BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

I remember flying back to Fort Worth after ministering at a large meeting in Tulsa, Okla. When I took the middle seat in my assigned row, a woman in her 60s was already in the seat by the window. We smiled and said hello to each other, and then I sat quietly while the rest of the passengers boarded, including a group of people who had attended the meeting where I had just preached. When they saw me, they greeted me with, “Hello, Brother Jerry!” and “How are you, Brother Jerry?” and “We sure enjoyed hearing you preach this week.” After I had exchanged a few pleasantries with the group, and they had taken their seats, the woman beside me turned and said, “I assume you must be a minister.” “Yes, madam, I am,” I told her. “Well, I’m glad to know that,” she said, “because I need prayer, and I need it right now.” I listened as she told me about something she was going through. When she finished, I talked to her about the favor of God and explained the impact it could have on her life. Then I prayed for her. Afterward, she commented about how wonderful it must be to be loved and respected by so many people. I said, “Well, madam, all I can tell you is that it’s the favor of God that I talked to you about; and it is an honor to have His favor.” I believe that woman went home with a brand new revelation of God’s favor. Sometimes when Carolyn and I get to thinking about the favor of God, we’re amazed. We’re not any different from anybody else, but God has blessed the work of our hands in amazing ways. He has definitely fulfilled His promises in our lives! In return, we have spent the past 40-plus years striving to fulfill a promise we made to God when we first started in ministry. We promised Him that no matter how far this ministry went, no matter how big it got, and no matter how well known we might become, we would remain the same people we were then. We determined never to become high-minded or to forget those who helped us get where we were going. Instead, we would always show the same favor to others that God had shown to us. That promise is the reason I still go to preach in small churches that may have no more than 50 people in them. Recently, I went to just such a church. The pastors, a married couple, were up in age and the church was in a bind financially, yet they did everything they could to take care of me while I was there. Before leaving home, I had decided that I would take care of my own expenses—and whatever the offering was, large or small, I would give it back to that precious couple and plant it into their lives as a seed. It turned out that the offering they received the night I spoke was the biggest they had ever had in that small congregation. The pastor was delighted as he handed me a check just prior to my departure. I looked at him and asked, “Now, Pastor, is this check all mine?” “Oh, yes, Brother Jerry,” he said, “it’s all yours.” “You mean it’s mine with no strings attached, and I can do with it whatever I want?” “That’s right, Brother Jerry.” I took a pen, endorsed the check, and then handed it back to the pastor and said, “Now this check goes to you and your wife; it’s yours.” When he asked me why I was giving them the check, I said, ‘‘Just call it favor. It’s the favor of God.” ****article continues on page 27 *********ADVERTISEMENT*****Kingdom Health/Wealth/Harvest Conference : Feb. 19-21 Waco Convention Center 100 Washington Ave. Waco, TX 76701 1-254-486-2999 Speaker Schedule: Wed: 7 p.m. Jerry Savelle Thu: 10 a.m. Marty Copeland/Dr. David Robinson Thu: 7 p.m. Ken Harbaum Fri: 10 a.m. Marty Copeland/Dr. David RobinsonFri: 7 p.m. Jeremy LaBorde Praise and Worship with Mandy Senor Special Youth Service with Selo Lozano, Wed. 7 p.m. Free registration For more information, go to JeremyLaBorde.com. (Schedule is subject to change.) ******************************** 26 : BVOV : FEB '14

• Cover