The Monday Memo from John Stanko

697: What You See 7

I am off for Kenya this Thursday, but still in need of some resources to cover my costs and bless the children. It is not unusual for last minute gifts to arrive, so if you have been waiting to see if there is a need, now is the time to act. You can give through my website using PayPal or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. If you send a check, please let me know, so I can make sure I take the cash with me from your contribution. I have made my needs known to you in every way possible, now it is time for you to act. Thank you and now let's continue with our series What You See is What You Get.

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Yesterday I preached in my home church about the story of Jacob having a dream of angels descending and ascending over him in Genesis 28. Jacob was heading north to find a wife and went to sleep in the open air, only to see a staircase with angels ascending and descending to and from heaven. Jacob's response is found in 28:16: "When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.'” Up to that point in his life, Jacob had heard about God from his parents. In Genesis 28, Jacob heard from the Lord Himself.

How often have you struggled with a situation only to have your eyes opened to see that it was the Lord who orchestrated it or who was working something good out of what others intended for evil? It isn't until you change the way you look at your situation that your situation begins to change. Perhaps up to the time he had the dream, Jacob was focused on the long, 619-mile journey to find a wife. After the dream, he saw that he was on a pilgrimage to meet and know God. What changed? The only thing that changed was Jacob's perspective. That altered perspective went on to change Jacob into Israel, a man who was no longer a conniver but a prince of God. This is another example of the truth that what you see is what you get.

Jesus referred to this story in Genesis 28 in John 1:51: "He then added, 'Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.'” While Jacob only understood part of this dream, we now have the full picture. When you are in Christ, you don't have to act like Jacob to earn or manipulate God's blessings. You will never deserve God's grace, but you can freely receive it by being in Christ! The angels are ascending and descending on Him and those who are in Him.

If you see this truth of your benefits in Christ, you will be a changed person. You won't go begging God for anything; you will rest in His promises and thank Him in advance for their arrival. You won't fret about purpose or goals or provision. You will just believe and receive what you see by His grace.

I'll keep this short because I have much to do to get ready to go this week. I hope you have enjoyed this series on What You See Is What You Get. Ask God this week to open your eyes to the reality of what He is doing in the world around you and in your own life. Pray that He will allow you to see His provision for you so you can enjoy it when you see it and when it eventually comes. I am not sure I will write next Sunday from Kenya, but if I don't, I hope you will review this series and let it sink deep down in your heart and mind that what you see is indeed what you will ultimately receive from the Lord. Thank you and God bless you!

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HELP! You can read more about my upcoming trips and the financial needs that go with them on my personal site. Then please give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help! I depart for Kenya on February 26. 

696: What You See 6

It's ten days and counting for my trip to Kenya and I need your help. The widows (pictured right) and orphans are waiting for us and they are trusting the Lord for assistance. I don't want to let them down. Remember what James wrote: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27). When you give, you will be fulfilling that verse through my work in Kenya. You can give today using PayPal or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. There's still time but you must act now. If these Memos have been helpful you over the years, then I am asking that you do something in return. And now, let's continue with our series on What You See Is What You Get.

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Jesus infuriated and confused his opponents when he stated in the midst of a heated debate: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). They could not understand how Abraham could have seen Jesus' day since Abraham had lived 1800 years before Christ. Yet Abraham saw more clearly 18 centuries earlier than those who could reach out and touch Jesus. When Abraham saw that day, he received it and was glad. How was that possible? You may want to stop now and read Genesis 22, for that story contains the answer to the riddle that Jesus spoke.

In Genesis 22, God instructed Abraham to go to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, the son of God's promise. How could Abraham sacrifice his son and still see God's promise fulfilled through Isaac? That was the dilemma. Yet Abraham went, arranged the wood for the fire, tied up his son and raised the knife to slit Isaac's throat. Just then God intervened and said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy." Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (22:12)

When Abraham was prepping Isaac to be sacrificed, Isaac noticed that something was 'wrong.' He asked where the sacrificial lamb was and Abraham replied, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (22:8). Abraham did not fully know what he was saying but just as God intervened, Abraham noticed something close by: "Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son" (22:13).

At that moment Abraham saw the day of Jesus, so to speak. Remember, Abraham and Isaac were on Mt. Moriah, the future home for the Temple. There continual sacrifices would be made for the sins of the people. Yet one day, Jesus, the Lamb of God, would be sacrificed to take away the sins of the world close to that very mountain. When Abraham was about to kill his son, he saw that God would eventually provide a sacrifice who would die on behalf of those who should die. On that day, Abraham saw the day of Jesus, accepted it and rejoiced when he realized its full meaning. His son and future sons did not have to die, for God would provide a sacrifice to take their place, one that would serve the same purpose for all generations.

Abraham discovered the truth of our series: What you see is indeed what you get from the Lord. If Abraham did not listen or pay attention, he would not have heard God or noticed the ram in the thicket. Abraham did pay attention and God did open his eyes to see the true significance of the moment. The same is true for you. Are you focusing on what can be seen or unseen? Are you focusing on your circumstances and lack, or your abundance in Christ?

If you focus on the possibilities and allow God to encourage you in them, then you will actually receive the joy of those possibilities right here, right now. You will see a future day, but see it so clearly that you can enter into it on this day - before others ever notice. Ask God to open your eyes to the reality of your situation. Don't be self-focused; be God-focused. As you are, you will see the promise God has for you in Christ and you won't have to wait to obtain it. You will get it as soon as you see it. I hope this is helpful and I pray you have a blessed, purposeful week.

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HELP! You can read more about my upcoming trips and the financial needs that go with them on my personal site. Then please give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help! I depart for Kenya on February 26.

PURPOSE SEMINAR: I am hosting a purpose seminar next Saturday, February 21, from 12:30 to 2:00 PM here in Pittsburgh in the Point Breeze section of town. There is no cost, but I need to hear from you if you plan to be there. Drop me a line and let me know.

695: What You See 5

The clock is ticking and I depart for Kenya on February 26. I am still short of the funds needed to go and I need your help. I am not nervous or under pressure, for I know God will provide and you will respond to my urgent call. If these Memos have helped you, then I am asking for your help in return. Remember, even the smallest gift, which you may be dismissing as insignificant, is significant in my sight - and the sight of God. Please act today! The methods for giving are described below. Now, let's continue with our series on What You See Is What You Get.

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It was a common occurrence in the Bible for God to open the eyes of people so they could see what was right in front of them all the time. It makes me think of Proverbs 20:12: "Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both." That verse is so obvious - of course God made my ears and eyes, along with my feet, hands, brain, etc. - that there must be some other meaning, otherwise there was no need for the wisdom writer to state the obvious. I think the meaning is this: Unless God helps you see and hear, you won't be able to see and hear all that you need to see and hear. Your preconceived notions and hardness of heart can and will prevent you from seeing and hearing clearly, even from the Lord.

The Bible is full of examples of people who could not see. The Pharisees saw Jesus heal a shriveled hand right before their very eyes (see Mark 3:1-6). Yet their theology did not allow them to come to the correct conclusion of what that act meant. Instead of running home to get family and friends with a similar condition, they interpreted the miracle to mean, "Jesus must die because He healed on the Sabbath!" That's remarkable, but that is the power of your thinking to cloud what you see, causing you to misinterpret its meaning. That is why you need God to open your eyes right now!

God must open your eyes and ears if you are going to pursue purpose and be fruitful. For example, you may want to take a missions trip to Haiti or some other country. You look at your checkbook, your job and your friends, and you think, "I don't have the money and have no way to get it - ever!" You sing in church that God can do anything yet you act like God can do nothing. You say today that you will not be able to go on the trip in six months because you don't have the money today. You put your trust in your own thinking and ability and come to the wrong conclusion. You are thinking, "There is no way in the next six months that God can give me what I need and want. Period. It's over." The Bible would say that you are blind.

Yet when you think of it, there are four or five trillion dollars in circulation in the United States alone. You are saying God can't direct $1,000, $2,000 or $10,000 of that amount to you to do His will? Really? That's what you believe? That's what your faith in Jesus has done for you? That's not reality or being responsible; that's unbelief! Do you see how what you see is affected by your thinking, and why God needs to open your eyes to His reality and deliver you from your own?

You can adjust the example I gave and insert another - a business, a book, a degree, a spouse, a child, a ministry. Your thinking is what is hindering you but the good news is that God is with you today, right now as you read this, to open your eyes, not to what you don't have - you already see that - but to what you do have in Christ. You are not connected to a reservoir of limited resources, but to an ocean of unlimited resources in the Lord. I ask, no I encourage, no I beg you to come to grips with that truth and act like it's true today and every day. Thank you and have a blessed week!

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HELP! You can read more about my upcoming trips and the financial needs that go with them on my personal site. Then please give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help! I depart for Kenya on February 26.

694: What You See 4

Welcome to part four of our series on What You See is What You Get. Before we get started, however, I want to thank you and ask you for your help. I am halfway ($3,000) to my goal of $6,000 for my upcoming trips. I depart on February 26 for Kenya and March 21 for Guyana, South America where I will minister to those who cannot afford to have me come, but I am going anyway! Your gift will help make it possible. There is more on how to give at the end of this post, but for now, let's look at how to receive in real time what you see in faith!

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Abraham is known as the father of those with faith. After some introductory chapters in Genesis, Genesis 12 begins the story of Abraham and his offspring and their faith journeys. We will look at Genesis in the coming weeks, but for now, I want to look at what the New Testament has to say about Abraham in Hebrews 11:8-10:

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

What made Abraham such a champion of faith? Here are some of his characteristics you can imitate in your faith walk:

1. Abraham was called; his faith journey started in God's will.
2. He recognized God's will and obeyed it. Faith without obedience is senseless (see James 2:17).
3. His faith required action. Motivated only by a promise, he set out, not knowing where he was going.
4. He made his home as a stranger in the land God had promised to give him. He not only went to the land by faith, he lived in the land by faith.
5. God promised Abraham a mansion, but he lived in a tent. The promise was so real and clear to him that he lived in the promise and not in the fulfillment of the promise. That came much later.
6. His family went with him and became heirs of the promise they could only inherit through faith. They could not live on their father's faith.
7. Abraham was looking for something that did not exist - the city with foundations - but found it, lived in it and rejoiced in it long before it ever became a reality.

Jesus told people that "your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). In a sense, Abraham wasn't even looking for a city; he was looking for the promised Messiah. What's more, Jesus said he saw it more than 1800 years before Jesus ever spoke those words to His opponents.

Review the list of seven points above and feel free to add any that are missing on the site where this is posted. As you review, ask God to show you how you can apply the faith of Abraham to your own walk so that you can see it in faith before you have it so you can have and enjoy it before you actually see it! Have a blessed week!

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HELP: You can read more about my upcoming trips and the financial needs that go with them on my personal site. Then please give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you for your help! I depart for Kenya on February 26.

TELEVISION SHOW: The latest episode of my television show Your PurposeQuest will air this Tuesday at 8PM in the city of Pittsburgh only - channel 21 (Comcast) or 47 (Verizon). Later in the week it will be posted on my video channel.

MODERATOR: Next Sunday night at 6PM I am moderating a panel discussion at Allegheny Center Alliance Church. The panel is made up of a cross section of community leaders who will be discussing the topic, Living in a Racialized Society. I invite you to be part of this important community event.