Deeper Truths for Hungry Hearts
October 2014 • Volume XIII Number 02
“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)
Thoughts for Consideration:
Greetings again my Brethren. This month let us continue to look at God’s divine provision in our call from God. Now before we can see God’s divine provision we first must be able to see God’s divine call on our lives. It all starts and ends (in His purpose and plan) from that revelation. If we fail to allow this revelation grip our heart we will struggle and be frustrated no matter what God does divinely for us. Often a miracle can open the door to more questions instead of increasing our stamina and endurance that God has planned to do. The first point I would like to discuss is how we are laborers together with God. Now here is a news flash for some Christians, God does not do all the work. God expects us to join into His plan and His purpose, to roll up our sleeves and get with it. Not that the working for God is so important, but use becoming the work of God is as we co-labor with God in the field of life ripe to harvest. God cannot (and will not) us lazy children. I hear many Christians plead, “God bless the works of my hands” and God replies, “do something!” I remember in the 70s and 80s many Christians went on “a love walk” where all they did all day was communed with the LORD, read their Bible, pray, and expect you to get them money because of their commitment to Christ, mule muffins! They were just lazy Christians trying to get over on the Brethren. Paul tells us, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) God expects us to engage into His building program as He first builds us (His church) then as he builds His plan and purpose in our lives. His plan and purposes for us cannot be accomplished until He can build in us His character and nature. The second point I would like for us to look at when we discuss God’s divine provisions is God bears witness. No matter what we do for God if God does not bear witness, approve or verify the deed then God is probably not doing it. All throughout the Bible in the Old and New Testament God bore witness to the things done by His hand through men and women. We see this in the lives of the disciples in the early church. In the Book of Hebrews the writer wrote, “God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” (Hebrew 2:4) Not miracles alone, but signs and wonders in the heavens and in the hearts and lives of men. God has His ways of confirming His works. Anything divinely inspired always has the hallmark of God’s approval. Flashy sometimes (signs and wonders), but most times it is a small still voice in the pit of our despair. Out of our bellies will flow rivers of living waters that only we can explain and people will know that they know without a shadow of doubt that God has ordained this deed, this person, this calamity, this sorrow, or this joy. God does have ways of showing the world who His children are that the world cannot deny. And this leads into the third point, God brought special miracles by the hands of Paul and others. In the Book of Acts we read, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11) Guess what, today God still desires to do special miracles through our hands. My friends the days of miracles are not over as many denominations preach. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever why would God change His nature for the here and now? All throughout the Bible in Old and New Testament God used miracles to provide protection, substance, and a means of guidance. It does not make Godly sense to believe God has stopped using miracles today unless you are trying to convince someone into believing your certain vein of doctrine. Miracles are for unbelievers, like speaking in tongues (see Acts 2:5-37). In miracles the divine provision is to the person first then to the local Body of Christ. We read what happened when the people heard the Gospel message from Peter, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:37-41) Miracles are not to rise us up (as we see on TV), but pull us down so that God can be glorified. Glory always has two paths either man’s self or God’s glory and we get to choose the path.
Next month we will continue to look at God’s divine provision as we begin to look at God’s divine provision for His maintenance. Can you hear Him now
ARTICLE REVIEW:
Don’t Give Up the Ship
Dear friends I would like to just encourage you all with your endurance and steadfastness. I am reminded of the famous words of the courageous and intrepid sailor who said, “don’t give up the ship.” No I am not talking about CAPT James Lawrence during the War of 1812, onboard the USS Chesapeake after he was mortally wounded, but of MM1 Andrew Kreiss Karen’s wonderful father. Time and time again Karen would say, “my father always said, “don’t give up the ship” and that is great advice for us today. It seems many in the Lord today are just giving up. I cannot believe the number of people I know who are just walking away from God, well now my friend is not the time to give up, we must continue no matter the problems we face have they be perceived or real. I am not sure if it is because of unfulfillment or the many things we daily must suffer for God’s kingdom (“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) to be established in our hearts. Or maybe they are just tired of walking with the Lord, maybe the novelty has worn off. You know we perceive so many things that are not true and we worry and worry over things that are not reality in our lives. I can remember almost convincing myself I had HIV from getting blood drawn in India. Worry has torment for us and others around us. All of this in reality is a lack of faith in God and to His words in our lives on our part. It is not time to give up the ship, oh no my friend it is our time to be the men and women of God that the people in this lost and dying world needs. It is our time to stand for the truth, no matter the cost, of the Gospel message and become the manifestation of the living God among the people of the earth. Time is strange in our lives; time always adds a different perspective to our understanding of things, especially of truth. Now knowing truth is eternal (same yesterday, today, and forever), progressive, and always from God’s perspective in our lives, in time truth changes our understanding. In times past I thought I would go to heaven by way of the grave, but now I am convinced I will see the second coming of Jesus Christ. Through time (as I get older) and with a better understanding of God and His ways I now can make a better judgment of things in the Bible. Now please let me stop here and ask you not to get involved with all of the guessing and selling of what many Christians call end-time Bible prophesy, but just live your life second by second according to the revelation you have allowed God to give you and for the glory of God, not looking for a date, time, or even a cause to throw your life whole heartily into but, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand (a place of honor and authority) of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” (Hebrews 12:1-3) Did you know the revelation we have of God depends on us? The more dedication, sacrifice, and separation from this world on our part the deeper the revelation we will have of God. He wants to give us all of Him, but we (oh Lord me too) often draw back when we see the price we must pay to know more and be used of Him. I wonder what the “great cloud of witnesses” are witnesses of? I am sure of what they have experienced and sacrificed for the Gospel message, but what about now? I think those that have gone on before us may be watching us to see what we will do with the baton they passed on and the sacrifice they have made. They are up in heaven saying please do not give up, please keep the faith. Just keep, ”Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Please notice to be able to, “set down at the right hand of the throne of God” we must be able to endure and be steadfast in bearing the cross and shame. They are the requirement to be seated with God. Samuel Logan Brengle, a truly great spiritual leader of the Salvation Army outlined the road to spiritual authority in these challenging words: “It is not won by promotion but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin, and much heart searching and humbling before God; by self surrender, a courageous and uncomplaining embracing of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained by seeking great things for ourselves, but rather, like Paul, by counting those things that are gain to us as loss for Christ. That is a great price. but it must be unflinchingly paid by him who would be not merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader of men, a leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell. My friend, the highest positions are reserved for those who have qualified in secret. It is that element of sovereignty that begets awe and a great humility in those to whom leadership is entrusted. The Church is painfully in need of leaders. I wait to hear a voice and no voice comes. I love the back seat in conferences. I would always rather listen than speak, but there is no clarion voice to listen to.”
Now the Bible is full of people who have given up the ship and walked away from God and the ministry God has asked them to do. One who comes to mind readily is Judas, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.” (Matthew 26:14-16) Someone most people do not think about is the Rich Young Ruler, how great is that? Rich, Young, and a Ruler, things we all seem to strive for today to be rich – much money and wealth, young – how much money do we spend on trying to retain our youthful looks, and a Ruler – no one wants to be a servant everyone today seems to want be waited on hand and foot. We see in Mark, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:21-22) Many Christian scholars say the Rich Young Ruler was being groomed by Jesus to replace Judas, but in the end, he gave up the ship because he could not totally sell out to God. Or how about, “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 20Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1Timothy 1:19-20) and “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: 10For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:9-10) Later in Timothy we read, “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: 15Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. 16At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. 17Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:13-18) What a wonderful statement, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.” Now when the Bible says “all” it means “all” not some (oh I know we read “all,” but we really think some), but “all” means “all.” “All men forsook” Paul, but God will never forsake us if we do not give up the ship and forsake Him. I wonder how we would feel knowing our names were listed (like Alexander, Demas, Hymenaeus, and others) in the Bible for all eternity and all to hear as one who gave up, who turned back, who gave in, who walked no more with the Lord, or who forsook all. Oh Lord may this never be said of me and the ones I hold dear in my life. Did you know God is to us what we are to Him? Never expect God to be gracious and bless us beyond measure, if we have measured out our love for and to Him. But if we love Him beyond measure and endure His dealings and judgments in our lives God will then in turn because of our faithfulness to Him bless us. Now this is not a salvation issue, God loved us first (Romans 5:8) while we were still enemies of Him, but I am talking about after our sins are forgiven when we are to be growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The complete statement of CAPT James Lawrence on that fateful day was, “tell the men to fire faster and tell them don’t give up the ship.” My friend that is what the Lord is saying to us today, stay on the firing line and do not give up the ship. Endure life’s sufferings, carry on, go forth in my power and strength, allow me to strengthen you in the inward parts so that you will be able to withstand until the end. Peter ends his first Epistle with these words, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5:10) All of the words, “make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” speaks of our need for steadfastness to be built into our character, if not then these characteristics will never be a part of our lives. How can they? They have not been worked into our lives through suffering. Many say, why does a loving God allow suffering in our lives, well suffering builds in us a softness and understanding for mercy and forgiveness. Those who have suffered are not quick to speak or act, but reserve their thoughts, words, and judgment on the important things of life, on the weightier matters (Matthew 23:23) of life; the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: My friend let us not give up the ship even though it seems as if she will flounder or the enemy will board her and take her, let us keep the faith (by staying on the firing line) and enduring until the ends. James too encourages us with his words when he said, “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” (James 5:10-11) When is “the end of the Lord?” Fear not, walk with the Lord long enough and with the right heart condition and the Lord will answer this question for you. And in the words of MM1 Andy Kreiss, “don’t give up the ship.
Written by David Stahl
THOUGHTS FROM KAREN:
Waiting on God
I can count on one hand how many services we’ve been to that start out with a quiet waiting before the Lord. Worse than that though how many of us take the time to be quiet and still before the Lord at home (ok my hand isn’t up because I’m typing!) The Prophet Micah said, “Therefore I will look unto The Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7) These days patience for us humans is almost passé. Our society is so into instant gratification—we must have it now! And I mean everything. We don’t want to wait for anything. We don’t want to wait in line at the checkout counter, we don’t want to sit in traffic as we travel, we want our hamburger and fries NOW. Everything seems to be at a fast pace these days. It seems to me the only time where time seems to slow down is when we go through difficult circumstances. We can’t wait to get out of whatever the situation is that pains us so. Be it physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain, or spiritual pain it seems like time just drags on and we just can’t wait for it to be over with. Human nature I guess. On the flip side good times go too fast! We wait, we anticipate then bam! It’s all over. When our son-in-law deployed I was amazed at how frequently Connie was able to communicate with Jeff via the computer. Back when Dave deployed every letter was met with anticipation and every phone call—wow that was great! Before then women would wait weeks if not months for a letter and before that (WWII era) women may have waited years for a letter. All they could do is patiently wait and go on living the best they could without their husbands, my how things have changed.
When a woman is pregnant the nine months waiting for the little one goes so slowly and especially near the end of the pregnancy you’re so uncomfortable that you can’t wait for that little one to make their debut into the world. When we’re sick time just drags on. Yes we have to wait for our bodies to heal and we have to wait on the medicine to work. Wait, wait wait. But it seems to me God has a different view on waiting. He doesn’t mind waiting. In fact you could say God has all the time in the world, which basically He does. God would like us to wait patiently on him as He waits patiently for us. Yes He does, He works steadily and patiently in our lives to mold us into the image of His precious Son Jesus Christ. Remember time is nothing to God He will move in a situation when He wants to move and not one second sooner. We need to learn to wait patiently on our Lord as Micah said. Time spent waiting on God is definitely never wasted time. Brethren let us keep our mouth in the dust and bow our hearts and minds to the Lord. David knew something about waiting and gives us some good advice. “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say on the Lord.” (Psalm 27: 14)
Written by Karen Stahl
NEEDS NO WANTS:
1. In Silistra, Bulgaria Pastor(s) Niki Marsov and Emil Nedelchev. Included now are missionaries from Romania Nicu and Elena. Times are troubled in Bulgaria much prayer and support is needed.
2. Constanta, Romania Pastors Luke and Jacob at Bethel Church and George Ritisan at the Romanian Center for Cross-cultural Studies Bible School and the Faru (Lighthouse) Church.
3. In Suceava, Romania Pastors Nicu and Marcel at St. Andrews Church. They are still standing by God’s grace.
4. Pastor Joseph Mutua in Nairobi, Kenya needs your prayer and financial support.
5. Pastor Mike Olufemi in Aveile, Nigeria. He needs our prayers and support to be a light in great darkness.
6. Pastor S. J. Peter, Founder of DAWN Ministries in Hyderabad and Pastor Wilson and his son Pastor Julian in Sankaraguptham, India.
7. Pastor Metin Mintaz, Dan, Cathy, and members of Uskudar Son Buyruk Kilisesi in Istanbul, Turkey.
8. Pastor Elieti Msangi in Dar Es Salaam and Pastors Isreal Mutaitina and John Balone in Bukoba, Tanzania.
9. Monthly financial support for Vivian’s Maternity and Child Care Clinic project in Aviele, Nigeria.
10. Pastor Tek Dahl at Gethsemane, Church (his church) and their radio station “Good News 105.1 FM” in Kathmandu, Nepal.
11. Bishop John, Samuel Kamanzi (from the Congo), and, Emmanuel Ndolimana in Ruhengeli, Rwanda.
Next Home Group Meeting:
Our next Home Group Meeting will be MONDAY 20 October 2014
232 Everett Drive
Sneads Ferry, NC 28460
Home: (910) 741-0489
at 7:00 pm, please RSVP
FUTURE SCHEDULE:
October: Local Ministry
November: Bulgaria and Romania
December: Local Ministry
I am still available to share what God has given me at churches and/or home groups. If God moves on your heart to support BHG or other ministries we personally know we would be honored to serve as a go between. Remember, if we want a blessing from God the spiritual principle is we must bless others. Remember, God is to you what you are to God.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address:
David and Karen Stahl
232 Everett Drive
Sneads Ferry, NC 28460
Phone:
Home: (910) 741-0489
Mobile: (910) 382-9287
FAX: (910) 741-0489
Email:
Ministry E-mail: dstahl@beholdinghisglory.com
Personal E-mail: mtnebo@hotmail.com
Online:
Beholding His Glory Website
Beholding His Glory Blog
The AuthorHouse link below will lead you to our latest book, “Thoughts for Consideration.” Just copy it into your web browser and return. Also you can purchase two of our other books “Adventures with God.” and “God Still Performs Miracles: A Book of Personal Encouragement.”
http://www.authorhouse.com/AuthorCenter/Protected/BookHome.aspx?bookID=61464
Please take a minute and take a look, they all make for a great encouraging gift, giving hope and sharing God’s love through a deeper teaching that someone can enjoy again and again. All of our books can be purchased at all book stores like Barnes and Nobles, Borders, Book-A-Million, and etc., any Christian Book Store that orders, and all book ordering on-line companies like Amazon.com. Or if you are like me from the old school just contact us, we will let you know the price and then we will mail it out to your home address. Postage and handling is on a case by case basis.
If you know someone you think would enjoy receiving this newsletter or if you receive this newsletter and do not wish to please let me know. Contributions to this ministry is always appreciated and needed the more time continues. Please feel free to contact us with the above information. The cost is great, but the cost for not supporting to others is even greater. And remember, all donations are tax deductible.
