First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 20

Building Mustard-Seed Faith (e)

Marion, a friend of mine, drove her car on snow-covered roads in Iowa during the late evening hours of a 1970′s winter day. Her rear tires had chains on them. As she headed north on the interstate, the roads cleared up and she heard the chains banging against the wheel wells of the car’s fender.

She pulled off onto the shoulder of the road, which was filled with snow. She walked around to the rear of the car, knelt down in the snow by the tires, and tried to unloosen the chains, but the fastener was stuck.

After trying for a long time, she looked up to heaven. “Father, I’m your daughter and I’m cold and tired. I need You to unloosen these chains right now.”

The chains fell off the tire into her hands without her doing anything. She went around to the other tire and the same thing happened. God removed the chains for her.

Amazing, but why did it happen?

 

I bid a large painting job on a home in a historic preservation district of Louisville, Kentucky in the late 1990’s. The total bid was $22,000, but it required a substantial amount of equipment and tools, which I could not afford to buy ahead of time. My only hope was that each draw payment would be on time so I could purchase the supplies whenever they were needed.

Everything went well at first, but then, the general contractor notified me a $5,500 draw payment would be two weeks late. I was in trouble because my two workers needed pay checks.

I sought God.

“Lord, You’ve always told me that You were my provider. Where’s the money I need to finish this job?” I prayed.

While I’m crying out to the Lord about money, Carol decided it would be a good time to buy a house. I know. I know. I know. This does not make sense, right? How can a penniless couple ever think about buying a house? The quick answer: by faith.

We went to an open house that morning where a husband and wife attempted to sell their own home without a real estate agent. We liked the home and explained our credit problems and lack of money. The man somehow came up with an interesting idea.

He loaned us $7,500 at a low interest rate with no maturity date, which we could use as a down payment for his home after the money had been in our account for sixty days. His lawyer wrote out the papers. We signed them and received the check.

With the money, we bought the equipment, supplies, and paid the two workers. Two weeks later, I received two checks from the general contractor for $11,000.

Guess what happened next?

The man who loaned us the $7,500 figured out we could not qualify for a loan and asked for the money back. We obliged him and wrote a check to him for the full amount. A zero interest loan.

Another amazing testimony, but why did it happen?

(As it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. (Romans 4: 17)

By faith, we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11: 3)

 These amazing answers happened because we trusted God.

Our backs were against the wall and our faith was in Him. He is the Creator who can make things happen out of nothing.

(Continued…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

 

First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 19

Building Mustard-Seed Faith (d)

In the early 1990′s, I was a part of home group, which held some special meetings in the city building of a small Iowa town. Local business people and others were invited. I gave some teachings. Afterward, I prayed for those people who wanted prayer.

A friend brought an eighty-five year old female resident from a nearby nursing home to the last night. She was small, slightly stooped over, and wore thick glasses. She had been a Christian from her youth.

I felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit was stronger than normal as I approached her. The little lady asked for her eyes to be healed. I prayed and she fell over backward onto the floor. I continued praying for the other people. They all fell on the floor.

When I finished, I was the only person standing in the room. Everyone else lay on the floor, and to be honest, I rather enjoyed the moment.

Everyone soon revived and the little lady came over to me. She testified how her eyes had been healed. She could now see clearly without the blurriness, which had bothered her for years.

“Really?” I said.

She nodded and explained how the Holy Spirit had never touched her like that in her whole life. She was so excited.

“I want to pray for you and have God use me to touch you,” she said.

“Really?” I said, knowing she was a life-long Lutheran and probably would pray a stiff, formal prayer.

She laid her hand on my shoulder and uttered a prayer with lots of stiff phrases scattered here and there throughout her meanderings. Then she added, “Lord, I just want to be used to touch him like he touched me tonight.”

I hit the floor with a thud and laid there for a half hour or so.

What do you think the little lady did while I lay on the floor?

She jumped up and down and screamed, “I did it! I did it! God used me! God used me!”

I can teach faith, explain about the power of fasting, and the importance of praying in the Spirit, but still it often comes down to how much Daddy loves His children and loves to see His children excited about Him.

 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly, I say to you unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

We often read the Bible and fail to visualize the scene in which the words were spoken. It is easy to miss the meat of the message by doing this.

In the above verses of Matthew, we learn by looking at Mark’s account of the same event that Jesus was in His hometown of Capernaum. The disciples had been arguing over which of the twelve was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They were probably filled with pride from their successful ministry exploits on their recent journeys into the surrounding villages. They asked Jesus to settle the argument for them.

The home was filled with people. A curious child squeezed through the crowd to get to the front, near where Jesus sat.

Jesus did not immediately answer the disciples’ question, but instead, He looked at the child standing there. All Bible translations state He called the child to Him. The Greek word proskaleō, which is translated into the English word call, really has two meanings:  to call or to bid.

Because of the to bid meaning of proskaleō, I like to think Jesus looked at the child, winked His eye at him, and motioned with his forefinger in a “come hither” fashion. The child without even looking to his parents instantly walked to Jesus, allowing Him to use him as a model for His message.

Jesus then said, “Whoever humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Think about it for a moment, okay?

Jesus did not say a person with the greatest amount of faith or the greatest amount of knowledge would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. He said the one who would be like “this child” would be the greatest. Why? Because the child totally trusted Jesus and obeyed His promptings without thinking about the possible consequences of his obedience.

That is true faith.

(Continued…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 18

Building Mustard-Seed Faith (c)

I finished studying at 9 p.m, stood up, and walked into the kitchen for a drink of water.

As I turned on the recessed ceiling lights, I stopped dead in my tracks. A grotesque creature sat on a stool at the island counter. If the angel was the epitome of the Kingdom of Light, then this being was the dark side’s counterpart. Its gloomy eyes glared at me while its lips formed a sneer. Festering sores plastered the being’s face and neck. A filthy robe cloaked its torso and a stench of decay clogged my nostrils.

“Listen up Chuck,” the creature said in a raspy voice.

Fear struck my chest like a baseball bat. I had trouble breathing. Confusion settled over me like a morning fog. I could not put two and two together.

“If you go to businessmen and tell them to pray over their financial gifts, seeking the Lord where they should give their money, some bad things will happen to your family. Your two sons will die in an auto accident and your wife will go insane. Do you hear me?”

I could not speak as my mouth went dry and a throbbing sensation sent stabs of pain through my mind. The creature drummed its dirty two-inch long fingernails on the granite counter. The beat reminded me of a funeral march.

“I said – do you hear me?” the creature hissed out the words.

I nodded.

“And I can do it. It will be easy. Just as easy as it was for me to come into your home. No one can protect you from me! Not even God!”

The creature bared its brownish-yellowish teeth with a hideous grin as it stood up.

“Don’t you ever forget what I told you, okay?”

The being walked over to the door leading out to the deck, then without opening the door, he stepped through it and left.

I collapsed on the floor and wept. My body convulsed in fear.

“Oh God! What have I done to my family?” I screamed.

Afterward, I pulled myself together and wandered into the family room, collapsing on the sofa. What is going on? I thought. Everything is hitting me at once. What can I do?

My mind raced in circles searching for answers, but I found none. I eventually fell asleep.

 

A voice visited me while I slept. Was it in a dream or a vision? It was like both, but different at the same time. I was awake, but I was asleep.

“Chuck,” the voice said.

I looked up and realized I was standing in front of a stage in a large auditorium. It was black. None of the spotlights were turned on. The red velvet curtains were drawn apart. The voice seemed to be flowing out of the darkness blanketing the stage. I felt no fear and was comforted by the voice.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Do you have some questions?”

“Yes.”

“Go ahead.”

“What was that being in my kitchen?”

“What do you think it was?”

“A demon.”

“Yes. That was a demon power sent to frighten you by the religious ruling spirit over America.”

“But how did that happen?” I asked. “I always pray for angelic protection over me.”

“Yes, you do,” the voice said. “For just a few moments, the angels who protect you backed off their posts. When they did that, the demon power slipped into your realm.”

It hit me like a hammer between the eyes. I was set up by the Lord and used as ambush bait.

“But –” I said, trying to put my thoughts into words.

The voice interrupted me. “You have been chosen to have insight into spiritual warfare so that you can teach others. Spiritual warfare is not played on a Game Boy. It is played out in real life scenarios where lives and destinies are at stake.” The voice paused for a moment and then added, “Satan and his army want to kill Christians and their families, and destroy their destinies on earth.”

I cringed.

“But what can I do to protect my family?”

“What does scripture say?”

The voice bounced my question back to me.

I thought for a moment before answering.

“Cast my cares on the Lord for He cares for me.”

“Yes and don’t forget that Jesus rebuked demons. He refused to allow them to speak because they are all liars. You can do the same in Jesus’ name.”

I was silent, not wanting to ask my next question.

“Can Satan and his forces really hurt my children or Dusty?” I asked.

“Yes. Your rebellion and sin could open the gates for Satan’s army to come into your family’s lives. But by the same token, a causeless curse will not alight on you or your family. Walk with God and avoid sin.”

The voice was silent for a moment.

“Any more questions?

“What about my problems with Dusty?”

“She is not the problem – you are. Dusty is like most women in that she desires to see her husband as a sold-out man of God, not a half-hearted pew-sitter. You obey God, follow His instructions, and she will be happy to walk by your side.”

With that answer, the voice left and I returned to my sleep.

(This excerpt is from DECEIVED DEAD AND DELIVERED by Larry Nevenhoven, 2012, eBook, Amazon.com.)

In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6: 16-17)

Whether you like the idea or not, we Christians have to fight demons, which takes strong faith.

First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 17

Building Mustard-Seed Faith (b)

The next morning, when I arrived at 8:30, Dad was pacing back and forth in the parking lot. His neon yellow tie hung at half-mast on his white shirt, his top shirt button remained unbuttoned. His gray suit coat draped the blue and white sign in front of the handicap parking space. A scowl etched his lobster-colored face. He was boiling.

“Jeremiah, we need to talk. Now!” he said through clenched teeth.

Dad knows! I thought. How I wish the gift of faith was still working in me. Guess I’ll have to trust in the Lord’s grace to see me through this.

I avoided his blistering eyes and nodded.

“Okay.”

He reached over and slung the suit coat over his right shoulder.

“Follow me,” he spit out over his shoulder as he marched toward his silver Mercedes. “Jump in.”

I opened the door and sat down in the black leather passenger seat. Dad climbed in the driver’s side.

“Better buckle up,” he said without looking over.

The Mercedes’ tires squealed as we pulled out onto Pine Street in front of an oncoming city bus. My right hand reached for the seatbelt and pulled it tight across my dark blue slacks. I snapped it. Then, I tugged on it just to make sure it fastened properly. I straightened my red tie and ironed out the wrinkles in my blue oxford shirt.

We headed west on the one-way street. He turned a razor-sharp right into the Starbucks on the corner of Octavia Street. He read the confusion on my face.

“This is a timeout, sort of like you use to pull on me when you were young,” he said without smiling. “I was so upset I didn’t brew any coffee this morning. Like Napoleon, I am senseless without the stuff. Would you like one?”

With our two coffees, we drove north to Lafayette Park. Dad pulled over to the curb and parked. He sipped some coffee. He rotated in his seat toward me, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Now, what were you thinking about when you pulled that stupid stunt yesterday at City Hall?”

The only other time in my life Dad had been that angry with me was when I dropped out of college and broke-up with Kari. This was out of character for him. He normally joked around and carried on a light-hearted banter with people.

“Where did you hear about it?” I asked.

“Arlene phoned and said she saw you on Channel 26.”

“Good old Arlene and cable TV, huh?”

“And if Arlene knows, everybody knows,” he mumbled. “Right?”

I nodded.

“So, answer my question, will you?”

“The Lord told me to do it.”

“Oh, boy!” he said with a deep groan. “Does this have to do with your thinking you’re called to be a prophet?”

“Yes.”

“Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah. I thought we were past that by now.”

I blew out a deep breath.

“Dad, it’s my calling – I can’t just lay it down because it causes discomfort to loved ones or me.”

He rose up and pointed a finger in my face.

“Listen son,” he bellowed, “shooting off your mouth in San Francisco will cause bad things to happen to you. This is not the Bible Belt, you know. Open your eyes. This is the liberal capital of America. San Franciscans hate having their noses shoved into their crappy smelling sins by a Christian who thinks he’s a prophet. Do you hear?”

I looked out the window at two junior high kids who walked by just then. The smaller boy slapped the pudgy one on the back and took off running. The victim stood still for a moment, his mouth hanging open. Then, he ran after the other one yelling, “I’m going to kill you when I get a hold of you.”

The smaller boy stopped a half block away and put his hands to his mouth. “You ain’t never catching me, fat boy.”

He turned and scooted down the street.

“Son, do you hear what I’m saying?”

I nodded but swallowed the hasty words, waiting just behind my teeth.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Dad answered his cell phone.

“Yes.”

He listened for a long time.

“Okay, we’ll be right there. Tell everyone the sales meeting is canceled for this week,” he said as he started the car.

“It seems the switchboard is lit up with calls for the prophet. Six people want to list their homes with you. Can you believe that?” he said as he shook his head. “I would have guessed your career was buried yesterday, but what do I know, huh?”

(This is an excerpt from the novel, Jonah, by Larry Nevenhoven, 2012, eBook, Amazon.com)

…Let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. (Romans 12: 6 NKJ)

Yes, we need strong faith to prophesy or use any of the spiritual gifts at a high level in our neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, and nation. We also need strong faith to walk through the aftermath of using our spiritual gifts.

(Continued…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 16

Building Mustard-Seed Faith (a)

We can expect to have adverse circumstances happen in our journeys. But what will be our first thoughts? To phone a prayer team member? Or a pastor? Call a specialist who knows how to get God on the hot line for us, but what if no one is available, then what happens?

We will have to toss our own prayers toward heaven, hoping God will hear them. But who are we? We aren’t John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Billy Graham, or the reincarnation of Smith Wigglesworth, we’re just everyday Christians, struggling to survive. How can we know whether God will answer our prayers or not?

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11: 1)

Faith is the assurance, the confidence, the deep trust God will answer our prayers and help us in our times of need. Now, why is that so?

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. (Mark 11:24)

Why? Because Jesus, the Living Word, said so.

According to Mark 11:24, when must we believe our prayers for miracles, healings, deliverances, financial help, or whatever are answered by God? When we see it and can actually touch it? No. That’s walking by sight and not faith.

We must believe we have received our answer from God when we first prayed to Him. Then, we have to walk by faith until we see the manifestation of the answer in our lives.

“What?” you say. “How can that be?”

For example, let’s say we order a book online from Amazon.com. We give Amazon our shipping information and our credit card number. Amazon then flashes a big “Thank you for the order” and sends us an email confirmation.

Do we have the book yet? No. We just have assurances from a reputable company the book will be sent. We trust the integrity of Amazon to follow through on what we have asked them to do.

If we can trust the words of companies like Amazon, how much more should we trust God and His word?

God never lies. God is love and He never fails. Period. No man or company can match the integrity of God because He is perfect. His word is truth.

 

As a young Christian, I struggled with this concept about faith until the Lord provided a useful answer in one of my early trials.

My family and I moved from Kentucky to Iowa during the 1981 tax season. I decided to save a few bucks and ignore paying Kentucky income taxes. This omission eventually became a big problem six years later after receiving an overdue tax notice from the State of Kentucky for $42,000.

I phoned the Kentucky Treasurer’s office. They told me the debt would remain at $42,000 until I sent them proof of what I owed and a check for the full amount.

Upon checking our tax statements, I discovered the 1980 tax statements had been thrown out. Therefore, I had to order copies from the IRS.

Have you ever tried to get info from the IRS? Their wheels turn slowly. After a year of phone calls, the IRS notified me all 1980 tax forms and earlier had been destroyed for space reasons.

The only proof I had of my 1980 income was a tax averaging form, which I used on my 1981 income taxes. I phoned the Kentucky Treasurer’s office.

“Tax averaging forms are not accepted. You must have the original forms,” they said.

They then lowered the debt to $5,000 and gave me fifteen days before the state filed a lien on our home. I finally decided to seek the Lord on the matter.

The Lord told me to figure out my taxes according to the tax averaging form and send a letter to the state of Kentucky with a copy of the form. I was to tell them I was willing to settle for $500, which was the original amount I owed.

The Lord also told me to write a letter to Him, stating the time and date I asked Him to take care of the problem, along with scriptures to back up my words. God is a covenant God. Our faith becomes a covenant between Him and us at the exact moment we believe Him for an answer to our prayers.

I sent the tax letter to Kentucky and kept my covenant letter in my Bible.

Whenever doubts hit me, I took the letter out of my Bible and waved it before God. “God, I believed by faith this was handled by You on this date and at this time. You are not a liar. I trust You and Your word that it’s done. Thanks for taking care of it,” I proclaimed aloud to Him.

The state of Kentucky accepted my offer three weeks later.

I have used this method of writing down the dates and times of my requests to God often over the last twenty-five years and then reminding Him of our covenant. Maybe it is a tool that will work for you, too.

(Continued…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

First the Blade 

© 2019 by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 8

Building a Foundation of Faith (f)

 

I received a lump of faith when I gave my life to the Lord on May 20, 1985. It was my unique lump, not your lump or Smith Wigglesworth’s or Francis Chan’s lump. It was the lump the Lord knew had the potential to bring me through every trial, every battle, and every circumstance, which laid ahead of me in my life.

I emphasized the word potential because our individual lumps of faith can best be compared to the muscles of a newborn baby. The newborn’s undeveloped muscles can move the baby’s arms, hands and legs a little bit at first, but not much. It takes time and effort for the muscles to develop so a baby can crawl, walk, run, or ride a tricycle.

When the baby reaches his teenage years, maybe the youth is a good athlete and has a dream to play pro football in the NFL. To achieve this goal, he will have to lift weights and work out on a regular basis. He may not like lifting weights because it is boring and painful, but the competition is so great he has no choice.

Nike’s motto sums up what the athlete’s attitude must be: “Just do it!”

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

 Most of us believers understand why athletes have to develop their muscles to compete in sports, but yet, very few of us realize we need to develop our individual lumps of faith. After all, didn’t Jesus already win the victory for us? Can’t we just sit back and enjoy ourselves until Jesus returns? Why build faith now?

And to be honest, the word faith has a stigma attached to it. Who has not heard of the excesses of the Word of Faith movement? “The prosperity gospel.” “Seed faith.” “Name it and claim it.” All of this has contributed to the muddied waters for teaching faith.

But I consider myself fortunate to having been saved during the 1980′s when the Word of Faith teaching programs were aired on many Christian radio stations. I listened to Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Marilyn Hickey, R. W. Schambach, Joyce Meyer and others every day. I read over a hundred and fifty books by these teachers.

The Word of Faith teachings can build a strong foundation in us. It did in me.

So, beginning in the next time chapter, we will be looking at the important revelations of the Word of Faith teachings and how we can use them to build up our individual lumps of faith.

(Continued…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)