BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Notice again that last word. It’s goods, not bads. Have you ever heard of a Dry Bads Store or a supermarket that stocked bads instead of goods? No you haven’t, because the material things on this earth that make life easier or more pleasant aren’t bad, they’re good. Even the world is smart enough to know that—and so is God. That’s why He gives us “richly all things,” not just to use but “to enjoy”! I’ll never forget how The LORD drove this point home to me. I was fellowshiping with Him one day and He said, “Kenneth, do I give you things to meet your needs?” “Yes, LORD,” I answered, quoting Philippians 4:19, “You supply all of our needs according to Your riches in glory.” I thought for sure that was right, but He corrected me. “No, I don’t give you things to supply your needs,” He said. “I give you things to enjoy and they supply your needs.” Although that might sound like a small adjustment, it brought me one step closer to the way God thinks; and I’ve learned this from experience: The more we think and talk like He does, the more we get His results. Missing Out by Getting Sloppy It isn’t a challenge to our faith to receive things from God when we see them as part of our covenant. It isn’t hard to believe for material prosperity when we see that God actually delights in giving us good things to enjoy. But much of the Body of Christ doesn’t yet see things that way. On the contrary! Many believers still think God frowns on material prosperity. They still think they should avoid it because of scriptures like these: • “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10) • “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16) All too often, people misread those passages and come away with the impression that money and the things in this world are evil. But that’s not what those verses say. They don’t tell us money is evil; they tell us that the love of it is evil. They don’t say we shouldn’t have things; they say we shouldn’t love them. “Yeah,” someone might say, “but how do we really know what we love?” That’s a good question…and we’re sometimes unclear about the answer to it because we’ve been so sloppy with how we use the word love. One minute we might say, “I love God!” Then a few minutes later, without even realizing it, we might see a good-looking new automobile and say, “Wow! I love that car!” Beware of that kind of talk. By using the word love too loosely you can demean it to the point where it has very little honor. You get to the place where your thinking is muddled because you put God, cars and pizza all together in the same category, and talk as if you love them all the same. That kind of confusion weakens your faith. So if you’ve fallen prey to it, go back into training. Watch your words and if you catch yourself saying you love your new car, correct yourself. Say, “No, I don’t love my new car—but I do enjoy it!” As you bring your mouth into line and begin to say what you really mean, your faith will grow stronger. You’ll find it easier to believe God’s WORD. You’ll also find it easier to believe your own words—and in exercising your dominion on earth that’s vitally important. Why? Because this planet is designed to respond to the faith of people who have faith not only in what God says, but in what they say. In Mark 11, Jesus made this crystal clear. He said: “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” (verses 22-25). That’s the way you lay hold of your inheritance! You have faith in God and talk like Jesus’ joint heir! Are you ready to do it? Then go ahead, declare it boldly. Say, “I’m a believer, I’m not a doubter. I am a faith person. I walk and live by faith. I believe in my heart and say with my mouth that as a believer I am rich! God has already released into the earth all the things I could possibly need or want and they’re included in my inheritance. They have my name on them and I’m calling them into my presence now: Come, prosperity! Come, healing! Come, BLESSING! Come, promotion! Come, money! “Father, I believe I receive. I thank You for it, and I forgive anyone who has wronged me. I’m not a condemner, I’m a forgiver and a lover. I am BLESSED! I thank You and praise You, for it, LORD. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!” V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * + Add your photo to our digital 50th Anniversary Yearbook. Upload your photo to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, and use the hashtag #KCMPARTNER. kcm.org/50yearbook BVOV : 9

• Cover