BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

The Truth Will Make You Free by Gloria Copeland Do you ever long to be absolutely free of selfishness? Do you yearn to throw off every fleshly bondage and hindrance so you can walk fully in love? As amazing as it seems, we can do it! Jesus told us how: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32, "New American Standard Bible"). That’s why, again and again, we must meditate on the truths in the Word that tell us we’ve been made partakers of God’s divine and loving nature. We must continually grow in our revelation of the fact that God’s love has been shed abroad in our hearts. The more fully and deeply we come to know that truth, the freer we will be! It simply doesn’t work for us to try to free ourselves out of sheer, human self-discipline from our unloving habits and behaviors. It doesn’t work when, by the force of our own efforts, we try to make ourselves “act nice.” When we do that, we inevitably fail, and get frustrated and discouraged with ourselves. As a result, we end up more irritable and short-tempered than we were before! The only way we can truly succeed at walking in love is by drawing on the grace of God within us. The only way we can truly love like Jesus loves is by letting His nature, which dwells within our reborn human spirits, flow out through us. The more we know about His nature, the more we can do that. As 2 Peter 1:2 says, God’s grace is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! That’s true in every area of the Christian life. We can’t receive something from God that we don’t know about. We have to hear the truth about it. Then, when we hear it, faith comes. As we believe and begin to act on that truth, we see the power of it go to work in our lives. So dig into the Word and find out more about the loving nature of God that abides in you. Meditate on it. Confess it and say, “God’s love lives in me!” Then, begin to act by faith, and the bondages of the flesh will be broken. You will know the truth, and it will make you free! V “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:2-4 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ****** article continues below ****** It’s like the difference between having a ticket to ride on an airliner and being a pilot. The person with a ticket has access to the airplane, but his use of it is extremely limited. All he can do is sit in the back section of the plane and depend on someone else to take him where he wants to go. A pilot, on the other hand, has a working knowledge of the process. If he has access to his own plane, he can set his own schedule instead of being tied to the airlines. He can sit in the front of the airplane and fly it instead of having to just ride along in the back. When it comes to living by faith, God planned for all of His children to be spiritual pilots! He never intended for us to depend on someone else to do our believing for us. Although, when we’re spiritual babies, we may have to ride along for a while on the prayers of more mature believers, God’s plan is for each one of us to grow up and develop in our knowledge of how faith functions. That’s why Jesus said what He did in Mark 11:22-25: "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." In those few short verses, Jesus gave us the classic teaching on how to use our faith. It’s simple, yet it’s extremely powerful. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been walking with The LORD for decades, it will help you pilot your faith effectively. It will get you off the ground and keep you on track until you receive the manifestation of whatever you’re believing for. Walking Through the Process One of the most practical ways I know to illustrate how to apply this classic teaching is by example; by taking a sample situation and mentally walking through it according to the process Jesus described. When I was preaching recently in Florida, for instance, I drew a situation from the life of a couple who were attending the meetings. For years they had wanted to have a baby, but had been unable to conceive. Imagine, for a moment, you’re facing that problem. (You may not be interested at all in having a baby at this point in your life, but just go with me here, OK?) Imagine that you and your spouse want to have a child and you’ve been told by the doctors that, due to some kind of physical problem, you’re not going to be able to have one. You know what the Bible says about believers having children. It promises in Deuteronomy 7:14, “Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you.” In that situation, how do you receive the fulfillment of God’s promise? The first thing you do is have faith in God! You put your confidence in Him and say out loud, “I have God’s own faith! I believe in Him and I believe what He said. His WORD is my top priority and final authority.” Then you speak to the mountain and pray something like this: “Heavenly Father, in the Name of The LORD Jesus Christ, I say to this mountain of infertility, ‘Be thou removed and be cast into the sea!’ I do not doubt in my heart but I believe those words will come to pass. The desire of my heart is for a child to be born into our family, so right now, on this date at this time, I release my faith and I believe I receive a baby. 6 : BVOV

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