BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

How Can You Create With Words? So how and when can a believer “create with words” as God does? This happens virtually every time you use God’s Word to deal with sickness, financial problems, depression or opposition in the workplace or society. It happens every time you obey God’s direction to expand a church outreach effort or step into a new area of ministry by faith. You must do what God the Father and God the Son did: Speak the Word. Whether God is saying, “Light be!” into the darkness at the dawn of Creation or speaking a promise of countless descendants over the “nearly dead” bodies of childless Abraham and Sarah, we understand from His Word that He “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). You do the same thing every time you speak God’s Word of healing and deliverance over a physical body wracked with pain or debilitated by disease. When you call for lost souls to be brought in from the north, south, east and west, and when you seek God’s face for the salvation of your loved ones and those you meet and work with every day, you are literally calling those things which be not as though they were! You are creating a “present reality” with an eternal word in the face of negative, temporary circumstances. Moving Mountains of Serious, Negative Circumstance If God calls you into the pastoral ministry or into missions and it means you will have to change careers or even leave your country and home language, you are faced with some serious mountains of temporary, negative circumstances. You need a miraculous provision of favor, finances, wisdom and abilities that you just don’t have! It is time to begin calling those things which be not as though they were! If you are a young person who knows that God has not called you into a life of celibacy for His purposes, begin to pray for your spouse now—you may not know your future mate’s name, home address or how they look, but God does. There is no better time to start calling those things which be not as though they were than before you meet your future spouse. Get involved in their well-being today. If you are married, but Satan has managed to drive a wedge of division and strife into your relationship with your spouse, you don’t have to settle for it. Take authority over the evil spirit that has been dispatched to dissolve your holy union. Speak the Word of God over your spouse and over your home. Don’t pray the problem and don’t proclaim your emotions over the situation. Pray the Word! No matter how negative your temporary circumstances may be today, begin by calling those things which be not as though they were! Don’t start with worry or with the busy plans of man. Lay the firm foundation of faith in God’s Word—pay no attention to the temporary, negative circumstances that seek to deter you from God’s will. Everything God births in the souls of men begins and ends in faith, and is built upon the firm foundation of His unchanging, unchangeable Word. The Word of God simply cannot be overvalued in the Christian life. It reveals God’s plan for man, His path for you, and the authority we have in this life and will have in the life to come. This is just the first glimpse of what it means to be “made in the image and likeness of God.” As I’ve said earlier, “The rest is up to you.” V Keith A. Butler is founder of Word of Faith International Christian Center in Southfield, Mich.; and serves as senior pastor of Faith4Life churches in Round Rock and Dallas, Texas; and in Jackson, Miss. For more information, go to wordoffaith-icc.org. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TRIBUTE FROM KEITH BUTLER Dear Kenneth & Gloria: Congratulations on 50 Years in Ministry! Pastor Deborah and I are products of all that has come out of your work as a result of the Word of God. We call you the Revelation King because you draw so much revelation from the Word of God. We just want to put our two cents in with everybody else, and say just how blessed we are to know you. You are such a blessing to us both. We pray and thank God for you daily and are grateful to God and grateful to you for your faithfulness. Once again, congratulations! Keith & Deborah FOR MORE ABOUT KEITH BUTLER AND TO SEE A VIDEO TRIBUTE TO THE COPELANDS, GO TO: KCM.ORG/KEITHBUTLER BVOV : 22

• Cover