BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Why does believing in Him qualify you to be a victor? Because as 1 John 5:1 says, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Verse 4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Being born of God isn’t just a nice religious concept. It’s a reality. When you received Jesus as your Lord, spiritually you really were born all over again. God fathered you and you became a new creation. You were born of His Spirit, and you received on the inside of you His very own life. You became a new creature. How could you be born of God and be defeated? Nothing can overcome Him, and He’s your heavenly Father. Not only has He promised to take care of you—to be your Provider, Protector and Deliverer—but by re-creating you in His own image, He’s made you more than a conqueror through the Lord Jesus Christ. Talk about getting off to a victorious start! You don’t have any business dragging around, all depressed and down. You’re a supernatural-born winner. You ought to think about who you are: Throw your shoulders back and your head up and walk like a victor. Even the children of earthly kings walk around like they’re somebody; and no king in the world compares to your Father. You are a child of the Most High God, and “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world” (verse 4). The world refers to everything out there in this sin-darkened world system. It refers to all the effects of the curse that came into the earth through Adam’s Fall—to all the hate, evil and trouble out there that’s being authored by the devil. Verse 19 says, “the whole world lieth in wickedness,” but, as believers, we’ve overcome it. For “we know that we are of God,” and “he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (verse 18). “Well,” someone might say, “I don’t really think we can take that verse literally. No one could walk through this world without being touched by the devil.” What about God? Don’t you think He could do it? Don’t you think He could walk through the most dangerous part of town, come into contact with the most contagious diseases, or even stand in the midst of a battlefield during a military conflict and come out untouched? Certainly, He could! So, as one who is born of Him, if you’re walking by world-overcoming faith in His Word, you can too. When Light Comes, Darkness Flees “Oh, Gloria, that’s too far-out!” No, it’s not. It’s just simple Bible victory. It’s the kind of untouchable protection we find described in Psalm 91. There, God promises that if you dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and you say that the Lord is your refuge and fortress, your God, in whom you trust: "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee (verses 3-7)." How is that kind of protection possible? Think of it in terms of light and darkness. When Jesus was on earth He said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” and the darkness of this world couldn’t touch Him. He overcame it in every situation because light always overcomes darkness. 28 : BVOV

• Cover