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"We walk by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7

The natural man has no understanding of this powerful statement. Those who are spiritually dead do not have the capacity to comprehend such rich truth. Although they exercise certain measures of faith each day, they do not know how to walk or live by the biblical principles of faith. Those who have no relationship with Christ must rely upon their own knowledge, understanding, and experiences to make choices and decisions. Many times, they will choose based upon a limited ability of humanistic reasoning. Using their five senses, coupled with the input of family or friends, they will decide upon a course of action that seems most pleasurable, attainable, desirable, profitable or manageable. In other words, natural man will select what he or she thinks, or feels, will give them the greatest measure of satisfaction or happiness. Such reasoning can often lead to personally disastrous and long-term, painful consequences. For those of us who have been saved, however, our choices and decisions in life must not be marked by humanistic reasoning, but by divine revelation. As we face crossroads in life, we must sincerely ask: "What is God saying to me?" Or, "How is the Holy Spirit leading me?"

It should come as no surprise that our lives, and the way we make choices and decisions in our lives, should be radically different than the non-believer. Everything about our lives should be marked by faith. In fact, the Bible says in Romans 14 that "whatever is not of faith is sin." As I invest time in quiet reflection upon my life, my family, and my ministry, I realize that I am not writing from a place of personal and spiritual perfection. I have so much more room to grow and mature in Christ, yet I am also so grateful for His grace, mercy and patience shown to me over and over again. During this year, three important milestones are being realized in my life that deserve recognition for the Lord's leadership, and praise for His faithfulness.

On the 4th of March, Tammy and I celebrated twenty years of being in our "Faith House" in the Craig Springs community near Sturgis, Mississippi. When we surrendered to the Lord's leadership in transitioning from a pastoral responsibility to an itinerant ministry of conducting church revivals, evangelistic crusades, and mission trips in 1997, we were uprooting our family and launching out into a sea of uncharted waters. We didn't have a place to live, but we did have a town to go to as God's Spirit had confirmed to us that we were to trust Him for a place to call home in my very small hometown in the Mississippi Delta. As we closed the door of ministry at the Thrasher Baptist Church near Booneville, Miss., He opened the door for us to live in the parsonage of the Baptist church that I attended as a boy in Duncan. There was much for us to learn in this move of faith, and life was not always filled with warm sunshine, refreshing breezes, and beautiful flowers. Yet through it all, God was good.

We knew that we would not be in the Delta for a long time, but there was no revelation concerning any kind of move, so we sought to be content and wait on Him. Friends tried to convince us to move to the Lebanon, Tennessee area east of Nashville, while others wanted us to relocate to Brandon, Mississippi near Jackson. Both of these were in places where I was preaching quite a bit in local churches, and very close to major airports that would make travel much easier. But as we prayed, there was no response from Heaven. We were learning that whenever He doesn't speak, we should remain focused on the task at hand, keep serving Him in faith, and realize that His silence either means no, or it might mean wait.

Returning home from a meeting in January of 2001, Tammy showed me an architectural drawing of a small house in a Southern Living magazine. Praying together about what she was believing God was showing her, gave us the overwhelming confirmation that we were to trust Him for the construction of this house.  As we prayed about the where, His revelation was almost instantaneous. The Lord showed us that we could trust Him for our "Faith House" in the rural community that Tammy called home. The process was slow, yet there was nothing that we could do to get things moving at a faster pace. I was traveling and preaching, often times in different countries around the world, and Tammy was busy home-schooling our girls.

In His wonderful providence, I was reconnected with a pastor at a Starkville church (Meadowview Baptist) who invited me to return and preach to his people. That opportunity led to our meeting a building contractor in the church who desired to talk with us about our plans. Eventually, this also provided us a place to stay in Starkville during the construction phase of our home through the generosity of Meadowview Church giving us the keys to their mission house. As everything was falling into place to finally get started, my phone began to ring with churches wanting me to talk with them concerning their need for a pastor. Ten different congregations from communities in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee were convinced that I was to be their next pastor. (And this doesn't include the invitation to assume a staff position in Honolulu, Hawaii, but that's another story!) Praying about all of this gave us the assurance to politely turn down those opportunities and trust Him for our new home. The building process began in the summer of 2003, and we spent our first night in our country home on March the 4th the following year. We did all of this by His divine guidance. The Lord gave us leadership to trust Him, and confirmed this move over and over again during the three years it took for the initial revelation to become a living reality. Amen!

A second major milestone in my life occurred March 26th. That date marked my 35th anniversary of having surrendered to God's call to preach His gospel. It was on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1989, that I stood before the congregation of the Friendship Baptist Church near Sturgis and nervously told them of my calling. Tammy and I had no idea what all would happen in our future, but we were confident in the One who saved us and was calling us. We were eventually led to trust Him for a place to serve that would put us within driving distance of Memphis, Tennessee so that I could attend Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Without either of us trying to manipulate our circumstances, He allowed us to move a few miles south of Myrtle, Mississippi to the New Oak Grove Baptist Church as their pastor. My ignorance was demoralizing, my lack of experience was numbing, and my school assignments were, at times, distressing. Yet in spite of it all, God was so good. We had recently celebrated Apryl's first birthday when we moved there in December of 1989, and Laurie was added to our family the following year. A growing family and a growing church were both extremely demanding, and a unique encounter with the Spirit of God in the summer of 1992 led me to believe that it was time to end my formal, educational training at seminary. 

Later that same year, I once again was confronted by the Lord concerning a change. He revealed to me to prepare for a move to the Thrasher Baptist Church in Prentiss County, Mississippi. This church was well known in north Mississippi due to its rapid growth, and for its disheartening experience of losing their pastor following a long battle with cancer. I kept this revelation to myself, and prayed earnestly that His will would be done, in His way, and in His timing. There was no request for a resume. No political maneuvering of any kind. And no denominational friends were contacted to give words of affirmation on my behalf. I simply prayed and waited. What God starts, God will finish, and in March of 1993, I became the pastor of that church. Three weeks later, the buildings burned. God was good in allowing us to rebuild, and to see Him work in the hearts of many precious people. It was also during this time that doors began to open for me to preach outside of my community. Eight revival campaigns a year grew to ten, then twelve, then sixteen, then twenty. I would normally preach to my folks during the Sunday services, then travel to the other churches for Monday thru Wednesday, or Friday, church revivals, then back to my pulpit the following Lord's Day. As I have already stated, we transitioned in ministry when we moved to my Mississippi Delta hometown in 1997. We had no idea how we would make our financial obligations, no guaranteed income, and no real understanding of what we would be doing. Our only focus was to hear and obey Him as He led us according to His plans. The places to which I traveled and the people that I met were amazing experiences of His goodness. It is still hard to believe that a simple man with a simple message could have gone to all of the places to which I have journeyed. God has been so wonderful to us. Amen!

The final milestone for our family will be realized on September the 15th of this year, which marks the 40th anniversary of our marriage. When Tammy and I exchanged our vows so many years ago, only one year had passed since my conversion experience. The day after I cried out to Jesus to save me, I was waiting for Tammy to come to Carpenter Hall on the Mississippi State campus. It was there that I had my first encounter of God's voice outside of personal conviction of sin. He revealed to me that I would marry that beautiful girl, and by faith I believed Him! Many folks who knew my past, however, were certain that our marriage was doomed for failure. More than one individual who had attended Delta State University with me before I moved to Starkville, confided in me that the DSU community had labeled me a "crazy" man who would surely die at a young age, and possibly cause the death of others as well. Yes, the truth hurts, but the grace of God heals, and it does much more, it transforms!

I cannot even begin to understand how some people possess such a flippant and casual attitude towards marriage. Multiple partners, multiple marriages, multiple divorces, living together outside of marriage, etc. This is NOT the plan of God. By His grace, we have grown together, dreamed together, laughed together, wept together, argued together, and STAYED together. I have often told Tammy that in our relationship, I got a priceless treasure, and she got a gag-gift! We have not had a perfect marriage, for how can two imperfect people have a perfect anything? But we have had a very fulfilling marriage. By God's grace we will continue to love each other with His love; we will continue to serve each other with His humility; we will continue to forgive each other with His longsuffering; and we will continue to help each other with His strength. Amen! God is so wonderfully good, praise His name!

Our lives are a testimony of what He has done, what He is doing, and what He shall do. Our responsibility has been simple: hear and obey. Yet this should not be the experiences of just a few of the redeemed, it should be the norm for all of the redeemed. Amen! As you look back upon your life story, do you see experiences of faith being exercised in your journey? Do you make it a priority to hear and obey the voice of the Lord in making your personal and family decisions? This is the only way to insure that His will is being realized in your life. We are not to pattern ourselves after the world, making choices and decisions based upon humanistic reasoning. Instead, we need to experience divine revelation, for the Bible clearly says that we should "walk by faith, and not by sight."

Experiencing God

"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord." Ezekiel 22:30-31

 

Like many of you, my life has been impacted by the teaching ministry of the late Henry Blackaby. Little did I know when I first walked through the Experiencing God Bible study, that I would one day get to spend time with him when I served as a trustee of the International Mission Board. As a leader on our Prayer First Committee, I had invited Dr. Blackaby to come and lead a Prayer Summit for all of our trustees and executive staff. It was a very special time of getting to know more personally one of my spiritual heroes. As I have pondered upon my faith journey, I realize that many of those who uniquely shaped my life have now departed this temporal life for eternity. Below is a powerful statement concerning revival that Dr. Blackaby wrote quite a few years ago as a foreword to a book on revival. I have edited his words just a bit for this post. I pray that his words will inspire and challenge you to seek Him in these days in which we live...

Our nation stands on the brink of the Judgment of God. Many sensitive leaders believe we may have "crossed the line" and judgment is inevitable. God's people no longer possess a holy fear of God. And when God's people no longer fear Him, they no longer fear sin. When they no longer fear sin, they are of no use to God for the redemption of the nation or the world. God's blessing and often His Presence is removed. I believe we are at this point now.

I grew up in Western Canada, with an awesome sense of the lostness of the nation. When I mentioned my burden to God's people, I would consistently hear, "Don't expect God to do in Canada what He has done in other parts of the world. Canada is different. The people just don't respond the same." My heart would sink, and I would cry out to God, "But Lord, You are the same! Would You not show me and Your people Your heart's desire to bring the people of this nation to Yourself."

God opened my eyes and my heart, and I became aware that my relatives had graduated from Spurgeon's College in London, England, seeing waves of revival constantly. My uncle and aunt were missionaries in China during the great Shantung Revival and sent home glowing letters and pictures of that mighty move of God. Then, God let me pastor in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during the great "Canadian Revival" in the early 1970's, where I witnessed the Mighty Hand of God at work, first among His Own people, then among the lost. My life was forever changed. I was later asked to direct the office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening for the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, where I traveled across the nation and around the world bringing the message of Revival. I have seen some amazing moments of a "deep touch of God." But my heart is deeply grieved over what I see among the people of God today, in the midst of an escalating moral and spiritual decline in the nation. This nation is heading toward the judgment of God, and God's people, especially our spiritual leaders, are "asleep," as were the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Now I am sending out an urgent plea, for God's people seem disoriented to God: to His Voice, to His Presence, to His Activity, and especially to His Warnings in the Scripture. They are disoriented to His Word and to His Ways. They are unaccustomed to prayer, the urgent prayer that is needed for Revival. And they are far from the holy people of God He intended us to be, especially in our relationship to Him, and therefore to His people. For these reasons, I offer these urgent pleas:

• Pastors must turn now to an intimate relationship with God, and live holy lives before Him.

• Deacons/elders must return to a vital relationship with God that allows Him to work through them to bring spiritual unity, peace, love, healing and fellowship to God's people.

• Other leaders (Bible study teachers, youth leaders, music ministers, men and women's group leaders) must return to the Scriptures as the absolute necessity of instruction for God's people.

• Denominational workers must return to the heart of God for His people and stop "using His people" for their purposes, and then assist them to "practice everything that I have commanded them."

• Evangelists and missionaries must give attention to the spiritual condition of God's people, to assist them to be holy, as He is holy, so God can fill them with His Presence, Power and Glory, and work through them to touch a lost world with His great salvation.

I am pleading with God to raise up and thrust forth true prophets, who will fearlessly proclaim His message to His people, regardless of the cost to themselves, and it will be costly (Matt. 5:10-12). I plead with God to raise up "spiritual prophets" who long for a display of the glory of God, and not merely "spiritual politicians" who are looking to maintain a comfortable and financially rewarding ministry position.

Now is the time for God's people to (1) return seriously to God's Word, with the heart intention to live it out in life, radically; (2) return to serious, urgent prayer, the kind of prayer that will move the hand of God; (3) a return to the eternal intention of God for the corporate life of His people, as a "royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Thank you, Dr. Blackaby, for being a unique vessel of grace to touch countless lives as you taught us how to Experience God. And I simply say, "Amen, and AMEN!"