An Ever Changing God
Have you ever asked God WHY? I am sure you have! All of us at some time in our walk with Him have asked Him why. It has been 4 ½ years since we stopped pastoring at Word of Faith Fellowship and I have asked Father God many times during this period, “Father God, why? What happened?”
Thank God for a wonderful pastor who is led by the Spirit of God and who flows in and with the Spirit! Every Sunday evening our church has prayer and boy is it ever good and the Spirit shows up ! Recently, Pastor Reggie Scarborough was leading the prayer time and he stepped up to the pulpit and started sharing how Father God had just brought to his memory how the big boats would have to wait for the fog to lift before they could come into the channels. He went on to say how the Lord showed him he had been in a spiritual fog, but the fog has now lifted. One of Pastor Reggie’s spiritual sons was in attendance and Pastor Reggie had a “Word of knowledge” for him that Father God did not call him to be stagnated, but to be a growing organism full of life (this is not the exact word, but close). That was when it all started to open up for me and the vision we had for WOFF.
About 15 years ago, the Fire chief came by the office and asked me to go with him. Since I was the Chaplin for the Fire Department, I assumed it had to do with a problem relating to the department. In one sense it did, but it actually had more to do with our church. As we drove off from the church he said to me, “We have to find you some property that is in our Fire Protection District.” Then he began to explain. There was a proposal coming before the Eureka City Alderman where all of Allenton (a small community that would be considered the low rent area within the Eureka City limits) was going to be bought out. Naturally, since WOFF was in Allenton, we were very concerned. Beverly and I put this at the top of our prayer list. Father God never told us that we were going to be bought out. Every time I prayed about it, He would say, “Be prepared!” This is what I told the church over and over again. However, I would see, either in a dream or mini visions, different and separate parts of a new building like none I had ever seen. I really did not know what to do about it. Then one day it came to me. I asked the one Advisory Board Member, Richard Lawson, who was in construction, what he thought.
One evening we sat down and I shared what I had seen. Over the next few weeks he came up with some sketches. It was all very exciting! A few weeks later, while visiting RHEMA Bible Training Center, where Beverly and I graduated in 1979, Pastor Kenneth Hagin shared that the architect who had drawn the plans for their new facilities was now on their staff and that he would be available to assist any RHEMA Ministerial Association International members.
Naturally, I made an appointment with Ross McCready (who has since gone home to be with the Lord) and shared with him the sketches that Richard had come up with. Over the next few weeks Ross came up with several ideas and suggestions that we incorporated into the plans and we were off and running.
Many months later, that possibility was down the tube. The City of Eureka rejected the plan for a new outlet mall and so all of us were deflated.
A year or so later, another developer approached the city with another plan and were interested in developing the area where the church was. Then after a year or so, that proposal was also rejected by the city. It was another low spot for us at WOFF.
After each one of these disappointments, I would struggle to resurrect the original vision Father God had given us for the area. I will never forget the time He spoke to me about what He wanted to do in the area. He said, “I don’t need another church on another corner of Eureka and Pacific. What I want is someone to teach people how to live according to the supernatural.” The more I tried to teach this, the harder it was. It was like everyone wanted the blessings, but they were not willing to give their life for Him. We were able to teach the people the mechanics for Faith, but not the heart of faith, which is to develop a deep, unshakable trust for our real and living God.
At this point, the church was doing great! Our attendance was full each Sunday morning and things were moving. Beverly and I took some time and fasted and sought the Father about what we needed to do to get the vision in focus. He dropped it in our heart to enlarge the church facilities and begin an Adult Day Care. Again, I spent some time with Ross and he even flew up and took a look at the facilities we already had. New plans were developed to expand our sanctuary and put in a basement with an elevator going to it. We also had a member of our church who worked with us and dealt with the State of Missouri so that we could be licensed. The only thing we lacked was 4 parking places! The City of Eureka owned a parcel of land adjacent to the church that we wanted to rent or purchase, but they turned us down completely. Again, we went back to the drawing board.
Guess what? Some time later another proposal was brought to the city and this time they agreed to it. Everything went well and we met with the developers several times and thought we were all on the same page. However the day after everything cleared the city, they emailed us and told us they were not going to buy the church out. They bought all of the properties in Allenton EXCEPT the ground WOFF was on.
By now you may be wondering why I took all of this time and space to give you a history lesson. Even though we had the mind of Christ in all of this, the fulfillment of what Father wanted to do was changed by other people’s decisions and actions. For years I have said…
Father God Has To Update His Will For Our Life Continually
But Pastor Larry, I thought the Bible said in Hebrew 13:8 NKJV, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” In my life, when did Father God call me to preach? Do you think He waited until I was 39? No, He actually called me to preach before I was born. Look at Jeremiah 1:5 NKJV, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." It didn’t happen because I was disobedient, either through ignorance or rebellion, but He did not change. At 39, I finally answered His call on my life! In Ephesians 1:4 NKJV it says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” According to this verse, everyone who accepts Jesus Christ is called. I’m not talking about predestination. Father God saw Jesus paying the price for mankind “before the foundation of the world.” Therefore, He has not changed from that position, but rather gave us the choice.
The Overall Plan of God and His Character Never Changes
But, because He has to deal with individuals like you and me, He has to update the particulars (or we could say methods) of His plan due to our disobedience or others that affect our lives. In regard to our pastoring in Missouri, His desire for that area is still the same. However, since He is dealing with imperfect people who have their own will and ways of doing things, He is flexible enough to adjust to our errors. There have been a number of churches started in the area but none seem to have finished the course. We spent 25 years giving it our best, but finally it was time to move on and do something else for the Lord.
Go back to the Book of beginnings and see in Genesis the very 1st chapter that the Father’s plan for mankind was to never sin but to live in the blessings of God all of our lives. Have you ever heard the expression “You are your own worst enemy?” That is the reason “Hindsight is 20/20!” Wouldn’t you like to go back and be able to do some things different in your life than the way you did them? Sure, we all would love to do some things over with more knowledge than when we did them originally.
Father God Will Never Go Against Man’s Will!
That is what perfect love is all about – allowing another human to do what he chooses to do even when He knows it is wrong and will probably hurt the individual. When I first started pastoring, several people talked about me and my family. It was very hurtful. I wanted to get in the flesh and hit them with a 2 x 4 and swear to God it fell on them. In prayer, I said, “Lord why don’t you do something about this?” He said, “I will never violate another’s will for you and I will never violate your will for another human.”
This is why prayer is so important! We need to know the mind of the Father each and every day. He said in Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” And in Hebrews 11:6 NKJV, “. . . . . for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
If We Would Take A Little More Time In Seeking Him, We Would Walk In Victory Everyday
Learn not to over ride that inward witness of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:13 NKJV, Jesus said, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Why do we believe Mark 11:22-24, but when it comes to these scripture we act as if Jesus was just trying to fill up a page of print? I am glad you asked that question! It has to do with that word I used earlier TRUST. It is easy to learn the mechanics of faith, but when it comes to TRUST, it requires time and effort to build a relationship. It is hard for us to believe that the very Creator of everything wants a relationship with little ole me (did you notice I used ole and not old? Since I will be 70 next month, I did not want to take any chances with your understanding). Notice how the Living Bible does not separate Mark 11:22 and 23, “In reply Jesus said to the disciples, ‘If you only have faith (TRUST - I added this) in God - this is the absolute truth - you can say to this
In regard to the work in Missouri, the City of Eureka kept us in bondage for 11 years. Everything became stagnant. It was as if we were walking around in a fog waiting for the fog to lift. Unfortunately, the fog never did lift until we were able to move from the area. The developers still have not done the work they proposed to do in Allenton. They were originally scheduled 3 or 4 years ago to build a new bridge over the railroad tracks, but it never happened. The area was to have a small shopping strip mall, but again, it never happened. The church building is standing there and all you can see around it are piles of dirt and rock. The last time Beverly and I were in the area we saw in the spiritual realm that the spirit of poverty had returned.
Why did Father God give us visions knowing we would not be able to fulfill their destiny? I really don’t know! However, my opinion is that He was testing our obedience! Obedience is the only thing He will ever test us on. Remember how He tested Abraham with his son Isaac?
Father God Doesn’t Expect Us To Be Perfect, Except In Our Obedience And Faithfulness To Him And His Word!
All I know is that we fulfilled our calling for the area. We refuse to believe that everything we did was lost and amounted to nothing (as some have said). No, good seeds were sown and when we stand before the “Judgment seat of Christ,” I fully expect Jesus to say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter in to blessing and joy of the Lord.” Believe me, the fog has lifted and we are moving into the next stage of our calling by going all over the world and teaching people how to flow in the Holy Spirit. What a joy it is to be working for the Creator of the universe. I urge each of you to become a part of what the Father has called Beverly and me to do and you will enjoy the blessings of the Lord.
Pastor Larry
