BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Words on Faith What Are You Becoming? by Kenneth Copeland If you’re not sure what you’re becoming, let me give you a hint. You’re going to be whatever you think about and talk about all the time. I can listen to you talk for 30 minutes and tell you exactly what you’ll become. It doesn’t take a prophet to do that. It just takes someone who will listen to your words. So listen to yourself. If you don’t like what you hear, change it. Become better by beginning to think God’s WORD, talk God’s WORD and act on God’s WORD. No one on earth can determine what you’re going to become but you. Yes, you! Don’t blame it on the devil. He can’t change it. Don’t blame it on your parents, your background or your circumstances. And certainly, don’t blame God. Forget those things which are behind...and do what Abraham did. The Bible says, “He considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19). He just said to himself, Old man, you don’t count. Neither do you, Granny. What counts is God’s WORD and I am exactly what God says I am. Do you want to become what God says you are? Do you want to be healed? Do you want to become free financially? Do you want to become a powerful witness in your circle of influence? What is your dream? You can determine your outcome in life by changing your words to God’s words, and releasing your faith. You can become all you were meant to be. ******************************************* * * * * article from p. 9 continues * * * * Now it may sound like I was living on a high spiritual plain, but truthfully, for me it was nothing special. Well…apparently it was. It was a word from the Lord—encouragement—that Paul needed to hear at that moment. What I considered a random thought was the sound of the Red Sea dividing for my friend. Mr. Encouragement The Bible has a bit to say about the power of encouragement, and provides examples of believers who encouraged those around them with great results. One in particular was a bit of an unsung hero in the New Testament. His name was Joseph, and he appears in the book of Acts. In the early days of the Church, he was the first man who gave an offering of great magnitude. He had sold property and given all the money from the sale to the Church (Acts 4:36-37). Based on what we know about Joseph, I imagine he was the kind of guy whose very presence lifted everyone. Do you know someone like that? He may not even have had to say or do anything for everyone around him to feel encouraged. How do I know that? Because the apostles didn’t call him Joseph. They called him Barnabas, which Acts 4:36 ("New King James Version") says means “Son of Encouragement.” He had quite a reputation! We all need a Mr. Encouragement in our lives. Or, maybe more importantly, as believers, we need to be Mr. or Ms. Encouragement in others’ lives. Barnabas was so committed to encouraging others that when the Apostle Paul began preaching, he stayed right by his side. Though nearly everyone was terrified because of Paul’s history as a dangerous man, Barnabas helped Paul connect with the people and places he needed to in order to share the Word. Think about that: As effective as Paul’s ministry was, God used an encourager to get it kick-started! We all need to be like Barnabas, giving encouragement to those around us. Being an encourager is one of the most spiritual activities we can do. It’s an aspect of our lives that needs to be cultivated because the world gets so discouraged. Their narrative is so dark, so negative, so full of venom and anger. They need us to change that narrative. Having an attitude of an encourager should be on our radar every time we enter a room. It’s not difficult, really. Many times, it doesn’t cost anything but a few seconds. Yet everyone wants encouragement. Everyone needs encouragement. People crave it. Now, I’m not talking about an emotion or a feel-good moment. I’m talking about making something spiritual happen. Encouragement gives people the capacity to follow the plan God has for them to a greater degree. That’s our assignment, isn’t it? To help people follow what God has put inside them. Corrected, but Connected Of course, encouragement isn’t always easy. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:4, “I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles” ("New Living Translation"). To put that in context, remember that Paul and the Corinthians had a lot of trouble between them. Paul had spent much of his first letter to the Corinthians correcting them. It just goes to show that God can work a great ministry of encouragement, even with people we don’t get along with all the time. We need to remember that, and like Paul, we need to stay connected. All too often we allow ourselves to disconnect from people who frustrate, anger or disagree with us. But Paul didn’t write off the Corinthians. What’s really shocking though is what Paul said in the next couple of verses. Paul Received Encouragement Verse 5 ("NLT") says, “When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.” Paul essentially said, “The battles were on the outside, and they came at us to strike fear on the inside.” That’s what battle is; that’s the game. Every one of the enemy’s strategies that comes against us on the outside is trying to spark fear on the inside. In the same way that faith is the currency of heaven, fear is the currency of darkness. Satan knows that if he can get us into a position of fear, he undermines our strength. 10 : BVOV

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