Before you read this study understand that we do not teach, we share and then ask all who read the following take it to God and verify it with Him. We believe a lot of the world is misled by the church of the world and religion vs the one true church. And to know the truth can only come from knowing, not just knowing of God, John 14:26, I John 2:27, Rev 3:19-22.
Many are called but few are chosen because many are misled by false teachers Matthew 7:13-15 so we help all who wants to know the truth how to find and know the truth of and by God and not of and by man.



Stepping Stones

Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author   Close Window

I know it seems easier for some of you Christians that have to just give it to those who do not have. However, if those who have do not follow the Father first and if they are not obedient to God and give to where He directs it to go, then they will lose what they have and any future funds. God will direct it to where it will do the most good and where the people are the most honorable as well.

These are just a few guidelines that I have seen repeatedly broken by people who can not understand why God won't bless them or their ministry. Also there is the idea it is best to teach you how to be blessed to bless others than to always needing a blessing.

If some of these are your problems then you need to back away from your ministry and spend time with God. The last thing this world needs is another ministry with another minister who has a poor relationship with God.

Here are some points to having a good ministry:

  1. Before starting the ministry, plan on at least 8 years getting ready (it was good enough for Paul).
  2. During the 8 years spend at least 3 years totally with God 24 hours a day 7 days a week one on one.
  3. Learn Greek at least and read the New Testament in Greek along with English.
  4. Get up every morning with God first.
  5. Praise God through the day, not just in song but thanking and praising for all He has done for you. At first it will be just lip service, but after awhile it will have meaning to it and then it will be fulfilling in your life as well as uplifting.
  6. Understand that true understanding of God's Word comes from God only (via the Holy Spirit). John 14:26 and I John 2:27
  7. Write everything He says down as soon as you can.
  8. As soon as He releases, you then start your ministry.

Now you are ready and you may be surprised to find you were not to be a pastor after all but an Evangelist or Missionary.

If you skip the above 8 and do it your way don't complain and cry about what happens; take your lumps as they come. And come they will.

If I was out looking for a church to join I would ask a few questions of the pastor first and I would not want some printed brochure to read. If they are so big that he does not have time to answer my questions then he has more than he can handle as it is and I would go there.

  1. How long did you prepare before you became a pastor?
  2. How did you know you had a call on your life to be a pastor?
  3. Who teaches you the word of God?
  4. How long do you expect a person to be in your church before they should be ready to either move on to some form of ministry or help in this ministry?
  5. What other ministries are you associated with?
  6. What versions of the Bible do you use and recomend for me to use? (Any thing other than Amplified and King James can lead to problems because of how many translation errors in the other versions. There is no problem using them with the King James or Amplified, just never on their own.)
  7. Do you and the church tithe and do you believe I should tithe?

It does not matter how long a pastor has been in the ministry, it does matter how long he/she spent preparing to be in the ministry.

I started in 1973. In 1975 I was in training as a Pastor in the Methodist denomination and left due to politics there. From 1979 to 1988 I was in touch with God but no ministries. By 1989 I was a member of the evangelist comittee of the state of Texas for the Lutherans. In 1990-92, I became the head of the Jewish evangelistic outreach for the Lutherans in Texas and most of what I did was used elsewhere in the US as well. In 1993 I had a home Bible study group that had grown to about 25. God had been calling me to be a pastor again, but this time as a non-denominational pastor.

I would not accept and for a year this went on, and by august of 1993 my Bible study group was down to 5 and my family and I were in Fort Worth at a Kenneth Copeland Conference and I accepted my call. God told me to note the time and I did. When I got home later that week, there was a message on my answering machine. It was from Sherrye Fuentes, she said that while prayer she was told to start tithing to me, and was told to tell me the day and time that she was told to do this. It was the same day and time I accepted the call. He was showing me He was still in charge.

After that Barbara and I decided she would work and I would stay home and spend time with God. I spent the next 2 years, non-stop, with God and wrote everything down. Then I translated the New Testament, and started writing Bible studies.

In 1995 I started building our 2 Internet sites H.O.M.E. and godsgifttoyou.com.

I thought H.O.M.E. was to be some form of homeless ministry and of course when I was offered to do a nursing home I took it thinking that was what we were to do. And this was back in 96, and for 5 years we did this and then when my 8th year hit things started to happen and make sense. Like a light turning on in a dark room, I could see the plan and understand. As with Paul it took me 8 years. It was not until afterwards that I realized it had been 8 years. You need to understand that 7 is the number of completion and my 8th year is a new beginning. It is more than that; I have tried sowing and reaping in the past to little or no avail. Now, though, it is totally different. The same is for healing, my relationship with God Himself, and much more.

I would have to say one of the keys for me was, the praise time. I would just start reflecting over what He had done for me over the years. At first it was just lip service, but as time went on and I stuck with it, it gained substance. When that happened I was uplifted by it in ways I never thought about or even imagined would happen. It even became a high and an addiction, to a point I can not even go to a movie. Why can I not go to a movie? After about 30 minutes I start having withdrawal from God. Understand we are not talking bad addiction or withdrawal symptoms here. After 30 minutes in the movie no matter how good it is, I would notice the peace I had would start to slip away. No, it was not God doing it; it was Satan messing with me. Satan was trying to make my life miserable, to make me think God was not allowing me anything that did not directly involve Him. It does not work, though, because I would prefer to never see another movie again to missing 5 minutes with God. God has shown me how to have both. I will wait for the video version and that way I can break as often as I need to. I have told my wife and daughter to go to the movies with out me and enjoy them. At first they did, but now they agree they will wait as well. Movies just do not seem as important as they used to.

The same goes for a lot of things in this world. The next life is holding more and more interest for us and this life holds less and less. What keeps us the most in this world is our brothers and sisters who are not on the right track yet. Don't get me wrong we are not perfect, far from it. I am just getting closer and closer to seeing this world for what it really is and it is not that pretty after all. Satan has painted it a different color for us to see, and made it hard to see the truth.

In time with patience and a desire for God you can see the truth and you can grow. Yes things will change in your life, but they won't hurt and afterwards you will look back and ask why you did not change sooner. The peace you will get will be the main point. The love of course is also way beyond understanding. All of this is done one small step at a time. You do not sow and reap a million dollars at a time at the beginning. That is why so many fail, they start too high.

Start with small stepping stones. Here are some suggestions on how to get started:

  1. Get up first thing, talking to the Lord, "Good morning God"
  2. Spend as close to the first thing in the morning as you can with God, about 15 minutes. After a few weeks add 5 minutes and then every few weeks add another 5 minutes. The same thing at night.
  3. Try to spend at least 15 minutes a day in the word, and 30 minutes a weekend in the word again increasing every couple of weeks by 5 minutes.
  4. Out of each 15 minutes you spend in prayer, spend 5 minutes listening; do this until you hear God.
  5. On your way to work/school and home again list all the blessings of your life. At first it will be just lip service. For some it will take a week or so others a few days and then it will have some substance and that is when it really has meaning.
  6. Always doing all of this knowing that He is who He says He is.
  7. No judging of any kind Matthew 7 (Read this chapter once a week), forgive all, Mark 11:22-26

These are just a few helpful hints, but if followed religiously they will in time help you on your way to a better life in all ways.

Remember small steps, stepping-stones.

My prayer for you is:

3 John 1

2. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth

Remember to show faith when you pray, then praise and give thanks.

God Bless You as you hear His words and follow His leading.


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