PROVISION & OPPORTUNITIES

We are grateful to be back home after a wonderful time in Virginia!  We were richly blessed to serve in a revival meeting at Victory Baptist Church in Nokesville, VA where Clinton Owens has served for 30 years or more!  This church has been a great blessing to us each time we’ve been there, and they now have a special endeavor to use 140 acres of prime property for the Creator!  We are looking forward with great anticipation to see what the LORD is going to do there!

After the meeting at Victory, we traveled to Virginia Beach to stay with Heather’s folks for a few days.  When we arrived, we received an envelope with a check in it for a very large sum of money. A friend from New Jersey indicated a desire to help us get out of debt and we are extremely excited!  We truly are grateful to the LORD for His bountiful provision!  What an encouragement this was after the election!

While in Virginia Beach, we were blessed to serve at Diamond Springs Baptist where Warren Skinner is pastor.  We set up our book table and Jeff spoke in a combined Sunday school class and in the evening service.  The following Wednesday night, we were privileged to promote our creation conference at a supporting church, Sweethaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth where Cary Borkert is pastor.  Over the next two days we were blessed to serve at the Old Dominion Association of Christian Schools convention under the direction of Dan Zacharias, a former college-mate of Jeff’s.  It was a real blessing also to hear Evangelist Rich Tozour, also a former college-mate!

After we returned to Hickory, we served at Temple Baptist in Lenoir (Joel Bixler) on a Sunday night, at Calvary Baptist Tabernacle in Salisbury (Steve Holshouser) yesterday morning, and at Eastside Baptist in Newton (Don Sigmon) where Jeff’s second cousin is pastor!  Since a good group of young people were in attendance, Jeff switched from his “Cause of Creation” message to part one of “Dinosaurs & the Design of God.”  It was SUCH a blessing to see Jeff’s brother, Randy, in attendance!  This was only the second time he has ever been to hear Jeff speak.

DR. DAWKINS, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!

This past Saturday evening, we were able to get together at a friend’s home and watch the movie, “Expelled:  No Intelligence Allowed.“  We had heard a lot about this movie, but what an eye-opener it was as evolutionists and atheists such as the infamous Dr. Richard Dawkins (author of The God Delusion) from Oxfrd University reveal that they think creationists and Intelligent Design (ID) proponents are “ignorant” or even “intellectual terrorists”!  Though Dawkins repudiates “intelligent design,” in an interview he gave credence to the idea that an intelligence from outer space could have planted life on earth!  Amazing!

The analogy of the Berlin wall clearly illustrates the division that exists between creation and evolution!  Freedom of scientific inquiry exists, but ONLY on one side of the “wall”!  As video clips showed even children chipping away at the Berlin wall, I realized that ANY effort with creationism, great or small, is analogous to chipping away at the “great wall” that exists between true science and an evolutionary world view.  Sadly, this wall is growing thicker each day as so-called clergy sign on to macro-evolution as a “fact of science.”  Clearly, there must be a greater effort among God’s people to “tear down this wall”!  May God help us to get busy “casting down imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 10:5).

CREATION & THANKSGIVING

³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁴ To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁵ To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁶ To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁷ To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: ⁸ The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: ⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.   (Psalm 136:3-9)

Sadly, this special time of year is so often a brief “blip” in the holiday season between “Halloween” and Christmas.  Perhaps this is because there isn’t much money to be made when people are thankful for what they have.  Maybe it is because Americans are reminded more about their lowly beginnings, and this causes us to be more inclined to cherish people more than things.  Nevertheless, the psalmist was truly thankful to the Creator for His great works in creation.  Last Februrary, we learned that the gravitational pull of the massive planet Jupiter may very well detract meteorites from hitting the earth!  I guess we should be thankful for God’s creation!!

May each of you truly have a blessed Thanksgiving Day with family, friends, food, and perhaps football:!

Jeff & Heather Setzer
Creation Family Ministries
1225 29th Ave. Dr. NE; Hickory, NC 28601

Audio Sermon: You Must Have a Thankful Heart, Psalm 136:1

Pastor Lloy B. Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, November 23, 2008, AM Service

“[In the last days] … men shall be …  boasters…”¹

The Greek word for “boasters” means arrogant, proud, or haughty. Do we not live in the midst of an arrogant society? Look at the emphasis on what we drive, in what we live, in what we wear and in whom we know. The current teachings of self-esteem and of self-love lend themselves to pride and haughtiness. But the most dangerous form haughtiness is found in Romans 1, where this word is one of the characteristics of those who “who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.” The ultimate form of arrogance is the rejection of God as God. Is this not where we are today in our post-Christian, post-modern, and pagan society? Do we as believers in Jesus Christ and in absolute truth really care as we make choices of convenience, ease and materialism (whether in the past elections or in our daily living)?

Remember, Paul wrote in the verse preceding our text, “but know this, in the last days, troublous (difficult, harsh, fierce, violent) times shall come.” My friend, we are there.

- Pastor Stevens

1. 2 Ti 3:2

“The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.”¹

WHAT may not a day bring forth! Here was a shepherd lad, summoned hastily from his sheep, and anointed king. But an even greater blessing came into his life that day, for he was mightily endued with the Holy Spirit. Without doubt, during his early years the Spirit of God had dwelt within him, molding his character, inditing his songs; but, henceforth, the Spirit was to abide on him, as a Divine unction.

Why should not this day witness a similar transformation for you; not in the change of earthly position, but in your reception of the “power from on high ” through a renewed enduement? Why should not the Spirit of the Lord come mightily upon you from this holy hour, even as your eyes glance down this page? Though it is quite possible that you have been empowered once, there is no finality in God’s bestowals; the apostles were filled and filled again (Acts ii. and iv.).

The age of Pentecost in which we live is distinctly one of Divine anointing. It awaits all who will separate themselves to God, and receive it for his glory. The characteristic preposition of this age is on. If you have not received power, seek it; he that seeketh findeth; nay, receive it ?? to ask is to get. If the Master, though begotten of the Holy Spirit, forbore to preach the Gospel, and bind up broken hearts, till He had been anointed as the Christ by the Spirit, who descended on Him at his baptism; how foolish it is for us, who were born in sin, to attempt similar work, apart from similar enduement! The promise to each child of God is: “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me” (Acts 1:8).

1. 1 Samuel 16:13

“His eyes were enlightened.”¹

THE Philistines were in full flight. The Israelites followed hard at their heels through the wood. It was there that the honey dropped in rich abundance on the ground, and there Jonathan tasted a little, dipping the end of his rod into it. It made all the difference to him, warding off the excessive exhaustion which paralyzed the rest of the army.

The Word of God is sweeter than the honeycomb. ?? Luscious to the sanctified taste; enlightening to the dimming eyes; strength giving to the weary. It drops in abundance to the ground, as though inviting the hand of the Christian warrior or wayfarer to take it freely. If there is no taste for the written Word, it may be assumed that the living Word has not been enthroned in the heart; for where He reigns supreme, there is a longing for the food which alone can fit us for the Christian life.

Where we cannot take much, let us take some. ?? There was not time for Jonathan to sit down and take his fill. He could only catch up some as he hastily passed through the forest?glade; but that little made all the difference to him. So, in the early morning, or at mid?day, if we cannot fill our hearts with Scripture, we may catch up a morsel, which will minister untold refreshment, and clear our spiritual vision.

We specially need to do this when flushed with success. ?? Too often, when we have had success in the battles of the Lord ?? a good time in preaching or teaching ?? we are apt to congratulate ourselves, and suppose that we can live on the emotions excited. But, probably, there is no time when we need more absolutely to turn to the Word of God. In victory, as in defeat, we must be fed and nourished.

1. 1 Samuel 14:27

“In their affliction they will seek me early.”¹

Losses and adversities are frequently the means which the great Shepherd uses to fetch home his wandering sheep; like fierce dogs they worry the wanderers back to the fold. There is no making lions tame if they are too well fed; they must be brought down from their great strength, and their stomachs must be lowered, and then they will submit to the tamer’s hand; and often have we seen the Christian rendered obedient to the Lord’s will by straitness of bread and hard labour. When rich and increased in goods many professors carry their heads much too loftily, and speak exceeding boastfully. Like David, they flatter themselves, “My mountain standeth fast; I shall never be moved.” When the Christian groweth wealthy, is in good repute, hath good health, and a happy family, he too often admits Mr. Carnal Security to feast at his table, and then if he be a true child of God there is a rod preparing for him. Wait awhile, and it may be you will see his substance melt away as a dream. There goes a portion of his estate-how soon the acres change hands. That debt, that dishonoured bill-how fast his losses roll in, where will they end? It is a blessed sign of divine life if when these embarrassments occur one after another he begins to be distressed about his backslidings, and betakes himself to his God. Blessed are the waves that wash the mariner upon the rock of salvation! Losses in business are often sanctified to our soul’s enriching. If the chosen soul will not come to the Lord full-handed, it shall come empty. If God, in his grace, findeth no other means of making us honour him among men, he will cast us into the deep; if we fail to honour him on the pinnacle of riches, he will bring us into the valley of poverty. Yet faint not, heir of sorrow, when thou art thus rebuked, rather recognize the loving hand which chastens, and say, “I will arise, and go unto my Father.”²

1. Hosea 5:15
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (1995). Morning and evening : Daily readings (July 25). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Audio Sermon: God Requires Complete Obedience, 1 Sam 15

or (Partial Obedience is Just Plain Old Disobedience)

Pastor Lloy B. Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, November 16, 2008, AM Service

“I have commanded the ravens . . . a widow women . . . there.”¹

WE must be where God desires. ?? Elijah spoke of himself as always standing before the Lord God of Israel. He deemed himself as much a courtier in the royal palace as Gabriel (Luke i. 19). And he could as distinctly stand before God when hiding beside Cherith, or sheltering in the widow’s house at Zarephath, as when he stood erect on Carmel, or listened to the voice of God at Horeb. Wherever you go, and whatever ministry you are called to undertake, glory in this, that you never go to any greater distance from God.

If we are where God wants us to be, He will see to the supply of our need. It is as easy for Him to feed us by the ravens as by the widow woman. As long as God says, Stay here, or there, be sure that He is pledged to provide for you. Though you resemble a lonely sentinel in some distant post of missionary service, God will see to you. The ravens are not less amenable to his command than of old: and out of the stores of widow women He is as able to supply your need as He did Elijah’s, at Zarephath.

How often God teaches best in seclusion and solitude! It is by the murmuring brooks of nature that we have our deepest lessons. It is in the homes of the poor that we are fitted for our greatest tasks. It is beside couches where children suffer and die, that we receive those preparations of the heart which avail us when the bugle note summons us to some difficult post.

God leads through death to life. ?? It was needful that the child should die, that sin might be remembered and dealt with; but through Death’s portal the trio entered a richer, fuller life. Fear not that gateway!

1. 1 Kings 17:4,9

“But the thing displeased Samuel…. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.”¹

A LITTLE further down in the chapter we learn that Samuel rehearsed the words of the people unto the Lord. His prayer, to a large extent, was a rehearsal of all the strong and unkind things that the people had said to him; and in this way he passed them off his mind, and found relief. There is a suggestion of close communion with God in the expression, “He rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.” It had been the habit of his life to be on intimate terms with his God.

Things do not always turn out as we had hoped, and we get displeased for our own sakes and God’s. We had planned in one direction, but events have issued in another; and the results have threatened to become disastrous. There is but one resource. If we allow vexations to eat into our heart, they will corrode and injure it. We must rehearse them to God ?? spreading the letter before Him, as Hezekiah did; making request like Paul; crying like Samuel.

Surely it is the mistake of our life, that we carry our burdens instead of handing them over; that we worry instead of trusting; that we pray so little. The grass grows thick on the pathway to our oratory; the cobwebs hang across the doorway. The time we spend in prayer is perhaps better spent than in any other way. It was whilst Samuel prayed thus, that he saw the Divine program for Israel:

1. 1 Samuel 8:6

Harvest Baptist Church, Langley, BC

How God stirred our hearts during this revival at this Philippino church.  Never have I been so challenged and convicted by a congregation as I was with this one.  As we watched this church we saw true love for one another, true humility and sacrifice of personal desires, true joy and delight in serving Jesus (Many of our services started at 7:30 with the people leaving around midnight), and a true passion for the presence of God.  We were originally scheduled from Sunday - Tuesday, but the Holy Ghost moved us to extend the meeting at least through Friday (We had to leave on Friday morning due to travel, but the church met that night).  One family had transfered from a another church and explained, “We couldn’t understand why the people were in such a hurry to leave.  We wanted a church where the preacher was not limited.”  Convicting, very convicting, is it not!?  These dear people seemed to be completely unaware of time during the meetings.  I thought  of Duncan Cambell’s words, “In revivel, time does not exist.”  The teenagers in this church displayed a spiritual maturity equal to or greater than my own.  They knew how to pray fervently, they lived for nothing but to yield their lives to Christ, they showed no trace of the world (Though many went to public school by necessity), their rooms were filled with scripture verses, they passed out tracts and witnessed to co-workers, and on and on we could go.  Our hearts were stirred, our eyes were opened, and our spirits were burdened for the increasingly apathetic spirit of the churches in the US.  O how we need an awakening!  God grant that we might put aside our pride and recognize all the symptoms of apathy, powerlessness, fruitlessness, and coldness.  O revive us again Lord!

Cornerstone Baptist Church, Twin Falls, ID

Here is a people weighed down by a heaven sent burden for revival.  They have been praying, pleading, and pursuing God for a deep movement amongst them.  They have confessed their need and longing for a greater and deeper work of God’s Spirit in their midst.  Join us in prayer as we begin this revival tomorrow.

Your Servants In Christ,

Revival Team

“[In the last days] … men shall be covetous…” (2 Ti 3:2})

The Greek word for  “covetous” means  ‘being fond of or loving money.”  In light of all the financial shenanigans on Wall Street, in Washington and during this past presidential campaign, we are not surprised at this characteristic of the last days. Most people live for money and what it buys. And a lot will do anything to get that money or what it buys. Unfortunately, we believers can have the same attitude in our affluent society.  Instead of being sacrificial, we pamper ourselves and hoard our resources. We are laying up treasure, not in heaven, but upon the earth, while forgetting the lessons of the economic collapse going on around us (of which I believe we are witnessing judgment from the hand of God.)

Remember, Paul wrote in the verse preceding our text, “but know this, in the last days, troublous (difficult, harsh, fierce, violent) times shall come.” My friend, we are there.

- Pastor Stevens

“And Ahab said to Elijah, hast thou found me, O mine enemy?”¹

AHAB got his garden of herbs, but he had Elijah withal, who stood at the gate like an incarnate conscience. Men may get the prize on which they have set their heart; but if they have obtained it wrongfully, the conscience of the wrong done will haunt them, and take away the pleasure on which they counted, and ultimately bring them like a quarry to the ground.

We turn our best friends into enemies, as Ahab did Elijah. The cloud that lights Israel is darkness to Pharaoh; the angel that protects Jerusalem, slays the host of Sennacherib; the gentle love which anoints the Saviour, instigates in Judas a jealousy which ends in murder. The God who shows Himself merciful to the merciful is froward to the froward. The cause of the alteration is to be sought within ourselves. The sun that melts wax hardens clay, but the difference is in the clay. To the widow of Zarephath Elijah was an angel of light; whilst to Ahab he was an enemy. The difference lay in their hearts; the one being holy and loving, the other dark and turbid. What you are, determines whether Elijah will be your friend or your enemy.

This word “sold thyself” is very awful. It underlies Goethe’s tragedy of Faust, in which the soul sells itself to the devil for so many years of worldly pleasure. A few promises which are never kept; a mirage that is dissipated in thin air when we approach it; a bribe of gold or silver that burns the hands which receive it ?? such are the price for which men sell themselves. “They sell themselves for nought.” Truly the devil drives a hard bargain. When he gets the soul into his power, he laughs at his former promises, and pays as wages, death.

1. 1 Kings 21:20

Audio Sermon: How Important is the Local Body to You?

Pastor Lloy B Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, November 16, 2008 AM Service

“A certain man . . smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness.”¹

EVERY man we meet is clothed in amour; in other words, we all cover ourselves with plates on which to receive the thrust of accusation and reproach. “I only do as others.” “I do not see any special harm in it.” “My father did it before me.” “I cannot help it.” Such are some of the plates in the amour of the soul; and our work as Christian workers becomes abortive in so many instances, because we are content to belabor the plates, instead of striking home to the one place where the amour joints are. Successful soul?winning depends on discovering the vulnerable part of a man, and striking there. But all this demands a very special discernment of spirits, and anointing of the Holy Ghost. Only so can we detect where best to bring about conviction, and make men know their need of the Gospel of God’s grace. The great need of the present day is a sharper and more searching analysis of sin. Men need to be shown how they are violating the laws of God. They assent generally to the Scriptural statements of what God requires, but fail to realize how greatly they have come short. You are almost sure to hit, if you begin to show the various ways in which respectably?living people are coming under the Divine sentence.

But several conditions must be fulfilled. (1) Study well your own heart. (2) Be a deep student of the biographies of Scripture; because every type of human character is delineated in Holy Writ. (3) Open your heart to the Holy Ghost, through whom alone you can discern spirits. He is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart, and will teach you to cut to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.

1. 1 Kings 22:34

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”¹

We are so focused upon externals. We evaluate men on their outward appearance. How much they impress and wow us. Man wants to package man in a glimmering, shining package. Not so God.

God does not regard how much charisma a man possesses or does not possess. God is not interested in skin color, race, economic status or a man’s connections. All these externals are emphasized and sought after by man. But not God. He regards the heart: the real man - the thoughts, the intents, the morality, the purity, and the priorities.

God is concerned with the condition of a man’s heart. In reality, it’s the man’s character that is important to God. Note the following scripture verses:

• Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Ro 1:21)
• Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (Ro 1:24)
• And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Ro 8:27)
• That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Ro 10:9-10)
• Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1 Co 4:5)
• Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Co 1:22)
• For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Co 4:6)
• And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Ga 4:6)
• That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (Eph 3:17)
• Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (Eph 4:18)
• Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. (Php 1:7)
• To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Th 3:13)
• Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (1 Ti 1:5)
• Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Ti 2:22)

Get the message of God? It’s what that is in the heart that is important to him. And God knows everyone’s heart.

What’s more, God knows your heart. Now, what is the condition of your heart?

- Pastor Stevens

1. 1 Sa 16:7

MUSINGS FROM A MISSIONARY HEART

November 2008

Three Blind Hearts

After some small talk with Salvador, he poignantly asked about the Penya Francia idol. (Every September a festival draws over one million devotees to Naga City who worship, carry, and touch this idol. We stay out of town because it is so chaotic.) Kevin read the Ten Commandments with him from Exodus and Deuteronomy and some additional verses from Habakkuk, Corinthians, and John. Then Salvador told this story. Several years ago, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor in Manila was ready to do surgery immediately to remove the lump. Teresa said, “No. I’m not ready. I want to go home first and think about it.” The doctor consented, but replied, “Be back here in a month.” Immediately upon arrival home in Pili, her mother-in-law asked for one of her shirts. The mother-in-law took the shirt to the Penya Francia idol and rubbed the shirt on the idol. She returned it and told Teresa to wear it. She may have done this several times. After a month, she was emotionally ready for surgery. They returned to Manila. The doctor examined her and took more tests. He said, “The lump is gone. Maybe the first tests showed a lump, but that is probably just ‘human error.’” Salvador then asked us, “How do you explain this? We know she was healed. And we know the Penya Francia healed her. I hear the verses you are reading from the Bible. The Bible says an idol is nothing, but this idol healed my wife! We have an eternal debt of gratitude to the idol!”

Take for example, Andres, the plumber. Andres is the plumber for a well-known hotel chain in the Bicol Region. We needed a plumber. Andres arrived and started replacing all the old metal pipes with new plastic ones in order to stop our leaks. After lunch, we started talking. Kevin and Nards (a friend from church) told him what the Bible says about idols. Nards gave a personal testimony of how he was raised saying “Hail Mary” and all the other Latin stuff. He was saved by simply trusting Christ. Andres said, “Well I am very involved in Penya Francia. I help carry the idol.” Kevin read Habakkuk 2:18-20. Andres listened and just looked at Kevin. When Kevin was done reading, Andres simply replied, “Oh.” I wanted to jump up from the table, go over, and shake him. It was so sad. He had no questions, no comments, no desire to change, and no desire to find the truth.

The other day we stopped to talk to Alfonso. Kevin started explaining the Gospel. Alfonso declared, “Oh yes. I know I am a sinner. I am a really bad sinner. I have done all kinds of bad stuff.” I thought to myself, “Praise the Lord! He is ripe. He is ready to receive Christ.” Kevin continued explaining that sinners deserve to go to hell. He was in agreement that he deserved hell. “But there’s really Good News,” Kevin went on to explain. “Christ died and paid the penalty for your sin.” At that point, Alfonso calmly said, “I’m sorry. You’ll have to excuse me. I have an errand I need to run with my father-in-law.” I was shocked! He doesn’t get it! He’s a sinner on his way to hell with an opportunity to receive the free gift of salvation, and he has an errand to run!

Pray for us! It’s a battle here! Bicolanos are really blind. There’s just no other way to say it. Even when they are confronted with the Truth, they can’t see it. Pray for the Holy Spirit to penetrate their hearts.

God Sees the Heart, but Man Sees the Mud

As a girl growing up, I remember Grandma’s visits. She would instruct me, “Blue shoes with a blue outfit, dark shoes with a dark hem line, white shoes only after Memorial Day, light-colored dresses in the summer, dark colors in the winter.” That’s great advice, but not for here. My choice of clothing and shoes for the day depends on the weather and what we will be doing. Is it rainy season? Then wear shoes with traction that buckle-no flip-flops. Will we be visiting someone where we must remove our shoes before entering the house or will the house have mud floors? Wear shoes that can be easily removed and put back on without spending minutes fastening the buckle. Will we be crossing a bamboo bridge or walking through the creek? Wear a full skirt so I can jump from rock to rock. Will we be walking through a rice field or marshy pasture? Then wear a dark skirt so the mud doesn’t show. Will we be in Naga City for grocery shopping or going to the internet cafe? Then wear light colors and a nicer outfit. Will we be stopping at the market for eggs, peanuts, vegetables, or lamination? Then wear old clothes because the market smells very fishy. As a missionary wife, I don’t ask the same questions I would ask at the beginning of the day if I were in the States!

A Burdened Heart

One of the burdens of my heart is a recently-saved lady named Salvacion. She is 50 years old with two children. She and her family are very faithful to Victorious Faith Baptist Church. Salvacion quit school after second grade; she worked for an aunt in Manila to support her parents. After many years, she came back to Bicol, met her husband, and settled down with her family. Her primary problem is that she was never taught to read. A secondary problem is her bad eyesight because of her age. She loves the Bible and listens attentively whenever her husband or we read the Bible to her, but she can’t read it herself. She listens inquisitively as the Tagalog hymns are sung in church until she knows the words enough to sing along. I would love to teach her to read. We have met several times. I print Bible verses using an extra large font size. Pray for motivation for her to desire to read.

Heart to Heart

One of my responsibilities is counseling young ladies. Every once in a while, one will approach me and ask, “May we talk?” I say, “Oh sure, what’s on your heart?” More often, I approach them, “Let’s not go Catching and Catching. We need to talk.” The topics vary: school, boyfriends, purity, parents, decision making, knowing God’s will, relationships, etc. When the Holy Spirit prompts your heart, pray that I will have godly wisdom as I counsel them.

As leaders at Calvary, we facilitated our Fourth Annual Marriage Retreat. Fourteen couples attended-our biggest turn out yet. Several who had never come to church came to the retreat. Thanks for praying. Pray for wisdom as we counsel where counsel is needed.

A Grateful Heart

Hospitals in the province are not at all like hospitals in the States. Every patient needs someone to “guard” her. A guard has many responsibilities: get the patient’s food from the food tray in the hall, buy medicine, syringes, bandages, and anything else the doctor might order, help the patient with any needs they might have, remind the nurse it is time to give the medicine, etc. I had the distinct privilege of being the “guard” one day. I learned a lot and walked away from the experience with a heart full of gratitude.

My patient was one of six in the room (male and female). When a new patient arrived, they asked, “What is your problem?” The answer was freely offered. They then proceeded around the room in a sharing session, “Well, this is my problem. I’ve been here for so many days, and the latest word from the doctor is this.”

Let me attempt to describe the room décor. Each patient had an antique metal bedside table and antique metal bed frame with a plastic-covered foam mattress with a noticeable sag. The different-colored layers of paint had been peeled in various spots over the years by bored patients. The windows on one side of the room were tied or dangled open. Two fluorescent light bulbs hung from the ceiling, only one of which worked. A fan, which an attempt to turn on proved futile, clung to one wall. A bare cement spot protruded from the opposite wall which a fan had occupied previously. That was it-the hospital room for six patients.

The bathroom was a story in and of itself. When you think of a hospital bathroom, what are the necessities? A shower head, right? After all, it’s nice for patients and their “guards” to be able to shower every once in a while. Wrong, there was none! How about a mirror? Wrong! A sink? Surely a sink is necessary for hand washing. Wrong! This bathroom had a door, a spigot about knee high, a toilet bowl, a drain in the floor, and a nail to hang IV fluid. The door had a big hole in the bottom because someone had removed the vent cover. The door knob didn’t work either. Latching the door was impossible, but that didn’t really matter because the patient in the bed right outside the door could just look in the vent hole. Later on in the week, I noticed that someone clothes pinned a piece of cardboard over the vent hole.

I fell exhausted into my own bed at home at the end of my day and laughed out loud! What an experience! I thank the Lord that we have an insurance plan that allows us to have a private room with air conditioning at the hospital of our choice!

Not Down-Hearted

“Not again!” my heart thundered when I read the text from the doctor. “You have Amoeba Trophozoites. Take Metronidazole three times a day for ten days.” God’s grace and love are sufficient, and we diagnosed it within 24 hours. The medication to treat it lasts ten days and is no fun, but I learned and prayed much. While lying in bed, the thought suddenly struck me, “We have not had a brown-out all week!” Praise the Lord for the air conditioning and the electricity to run it while I was sick. Then I thought about all of you-about your love, support, and encouragement and the fact that I couldn’t e-mail you so that you could pray. In our Tuesday afternoon “couch time,” we are reading Hudson Taylor. He was thousands of miles from “home” and had no e-mail, yet the Lord still burdened people’s hearts to pray. Hudson Taylor depended on the Lord; even snail-mail took four weeks to arrive. In our society we have become so “e-mail dependent,” maybe we have forgotten to be Holy Spirit dependent. Next time the Holy Spirit prompts you to pray for our health, safety, souls to be saved, or whatever, just pray. I was too sick to go anywhere this week, and Kevin was tied up at church hosting the CEP Bicol classes for pastors in our region.

Thank you for your notes of encouragement, e-mails, prayer, and love. You are vital to the ministry here!

In Christ,

Kevin and Mary Brunner

“[In the last days] … men shall be lovers of their own selves…”¹

As you look around you today, you will unmistakably conclude that you are living in the last days. The apostle Paul predicted several characteristics of the people who live in the last days. The first and prominent characteristic he listed was that “men shall be lovers of their own selves.” The phrase, “lovers of their own selves,” is actually one word in the language of the New Testament. It is a compound word of “fond of” and “self”. The word means fond of oneself, self-loving, or selfish.

Is this self-love not one of the prominent emphases in our public sector today? Are we not told to love ourselves, to have good self-esteem, and that none of us should be left behind. Are we not simply told and taught to be selfish. This means we really don’t have to work because the government owes us a living and it is obligated to take care of us (give all that money, healthcare, and mortgage relief). And if we don’t get it, we demand it and take it.

Remember, Paul wrote in the verse preceding our text, “but know this, in the last days, troublous (difficult, harsh, fierce, violent) times shall come.” My friend, we are there.

- Pastor Stevens

1. 2 Ti 3:2}

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”¹

“Cleanseth,” says the text-not “shall cleanse.” There are multitudes who think that as a dying hope they may look forward to pardon. Oh! how infinitely better to have cleansing now than to depend on the bare possibility of forgiveness when I come to die. Some imagine that a sense of pardon is an attainment only obtainable after many years of Christian experience. But forgiveness of sin is a present thing-a privilege for this day, a joy for this very hour. The moment a sinner trusts Jesus he is fully forgiven. The text, being written in the present tense, also indicates continuance; it was “cleanseth” yesterday, it is “cleanseth” to-day, it will be “cleanseth” tomorrow: it will be always so with you, Christian, until you cross the river; every hour you may come to this fountain, for it cleanseth still. Notice, likewise, the completeness of the cleansing, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”-not only from sin, but “from all sin.” Reader, I cannot tell you the exceeding sweetness of this word, but I pray God the Holy Ghost to give you a taste of it. Manifold are our sins against God. Whether the bill be little or great, the same receipt can discharge one as the other. The blood of Jesus Christ is as blessed and divine a payment for the transgressions of blaspheming Peter as for the shortcomings of loving John; our iniquity is gone, all gone at once, and all gone for ever. Blessed completeness! What a sweet theme to dwell upon as one gives himself to sleep.

“Sins against a holy God;

Sins against his righteous laws;

Sins against his love, his blood;

Sins against his name and cause;

Sins immense as is the sea-

From them all he cleanseth me.”²

1. 1 John 1:7
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (1995). Morning and evening : Daily readings (July 23). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

“Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient, . . . but camest back.”¹

WE are inclined at first sight to pity this unknown prophet, and to justify his return; but as we look closer into the story, we not only discover the reason for the severe penalty that overtook him, but we are warned lest we make a similar mistake. When we have received a direct command fresh from the lips of Christ, we must act on it, and not be turned aside by a different suggestion, made to us through the lips of professing Christians. God does not vacillate or alter in the thing which proceeds from his mouth. When we know we are in the line of his purpose, we must not allow ourselves to be diverted by any appeal or threat, from whomsoever it may emanate. Deal with God at first-hand.

The rule for determining the true worth of the advice which our friends proffer us, is to ask, first, whether it conflicts with our own deep-seated conviction of God’s will; and, secondly, whether it tends to the ease and satisfaction of the flesh, as the old prophet’s suggestion certainly did. Beware of anyone who allures you with the bread and water that are to break your fast. That bait is likely enough to disturb the balance of your judgment. When a voice says spare thyself, be on the alert; it savors the things that be of man, not of those that be of God.

Learn to deal with God at first?hand. Do not run hither and thither to human teachers… Be still before God, and what He says in the depths of thy soul, do. His Holy Spirit shall guide you into all truth; and when once his way has been revealed to thee, go straight on, listening to no other voice, however much it professes Divine inspiration.

1. 1 Kings 13:21,22

“Forget not all His benefits.”¹

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts, and showed himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favours? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things,” hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David’s harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth for ever.²

1. Psalm 103:2
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (1995). Morning and evening : Daily readings (July 9). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Audio Sermon: What Does the Bible Say about Abortion?

Pastor Lloy B. Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, November, 2, 2008, AM Service

“Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”¹

Divine love is rendered conspicuous when it shines in the midst of judgments. Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the thunder clouds; bright is the oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so bright is love in the midst of wrath. When the Israelites provoked the Most High by their continued idolatry, he punished them by withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was visited by a sore famine; but while he did this, he took care that his own chosen ones should be secure. If all other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one reserved for Elijah; and when that fails, God shall still preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not only so, the Lord had not simply one “Elijah,” but he had a remnant according to the election of grace, who were hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was subject to famine, yet these fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab’s table too by His faithful, God-fearing steward, Obadiah. Let us from this draw the inference, that come what may, God’s people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure. Stay yourself upon his promise; rest in his faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you. Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.²

1. Proverbs 1:33
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (1995). Morning and evening : Daily readings (July 6). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Audio Sermon: What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?

Pastor Lloy Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, October 26, 2008, AM Service

Dear Christian Friends,

We want to thank you for your faithful financial and prayer support.

God has blessed our meetings with His people making life-changing decisions for which we praise the Lord!

Pastor Scott Buhrow and the folks at Bible Baptist Church in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, were faithful and responded well to the preaching of God’s Word.  Many decisions were made during the five-day meetings.

Debbie is still struggling with some health problems due to her recent surgery.  Please continue to pray for her about this. Thanks!

His servants,

Norman and Debbie Stevens

Evangelist Norman R. Stevens
602 Canterbury Rd
Kings Mountain, NC 28086-9601
Phone: (813) 760-4028
E-mail: normanstevens@evangelistnormanstevens.com
Web Site: http://www.evangelistnormanstevens.com

Hello everyone!  I wanted to drop a quick announcement to everyone on our lists regarding our fellowhip this coming Saturday, October 25, at 6 pm in the cafeteria of Tabernacle Christian School (1225 29th Av Dr NE, Hickory, NC).  If you need directions, please email us at jeffandheather@juno.com or call 828-238-0016.

This fellowship is a very important one as we share details about our upcoming February conference (see http://WildernessWonders.net) and a message entitled, “Evolution:  the Dangerous Deception.”  Bring a friend, a finger food (and/or drink), and JOIN US for this informal time of fellowship around our CREATOR!

Btw, we have a new update (”Ambassadors in NC”) and a new article (”The Last Great Missionary”) posted on our blog (http://CreationFamilyMinistries.org/wordpress)!

May the LORD bless you all this fall!

–Brother Jeff

Jeff & Heather Setzer
Creation Family Ministries
1225 29th Ave. Dr. NE; Hickory, NC 28601

“Thy Redeemer.”¹

Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours for ever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate him as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’s staff, the father’s rod, the captain’s sword, the priest’s mitre, the prince’s sceptre, the prophet’s mantle, all are ours. Jesus hath no dignity which he will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which he will not exercise for our defence. His fulness of Godhead is our unfailing, inexhaustible treasure-house.

His manhood also, which he took upon him for us, is ours in all its perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us he gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us he bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service. He makes the unsullied garment of his life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of his character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of his death our boast and glory. He bequeaths us his manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and his Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All his thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us. He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as his heavenly legacy the full results of all the labours of his life. He is now as much ours as heretofore; and he blushes not to acknowledge himself “our Lord Jesus Christ,” though he is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ everywhere and every way is our Christ, for ever and ever most richly to enjoy. O my soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit! call him this morning, “thy Redeemer.”²

1. Isaiah 54:5
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.) (June 18 AM). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Audio Sermon: Living Faith Is Practical, James 5:12, 19-20

Pastor Lloy B. Stevens

Victory Baptist Church

Sunday, October 19, 2008 AM Service

“Help, Lord.”¹

The prayer itself is remarkable, for it is short, but seasonable, sententious, and suggestive. David mourned the fewness of faithful men, and therefore lifted up his heart in supplication-when the creature failed, he flew to the Creator. He evidently felt his own weakness, or he would not have cried for help; but at the same time he intended honestly to exert himself for the cause of truth, for the word “help” is inapplicable where we ourselves do nothing. There is much of directness, clearness of perception, and distinctness of utterance in this petition of two words; much more, indeed, than in the long rambling outpourings of certain professors. The Psalmist runs straight-forward to his God, with a well-considered prayer; he knows what he is seeking, and where to seek it. Lord, teach us to pray in the same blessed manner.

The occasions for the use of this prayer are frequent. In providential afflictions how suitable it is for tried believers who find all helpers failing them. Students, in doctrinal difficulties, may often obtain aid by lifting up this cry of “Help, Lord,” to the Holy Spirit, the great Teacher. Spiritual warriors in inward conflicts may send to the throne for reinforcements, and this will be a model for their request. Workers in heavenly labour may thus obtain grace in time of need. Seeking sinners, in doubts and alarms, may offer up the same weighty supplication; in fact, in all these cases, times, and places, this will serve the turn of needy souls. “Help, Lord,” will suit us living and dying, suffering or labouring, rejoicing or sorrowing. In him our help is found, let us not be slack to cry to him.

The answer to the prayer is certain, if it be sincerely offered through Jesus. The Lord’s character assures us that he will not leave his people; his relationship as Father and Husband guarantee us his aid; his gift of Jesus is a pledge of every good thing; and his sure promise stands, “Fear not, I will help thee.”²

1. Psalm 12:1
2. Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.) (June 17 AM). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

“And the kine went along the highway, lowing as they went”¹

That two milch kine which had never borne the yoke should move quietly along the high road, turning neither to the right nor to the left, and lowing for the calves they had left behind, clearly indicated that they were possessed and guided by some mysterious power, which we know to have been God’s. And if He were able thus to overpower the instincts of their nature, and to compel them to do his will, may we not infer that all circumstances, and all men, however unwittingly, and against their natural instinct, are subserving the purposes of his will, and bearing on the Ark? The fish yields the tribute money; the colt of the ass waits where two ways meet to bear the Redeemer; the man with the waterpot leads to the upper room; the Roman soldiers enable Paul to fulfill the mission of his life, in preaching the Gospel without hindrance in the very heart of Rome.

As we go forth into the world, let us believe that the movement of all things is towards the accomplishment of God’s purpose. Herein is a fulfillment of the Psalmist’s prediction about man, which can only be perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the second Adam ?? that all things are under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field. Everything serves Christ, and those who serve Christ. In a true sense all things are ours; they minister to us, even as Christ to God.

And against our natural inclinations let us always regard the claims of God as paramount; and dare to go his way, though our heart pines for those we leave behind. “He that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than Me, is not worthy of Me.”

1. 1 Samuel 6:12

“I have poured out my soul before the Lord”¹

Hannah’s soul was fall of complaint and grief, which flowed over into her face and made it sorrowful. But when she had poured out her soul before the Lord, emptying out all its bitterness, the peace of God took the place of her soul?anguish, she went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. What a glad exchange! How great the contrast! How much the better for herself, and for her home!

Is your face darkened by the bitterness of your soul? Perhaps the enemy has been vexing you sorely; or there is an unrealized hope, an unfulfilled purpose. in your life; or, perchance, the Lord seems to have forgotten you. Poor sufferer, there is nothing for it but to pour out your soul before the Lord. Empty out its contents in confession and prayer. God knows it all; yet tell Him, as if He knew nothing. “Ye people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us.” “In everything, by prayer and supplication make your requests known unto God.”

As we pour out our bitterness, God pours in his peace. Weeping goes out of one door whilst joy enters at another. We transmit the cup of tears to the Man of Sorrows, and He hands it back to us filled with the blessings of the new covenant. Some day you will come to the spot where you wept and prayed, bringing your offering of praise and thanksgiving.

1. 1 Samuel 1:15

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