BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Notice, God didn’t say that for Him to heal the nation everyone in America has to repent and seek Him. He didn’t even say the majority of the population has to do it. He said, “If My people will pray and seek Me, I will heal their land.” From 50…to 10…to One What exactly does God mean by My people? How many praying believers does He need in a place before He will “heal their land”? Not very many! You can see that by reading about Abraham’s intercession for Sodom. When he found out that city was about to be destroyed because of the wickedness that had overtaken it, he asked God to spare it for the sake of the righteous people that—he assumed—were living there. He said to The LORD: "Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said…Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him…Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there" (Genesis 18:24-30). Eventually, Abraham asked God to save the city if He could find just 10 righteous people there, and God agreed. I’ve always wondered what might have happened if Abraham hadn’t quit at 10. What if he’d kept interceding and taken the number all the way down to two? Would the outcome have been different? Personally, I think it would. After all, Abraham’s righteous nephew, Lot, and his family lived there. God might have had mercy on Sodom and spared it for their sake alone. Since Abraham didn’t ask Him, we’ll never know that for sure. But we do know this: It wouldn’t have taken all the people in the city turning to God to stop its destruction. All it would have taken was 10! In Ezekiel 22:30, God reduced that number even further. He said, “I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” In that case, the term My people could have referred to just one person. Just one man or woman with faith enough to stand up before God in intercession could have spoken up in that situation and God would have honored that prayer. He would have heeded that one voice and kept destruction from coming on the land. “But Brother Copeland,” you might say, “those are all Old Testament scriptures. Can we be sure they apply to us as New Testament believers?” Yes, we can! We have Jesus’ word on it. In Matthew 18, He said: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (verses 18-20). * * * * * article continues on p. 8 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Points to Get You There: Right now, the United States of America is in the process of being born again. So, rise up in faith for this nation. Pray for it, declare The WORD over it, and God will heal our land. 1) God has promised us that if we seek Him and pray for our nation, He will heal it. 2 Chronicles 7:14 2) When Abraham interceded for Sodom, God told him that if He could find just 10 righteous men there He would spare the city for their sake. Genesis18:32 3) Even one person who will pray in faith for the land can make a great difference. Ezekiel 22:30 4) Jesus said if we, as New Testament believers, get into agreement with His WORD and with each other, He will do whatever we ask for in prayer. Matthew 18:19 5) Faith is the key to bringing heaven to earth in this nation; believing and speaking God’s WORD over it will move every mountain that’s standing in the way of His perfect plan. Mark 11:22-23 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BVOV : 7

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