BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“Yes, I know how we’re going to pay for this television ministry. God just told me. I’m going to give my airplane away.” At the time, an airplane cost at least $30,000. I’d never heard of anyone giving away $30,000 before. “And you know what else I’m going to do?” Brother Copeland continued. “I’m going to get it in tiptop shape before I do.” “How much will that cost?” I asked. “About $8,000.” “You’re going to add another $8,000 to what is already worth $30,000 and then give it away?” I was shocked. At the time, I was believing God for $38. I couldn’t imagine sowing $38 thousand! But Brother Copeland followed the voice of the Holy Spirit and gave the plane away. About 11 days later, God brought a bigger airplane into the ministry—completely paid for—as well as the cash to pay for the television ministry. I was so impressed that I started thinking, What can I give away? But the truth is, I faced two problems. First, the Holy Spirit hadn’t led me to do what Brother Copeland did. Second, my faith wasn’t at a level to believe for an airplane. If I had tried to follow Brother Copeland’s example, I would have failed. I needed to increase my faith first. Understand Your Measure The Bible is clear: Every Christian in the Body of Christ has been given the same amount of faith. Romans 12:3 puts it this way, “…according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” In the Greek, the word measure is the word metron, which means “a determined extent.” Let me illustrate that definition. Imagine that I have a large pie that I want to share with every person reading this article. So no one misses out, I would give each person a “measure” of the pie. No one person would receive the whole thing. Instead, I would count how many people we needed pie for, then I would calculate how much of the pie each person would receive so that the portions would be equal. It’s the same with faith. God gives every believer the same measure of faith. The question then becomes, What are you going to do with your measure? Strength Fluctuates You, right now, have the same measure of faith given to me, and Brother Copeland, and every other believer. But the strength of your measure of faith can fluctuate. Now, of course, God wants every Christian’s faith to grow, but that growth depends on you. If you want your faith to increase in strength, then you must follow Romans 10:17, which says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You must feed your faith every day with the Word. People often try to live on the strength of the faith that got them through the past month, but your faith needs to be fed daily. You need to look at your faith like a bank account and your heart as a treasury. When you go to the Word, faith cometh, making deposits into your heart. Every time you use your faith you’re making a withdrawal. If you’re not careful, you can get to the point that you are making so many withdrawals that you are facing a deficit. You’ve got more demands on your faith than you’ve got Word in your heart. Instead, you need to increase the strength of your faith by depositing the Word into your heart daily. If you need to believe God for your health, deposit the Word. If you need to believe God for your finances, deposit the Word. If you need to believe God for your marriage, deposit the Word. Never let a deficit exist in your faith bank account. Increasing Your Faith In 2 Corinthians 10:15 the Apostle Paul said, “Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.” While Romans 12 said, “God hath dealt to every man THE measure of faith,” this scripture, which was written to the Christians at Corinth, says, “When your faith is increased....” Clearly, the measure that God dealt to you can be developed and strengthened. If you have THE measure of faith residing in you (and you do)…and if you discover that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word” (which you have)…and if you apply that law (which you can)—then while you’re meditating on God’s Word, God is imparting the faith in that Word into your heart. You already had a measure of faith, but now it’s growing stronger. *****article continues on next page***** BVOV : 23

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