BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

in one of our Believers' Conventions I took an informal survey. I asked those in attendance to indicate by a show of hands what their greatest challenge was and for most of them it was their fi nances. I could relate! I remember when that was the case for Ken and me. For the fi rst few years we were married, our fi nancial picture was dismal. We didn't have much of anything and were so deeply in debt it looked like we could never get out. Ken and I had both gone to work for a start- up company that was supposed to make a lot of money, but the company hadn't lasted a month. So we'd found ourselves unemployed and living in a rent house with nothing in it but a rollaway bed we'd rented for $7.50 a month, a co ee table Ken had made in high school shop class, and a TV that didn't work right. That was it! We had no refrigerator, no stove, no other furniture at all. Only 19 years old at the time, I had absolutely no idea what to do. One day while Ken was out looking for a job, I picked up the Bible his mother had given him for his birthday. (Neither of us were born again yet, so he never read it but at least he'd kept it.) Sitting on our little rollaway bed, I opened that Bible and read the inscription Ken's mother had written in it: Ken, precious, "Seek ye fi rst the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) Back then I had no idea that one verse contained the answers to all life's important questions. I didn't know it was the one sure secret to true success. But I did know I needed quite a few things added to me. So, turning to Matthew 6, I read there about how God cares even about the birds of the air. If God cares about birds, I thought, He cares about me! From my perspective, that was a deep revelation. I didn't know anything about God's Word back then. Although I reverenced and wanted to please Him, I wasn't aware He ever promised to do anything for me. Once I found out though, I responded. I said, "Lord, take my life and do something with it," and was instantly born again. I didn't realize until later what had happened to me. But from that time on I began to go after God. Initially the only thing I was certain He wanted me to do was go to church and read the Bible, so that's what I did. I began seeking God the only way I knew and never stopped. Jesus Preached Prosperity The prosperity message has gotten a lot of criticism over the years. But I've never paid any attention to it because I know there are a lot of lost people out there who are interested in having things added to them. I was one of them! I was in trouble and in desperate fi nancial straits—and the good news that God would add to me fi nancially was what led me to give my life to Him. Prosperity is one of the biggest evangelistic tools God has given the Church! We ought never shrink back from preaching it. We ought never shy away from telling people that God will richly supply all their material needs. Jesus certainly didn't. When He said, "all these things shall be added to you," material prosperity was what He was referring to. As the previous verses reveal, He was talking about having plenty of food to eat and beautiful clothes to wear; about the practical necessities and even luxuries of life. Why did Jesus talk about those things? Because there's a lost world full of people out there who are striving to get their material needs met and not making it. And God wants them to know that if they'll strive after Him, they'll do a lot better than just make it. If they'll seek Him fi rst, He will give them everything else! I like how the Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition translates Matthew 6:31-33. It phrases Jesus' message this way: Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and 2 8 : B V O V APRIL BVOV BROADCAST CALENDAR Sun., April 2 Release Faith Through Your Words Kenneth Copeland April 3-7 How To Move Your Mountain Kenneth Copeland Sun., April 9 The Greatness and Power of Jesus' Name Kenneth Copeland April 10-14 How To Let The WORD Fight Its Own Fight Kenneth Copeland Sun., April 16 Faith Prepares To Receive the Promise Kenneth Copeland April 17-21 The Benefits of Continuing in God's WORD Kenneth Copeland Sun., April 23 Cast All of Your Care on Jesus Kenneth Copeland April 24-28 Making a Way for Miracles Kenneth Copeland Sun., April 30 Prospering in Your Mind, Will and Emotions Kenneth Copeland Watch the Spanish broadcast Enlace or es.kcm.org WATCH ON Broadcasts subject to change without notice Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. 11 a.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. Weekly broadcast: Sun. 6 a.m. | 8 p.m. also Mon. 4:30 p.m. | Sat. 7:30 a.m. | 8:30 p.m. ET C H A N N E L WATCH ON WATCH ON Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. C H A N N E L Kenneth Copeland

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