“Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered,”Here I am.’ And he ran to Eli and said,
‘Here I am; you called me.’” 1 Samuel 3:4-5 (NIV)
Joel Munoz shared Samuel’s experience concerning hearing the LORD’s voice. Samuel thought Eli was calling him, but after three times, Eli realized the LORD was calling Samuel. The fourth time Samuel followed Eli’s advice and said to the LORD,”Speak for your servant is listening.”! Samuel 3:10 (NIV) And the LORD spoke to Samuel, who heard the voice of the LORD for himself. Joel encouraged us to seek the LORD for ourselves daily and to hear His voice. The scariest place to be for a believer is not hearing the voice of the LORD anymore. For “your purpose is connected to the LORD.” Further, he recommended that we seek the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth in His Word. May we “Be still and know” that He is the LORD. Psalm 46:10
Every single day we need to hear His voice ourselves and obey Him.
Pastor Josiah then introduced A.J. who shared his life with us. He grew up in poverty; his father left the family; and at eight or nine, A.J. was put in foster care where he was molested. From there he lived a life of lust. However, A.J. went to a Young Life conference, mainly for the girls, but he met the LORD instead. At the camp, they ziplined and climbed and repelled mountains. After two hours of struggling to let go and do as the instructor told him, A.J. completed his repelling. He learned that if he can face that mountain, he could face anything. The anything he faced was a call from his mom who told him she had cancer.
A.J. responded to the LORD, “I need something new.”
The LORD replied,”Read your Bible.”
A.J. read the Word, and the LORD told him,
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will
also provide a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
(NIV)
After his mom died, his marriage failed; he was on the streets for two years. But the LORD
spoke to him and provided a way of escape. Now he is singing and walking with the LORD.
Hallelujah.
FC’s mission is to culture like Christ, and our vision is Jesus. As the LORD is lifted up, people
are coming. Pastor Josiah reviewed what we learned last week in his sermon the “Divided
Kingdom.” We know to whom we belong and for that we are grateful. May our fruit reflect our devotion and love for the Savior.
Returning to Luke 11, Pastor Josiah read about the spirit leaving a person. When the spirit did not find a place to rest, it returned and found the former home
“swept and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits
more evil than itself, and they enter the person and live there.
And so that person is worse off than before. “ Luke 25-26 (NLT)
“Rest-Grk. anapausis (An-ap-ow-sis)-Rest, recreation.” The spirit was looking for rest or
recreation. The devil’s mission is to distract and disrupt us from our LORD.
However, when we seek Him, the LORD Jehovah Jireh furnishes us with all “the right stuff.”
We’re destined to be possessed BY THE RIGHT SPIRIT! For example,
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your
own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in
your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1 Corinthians 6:19
(NKJV)
And in Acts 20:28 “…Feed and shepherd God’s flock-his church, purchased with his own
blood.” (NLT) If we are purchased, we belong to the Purchaser, the Lord God Almighty. Further in 1 Peter 2:9 “You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.” (NLT)
Praise God. We are under His care, direction, provision and protection. Is there a better place to be? It’s the best case scenario that He owns me. So the question to ask yourself is,”Who is really the lord of your life?” And if He is the Lord of your life, have you asked Him what He wants you to do with your life? Or are you keeping some of your life for yourself, harboring it in a corner that you think He cannot see? Remember He is the Creator of the Universe. He spoke and light appeared.
Back to Luke 11, a woman blessed His mother Mary because she birthed and nursed Him. In
response, He replied,”But even more blessed are all those who hear the word of God and
put it into practice.” (NLT) We need to be hearers and doers of the word. Proclaiming the
Good News is not enough, but living it is more important because our actions speak so much louder than our words. Thus, may our actions be God-inspired and Jesus-modeled rather than self-focused and self-satisfied. Not everybody can be Mary…but all of us can choose to actually do what He says. The LORD loves when we do what He says. “Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.” Matthew 7:24 (NKJV) For He is our chain breaker and miracle worker.
Pastor Josiah proclaimed,”Instead of living for the devil, I live for God.” When he finds himself rebelling against the Lord, he reminds himself, ”That is not who I am. I’m His beloved.” It goes back to identity, whose he is. That reminder shakes him out of that rebellion and puts him back on track.
The Paramount Point is He values me so much; I’m equipped to become like the One who
possesses me. What is God asking you to do? The time is now to obey. Let us let go of
distractions from Him, and be salt and light in this troubled world.
Calendar:
9/18 6:30 Midweek Encounter
9/20 6:00 in the Activity Center LB potluck, worship, and baby shower for Pastors Alyssa
and Erick Aguilar. You can bring a small baby gift to decorate the table. Our funds from
the Meet to Swap bought them a bigger gift.
Submitted by
Larry and Annette Linthicum
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