BUT GOD YOU
PROMISED
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WHEN NOTHING’S HAPPENING
MARTIN SCHMALTZ
Copyright 2010 Martin Schmaltz
Published by Apostolic Missions Inc at Smashwords
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Dedication
To Ava, my wife and companion in this journey, traveling is always better with a friend.
Special Thanks
Jenny Akroyd for her editorial skills.
Rick Brewer for his cover design: you can view his portfolio at www.slickers03.com
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Table Of Contents
Chapter 1 ~ A word from the Lord!
Chapter 2 ~ “God, I didn’t ask for this.”
Chapter 3 ~ God doesn’t use a normal GPS.
Chapter 4 ~ “With friends like you, who needs enemies!”
Chapter 5 ~ Your master’s degree from the University of Hard Knocks.
Chapter 6 ~ “You mean it’s not about me?”
Chapter 7 ~ THE END: It’s only the beginning.
INTRODUCTION
This is not meant to be a big book of theology, nor is it a dissertation on some new revelation of scripture, but it’s a short story of inspiration. I desire to connect with the heart of every believer who is experiencing a “silent” God in the midst of a wilderness, waiting for his or her promise to materialize. I want to bring you some hope, to bump your faith up another notch, to inspire you to keep on keepin’ on!
Using the life of Joseph and cameo appearances from Abraham, Moses, and David I plan to explore how the promises we receive from God can actually be the instruments of our refining and character development. It’s the purpose of this process to equip and prepare us for the fulfillment of His promise. It’s my desire to be transparent and give some of the nuggets of truth I have picked up along the way--at least the ones I can hang on to!
I will not give you a list of “name it and claim it” scriptures to memorize and quote; on this journey, it usually doesn’t work like that. I have prayed and quoted many verses to myself and still walked away frustrated, empty and even sometimes angry.
The uniqueness of this book is that I am not writing from the “expert” who has arrived: I am a pilgrim like you, still on the journey – maybe a little farther along, maybe a little behind you, but still on a journey.
So if you are ready, (to quote Bob Seger) “turn the page…”
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CHAPTER 1 ~ A word from the Lord!
It began in late April 2006, the day the Lord messed with my theology, forever changing my paradigm of ministry. I remember it like yesterday: I was attending a conference that was not even of my own organizations (really stepping out on the limb here). The topic was related to the apostolic and the five-fold ministry.
For months, I had felt directed to study these ministries, their place and functions in the body of Christ. An intense hunger was developing in me to see something that, to me anyways, appeared to be missing within the church. So I began looking at other sources for information; thus ending up at this meeting in a North Georgia church.
Now I have to admit, I went with a guarded mindset. I didn’t want any “weird” doctrine being thrust into my spirit. So I scrutinized every song, sermon, and piece of material that was presented. Yet God was able to speak to me through my suspiciousness.
It was during one worship service as I was seeking intimacy with Jesus that He spoke to me. As I was focusing on Him, thinking about his goodness, grace, mercy, His voice spoke into my mind, totally interrupting my thought process: “Apostolic to Asia.” In three simple words, he totally rocked my little world. It was so foreign to me that I stopped worshipping and said, “What does that mean?” But to my frustration, no answer came, at least at that moment.
It was in the following weeks that He began to give insight into apostolic authority or born again believers being sent as legal representatives of Jesus. The illumination of scripture came in such a dramatic way; it was as if He was doing a download to my mental hard drive. These truths eventually became the basis of our first book, Apostolic Authority, Every Believers Privilege. This understanding and the application of these principles further clarified the meaning of those three simple words he spoke to me.
So with great excitement I began to study, preach, and write this message on how to demonstrate the miraculous power of His kingdom. These truths became the focus of the ministry at the local church we pastored. God manifested his presence in powerful ways when these truths were ministered. During this time, we saw more miracles happen than I had seen in years. Many of my contemporaries that I shared the concepts with encouraged us that they needed to be shared and taught. It was an exciting time – Yea!
The first year, everything seemed to be moving steady. I had my plans all laid out how the Lord would bring His promise to pass. I saw my schedule filling with conferences and missions trips. Then it happened. I have a friend who used to say: “When everything is going good, that’s the time to watch out, something’s about to happen.” Well it did.
Somewhere, around 18 months after the Lord spoke to me, things seemed to slow down. I still made trips overseas and
ministered to the church we pastored, yet all these opportunities I saw in my mind did not materialized. I came to the place that it appeared the promise would not be fulfilled.
To add further frustration, there came greater illumination of apostolic church structure and the order of the five-fold ministry; yet there was no outlet for this illumination. So I have to admit, it has been quite rough, knowing I have a promise and commission from God, yet it doesn’t seem to be coming to pass – all dressed up and nowhere to go, so to speak.
Then one day a friend of mine commented on a scripture he had recently used in a sermon. He didn’t know how the Lord was using him to give me understanding into His preparation process. The text was in Psalms and it spoke of another man who God had given a promise or word to - then his life fell apart.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. (Emphasis added)
In short, until the promise came to pass, this very promise was the source of Joseph’s trial or purifying. Wow! With shocking clarity, I saw a reason why I just might be where I am. Mind you, not that it changes the situation, just how I viewed it.