WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH

As a Christian one of the hardest things to do is find a good Bible believing doctrinal church. I can remember talking to my Bible Teacher Charles Haun about this in the late 1990s and he too was experiencing the same problem. If you think finding a place to worship God in "Sprit and truth" with people was tough in the 90s, well 28 years later has only severely limited our choices. Now I do believe God wants us to join our lives with a local body of believers (not a church because we are the church) not to receive a blessing, but be a blessing. To add in our skills, talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts to be "fitly joined" our hearts as one evangelize the community with the Gospel and then helping the down and out who needs a hand up not a hand out. So what happened to the church? In Matthew 28:19 we get a mandate from, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:." (Matthew 28:18), but we are making buildings organizations, foundations, business, corporations, anything to make money. We are to go, teach (make disciples) and baptize. Where did the church get off track? Maybe from the seeker sensitive humanistic movement from books like "The Purpose Driven Life" not wanting to offend people, maybe from the word of faith, "blab it and grab it" or "claim it and game it" crowd, or maybe from the hyper-spirituality folks looking for a devil under every rock. Whatever happened to the churches that were doctrinally sound teaching the word of God as presented in the Scriptures without embellishment? Okay I am going to go ugly right up front, if you think things are okay in most churches you have no spiritual wherewithal. Okay please let me eat my words (God is good at making us eat our words) not all churches are misguided and off track. The churches we visit overseas seem to be more on track doing those things Jesus has asked us to do. Maybe the common denominator of poverty, persecution, and daily struggle has made it so. And maybe that is why we always feel welcome and the presence of God is present in their services. Paul lays it out to us in Ephesians, "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:16), but before this all can happen Paul tells us what must be established in our heart to make it all happen. "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" (Ephesians 4:2-4) The problems with the "church" of today are many. There can be no "unity of the Spirit" and all of the great things Paul tells us about unless we can walk in "lowliness and meekness with longsuffering forbearing one another in love." Whatever happened to these qualities in the church? There are three things (in descending order of importance) I would like to discuss in trying to answer the question what happened to the church. As the church goes so does the country. Make no mistake my friend unless the church is set in order America's best days are behind her. The first reason the church has missed it is losing sight of the main teaching of Christ. Jesus told the disciples, "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat." (Matthew 10:7-10) We have lost track of the message we were told to "preach (like at the end of Chapter 28), heal the sick (not pray for the sick), cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils." I see no words from Jesus that says build buildings, start denominations, or collect money for salaries. Oh no Jesus said "as ye go" do all of these things. The church of today has lost the original vision of what Jesus told the disciples by substituting some good works (which is needed) and mixed it with religious tradition and ritual while the countless masses of people in the world perish right before their eyes. Remember, if you feed and clothe people around the world and never give them Jesus then what you will have is well dressed and well feed people in hell. It is no wonder people reject the message of Jesus they have learned the messenger really does care about them they have learned time and time again they only care about themselves. Sadly I have seen and heard this year after year and even sadder it still is on display today. Unless you have the right heart condition for the lost you will do things for yourself and make no mistake people know sincerity when they see it. Jealousy, arrogance, and vain glory will be the heart condition of the pastor and church leadership. And notice Jesus said, "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses," well how could that be? Take no money with you? No that is not what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying God will provide your needs as you go in His will because it is His idea so He will provide and because, "the workman is worthy of his meat." If we do things with the right heart condition, according to His will we are worthy (not what we have do but how we have done them) and God will provide. I have seen this truth in ministry play out since April 1996 when we first went to Germany. God ALWAYS provided everything we needed for our church in Stuttgart and every time we traveled. Even today when the LORD sends us out He provides or we do not go. It is God's idea, it is God's will so He will make it happen. When you get over in self promotion and self funding we are on shaky ground my friend. Over the last 22 years of ministry through Beholding His Glory we have never had a denomination and only two churches (one a Presbyterian and a Baptist) for a short time support us. All of our support has come by way of a hand full (and I mean hand full) of people. Even today this holds true. All that BHG does is provided by a hand full of people who have clearly heard from God and have a heart condition of obedience to God's word. The next reason the church has missed it is lack of relationships. Few relationships within the church and a lack of desire (make people feel uncomfortable) to share the Gospel message with family, friends, and with the lost in world. In most churches 80 percent (known as the 20 to 80 rule) of the work is being carried out by 20 percent or less of the people. We have become a church of spectators. Lack of relationship and not because of the excuse we are too busy, but we do what we really care about. According to my own personal research, the problems are even bigger than the 20/80 rule. Only 39 percent of active believers consider the Bible as the literal word of God. Less than 20 percent of professing believers follow the biblical principle of giving. Only 5 percent have shared their faith with a non-believer. More than half of all church members attend church once a month or less all lack of relationship. If there was a real relationship between the pastors and the people things would be different. People would be inspired and find value in investing their resources in the church and more importantly the people in the community who are almost always forgotten in most churches of today. Resources are spent on people inside the church (the fortress) first (they pay their tithes right?) and if anything is left after paying: salaries, building programs, utilities, property maintenance, maybe mortgage, mission funding to the denomination (instead of people going as Jesus asked), the list goes on maybe the people in the community who the church is to reach may get something. Casual attendance and the belief that others will serve, give, and share the Gospel are tearing down churches across our country brick by brick. Can you imagine what would happen in our personal walk of faith and in our community of believers if we established real relationships with each other? What if every believer exercised generosity? What if everyone served in their God-given purpose? What would happen if we stopped simply believing and started belonging to each other? What if we changed our approach to Christ and established a real relationship with our families and friends; the blessing, the reward, the joy, the fulfillment, the purpose, and the increase would radically transform our lives and the world. Recently we were attending a denomination church in the local area and the pastor (a good, dedicated pastor who really cares about his people in the church) never understood my writings. When I would write about an issue affecting the "church" globally and corporately he would take offense and get upset at us. In defense he was not the only pastor of a church (we attended) who got offended at us. In the past we have invited the pastor (of the church we were attending) and his wife if married over for dinner to explain BHG, our motives, and even tell some in time they too would probably get offended at us. The offence, jealousy, and envy in these pastors, well I will leave this alone. You might ask why then go to church? Again I believe we are to share what the LORD has given us, but when the pastor sees my light might be a little brighter than his, disagree with our writings, or often times think we are trying to break his rice bowl and take over, well the end is near. Knowing this I tried really hard to keep a good relationship with the pastor and the people, after all this is what Jesus asked us to. I understand I am not a card carrying member and will always be an outsider, but we have always honored and supported any pastor of any church we have attended. When we would host friends from overseas we would have the pastor and his wife if married for dinner to get to know our friends better especially if they were to speak at their church. Sometimes we would just have them over for dinner to talk. We even took some out to dinner and others to events trying to establish a Godly relationship. All Godly ministry comes out of Godly relationships When we would travel we would always bring the pastor and some of the people gifts. We worked hard at keeping a good relationship. The last pastor even commented how we were more faithful in attending services and helping out than his members yet because he disagreed with my writings and when I questioned how he handled some Scriptures we were asked to leave. Now Karen and I are not perfect and make mistakes, but our heart has always been in the right place, so too here. I thought for some time what did we do wrong? To be honest I was shocked when the pastor emailed me, yes emailed me and did not call. That is right he emailed me. He did not call or be manly about it by talking to us face to face. I then realized we had no relationship. Oh no I misjudged our relationship. All of the times he thanked us for helping and said he loved us (and he did many times) was not true. I guess love to some is situational dependant. As long as we did and said what he wanted we were in his good graces, but if we question well . . . you know what happens. I thought our relationship was strong enough (after years) to sharpen each other, but I guess I was wrong. Sadly today the church is full of people with no relationships. People come and go every Sunday and Wednesday (if they have a service) like strangers in the night. Show up for their traditional ritual and disappear. Whatever happened to getting to know people? Having dinners and programs never will help you to get to know someone. As they say, "no one cares what you know until they know how much you care." Now I am not talking about the leadership within the church this goes without saying there will be a better relationship there, but I am talking about the people who come, who are faithful, and are expected to show up every service or things fall apart from lack of finances. Most churches have failed to express themselves in any meaningful way to the community. A quick hello, slight smile, and a how are you doing while the heart of the people is begging for more. I have seen this in the last church (and in its community) we attended, but like a man a church cannot give what it does not have. What would your community look like if the people in your church really cared about each other and the people in the community? Lastly the biggest reason I know the church has missed it is the lack of spirituality. Everything is explained by human reasoning. There is almost never a move of God's Spirit (it has been years since I have heard a message in tongues and an interpretation) everything is routine and religious. I can remember growing up in more Pentecostal (Assembly of God and Church of God) Churches suddenly without warning or being prompted the Spirit of God would fall in great power and manifest Himself is spiritual ways, but it has been many years since I have seen the Spirit of God fall in unmistakable ways knowing this was God reaching His people. And why not? People do not pray the pastor prays. When was the last time you were given an opportunity to share a testimony? Oh no start at 11:00 out by 12:30 maybe 1:00 pm or the people look at their watch and the pastor knows what that could mean, maybe the door the next time his job comes up for a vote. Most services are scripted, controlled, and manipulated leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to move. No spirituality in the people because in most churches they have not been taught, just a lot of feel good sermons. One Wednesday at a local church we use to attend I cast a demon out of a lady, how the small crowd was amazed, but even sadder they did not even know the lady was demon possessed. After all (at the church) most Christians never bring their Bibles which means they probably do not read their Bibles at home so how would they know to recognize a demon? The signs were obvious, but the entire church missed it well I did not and the lady left with a clean face and a different woman. Her language (strange sounds and volume), her mannerisms, even her dirty face told me she was possessed. You know as we looked back Karen said she believes this one event was the straw that broke the camel's back for us at this local church. Most churches today have been dumb downed to keep the people happy with songs, but ignorant to the Spiritual realm. The local body of believers is not a building – it’s a body of believers fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives and these purposes and the fulfillment is spiritual. Strangely enough people will follow someone to hell's door if they are "truly" spiritual, yet they are few in the world of many. Churches that are unspiritual that can be fully explained in terms of the natural, although ever so attractive and competent, will result only in spiritual fruitlessness, corruption3 and immorality. We often see this based on worldly logic and methods, but John tells us, "that which is flesh is flesh and that which is Spirit is Spirit." (John 3:6) we can never substitute or mix flesh with Spirit and expect to get something spiritual it just CANNOT happen. In Proverbs we read, "there is a way that seemeth right . . . " (Proverbs 14:12) the world says you can use worldly ways and means in the Body of Christ and get the same effect, but this will never work. Most pastors and churches do not want to devote resources, time, and effort to teach their people about spiritual things (not a demon under every rock like some churches), but the truth how the Holy Spirit moves, manifests, and functions within each member and then throughout the church to the world. For this to happen the pastor (first) and the church MUST have a real revelation of God. And revelation is spiritual. We are measured by God by the amount of revelation we have received from God. Revelation is God’s evaluation and measuring stick. God's spirituality is built on God’s revelation and His estimation of a person is according to that revelation. If God gives revelation then is His spiritually is established and when His revelation is withdrawn the man is rejected. If we want to learn to be spiritual we must pay attention to our relationship before God. If God desires to have communion with us face-to-face no one can eliminate us. But if our communication above is severed, and the heavens are shut, all we do will be for naught. An open heaven is the seal of God and is God's main credential of the testimony of Sonship. Revelation is therefore the evidence of authority and spiritually. The true manifestation of spirituality is wisdom not power nor knowing right from wrong. God tells us what is right and wrong in the Scriptures, but revelation is God's words to us. The wisdom alone comes from God. You know Jesus felt the church was worth dying for – it should be our mission as Christians to value living for it. Written by David Stahl

THE NEXT GREAT REVIVAL

For years I have heard of the great revival that would happen before Jesus returns to earth in the rapture (first taught by John Darby in 1830) or second coming depending on what camp you believe. There are so many thoughts, theories, and assumptions out there: rapture, pre tribulation, mid tribulation, post tribulation it all will give you a headache if you try studying it. I honestly believe we need to live in the first 65 Books of the Bible and God will take care of the Book of Revelation. After we get past the third Chapter of Revelation the symbolism, type and shadow of metaphors and concepts are steeped Jewish lore one can really get off track and in the ditch as we see has happened with the whole Hebraic movement. Yes Jesus is coming back, why? Because He said so and that is good enough for me. When I do not know and I need no preacher or teacher to convince me of Jesus' return. If you are not convinced of the return of Jesus Christ my friend then there is a lack of understanding and doctrinal truths of the word of God you desperately need. I know Jesus is coming back not because someone told me oh no, but out from my communion with the LORD and me discovering the truths of God's word and I know in my spirit He will return. But in Luke we read, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) and in 2 Thessalonians Paul talks about the LORD's appearing is at hand, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) Paul does not talk about a great revival (word not in the KJV of the Bible), but of a "falling away" and the revealing of "the son of perdition" some say is Satan, but the word "perdition" (Strong's G684) means wasters, destroyer, destruction. I really do not know or really care who "the son of perdition" is he is not my focus Jesus is my focus and if I can train my thoughts and spirit on Him that is enough. But today on Christian TV (which is a oxymoron) we hear of this great revival before the end of days that will sweep the world and billions of souls will be saved. Now do not get me wrong here I hope it happens. Oh how I hope it happens, I like the LORD wishes none to be loss no not one, but that is not what the Bible says. Jesus again in Matthew, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:4-14) This huge end time revival is not the picture Jesus paints. I wonder why what Jesus said is not preached as much as the prosperity messages and seeker sensitive doctrines? I guess you cannot get a bunch of people to rally around your mega church with such doom and gloom even if it is the truth. Those today who preach and teach about the "end of days" and what will befall the earth in the future from the Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelations, in my opinion, have no clue and at best they are guessing. Christian TV is full (each denomination has their own special star) of these soothsayers and they say the LORD gave them this special understanding and if you buy their book or video you too can know what is going to happen after the rapture, during the millennial reign, or when we all get to heaven, well mule fritters! Well if the LORD gave everyone a special understanding why do they all disagree in doctrine and timeline? Someone is not telling the truth. Shame on these charlatans and shame on the people that get snookered. John had to be in the Spirit to receive the Book of Revelation and fell at the LORD's feet as dead and today we merchandise the truth of the word of God for money, power, control, and prestige . God please forgive us for our greed and presumption. This end time folly revival really intrigues me. Again I hope I am wrong a lot of money and time has been dedicated trying to make it happen. As I have thought about it I have come to the realization (and I am not sure if we can call it a revival or an awaking), but after the LORD returns (and He will He said so) I believe every church in the world will be packed 24 hours a day every day of the year. I will even go as far and say people will be killing people to get through the doors. What a contrast from today. After the rapture or the second coming (again what you believe) as the Book of Revelation unfolds people will know they missed it. They were told and they did not believe, but now that they missed it God has their attention and they know there will be things that will be happening where they might have a second chance to make it to heaven and shun hell. Make no mistake hope in a second chance after the rapture will be the only thing that will keep most people going. Their lives will have been shattered death and destruction is ever before the people and they will know they missed it and they also will know there is still hope. I do not believe God will take the precious Holy Spirit from the earth at this time. Jesus said I will NEVER leave or forsake you and He means this too. Gene Fowler visiting W. C. Fields shortly before his death found his ailing crony sitting in the garden reading the Holy Bible. Fowler asked, "what are you doing?" Fields explained shyly, "I am looking for loop holes." That is what these people will be doing they will be looking for loop holes looking for ways to miss hell and make heaven their home. And in God's grace and mercy He has provided ways for this to happen. Many Christians do not know many people will live through the great tribulation and make it to heaven, but John writes, "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." (Revelation 7:13-15) I believe these could be the ones who had to give their lives for the Gospel. John again in Revelation, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4) Now I do not know how all of this is going to work out nor do I need to know. But I do know if you cannot stand for Jesus now when times are not really that tough how can you give your life? I do not know. Why Jesus Himself said, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:13) All I need to know is Jesus and His word and things will work out fine. Will there be a great end time revival I do not know, but I do know God has a made a way for us to spend eternity with Him and we now need to take Him at His word. My friend let us double our efforts now to reach as many people as possible. Written by David Stahl

WTFMT 54 FROM HGM ON 26 JUN 18

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-54 TEXT:

"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee." (Song 8:5)

 

I. WE NEED THIS WAY

A. The wilderness is a part of our Christian development. It is necessary for our growth. It is God's method for getting His provisions to us and into us. It is that which the Lord uses to bring spiritual enrichment into our lives. It is a means God uses to develop faith and trust in Him.

B. The wilderness is an essential part of the Christian life, whether we like it or not. He brings us to the wilderness so that we may see His glory moving in this particular unlikely and unpleasant place.

C. Let us look for the glory of God in the wilderness. Let's not look at other things. If we do, we will miss the cloud and the glory.

D. Certainly the difficulties and the giants will be there, but looking at them as insurmountable problems and unconquerable enemies will lead us to defeat.

E. Let us lift our eyes from the ground and look heavenward. Helen H. Lemmel expressed this well in her hymn, "The Heavenly Vision" Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

F. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus." That's the best advice or counsel we shall ever receive under any circumstance. Once we have our blessed Lord in proper view, everything else falls into proper perspective. Then the whole realm of Heaven and abundant provisions come into clear and correct focus. We see the victory before it comes.

G. All that we shall ever need is in Him. Come, let us follow our Beloved into the wilderness. There we shall come under sheltering wings and draw from His endless provisions.

H. There a thousand needs will be met. There we shall behold His wondrous beauty and glory. And from there we shall go into even broader blessings, brighter, and grander glory.

I. God brought the Children of Israel into the Wilderness of Paran for two main reason, one to show His most beloved His glory and beauty. And two, commence the conquest of a promise He made over 435 years ago, the fulfillment of the Promised Land.

J. But they never got to see all of the glory and beauty of God He wanted to show them. They saw some glory, but not the glory God desired to show them and work in them. Why? Because they were looking at the situations and circumstance.

K. Many Christians desire to see only a little of God's glory and beauty. God is wanting many Christians to go forth and eat of the bounty of the promised land, but sadly they have no stomach for the conquering giants or spending time in the wilderness to learn the lessons and gain the strength required to overcome.

L. Many Christians are content to eat the manna and the quail in the wilderness and drink water when God does a miracle. But these lessons that God uses to build faith and trust in Him, not the miracles.

 

II. PARTING THOUGHTS

 

A. So instead of moving into the promised land, the Children of Israel moved into the next wilderness. Forward they moved farther away from what God had for them. But forward into progress, forward and eastward they moved, farther and farther away from God's glory and beauty.

B. If we do not move into what God has for us, now, we too are moving farther and farther away from God's glory and beauty. We then will have to progress eastward.

ANOTHER GENERATION

In Judges we read, "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." (Judges 2:8-10) I thought how could this happen? How could there be, "another generation after them, which knew not the LORD?" even in America. All that God has done for America and yet most children know not much of God. After all the Children of Israel went through in the wilderness and beyond how could this happen? After all God commanded the people to teach their children; every generation was to teach their children and the next generation their children who God is and what He has done in the past for the people. Moses writes, "Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.? (Deuteronomy 4:10) Ah yes sadly I can see how this is happening in America and around the world in Christian homes. My friend answers to our questions from the LORD are often found in the strangest places if we have a heart to look for them. All of our grand kids came for a visit. What a wonderful time we had. I remember how I would feel when we would drive out of my father's drive way with our kids in tow and now I feel worse (I guess I know what my father felt) when I see our kids pull out of our drive way. But while they all were here they were singing songs I have never heard, well one said, "Pap do you know the words to these songs?" And I replied, "no." To be honest they were not really Christian songs more secular for this present generation. Now I love our kid s and our grand kids, but these songs were from a different generation, from an another generation of things and ways that I purposely do all that I can to avoid. I purposely do all that I can to stay away from technology. I see the danger of technology, not fear on my part, but danger to my walk with the LORD. I purposely do all that I can to stay away from social media. I purposely do all that I can to stay away from movies (last movie we saw was "Broken"), TV programs, and music that glamorize this world. I purposely do all that I can to stay away from and even resist any worldly concepts and thinking that comes into conflict with the way I was raised and especially in conflict with the things of God. The more we go towards technology the less of God will be in us and the less of the Christians values my parents and others has instilled in me. I see how easy these values and Godly principles can be displaced by something new that affects our flesh, something shiny, bigger, brighter, something that captives our thoughts and thinking. Again I love our kids and grand kids very much and even understand the draw and pull of this world on them, but it is the responsibility of all Christian parents and grandparents to turn our children away from the things of this world so they would not follow after the ungodly things that this world daily serves up. Music, movies, computer games, social media all captures the heart, mind, and spirit of young people and enslaves them into wrong thinking that will oh so subtly drive them down a road to ultimate destruction. I am really confounded how churches use Facebook with all of its confusion and even the selling of personal information as a means to communicate information and news within the church. I hear many pastors say, "oh it is convenient, everyone is on it (not everyone) so we will use Facebook too." Well one thing I have learned is if the world is running after it God is NOT. Oh many say what harm is the singing of a few little worldly songs? Well that is the slippery slope of the world we all wrestle with. What part of, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) do we not understand? The Scripture is quite clear my brother. To love or not love the world neither the things that are in the world" is not a request or good idea from the LORD, but a command. Yet we wink and nod at God's word and wonder why we get caught up in all of these areas in our lives. The answer is clear, we really love the world and the things in the world. And yes I can find myself here if I am not careful. I must say no to the things that draw me away from God. What part of, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2) do we not get? Why are we transformed by the world? Because we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to renew our minds. The renewing of our mind is not God's or the Holy Spirit's job, but ours. We renew our minds as we displace thoughts and hungers of the world from our hearts and mind by the things of God, those "good, and acceptable, and perfect will" things of God. The overriding need of the Church is not more influence, money, ministry, power, but is to discharge its obligation to the rising generation to a leadership that is: Authoritative. People love to be led by one who knows where they are going and who inspires confidence. They follow, almost without question, the person who shows himself wise and strong, who adheres to what he believes. Next it must be Spiritual. Leadership that is unspiritual, that can be fully explained in terms of the natural, although ever so attractive and competent, will result only in spiritual fruitlessness, corruption3 and immorality. Lastly it must be Sacrificial. Modeled on the life of the One who gave Himself a sacrifice for the whole world, who left us an example that we should follow His steps. It is the binding duty of those in positions of leadership to face-up-to the situation and do all in their power to see that the torch of a truly spiritual leader is passed on to the younger generation. Leadership is often viewed as the product of natural endowments and traits of personality, intellectual capacity, force of will, and enthusiasm. These God-given talents do greatly enhance leadership beyond question, but those are not the factors of paramount importance in the spiritual leader. The real qualities of leadership are to be found in those who are willing to suffer for the sake of objectives great enough to demand their wholehearted obedience. Spiritual leaders are not made by election or appointment, by men or any combination of men, nor by conferences. Only God can make them. Simply holding a position of importance does not constitute one a leader, nor does taking courses in leadership or resolving to become a leader. The only method is that of qualifying to be a leader. Religious position can be conferred by bishops and boards, but not spiritual authority; which is the prime essential of Godly leadership. That comes, often unsought, to those who in earlier life have proved themselves worthy of it by spirituality, discipline, ability, and diligence, workers who have heeded His call. Spiritual leadership is a thing of the Spirit and is conferred by God alone. When His searching eye alights on a servant who has qualified, He anoints him with his Spirit and separates them to their distinctive ministry. Samuel Logan Brengle, a truly great spiritual leader of the Salvation Army, outlined the road to spiritual authority and leadership 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 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. 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." The Prophet Joel knew of the importance of teaching our children about the LORD and keeping our hearts far from the world. "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.? (Joel 1:2-6) Sounds like today my friend except for the teaching of our children. It is the previous' generations duty to tell the next generation the things of God to press them on the heart and souls of the young and tell of the things the LORD has done for them. Sadly the "Baby Boomers" (those born after World War II my generation) have miserably failed in their Godly calling to prepare the next generation. And why? Most have spent their time and interests on themselves and their desires, seeking pleasure and have raised kids who seek greater pleasure than their parents. God and His will is nowhere in the picture. So too the "church" has failed in instructing the next generation. They mix the truth with lies, but of greater damage is their lack of leadership and guidance. In the past as I grew up in the church I remember great men of God who really cared for their people their focus was not what they wanted, but had a real heart for the people and what God wanted for them, They really knew God it was evident in their talk, their life style, and in the word of God they delivered from a broken and contrite heart. Not so today. Where are the dedicated men of God? Today most pastors are so self focused in what the people will say. They have little to no inward strength and why? They have not allowed God to build in them an inward quality. Oh they have been to Bible School, they have completed the denominational paperwork to be ordained, and they think that qualifies them to be a pastor, but not so in God. God requires much more to be able to speak for Him. And at the heart of their ministry is their rice bowl. Their concern is for their job and their good name in the community. Who will teach the next generation about God? I can speak for our family that will be Karen, I, and our kids. Written by David Stahl

SEPARATION FROM GOD

I remember a story of Charles Haun (my Bible Teacher) when he was on a platform waiting to minister in a church and the pastor leaned forward and whispered, "there are sinners here today." Charles somewhat puzzled replied, "that is good I like sinners. As a matter of fact some of my best friend are sinners." The pastor slid back in his seat. I wonder why so many Christians do not like sinners? There seems to be this big, "them verses us thinking" in the church today. Ah they are sinners we cannot have anything to do with them. Foolishness just foolishness! Funny if Jesus can eat with sinners I wonder why some Christians have such a hard time? In Luke we read, "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat." (Luke 7:36) Maybe it is because Christians not wanting to identify with their old life and I can buy into that somewhat, but wait a minute the Bibles says we all were sinners. "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:22-23) Yes for those who have accepted the finished work of Christ on the cross once were sinners, but now we walk in the newness of life, a new creation in Christ Jesus yet still with a nature in us that could pull us back into our old way of living if we do not continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ. There is no neutral in the LORD either we are moving forward in Christ or we are back pedaling. You know I believe the LORD is more concerned about our coming short than He is of our sin. After all Jesus dealt with our sin, but He did not deal with our coming short. With things like our character, our integrity, honesty, and so many other SMALL things we think God is not so concerned about. This thinking whereby sin separates (even thinking we are better than sinners) us from God and other people in the world who are not Christians can go deep into our walk with God and man. I know in the past I have caught myself thinking such delusional thoughts. Could this be also why most churches are becoming obsolete? Is it because most Christians do not talk to people who need Jesus? Most Christians today hide and wait in a church building ready to pounce on some poor deranged sinner (in the Christians thinking) when (if) they come to church, but to meet the sinner in the market place, door knocking, or some type of evangelism outreach (something most churches never do) well this rarely happens. Most Christians in churches today have little to no spiritual wherewithal (because of the lack of spiritual teaching and the dumbing down of the Gospel message) to be able to discern if someone is even saved, filled with a demonic spirit, and have no opportunity to experience failure and growth in their walk with the LORD. It seems to be all about denominational agendas: reports to fill out, money to give (maybe pay back) to headquarters, even a rice bowl to protect. I believe denominations have done more to prevent (around the world) the sharing of the Gospel message than Satan. I have seen the lack of spiritual discernment and the denominational control and manipulation (around the world) in action and it is troubling to say the least. Here is a example. One Sunday night (when we lived in Jacksonville) we stopped by one of those "Non-denominational denominational" (non-denominational in name, but belongs to a network of 1,000s of churches) church just to see what it was like. Well with our Bibles in tow we went in and sat near the back of the church as the service had already started. Before we could get comfortable some people came up to us and started to ask questions not the typical pumping for information, but they started asking us if we were saved. Are you sure you are saved? How long have to been saved. What makes you think you are saved? This went on for some time till I asked the people to just leave us alone. They did, but later another group of people assaulted us with the same tactic. We repelled this second wave of attack by saying (in a more forceful tone) "buzz off and leave us alone." They left and as we looked around the big crowd we were the among the oldest people in attendance. This told me a lot. This told me there was not much spiritual growth or discernment in the people very zealous, but had not much wisdom. During the altar call we were attacked for the third time and was begging us to come down to the altar to give our hearts to the LORD, well I had enough and greatly pushed back to this immaturity. We left that night and never came back. Over the years 15 in the Jacksonville and Sneads Ferry area we have seen the lack of opportunity to serve, learn, and even be trained in service for the LORD seems to have fallen by the wayside for a more comfort driven routine and "just too much work involved attitude." We have attended and visited many churches in these 15 years, but I am not sure what the end means of our going to church there was. Please let me stop here. I do not want to seem like I am running down the pastors of these churches, but want to say we love these pastors and the people very much and for the truth to be known we want only to see God move in the lives (ours too) of these wonderful people. In hurtful and confusing times I understand clearer, "Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." (Proverbs 27:5-6) But almost every service we attended was a cookie cutter service. On Wednesday night the same routine: prayer, offering, and preaching by the pastor. The Sunday morning service was about the same routine with a few songs added before the pastor's prayer and preaching. Now the point is there is no reason for the people to come to church except to give money to the church, hear the pastor minister, and attend the traditional fellowship dinners such as Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Party, with each other. Most if not all had no discipleship program, no evangelic outreach strategy to reach the community, no weekly Bible (maybe ladies and men) study (except for the Wednesday night service) or no home group meeting where relationships are built. And why? I think most of the people do not really want to get involved, but again the point I am trying to make is there is no opportunity for personal ministry, no means for discipleship, nor is there a vision to reach the community all three critical elements of a healthy spiritual church that affects the community in a positive way. Let us face it if we are not affecting the community for God and people are not coming to the LORD then we have turned our budget and hearts inward toward the members and become a fortress daring a sinner to come and kick down our doors. If our congregation does not reflect (even in color) the community there are some things going on that needs to be addressed by God and the people. There is a great book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom S. Rainer I recommend all pastors take a read. It is small you can read it in two days or less, but do yourself a favor prayerfully read it because it is filled with wisdom from God that is needed to stop (grave yard dead) this decline and even departure of the Gospel message in the United States. For better or worse (I vote worse) America has chosen the structure of churches (we really know we are the church) as the means for people in America and the world to hear and spread the Gospel message and yes church denominations have capitalized on this notion and exploited it for money, influence, and power. I have written in the past how I believe the early church got off track and developed this structure for commonness and support, but in the beginning the Christians met (Acts 2:46) house to house breaking bread. I also believe, mind you very slowly, we will be going back to house meetings if the LORD tarries. Wow looks like the Holy Spirit had me drift some so please let me get back on target. I will be honest I do not know why people say sin separates us from God. On the contrary I would say sin draws the LORD closer to man if man makes a move towards the LORD. Now do not get me wrong here we should never go towards sin so that the LORD can forgive us. Nor should be ever languish in sin again and again (enjoying the pleasure for a season) knowing the LORD will forgive us. Paul addressed this issue and thinking with the Christians in Rome, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2) But believe it or not this wrong thinking "cheap grace" is being taught by many of the big prosperity and word of faith preachers and teachers. Shame on them! Yet it is a wrong doctrine that feeds our flesh and allows our emotions and carnal lower nature room to express itself and grow while rejecting the truth. Just like with denominations it is all about money, influence, and power and the people eat it up. To see this truth were sin does not separate God from man all we have to do is read and rightly divide the Scriptures. In Genesis after man disobeyed God and ate of the fruit from the "Tree of Knowledge and of Good and Evil" we find God in the garden not separated from man because of his sin, but calling his name looking to have a time of communion with man. In Genesis we read, "And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:9-10) God did not separate Himself from man when he sinned oh no on the contrary. Because of God's love for man God came closer trying to redeem man. A few Chapter later in Genesis we read where Cain kills his brother Abel. "And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.' (Genesis 4:9-10) and even in this horrific murder and sin God never separated himself from Cain in his sin. Nowhere in the Bible has God ever said I will turn away from man because he has sinned so. What a wonderful love God has for man. What a wonderful truth. Now notice the opposite can happen in man's life. Man can separate himself from God by rejecting again and again the loving drawing of the Holy Spirit to the point that man drifts away into a reprobate mind where man has no desire for God. I do not understand how this could happen (as I do not understand why a holy God would want to live inside of us see Ephesians 2:22), but God is a holy and righteous God and will uphold His eternal word. We read, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;" (Romans 1:28) and "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16) This is not God separating Himself from man, but man separating Himself from God. God's love for man is unconditional, but not so with man. Back in Romans we read, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." Romans 5:6-9) What unconditional love. My friend where can we run to separate ourselves from the presence of God? David said, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Psalm 139:7-8) You know if God separates Himself from man because of sin then God would have separated Himself from His own son Jesus while on the cross which is not true. I hear many preachers and teachers says because of sin God had to turn His back on Jesus while on the cross and even quote scripture, "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) How foolish to think God separated Himself from Jesus because He became sin for us on the cross. God every day of our lives looks at our sin, but "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:8-19) If God separated Himself from Jesus on cross then God will separate Himself from us. But that is not what Jesus said. Oh no in Matthew Jesus said, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:20). And you know what He means it! Written by David Stahl

DOING FOLLOWS THINKING

There is a critical spiritual principle that the LORD has been working into my spirit lately and that is "doing follows thinking." Our doing in and out of God follows whatsoever we think. We will go nowhere in that we have not yet thought about first. I can go to Germany (which I have never been to before) by just thinking about it or imagining what it would be like. Our thought life is what drives our physical life. There is no sin we will ever commit without first thinking about it. There is no good act that God has ordained in our lives that we first did not think about. The longer I go in God the more I see and understand how God communicates with us through our thoughts, our thinking. In Proverbs some of my favorite verses in the Scriptures are, "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is notwiththee8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words." (Proverbs 23:6-8) As we think in our heart we shall be that, but if we get the wrong understanding from what we think we will be wrong. I can sit in a garage all day and think I am a car and even go beep beep, but that will never make me a car. Our thinking and understanding must align with the reality of what God wants us to do. If not we will get into trouble with God and man. If our wanting to understand at times can overrides what God wants us to know then we will get into trouble with God and man. Wanting to know out of God's plan got Eve (and the entire world) into a lot of trouble. Today we still suffer from Eve's lack of understanding and her wanting to know things that God did not want her to know. We again must want to know what God wants us to know. Anything more will get us into trouble with God and man. This thinking and our thoughts even gets down to the ministry of God's word. The word of God (a message and not a sermon) that we receive from God is from our thoughts/thinking. When we have an opportunity to minister God's word He will drop some thoughts in our thinking/thoughts and we will get an understanding of what He wants us to communicate to the people. God may even drop a burden in our heart, but for sure He will give us the thoughts on which to build His words from. And out from these thoughts is much external word (what we can write down) and out from the external word we will get the internal word where the Spirit of God dwells and what we share that gives life, the life of God for the people. The key is to get the correct understanding from our thinking /thoughts. If we get a wrong understanding then we will get the wrong message. I have seen and heard this play out in lives for years. People push for an understanding and what they get is a wrong understanding. You know it is one thing not to know and have a wrong understanding, but it is another thing and worse not to know you do not know and you have a wrong understanding. Now if we push for an understanding we will get one make no mistake (no pun intended) it may be wrong, but it is an understanding none the less. For some people sadly this is okay because it fits their agenda and philosophy in ministry. Sadly I have seen this play out for years also. Wrong understanding will lead us over into presumption; thinking we know what is right, but in reality it is wrong. In Philippians we can see this presumption play out if we do not have the right understanding. Paul writes, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanks giving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:5-7) Here if we stay in the right context of these verses we will get a right understanding and there is even a great safety net that will prevent us from getting into trouble with God and man. Yes we are to let our needs be known to God there is no question about this, but that is all we do. Then (and only then) "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" we will not get over into presumption and get into trouble with God and man. Yet again and again I hear pastors and teachers tell people if they do not hear from God keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. They take the verses in Luke and Matthew out of context (twisting them) and try to beat God over His head with His own word. In Luke we read the words of Jesus, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Luke 11:9-10) Now if you stay with the context of what Jesus was saying and look at the words you will find Jesus was not saying to keep asking, seeking, and knocking till God answers. I cannot begin to tell you of the numbers pastors and teachers I have heard spin this yarn getting people all worked up and when God does not answer they get disappointed and often fall out of God to the point they totally walk away from God. No my friend get out of the emotional realm and open up your spiritual understanding and Bible. Just ask and it will be given to you? Really? Just seek and you shall find? Really? Just knock and it shall be opened? Really? Jesus was not saying this at all. Jesus was not saying keep on bombarding heaven (as many pastors and teachers say) with your asking, seeking, and knocking till God surrenders and answers your prayer. This asking, seeking knocking teaching is nothing more than a works based performance religion where if I pray long, loud, and hard enough God will finally hear my prayer and answer it. Now read the verses with understanding. "For every one that asketh receiveth;" (it may not be what you were asking for, but if you ask for something you will receive something and it may not be from God) "and he that seeketh findeth;" (so too if you seek and seek you will find something, that is a part of our human nature we seek because we want to find something. We have this need in us to find something instead of waiting on God) "and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (we knock and knock on this door and that door and if no one answers we keep knocking till someone answers the door we are knocking on, but probably depending on the number of doors we have knocked on it will not be the door God wants to open to us.) Jesus was warning us. Jesus was saying to take heed in our asking, seeking, and knocking because we will probably get some things in our push for understanding (may not be God's understanding) that will be more destructive to our walk with the LORD than what the LORD has for us if we can wait on Him and receive. Does not God know what we need? Do we really need to ask, seek, and knock till God answers? I know when our kids were growing up and they wanted something (that I wanted to give them) they would ask and I would say okay. Now it is up to me when, where, and how to give them what they ask for, but if they kept bugging me (thinking they will get it sooner trying to manipulate me like many Christians try to do to God) their repeated pleads and petitions for what they have already asked me would become faint in my ears (even though I loved them very much) and would delay till they had the right heart condition to receive what they asked. In Matthew Jesus told the disciples and us, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Where withal shall we be clothed?32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." (Mathew 6:31-32) Does not the Father know what we need? So what is all of this asking, seeking, knocking? Can we not just trust in God without all of this religious arrogance? Oh I know I am going after some of the religious sacred cows, but it is high time for the Body of Christ to stop all of this "look see pigeon" (what the Chinese would say) when you release a pigeon from a cage that you paid good money for. It is suppose to make you feel good. The next few verses in Luke 11 says, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:11-13) Do you see that? If we ask for bread is God going to give us a snake? No He knows what we need. He even knows bread may not be (even though we have asked) what we need, but since God knows what we need He will give us what we need in His good time. I asked God about going to Nepal recently and in spite of having all of the resources and planning done God gave me what He wanted me to have (because He loves me) what I needed, but it was not what I wanted. God is good at this. If you walk with the LORD any time you will find His love for us overshadows our begging for things we think we need. In God's answer is always the right understanding. We need not to ask, seek, or knock all we have to do is just in obedience receive what God has for us. If we get our thinking wrong then our doing can only be wrong. It is not we are doing wrong (that seems to be our focus because our actions reveal our doing) but in reality our wrong doing happens as we again and again think wrong. Written by David Stahl

WTFMT 53 (HGM ON 24 APR 18)

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-53

TEXT: "And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed." (Exodus 17:12)

 

I. UPON OUR SHOULDERS

 

A. Does the way we look at things will determine whether we fail or succeed. Does our enemies have enough power to cause defeat in our life? No way! Not even the enemy Satan has the power over our life, that God does not allow him.

B. In the wilderness the children of Israel were fighting the Amalekits. At one moment, the Amalekits would be winning. Then, at another moment, there would be a change and the Israelites would be winning. Why? Was it because the power of the enemy was strong at one moment and weak at another moment?

C. No! It was Moses! When he has his hands up, Israel was winning. When his hands dropped, the enemy was winning. "And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (Exodus 17:12)

D. It did not depend on God. It did not depend upon the enemy. It depended upon Moses. God has provided all things. Now the question is, how do we relate to all of God's provisions? How do we view the overall circumstances of life in light of God's provisions? Do we look at things as centering upon ourselves, but centering upon God?

E. The provisions and power of God do not determine whether we fail or succeed in our walk with God. His provisions and power are always at hand and without limit. The ability of God to work in and through us is not determining factor in our failure or success.

F. The Believer in the wilderness should not focus on:

1. Himself

2. The enemy

3. What God does for them

4. What God provides for them

G. The Believer should focus on God Himself. If anything in our life is in focus over and above God, we are out of bounds and in danger. Since all things move out from God, then let us have HIM as our focus.

H. As we follow this advice there will be only victory; there will not be defeat. If we find ourselves in a situation which, in our view, is bigger than God, what shall we do? We shall faint! We shall fall. This very situation is the place to which God has brought us for the sake of greater opportunities in Him.

I. But, alas! It becomes our place of failure and defeat. Why? Because God is not our focal point. The fault is not in God. Nor is it in the situation itself. The fault is not in another person; the fault is in us. The failure and defeat are our own doings. Remember, at the heart of every issue is an issue of MY heart.

J. The children of Israel were brought into a situation designed to bring them many blessings. They abode in the Wilderness of Paran. They dwelled in the "glory of God." But, what was their focus, what did they see in it? "Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there." (Numbers 113:28) It seems that they are seeing everything but God. Everything is in the picture but God. The unpleasant situation fills the vision. God is not seen.

K. It reminds me of the disciples counting the loaves of bread, the fish, and the people. "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (John 6:9) Without counting and counting on HIM there is no answer to the situation.

L. Today most Christians believe that the enemies own and rule everything. There is unbelief as to who owns the land. How often do we hear, "The angels of the Lord! Oh, the angels of the Lord are everywhere around us!" We do not hear that as often as we hear, "Oh, demons are here; demons are there; demons are everywhere!" But, according to the Scriptures, "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." (Psalm 34:7) Most Believers have given the earth to Satan and wicked people. At least this is their faith. But it is not according to the Word of God, "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1)

 

II. PARTING THOUGHTS

 

A. The children of Israel were brought into the Wilderness of Paran for the specific and expressed purpose of going onward to possess the Promised Land. When we are brought into a wilderness by God, we are not brought in to be overcome by circumstances.

B. God has no intention of feeding us to wild beasts. He does not bring us into a wilderness to fail by unbelief, or to faint and die from weariness. God does not make the wilderness a part of our lives to defeat and discourage us. He does not bring us into the wilderness to kill us, as some of the Israelites thought concerning themselves. Our flesh, yes! Our body and spirit, Oh, No! We are brought there to take advantage of the opportunities which God has placed there for us.