The Decision Is Yours PDF
The Decision Is Yours PDF
The Decision Is Yours PDF
Decision
Is Yours
Kenneth Copeland
KENNETH
COPELAND
PUBLICATIONS
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is from the King James
Version of the Bible.
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God is a holy God. He is beyond reproach.
Once He has made a decision and declared a
thing, He is unchangeable forever. Whether
we like it or not, our emotional involvements
will not change Him, neither will our tears.
God is not moved by emotions. He is moved
by faith.
He has given us the choice: life or death,
blessing or cursing. We can choose God and
live the abundant life, or we can choose the
world's way and live in lack. God could
force His will on us, but He has chosen not
to do so. God created man in His class. He
made man with the ability to think for
himself and choose his own destiny. If it
were left up to Satan, we would have no
choice at all. He wants to take away our
choice if he can. If we allow it, he will run
roughshod over us and beat us down
spiritually, mentally and physically. He
hates us because we represent God, because
we are created in the image of God.
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I am going to make a statement now that
may sound harsh to you: God will let you
die. It seems hard, but it is true. Not only
that, but God will let you go to hell if you
choose. Jesus said that when the Son makes
you free, you are free indeed. You are free
in every minute particle of your life. When
you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life,
you chose Him. You exercised your freedom
of choice, and when you did, all the demons
in hell could not stop the new birth from
taking place.
In Deuteronomy 30:19 when God set the
choice before His people, He was speaking
to both heaven and earth. Since Satan is the
god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), God
was speaking to him, serving notice that
man was given the right to choose. Once
you have the right to make a choice, Satan
cannot move in unless you allow it.
The freedom to make a choice places an
awesome responsibility in the hands of
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the believer. This is a privilege reserved
only for beings in God's class. Angels are
not allowed to think and choose for
themselves; they do and say as they are told.
Only the human being, created in the
likeness of God, has the God-given privilege
of choice. From the day a person is born into
this world, he is faced with a constant series
of choices: Jesus or the world, Jesus or
death, Jesus or a sick body, Jesus or a
worried mind, Jesus or a foul mouth.
This is why so many religious people have
trouble believing God. Religion teaches us
that we dare not make a choice. It portrays
God as a Supreme Being Who decides our
destiny Himself—that we have no say in the
matter. Sinners fight Christianity because
they think it will take away their freedom. I
thought that myself. I had the idea that if I
became a Christian, I would never fly an
airplane again, that I would never be free to
enjoy life. I thought I would have to fit into
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the mold that represented Christianity to me.
So many times we have a preconceived idea
of how people are supposed to act and how
they are supposed to look.
Stop and think about this. Suppose a man
gets saved and comes into our church
straight off the streets. He doesn't comb his
hair the way we do; he doesn't wear the
same type of clothes that we do; he doesn't
act just like we do. Because he doesn't fit the
mold we have in our minds about the way a
person is supposed to look and act, we
decide that there is something wrong with
his experience with God. However, we are
not qualified to make that kind of judgment.
We are judging him only by what we see on
the outside.
I have seen people who didn't match the
mold in my thinking, yet God would bless
and use them. Why? Because their hearts
were right before God. The Bible says that
God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
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Some Christians have a polished look on the
outside, but on the inside, they are full of
dead religion and strife-filled thoughts.
Freedom to Think
God Almighty has made us, in the power
of His Son, absolutely free to choose our
destiny. We have the power to think for
ourselves, to choose our own thoughts.
Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, think on
these things."
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at
Corinth: "For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh: (For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
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mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
We have to make the decision ourselves
and choose to think on good things. God
will not force His thoughts on us. Why?
Because it is not His brain; it is not His
mind. He created man in the beginning with
a capacity to think for himself and choose
his own destiny. He has made available the
mind of Christ and the knowledge of His
will for our lives, but He will never force or
impose them on us.
Someone may say, "Well, I just can't quit
worrying. I try to think right. I try to think
good thoughts, but it seems as though my
head just starts thinking wrong." This is
what the alcoholic says about alcohol. He
says he just can't give it up. A person who is
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addicted to tobacco says the same thing
about smoking.
The mind that is being dominated by
worry and fear and care is not a God-
controlled mind. It is not being controlled by
the Spirit of God.
The Word says in Luke 21:34, "And take
heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life...."
Surfeiting means overindulgence in eating
and drinking; disgust caused by intemperate
indulgence. Jesus Himself places the cares
of this life in the same company with
drunkenness and surfeiting (or gluttony).
It is socially acceptable to be a glutton and
to be filled with worry and care, but
drunkenness is a different matter entirely.
Society makes a distinction between them,
but the Word of God considers all three to
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be wrong.
The authority to think for ourselves brings
with it the right to choose what we say.
Thoughts transferred to the mouth and acted
upon will bring results—either good or
bad. Matthew 12:36 says for every idle
word that proceeds out of our mouths we
will render an account in the Day of
Judgment. James 3:8-10 says with the
tongue we both bless God and curse men.
Then it says, "My brethren, these things
ought not so to be." We have a choice where
the tongue is concerned.
Choose Jesus
We have a right to choose our thoughts,
our words and our actions. But how do we
get from choice over into action? Jesus gives
us the key to it. Let's look at John 8:30-36:
As he spake these words, many
believed on him. Then said Jesus to
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those Jews which believed on him, If
ye continue in my word, then are ye
my disciples indeed; And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free. They answered him,
We be Abraham's seed, and were
never in bondage to any man: how
sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the
house for ever: but the Son abideth
ever. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Notice Jesus' words in verses 31-32: "If ye
continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed; And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Many people quote only the second half of
that scripture: "Ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free." However,
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Jesus begins by saying, "If ye continue in my
word, then are ye my disciples indeed." The
word disciple means discipline. In other
words, if we will continue in His Word, we
will be disciplined unto Him. We will be
like Him. If we continue in His Word, we
will be disciplined the same as He is, and we
shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make us free (John 8:31-32).
Jesus is the living Word of God. To
choose Jesus means to choose the Word.
Remember our first scripture reference—
Deuteronomy 30:19-20. It said to choose
God is to choose life. Proverbs 4:22 says His
Word is life. Jesus said, My words are spirit
and they are life (John 6:63). However, you
cannot simply pick up the Bible, read it and
say, "OK, I'm free." There is more to it than
that. You are faced with a decision. When
you decide to place the Word as final
authority in your life and act on it, you make
your choice before God. At that moment, the
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Spirit of God will move in. He will begin to
reveal to you how to think, how to act and
how to speak in accordance with the Word
you have just chosen. His supernatural
power will go to work to remove the
hindrance, whatever it may be.
If you need healing, make your choice.
Decide to receive, then go before God and
stay there until He can feed you some
revealed knowledge from His Word on
healing. Satan will try to fight you, but he is
helpless where the Word is concerned. He
cannot stop it from coming to pass, just as
he could not stop the new birth from coming
to pass. When you were born again, the
Word brought it to pass. "Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23).
Our Authority as Believers
In the business world when a person is
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given the right of choice in his company, it
is called delegation of authority. The boss
gives his employee a job and the
responsibility for that job. From that point,
the choice is his. He will either win it or lose
it by his own actions. The reward comes
when he wins and the responsibility for
failure comes when he loses. That is an
unchangeable fact.
The same principle applies in Christianity.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, He
appeared to His disciples and delegated His
authority to them. He said, All power is
given unto Me in heaven and in earth;
therefore, YOU go into all the world; YOU
take My Name; YOU cast out the devil.
YOU lay hands on the sick and they will
recover (Matthew 28:18; Mark 16:15-18).
This same authority belongs to us as
believers today. In Matthew 18:18 Jesus
said, Whatsoever YOU bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatsoever YOU
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loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Ephesians 6:10-18 says, YOU be strong in
the Lord; YOU take the whole armor of God
that YOU may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. YOU stand, therefore,
having your loins girded with truth and
having on the breastplate of righteousness.
Above all, YOU take the shield of faith
wherewith YOU shall be able to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked. YOU take the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of
God, and YOU pray with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit.
Jesus has delegated His authority to the
body of believers in the earth, but it will not
be forced on us. We still have the right to
choose whether or not to accept that
authority and walk in it.
My Quality Decision
I want to share an experience from my
own life as an example of how to make a
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choice and stand immovable in the face of
temptation. Several years ago, I had to make
a quality decision to choose Jesus where my
diet was concerned. At one point in my life,
I weighed 265 pounds and measured 46
inches in the waist. I was bigger then in the
waist than I am now in the shoulders!
Today, I weigh 185 and my waist
measurement is 36 inches.
From the time I was a small boy, I had
experienced an inner turmoil over food. I
began overeating when I was a child, and it
became a habit with me. A lady in the town
where we lived baked pies for a local hotel.
She quit that job and went to work for my
parents. She began baking pies for us. They
were absolutely delicious! At one point I
was eating a whole pie every day.
I didn't have a great problem with my
weight then because I was very active. I
played football throughout my school years,
but then I was drafted into the Army. From
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the time I received my draft notice until I
left for the Army I did nothing but sit around
the house and eat. My eating habits had
become ridiculous and, since I was no
longer getting any exercise, I began to put
on weight.
During my period of active duty, I was
under such strict supervision that the weight
was trimmed off, but I didn't change the
basic problem. I began to crave food and
think about it the way a drunk thinks about
liquor. I would wake up in the middle of the
night in a cold sweat thinking about food. I
kept candy in my pockets all the time. I
wouldn't eat just one Life Saver. I would
break open the package and eat half of them
at once. I was addicted to sweets the way a
drunkard is addicted to alcohol.
The problem was made worse by the fact
that overindulgence with food is socially
acceptable. That makes it doubly difficult to
handle and overcome. To society, the cookie
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jar is not nearly as bad as the bourbon bottle,
but they both serve the same purpose. I
couldn't sit in church drinking a martini and
still be accepted by everyone. But I could sit
there eating candy to satisfy my craving, and
no one would think anything about it.
When I was discharged from military
service, I immediately began to gain more
weight.
My body was loaded with sugar. I craved
it. I remember coming off one diet after
losing about 20-25 pounds and then eating
several pounds of chocolate candy in one
sitting. I couldn't put it down. I had both
hands full, eating it as fast as I could get it
into my mouth! It was making me sick, but
I couldn't stop. That scared me! It is scary
when a drunk realizes that he is a drunk.
Peanuts were a real problem for me too.
When I was trying to lose weight, I could
hardly wait until I came off my diet, so I
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could eat peanuts. I didn't eat just one little
sack of peanuts; I would buy a gallon can.
Every Christmas I would eat two gallon cans
of peanuts!
I also had a craving for freshly baked
bread. I had a friend who worked in a
bakery, so I would go by the bakery and get
an unsliced loaf of bread fresh from the oven
while it was still hot. I would cut a hole in
the center of the loaf and jam a stick of
butter inside, then eat the whole loaf by
myself.
Of course, I realized there was a serious
problem. I could discipline myself for a
while and lose weight, but then I would gain
it back immediately. I wanted to lose
weight, but I didn't want to change my
eating habits. I was like an alcoholic who
wants to be able to drink constantly and not
be affected by it. I wanted to eat nine times a
day and weigh 165 pounds.
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I cried and complained to God about my
weight. I said, "Father, I don't understand
this. I've been delivered from alcohol and
tobacco, but I can't get delivered from food
and fat!" I reasoned, "I live without alcohol
and tobacco, but how can I live without
food?" It seemed to me that I had been
cheated. Why did I have to be the kind of
person who gained weight so easily? The
alcoholic says the same thing because he
can't take that one drink.
Some people can overeat and never get fat,
but that doesn't make it right. There are
some skinny gluttons in this world who have
real problems. They may not gain weight,
but that overindulgence will show up in
some other area. Satan will see to that. Some
people can drink and not show their liquor,
but they are just as much a drunkard as the
stumbling bum who can't get out of the
gutter.
I sincerely wanted deliverance. I knew
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something was wrong because I didn't have
the power of God in my life to help me
overcome the problem. When the power of
God got involved where tobacco was
concerned, the habit left me as if I had never
smoked. When the power of God got
involved where alcohol was concerned, the
desire left and I no longer cared for alcohol.
When the power of God got involved where
sickness and disease were concerned, I was
delivered from them. I had used my faith
and believed God in those areas, but when I
dieted, I would almost go berserk before it
was over. I didn't have any spiritual
assistance at all. It was purely carnal.
If you try to control the natural man with
natural power, you will be defeated because
the devil is involved. Satan cannot be
controlled with natural power. Remember
2 Corinthians 10:4: "For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal [or natural], but
mighty through God to the pulling down of
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strongholds."
Finally, I made that quality decision. I
told God, "I am not going one step further
like this. In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, I
am going to get some answers!" I went on a
fast and told the Lord, "I am not going to eat
until I hear from You on this." I shut myself
away from everyone and determined to hear
from God. I made the decision to act on His
Word.
During that fast, I learned from God about
food. My attitude had to be changed. I didn't
have a weight problem. I had a food
problem! Proverbs 23:21 says the glutton
and the drunkard will come to poverty. I
realized then that God classifies gluttony
with drunkenness.
I had to admit that I was a glutton whether
I liked it or not. At that point I realized how
hard it is for a man who drinks to say he is
an alcoholic. I went before God and
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confessed gluttony. I said, "Father, this is
one of the hardest things I have ever done in
my life. I have been delivered from alcohol.
I don't care if I never have another drink as
long as I live. I've been delivered from
tobacco and other habits just as bad, but I
can't be delivered from food. I would die!"
God said, I never asked you to give up food.
I am not going to deliver you from food. I
am going to deliver you from certain kinds
of food. Proverbs 23:3 refers to it as
deceitful meat. The man who is delivered
from alcohol is not delivered from drinking
altogether. He is made free from drinking
that one chemical substance. The person
delivered from smoking is not delivered
from breathing. He is delivered from
breathing smoke.
The Lord said, You have never given Me
enough credit. I have the ability to change
your appetite so that you will thoroughly
enjoy foods that you wouldn't eat before.
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Most alcoholics can't stand water, but once
they stop drinking alcohol, they acquire a
taste for water.
Go before God and ask Him to give you a
taste for the good foods and drinks instead
of the junk that will kill you. When you are
hungry, He will give you a taste for a good
tossed salad instead of pecan pie. The choice
is yours!
When I made my choice I said, "Father, I
am a foodaholic, and in the Name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, from this day forward,
the food that I can't handle will not cross my
lips. I am through with it. I choose Jesus."
Since then, I have had opportunities to
waver. When I would see foods I liked, just
for a moment that old craving would rise up
inside me. But I would resist it by saying, "I
choose Jesus instead of that. I choose the
Word instead of that." When I stood against
it, the desire would leave.
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I made my quality decision. I chose the
high life. I chose Jesus instead of candy. I
chose Jesus instead of bread. I chose Jesus
instead of cakes and pies. Now I have no
more problem with food. I can watch
someone eating cookies or pie and not be
bothered in the least. Praise God, I am so
glad to be free! Deliverance is a sweet thing.
Decide to Be Free
First Peter 5:8 says, "...Your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour." Satan is
looking for someone to devour, but he
cannot succeed without our permission. He
can only get to us when we make the wrong
choice. Then he will move in like a flood.
You can pray and cry. You can have
people lay hands on you and cast the devil
out of you, but it will do no good until you
yourself make that quality decision to stop
Satan's influence in your life.
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It makes no difference what the problem
area is. It may be sickness and disease.
Remember what Jesus asked the man at the
pool of Bethesda. He said, "Wilt thou be
made whole?" (John 5:6). He didn't ask,
"Would you like to be?" He said, Will you?
The man had to be willing before he could
be healed. Some people do not want to be
made whole. They may talk about being
healed, but they actually enjoy their
sickness. It has provided them with
sympathy for years, and they want to keep it.
I have seen people who were healed still
acting as though they had the problem. It
makes some people mad when they hear a
man preach healing. They will fight for the
right to be sick!
God sent Jesus to the cross to pay the bill
for us, and it was paid in full. He bore our
sicknesses and carried our diseases. He bore
every care, every grief and every sorrow.
First Peter 5:7 says we are to cast all our
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care over on Him, but it takes a decision to
do it. It takes a decision to be healed and to
stay well and whole. It requires
determination on our part because Satan will
put the pressure on to stop us if he possibly
can.
When I share these things, I am sometimes
accused of taking the fun out of life. But if
you are getting life's enjoyment out of a
candy bar, you are being shortchanged! The
world thinks they are having a great time.
They think their life is fun. I used to think
the same way, then I chose Jesus and found
out there is a higher life. If you will choose
Jesus, you will choose life in all its fullness
and its glory, "for in Him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians
2:9).
I have found a wealth of enjoyment in
laying hands on the sick and seeing them
healed. It thrills me to hear reports of how
our broadcasts are ministering to the needs
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of the people. I get excited about what God
is doing. There is so much more enjoyment
for me in this than when I was in the world!
I love the higher life God has given me. I
have been on a Word of God high with Jesus
since 1967, and it isn't about to wear off!
The principles I have shared here are true
in any area of life. I dealt with overeating
because that was my experience. You may
have a problem in some other area. It doesn't
matter what the problem is. The choice of
whether or not to overcome it is yours. The
principles of faith are the same in every area
of life.
Remember, Jesus said, "If ye continue in
my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "Choose life."
Verse 20 says that God is our life. John 1:1
says, "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was
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God." Proverbs 4:20-22 says, "My son,
attend to my words; incline thine ear unto
my sayings....For they are life...."
God, the Word, the Life are one and the
same. To choose God is to choose the Word.
To choose life is to choose the Word. To
change your thoughts, your words or your
actions, you will have to choose the Word of
God. When you choose your thoughts from
God's Word, then your mind will be
renewed and your actions will be
transformed. To have His Word dominate
your thinking processes is to choose God's
great mind instead of your small, limited
one. Jesus said in John 3:21, "But he that
doeth truth cometh to the light, that his
deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God."
We make the choice ourselves whether or
not to take God's Word. When we choose
the Word for our thoughts, our words and
our actions, then the power of God comes on
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the scene and our circumstances and
surroundings begin to be ordered of the
Lord. When you choose God, you bring God
on the scene. No matter what the
circumstances look like at the time, if you
will stay in the Word and look to God, your
circumstances will eventually change—
whether Satan and his crowd like it or
not! Choose Jesus and your body will get in
line. Choose Jesus and your life will be
transformed.
Continue in His Word. You shall know the
truth, and the truth will make you free!
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Prayer for Salvation and Baptism in the
Holy Spirit
Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of
Jesus. Your Word says, "Whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall he saved" (Acts 2:21). I am
calling on You. I pray and ask Jesus to come into my
heart and he Lord over my life according to Romans
10:9-10: "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 he saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation." I do that now. I confess that Jesus is Lord,
and I believe in my heart that God raised Him from
the dead.
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