Kenneth Copeland - The Plan That Never Fails

The Plan

That Never Fails

Have you noticed how many people are coming up with plans for us these days? Politicians, media pundits, financial advisorsthey all seem to have a plan for our future and our economic security.

Ive never heard so many plans as I have in recent times. They have plans to get rid of our clunker cars. Plans to help us buy houses. Plans to fund our retirement. Plans for our health care.

To put it as politely as I can, Ive never heard so much bull.

Of course, thats not what the planners call it. They think their ideas are brilliant. But theyre wrong. Because their ideas dont include God, they fall into the scriptural category of the way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).

Thats why the Lord warned me about them in advance. In October 2008, He spoke to me one morning in my study in a powerful way and said:

Dont pay attention to or make any plans based on what the media say or what the politicians are saying. Pay attention to Me .... All the other voices will have a plan, a word, an idea, for your future and security. Don't listen to Babylons system. It has fallen apart. My system is stronger than ever. My kingdom is flourishing and THE BLESSING is the place to be. Keep your eyes on My Word. Listen to it.

It will guide you. I will perform it. Love Me. Love My people as I have loved you.... Love never fails and neither does My plan. Be very cautious to stay completely clean from covetousness. First Timothy 6:10 must live in the forefront of your thinking. If you will do these things and continue therein, you will come into your wealthy place.

Covetousness Is Crippling

When the Lord said that to me, I began studying and praying especially over the part about covetousness. I had always assumed it just meant coveting, wanting to take for yourself something that belongs to someone else. I equated it with the command in Exodus 20:17 which says, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife... nor any thing that is thy neighbours.

But actually, coveting and covetousness are two different things. Covetousness is a way of thinking that eventually leads to coveting. Its a natural, carnal mindset that doesnt include God.

Most of us were trained in it by our parents generation. We were raised to believe as the world doesthat we are responsible for meeting our own material needs and wants. We were brought up to think we have to go out and gather up money for ourselves that we have to make our own living.

We grew up hearing Mom and Dad and Grandma say things like, Now listen to me, child. You better make good grades in school because if you dont, you wont get into college, and if you dont go to college, youll never be able to get a good job. Youll be poor your whole life.

It never occurs to most Christians that theres anything wrong with that perspective. They dont realize its based on the logic of the world and doesnt include an ounce of faith in God. They just accept it, and make their financial decisions accordingly.

Instead of asking, What does God want me to do? What does He have planned for me? they ask, How can I make enough money to meet my needs? Then they come up with a way that seems right to them but ends up in death.

That kind of thinking not the worlds economyis what is crippling believers financially these days. Its a covetous mindset and it is cutting them off from THE BLESSING of God. Even worse, its a deadly way of thinking that eventually leads to financial manipulation, cheating, theft and all other kinds of evil.

Wait a minute, Brother Copeland, you might say, I thought the love of money is the root of all evil.

It is. But covetous thinking is what turns people into money-lovers. First Timothy 6:9-10 says it this way: They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Notice that passage refers to they that will be rich. Its not talking about people who trust THE BLESSING of the Lord to make them rich and add no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22). Its talking about people who are trying to get rich by their own willpower and human ingenuity. Its talking about the ungodly, who prosper in the world (Psalm 73:12) by gathering up finances for themselves, and God isnt any part of it.

Thats covetousness, and it leads to the love of money and all kinds of sorrowful, evil things. It leads people to make decisions that seem right but turn out to be deadly.

Right Question/Wrong Answer

Theres a story in Luke 12 that reveals how truly dangerous covetousness is. Jesus told it in response to a man who called out to Him right in the middle of a teaching meeting and said, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me (verse 13). I suppose the guy was expecting Jesus to issue a financial judgment right then and there. But instead He gave him (and all the rest of us) an earful about the underlying issue. He said: Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (verse 15).

The phrase take heed means wake up; look and listen; beware or be very cautious. It describes a state of mind referred to in aviation as situational awareness. To a pilot, situational awareness means he knows whats going on around him every minute of the flight, so if something malfunctions, he detects it and deals with it before it wrecks the airplane. Thats the way we must be where covetousness is concerned. We must always be aware and on guard against it.

Jesus drove home that point by telling about a mannot a fictional character but a real person who lost his situational awareness and let covetousness wreck his life.

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry (verses 16-19).

Notice the initial question the rich man asked was a good one. I believe God actually inspired it. He put it in the rich mans spirit to get his attention because the man had been focusing completely on himself. He wasnt thinking about anyone else at all. Now that hed run out of storage space, God was trying to lead him into the revelation that he had enough to give. He was blessed enough to be a blessing to others.

So He put the question in him:

What shall I do now that I have no more room to store my wealth?

It was the right question. But, sad to say, the man came up with the wrong answer. He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.

Think about what a foolish decision that was. He was going to have to empty out his old barns before demolishing them. What was he going to do with the crops hed been storing there? Was he just going to leave them out in the weather while the new barns were being built? Theyd be ruined.

Meantime, he was going to spend money like theres no tomorrow, hoping thered be no crop failure this year. He was not only going into major expenditure mode, he was putting everything at risk. One bad storm, one bad crop year, and he would be destroyed.

It sounds crazy, but that plan seemed right to him.