BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Well, stop being afraid of that! Fear not! Instead, take a step of faith and believe what Jesus said. He said you’re His sheep and you hear His voice. So, stop doubting Him and calling Him a liar. Don’t ever, ever, EVER again say, “I can’t hear God’s voice.” Start agreeing with Jesus. Start believing and agreeing with The WORD. Say, “The WORD says I can hear God’s voice and I believe it! I do hear the voice of God!” Then put your faith into action. Open the ears of your heart and start listening for the voice of the Spirit, especially when you’re reading The WORD. Pay attention not just to the activity in your brain, but to the quickenings in your inner man (primarily the area just below your chin, or chest area). If you’re not sure where to locate those stirrings, just think back to a time when you had what we sometimes call a “hunch.” Suddenly something just dawned on you and you knew or understood something you hadn’t known before. Those kinds of dawnings come from your born-again spirit. Purpose to become more aware of the promptings that arise from your spirit because they are the leading of God. Learn to trust them. The Holy Spirit will help you to step out on them a little at a time. Initially, He won’t be giving you risky, world-shaking kinds of leadings. When you’re first learning to identify God’s voice, it will be mostly yes and no answers—not to go sell everything you own and invest it in some off-the-wall business venture. He’ll begin by showing you simple truths from The WORD that you can act on. He’ll reveal from The WORD, for example, how you can obey more fully the law of love. He’ll show you ways to bless the people around you. The more you trust His voice and follow His leadings, the more clearly you’ll find you can hear from Him. Before long, hearing from God won’t be an occasional event but an everyday part of life. And when someone asks you, “What is the Spirit of God telling you today?” you won’t hesitate a moment. You’ll know exactly what to say. V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CHURCH PARTNERSHIP Kenneth Copeland Ministries partners with churches and ministries in communities around the world that, like KCM, teach the whole, uncompromised Word of Faith, boldly proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. Here’s one of our Partner churches: The Glorious Church of Chelsea Chelsea, Alabama ------------------------ When Lisa Shirley suffered a miscarriage in 1978, she found no comfort in knowing the church she attended saw and believed her tragedy was part of God’s will. “The church I was in didn’t talk much about miracles or speaking in the spirit,” says Lisa. “They believed and taught that if God wants to do miracles He can, but that He doesn’t do miracles anymore. They said things like, ‘If you’re sick and you don’t get well then it’s because God doesn’t want you to be well.’ Their belief was basically, ‘Whatever happens, happens. Sometimes God puts sickness and disease on you to teach you something.’” When she became pregnant a second time, the thought that she could lose another child did occur to Lisa. But by then, because of what she had learned by listening to the teachings of Kenneth Copeland, she knew better than to ever blame God. “Listening to what my church was teaching always caused such a heaviness for me,” says Lisa. “I would feel like God was mad at me, or that I could never be good enough to please Him. But when I started watching Brother Copeland on TV in 1979, it was like a light came on. Before then, I didn’t know it was the devil that caused me to lose my child. But Brother Copeland taught me that God is the giver of life and that it is the devil who comes to steal, to kill and to destroy.” Over time, that revelation led Lisa and a small group of believers to come together and pray, asking God to establish a “Word and Spirit church” in their hometown of Chelsea. It would be 10 years before those prayers would come to fruition with the launching of The Glorious Church of Chelsea. When the church held its first service in Lisa’s home on March 24, 2013, Palm Sunday, Lisa stood before the small congregation as its pastor. “We are a Word and Spirit Christian church that desires to see all believers know the love of our Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ, walk in the power of the Name of Jesus, live a life standing strong in faith on the Word of God, and be led by the Spirit of God,” says Lisa. “The blood of Jesus purchased our redemption and our healing, gave us authority in the Name of Jesus, and freed us from the powers of darkness in every area of our lives. We desire to see the Church rise in that authority and become the glorious Church He called us to be. “When you’re reading with preconceived ideas of tradition, you’re not reading what the Word really says. I wasn’t reading it like I do today. Today, I know the Word of God is for me. It’s life to me. Hearing Brother Copeland teach the Word of Faith has been life-giving and life-changing. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like had he not gone on TV. Kenneth Copeland is my father in the faith. The Lord used him to bring me out of that darkness.” While they prepare to move into their newly constructed church facility soon, the congregation currently meets at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday in Lisa’s home at 1362 County Road 69, in Chelsea. V To learn more about The Glorious Church of Chelsea, visit their website at chelseaglory.com, or call the church at 205-677-4303. BVOV : 23

• Cover