BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

That just goes to show how God can use us to fulfill His purposes and plans, if we’ll only put His Word to work and be fruitful. Miracle-Working Abilities We’re living in a time that’s different than any other time in history. God is raising up new leaders for new challenges that are coming on the horizon. He’s doing new things and introducing new ideas and plans into the earth. The question is: Are we going to allow Him to use us to accomplish His purposes? He has given us everything we need. Acts 1:8, "New King James Version," says, “You shall receive power….” The word power in that verse means “miracle-working abilities.” We see God’s miracle-working abilities from the very beginning of Creation, and in His covenant with Abraham and the Israelites. God decided what He wanted and then spoke to what He wanted it to come from. Look at Isaiah 51:1-3, 16: "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.… And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people." We learn a couple of things from this passage. First, every seemingly “new” thought or idea—even the calling of the nation of Israel—that God speaks into the world was accomplished in the spirit first. Second, God speaks that idea or thought into existence either directly or through His people. I’ve experienced this firsthand. God spoke to me to start a business school, something I didn’t have any experience with. I’d never done anything like it before. That didn’t matter, though, because whatever He tells us to do, the anointing to do it comes along with the calling. Today, the fully accredited Joseph Business School is now on five continents. The school isn’t successful because of my ability. It’s successful because of God. I joined with His Anointing, and He worked through me. A lot of people want to take credit for new ideas, but that’s pride. Job 32:8, "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition," says, “But there is [a vital force] a spirit [of intelligence] in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives men understanding.” Only God deserves the credit for His original thoughts—not us! You and I were not made to create original thoughts. We’re made to receive God’s thoughts. The thoughts belong to God. We’re created to receive and live out or fulfill those thoughts. We read an example of this in Genesis 37 regarding Joseph. God spoke His thoughts to Joseph through a dream. God had a plan to do something new, and He chose Joseph as the person He wanted that plan to come through. And His Word came to pass. God’s Creative Word Time and again in Scripture, we read of the power of God’s creative Word. We see how God created with His Word and how He calls His people to use His Word to bring about His plans. In Genesis 1, for example, we learn that God spoke creation into existence. God then, in turn, gave Adam words to speak to manage the earth. Adam used God’s words to fulfill the Lord’s plans for the earth. Ninety-nine percent of what Jesus did was accomplished with words, too. Look at Mark 1:40-41: “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (emphasis added). Yes, Jesus touched the leper, but He also spoke to him. It was Jesus’ spoken words that brought results. 10 : BVOV

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