This week has been full of rain, cold and blistering winds. It has been anything but my mental picture of Africa. But the experiences are uniquely African here at Amathunzi.

There are several dazzles (herds) of Zebra roaming the game reserve. One group comes to the farm house every afternoon. There is a small baby with its mother and two other adults. They walk leisurely in front of us but keep a close eye on our movements or gestures. A turn of the head can prompt a quick turn into the grass away from the fence. They are skittish to be touched but confident in their ability to handle a situation. 

Standing only a few feet away one turned and looked at me as it chewed the grass in its mouth. All of a sudden he turned to my right and chased the tiny pet dog a few feet up the road. Stomping his hooves on the ground the little dog squealed and wiggled through a small hole in the fence. He knew the Zebra meant to kill him. As I felt the ground shudder under the zebra’s hooves slapping at the dog I realized the power and speed of the Zebra to protect itself. Wow I thought. I was taken back a little.

One day I saw the dazzle was coming to the barn looking for hay so I walked over to the gate. I opened it and stepped in as they took note and trotted the final steps over to the gate. I picked up hay and they backed from the gate as I lifted it to their heads. They took bites and pulled them away. All three adults took some and stepped back one step to eat in comfort. Here I am in Africa feeding Zebra!

The largest antelope in the world, Eland, came to the fence. The massive animal was over six feet tall. Its horns were another two feet above its head. His calm nature caused me to think back to my childhood and my grandfather’s farm in Walnut Grove, Mississippi. As a child I had a pet cow that would come to me and I would feed him. I called him brownie. That cow would follow me around the barnyard seeking more. It was an early friendship for me that left an impression. This antelope renewed that childhood memory as I stepped closer to the fence and placed a pear on my hand. He sniffed slowly and then reached further to take the fruit from my hand. I patted his forehead and he lowered his horns to my hand. I rubbed the horns and pushed gently on this head. He closed his eyes and seemed to love the special touch and attention.

Freddie, as he has become known to me, came on a regular basis to the farmhouse. I carefully walked outside the fence and he greeted me in a tender way. I couldn’t believe it. We brought some hay and he began to feed. He took it right out of my hand. He and I became friends. From that point on the one ton antelope noticed my presence and would seek to be near me. He puts his head down and invited my grabbing and pushing on his horns. At one point I walked toward the front gate of the house and he followed me the whole way. Amazing!

A grey Reebok, Bambi is an orphan rescue from a local farm. She lays restfully in the front yard chewing her cud. Rain stands on her fur and she shakes it off like a dog. Her natural enemy, the leopard, lives in the hills close by. Fencing and the human house protect her from becoming an easy meal for the big cat.

She walks slowly into the door. Standing and peering into the home. She hears the talking inside. Her ears turn every direction discerning the situation. Then she takes the step inside and begins across the floor toward the kitchen. Bambi ambles her way into the house with complete comfort. Chewing her cud she stopped next to my chair. Only inches from my left hand Her big black eyes watched me as her ears turned to and fro. When I reached out my hand to greet her she stepped away.

It takes her several minutes of careful stepping until she reached the kitchen. From that point it is a straight dash for the bag of dog food. She knows where the bag of dog food is located in the far corner of the kitchen. She sticks her head in and eats when she feels the need. The rustle of the bag gives her presence away. I walk over to her and pet her coat. Her dense woolly coat of fur feels thick, soft and somehow rough. When you lay a hand on her she shakes her skin as if you are just another insect touching her. Otherwise she is in the front lawn laying in the grass under the large gum tree.

The dogs walk by her unconcerned about her presence. In fact the little dog Lulu plays chase with her.  Completely accepted by the humans she roams the house with tender touches of her tiny hoofs. This is a small snapshot of heaven. Animals have no fear of humans and cohabitation is safe and inviting.

Cathy and I connected with missionary families. We found that they need the same safe feeling exhibited by the animals above. They want focused attention and a taste of something good. But they also have many questions about ministry, the spiritual life and the Bible. For the last two days I met with nine volunteers who are working in Cape Town. They come from Germany, Ireland and Argentina. We spent around six hours addressing key scriptures and looking at prophecy of the future. What a joy it is to open God’s Word and observe what is really there. When we parted yesterday I was touched by the warmth of their thankfulness and desire to know more.

We are so thankful you have sent us here. So many ministry leaders want a drop of water to cool their hearts and refresh their vision. Today I have flown to Magaliesburg for the YFC Staff Conference that will begin tomorrow evening. I am leading devotions and opening the Bible. Cathy joins me on Thursday before we leave for Mpumalanga. Keep praying as God leads our experience.

Many see the Word of God. . .few observe!

Ephesians 6:12 says:  For jwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against kthe rulers, against the authorities, against lthe cosmic powers over mthis present darkness, against nthe spiritual forces of evil oin the heavenly places. [1]

The key word of focus is wrestle. That translation comes from the following two Greek words:

3588. ὁ ho; fem. hē, neut. tó, def. art. Originally a demonstrative pron. meaning this, that, but in Attic and later usage it became mostly a prepositive art. The.[2]

(note: the number for each Greek New Testament word allows you to trace a word through the many dictionaries and lexicons)

3823. πάλη pálē; gen. pálēs, fem. noun from pállō, (n.f.) to shake, vibrate. A wrestling, struggle or hand–to–hand combat. It was used of the wrestling of athletes and the of the hand–to–hand combat of soldiers both of which required deftness and speed. It denoted the struggle between individual combatants in distinction from an entire military campaign (strateía [4752]). Used figuratively in Eph. 6:12, meaning struggle, combat.

Syn.: agṓn (73), struggle; kópos (2873), toil; móchthos (3449), painfulness, travail; talaipōría (5004), wretchedness; kopetós (2870), lamentation.

Ant.: anápausis (372), inner rest; katápausis (2663), rest or cessation of work; anápsuxis (403), a recovery of breath; ánesis (425), relief; anápsuxis (403), revival.[3]

39.29 ἀγωνίζομαιa; ἀγώνa, ῶνος m; πάλη, ης f: to engage in intense struggle, involving physical or nonphysical force against strong opposition—‘to struggle, to fight.’[4]

I would like to introduce you to my favorite Greek language professor, Kenneth Wuest. Following are direct quotes from his book on Greek word studies.

Wuest says, "When we consider that the

loser in a Greek wrestling contest had his eyes gouged out

with resulting blindness for the rest of his days, we can

form some conception of the Ephesian Greek's reaction to

Paul's illustration. The Christian's wrestling against the

powers of darkness is no less desperate

 

(6:12) In the exhortation to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith,” we have a reference to the Greek athletic games. Paul was educated so far as his Greek training was concerned, at the University of Tarsus, at that time the foremost Greek university in the world, outstripping, according to Strabo, the University of Athens, in its zeal for learning. The great apostle shows a first-hand acquaintance with Greek athletics in his writings, where he frequently uses them as illustrations of spiritual truth, for instance, I Corinthians 9:24–27 and Philippians 3:12. All the churches Paul founded were composed of Greeks. Here he was writing to Timothy, whose father was a Greek. One of the chief activities of Roman life was the Greek games, held all over the empire. It was part of the atmosphere the Romans breathed. When Rome conquered Greece in a military sense, Greece conquered Rome in a cultural one. The word “fight” is agōnizomai (ἀγωνιζομαι). Its cognate noun was used in pagan Greece to refer to the place of a contest, the lists, race course, the assembly at the national games, a struggle, battle. The verb means, “to contend in the athletic games for the prize, to fight.” When we find that the gloves of the Greek boxer were fur lined on the inside, but made on the outside of ox-hide with lead and iron sewed into it, and that the loser in a wrestling match had his eyes gouged out, we come to some appreciation of what a Greek athletic contest consisted of. Thus, the word “fight” (agōnizomai (ἀγωνιζομαι)) had a very definite meaning for Timothy. The verb is present tense, imperative mode, commanding a continuous action. It showed Timothy the necessity for the continuous nature of the Christian’s warfare against evil, and of his desperate effort to live a life pleasing to God. The second use of the word “fight” is agōn (ἀγων), the cognate noun of the verb. Expositors translates, “Engage in the contest.” The word “good” is not agathos (ἀγαθος), referring to intrinsic goodness, but kalos (καλος), speaking of goodness as seen from the outside by a spectator. Paul, writing to Timothy just before his martyrdom, says, “The desperate, straining, agonizing contest, marked by its beauty of technique, I, like a wrestler, have fought to a finish, and at present am resting in its victory” (II Tim. 4:7). The phrase, “marked by its beauty of technique,” refers to the beautiful display of his art which the Greek athlete presents to the thousands in the stadium, and in Paul’s sentence, to the beautiful technique inspired by the Holy Spirit, which he used in gaining victory over sin and in the living of a life pleasing to God. Paul therefore exhorts Timothy, “Be constantly engaging in the contest marked by its beauty of technique.” The word “faith” is preceded by the definite article in the Greek text, “the faith.” It is not “faith” in general as exercised by the Christian, to which reference is made here, but to the Faith as consisting of a body of doctrine with its corresponding ethical responsibilities, namely, Christianity and the Christian life. “Lay hold of” is epilambanō (ἐπιλαμβανω), “to seize upon, take possession of.” Thayer, in defining the word, says, “i.e., to struggle to obtain eternal life.” Thus, the act of fighting the good fight is the same act as seen in the words, “lay hold of.” The verb is in the aorist imperative, referring to a single act rather than a process. It refers to the habitual act of fighting the good fight, but takes no note of the process, rather emphasizing the result. Grammarians call it the culminative aorist, viewing the action from its existing results. Now, when Paul exhorts Timothy to lay hold of eternal life, he does not imply that he does not possess it. Timothy was saved, and possessed eternal life as a gift of God. What Paul was desirous of was that Timothy experience more of what this eternal life is in his life. The definite article appears before “life,” marking it out as a particular life which the Scriptures say God gives the believer. The word “profession” is homologeō (ὁμολογεω), made up of legō (λεγω), “to say,” and homos (ὁμος), “the same,” hence, “to say the same thing as another says,” thus, “to agree with what someone else says.” Here it is used of Timothy’s statement of his agreement with the doctrines of Christianity at the occasion of his baptism. “In the early Church, the baptism of a person was a matter in which the Church generally took an interest and a part. The rule in The Didache was, “Before baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able” (Expositors). This explains the many witnesses who testified to Timothy’s statement of faith in the doctrines of the Church, and his acceptance of them.

Translation. Be constantly engaging in the contest of the Faith, which contest is marked by its beauty of technique. Take possession of the eternal life, into a participation of which you were called and concerning which you gave testimony to your agreement with the good profession in the presence of many witnesses.[5]

Cathy and I have found this struggle can shake our spiritual foundation. All that Satan wants to do is to blind our spiritual eyes. Maybe that is why Paul refers to our spiritual eyes in chapter one. Hopefully the light will come on for each of us and our spiritual eyes will be enlightened.

We pray that this short study causes you to focus more on the battle you face now. Our spiritual battle is desperate and costly if we take a passive stance to what we face. We wish God’s deepest and richest blessings on your daily walk with Him.

Cathy and Danny Sartin

Deeper Still Missions

Copyright © Danny Sartin and Deeper Still Missions. All Rights Reserved.

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j See 1 Cor. 9:25


k ch. 1:21


l See ch. 2:2


m Luke 22:53; Col. 1:13


n [ch. 3:10]


o See ch. 1:3


[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Eph 6:12). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.


fem (feminine)


def (definite)


pron (pronoun)


[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.


gen (genitive)


[3] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.


m masculine


f feminine


[4] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (495). New York: United Bible Societies.


[5] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (1 Ti 6:11–12). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

I sit at the home of Rolf and Lizzie Weichardt this morning. The wind is blowing hard and it is cold. We found many dead baby birds blown from their nests by the gusty breeze yesterday. Cathy and I both are dressed in layers of clothes to keep warm. I just never dreamed it could be cold like this in Africa.

Last Sunday morning I had the joy of attending a poor farm workers church service. The church was crammed with hundreds of people. A special program was planned with the children of the local primary school. What an experience.

I cannot speak Afrikaans but the entire service was in the native language. I thought to myself that I am going to see how body language speaks to me. Rolf gave me some guidance by telling me the scriptures read and a few comments by the Pastor.

I have learned certain Africkaans words such as baie dankie (it sounds like “buy a donkey” to me and means thank you very much). What caught my ear was the spontaneous singing by the crowd. Songs were started by various people throughout the room and everyone would stand and clap. No musical instruments. What did I hear constantly in many of the songs? Dankie, thank you Lord. Thank you Jesus. I was deeply blessed by their gratefulness.

Three rows in front on me a man would stand and dance while he sang. He wore patented leather shoes, a blue pinstriped suit coat and Khaki pants. Nothing matched but it was probably handed down to him from others. Their average income is $100 a month. Their broken smiles and attitude never betrayed their financial station in life. The lady sitting next to me began to breast feed her baby about half way through the service. Imagine that in an American church service.

I spent time with Buyela this week debriefing them before taking them home. They had completed nine months of service and funds had run dry. They had to stop early. Their experience this year had many of the characteristics of the disciples of Jesus. They had been sifted by Satan in a powerful way and several members left the team. The ones who completed the year had many stories to tell and had grown in significant ways. I was thankful to be so close with them and hear the special ways that God did work.

Last night I met with a former Pastor who shared stories of his ministry years. He was pushed out of the Methodist church because he came to believe the Bible and baptism by emersion. What caused your turn toward the Bible I asked? It was my first experience with demons that did it to me. He caught my attention!

He talked of a mother who had a baby that could not sleep. It was always crying and fretful. She asked him to come pray over the baby because the doctors found nothing wrong with the little girl. He remembered walking into the child’s room and the cold feeling that struck him. He had never had any training on demons or demonic issues in Seminary. He said that the thought stuck him as he walked across the floor to speak these words, come out in the name of Jesus. He said the child’s body reacted violently and convulsed. He opened the window and said be gone in the name of Jesus and the demon left the room. The child went limp and fell asleep.

He went to his study and pulled down a concordance to read everything in the Bible related to demons and angels. He said, I realized the Bible was true and that God works as He sees fit. Over the next hour I heard fascinating stories of various events. I was amazed! The spiritual war is so overt and open here.

Please pray as we return to Cape Town this week to stay with another missionary who is having surgery. We will also teach Bible to volunteers from several countries. I am also preparing to speak at the YFC staff conference the following week in Magaliesburg.

A Kingdom Leader works hard, suffers much and endures to serve the lives of others. It means going to pains, exerting and enduring to accomplish goals established by our Lord. A good soldier is always alert to potential battles. He partners with others for mutual protection in the heated battles of life and leadership.

Do you recognize the spiritual battle around your ministry service? Who is walking the battlefield with you? Do you cover your partner’s back while they cover yours? Jesus had partners throughout his ministry. But he also had the resilience to suffer the cross alone.

2 Timothy 2:3 says Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (1)

 

We pray that you will have partners for today’s battles.  

Cathy and Danny Sartin

Deeper Still Missions

P.O. Box 343370

Bartlett, TN 38184-3370

www.deeperstillmissions.com

(1) The Holy Bible: New International Version. Electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Tim 2:3

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Cathy observes every bird, flower and animal when we visit Africa. She sees the handiwork of God in each design.  

Thomas a’Kempus wrote, If your heart were right, then every created thing would be a mirror of life for you and a book of holy teaching, for there is no creature so small and worthless that it does not show forth the goodness of God. If inwardly you were good and pure, you would see all things clearly and understand them rightly, for a pure heart penetrates to heaven and hell, and as a man is within, so he judges what is without. If there be joy in the world, the pure of heart certainly possess it; and if there be anguish and affliction anywhere, an evil conscience knows it too well.[1]

Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8) I pray that you will see God in the weeks to come.



[1] Thomas à Kempis. (1996). The Imitation of Christ (67). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.

Travel to another culture is similar to space travel. It was my childhood dream to be an astronaut and join the original seven who were introduced as the first Astronauts for the United States of America. At the age of eleven President John F. Kennedy announced that America would put a man on the moon and bring him back safely to earth by the end of the decade. My heart was electrified by that speech.

I remember watching Sputnik, the first Soviet satellite, pass over in the early evening from my front yard. The wonder and questions that were raised as a result of that event. The unknown of what could happen from that small satellite. Could it have camera’s or bombs? What did it mean?

When Cathy and I return to the familiar homes and roads of South Africa it is such a joy to see old friends and instantly make new friends brought here by the Spirit of God. On Friday we met new volunteers from Northern Ireland, Germany, Argentina and the United States. All of them have the electric expectations I felt in the early 60’s. Their life has taken a turn to the unknown. They are anxious to see God move and serve others.

I remember as a young boy my disappointment when qualifications for becoming an astronaut where announced. You could not even apply to become an astronaut if you were over six foot tall. As a young teenager I shot up to six foot and four inches. I couldn’t believe it. I was instantly disqualified as a candidate to fulfill my dream of walking on the moon. The romantic stroll I envisioned in my mind on the surface of the moon was to never be.

Many young missionaries come on the mission field with similar expectations and dreams. The first shock is that God is wanted to shape and change them for His purposes. When I met with them for the first time you could quickly see the gap between their expectations and the reality of what they are facing. One young missionary stated, the living conditions here are better than some places in my hometown. The mental picture of Africa is different than they anticipated.

Today I speak with Buyela at a church in the colored section of town. That is a term foreign to me and goes back to racial times of the sixties.

Tomorrow I meet with the local YFC and spend six hours training the new volunteers on Tuesday. We are off to a fast start and move to a farm in the interior of South Africa on Wednesday. I have had fascinating discussions with several missionaries. I have deeply enjoyed pointing out the great progress they have made since our last visit.

Pray that our love spreads wide and deeply. The weather turned cold and wet today. But it has been a beautiful first few days.

A Kingdom Leader is always trying to live a life that is pleasing to God. Unfortunately he does not struggle against flesh and blood. He wrestles intensely against spiritual beings that are crafty, deceptive and use trickery.

Do you understand who is fighting to keep you from succeeding? Are you winning the fight or just playing the game? Are your spiritual eyes open? This is a desperate battle for each of us to keep our spiritual eyes. Can you see Jesus in your life today?

Paul says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.[1]

Kenneth Wuest states,  The verb means, “to contend in the athletic games for the prize, to fight.” When we find that the gloves of the Greek boxer were fur lined on the inside, but made on the outside of ox-hide with lead and iron sewed into it, and that the loser in a wrestling match had his eyes gouged out, we come to some appreciation of what a Greek athletic contest consisted of. Thus, the word “fight” (agōnizomai (ἀγωνιζομαι)) had a very definite meaning for Timothy.(2)

 

We pray that you won’t fight your battle alone. 

Cathy and Danny Sartin

www.deeperstillmissions.com

(1)   The Holy Bible: New International Version. Electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Eph. 6:12

(2)   Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (1 Ti 6:11–12). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Copyright © Danny Sartin and Deeper Still Missions. All Rights Reserved.

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Deeper Still Missions devotionals are protected by international copyright laws. To request reprint permission contact the offices of DSM. Permission is granted and encouraged to forward this email in its entirety to others without making any changes or deletions.