BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Remember the story of Abraham? God called him the “father of many nations” when he and his barren wife were old and childless. Then He went even further and instructed Abraham to do the same. Sure enough, Abraham obeyed, and went around calling himself the father of many nations. Even though, in the natural, it still looked like he and his wife couldn’t possibly have children, he continued to say what God said about the situation: “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, [He] was able also to perform” (verses 19-21). It’s no wonder Abraham is referred to in verse 11 as “the father of all them that believe.” He’s our faith example! We receive the fulfillment of God’s promises to us by doing the same thing that he did. We stop focusing on the contrary circumstances and keep our eyes on the Word of God. We look at what He says instead of what our symptoms or our bank balance is saying, and we talk accordingly. As the Apostle Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 4:13: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak.” Put On the Coat! Speaking God’s Word about our situation—in addition to forgiving those who’ve sinned against us (Mark 11:25) and walking in love (Galatians 5:6)—enables us to stick with the faith process. It keeps God’s power working in our lives until the fullness of what He promised comes to pass. Words of doubt and unbelief, on the other hand, do just the opposite. They interrupt the faith process. They disconnect us from the power Source, and cause our faith to stall. This is the reason it’s so difficult to minister healing to someone when they insist on continuing to talk about the sickness in their body. They can’t receive what the Word says belongs to them, because they’re pushing it away from them with their words. As long as they keep declaring over themselves, “sickness and disease,” there’s really no way to get them healed supernaturally. It’s like trying to put a coat on a person who won’t cooperate. Even though they’re cold, and you have a jacket for them, you can’t get it on them because every time you put it around their shoulders they shrug it off. They won’t take hold of it and put their arms through it, so no matter what you do, their condition won’t change. That’s how it is for all of us when it comes to receiving from God. He told us we could have whatever we say. So, He needs to have our words to turn things around for us. If He can’t get us to speak words of faith, He doesn’t have anything to work with to change our situation. I remember a woman I once knew who’d been sick for years and years. She had something wrong with her immune system, and she talked about it at every opportunity. Otherwise, she tended to be a very quiet person. But when she began talking about all the things that were wrong with her, she talked on and on. “My immune system doesn’t work,” she’d say. “I had an operation, and something went wrong. My immune system got destroyed and now, no matter what the doctors do, I just keep getting worse and worse.” This dear lady was a believer, and she loved the Lord. So, in talking to me about her ordeal, she also emphasized how He had been there for her. “God obviously has some things He wants to teach me through this,” she said, “and He’s been teaching me faithfully now for nine years.” “Nine years!” I said. “You’ve been sick for nine years? How long is it going to take you to learn what you need to know?” Obviously, I asked her that to shake up her thinking. Afterward, I showed her in the Word that God wasn’t behind the sickness she’d suffered. I showed her in the Scriptures that sickness is part of the curse from which we, as believers, have been redeemed; that God has provided healing through Jesus and she could simply believe and receive it. * * * * * article continues on p. 30 * * * * * ********** ADVERTISEMENT ********** FORT WORTH, TEXAS / MAY 4 & 5 2018 Radiant Women’s Conference The True You Terri Copeland Pearsons Taffi Dollar // Nicole Crank Registration required kcm.org/radiant ( $75-$155 fee ) Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott Hotel & Golf Club at Champions Circle 3300 Championship Parkway Fort Worth, TX 76177 ********************************************** BVOV : 29

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