BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

A praying friend of mine once told me this is why we have to pray and intercede for the spiritual outpouring God has for us in this day. It’s not because we have to talk God into giving it to us. It’s because the Body of Christ must be prepared to receive it. We must come to the place where, more than anything else, we desire to let the Holy Spirit move. As the Lord explained it to my friend, 'If I’m moving during a service and people get restless, if they start thinking about getting to the cafeteria before it gets too crowded, or getting home to watch the evening news, it grieves My Holy Spirit. It puts limits on Him and He’s not free to do all that He wants to do.' You might wonder, “What exactly does the Holy Spirit want to do in this hour?” He wants to pour out God’s power and manifested presence in the greatest measure this earth has ever seen. He wants to work signs and wonders and miracles in unprecedented numbers. He wants to come upon all flesh and bring into God’s kingdom the end-time harvest of souls that’s been prophesied about for years. I’m totally convinced the revival the Lord has planned for us in these days is going to be talked about for all eternity. In the ages to come it’s going to be remembered as The Big One! It’s going to be more astounding than the parting of the Red Sea and even more magnificent than the events recorded in the book of Acts. God has saved His best for last—and we have the opportunity to be in on it! To take full advantage of this opportunity, however, we have to learn to keep our attention on the things of God and stir up our hearts so that we desire Him more than we desire the things of the world. We have to open the door for the Holy Spirit to have full liberty among us by treating Him with the utmost reverence. In our generation, we sometimes forget the importance of reverence. We think of God only in very familiar terms as our heavenly Father. We major on the facts that we are His children and He loves us very dearly. Yet, while those are thrilling and absolutely true, we need to remember that our heavenly Father is also the Lord God Almighty. He’s the Great I Am, and we should come before Him with honor and great, reverential respect. Walking in the Fear of the Lord Often in the Bible this kind of reverential respect is referred to as “the fear of the Lord.” That’s actually a wonderful phrase! When properly understood, it doesn’t carry a negative connotation. It doesn’t mean you should be frightened of God. It simply means you should esteem Him so highly that you always put Him first place and yield to Him in all things. When you combine the fear of the Lord with faith in His Word, the Holy Spirit can work powerfully in your life. He can move on you, for you, and through you in marvelous and supernatural ways. The book of Proverbs even connects the fear of the Lord with divine healing. Proverbs 3:5-8 says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” Although those verses apply to each of us personally, they can also apply to the Body of Christ as a whole. In meetings and church services when we come together as a group, we become the “habitation of God” (Ephesians 2:22). We provide a place where He can dwell and work not only within us, but among us. During our Believers’ Conventions, for example, when people come together for Healing School, in every single service the Holy Spirit moves and people get healed. Afterward they often testify that they’d been struggling with sickness for years. For some reason, just at home on their own, they couldn’t get a breakthrough. But during the meeting, the Word they heard preached and the collective faith of their fellow believers opened the door for the Holy Spirit to go to work on them and they were able to receive their miracle! I’m convinced we’d see even more of those miracles if the Holy Spirit had His full way. But sometimes He doesn’t. Sometimes He’s hindered because, while He’s moving, especially if the service goes a little long, people in the congregation let their flesh distract them and they get to thinking about going to lunch or whatever. A few of them will even leave their seat, go out to the convention center snack bar, and come back carrying a hot dog and a soda, as if they’re at a ballgame. ***** article continues on next page ***** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Points to Get You There You can help open the door for the outpouring of the Spirit. Here are some points to get you there: 1) The Holy Spirit isn’t pushy; He waits for you to invite Him in and give place to Him. Luke 11:13 2) God wants to pour out the power of the Holy Spirit in these last days in the greatest measure this earth has ever seen. Acts 2:17, 19 3) Keep the door open for the Holy Spirit to move by cultivating great reverence for the Lord. Acts 9:31 4) Train your flesh to submit to the Spirit by spending time in fellowship with God and obeying Him every day. Galatians 5:16 5) Increase the level of your spiritual desire by giving God and His Word more of your attention. Colossians 3:2 BVOV : 29

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