BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (verse 2). The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, yet despite the presence of His mighty power, nothing was happening. The situation didn’t change at all until God said. Read through Genesis 1 and you’ll see it’s the same thing over and over: “God said, Let there be a firmament…and it was so” (verses 6-7). “God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together…and it was so” (verse 9). “God said, Let the earth bring forth…” (verse 11). “God said, Let there be lights in the firmament…” (verse 14). “God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly...” (verse 20). That’s a lot of repetition. But it’s there for a reason. It’s there not only to reveal the who and the how behind Creation, but to make the point that this is a word-created, word-dominated universe. It’s there so we can see very clearly that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). Sometimes I hear people say God made this world out of nothing. But that’s not true. He made it out of something that can’t be seen. He made it with faith-filled words—and He’s sustaining it by that same creative force. He is “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). God’s WORD is what’s holding the whole universe together! His WORD is and always has been the dominating force on this earth. Think about how the words of God dominated events surrounding the birth of Jesus, for instance. Think about how the prophet Micah said, centuries before it happened, that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Those words dominated nations and kings for 750 years! They opened the door for the Holy Spirit to move on Caesar so that, at just the right time, he decided it was a good idea to send everyone in Israel home to pay their taxes. As a result, Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. What happened when they got there? Mary, a virgin, gave birth to Jesus—which in the natural was totally impossible. But it happened anyway because of the dominating power of God’s WORD. You know the story: Nine months before the trip to Bethlehem, the angel Gabriel had visited Mary and said, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and…name him Jesus,” (Luke 1:31, "New Living Translation"). She asked, “How shall this be?” and Gabriel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and...overshadow you” (verse 35, "NLT"). Mary believed it, and said, “Be it unto me according to your word,” and The WORD of the Living God went into her. It became the Seed, and the Holy Spirit hovered over her and caused The WORD to become flesh. That was a holy moment! It was an amazing miracle—and the miracle didn’t stop there. It’s still going on. All of us who have been born again have experienced it! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * article continues on next page * * * Points to Get You There: 1) Words are behind everything that happens on earth; they’re what created it. Genesis 1:2-3 2) God’s WORD is still what’s holding this whole universe together. Hebrews 1:2-3 3) You, as a believer, are a living demonstration of the dominating power of God’s WORD. 1 Peter 1:23 4) The words of faith you speak determine what you have in your life. Mark 11:23 5) The same Holy Spirit who slung the universe into existence when God spoke at Creation, will move powerfully in your life when you speak words of faith. Proverbs 18:21 BVOV : 5

• Cover