Deeper Truths for Hungry Hearts
June 2016 • Volume XIV Number 10
“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. Over the many months we have looked at the call of God on the life of Moses, oh the lessons we can learn if we take to study the Scriptures and allow them to be a mirror to reflect or not reflect how much we are not like Moses. To be honest there are some wonderful things in Moses’ life, but like all of us there are some things in the life of Moses that are not really good to be found in us. Make no mistake God loves Moses (like us) even in his faults. In Numbers God thought of Moses, “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)” (Numbers 12:3) Please notice this verse was not said of Moses by God, but expressed in thought. The parenthesis around the verse make it a parenthetical thought whereby one thinks out loud and is captured. You know if I have a choice of God talking about me or thinking about me I would choose Him thinking about me. Many say Moses failed God (not me) and never made it to the “promised land” well that is true to a degree (not with the Children of Israel), but if we remember Moses was standing on what we today call the Mount of Transfiguration (which is believed to be either Mt Hermon or Mt Tabor) in Israel with Isaiah. Make no mistake my friend God always rewards the meekest and humblest (for His sake) where He finds it. That was Moses, but now we are going to talk about Isaiah. When we compare Moses to Isaiah we would be wrong if we never compared their character. And with Isaiah the nature of his vision is related to the nature of his ministry. Here is Isaiah’s vision (verses 1-13) and in his vision is contained five elements of his call. So let us read these verses and then over the next few months we will look at the five elements verse by verse. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” (Isaiah 6:1-13) It is important to understand right off there is nothing really significant about the death of King Uzziah so many preachers and teachers try to make a big deal about his death, but Isaiah was using his death as a marker in time to put us along the physical timeline of the Jewish people as well as a spiritual heart condition of the people and what he saw in the spiritual realm. The five elements are 1. A revelation of God. 2. A revelation of service to God and His people (one cannot have a revelation of God and not want to serve Him and His people). 3. A divine cleansing. 4. A personal call. And 5. A divine commission.
Next month we will begin to look at the first of the five elements, a revelation of God, in verse 6:1. So do your home work and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. As He was with Moses and Isaiah so shall he be with you. Listen closely my friend do you hear Him call now?
Written David Stahl
ARTICLE REVIEW:
Commit Not Yourself
One of the greatest displays of dedication and faithfulness we can show our brothers and sisters is our commitment to them. Now I have been married for over 36 years to Karen, the best woman in the world. This is a sign of commitment not only of my love and devotion to her, but of her commitment and love to me. How could I not commit myself to her, she gave me four wonderful kids and has dedicated her self towards me for over 36 years. This my friend goes much further than just loving me. If we only love each other our relationships will not last it will break down when our body begins to break down and wear out, when our teeth and hair begin to fall out, when our minds become dull, and we are in great need of someone to feed us or change our diaper. Yes, commitment goes much further than love, this is why there is such lack in the church today, no real commitment. No commitment to studying (not just reading) God’s word, no real commitment to prayer, and no commitment to spending time with God. How do we expect to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ if we cannot be committed to God? How can we grow spiritually if we cannot find time to hear from God? Now do not make the big mistake of thinking and confusing commitment with busy work at church. Real commitment happens in the heart and always involves sacrifice of our self so that others may prosper. Sadly pastoring a church, teaching Sunday School, changing diapers in the nursery, counting the money, parking cars, cutting the grass, or greeting people at the door does not equal commitment, they equal service at different degrees. I would think the diaper changing and the grass cutting (in God’s eyes) ranks far ahead of the pastoring and teaching and so is the reward for the real dirty jobs. Commitment is critical in our relationship, yet divorce rates among Christians and worldly practices of living together before marriage out strips the secular world. What has happened to our commitment? Commitment requires integrity, honor, and honesty three things woefully lacking in most Christian (I include myself here at times) circles to the word of God and His ways. Oh we are ready for our destiny in God (oh really), but not ready for a real commitment to God that is heart focused and dedicated to the point of real sacrifice that God can count on. Oh we dance around (like Miriam), but in our heart we lack the determination and valor to follow through. In Exodus we read, “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” (Exodus 15: 20-21) What a wonderful song of victory as all of the women of Israel took up their timbrels and had a Holy Ghost spell (what they use to call a move of God’s Spirit in times past), but if we wait and read a few more chapters we see the real heart of the people and Miriam for her brother Moses. Here, “Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.” (Numbers 12:1) The Lord calls Aaron and Miriam on their words, “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 9And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.’ (Number 12:7-10) The point here is Aaron and especially Miriam carried bad feelings and resentment for their brother through the miracle of the Red Sea and through the victory dance and for that they both were punished by God. No real commitment to Moses on Aaron and Miriam’s part brought swift and severe punishment. No emotional experience in God or amount of church busy work ever equals our obedience and commitment to God and His people. My friend let us take heed to the warning here in Numbers before we fall into such a horrible pit.
Yes true commitment is a must in our lives if we are going to walk in obedience to the Lord, but we must take heed my friend to who we are committing ourselves to. Often we make a very big mistake in God by committing ourselves to ones who are not really walking with the Lord as they appear or are off track in their revelation of the Scriptures. Remember, everything that glitters is not gold and in God everyone who preaches and teaches are not of God. The New Testament is full of verses that warn us to beware of false teachers; oh they are teachers, but they are false teachers. In 2 Peter we find Peter warning the Christians against false teachers within their local fellowship who would lead them into apostasy. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:1-4) My friend times have not changed much in this area. Then and now they “merchandise” you or sell you out so they can take advantage of you. Through their “feigned words” they deceive you and take you for all they can. Over my many years walking with the Lord I have known many false teachers and have known many Christians who have gotten off track because they have listened to wrong teachings. They committed themselves to their teacher or mentor who was a false teacher and now both have run into a horrible pit. Many denominations (especially the Southern Baptist) teach you are to find a mentor or a “father in the Lord” you can trust and depend on to commit yourself to, someone who can hold you accountable before God. My friend this is a very dangerous practice that will get you into a world of trouble with God. I have seen and even recently personally experienced the great folly in this. We must be very careful who we commit ourselves to. We must be very careful who we call our teacher, we even must be careful who we call a friend. You know I am learning I have many acquaintances, but very few friends. We must be led by and accountable to the Holy Spirit in all of our dealings then we will have good success and not get off track. Did you know it matters who your teacher is? I am proud to call Charles Haun my teacher. Here too in our misunderstanding (not our not understanding) can we get in trouble. For example, many teachers teach to knock, seek, and find, well here we must take heed to be careful. Jesus never taught this He taught if we ask we will be given something, if we seek we will find something, and if we knock a door will open. In Matthew we read, “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. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10) Now they may all be what God wants us to discover in Him (in our asking, seeking, and knocking), but take heed my friend they may not. Do you see the difference in what Jesus was saying and what many false teachers teach? The tense and mood of these verses (check it out) warns us to take heed to ourselves in this area and does not encourage us (like most teach) to keep on knocking, asking, or seeking God until we are blue in the face. This is a self-centered selfish approach to the Scriptures. My friend the Scriptures are not written so that we can add things to our self, but to encourage us to be willing to give things away. Anyone who teaches to the contrary is a false teacher and a liar. And here the misunderstanding (out from most denominational and prosperity teachings) of these verses causes many Christians to be led astray because they have committed themselves to those who would speak and spread lies, a false teacher from their “feigned (Strong’s #4112, molded, formed, as from clay, wax, or stone) words” of deception.
Even though Jesus died for everyone in the world He never committed Himself to everyone in the world. Please let me say that again, Jesus never committed Himself to everyone in the world. Now here is where committing ourselves to some Christians can really get us in trouble. In John we read, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25) Here Jesus knew the hearts of the people, they came for the miracles and to fill their belly with wine and food, but their desire to know the heart of Jesus was far from them. John said Jesus, “knew all men” well guess what my friend Jesus still knows all men. Jesus knows our heart, Jesus knows our desires and hungers. Jesus even knows why we serve Him. I am amazed at the number of Christians (I know) who serve Jesus so that they can get something from Him or be spoken well of. Ministry to the world my friend is not the end of our relationship with the Lord, but the means for us to lay our life down for the world. Do you know what Jesus knew about the people? I believe Jesus knew the lies they had in their hearts. The Bible, time and time again, talks about how God hates a lying tongue. When we commit ourselves to someone and they have been found out to be less than what we thought (sometimes this is our fault for expecting more than what they can provide after all a man cannot give what they do not have) or worse a liar, trust the element that bonds, that glues relationships together is lost. And when trust is lost the relationship is not possible until the trust is restored by the one who has lied or has been found out to be less than what was expected. Trust is restored not through swelling words or tearful confessions, but confidence in character, honor, and integrity, but this takes humility (I declare my need for more of this here) by all parties. Oh the loss of relationship that happens from committing ourselves to people who take for granted the commitment that was invested into the relationship. I feel I have learned again, it is best not to commit ourselves to man, but put all that is within us to commit ourselves to God through the Holy Spirit. But, if you do commit yourself to man take heed my friend your heart can only take so much and you have only so much in which someone can use you up. Thank God for His touch.
Written by David Stahl
THOUGHTS FROM KAREN:
Well Done
Dave and I were talking on our way to church on how important it is to eat right and get our exercise now. When we were younger our bodies were much more forgiving if we ate wrong or didn’t get our exercise, but not now brother once you hit 50, we need to take care of ourselves and eat more from the trees and the garden. I do not want to die before my time because I refused to eat right, exercise, and do that which I know to do to keep healthy. I certainly don’t want to stand before a Holy and righteous GOD and have Him say to me that I wasn’t due to arrive in Heaven for another 5 years and as a result of my selfishness coming to Heaven early others died in their sin because I wasn’t there to tell them about Jesus. Yikes!!! We all want to hear, “Enter into the joys of your Lord . . .” (Matthew 25: 21 and in verse 23), but what comes before that is, “well done thou good and faithful servant . . .” (Matthew 25: 21 and in verse 23). Most people who do not know me would say what have you done Karen? Granted I’ve not “accomplished” much in this life in the material. The best was raising our kids, but again that wasn’t a one woman show so I can’t take all the credit for that. Besides I could never, ever be hailed as the “best mother of the year” no way. I don’t have my own “ministry” per say, nor do I teach Sunday school. I don’t preach, teach, or sing (I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, never mind sing on key), play an instrument, nor am I the “first lady” like some churches have for their pastors wife. I guess my main ministry (Dave says his main ministry is to take care of me) is taking care of Dave. Yep, that’s pretty much it. So I’d better do a good job, but sometimes I fail in that though–I get hit with a fit of selfishness. The Bible says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is also in much.” (Luke 16:10) Boy what an indictment on us. We best be content in what we do and be faithful in what we’re doing. What if GOD asks our husbands, “well what kind of wife was she?” or “was she a good helpmeet?” How about, “was she supportive and encouraging?” If we look at things that way it sure puts a different slant on things doesn’t it? Dave always says it’s not what we do for GOD it’s how we do it. I believe that is a true statement, but we also must do that which GOD gives us to do and try to do it to the best of our ability. GOD doesn’t like slackers, but on the flip side sometimes we have so many irons in the fire that something and even somebody gets short changed. Yes being faithful in the routine, mundane, the everyday stuff is not so glamorous, but again it’s not the great big things that we do for GOD, it’s our faithfulness and how we do things every time. Even in the little things. Wouldn’t you too like to hear Jesus say “well done?”
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.
12. Money for an industrial strength potato peeler at the Mission School in Romania.
Next Home Group Meeting:
Our next Home Group Meeting will be TUESDAY 21 June 2016
232 Everett Drive
Sneads Ferry, NC 28460
7:00 pm please RSVP
Home: (910) 741-0489
FUTURE SCHEDULE:
June: Bukoba, Tanzania
July: Local Ministry
August: 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.
