BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition). The last phrase of that verse means a great deal to me. I love the fact that it says, "We are healed and made whole." It doesn't say that one day we will be healed and made whole. It doesn't say that possibly, if it's the will of the Lord, we might be healed and made whole. It says we already are! Don't Argue With God If you have sickness in your body today, you might be tempted to argue with me about that. You might say, "Hey, I'm hurting right now. I've been to the doctor and he says I'm sick. I even have X-rays to prove it. How can you say I am healed?" I'm not the one saying it. God is the One who said it in His Word—I'm just quoting Him. He's given us the good news that the price for sickness (which entered the world through sin) has been paid! So if you've given your heart to Jesus, you don't have to pay the price of sickness anymore. Your healing has already been provided. You can simply receive it by faith and go! If you're wondering how to do that, think about what Ken and I did when we learned that someone had paid for our meal. We didn't sit around waiting until we felt like the bill was paid. We didn't argue with the cashier and say, "Well, I'm just not sure about this. After all, I didn't actually see anyone pay it, so how can I be absolutely certain it really happened? It just seems too good to be true." No, we didn't say any of those things! We just took the cashier's word for it and accepted the fact that our bill was paid. "Thank you very much!" we said. Then we acted on our faith by walking happily out the door. As simple as that may sound, we receive healing from God in just the same way. We take Him at His Word. We believe we are healed, not because we feel healed or look healed at this moment but because God said we are. By faith, we start talking like we're healed. We start acting like we're healed. Before long, our bodies line up with God's Word and it becomes apparent to everyone that we truly are healed! The Only Way To Live Some people are reluctant to receive their healing by faith. They think it's too hard to do. So they just go to the doctor or wait around hoping someone will lay hands on them and zap them with the power of God in spite of their unbelief. Now please understand that I'm in favor of laying hands on the sick, and I love it when the gifts of healing operate. And I think doctors are wonderful and a great blessing to mankind. But too often people just rely on medical doctors to help them. The truth is, even if someone lays hands on you, or the doctor gives you medicine and you get healed this time, one of these days you'll still have to grow up spiritually and learn to operate by faith if you want to live a victorious Christian life. Why? Because the Bible says very clearly in three separate verses, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). We are born again by faith. We fulfill the will of God in our lives by faith. If we're sick, we receive healing by faith. If we are broke, we get financial increase by faith. If our kids are in trouble, we get them back into the fold of God by faith. We receive anything and everything we need from God…by faith! Faith is simply believing what God says in His Word. It is trusting what He says more than we trust our natural senses or what other people say. Faith is believing God enough to talk and act as if His Word is true even when circumstances around us would seem to indicate that it's not. How do we get that kind of faith? Romans 10:17 tells us, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." So if you want to get stronger faith, spend more time in the Word of God. That's exactly what Ken and I did 57 years ago when we were just finding out about these things. We didn't have time for television or newspapers. We read our Bibles instead. We listened to preaching tapes day in and day out— whenever we could. When Brother Kenneth E. Hagin would have a 10-day meeting, we'd be there every single night. It didn't matter to us 2 8 : B V O V When pressure comes, what comes out of us will be what is in us in greatest abundance.

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