"This we have learned, as you can see is the basis of many of our posts and podcasts,
'No matter what trials we are up against, we are NOT gonna let the little
devil distract us from the HUGE GOD Who can resolve whatever we go through and even
redeem it to our advantage... but we must run to Him when those trials of
life come'." - Brenda (& Keith)
Find this message, and much more, in "TTM
Magazine online.
Keith first had the privilege of meeting Pastor Steven Sebyala about 10 years ago. Being from Uganda, Africa, Pastor Steven was part of a speaking tour of the United States and had come for a visit with the Bethel Temple church family. Pastor Ron Johnson of Bethel Temple asked Keith to come to a luncheon along with Pastor Sebyala and his wife, Sarah.
During
their fellowship time, it became rapidly apparent that this was God’s appointed
time to bring together these two ministries, Africa Harvest Mission, Inc. (AHM)
and Toward The Mark, Inc. (TTM), for more than casual talk. Steven began sharing the needs of his
ministry in Africa, including much-needed sound equipment for the growing outdoor
crusades.
Just months
prior, rebels invaded a crusade that Pastor Steven was holding and drove their trucks
over all of his ministry’s sound, lighting and stage equipment. He was literally left with nothing to
continue his outreach efforts.
At that
time, TTM was in the early stages of building the ministry’s sound system. However, being mindful of the Lord’s promise
to bless the cheerful giver, Keith recognized this as God providing an
opportunity to sow into His Kingdom by supporting a ministry in another part of
the world.
It has been
said that you should give out of your need, and this was the time to do just
that. So, at that lunch, Keith made a
mental review of the sound gear TTM had acquired to that point in order to
determine what could be given to Pastor Sebyala for his ministry.
At the top
of the list were a pair of JBL Professional Festival Series speaker cabinets. These were the best we had to offer, because
they were the best we had. While still
at the lunch table, Keith began to tell Pastor Steven about those cabinets, and
he replied, "Those are exactly what I have been praying for."
With the
hard work and generous help of Eric Fox, Joe Gaita, Steve Lyzenga, and a few more local friends in Christ, Keith assembled the speaker cabinets,
amplifiers, and the rest of the needed musical equipment and gear, to prepare a
complete sound system large enough to reach crowds of up to 300,000 people. And, once the Holy Spirit started the ball
rolling, the shipment set to go to Kampala, Uganda increased to include, along
with the complete sound system, suits for the men, dresses for the women, bikes
and toys for the children, kitchen appliances, and more. The miracle that began here, with those who
gave of the best they had, increased and blessed thousands in Africa.
The message of this story is not about the generosity or donated things TTM was able to sow into Steven's stunted ministry of AHM. It's about how, when the rebels destroyed all of Steven's equipment, gear that he had worked for and built over years of acquiring it, he had to choose to NOT quit or give up. He could have decided that the devil had won in that painful and devastating trial, believing the devil's lies that the effort and funding would be all-but-impossible to find so he and his team could to get back to where they and God had left off. Imagine... Every man, woman, and child - multitudes - continue coming to "hear loud and clear" Pastor Steven preach the Gospel that Jesus Christ preached, because Pastor Sebyala ran INto God. Our rejecting the lies of the devil and running INto God enables God to do miracles in our lives that are tremendous! When everything came crashing down, and it looked like AHMs crusades were through, Steven ran toward God... first.
For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side:
while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said,
Thou art my God. My times are in
thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that
persecute me. Make thy face to shine
upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. (Psalms 31:13-16)
Before God moved on Keith's heart, introducing him to Steven, who came all the way here to America, Keith thought the top-of-the-line speakers and gear he had been gathering was for a ministry sound system TTM needed. God had other plans. What the African rebels had destroyed turned into something better than Steven could've imagined, but not until Keith was willing to choose to let it all go. Keith did let it go, and he released it quickly, knowing God wanted to use what He had generously provided to begin with to bless our brother in Christ, and he released it quickly. One of the greatest truths Keith had learned through walking in oneness with God is this, "When you release to God what is in your hand, you open the door for God to release what is in His Hands."
The scripture says it best...
Blessed is the man that trusts in The Lord, and whose hope The
Lord is. For he shall be as a tree
planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by
the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall
be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither
shall cease from yielding fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7-8)
THANK YOU for downloading this blog post today. Please recommend, comment, like, and share. Find this testimony, and many others, in "TTM Magazine" available at TowardTheMark.com.
Take part in helping us provide weekly messages of Toward The Mark, Inc. Click the PayPal
button below to safely sign up for ongoing Tax-deductible Contributions.
For more... Scripture-based truths for PRESSIN' IN as we "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" check these out:
~ "Toward The Mark's Wisdom-Packed Wednesdays"
Facebook page,
~ Keith's "Between The Lines" Podcast channel,
~ "Sharing with you the Secrets God Whispers to me" monthly message on the website, and
~ "TTMSingingSgt" on Twitter
~ Keith's "Between The Lines" Podcast channel,
~ "Sharing with you the Secrets God Whispers to me" monthly message on the website, and
~ "TTMSingingSgt" on Twitter
