Page 128 - Evidence of Things Unseen

I knew it was a test. I could shake the dust off of my feet and move out of the community
the Father had led us to, or I could forgive my brothers and choose to remain, as I looked
to God to fulfill the things He had spoken to me about raising up a people for His praise and
glory. I searched the mind of the Spirit and I could not find any witness that He desired me
to leave. He had already spoken to me about being willing to bear reproach, and here I was
being reproached as a heretic and I was being given the opportunity to bear it with
contentment.
Our family prayed about the matter, and we were all inclined to stay and to continue
to fellowship with this people, even though I would be viewed as a heretic and numbered
among the transgressors. As saints we are being conformed to the image of Christ, and the
pattern of Yahshua’s life was to go to a people whom the Father had sent Him to, to be
rejected and reproached by these people, and yet He did not shake the dust off His sandals
and call down fire on them. Rather, He laid down His life for them that they might be
reconciled to the Father. Yahshua is our pattern Man, and how blessed we are when the
Father gives us an opportunity to share in the work and the suffering of His firstborn Son!
The Spirit bore witness that He was offering such an opportunity to me, yet how easy it
would be to simply walk away from this people since I was having to move at this time
anyway.
As I considered it I realized that if I walked away pride would be the primary
motivator in a decision to do so. Yet if I stayed and bore the reproach with contentment,
God would work in me the humility that He desires in His sons and daughters. The decision
was not a difficult one, and as a family we confessed to the Father that we were desirous of
staying among these people that we loved, and which we knew He loved, and we asked that
He would provide us a new place to live.
It was only a day or two after we had committed to stay, and had asked for God’s
provision, that a check arrived in the mail. I was the only one home, and normally we did
not see the mail arrive for the mailbox was quite a distance from the house. I “just
happened” to look out the front window when I saw the mail being delivered. I felt the Spirit
urging me to go and check the mail, and I had an expectancy that had been lacking during
our long drought. There was a letter in the mail from a brother in Canada. I opened the
letter and I found that it contained a postal money order, and what looked like a carbon
copy.
The amount on the money order was $729.20. I had to look at the amount several
times to believe I was seeing it correctly, for this was a significant amount, yet the note
attached to it described it as being a small amount which the brother hoped would be
helpful to allow me to continue in the ministry that the Father had called me to. Sure
enough, it was over seven hundred dollars. As I walked back to the house I felt the Spirit
urging me to look closer at the carbon copy. It looked identical, and had the very same
amount inscribed on it. The thought occurred that I should check the serial number. The
serial number on the copy was different than the original. In awe, I then understood that
this Christian brother had sent me $1,458.40. He had actually sent $2,000 dollars
Canadian, and this was the amount it translated to when converted to U.S. currency. What
a blessing this was, and with this money the Father had provided the necessary money to
pay our bills and rent our next home.
I took this gift to be a confirmation from the Father that He was pleased to allow us
to remain in the area, and I had a growing anticipation that He would soon reveal His
perfect provision for a home for us. I shared with my family that I believed the Father would