BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Sadly, Jesus didn’t find that kind of faith everywhere He went. In Nazareth, for instance, people didn’t respond to what He preached like Bartimaeus did. Although He said the same thing to them that He did in other places, they didn’t put any faith in it, so the Anointing of God that was on Him didn’t benefit them. “He could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6). First Priority and Final Authority How can you make sure you have Bartimaeus-type faith and not Nazareth-type unbelief operating in your life? It’s simple. Make God’s Word your first priority and final authority. Continually spend time listening to and reading what God says in the Scriptures and change your mind to agree with it. Don’t let what your natural senses tell you or what the world says cause you to doubt what God says. Don’t read the Word and disqualify yourself for it for one reason or another. That’s not faith. If you read 1 John 5:4, and think, I could never be an overcomer, that’s unbelief. “But Gloria,” you might say, “I have more flaws and weaknesses than you know. I really don’t have what it takes to be an overcomer!” None of us do—in ourselves. That’s why, when we were born again, God came to live on the inside of us. He moved into us so He can make us anything He wants us to be. You could be tongue-tied (like Moses was) and God could make the greatest preacher out of you that the world has ever known. You could be a deaf-mute (like the man Jesus ministered to in Mark 7), and God could give you speech and hearing and send you out to be a walking demonstration of His power to everyone you meet. * * * * article continues on p. 30 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * POINTS TO GET YOU THERE: 1) God’s Word is your freedom Book—the more you continue in it the freer you become. John 8:31-32 2) God created you to live as a victor over this world, not as a victim of it. 1 John 5:4 3) Even in the Old Testament, when Israel acted by faith on God’s Word, He brought them out of Egypt as world-overcomers. Ps. 105:37 4) Your natural weaknesses don’t disqualify you from being an overcomer, they give God an opportunity to show Himself strong through you. 1 Cor.1:27-29 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * VICTORIOUS LIVING One Step Outside of Love Is Hate by Kenneth Copeland “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” 1 John 1:5-6 ___________ Oftentimes people associate forgiveness only with those major resentments they’ve been carrying against someone. But true forgiveness is also for all those “little” hurts and offenses that cause you to go out of your way to avoid someone. It’s those memories that cause you to treat someone with less warmth and love because they have injured you in some way. I’m talking about any attitude you have that falls short of the full light and love of God Himself. Some people don’t want to give up those kinds of things. They’ll say, “I love God. Glory! Hallelujah! My fellowship with Him is fine. I’m just having a tough time fellowshipping with Sister So-and-So. But after what she did to me, I just can’t help it.” According to the Bible, people who say things like that are lying. They’re trying to walk in darkness and light at the same time, and 1 John tells us it can’t be done. Notice he didn’t stutter. He didn’t say, “Well, bless your heart. Unforgiveness is a sin, but I know how hard these things can be sometimes.” No, he said bluntly: “If you walk in darkness and say you have partnership with God, you’re lying about it.” The sad thing is, many Christians who are walking in unforgiveness don’t know they’re in darkness. They think that because they read their Bible and say “Amen” at church, they’re in fellowship with God. But 1 John 2:11 says, “He that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” A man who does not forgive is hating his brother. “I don’t hate him,” you may say. “I just don’t like him very much!” How far outside of love do you have to go before it can be called hate? As far as God is concerned, just one step outside of love is hate. To Him there are no shades of gray. In His eyes, anything less than love is sin. So make the decision today to forgive...every little hurt. V BVOV : 29

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