BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

We didn’t know much at all about walking with Him back then. What we did know, however, was that we had little children, no money and no idea how we’d survive financially if Ken was in school. God didn’t show us the whole picture, either. He rarely does. He hardly ever says, “Now, if you’ll do this, I’ll do this, and you’ll have this wonderful result.” No, most of the time He just gives you a leading to do something and doesn’t explain all the good things that will happen if you take that step. That’s why it’s called “walking by faith.” If God had appeared to us in advance and said, “You go to Tulsa, Oral Roberts will hire Ken to be his pilot and personally train him in ministry, then you’ll connect with Kenneth E. Hagin and you’ll be more blessed in every area of your life than you ever dreamed you could be,” we would have signed on quicker. But He didn’t tell us those things. He expected us to know Him well enough, from reading His written Word, to simply trust Him. He expected us to do whatever He led us to do simply because the Bible says that wherever He leads, that’s where THE BLESSINGS are. Although it took us a while, we eventually did it. We loaded our junky, secondhand furniture into a little trailer, put the kids in the car and drove to Oklahoma. We barely had enough money to pay for the gas to get there! When we rolled into Tulsa, the obstacles we were facing looked insurmountable. We had no clue how we could overcome them. We rented a rundown house (it cost $115 a month, if I remember right) that had brown, peeling paint on the walls. It was such a dump, I couldn’t bring myself to unpack for two weeks. That house was as far as you can imagine from being my dream home, yet God met us there at every turn. He started teaching us how to live by faith in His Word, and what we learned back then we’re still living on today. I’d even go so far as to say that we wouldn’t be where we are now, if we hadn’t made that move all those years ago. We might be in ministry, but we wouldn’t be in the perfect will of God. We would have missed out on seeing some of our spiritual dreams fulfilled. Why? Because for us to stay with the faith program where those dreams were concerned, we had to take the next step, which was going to Tulsa. Over the years, we’ve done the same kind of thing in different situations again and again. We’ve kept repeating the same pattern because this is the way the faith program works. It’s how God-given dreams become a reality, not just for Ken and me, but for you. So stay with the program! No matter how long you have to wait for your dreams to come to pass, don’t quit on them. Don’t believe for them for a few months or a few years and then say, “I give up. Nothing is happening.” Hold on to your great expectations. Keep your heart set on pleasing God above all else. Faithfully spend time in His Word, building your faith and finding out what He wants you to do in every area of life. Then, when you get it in your heart to do something you know is right—you know it’s God but in the natural you can’t see any way it’s going to work—instead of trying to figure it all out, just take the next step. Do whatever the Lord is telling you to do because that’s where THE BLESSING is. That’s where your provision is. That’s the place where, one of these days, you will find yourself standing in your dreams. V ************************************ Points to Get You There: Realize Your Dreams God wants you to have great expectations. He wants you to dream big, Word-based, Holy Spirit-inspired dreams, and He wants to make those dreams come true. For Him to do so, however, you must stay with the faith program and be patient. You must keep believing and refuse to quit on your dreams, no matter how long they take to come to pass. Here are a few points to help you: 1) Make it your heart’s desire first and foremost to please God. 1 Thessalonians 4:1: “Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.” (New Living Translation) 2) Spend daily time in the Word to strengthen your faith. Romans 10:17: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” 3) Act on that Word in every area of your life. Deuteronomy 30:14: “The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” 4) When the Holy Spirit shows you the next step, take it. Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” 5) Refuse to be discouraged. Hebrews 6:12: “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (New King James Version) JUNE '14 : 31

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