BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 2 9 it's actually unscriptural. Some people have the idea that if God wants to give them something, He'll do it without requiring any action on their part. So when they fail to see God's promises come to pass in their lives, they assume God just didn't want to fulfill those promises in their particular situation. But they're mistaken. God always fulfills His promises when His conditions are met. He is a promise-keeper, not a promise-breaker. Mark 11:24 clearly commands us to believe we receive what we ask for when we pray. We can't leave up to the Lord what He has left up to us. And He has given us the responsibility not only to believe, but to receive the things He has promised us in His Word. The Greek word translated receive in Mark 11:24 is a strong, aggressive action word. It means "to take, to get hold of, to receive to oneself, to take back." It is an action word. I think seize would be an appropriate word to describe it. If we don't seize by faith what God has offered to us in His Word, it's not His fault— it's ours. God has already done His part. He has provided every blessing and every good gift we could ever need, and has extended those gifts to us through His Word. But that by itself does not complete the transaction. For a gift to be exchanged there must be a giver and a receiver. We all know that's true in the natural world. Imagine, for example, it was your birthday today and I walked up to you with a lovely gift. I could say, "Happy Birthday!" and offer it to you. But if you just stood there looking at it with your hands at your sides, that gift would never do you any good. Even though it belonged to you, and I had already bought and paid for it, if you didn't reach out and take it, you'd go home empty-handed. On the other hand, if you would take hold of that gift, you'd take possession of it. You could open it up and enjoy it. When you did, both you and I would be greatly pleased and blessed. We must do the same thing with God's promises. To enjoy their benefits, we must receive them. We must say, "Thank You, Father, for that promise. I believe it's mine and I take it by faith right now." We must begin to think, speak and act as if that promise is already ours. That's just how faith works. Then, when the devil tries to talk us out of that promise, we refuse to give it up. We rebuke the devil and tell him to get his hands off our situation, in the Name of Jesus. When we do that, we'll experience victory. Let Your Mountains Hear Your Voice Another important lesson about faith we can learn from Abraham and Sarah is that they imitated God's example by calling "those things which be not as though they were" (Romans 4:17). God Himself convinced them to do that by giving them new names. A year before Isaac was born, He changed Abram to Abraham, which means "father of many nations," and Sarai to Sarah, which means "mother of multitudes." So Abraham and Sarah made a confession of faith every time they said their names. Why is that important? Because, according to Mark 11:23, one primary characteristic of faith is that it speaks the Word of God and believes those things it says will happen. Real, Bible faith is never silent. It continually speaks God's promise. Faith has a voice—the voice of victory! Many Christians don't realize that. They diligently study the Word, and faith arises in their hearts, just as Romans 10:17 says it will. Faith comes to them as they hear the Word. But because they never open their mouths to IF WE DON'T SEIZE BY FAITH WHAT GOD HAS OFFERED TO US IN HIS WORD, IT'S NOT HIS FAULT—IT'S OURS.

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