In August 1971, the Brooklyn Council of Churches asked Reverend Herbert Daughtry to provide chaplain services for the Boy Scouts Camp in upstate New York. "I viewed it as a Godsend" says Reverend Daughtry. "Those were tough times for my family and me. My ministry seemed unproductive. Church and personal debts were mounting. Money was scarce. Confusion and discord reigned" That time proved life-changing. Surrounded by the majestic summits and flowing streams of the Catskill Mountains, Herbert Daughtry wrestled with his faith, exploring and testing new ideas about what it means to really believe and trust in God. The result is this volume. For all who face a crisis in faith . . . who struggle to believe in the face of mounting obstacles . . . who wrestle with God in the midst of towering challenges . . . this practical guide to building, maintaining, and keeping your faith is for YOU!

Made to Master

Tapping the Power Within To Live a Victorious LifeBy Herbert Daughtry, Sr.

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, Sr.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-2932-4

Contents

Dedication..............................................vAcknowledgement.........................................viiBio.....................................................xiIntroduction............................................xxiChapter 1...............................................3Into the Woods A Personal Testimony.....................3Chapter 2...............................................13Words and Faith.........................................13Chapter 3...............................................21The Prayer of Faith.....................................21Chapter 4...............................................33The Power of a Witness..................................33Chapter 5...............................................41Symbols: Bridges to Faith...............................41Chapter 6...............................................47Faith and the Senses....................................47Chapter 7...............................................51The Power of Presence...................................51Chapter 8...............................................63The Biblical Witness....................................63Chapter 9...............................................73Applying the Principles of Faith........................73Chapter 10..............................................81Three Considerations....................................81Chapter 11..............................................95Keep on Acting..........................................95Chapter 12..............................................97Pay the Price...........................................97Chapter 13..............................................103Resolution and Imagination..............................103

Chapter One

Into the Woods A Personal Testimony

After Jesus' baptism, He was immediately driven into the desert to be tested by the devil (Matthew 3:13-4:11; Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:21-4:13). God had spoken to Jesus upon His baptism, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son." And in the very next episode of Jesus' story—his time in the wilderness—He was challenged on that very point: "If thou be the son of God ...," the devil said.

It is always true that when you lay claim to position, calling, title, events and things, you are immediately contested on those very points. It happened to Jesus after God spoke to Jesus at His baptism. I'm sure it has happened to you, just as it has happened to me. Probably, I am keenly aware of it now because I am still in the contest.

We have been laying claim to our oneness with God, our call to great service, our abundance in people and prosperity. We have claimed:

• Prayer life

• Love of Scripture

• Missionary zeal

• Workers and prosperity for the church

• A spacious home

• Dependable transportation

• Prosperity enough to help others

• Perfect health and happiness for our children and ourselves.

We claimed these things. We studied God's promises in the Scriptures. "Whatsoever things you desire when you pray ... Ask and you shall receive ..." and a host of others. We rejoiced for we had believed they were accomplished. Spiritually, we said, "It is done." It was simply a matter of transferring into the physical world. Faith was the vehicle to get it done. Praise, thanksgiving, joy affirmed that it was done, thereby strengthening our faith.

Moreover, we thought about what God had already done. How he had brought us here for a whole month, at a special time. We needed rest. We needed to return to our first love. We needed preparation for greater service. We remembered where God had brought us from—and the short time in which He had done it.

We felt great. We felt happy. We blessed the Lord, and our hearts did sing. God dwelt within us. His Spirit engulfed and saturated us, guided us, moved us. We were God's. He had all things for us, for He is the maker and the giver of all things.

And what happened? The car broke down on the mountain road. We had to inconvenience other people to push us back down the trail, off the side of the road, out of the way. Another family had to drive us home to the cottage, children and all. But we were not long discouraged. We came back to the cabin, claimed a new car with greater fervor and rested assured it was accomplished.

The next day, the mechanic worked on the car without success. He departed, saying he'd return later with two batteries. Surely it would start then. Later came and he told us we needed a starter, and who knew what else. He said he could get a car dealer out to talk to us. We asked him to do so.

I called the church. There was misunderstanding regarding Wednesday night offering and whether it should go to the pastor or the evangelist. There was a misunderstanding regarding the evangelist's stay at the home of one of the members. The evangelist, an African woman whom I had encouraged to come to our church from Ghana, felt she was not being treated well. The revival she conducted had not been well attended—except for Wednesday night. Only about eight persons were present when I called the church Friday night, youth night. The gas company was threatening to cut off the service to the church. In fact, it might already have been shut off. The bus fundraiser wasn't going well. Our tenant had not paid the rent, which meant Freedom National Bank would not be paid on time, which meant our record would be marred, and we would have to pay a $9 late fee. The district meeting money was low and attendance small. And, finally, a mild misunderstanding occurred between Karen, my wife, and me, disturbing our peace and disrupting our prayer time. Without a car, we were without needed food items and had to beg for Pampers. Without a car, we couldn't get to Brooklyn to try to resolve things at the church. Then two of my daughters got sick—Dawn had a stomachache, and Sharon had breathing problems.

All of this happened immediately after we prayed. We were challenged on the very things on which we had made our claim. We claimed prosperity, and we didn't have the items we needed. We claimed dependable transportation, and there was no transportation. We claimed happiness, and we had misunderstanding. We claimed the presence of God, and we felt weak and helpless.

For the church, we claimed love, and there was disagreement and misunderstanding. We claimed prosperity, and there was no money to pay the bank or the gas company. Probably some of the misunderstanding grew out of the absence of prosperity. Also, there wasn't enough money for the bus company. We claimed sub-leaders, and there was inability to carry on in my absence. Yes, immediately, we were contested for the very ground we had claimed. Why? Is it good or bad? Is the contest from God or from the devil?

First, I believe it is of God. The devil may bring it, but God allows it. Second, I believe it is intended for our good. If God permits it, that must be the case. But how so? How can these confrontations be helpful? How can these contests be beneficial? How can the test be from God? There is a universal law that says strength can only be had through opposition. The muscle grows stronger by being opposed, so long as the opposition isn't overpowering.

What is true in the physical, seen world is true in the spiritual, unseen world. Faith grows stronger by being tested. It is the only way it can grow stronger. It must be put to the test. God ever tries to get this truth through to us. God allows testing so that we might be made stronger. There is no other way for us to become strong. That is why God tested Abraham. God was going to bless him beyond any other man. It was necessary to test him right at the point through which he was going to be blessed: his only son. God said He would bless the whole world through Abraham's seed. But now God tells Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. When Abraham appears willing to comply, God stops him and assures him that he shall indeed be blessed and shall bless the whole world.

Abraham was tested and his faith proved sufficient. Because he had the necessary faith, God could use him as a channel. Faith must be tested. It must be. The test is intended for our good or that we might learn to get good out of every situation. It is the law of the universe. It is the law of God. So it must be a good law.

Jesus was immediately tested after his baptism and before he began ministry. His faith in himself, who he was, his calling and what he came to do, all had to be put to the test immediately to get the veracity of those claims out of the way so that he could begin his mission.

Consider practices from the sports world. During the summer, football players go through grinding exercises and training—deliberately planned by the coaching staff to be difficult—to prepare for the coming season. Keep that in mind. The athletes start with calisthenics, then laps around the field. Various kinds of equipment are used to challenge the strength and agility of the athletes. Motorized contraptions push against the athletes. Athletes are pitted against each other, sometimes in scrimmages, sometimes one-on-one. All this is done under the watchful eye of the coach. His purpose is not to destroy, but to strengthen, to get his men ready to win the big prize. Finally, the season starts. The athletes who are stronger, faster, smarter and more determined win the prize. The same applies to boxing and weight-lifting. The idea is to make the competitors stronger and better, so as to win the prize.

What is true in the natural is also true in the spiritual. Keep two things in mind:

• Faith is simply a means toward an end. God wants us to have faith, not just for itself alone, but because faith is necessary to achieve the great purpose to which God has called us. Without faith, nothing can be done. With faith, everything can be done. "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23). So God must strengthen our faith, and the contest is the way. "Each victory will help us some other to win!" (From "Yield Not to Temptation," a traditional hymn of the church.)

• We experience only what we can bear. I mentioned earlier that the muscles must not be overpowered. Strength is built through a process. Faith is built the same way. We don't develop strong faith overnight. God allows the test according to the stage of our faith development. God would defeat his own purpose by over-testing us, or allowing the contest to be more powerful than our faith. That is why Paul assures us, "No temptation [test] has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted [tested] beyond what you are able, but with the temptation [test] will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

I Corinthians 10:13.

We cannot get around the test. We must bear it if our faith is to be made strong.

Jesus once said to Peter, "Satan has asked for you, that he might sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail" (Luke 22:31-32). Notice, Jesus does not pray that Peter might not be sifted; rather, he prays that Peter's faith would not fail while he was going through the process. The comfort is not in being without difficulties or tests, but in the knowledge that God allows them for a noble purpose that can only be realized through the strong faith the situation is intended to produce. And we have the assurance that God only allows tests that He knows we can pass. And whatever the test, God is with me!

So, what mindset should we have when facing a test? What truths should we hold onto firmly during this time?

• God is allowing it to happen. Nothing can happen if God doesn't allow it to happen.

• God wants to strengthen my faith. It is the only way I can develop the faith necessary to accomplish the tasks to which He has called me.

• Adopt the victorious attitude of Job, who endured unparalleled devastation, but he said, "When it is over, I shall come forth as gold." Know that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

• Call every event a potential blessing. Since God dwells in me and has given me authority and dominion over everything, including the power to name everything, to call it what I want to call it, I will call everything good. I will bless everything! Obey I Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

• Nothing can harm or hinder me unless I give it power to do so because of the authority God has given me. The only power anything has over me is the power I give it! And I give no one or nothing power over me except Jesus Christ. Do not impute to events and things names that conjure up images of power they don't have—at least not over you.

• God sometimes allows the test in the areas of our claims to come immediately to bring the issue to a head. If we make a claim and we are immediately contested, we shall know straightaway of what stuff our faith is made. If our faith is strong, great! We are ready for the next test. If our faith is weak, so what? We can learn from the experience and still get ready for the next battle. With God, what might have been can still be. No defeat is final for the child of God.

• Bless God for what we have. When we have exercised faith, wielded our authority and things have gone just the opposite, bless God. Thank God in the matters we have prayed about. Maybe they are not accomplished in the natural yet, and maybe everything in the physical world seem to say just the opposite is happening; but in the spirit world, the prayers are answered, and it is only a matter of time before the physical world will confirm the fact. Remember, nothing hurts a parent like complaining, dissatisfied children. In the biblical story of the Hebrews' exodus from Egyptian slavery, some Israelites never reached the Promised Land because they complained too much. God finally became angry with them and said they would never reach the Promised Land. The bottom line is, complainers are unbelievers.

Summary

Tests mean the issue will have to be settled. We shall ride in a dependable car, or we shall not ride at all. We shall have prosperity in the church, or we shall have our gas cut off, our bills unpaid—and that right early, not next year, not next month, but now. Thank God, something must happen now! The issue will be settled now! God has sent these events to bring the issue to a head. The issue with the old car had been dragging on for a long time. Praise God, it must be settled now! This issue of living on the edges of poverty must be settled now! Praise God, we sink or swim, rise of fall, live or die!

Tests are our Mt. Carmel, where the biblical prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of the false god Baal, and the God of Israel answered with fire and rain (1 Kings 18). Like Elijah, we have made our claim, and we have taken our place on the mountain. Something's going to happen. Thank God, the victory is ours! Rain is in the cloud. I hear the sound of abundant rain. I shall have what I say! We shall realize what we have visualized. I shall not wait to see it in the material world before I rejoice, but I shall rejoice now! I shall sing praises unto God for He has done the work. Come what may, I know our prayers have been answered. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits" (Psalm 103:2). O my soul, bless the Lord, who has given you more than what you have asked! Bless the Lord, O my soul, rejoice and be glad in Him.

It is in these times of desperation that God shows Himself mighty. When things are beyond the skills and ability of man to solve, when matters seem hopeless and helpless, that is where God historically has been pleased to work. Desperation provides God with an occasion to perform a supernatural operation. "Man's extremity is God's opportunity," someone has said. God is on the verge of doing something extraordinary, and it shall be done at such a time and in such a way as to remove any doubt regarding His intervention. In this situation that He has allowed to happen, we shall see His power and love on our behalf.

Praise God! This too shall strengthen our faith. The future shall bring other battles, other difficulties, other tests—and we shall enhance our faith by remembering what God did in this situation.

Before a great blessing or opportunities for service, God brings us to the testing ground, and into the wilderness we must go.

Chapter Two

Words and Faith

The spoken word rightly presented can stimulate faith. Words are powerful, much more than we realize. Words are the verbalization of our mental images. Before an act, or even before a word, there must be a thought. Before creation of anything there must first be an image of the thing to be created.

When God looked at the world in the beginning it was void and without form. The Spirit of God moved upon the earth, and God said, "Let there be ..." and there was. First came the image, then the word, which was the outward expression of the inward image.

Words reveal our thinking, what is really going on inside of us. Psychologists and psychiatrists have developed a discipline around the language of the unconscious. There are many ways in which we speak, ways not always understood by the layman. What we say, the way we say it, what we leave unsaid, all convey a message. If we are interpreters of the unconscious, we can know the meaning.

Here's an example of this that occurred during the ministry of Jesus. He had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration when He saw a commotion (Mark 9:14-23). A boy was sick, and Jesus' disciples couldn't heal him. The boy's father appealed to Jesus.

"If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us," he said. "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes," Jesus replied.

"If You can do anything ..." What kind of way is that to ask for anything? In His response, Jesus was telling the man to get rid of the "if." Believe; that's all you have to do. Believe and you shall have your desire, for all things are possible to those who believe.

There are so many ways in which a person's words demonstrate doubt, fear or inferiority. The healer must be alert to the expression of the sick. Like Jesus, he must correct it where he hears doubt. If must be replace by a definitive word. The father should have said, "Lord, you can heal my son, and I know you will."

Healing Words and the Unconscious Mind

The unconscious part of our mind will accept any idea presented to it and immediately work to make that idea a reality, whether in our bodies or in our environment. It doesn't matter what the idea is. The unconscious mind will use its power to make the idea an actuality. And it will—for the power within us is infinite.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Made to Masterby Herbert Daughtry, Sr. Copyright © 2012 by Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, Sr.. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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