Jesus has taken those old names of yours. They're gone. So meditate on the names of the Lord. They're all wrapped up in the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names, and that Name with all its power and authority has been given to you!
Scripture Reading:
Ephesians 3:16-21 New Living Translation
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
KENNETH COPELAND

Grace Is Enough  By Gloria Copeland
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me.  2 Corinthians 12:7
The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul’s thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin—and to do it of our own free will.
It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I’ve gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they’d been taught about Paul’s thorn.
And most of them have been taught wrongly.
Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What’s more, tradition makes the “thorn” into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn’t say that at all!
It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God—Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was—a “messenger sent from Satan.”
You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan’s kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him.
When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn’t answer Paul in the negative. God said, “My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)” (W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words).
In other words, when Paul didn’t have enough human strength to overcome, God’s miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness.
Don’t allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord!
Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 12:1-10NLT
Paul’s Vision and His Thorn in the Flesh
12 This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.  5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.  8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Not one place to gain access, but the entry point. You can try to reach a destination without going through it, but you’ll end up bumping up against a wall.
For Christians, Jesus created the gateway and then told us how to get through it to success in every area of our lives—financially, physically, spiritually, relationally and otherwise. From His Word, we know:
Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Prayer won’t work without faith (James 1:7-8).
Faith won’t work without love (Galatians 5:6).
Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).
In other words, if you have a problem, love is the answer. If you’ve been stuck in the same place or believing for the same thing for what seems like forever, love is the answer. The good news is that your love walk is completely in your hands. That means YOU have the power to change your situation!
Here, we’re sharing why love is The Gateway to Success in every area of your life and how to get there.
1. Love Brings Success to Your Prayers“And whenever you stand praying… forgive.” –Mark 11:25 (NKJV)
When you’re interacting with people each day, you likely aren’t thinking about how it will affect your prayers. But the Bible tell us it does—significantly, in fact.
Prayers prayed in faith are those that yield results. Since Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works by love, we know faith cannot be in operation when something in our love walk is out of balance.
Perhaps you’re outwardly a very pleasant and polite person. But walking in love goes far beyond being nice. It’s what resides deep beneath the surface. It’s what comes out when something goes wrong or someone upsets you. It includes your thoughts and intentions. It’s a matter of the heart. And it’s so important because your love walk will make or break your prayer life, as Jesus told us in Mark 11:25.
Love is so important because the Bible says love is a greater power than even faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). So, no matter how much faith and hope you think you have, if your love is off balance, your faith won’t work.
If you’ve been praying a prayer that doesn’t seem to be receiving an answer, it’s time to ask (and answer) the question that changes everything and moves you through the gateway to success: How is your love walk? Let’s take a look.
Love is patient—with your spouse, at the grocery store, in traffic, with your children.
Love is kind—to your neighbor, to your restaurant server, in your thoughts, in your deeds and especially in a disagreement.
Love doesn’t envy—it isn’t jealous of someone else’s life, appearance, giftings or opportunities.
Love doesn’t boast—it doesn’t focus on itself but turns attention outward toward others.
Love is not proud—it does not see itself as greater than it should. It knows where it needs to improve and is not above correction. It doesn’t worry, but instead fully trusts God.
Love is not rude—It doesn’t cut people off in traffic, and it doesn’t push to the front of the line. It doesn’t talk loudly in public or disturb others during a church service. It is not late for work, church or appointments. And it doesn’t speak harshly.
Love keeps no record of wrongs—it doesn’t remind your spouse of what they said or did five years ago or even last week. It doesn’t keep a running tally of what your mother-in-law has said or done.
If the Lord tapped you on the shoulder about one or more of these in particular—make a change! Ask God to help you, so you can walk through the gateway to success!
“Love your neighbor as yourself” fulfills every commandment. If you’ve been unkind to someone this week, you’ve stepped out of love, so get it right with that person without delay. Go to them and apologize. Repent to them and to the Lord. Clear the pathway to answered prayer!
2. Love Brings Healing to Your Body“Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” –Ephesians 4:31-32 (AMPC)
If healing is something you’ve been believing for, but it seems slow in coming, love is the answer.
Medical science has proven that diseases such as arthritis, cancer, ulcers, anxiety, high blood pressure and heart disease are connected to stress, fear and bitterness. Unforgiveness or harboring hurts from the past is downright dangerous—both physically and spiritually.
Unforgiveness will pull the plug on your faith so completely that you won’t have enough power to move the molehills in your life—much less the mountains. Jesus concluded one of His most powerful teachings on faith with these words, “And when you stand praying, forgive” (Mark 11:25, MEV). Jesus didn’t say when you stand praying try to forgive if you can. He simply said to forgive. Period.
Jesus did not suggest that we forgive. He made forgiveness a command. And it would be unjust for Him to command us to do something we could not do. Therefore, we know it is within our ability to obey His command to forgive—no matter what the circumstances are. Most people don’t realize it, but unforgiveness is actually a form of fear. Quite often we don’t forgive because we’re afraid of getting hurt again. We’re afraid we will never recover from the damage someone has done to our lives.
Beyond forgiving others, walking in love in every area of life will keep you healthy and strong. Anger, grumbling and criticism are bad for your health!
Proverbs 29:11 (RSV) says, “A fool gives full vent to his anger.” Angry outbursts are not only sinful and harmful to you, but they damage your relationships as well. While we all have moments when we get upset, lashing out in anger toward anyone under any circumstance is not only unacceptable and disobedient to God’s Word, it will block your healing. That’s why Brother Kenneth E. Hagin said, “If you want to walk in health, you’re going have to walk in love and keep your tongue!”
Grumbling and criticism are in the same category. Complaining is the opposite of a grateful, faith-filled heart, and criticizing others is stepping out of love. Love disciplines, corrects and holds people accountable. Love doesn’t just allow people to act however they wish or affirm behaviors that are contrary to the Word of God. But it is also not condemning or judgmental.
So, hold your tongue, guard your heart, and get healed! You can change your habits to change your life. Jesus is ready and waiting to be invited to heal the hurting and broken places in your life that cause you to be angry, criticize or complain. He wants to help you. All you have to do is ask, be willing and obedient; and you will eat the good of the land. Love is your gateway to success!
3. Love Will Bring Success to Your Finances“The LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments.” –Deuteronomy 15:4-5 (NKJV)
This connection is difficult for some people to make. How is your love walk tied to your finances? As we’re learning, your love walk is tied to everything!

When it comes to finances, there are multiple areas where we can block our own blessing without knowing it. Worry is probably the greatest offender in a believer’s life when it comes to provision.
Worry means “divided into parts.” Worry means “to be double-minded,” and we know from James 1:6 that a double-minded man cannot expect anything from the Lord.
Love means living without fear (1 John 4:18)—fear that what you want will never come to pass, fear of being rejected, fear of being overlooked, fear of not having enough money, fear of losing your job, fear of getting sick, etc.
The Hebrew translation of the word love includes the root word for giving, which means you cannot separate love from giving! If a believer is withholding the tithe or is not generous in giving to the Kingdom or to others, love is not in full operation.
Beyond that, we block financial blessings when we mistreat others because disobedience to the Lord is a blessing blocker. It doesn’t have to be a big and noticeable offense, either.
Here are some areas where we as believers can miss it and walk out of love:

• Grumbling about drivers on the road
• Underpaying people who work for you
• Cheating on your taxes
• Tipping small at restaurants
• Pointing out the faults of your neighbor’s yard or house
• Giving the silent treatment to someone who upset you
• Criticizing your daughter-in-law
• Failing to respect your husband or wife
• Neglecting to compliment or show appreciation to your employees
• Failing to encourage your children
• Being cranky
• Talking about the failures of others
• Criticizing your pastor
• Angry outbursts.

It doesn’t take much to fall off the love line and right into the devil’s ditch. But when we make a conscious effort in these areas and turn our prayers and attention toward them, with God’s help, we will walk straight into the gateway to success in our finances!
Need help improving your love walk? (Hint: We all do!) 
4. Love Will Give You Whole-Life Success“Love never fails.” –1 Corinthians 13:8 (NKJV)
What does whole-life success look like to you?
For many it means success in health, finances, relationships, business, ministry, promotions and dreams realized.
Brother Copeland says, “Love is fear-free and failure-free.” Since we know love never fails, if we’re experiencing failure—or a lack of success—in any area of our lives, we know love is the answer.
If you desire to be married, to receive a promotion at work, an increase in your finances, to start a ministry, to walk in divine health, to heal a broken relationship, or to bring a prodigal child home—love is the answer. Sow seeds, speak confessions and stay in the Word—those are all part of seeing a harvest—but don’t expect to see results until you dig deep, press in and make the changes you need to make to fully walk in love.
Love will push you forward toward the gateway to success. Anything that moves you out of love puts on the brakes and stalls out your progress. Don’t put on the brakes. Let love propel you to success in every area of your life!

Blessings for Obedience
Deuteronomy 28: 1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed.  4 Your children and your crops will be blessed.  The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.  5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.  6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.  7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!  8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.  9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.  11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. 12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:  Verses 16-68.
 
THE BLESSINGS IN THE WORD OF GOD REQUIRE FORGIVENESS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfBtY3m7Z6U

SALVATION
In life, the number one (#1) need that every person has is a need for the forgiveness of sin.  
For all of us have sinned,  and come short of the glory of God;  (Romans 3:23)  But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  (Romans 5:8 NLT)  Jesus has a certain way of doing things.  Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.  (John 14:6) 
The most important decision that you will ever make in your life is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.  Wherefore, as by one man (i.e. Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:  (Romans 5:12)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)
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.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (Romans 10:9-10)
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, pray this prayer in faith and mean it in your heart.
PRAYER OF SALVATION  Pray out loud in faith.
Dear God in Heaven, I come to You in the Name of Jesus.  Your Word says if I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I would be saved.  I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and I confess Him now as my Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen  
If you prayed that prayer,  You are saved!  You are Born Again!  Welcome to the Body of Christ!  Now you can rejoice in your wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends with God.  (Romans 5:11NLT)  Tell at least five (5) people you are saved.  
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Being Born Again is wonderful, but it is just the beginning.  We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  We need Him to live inside us and be our Teacher, to guide us into all truth, to empower us and strengthen us to do all Jesus has called us to do.  
(Luke 11:9-13)  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?  
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.  (Luke 24:49)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  (Acts 1:8)
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  (Acts 2:4)  
If you want to receive this gift and power from on high, pray this prayer in faith out loud.
PRAYER TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
Father, I believe with all my heart, based on the Scriptures, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is meant for me.  Just as I trust you for my eternal salvation by faith, so now I do trust you, by faith, to give me the fullness of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.  I receive, by faith.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.