The Promised Land: An Addendum
Rev. Henry Hazard
I became the pastor of the First Independent Methodist Church of Panama City on July 11, 1971. Although the facility at 1004 Chestnut Avenue was adequate for the 54 church members, I could see that with the limited Sunday school rooms and parking, we would one day need to obtain more property if we were to grow. Periodically, I would fast and pray that God would provide some land that would be suitable for a new, bigger, facility with adequate Sunday school rooms, parking, and a larger sanctuary. Three days was the longest I ever fasted at one time. For some months I fasted every Sunday evening to Monday evening. Sunday morning, August 7, 1978, I was studying for my Sunday school lesson in Joshua chapter three, where the Lord gave Joshua instructions about following the Ark of the Covenant as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
There shall be a space between you and it (the Ark of the Covenant) about 2000 cubits by measure (about ½ mile). Come not near unto it, that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way heretofore (Joshua 3:4).
The Lord seemed to speak to me that just as Israel needed to carefully follow His leading to get across the barrier of the Jordan River into their Promised Land, so must we carefully follow Him because we “have not passed this way heretofore” either. I became convinced that God was saying “There is some promised land for you, but you will have to carefully follow Me.” As time went on, the Lord confirmed to me through other scripture verses that He was going to bless us with some land on which we could build and grow. In addition, some promises indicated that He would prosper us and use us to glorify Him before all the nations of the earth. October 5, 1978 Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). And it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do unto them; and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it (Jeremiah 33:9).
October 6, 1978 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31).
October 9, 1978 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him (Psalm 145:19).
December 1, 1978 Who is like unto You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength unto Your holy habitation (Exodus 15:11, 13).
December 2, 1978 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).
December 21, 1978 And being not weak in faith, he (Abraham) considered his own body, now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, even the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform (Romans 4:19-20).
January 5, 1979 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
March 7, 1979 For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of (Genesis 28:15).
April 13, 1979 Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared (Exodus 23:20).
July 9, 1979 The eyes of all wait upon You; and You give them their meat in due season (Psalm 145:15). He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him (Psalm 145:19).
February 21, 1980 For surely there is an end; and your expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:1).
November 16, 1980 The church had a day of fasting and prayer for property.
October 7, 1981 Faithful is He Who called you Who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
October 2, 1982 Ask of Me and I shall give you the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession (Psalm 2:8).
December 2, 1982 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will guide you with My eye (Psalm 32:8).
January 7, 1983 Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it (Psalm 37:34).
October 24, 1984 It had been more than six years since the Lord had given me the original promise of some land for our new church. I was agitated at God, and I let Him know: “Where’s the land, God, that You promised us?” That evening the Lord spoke to me from Hebrews 10:36, “You have need of much patience; after you have done the will of God you shall receive the promise.”
July 26, 1985 In Deuteronomy chapter one Moses recounted how the Lord had led the children of Israel from Egypt to Mount Horeb (also called Mount Sinai), where He had organized them by tribes and had given them the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law. He then led them to the point where they were to take the land. Instead of stepping out in faith, they pulled back and wanted to return to Egypt. God sent them back into the wilderness for 40 years until that generation died. He raised up a new generation who did take the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants. God used that passage to warn me. In His timing, God would lead us to the point where we would have an opportunity to take the land that He had promised us. If we didn’t step out in faith and take advantage of the opportunity, God would raise up a new congregation with a new leader who would take the land and build a church.
November 24-27, 1985 I fasted and prayed for land.
May 30, 1986 Be strong and courageous and do it. Fear not, nor be dismayed; for the Lord God, even my God, will be with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord (1 Chronicles 28:20).
August 19, 1986 I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry (Psalm 40:1).
April 19, 1987 Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? You shall see now whether My word shall come to pass unto you or not (Numbers 11:23).
June 5, 1987 (Friday) I saw some property on the corner of Highway 390 and Airport Road that I thought would be a good place for a church. I contacted the realtor, Charles Bodiford, and asked about it. He told me that property was already sold but that St. Joe Paper Company had several tracts of land that they were going to put on the market. I met with him and he took me by three five-acre plots along State Avenue north of Baldwin Road. One was in the exact place where I wanted to have a church several years ago when I first started looking for land. He thought it was going for $17,000 per acre. It had a county ditch running through the property, but I thought we could work around it. That evening I was praying about the property on State Avenue. Then I read 1 John 5:14: And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. I stopped reading and thought, “I know that I have been asking according to His will. He has given me all these promises. This verse boldly states that God has heard me.” Then I read the next verse: And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him (1 John 5:15). Since I knew that He had heard me, I knew that we had the petitions that we desired of Him! I almost jumped for joy. That property was ours! God was giving us that land!
June 9, 1987 (Tuesday) The realtor came by and related that the property was on the market and the plot of ground I was interested in was selling for $15,000 per acre. That totaled $75,000 for five acres.
June 11, 1987 (Thursday) I met with the realtor and we put on our boots and Levis and walked the five-acre plot of ground. I was excited about the property. It faced State Avenue as well as having access from Jenks Avenue via 33 rd Place.
June 14, 1987 (Sunday) At church I spoke about the various verses that God gave me about our “promised land.” We had been saving for ten years and our building fund had $46,767.37 in it. All we needed was $28,232.63 more to reach $75,000 and we could buy the land. I felt as though I was one of the priests who were holding the Ark of the Covenant as they stepped into the Jordan River that was overflowing its banks.
At the board meeting that afternoon, the vote was unanimous to try to procure the
property. Mark Barefield (Board Chair), Ray Parrish (Trustee Chair), and I
would sign on behalf of the church.
June 17, 1987 (Wednesday) We met with Charles Bodiford, the realtor, who had drawn up the contract . Mark and I signed it then. Ray signed it later in the evening. A check for 4% of the selling price ($3,000) was submitted for the earnest money.
June 19, 1987 I will not fail nor forsake you (Joshua 1:5). Only be strong and very
courageous (Joshua 1:7). Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9). Only be strong
and courageous (Joshua 1:18).
June 26, 1987 (Friday) I woke up to the phone ringing. The call was from Charles Bodiford. The St. Joe Paper Company had accepted our offer. We were not the only ones who presented a contract to purchase the property, but we were the first. By now our building fund totaled $50,449. Closing date was set for August 7, 1987.
July, 1987 The realtor realized that we were significantly short of enough money to purchase the property. He asked me if I would like to request an extension of time from the seller. By faith I said, “No. God can raise the money in a long time or in a short time. We must trust God to provide.”
July 9, 1987 All the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people,
because the thing came about suddenly (2 Chronicles 29:36).
August 2, 1987 The building fund total was $56,794. In the next five days donations to the building fund totaled $3,800 and three church members loaned the church $15,000. Now we had $75, 5954.18!
August 7, 1987 We closed on the five acres along State Avenue with $594.18 to spare! At the end of the year we had to pay $596.50 for taxes on the property for the first half of the year.