Greetings again my Brethren.
As we behold His glory more and more we are changed into whatsoever we behold not
what we want to be changed into or even what we believe we will be changed
into. As we saw last month it is
critical we learn to hear God’s voice for as we hear what the Spirit is saying
we receive faith and all that is needed to accomplish God’s will for our life. In
the very words God speaks to us faith is contained therein. Now this learning process,
in our lives, to hear God’s voice is at the heart of our relationship with Him.
To learn to hear His voice we must be
near Him and to be near Him will require us to become like Him. No man can
stand in the presence of God, even in the spiritual realm. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who
shall stand in his holy place? 4He that hath clean hands, and a pure
heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully.” (Psalms 24:3-4) Even in our
times of waiting before Him and prayer we must “stand” (a place of outward inactive) with “clean hands” and “a pure heart.” For
us to become like Him will require us to fall into the ground and die to our
selfish ways and desires. It will
require us to endure God’s loving dealings and judgments in our lives. This is the beginning place of faith in our
lives not the believing and receiving.
It is the being conformed into the image and nature of God’s Son, Jesus
Christ.
Now we like to project faith into a
hyper-spiritual realm missing out on the fundamental application God has for
us. In reality my friend it is the
mystery of not knowing how faith operates is what keeps real faith in a
simplistic delivery and practical application in our lives. In John we read how Jesus operated in faith. “Jesus saith unto her, Said I
not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of
God?” (John 11:40) Here Jesus is trying to enlarge Martha’s
faith and the faith of the crowd that stood before the tomb of Lazarus. Contained in this verse is the correct order
of the operation of faith to see the supernatural power of God. “Said I
not unto thee” (HEARING) We have
discussed this point in great detail.
God MUST speak His intention and desire to us and we MUST hear it. Please know God is always speaking, we are
the problem with the hearing. We must be
in the right place to hear from God.
Next, “If thou wouldest believe”
(BELIEVING) After we hear (an inward
understanding) we must believe. This is
where believing comes into the arrangement God has set-up. How can we believe if there is nothing to
believe for? Sadly many Believers
believe for things that God has not
promised them. How can faith
operate if there is nothing to focus on and attach the faith God has given us
to? Friend, believing is nothing more then simply not doubting God’s words to
you. “Jesus answered and said unto them,
Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do
this which is done to the fig
tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
(Matthew 21:21) It is God’s part to speak and give us the
faith needed to do whatsoever He wants us to do, but it is our part to “doubt not.” God has already established a set-up
arrangement for us to move in the supernatural, “ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into
the sea; it shall be done.” We often do not operate in this set-up because
of our doubt. Doubt is more destructive
in our lives then sin. Sin can be removed by the precious blood of Jesus
Christ, but “doubting not” is our
responsibility not God’s. It was
unbelief and doubt (Hebrew 3:12) that kept the Children of Israel out of the
Promised Land and today it is unbelief and doubt that is keeping us from moving in God’s
supernatural arrangement of faith. The
opposite of faith is fear. When we doubt God we then move into a place of fear;
fear of not getting our way, fear our self-life will be destroyed, fear we will
have to do things we do not want to do. We are fearful God cannot really take
care of us the way He promised. How can
we ever be able to have God’s best for our lives and families if we are over in
unbelief, doubting, and fear? Truly believing, with all of your might, what God
spoke to you is the key to receiving. “Thou
shouldest see the glory of God” (RECEIVING) And lastly, what shall we
receive? All of God’s precious promises?
The desires of our heart? On no my friend, the only thing we will
receive is what God spoke to us nothing more nothing less. Many Christians believe
all they have to do is ask God for something and He is duty bound to give it to
them, well my friend this is nowhere supported in the Bible. Every precious promise we receive from God
has a condition we must satisfy before God gives it to us. The most important
word in the Bible is “if.” If always sets the condition for receiving a
promise from God, whether they be blessings or curses. Remember a reward
something we get out from out actions and words. God promises (rewards us) I will bless those
who bless me and curse those who curse me.
(Genesis 12:3) They both are promises (rewards) from God. More next month on
this and other topics.
ARTICLE REVIEW:
Giving Till It Hurts
In Mark 12:41-44, we read the story of a widow
offering “all that she had, even all her living.” In today’s language we would say, she gave
till it hurt. “And Jesus sat over
against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury:
and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites which
make a farthing. And He called the
disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, this widow hath cast more
in then all they which have cast in the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but
she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:41-44) Today it seems many Christians in the Church
are going after abundance and power to meet their needs. It seems we have
reduced this wonderful gospel message down to what we can get from God, down to
His abundance and power. In my hometown of
In verse 41 we find Jesus doing something He often
does, He “beheld how” or watched how the people cast the money into the “treasury”
or offering plate. In God it does not
matter what you do for Him that counts, but it does matter how you do it. It matters if we do things for God with the
right motives and intentions. Here Jesus
was watching “how” the people were casting their money into the offering
plate; were they doing it with the right heart condition, as a “cheerful
giver” or were they doing it to be seen.
Worst yet, were they casting money into the offering plate to get back
from God? Our giving to God is not done
so that God can give back to us more then what we gave. Oh no my friend, our giving to God is so that
others may receive, so others will be able to receive of those “precious
promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.” Giving
with a heart attitude of wanting to get back from God is selfish and very
self-centered of which God strongly disapproves of. But sadly, giving to get is the number one
message in the church today, Brethren this ought not to be so.
Also of great interest in these verses (in verse 44)
we see all the people, but the widow, “cast in of their abundance.” But, but she (the widow) of her
want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. The widow gave to God from her want, from her
need, from her lack, what she lacked God used to meet her need. We need to let
this thought sink in a moment. She gave
to God out of her want or lack. She gave
all she had to God so that He could meet her want. Now, she was totally
dependent on God and only Him to meet her need.
Many Christians do not like depending on God, they feel the need to lean
on their own understanding, but it is our need and lack that brings us to God
not our abundance. She gave it all to
God. We are taught to give 10% monthly
of our money, well what if God wants 40% or 60%? Will we still give God 10% as we quote
scripture to justify our disobedience? True giving is from the heart as God
directs by His precious Holy Spirit, and my friend it is always all we have, maybe
not all our money, but be sure God is looking for all of us. God always wants all. He is our all and in
all and He expects us to give all that we have to Him. He will not settle for
one-half of our heart or one-third of our talents and abilities, oh no God
wants us all or nothing. This widow knew
this spiritual principle and this is why Jesus called the disciples over to
watch with Him as the widow gave all she had to God. What a powerful lesson. What a lesson the disciples needed to learn,
what a lesson we all need to learn. God
wants all and will not settle for less if we want to be used by Him, if we
desire to receive of those “precious promises that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature.”
While I was waiting to minister at the Chemchemi
Evangelistic Assembles of God Church (a wonderful Church in Bukoba, Tanzania) a
little boy walked up to the “treasury” or offering plate and cast in 100
Tanzania Shillings (
Brethren let us learn to give as God desires, not out
from our “abundance,” but out from all that we have, “even all our
living.” And yes, we must learn to
give till it hurts. Many Christians today do not give because they do not want
to hurt, well that is not God’s concept of giving. God gave His only begotten Son to die, He
gave His all so that we may be able to live.
Brethren it hurt God to give His Son.
Let us refocus our attention in giving and begin to give as God gives,
like the widow, and even as little Jossawn, they gave their all. If we truly
want God to be our “yote katinka yote” (Swahili for all and in all) we must
give till it hurts. Written by David
Stahl
THOUGHTS FROM KAREN:
Generation to Generation
Solomon in one of the Bible’s wisdom books teaches us to; “Train up a
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6) This training requirement, from generation to generation,
for a healthy and successful family today is gravely lacking in American
because it is becoming increasingly lacking in the Church. While visiting my
in-laws we were discussing various topics one of which was my mother-in-law’s Grandfather
who was instrumental in her becoming a Christian. The seeds of faith and salvation sown in her
as a little girl so long ago have sprouted, grown, and multiplied in my
mother-in-law’s life. How blessed I have
been to know her. I know her own children
feel that way even more so. She reminisced how her Grandfather would tell her
about the Bible and prayed with her.
So too,
it is imperative that we as parents and grand-parents seize our window of
opportunity to sow these same seeds into our children and grandchildren. It is
a blot to our very souls if we neglect this awesome responsibility before God
and them. What good is it to leave our
children money, land, and possessions if they are not saved? What good is an earthly inheritance without a
spiritual inheritance? Peter tells us, “To
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:4-5) What good is it to leave our children earthly
treasures that are defiled, corruptible, moth-eaten, that will quickly fade
away and we neglect eternal treasures? We must teach our children and
grandchildren now about God. Do not put
it off. It may seem like we have plenty
of time in the world, but we do not.
Trust me, once they turn 18 or 19 and leave home you will be sitting
around stunned looking at old pictures wondering where the time went and now
your window of opportunity has now closed.
Do not think it is our Pastor’s, Church’s, or Sunday School’s
responsibility. Now they have a part to
play, but my friend it is our responsibility, before God and them, to spent
time with our children and grandchildren sharing the word of God together as a
family and most important one on one. It
is our responsibility to find a solid Bible believing Church to take our family
to. When Dave was in the Navy every new
duty station required us to go “Church shopping,” as led by the Holy
Spirit. And, dare I say we even had
family devotions at home. We called it
Bible book when our children were little.
We would sing songs, talk about Bible stories, and always prayed on our
knees, but as they grew older we sang less and looked more towards the word of
God, and yes we still prayed on our knees. These times were special to us. These times were critical to our family’s
health and success. Daniel, our second
son, told us the one thing he enjoyed most about living at home was the many
times we had Bible book and now he and Sarah have Bible book with Abigail our
granddaughter. That is the process, we
planted the seed for Bible book in him and now he and Sarah are planting,
hopefully a better seed planted in them, in their daughter Abigail who will in
turn plant a better seed in her children and the planting of the seeds of faith
and righteousness will grow stronger from generation to generation.
You
know we do not have to teach our children to be bad, thanks to our sin nature,
they will do that quite well enough on their own, but we have to teach them
about the things of God, His ways, manners, how to behave in public, and so
much more. Where I grew up in
If you have neglected this area in your children’s or
grandchildren’s lives it is not too late!
Start now. Repent and seek God’s
face on how you should go about ministering to your children and family. As long as we are breathing it is never too
late. The only thing, as parents or grandparents, we can take to Heaven with us
is our family. What else really matters? “And I will give them one heart, and one
way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their
children after them: 40And I
will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from
them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall
not depart from me.” (Jeremiah 32:39-40)
And remember the best is yet to come.
Written by Karen Stahl
POETRY CORNER:
If I Could Know
Author Unknown
If I could know the agony of
pain
In which my brother wrought,
yet have no sign, His bungling work would take on shape And glory would
illumine every line.
If I could know the heartache
bravely hid beneath the smile of courage, day by day, I’d not without the
kindly deed and thought to cheer my friend upon his lonely way.
And I can know! Come, Son of Man, drive, flood all my soul
with sympathy benign until my very life is love impearled, and pulses with the
heart throbs of the world.
DEAR FRIENDS:
What a wonderful time we had in
One that is broken will
always know God’s will and would never no never want to do something that is
not correct. Within them there is a sense of righteousness that is offended
with each act of presumption; thinking they are moving correctly in God, but in
reality are getting further off track. Let us not go toward power, but like Paul desire to know Him and the
power of His resurrection, in doing so you will have all of the power you can
handle.
Karen sends her greetings
and love. As funny as it seems I still
miss my kids, but summer will be here soon.
Hope is wonderful and more then what we think.
NEEDS NOT WANTS:
1. In
Silistra,
2. In
3. In
4. Pastor
Joseph Mutua in
5. Pastor
Mike Olufemi in the north of
6. Pastor
S. J. Peter, Founder of DAWN Ministries and Pastor Wilson and his son Pastor
Julian both near
7. Financial
support for the printing of: “Adventures with God.”
8. Pastor Metin Mintaz and the members of
Uskudar Son Buyruk Kilisesi in
9. Pastor
Elieti Msangi in Dar Es Salaam and Pastor Isreal Mutaitina in
10. Major Rob McIntosh, Chaplin,
11. The Maternity and Children’s Clinic project
in
FUTURE SCHEDULE:
November: Local Ministry
December:
January: Local ministry
I am still available to share what God has given me at
churches and/or home groups. Also, if
God moves on your heart to bless the ministries I visit and share God’s love I
would be honored to make it possible for God and you. God told Abram, “I will bless those who bless
you and curse those who curse you.” (Genesis 12:3) If you want a blessing, then bless someone Remember, God is to you what you are
to God.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address:
David and Karen
Stahl
Jacksonville , NC 28546
Phone:
Home: (910) 346-1739
FAX: (910) 346-1739
Email:
dstahl@ec.rr.com
Website:
If you
know someone who would enjoy receiving this newsletter or if you receive this
newsletter and do not wish to please let me know. Also if you would like to contribute to this
ministry please feel free to contact me with the above information. Costs ever
increase.
PLEASE
look within your abilities to begin supporting or to increase your support to
cover these costs. The cost is great, but the cost for not supporting is even
greater. And remember, all donations are tax deductible
