BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

********** ADVERTISEMENT ********** YOUTH GRADES 6-12 GROW 14forty spring retreat 2019 March 10-13 Waxahachie, Texas 14forty.com/grow2019 Lakeview Campground & Retreat Center Registration & deposit deadline: Feb. 10 ********************************************* * * * * article from p.13 continues * * * * We are where we are today because we have relied on the Word of God in the past…but we can’t rest. We must continue to hold on to God’s Word, and protect ourselves and protect the blessing in our lives. Obedience and Blessing One of the enemy’s weapons that can prevent us from walking in all God has for us is envy. In Genesis 26:1-6, we read: "And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar." Notice that Isaac’s obedience gave birth to his blessings. Meditate on that a moment: Obedience gives birth to blessings. God will bless His people when we are obedient to Him and His Word. In this example, God told Isaac to leave his home, pack up his family and everything he owned, and move. He also told him not to go to Egypt. Instead, God directed him to the land of Gerar. Isaac obeyed, and guess what? God blessed him. But let’s keep reading: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great” (verses 12-13). Isaac planted in that land, and he received 100 times as much as he planted. The Lord favored him with blessings. Take a moment and receive that rhema word for your situation. Isaac walked in obedience, and God blessed him. He walked in the blessing, and that same blessing is still available to you, me and every other covenant-believing, faith-walking, Word-speaking man and woman. Whatever is happening in this world is not strong enough to stop the operation of the blessing in your life. Seeing the Stuff “For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him” (verse 14). Notice that none of them had a problem with Isaac until they saw his stuff. The same happens with us. Other people don’t have a problem with us believing in the blessing of the Lord until we begin to prosper. When that happens, we have to make up our minds. Either we can handle the manifestation of the blessing, or we can back up because we don’t want anyone talking about us. If no one is talking about you yet, it’s only because the blessing is still developing roots. It’s working, but like a strong tree, the roots have to grow before the branches and leaves flourish. From personal experience, I can tell you that when the blessing becomes visible, the haters show up. No one was gossiping about me when I was only pastoring eight people. No one was tweeting lies about me when I was holding services in the Kathleen Mitchell Elementary School. And no one was writing negative articles or jumping out of corners demanding interviews. But when they could see the effects of the blessing—when they could see the stuff—they got mad. They became envious. 14 : BVOV

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