BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Stretch Your Faith for the Impossible by Jesse Duplantis Sometimes I feel like a woman with stretch marks. People tend to freak out when I say that, so let me explain. Cathy and I often go to Hawaii. She loves it there. Not me! I get bored easily. Recently, after two days on the islands, I asked, “Cathy, are you ready to go?” “Jesse, have you lost your mind? You’ve got to learn to relax,” she said, pointing out toward the water. “Look at the ocean.” “I’ve seen it,” I said. “It’s water. I don’t get excited about water. I brush my teeth with water every day.” So, she sent me on a walk to try and relax. As I strolled, I began enjoying it. Soon, I was on the beach where I saw a lady with two or three kids stand up. “Lord, look at the stretch marks on that mama!” I mean, she was stretched. So I approached her and said, “You have stretch marks.” Does that surprise you? It surprised her, too. She was speechless. “My God, girl!” I said, “You’re a life creator! You’ve created life!” I pointed to the kids. “And this must be the life you created.” I continued, “Thank you for creating life. You did what God did. He created life. You did it because you wanted to be a blessing. You wanted to be a mama. You wanted children and now you bear the marks of a great mother.” Her husband said, “I’ve been trying to tell her that for years.” Then I said, “You know, I’m a life creator, too. About 4500 people a week get born again through my ministry. I’m bearing kids and I bear the marks of a Christian.” I added, “In fact, I’m stretched out more than you, sweetheart!” That woman stood up tall, losing any sense of shame, and said, “I’m taking a walk around the beach—all by myself.” She wasn’t offended. She was excited to show off her stretch marks. She realized they were a display of her doing what God had led her to do—create life. People ought to see the life of Jesus Christ in you, everywhere you go. They should see the marks of your faith stretching. I don’t care if you’re in a restaurant, or getting your car fixed, something inside of you should be pushing you to display life, life, life—life abundantly (John 10:10)! Failure Is No Longer an Option Early last year, the Lord began to deal with me about stretching my faith in everything; spiritually, physically, financially—you name it. Since then, Isaiah 65:24 has become very big in my life. It says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” That’s how God works. He says He’ll answer before you ask. It will stretch you to believe that, but the Lord’s asking us, 'Would you like to come up to where I am?' This is the place where failure is not an option. Failure should never be an option for believers. If the Word of God is true, and we know it is, then how come we fail so much? It’s because we need to hear the Word of God again and again and again until it gets inside of us. Once that happens, Satan has a problem. When the Word is inside you, he can’t strip it from you. If it’s just in your soul—your mind, will and emotions—he can take a shot at it. But once the Word is in your spirit, you’re no longer conformed to the world, but transformed (Romans 12:2), and it’s amazing what God will do. * * * * * article continues on p. 22 * * * * * BVOV : 21

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