The faithfulness of God is seen through so many things such as watching how the universe, being so vast yet there is not one thing that happens without His control, and how with such vastness there is not one thing that is out of order. That everything depends on and is reliant on one another, weather one is aware of it consciously or not. The structure of all the objects of life that are found on this planet, their beauty and the intricacy of detail has overwhelmed me since I was a boy. For me it was so easy to believe in a loving God who was in charge of all that was going on in this world that I found myself in. The only thing that created chaos as far as I could figure out was that the best of God’s creation, was the very thing that was designed in his image and after his likeness was which was man. The answer for mankind’s trouble was found in the Holy Bible. The trouble that I had been exposed to since I was born was never going to stop unless there was a total reliance in my heart of unyielding faith in this one who had created all that I could see. So at the age of twenty after much urging from what I now understand to be the Holy Spirit’s leading, I fell to my knees asking Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. That was some forty-one years ago. The reason why I am even moved to write these few words is to declare just how faithful my Lord has been to me, and to anyone who will let him. Ever since my conversion I have been exposed to some of God’s greatest gifts to his called out ones, what we call the Church. These gifts come in different packages. One of these gifts that mean so much to me is my precious wife Madeline. Personally she is most precious and without her I could not function. Along with her I have been blessed with many children and each and every one of these are God’s gift to my wife and me. I believe that Pastors are designed to be gifts to the Church, but sometimes I personally have been witness to some of the greatest expressions of God’s servants, but before I go any further I want to spell out what I believe what makes a Pastor. He has been called, equipped, and given by God. He cannot do one thing that is source in himself. Of all the sheep he is the weakest, and of course that keeps him at bay not to do one thing outside of the leading of the Holy Spirit. That brings me to the very subject that I have been trying to communicate since my eyes open this morning. We find ourselves going to church hoping to hear from God through a man. The only way this can happen is for that man to be so reduced that his agenda never comes out, but that as a puppet on the lap of a ventriloquist he speaks the words of God as He God feeds his sheep. God has been faithful to me through these many years to have been under such men of God, and I am so thankful this morning. We must keep those individuals that have been called by God in our prayers as well as with our offerings, for these are those sheep that have been called out from among us to feed us. Let’s be well aware of the spiritual warfare that takes place every day. Satin the god of this world wants to destroy the evidence of God’s work in any and every way. We are not able to function independent of each other, we need each other’s portion. It is bad enough that the Church is so fragmented, let on purpose determined that we will do the Father’s will, which is not performance based, but relationally based. All He is asking from us is to respond to his love with the love that we have for him. One of the ways that we love him is by drawing close to him as he speaks to us, which is every moment of every day personally, and also when we as a local assembly come together.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:26:49 +0000