firstIMPRESSIONS
from Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan

Chuck Swindoll tells the story of the spider who built a beautiful web in an old house. He kept it clean and shiny, so flies would patronize it. The minute he got a “customer” he would clean up after him so the other flies would not get suspicious.

Then one day a fairly intelligent fly came buzzing by the clean spiderweb. Old man spider called out, “Come in and sit.” But the fairly intelligent fly said, “No sir, I don’t see other flies in your house, and I am not going in alone!”

Presently the fly saw on the floor below him a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper. He was delighted! He was not afraid if lots of flies were doing it. So he came in for a landing.

Just before he landed, a bee zoomed by, saying, “Don’t land there, stupid. That’s fly-paper!” But the fairly intelligent fly shouted back, “Don’t be silly. Those flies are dancing. There’s a big crowd there. Everybody’s doing it. That many flies can’t be wrong!” Well, you know what happened. He landed on the paper and died.

Some of us want to be in the crowd so badly we end up in a mess because we didn’t listen or search out a situation. What does it profit a fly (or a person) if he escapes the web only to end up in the glue?

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 4.32. Live for God, on purpose, following Him, and not the ways of this world!

If you have ever served in the military, or know of someone who has been a soldier, you know that there is a certain characteristic about the actions and activities of those in the army. The soldiers have been trained in such a way to perform their duties and functions precisely as well as intuitively.

You and I are in an army – God’s army! And we have been called to fight the good fight. In order to be successful in our battle, just like the soldier of this world, we must be trained and perform our duties – unto the Lord.

Just what are these defining characteristics of a soldier in the army of the Lord? This Sunday morning we will be answering that very question, as we look at Judges 7:15-25 in a message that I have titled “God’s Army In Action!”

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This Sunday evening we welcome Rev. Kevin and Sandy Barner, missionaries to Moscow, Russia, back to WILMINGTON first assembly of God. Following twenty-two years of pastoral ministry in the Penn-Del District, the Barners have been serving as pastors of International Christian Assembly (I.C.A.), a multi-cultural English speaking church in Moscow, for the past year and a half.

I.C.A. is comprised of many unique people groups. Those who attend represent more than twenty-five nations of the world, including America, Belgium, Cameroon, China, England, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Peru, and Russia.

The Barners’ ministry involves other areas of responsibility, such as coordinating a homogeneous cell structure within the church for the purpose of training international leaders. These leaders will in turn disciple and equip their respective nationals, and reach into the city of Moscow and beyond the borders of Russia with the Gospel. They are also demonstrating God’s love through various compassion ministries.

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by Andy Cook

In 1847, a boy named Homan Walsh went out to fly a kite. Homan was taking part in a kite-flying contest, so he brought his best kite, and plenty of string.

He stood on the Canadian bank of the Niagara River, letting more and more of that string go out, and his little-boy’s kite kept going higher, and higher, and higher ... until it stretched nearly 1,000 feet. When a stranger on the American side of the Niagara Gorge grabbed Homan’s string, the crowd that had gathered let up a mighty roar. For the first time in history, people on opposite sides of this great gorge were holding onto the same string. And Homan won $5, the top prize in the contest.

There was much more than $5 at stake, however. In short order, the string was tied to a tree on the American shoreline, and a light cord tied to the Canadian end of the string. The cord was then pulled across the 800-foot span. A rope was tied to the cord, and pulled safely across. To the rope was attached a wire cable, and to the cable, a thicker cable attached. It was the beginning of an engineering victory over one of the greatest natural barriers that had separated Americans and Canadians.

Fifty-foot towers were built on each side of the river, and more cables became a part of the picture. In time, people rode across the river in buckets, for $1 each, and then they walked on a foot bridge for a quarter. But less than a year after Homan’s kite first flew across the river, people were safely riding their horse-drawn carriages across the Niagara, on a marvelous suspension bridge that hung 220 feet over the rushing water.

Eventually, there were 15 bridges that spanned the Niagara, six of which are in use today. The thousands of passengers that travel across the multi-lane, high-speed bridges today think nothing of the bridge, some of them so familiar with the path, they barely glance at the scenic view. More than likely, it has never occurred to most of those on the great bridges today that somewhere in the past, just to get this modern-day miracle under way, somebody had to fly a kite.

If great bridges can get their start with a boy’s kite and string, then I’ll tell you that great spiritual experiences can get their start with amazingly simple decisions.

as seen in The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, www.timothyreport.com July 26, 2004

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In his Turning Point daily devotional for July 7, David Jeremiah shared these insights: “‘You do not get stomach ulcers from what you eat,’ said one doctor. ‘You get ulcers from what is eating you.’ John Calvin put it equally well when he said, ’those who are extremely anxious wear themselves out and become... their own executioners.’

“If you’re worried today, take time to reflect on the wonderful names of God and of Christ as revealed throughout the Scripture. For example, Judges 6:24 says, ’then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it’ (lit: Jehovah-Shalom) (KJV). Jehovah is a Hebrew name for God, and Shalom is the word for peace. The New King James Version says that Gideon named his altar “The-Lord-Is-Peace.” In the Contemporary English Version, it is called: “The Lord Calms Our Fears.”

“Your God is Jehovah-Shalom. He will keep those in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). He gives peace like a river (Isaiah 48:18), and Psalm 119:165 promises, ‘Great peace have those who love Your law.’ Jesus, our Prince of Peace, promised, ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (John 14:27).”

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An article in the July 9 issue of The Wall Street Journal notes that even for American teens who claim to be born-again, their actual beliefs are being driven by the culture rather than by a biblical worldview.

As writer Dale Buss points out, “Ninety-one percent of born-again teenagers surveyed a few years ago proclaimed that there is no such thing as absolute truth, says the Rev. Josh McDowell, a Dallas-based evangelist and author. More alarmingly, that number had risen quickly and steadily from just 52% of committed Christian kids in 1992 who denied the existence of absolute truth. A slight majority of professing Christian kids, Mr. McDowell says, also now say that the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ never occurred.

“’there’s a greater disconnect now than ever in the history of the church in America between what a Christian young person says they are and what they actually believe,’ says Mr. McDowell, who has ministered mainly to youth for more than 30 years. ‘Christianity is based on truth; Jesus said, ‘I am the truth.’ But you have an overwhelming majority even of Christian kids saying there is no absolute truth.’

Buss adds, “Indeed, the consequences of this theological implosion now pervade the thoughts and actions of believing teenagers, following the moral breakdown of the broader American culture. Here’s one practical example: Only 10% of Christian teens believe that music piracy is morally wrong, according to a recent Barna survey, not all that different from the 6% of their non-Christian peers who feel the same way.

“Then extrapolate the situation to other possible big-picture results. Nearly 60% of evangelical Christian teenagers now say that all religious faiths teach equally valid truths, according to Mr. McDowell. It’s bad enough that they seem to have been co-opted by relativism from within our culture and even from within the church and family. But it’s even more disconcerting to realize that we’re relying on this generation for the future defense of Judeo-Christian civilization against the highly motivated forces of militant Islam.”

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Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.

“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

When you’re prepared – spiritually, mentally, and physically – you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. We, as believers in Christ, secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don’t need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the midst of the storms.

I hope you sleep well!

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A friend was telling me that her folks had just returned from an early summer Alaska cruise. She said they enjoyed the trip a great deal, but she said, her dad came home with one observation in particular that really impressed him.

He said the flowers in Alaska are huge! The pansies, day lilies and impatiens all had flowers that were just immense. Even the dandelions stood two feet above the grass with flowers that were 6” across. He wondered what kind of fertilizer the Alaskans were using – but when he inquired they said “none.” Why then, he asked, are the flowers so big? The answer came back: Nearly twenty hours of sunlight!

With that much exposure to sunlight, anything would grow bigger and stronger. The same principle applies if I want to grow in Christ. If I want to get bigger in love, stronger in patience, stand taller in selflessness, shine brighter in godliness – I need to spend more time in the Son.

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You know “Your” church is a Redneck church when:

• The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

• People ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch ‘em.

• When the pastor says, “I’d like to ask “Bubba” to help take up the offering,” five guys and two women stand up.

• Opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.

• A member of the church requests to be buried in his 4-wheel-drive truck because “It ain’t never been in a hole it couldn’t get out of.”

• The choir is known as the “OK Chorale.”

• Boone’s Farm “Tickle Pink” is the favorite wine for communion.

• In a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.

• Baptism is referred to as “branding.”

• There is a special fund raiser for a new church septic tank.

• Finding and returning lost sheep isn’t just a parable.

• High notes on the organ set the dogs on the floor to howling.

• People think “rapture” is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

• The baptismal font is a #2 galvanized washtub.

• The choir robes were donated by (and embroidered with the logo from) Billy Bob’s Barbecue.

• The collection plates are really hub caps from a ‘56 Chevy.

Although the church described in this story surely isn’t WILMINGTON first assembly of God, I know that I have been to that church! This Sunday, I am looking forward to being back home and worshipping with you! I am expecting a great move of God this Lord’s Day, as we worship HIM in Spirit and in truth!

Yours for HIM,
Timothy Satryan,
Senior Pastor
WILMINGTON first assembly of God