BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Continued from page 5 That’s how God’s kingdom works. It’s His process and as citizens of heaven we’re supernaturally equipped to operate according to it. We’re divinely created to hear and recognize God’s voice. John 10 leaves no question about it. There, Jesus compared His relationship with us to that of a shepherd and his sheep, and said: “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers” (verses 3-5). “If those verses are true, then why do so many of us have trouble hearing from The LORD?” someone might ask. We’ve been too carnally minded to pay attention—that’s why. We’ve been so spiritually dense we haven’t even noticed much of what God has said to us. Clearly, if we’re going to live in the faith lane, we have to correct this problem. We must make sure we’re hearing God’s voice all the time. How? Proverbs 4:20 tells us. It says, “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.” When God says, “Attend to my words,” He’s telling us to give His WORD top authority: to give it our primary attention, make it our priority, believe it above all else and obey it no matter what. Gloria and I made a quality, once-and-for-all decision to do this back in 1967. We were attending one of Brother Kenneth E. Hagin’s meetings at the time. He asked everyone to stand who wanted to make a commitment to put God’s WORD first place and make it the final authority in their lives. Gloria and I jumped up with such force we almost knocked our chairs over. We’ve kept that commitment now for 46 years. We don’t ever attempt to change The WORD to fit our lifestyle, or to twist it to fit what our flesh wants to do. We change our lifestyle to fit The WORD. That’s one reason we hear God’s voice in our spirits as clearly as we do. We haven’t plugged up our spiritual ears with a bunch of disobedience and excuses. This is vital to remember: You’ll never hear the voice of God accurately and consistently until you have made an irrevocable commitment to do whatever He tells you to do, whether it looks like it’s going to benefit you or not. “But Brother Copeland, what if He tells me to do something that’s too hard for me?” No problem. With God all things are possible...and you are with God! I first got a revelation of what that actually means by watching my dad when I was a little boy. He was a world-class salesman and he sometimes let me go with him on business trips. Again and again, I’d see him walk up to someone, shake his hand and say with confidence, “I’m A.W. Copeland. I’m with Draughons Business College.” Eventually, he went into the insurance business, and then he came to work with us here at the ministry, but his approach didn’t change. He continued to say, “I’m A.W. Copeland. I’m with National Old Line Insurance Company.” Or, “I’m with Kenneth Copeland Ministries.” Over the years, I realized what he was doing. He was not only identifying himself, he was identifying with the company that had authorized him. The company was bigger than he was. It backed him and made it possible for him to accomplish things he couldn’t on his own. The same is true for you. You’re with God so you’re authorized and empowered by Him to do whatever He commands. Because all things are possible with Him, all things become possible for you too! --------continued on p. 8------ Become a Fruit Inspector by Gloria Copeland “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ…. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3:1, 3) If you want to accurately assess how spiritual you really are, be a fruit inspector. Examine your life and see how much of the fruit of love is there. In your daily interactions at home and at work, are you gentle and kind? Are you thoughtful and courteous? Are you touchy and quick to take offense, or are you patient and forgiving when others treat you wrongly? Those things are the measure of true spirituality. Most Christians don’t seem to know that. They think if a person has visions and dreams, prophesies and has mountain-moving faith, that person must be a real man or woman of God. But that’s not the case. The Bible tells us you can have every kind of spiritual gift and power there is, but if you aren’t a loving person, you don’t amount to anything. Even though you may be born again, you’re still fleshly, carnal and immature. In other words, you may be part of God’s family but you’re just a baby and you don’t know Him very well. First John 4:7-8 confirms that. It says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” ("New American Standard"). Someone might say, “Well, I’m a loving person. I’m really good to my friends and family so I guess I’m spiritually mature.” But the fact is, that doesn’t mean too much. Jesus said even the heathen love those who love them. What’s distinctive about the God-kind of love is that it loves the unlovely. God is kind and good to those who don’t deserve it. He’s patient with those who mess up again and again. It doesn’t matter how ornery a person has been, if they’ll turn to God, He’ll take them in. He’ll let them receive forgiveness and salvation in Jesus’ Name. Instead of reminding them of their past, He’ll wipe it away and BLESS them! The more you fellowship with God and the better you get to know Him, the more you’ll think and act that way. As you spend time in union and communion with Him, you’ll grow up to be more like Him. You’ll be able to inspect your life and find it laden with the fruit of love. Then—and only then—-will you know you’ve outgrown carnality and become a truly spiritual man. V NOV '13 : BVOV : 7

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