BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Questions & Answers by Kenneth Copeland Q: I’ve heard other believers talk about how The WORD of God healed them, delivered them from a problem or even brought them through financial trouble. But even though I read the Bible every day, those things aren’t happening in my life. How can I get The WORD to work for me? A: You’ll find the answer to your question in James 1:22-25. There we’re instructed to: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." According to that scripture, if you want your deeds to be blessed, if you want to see supernatural results in your life, you’ll have to do more than simply read The WORD of God. You’ll have to put it into action. That’s what I did. Years ago when I realized God was the One who had the answers to all my problems, that He was the One who could supply all my needs, I committed myself to do everything His WORD told me to do. I made a quality decision to step out in faith on every command I saw there. It wasn’t always an easy thing to do. (In fact, it was hardly ever an easy thing to do.) But when I did it, I always ended up blessed. When I found out, for example, that God’s WORD instructed me to tithe, Gloria and I were already trying to stretch what little money we had further than it could possibly go. We were up to our necks in debt. We couldn’t possibly afford to give away 10 percent. But we did it anyway and before too long we began to see financial miracles in our lives. “Sure, it worked that way for you,” you may say, “but will it work that way for me?” Yes! So, keep on reading and studying the Bible! Listen to teaching CDs! Go to church and hear The WORD preached! But don’t stop there. Go one crucial step further by taking The WORD you’ve heard and putting it into action. As God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, don’t let The WORD depart out of your mouth; meditate in it day and night so that you can observe to DO all that’s written in it. Then God will be able to make your way prosperous and you will have good success. V ********************************** Continued from page 29 He is our Teacher. He’s been sent to strengthen us, train us and empower us. Once we receive Him, He’s on the job 24/7. We never have to go hunting for Him. He’s always there when we need Him. My life was sad before I got filled with the Spirit. Even though I was born again, I was just struggling along. But once Ken and I received everything God has provided—not just the new birth, but the Word and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit—things started turning around for us. Our sick days were over. Our broke days were over. Life started getting good! Give Yourself a Little Test Will God do for you the same thing He did for Ken and me? Certainly, He will. He is tender and merciful toward you. He loves you without reservation. He loves you more than your wife, your husband or your children do. Nobody on earth can love you as fully as God does. He is love! “Yeah, but you don’t know the bad stuff I’ve been doing,” someone might say. “The reason I’m sick and defeated right now is because I’ve been living a sinful lifestyle.” Then repent! If you haven’t been doing what’s right, receive God’s forgiveness and get cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Then take what belongs to you in Christ which is healing, health and well-being. Truth be told, every believer needs to repent from time to time. We all miss it now and then, sometimes without even realizing it. That’s why in my life, when things aren’t working, the first place I look is at me. I don’t blame my problems on God or anyone else. Instead, I give myself a little test. I ask, “Am I spending time in the Word every day? Am I believing and acting on what God is showing me? Am I saying what He says about my situation? Am I walking in love and keeping His commands, or have I been disobedient?” To be clear, I’m not saying that every time you experience a symptom of sickness, it’s because you’ve disobeyed the Lord. Not at all. Many times sickness is just a sign that the devil is up to his old tricks. He’s the thief and he comes “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). So when we have problems with sickness, we often just need to go after him and say, “No you don’t, devil! You’re not touching my body! You get your hands off me, in Jesus’ Name!” If we’re going to be ready to do that, however, we must keep our spirit strong all the time. We must stay built up by staying in the Word! 30 : BVOV : NOV '13

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