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BEHOLDING HIS GLORY |
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September 2003 |
Volume II Number 01 |
”But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord. “ (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Greeting again my
Brethren. As we begin to behold His glory the eyes of
our understanding are strengthened in the inward man and we are willing to
endure God’s dealing and judgements in our lives. Without this enlightenment
we will not be able to understand God’s purpose and plan for our lives, nor
will we able to be brought to the end God has predestined for our lives. Now that word predestined leaves a bad taste
in the mouth of many Christians. God
has predestined or decided at some point in time, maybe before we were born, a
specific route and destination we are to take to get to the end or purpose for
our lives. If I am going to drive to
One of the greatest
obstacles to spiritual growth and development in our lives, to where we will be
able to see God’s predestination, is an unwillingness
or an aversion to persecution. There
seems to be a great aversion within the Body of Christ to endure hardship and
difficulties in our lives so that we will be able to grow and mature in
God. Paul shared these words to Timothy, “Yea, and all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) There seems to be a great desire for ease
and plenty in our lives. Maybe too this
is why there is not a great desire to be “godly” within the Body of
Christ. We tend to seek His kingdom
first and not His righteousness. The way
to holiness and godliness in our lives is through suffering persecution. There is no other way. It is persecution not endless religious
prayer, fasting for days on end, or other sacrifices we offer up to God that
lead to godliness. God is not too
interested in all of these traditional and ritual
approaches we engage in today. (please see Isaiah 58:1-12) No, God has established suffering
and persecution as the way to become godly and He is not going to change His
ways for you and me. No matter how long
we pray, fast, kick, or scream. God has
purposed difficult times and situations in our lives to be able to bring us to
the end and purpose for our lives. He is
interested in writing His words on our heart.
He is interested in a humble and contrite (grounded or crushed to powder) spirit.
Now, I must be honest I do
not blame people for avoiding God’s dealing and judgments, because it hurts
when God begins to work in our lives. It
hurts when God begins to pull down those “strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4) those things Paul said
we are built on. Those things we lean on
for strength that are not of God. In
translation it is the image of leaning on a stick to stand upright. Brethren it really hurts when God begins to
kill our self-life we do not like that.
Our flesh screams for justification and deliverance. “For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down” these areas in our
life. Only through God strengthening us
with might in our inwards parts can we have these “strong holds” (please notice two words in KJV, not one)
crumble in our lives.
When we begin to
behold His glory what we see (understand) of Him quiets our spirit and shuts
our mouth. We then will allow God to
strengthen us, we then will allow God bring us into His building program. Brethren let us behold His glory. It is the beginning of the end God has for
us. More next month on this topic.
ARTICLE REVIEW:
The Integrity of Our Lives
Oh this would be God’s testimony of our lives, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth (awe or reverent) God, and escheweth (turned aside or departed from) evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” (Job 2:3) Brethren, there is a great need in the Body of Christ for men and woman to develop Godly relationships that function and operate well within the integrity our lives. As Believers we are to live a life of integrity before others in the Body of Christ and more important before those in the world. The word “integrity” here in Job is translated from the Greek; uprightness, completeness, fullness, innocence, and simplicity. No matter what came against Job, even God’s approving and qualifying of Him, he was still a man of integrity. Sadly, a life of integrity is not what most Believers go after in God. Ministry, gifts, great power, His anointing, and all of the rest of God’s presents seem to be our primary targets.
My last trip before returning to the States was to Lagos, Nigeria. Over the two eek period I met some very dear sincere Believers and I met some not so sincere Believers. One in particular was the Pastor of a small church. Please understand I do appreciate and love this young Pastor, but he was not trustworthy, I could not count on the words he spoke or his deeds. I gave him $20 dollars to buy some water for us and he brought back nine, two liter bottles and no change. I was told you could rent an apartment for one year in Lagos for $150. Everything seemed to be a struggle with him. He was so argumentative. If he said he would be at the hotel at 8:00 am, he would get there at 10:00 or 11:00. The last day I waited 6 hours for him to come and take me to the airport. Only when it was to his advantage was he punctual and accommodating. Sadly, he has disqualified himself for any real service and for any reward from God because of his lack of integrity. God will not use and does not reward a servant that is not faithful, one that is not a person of integrity. They may be a servant, but God calls them an unfaithful or unprofitable servant. God sees no value in them. What makes them faithful or unfaithful is their words and deeds, not God’s power or His gifts and abilities moving in their lives. Remember, it does not matter what you do for God, but how you do it. Do you do it with the right heart condition and for the right motives, reasons, and intentions. This is what Jesus was sharing in Matthew 7:22-23. Please notice Jesus was talking about servants. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then will declare to them I never knew you; depart from me you who practice iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23) They did all of what we today would call the “big things” of God, but did them for the wrong reasons. Most often these servants do things in God for personal gain. Notice they knew how to operate in God’s power, but God did not know them. They knew how to get God to move and express His glory and love to His people, but for the unprofitable servant it was to their shame and loss. The word “iniquity” means lawlessness or outside the law. The unfaithful servant functioned in the things of God with the wrong motives and intentions, and with a wrong heart condition. They did things outside the framework God established. They were lawless servants, they did not follow God’s principles, because they lacked integrity. This is how many can minister and function in the power of God and even do great and mighty miracles for God, but in the end they have done it for the wrong reasons thus, they too will hear, “depart from me you who practice iniquity.”
The last week before we moved out of our home in Markgroningen, Germany we had the pleasure of hosting Julian Wilson a young Pastor from India. I really felt God’s leading in his visit and know we will be together again. As the one pastor in Nigeria was a man of no integrity, Pastor Julian was a man of great integrity. When Julian arrived he had no shower shoes. I had an extra pair and gave them to him. Julian’s stay was brief and very unsettling at times due to our soon departure, but all in all we had a great time. When he leaving I popped my head in the room to see if he was ready to catch the train and I noticed the shower shoes had not been packed. I asked him if he was completely packed and he said yes Sir. I said no you are not. You forgot to pack the shower shoes. He said, oh I thought you were only letting me borrow them. He bend over and casually stowed them in his suitcase. Now that really spoke to me about Julian’s life and the great testimony to the life of God in Julian. Remember, our “true” testimony is not what we say, but what people see us do. Julian was soft and humble. The Pastor in Nigeria was hard and ambitious. Julian’s life as the Pastor’s in Nigeria spoke of the amount of integrity in their lives. God will not use us in ministry if we cannot tell the truth, if our words and deeds are false. Our zealousness desires to seek after God and His ways will not matter if we cannot be trustworthy. Brethren, our integrity is a big deal to God. Oddly I have noticed integrity is something God attributes to us personally, as his or mine, “Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.” (Proverbs 19:1) and “And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.” (Psalm 41:12) It is something you do not receive when your sins are forgiven. Oh no, you must develop it as you walk with God and endure His dealings and judgments in your life, just like Job.
Now please remember, all
Godly ministry comes out of Godly relationships full of integrity. The strength
and effectiveness of any church will only be as strong as the relationships
contained in the church. God measures
His disciples and the power and ability of a church not by how many souls are saved,
or how many people are baptized, the number of buses you own, or even how many
people attend Sunday School. No, Jesus
set the standard in John, “By this all will know you are My disciples, if
you have love for another.” (John 13:35)
A church or a person cannot “truly” be powerful in God if they lack
love. How can our words bring life into
lost lives if they lack the love and integrity of what Jesus taught? They cannot.
They will only bring death to all they touch. As our ability to align and adapt to change
is a key measuring stick of our spiritual growth and maturity in our lives, so
too as a plum line the amount of love we possess for the Brethren and others in
the world define the amount of integrity in our lives. Brethren today let us see the great need to
establish Godly relationships of integrity build on Christ the solid rock. That our words and deeds would be so bound to
righteousness and truth we would experience “righteousness living” to the point
we do not even know we are doing right it becomes automatic in our life. To where integrity becomes such a critical
part of our character and nature like our breathing is to our life. Written by
CURRENT NEWS:
God has prepared many making places to
be able to bring us to His end and purpose in our life. It is reassuring to know God knows what He is
doing and He has a specific end in mind.
We then do not have to worry. If
God wants you to do something then it is His responsibility to make available
the things needed to fulfil His call. Our part is to be willing and obey His
words to us. But just think He knew our
end before we were born. And now He
takes us from one watering hole to the next, from one place of prosperity to
the next place of prosperity. Now please
do not get to excited and think I am going to start talking about money or God
giving you whatever you want. Did you
the know the Biblical definition of “prosperity” is to push forward in God and
has nothing to do with money. While
Joseph was a slave in the house of Potiphar (Genesis 39:2), God said he was a
prosperous man. That truth really
debunks all of the prosperity teaching of today. The Brethren in Africa always ask me not to
share the prosperity doctrines for they know they are false doctrines and they
would know.
Two wonderful making places God has
prepared for us are: darkness and waiting.
Our self and it’s self-seeking ways does not like these two making
places of God. There are two kinds of
darkness; an unhappy darkness that arises from sin. It is a darkness that is filled with
unhappiness and leads the Christian to eternal death. And the other
is a darkness which God allows within our inward parts in order to
establish and settle virtue. This is a
happy darkness because it illuminates our inward spirit, strengthens it and
gives it greater light. There is a great
light in God’s darkness. It is the place of learning and coming into the light
of God. Paul was in spiritual darkness
until his conversion and then God even took his physical sight for awhile to be
able to bring him into the light of God.
Most Christians want to be in the light, able to see what God is
doing. Well darkness is the place in God
where He is able to build trust and confidence, in Him, in us. And the other making place is waiting. If we really walk with the Lord we will spend
most of our time in these two making place.
Waiting is the place of receiving from God and Him being gracious to us.
(Isaiah 30:18) Receiving from God is for
only those who wait upon Him. No waiting
no receiving. When we do not wait on God
we are delivering ourselves. When in
need we will receive something, either from our hands or God’s, but those who
wait upon on the Lord receive from God’s hands.
Well for now me and my family are
waiting for God to provide His guidance and provision. He has never failed to provide our need. In my spirit I hear God saying, “David wait
for me to line people and things up.”
If you are in these making places of
God do not try to look for some emotion or even a tender devotion toward
Him. Only express your desire to do His
will and be His pleasure. Otherwise you
will simply go in circles throughout your life and take not even one step
toward Him. An emotional experience must
not be our goal, for it is not God’s goal.
Karen and the kids are doing
great. David arrived from Germany and
head to East Carolina University this semester.
FUTURE SCHEDULE:
September:
Pastor Julian Wilson, Madras,
India (tentative)
October:
Open
November: Pastor Nicu, Suceava, Romania (confirmed) AND
Pastor Yanko, Silistra, Bulgaria.
(tentative)
December: Open
I feel God is speaking to open up ministry to
churches, home groups, and to enlarge my newsletter audience within the United
States. To meet this end God has
purposed for my life, I am available to come and share what God has given
me. 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.
NEEDS NOT WANTS:
1. Items for the printing service and in
Silistra, Bulgaria is still before us.
2. In Constanta, Romania Ciprian Bozdog, head
teacher, at the Lighthouse Church’s
Bible School has started printing Christian books.
3.
Bill Pepper in Alaska still needs
support to continue ministry efforts in Peru, China, Mongolia, and many more countries.
4. My special friend Pastor Joseph Mutua in
Nairobi, Kenya needs your prayer and financial support.
5. Pastor Mike Olufemi in the north of
Nigeria. He needs your prayers and
support to be a light in great darkness.
6. Pastor
Joseph Ojatabu and Christliche Gemeinde Stuttgart the church I pastored in
Germany.
7. Financial support for the printing of: “God
Still Performs Miracles Today: A Book of
Person Encouragement” and “Wandering in the Wilderness: The Call to Ministry.”
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:
141 Coke Place
Phone:
Home: (910) 346-1739
Mobile: (910) 273-5712
FAX: (910) 346-1739
Email:
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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. And remember, all donations are tax deductible.