Quote from Forum Archives on April 4, 1999, 7:10 pm

Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>

Standing Shoulder To Shoulder With You In The Trenches
As We fight The Good Fight

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #64 ---- 4/5/99

TITLE: "Have You A Word From God? (part 8) ---- Sunrise Always Follows
Night" (Psalm 4:1)

My Dear Victorious Warrior:

That may not be the way you feel, but it is the fact, nonetheless ----
you are, if you are in Christ.

Have you ever wondered what the "morning after" was like for the
disciples? ---- the morning after Resurrection Sunday, I mean ---- a
Monday.

That's what today is, you know. I mean, Sunday blew them away, what with
the sleepless nights before, the tragedy of seeing their friend and
master crucified, their hopes for a national redeemer dashed, then the
shock of Mary's announcement that she had seen Jesus, His appearances to
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and finally His appearances to
others including most of the others, concluding with that "through the
wall" (or roof) experience in the upper room when he miraculously
appeared and then disappeared before them..

Contrary to what we usually think, I believe most of the disciples were
exhausted ---- from the trauma they had experienced, struggling with what
to do now, having endured three mostly sleepless nights. It wouldn't
surprise me if most of them had "crashed" and were either sleeping in or
lying low that Sunday morning. It would be my guess that Mary Magdalene
actually went to the tomb from another "awake all night crying" situation
recognizing the need to change the spices on an already decaying dead
body.

It's hard to imagine what that Sunday was like.

There is no doubt that it certainly was like no other Sunday in history.
So much so, that the assembling of His bedraggled and bewildered
followers that day became the signature event for most Christians ever
since, "assembling ourselves together" as a sign to the world and a
reminder to ourselves that He is Indeed Risen ----just as He said!

In fact, one thing we usually forget is that every Sunday is Resurrection
Sunday in that it is designed exclusively to celebrate Christ's victory
over sin, death, hell, the flesh, and the world. You don't have to hold
your celebration to just once a year, my friend.

Hallelujah to the Lamb!

But what about Monday? We cannot find significant records of what took
place that day, so we can only imagine. One thing is certain ---- while
Sunday was for the saints, Monday was clearly for the sinners. For the
next forty days those disciples scurried here and there like harvester
ants telling everyone they saw that Jesus was alive.

Why do I think that? Because, according to John 20:19-23, Jesus walked
in on ten of the disciples (everyone but Thomas and Judas, of course)
that Sunday night. Their reaction was overwhelming joy, as should be
ours ---- delirium was probably more like it, because the first thing He
said was "Peace be with you."

Apparently that didn't do the trick for everyone, because He repeated it
again, and then said, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." I
believe they took Him seriously. In fact, they probably had little
choice, because it also says that after He made that statement, He
breathed on them and then said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Talk about motivated followers of Jesus, can you imagine?

So, that first Monday must have been a real whopper.

A far cry from most of our Mondays. When people ask about my "Shoulders"
letter, I say, in humor, "well the reason I send it out late Sunday night
is because you have Resurrection Sunday and also Resignation Monday." We
laugh.

But it really is a far more serious thing than that. And, as I sit here
writing, the thought comes to me ---- "I wonder if our treatment of
Sundays affects the state of our Mondays."

I'm not sure I fully understand what I mean by that thought. All I know
is that because that first Resurrection Sunday was a day of restoration
and celebration, their Mondays could not contain their excitement as they
went through the streets of the cities and the pathways of the
countryside telling people the fantastic news ---- "He is alive! He is
Who He said He is! And you can know Him!"

I wonder ---- is it possible that because our Sundays often focus on
things other than celebrating His Resurrection, our Mondays (and the
rest of the week) end up being days with little or no focus on evangelism
and ministry.

I believe if we were contrast our focus for Sundays to that of the
earliest church, we would find that to them Sundays were days of
celebration for the believers, whereas today they are days that focus
more on the unbeliever or on the things of the world. If you don't
celebrate and truly worship together on Sunday, you'll never have a
Biblical view for the world around you beginning Monday.

At any rate ---- Celebrate and Propagate! He is Risen, just like He
promised!

And ---- today is Monday! And He Is Lord! ---- Risen Lord!

NOW TO THE MAIN THING:

As I sit here today looking out of my study window into the beauty of a
forest beginning to ever so faintly manifest the life of a new
Springtime, it is in stark contrast to a window through which I struggled
to peer some 31 years ago. Jo Ann and I had recently moved our family to
a new ministry location. I remember the process as if it were yesterday.

For the six months prior to our move I had sensed a change was going to
take place. In fact, I remember sitting in my office early one morning
during my prayer time.

We had been experiencing eighteen months of perpetual revival where wave
after wave of the Holy Spirit's moving swept over that congregation of
some 1,000 members and then flowed out into the streets of a community
never to be the same again. There were no signs of it letting up.

Hundreds of lives had been changed. Attendance had tripled. Countless
families had been restored, multiplied hundreds had come to Christ.
Worship was indescribable. Prayer was unparalleled. Everything we did
was blessed by God.

What God was doing there had spread to other churches across America.
That little community of 7,000 was now known for more than just being the
home of a major league baseball pitcher and a popular country singer. At
one time the newspaper carried the biggest banner headline it had ever
carried outside of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of
President Kennedy. It read, "God Is Alive!"

So, when the thought that had been struggling for expression in my inner
being for several weeks suddenly dislodged and came shooting out of my
mouth, it took me totally by surprise. Not surprise that the thought was
there, but surprise that I finally said it out loud.

"Lord, I get the funny feeling that You are about to move us to another
location."

Friend, I tell you from my heart ---- there was absolutely no reason for
me to think such a thought ---- or to desire it ---- under any
circumstance. We were happy ---- happier than we had been in all our
married lives and in our ministry. The town was a great place to live.
Fishing, hunting, and golfing were plentiful. Our neighbors were great.
We were financially "unstressed".

And church ---- well, church was ---- absolutely awesome! It was truly
like heaven on earth.

So, when that contemplation hit me, I actually put my hand over my mouth
as if to keep it from being expressed again.

I told no one. I couldn't even tell Jo Ann at first.

The next fourteen days were unbelievable ---- unreal.

Progressively I began to get comfortable with the thought of leaving all
that for a new adventure. People who were so dear to me I discovered
could be lived without. Not that I wanted to, but I knew true
friendships were neither territorially regulated nor terminated.

Then the phone call came. And then another. And another. And still
another and another ---- from Florida, Alaska, California, Arkansas. It
was unreal. Within less than two weeks, five different churches in five
different states contacted me about coming on staff.

I was stunned ---- complimented ---- honored ---- "stroked" ---- to think
I was such a valued minister.

It wasn't 'til months later I realized my ministry skills, my
personality, and my family were not the issues at hand. What was about
to happen had little or nothing to do with my ministry or the churches'
needs.

It was all God ---- or as one of my sons-in-law says, "it was a
God-thing". As He continued maneuvering His players around on the field
of life, He had a play in mind that required a position change for me.

ENTERING THE DARKNESS:

As we tearfully said our farewells to so many friends, some still dear
to our hearts even today, and headed to the new field of ministry, I
envisioned a sunrise and a new day dawning upon us. I reasoned, "God
always leads us into brighter tomorrows."

But, just over the horizon and out of sight were the dark clouds of an
impending storm beginning to develop.

It was hard enough to go through the process of building new
relationships, especially when your heart is still back there with the
other folks. Matters weren't helped any when the church reneged on a
portion of my compensation package without explanation or apology. If I
could have gone back to the other church, I would have. But, I was
financially trapped; I had to stay.

Remembering my father's admonition that God would take care of us, I
worked hard at putting the matter behind us. Finally, I was able to
develop contentment by focusing on Him as our source, and remembering
that He would take care of the attitudes and actions of other people; I
needed to take care of my own.

A few months later the pastor, whom I had grown to love and appreciate,
was falsely accused (one member even subscribed him to a pornographic
magazine which showed up in the church's post office box), and, because
he was so beaten down, chose to resign rather than suffer further blows
by remaining.

Fortunately, God had placed two families in our lives ---- one a young
couple about our age named Tom and Glenda, and the other an older
preacher and his wife, Cecil and Eva. If it had not been for them, I
don't know what the outcome would have been. They were a constant
encouragement to us for the next year.

Yet, that didn't seem to soothe the ache in my soul. The contrast
between continuous revival which we had known for nearly two years and
that of what we felt was a shallow performance-based church left us
spiritually starving. We had not yet learned that our growth and our joy
both come from intimacy with the Father and not from circumstances and
people around us.

After several months of the church being pastorless, a former pastor
returned to shepherd the congregation. He was an excellent pastor, and a
good friend.

One day while he was away for a conference, I was approached by three
men. They informed me that they felt it was time for me to resign and
move on. Inner turmoil instantly invaded my innermost being, and I found
myself filled with panic, fear, and anger.

Keeping my "cool", I told them God had not informed me of that yet, but
that I would let them know as soon as He did. They were not happy
campers.

That's when I began staring out a window I could not see through.

My office was a converted classroom near the choir room in the back of
the building. Just outside the walls was a lifeless and bleak asphalt
parking lot.

The disappointments, misunderstandings, and spiritual starvation began to
take their toll. It wasn't much fun being around me. It had its
consequences among my choir members and Sunday school workers.

So, I sat a lot ---- and stared out the window ---- the window I couldn't
see through.

But I still looked.

Not everybody gets his daily thrills by looking out a window that is
filled with frosted translucent glass through which you see only vague
forms and shadows.

But that's what I did.

It's funny, you know ---- you can imagine all kinds of things out there
when all you see is abstract shapes and shadows. But, that's the problem
with staring out windows you can't see through.

It was a major time of discouragement. I longed for the days of revival.
I cried out to God for direction, but got no answer. The skies were
like bronze, and heaven was silent.

During those months, I had no sense of drive or motivation. I went
through the motions and performed my staff duties faithfully, but my
heart was not in it. It was all performance ---- 100 percent. The "new
song in my heart" which God had placed there some twelve years earlier
was gone. The miry clay seemed to have sucked me in again.

Yet ---- there was one theme that never left me. In fact, it was just
about the only thing I knew. Even in my darkest hours I knew that I
knew. It was an assurance I could not shake.

"God is faithful."

Now there are two ways to express that great reassuring truth.

First, you can say, "God, I know You are faithful, But . . . . . ."

Or, you can say, "God, here are all these problems and circumstances I am
facing, But ---- I know You are faithful."

For some reason, I chose the second form of expression. As I would pour
my heart out to Him ---- complaining, whining, confessing, interceding
---- I always was drawn back to that one great truth ---- "God is
faithful."

I clung to that truth for some six months. Though my pastor really blew
his cork when he found out what those men had done, and though he because
my closest confidant and counselor, I still found myself trudging through
the shadows of discouragement and uncertainty.

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS:

Then, one day, God drew me to another "Rhema" prepared just for me and
just this time. It was the last portion of Psalm 4:1.

"In my distress He enlarged me."

It only took one reading ---- and the light went on.

"Now I understand! So this is what it's all about! You've got something
up Your sleeve for us, and You're taking us through the little end of the
funnel in order to get us ready for something big."

Friend, I can say with all my heart, that those words are absolutely
true. "In my distress He enlarged me!"

Years later God used a great evangelist, Manley Beasley, to further
confirm that truth as he shared his own testimony of how God delivered
him from three simultaneous terminal illnesses. His latter ministry was
greater than the former.

Following those years of illness where every involuntary muscle in his
body collapsed, he was raised up to be one of the greatest voices in
America on the subject "The just shall live ---- by faith!"

While, to read my earlier letters you would think I lived in perpetual
discouragement, that is really not the case. However, I can point to
four specific periods in my life when I went through times of great
distress in some form.

I can also tell you, dear friend, that in literally every one of those
occasions, God either enlarged, deepened, refined, or redirected my
ministry ---- without exception.

The first such occasion was used of God to take us to the city mentioned
above where great revival broke out, and our lives were changed forever,
never to be the same again.

The second occasion is the one I am describing now.

The third one led to the formation of Life Unlimited Ministries.

The fourth one led to the expansion of our international ministries.

So, friend, if you are going through times of distress ----shout
"Hallelujah!", because God is getting ready to do something awesome.

I remember hearing a Christian brother say, when he was asked how he was
faring, "well I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but it
turned out to be a training coming the other direction."

Well, God doesn't work that way.

WHAT I LEARNED:

In the years since I received that special "word" of encouragement from
God, there have been many things learned. For example,

1. Difficult times are inevitable. They are a part of life. They
happen.

2. Difficult times can be used by God to accomplish some great things.

3. Difficult times may hurt, but, if God is in them, they will never
harm.

4. Difficult times don't last forever. At worst, they are only
temporary.

5. Difficult times are not to be feared. You don't have to enjoy them,
but you must never fear them.

6. The more I embrace difficult times, the more I benefit from them.

7. Every difficult time will indeed lead to either an enlargement,
refinement, deepening or redirecting of ministry.

So ---- what happened to me in this particular adventure of staring
through windows that couldn't be seen through?

It was out of that situation that God called me from a staff position
into a preaching and pastoring ministry. Because, even though I didn't
have the sense of a goose, I learned to trust God and His faithfulness in
the midst of an extremely dry time, God not only returned the "new song"
into my heart and brought me back out of the miry clay, He also put "fire
in my bones' to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and assume
the privilege of shepherding a congregation of His people. To this day,
I believe there is no higher honor.

How I praise Him, my friend, that indeed in My distress ---- He Enlarged
me ---- moreso than I could have ever dreamed.

I have never relished times of discouragement and distress; neither have
I resisted them, because I know the good that God brings out of such
"Arabia" experiences as Paul had.

IN CONCLUSION:

So, my friend, if you find yourself in a pit of despair, it's time to get
excited ---- because God is probably about to blow your mind by
"enlarging" you.

Are you maybe staring through a window you can't see through? There are
strange creatures out there, aren't there.

Well ---- if you insist in staring, at least start saying ---- "God is
faithful!"

Are you ready for such an expansion plan? You'd better get ready, if
you're not, because what's about to happen is going to be much bigger and
more amazing than you think.

And ---- one day you're going to look back and, from a heart filled with
gratitude, give praise to your God for having done in you what He did
---- it will all be for His glory and for your good.

Embrace the cross!

In His Bond of Love and Grace,

Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright April, 1999. All rights reserved.

Life Unlimited Ministries
Route 1, Box 87AB
Collins, MO 64738

If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.

If you would like a list of past issues which you could receive upon
request, just let us know.

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{ (O) (O) }
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Hang in there! I'm with you!

-------.ooooO--------------- Ooooo--------
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