BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

who had done me wrong. To my knowledge, neither were the other people of faith whom I had seen get ambushed by the devil. "LORD, I'm not sure I understand what You're trying to get across to me," I said. Son, He replied, it wasn't a $10 million debt the servant failed to forgive; it was a $20 debt. Forgiving big trespasses isn't usually where you get tripped up. Most of the time, it's the little 15-cent o enses that are giving My people trouble. When I asked Him to help me see exactly what He meant, He instantly gave me a vision. In it, I saw a pipe several feet long and about ve inches in diameter. It was tilted over a man's head at a forty- ve- degree angle, and water was gushing into the upper end of it. The lower end was about ten inches from the man's face. He was peering into it, looking for the water, but all that was coming out was a ne mist. It was spraying out of a tiny hole in the center of the pipe, hitting the man in the face with just enough water to make him mad. The pipe is your reborn human spirit, The LORD said. I am pouring My power into it but not much of it is getting through. I'm not the One holding it back, you are. Over a period of time, you have let little 15-cent and $20 offenses—a little discord here and a little resentment there—get into the pipe. Because you weren't spiritually aware enough to stop it from happening, you've clogged up your spirit until My power does not have the freedom to flow through you. You're too full of unforgiveness and aggravation toward people whom you've never purposely taken the time to forgive. How Unforgiveness Stops Us From Living in Victory Second Corinthians 7:1 says, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all lthiness of the esh and spirit" (New King James Version). Unforgiveness is spiritual lthiness. It works in a wounded spirit the way dirt does when it gets into a wound in the physical body. It keeps the wound from healing. Your heart might have been wounded by something hurtful someone said or did; and even though it happened years ago, because 8 : B V O V you never forgave the person, the wound is still there. You may have learned to live with it. You may even have forgotten about it. But whether you're aware of it or not, until the unforgiveness is removed, that wound will continue to fester and inhibit the ow of God's power in your life. In God's plan for us, His primary will is for us to always walk in Love and faith and to avoid sin so that the wicked one touches us not. (See 1 John 5:18.) But when we fall short of His primary will, His back-up plan is for us to stay out of the devil's reach by acting on 1 John 1:9. Once we confess our sin to God and receive His forgiveness, as far as the devil is concerned, it's as if we never sinned. He can't get his hands on us because God has cleansed us from all unrighteousness and declared us to be as righteous as Jesus. We don't have to wait until we get to church on Sunday to put God's fail-safe system into operation, either. We don't even have to wait until we can get alone in our prayer closet. Anytime we mess up, we can immediately confess our sin and receive our forgiveness and cleansing. Every day, check your heart for any unforgiveness and strife. If you nd any, deal with it immediately by taking the four steps The LORD gave me the day He rst taught me how to clean out my spiritual pipe. Step One: Confess the sin of unforgiveness. Step Two: Forgive anyone and everyone of anything you have held against them— whether their o enses were big or small— even as God has forgiven you. Step Three: Once you have forgiven anyone who has wronged you, receive your own forgiveness from God Step Four: Praise and thank God. That's it! That's how you purge your spiritual pipe of unforgiveness and strife so you can live a faith- lled, fear-free life from now until Jesus returns! This article was adapted from the new book by Kenneth Copeland, titled Live Fear Free. 2025 Omaha Victory Campaign Nov. 6-8 | Omaha, Neb. For updated event information visit: KCM.ORG/EVENTS events Join us! Schedule is subject to change without notice.

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