When God decides to stretch us, I used to feel like we are people being pulled in some dark age torture machine. This time on this trip it was different. God had been placing in myself and Daisy a sincere trust in Him. Our schedule for Bolivia and Brazil was filling quickly as pastors were setting times and dates with us. Normally on trips, we have all the money and airline tickets paid in advance. This was not the situation for this trip.
It all started as I was sitting out in the front yard speaking to God about the day. He asked me a simple yet profound question, “Anthony, do you trust me?”
“Of course, I trust you. We (Daisy and I) have given up every form of comfort to serve You and walk with You. We walked away from many things that would have made our lives more comfortable. You know that!” I replied.
He asked again, “Anthony, do you trust me?”
This second time it struck my heart as I realize when God asks a question more than once it is deeper than you realize. This time I wasn’t so quick to respond and began to think.
I asked, “What do you mean do I trust you?”
He replied with another question, “Do you have any lack in your life?”
Ouch! Here comes the loving discipline of a Good Father.
“I do have some lack as you know we don’t have the money for our trip and several other things,” I replied in earnest.
He stated simply, “so you don’t trust me.”
Double OUCH!!
He proceeded to say, “Anthony, if you trusted me there would be no lack and you wouldn’t be missing anything. It is when people try to make a way for themselves that everything falls apart.”
I began to realize God was asking me if I always trusted Him. At the same time, He was pointing out how at times I didn’t trust Him.
I spent the previous 3 months before the departure date of the trip trying to work and others in our team. It didn’t happen as we work outside and it was raining off and on for months. Making the days of work few and far in between. I did everything I could do to make the money. I was doing my best not to have to ask anyone for anything. God knew my needs and I knew what His word said. I was exhausting every other way to make this trip happen from my side.
Little did I know God wanted to show me something I didn’t realize I had picked up. Self-righteousness or pride concerning finances. I have sat under teaching where George Muller is lauded as super-spiritual because he prayed for the children’s needs. People say I tell God and no one else my needs. This is the most self-righteous position someone can take. It even goes against everything Jesus taught. He taught humility exalts you not pride. Humility can make needs known. Jesus even let people know His needs. (See Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58 and also Matthew 21:3)
So unless you are saying George Muller is more spiritual than Jesus, then you worship George Muller, not Jesus.
Side Note: Look into Muller’s diary and you will find he says himself that he let people know the need by the newsletters he sent out. He told people of the testimonies of provision and it let people worldwide know there was a need for the children. As a result, money, gifts, property etc poured in from everywhere. He says himself that if he didn't release the newsletters the provision never would have happened. George Muller paid his full time staff and he lived in a mansion. He only prayed for the children’s needs not his own. Challenge everything someone says and the truth will only remain.
I didn’t want to have to tell someone that I had a need as I viewed it as begging. In the circle that I used to be in, most of us had that same view. It was viewed as spiritually immature or that you lacked faith. Its because they bought into the self-righteousness and never read books on Muller. The ones that did already were reading it through a slant towards just telling God.
Beg
to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor
Example: to beg alms; to beg forgiveness.
to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore
Example: He begged me for mercy. Sit down, I beg you.
to take for granted without basis or justification
Example: a statement that begs the very point we're disputing.
So by the first definition, Jesus begged as mentioned his needs in the scriptures mentioned above. (See Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58 and also Matthew 21:3) again
God wanted to weed out this corrupted mentality on finances. He never put this burden on people to not let their needs be known. If so then take out every epistle Paul wrote on finances which would be almost all of them. He tells the Corinthians, he should have required money from them but didn’t. (See 1 Corinthians 9) Then Paul is taking a collection for the church in Jerusalem because of a prophecy given by Agabus. (See 1 Corinthians 16 and Acts 11:27-30) Note: When the Church sent Paul off, they told him to remember the poor, meaning give money to the poor. If they had needs they should have just “trusted God and not make their need known to men.” You see so many passages in every epistle Paul wrote about finances and admonishing some of their giving. He let them know through his letters about needs and needs being met. Do your homework!! Stop falling into this self-righteousness trap of the devil.
The Trip
God asked me if everyone hears Him and obeys Him immediately. I replied, “definitely not.” We haven’t grown to that place as a body yet. So most people aren’t listening to God and need the confirmation that they need to give because there is a need. The majority of the church is here. Most believers are living almost entirely worldly life. Their lives are busy every minute, they do not desire God or make time for Him, or make time to listen to Him. They need to know there is a need to meet the need. How often does God speak to you to do something and you do it immediately? Is it every single time? If so I need to follow you around and observe how a perfect child of God walks.
The day is approaching quickly and I have enough for my ticket but not Daisy’s. God showed me about this issue in my own heart. The hardest thing He had me do was swallow my pride by making the need known through Facebook Fundraisers.
I just let people know what God was doing and if they wanted to be a part of it. God met the need for one-way tickets. We book our flights to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. God gave Daisy a dream of a woman of God we know and love. In the dream, she tells Daisy where God guides, He provides just step out in faith/trust. This was God confirming to us this would be a trip of Faith/Trust in Him. We have no other finances to cover the trip only to get our tickets there. We fly to Fort Lauderdale, spend time with a dear friend of ours and fly out of Miami. We have one week in Santa Cruz before we leave to Cochabamba. I do a full seminar there and train the local people on obedience to God’s nature and word concerning Healing. The host pastor buys our ticket to Cochabamba.
“Yes, Thank you, Jesus, for what you have done,” I said silently to myself many times on this trip.
When we leave to Cochabamba a few small donations come in that allow us to buy our one-way tickets to La Paz our last stop in Bolivia before we fly to Brazil. We have an amazing time with friends and church family there. God performs some amazing healings on people with fatal diseases or issues.
Side Note: Many times after a day out ministering, I sit in my room and cry before God that I am allowed to witness so many amazing things. God so wants what is best for all of us and God so wants what is best for all of us and He knows what is best for every situation.
We finish up in Cochabamba and the pastor gives us an offering which was way short of what we needed to make the trip to Brazil. I am a little concerned but reminded myself and Daisy of God’s faithfulness. We are about to jump into a taxi and leave for the airport when someone arrived and give us an offering. We pray over it like its a million bucks!
We forgot about it and on to the new troubles of the new day in La Paz. We knew we would have to pay for our hotel in La Paz. Often times as we travel we don’t have free room and board as we don’t require it from our hosts. We trust God. I go to meet with the pastor when Daisy calls me back to the room. Guess what happened when we opened the envelope?!
God provided for the trip to Brazil and second stop in Brazil which covered the first three weeks! We were jumping for joy and praising God as we both went downstairs for dinner with the pastor. We just thanked God and keep moving forward. God kept placing it on my heart to let people know what was going on through the Facebook Fundraisers and Facebook Pages. I humbled myself and shared with people some of the testimonies and miracles that were happening as we traveled.
As a result of letting people know how things were going, several other people contacted us and gave to what we were doing. It helped us with flights and blessing others. We were able to give a lady enough money to buy a new sewing machine. She was doing all the sewing by hand to make clothes for children and this was her income. With a sewing machine she would be able to make clothes faster and be more efficient. She now is making lots of designs and children’s clothes for her children but also selling them on Instagram and other social media sites.
God met many needs. We saw many miracles and were able to focus on the task and mission God sent us on. I booked the next few trips.
We leave La Paz and arrive in Brazil about 12 hours after our team members did. I rented a car since we didn’t want to be a burden on anyone for rides as we would be around the city for multiple meetings night after night. My credit card didn’t work in Brazil. It wouldn’t go through and found out later why.
We work it out and get the car and drive an hour to a missionary house. We stay with these amazing families for a few weeks. God bless them!
We minister there in Sao Paulo and there are so many testimonies and prophecies that were given. God gave me a specific word for this trip to Brazil and I was delivering it with all I had within me. At every church, I would feel like I was vibrating as the Spirit of God was testifying to the validity and truth being spoken. Many times after coming off the platform, I would ask someone if I was shaking because my whole body was vibrating, at least spiritually. When your spirit hears truth it begins to resonate within you. When you are speaking truth it does the same thing. As you become in sync with the Holy Spirit by yielding to what He wants to say. You will find that when you speak truth in every thing spoken, you become like a tuning fork. When the “tuning fork of the Holy Spirit” gets close to you, another tuning fork, it naturally resonates or vibrates also. I was flowing in the same frequency as the Holy Spirit. It became tangible to my physical and spiritual senses. This is the only way I can explain it.
We make the next two stops in Santo Antonio De Jesus and Salvador! God does more amazing things by healing everyone at a hospital and allowing us into an ICU at another. God always shows up to meet the needs. We prophesied, gave words of knowledge and wisdom, gave generously, worked miracles, stepped out in faith/trust, saw healings, and way more. We had divine appointments everywhere we went. I hadn’t thought much about the last trip to Natal, Brazil before Salvador but we had to fly back to Sao Paulo first for another meeting there before Natal. We had been blessed in every area by our hosts and church family. We didn’t have the money in the US bank account to make this last trip happen. I start speaking with God and Daisy about this trip.
All of a sudden people gave again on the fundraiser and through our site! God provided all the money needed for this trip from Sao Paulo to Natal! It was so amazing!!! Just as we needed to buy tickets for the trip the finances arrived.
We go Natal and instantly connect and click with the church family there. God healed everyone during several meetings we had. It was amazing!! We visited people’s houses for dinner or lunch and God healed them or set them free. It was a wonderful time.
We returned back to Sao Paulo and we had finances to send back to buy our tickets back to Texas. We were supposed to stay for a meeting of several churches but they canceled on us at the last minute. I looked at tickets for Friday and let Daisy know it was the cheapest to return home. I ask God what He wants us to do and that morning not even 30 mins later a large donation covering the entire trip home is deposited into our account.
Special Message: As ministers of God, many times it feels like God doesn’t meet any needs if you aren’t out preaching, traveling, and/or working. This is the wrong mindset altogether. God is a Good Father! You are always provided for, most of the time we just stop trusting because we think we have to earn it. Get this mindset out of yourself also. This is the other ditch of self-righteousness or pride.
Example: “I have to do something for God to bless me”
This means you are a servant, not a son or daughter. This is a lie. If you believe in Jesus, John 1:12, then you are His offspring. You can not earn His blessing as you already have it through Jesus. Just because you aren’t traveling or ministering but studying and hearing God’s instructions doesn’t mean anything. You are His offspring. He takes care of you if you trust Him. This has been a huge paradigm change for myself.
“I trust God” seems like a good things to say. I have realized by going through this how many people claim to trust God but don’t at all. You never know where you don’t trust God until there is a moment of uncomfortableness. This is the place you begin to be stretched and grow in trust in Him. This trip was a stretching and growth moment for us. God is our source for everything. It had its uncomfortable moments for sure. Yet the lessons we learned by leaning on God and trusting Him through it all will impact us forever. He TRULY is our Provider.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to create a course?
