BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 2 5 Refuse the Enemy Any Foothold You may ask, "So, what does that mean for believers living in the 21st century?" We can see exactly how He a§ects our daily lives when we see the Spirit of Grace active in the Apostle Paul's life. Paul was a highly educated Hebrew who was called to reach the gentiles. Can you imagine what the gentiles thought when they saw this Hebrew of Hebrews coming into their midst, dressed as he was, looking like he did? They didn't know what to make of him. Second Corinthians 11:22-28 tells us what Paul endured because of that: beatings with rods, a stoning and three shipwrecks. He faced dangers in the cities, dangers in the country and dangers at sea. He faced o§ with robbers and unbelievers, and even fellow Romans. The man went through it! You're Empowered To Do Good In the next chapter, Paul wrote, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to bu§et me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me" (verses 7-8). Think about that. Even after what he'd written in the previous chapter, Paul had sought the Lord three times for help in getting rid of the demonic spirit that assaulted him. He was saying, "I've been through lots of stu§. I'm not even mad about it, but it's Your turn, God. Come help me with this." Instead of coming to help, the Lord answered Paul by saying, "My grace is su©cient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (verse 9a). He called the grace of God, the strength of God. The word grace in this verse is the same Greek word, dunamis, which we read earlier in Acts 10:38. In Acts, it was translated as power, but here it's translated as strength. Both refer to the strength of God, but in this verse, God equates His grace with His strength. Paul continued, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (verses 9b-10). That word pleasure means "to think well." Paul decided to think well about the situations he was facing for Christ's sake. The Greek word for sake is huper, which means "over or above," with the help of the power of God. It is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Grace, who empowers us to do what we can't do on our own. The Spirit of Grace Today Every believer has already experienced the Spirit of Grace, the dunamis of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." That word saved is from the Greek word sozo, and it means "healed, delivered, protected, preserved and made whole." When you were saved, you didn't simply change categories, going from sinner to sinless. The Holy Ghost came in and created a new you (2 Corinthians 5:17). The biggest miracle you have ever seen is when you were re-created. Your body may look the same, but you are not the same. Who did that? Grace Himself, The Holy Spirit. He's the One who re-created you and made you sacred ( 2 Timothy 1:9). By grace you are saved. By grace you are healed. By grace you are delivered. It is the Spirit of Grace, the Holy Ghost, who keeps and preserves you. Through the Word of Faith All this happened through the word of faith. Without faith, it's impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Without faith, grace is impossible to access. But with faith, grace is released. Faith allows the Spirit of Grace to move and do all the things He does. When you walk by faith, the Spirit of Grace—the Holy Spirit—heals, delivers, preserves and brings freedom. It's only with Him that you can do all that you're called to do. He is the One who will make you UNSTOPPABLE!

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