GOD IS SAID TO BE A MAN OF FEW WORDS-I WONDER IF THAT IS TRUE?

GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS?

HIS WONDERS TO PERFORM. SOMETIMES WE FEEL THAT IF THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US, IT WILL ALWAYS BE “BESIDE STILL WATER”, PS. 23:2, BUT THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE.

THIS MORNING I’M GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU A FEW TIMES WHEN THROUGH TRIALS AND MUCH TESTING…YOU CAN HONESTLY SAY, IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR THE LORD ON YOUR SIDE, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD DO.

TESTIMONIALS:

YOU KNOW WHAT A TESTIMONY IS RIGHT. WHEN SOMEONE GETS UP IN CHURCH TO HAVE A SAY ABOUT HAVING HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT -AND HOW THEY WERE LEFT OVERJOYED AND WANTED TO RUN AND TELL SOMEBODY…THAT GOD -IS REAL…I KNOW BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT HE DID FOR ME.

CHURCH IS THE BEST PLACE FOR A TESTIMONY. FOR THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE HEAR THE WORD PREACHED, THE STORIES OF ONE MIRACLE AFTER ANOTHER, HOW JESUS HEALED THE LAME, GAVE SIGHT TO THE BLIND AND EVEN BROUGHT BACK LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD... DEAD.

IN SOME CHURCH SETTINGS PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO SHARE SUCH A TIME OF SHEER JOY.

TESTIMONIALS ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL IN SO MANY WAYS...ONE WAY IS THAT THEY ALLOW US TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT PERSON WE FELLOWSHIP WITH—SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY…WE GET TO KNOW THE ONE WHO SITS ON THE SAME PEW WITH YOU…BETTER.

CERTAINLY YOU MAY NOT KNOW THEM FROM CHILDHOOD SO YOU COULDN’T KNOW THAT THEY SERVED IN THE MILITARY…AND ENDURED THROUGH THE VIETNAM WAR AND PRAISE GOD…GOD BROUGHT THEM HOME OR THAT ANOTHER PERSON SURVIVED BREAST CANCER AND HAS BEEN IN REMISSION SOME FIVE YEARS.

OR THAT THEY HAVE ADULT CHILDREN AND EVEN GRAND BABIES…AND STILL HAVE THEIR RIGHT MINDS,,,

JUST LIKE SO MANY BIBLE STORIES…HOW WOULD WE KNOW ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS, ---IF SOMEONE HAD NOT THOUGHT THEM WORTHY AND WROTE THEM DOWN.

SO WHEN WE COME TO OUR TEXT…HERE IN JOB 38 -1-6 HEARING HIS STORY OF HOW HE WAS TORMENTED BY THE DEVIL -HOW HE LOST EVERYTHING NOT JUST HIS LAND AND CATTLE, BUT ALSO HIS CHILDREN...

WOULD WE BE AS HIS THREE FRIENDS WERE…MAKING ACCUSATIONS, POINTING FINGERS OR WOULD WE BECAUSE WE KNOW THIS MAN}

SAY WITH A SERIOUS AMOUNT OF CONCERN..HOW DID HE GET HIMSELF INTO THIS MESS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY HOW IS HE GOING TO RECOVER?

I’M SURE SOME MAY TAKE SIDES…AND AGREE WITH HIS THREE FRIENDS WHO SHOWED LITTLE OR NO SYMPATHY...POINTING FINGERS AND MAKING ACCUSATIONS AS THOUGH THEY NEVER SINNED AND LIVED SPOTLESS LIVES.

YET-- WHEN YOU READ CHAPTER 38 FOR YOURSELF...PERHAPS YOU’LL TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH…

FOR NO ONE—COULD POSSIBLY BELIEVE THAT JOB DESERVED LOSING EVERYTHING ALONG WITH HIS CHILDREN....THEN STAND BACK AS YOU HEAR GOD SPEAK. SINCE JOB HAD NO CLUE AND FELT ABANDONED AND DISILLLUSIONED —HE ACCEPTED HIS LOSS BUT FOUGHT TO GET A REASON FROM GOD. THAT COST HIM…HAD I BEEN THERE AND SWITCHED PLACES…WHEN GOD SPOKE…I’’D BE TRYING TO FIND A HOLE TO CLIMB IN AND HIDE.

BECAUSE LIKE ANY CHILD…THERE IS A GULF BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR PARENT...LEARNED EARLY....EVEN WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS RIGHT…I WAS WRONG.

AND AS GOD....THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF LIFE… NO MORTAL HAS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION HIM…AND LIVE.

SO WHAT WE HAVE IS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION…A BIT OF A STANDOFF…BUT YOU KNOW THE GOOD GUY ALWAYS WINS! GOD IN THIS SCENARIO IS THE GOOD GUY. GOD ENTERED CENTER STATE…AND GOD MY FRIENDS.

SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. NOTICE HOW HE NEVER BOTHERED TO ANSWER JOB’S MANY QUESTIONS…HE NEVER ALLOWED JOB TO KNOW THAT IT WAS SATAN WHO TEMPTED HIM AND HOW PROUD HE WAS THAT HE REMAINED FAITHFUL…THAT HE DIDN’T ALLOW SATAN TO STEAL HIS SOUL.

HE JUST TOOK HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE TO POINT OUT HOW FINITE AND SMALL MAN IS IN COMPARISON TO HIS POWER AND MAGNIFICENCE.

“WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I LAID THE EARTH’S FOUNDATION”?

HAVE YOU EVER GIVEN ORDERS TO THE MORNING OR SHOWN THE DAWN ITS PLACE?

JUST A TASTE TO SHUT HIM UP SHOULD HE DECIDE TO GO DOWN THIS ROAD AGAIN.

SOME OF YOU REMEMBER BITS AND PARTS OF MY STORY…HOW BACK IN 2003 AFTER I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH END-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE I FELT HAVING ENROLLED IN COLLEGE WAS A MISTAKE. FOR AS MUCH AS I MAY HAVE WANTED TO GET MY DEGREE, IT JUST MAYBE TOO LATE.

YOU SEE TO BE AN ELDER…IN THE UM CHURCH YOU MUST HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE IN DIVINITY. HERE I WAS WORKING ON MY SECOND YEAR TOWARD A BACHELOR’S DEGREE WITH FIVE YEARS MORE TO GET THE MDIV. I WAS READY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL AND GIVE UP WHEN MY PRAYING FRIENDS HEARD ABOUT MY NEWS AND CAME TO MY HOUSE AND PRAYED…WATCHED TV AND EAT POP CORN WITH ME AS I MENTALLY GOT READY FOR WHAT NEXT.

IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW -JESUS’ GENEALOGY IS GIVEN IN CHAPTER 1 VERSE 1- ITS THERE THAT A YOUNG WOMAN BY THE NAME OF MARY THE DAUGHTER OF JACOB AND THE WIFE OF JOSEPH =,MARY FACED A PREDICAMENT AS WELL. BECAUSE MARY WAS A VIRGIN, HER SITUATION FOR MANY WOULD CAUSE HER SHAME, FOR SHE AND JOSEPH WERE BETROTHED BUT NOT YET MARRIED.

SO MANY THOUGHTS MUST HAVE CROSSED HER MIND... …KNOWING HOW SHE WOULD BE RIDICULED AND TALKED ABOUT A ND MISTREATED. SHE AWAKENED FROM HER DREAM REMEMBERING THE ANGEL’S PROPHESY -THAT SHE WOULD CARRY A SON AND HE SHALL BE CALLED JESUS -GOD WITH US.

RECOGNIZING THAT THE ANGEL SPOKE OF ELIZABETH HER COUSIN MUST HAVE BEEN A HUGE RELIEF…FOR SUCH NEWS WOULDN’T BE EASY TO TELL JUST ANYBODY.

WHAT A RELIEF ELIZABETH NOT ONLY RECEIVED MARY WELL, BUT WITH GRACE.

MY NEWS WAS JUST AS SHOCKING WHEN TOLD THAT I WOULD GO ON DIALYSIS WILL WAITING TO BE TRANSPLANTED…NO ONE EVER CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE -SO IT’S NOT UNUSUAL TO SHOW CONCERN…BUT MARY’S ACCEPTANCE WOULD BE A LITTLE LIKE MINE…ONCE I HEARD THE GOOD NEWS ....THAT MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD.

IT’S BEEN 20 YEARS AND EVEN THOUGH I HAVE HAD OTHER HEALTH MATTERS CROP UP. NOTHING CAN REPLACE THE LATEST NEWS THAT I NO LONG NEED DIALYSIS.

I WOULD NOT ACCEPT THAT MY KIDNEY NO LONGER WORKED AFTER THE HEART SURGERY…I JUST WOULD NOT TAKE IT INTO MY SPIRIT.

I LEARNED THESE LAST TWO YEARS A NEW MEANING FOR FAITH.

I FELT I KNEW GOD WELL UNTIL THIS LAST SURGERY AND MY KIDNEY PROBLEM. APPARENTLY I DIDN’T.

FOR GOD SHOWED ME…HOW TO TAKE PERSEVERANCE TO ANOTHER LEVEL.

THINGS THAT NORMALLY HAPPENED…JUST BECAME SOOO BLOWN OUT OF PERPORTION…SURE THE MEDICAL SYSTEM IS GOING THROUGH AN ALL TIME LOW SINCE COVID AND THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN UPMC AND BLUE CROSS BUT NOTHING COULD HAVE PREPARED ME FOR THIS.

I HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND…SOME OF THE MOST PAINFUL AND HORRIBLE

SITUATIONS…AND HOW PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING AND IN NEED OF CARE…AND THE ONLY THING THAT IS CONSISTENT IS …GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

THE ONLY THING THAT HAS KEPT MY SANITY…IS GOD’S FAITHFULNESS..

PEOPLE WILL DISAPPOINT YOU…THEY ARE SO FRAGILE. BUT GOD IS TOO STRONG…TOO BIG ----TOO MERCIFUL----TOO KIND AND HIS WORD IS YEA AND AMEN.

IT IS USELESS TO ARGUE WITH PEOPLE WHEN YOU KNOW…DEEP DOWN IN HERE....THAT GOD IS NOT A GOD THAT HE SHOULD EVER LIE.

TRUST YOUR GUT FEELINGS.

WHO KNOWS YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YOU.???????

THINGS ARE SO TOPSY TURVY—ALL HEALTHCARE IS UNDER STRESS…

NURSES AND DOCTORS SAY THAT THEY ARE UNDERPAID....

YOU NEED AN APPOINTMENT WITH A SPECIALIST NOW AND THEY TELL YOU HE’S TOO BUSY AND WAIT FOR TWO OR THREE MONTHS…BY THAT TIME YOU WILL EITHER HEAL YOURSELF OR THE MATTER WORSENS.

TRUST YOUR GUT FEELINGS…AND BY ALL MEANS PRAY.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING…PRAY GETTING UP AND PRAYING GOING DOWN…PRAY AT BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER…PRAY.

YOU JUST MIGHT NOTICE THAT GOD IS WATCHING TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH OF YOUR DAY…BELONGS TO HIM.

I HAD TO INCREASE MY PRAYER LIFE BY TALKING TO GOD WHEN I BELIEVE HE’S LISTENING THE MOST...BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 2-3 AM. ITS CALM…FEW PEOPLE ARE UP —MANY ARE ASLEEP AND FRANKLY…HE JUST MIGHT BE MORE RECEPTIVE TO A CONVERSATION—WITHOUT A LOT OF TALK ABOUT WHY HE DIDN’T DO THIS OR WHY HE DIDN’T DO THAT…BUT A FATHER/DAUGHTER CALL…FATHER I NEED YOU. SHORT AND SIMPLE…I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW LORD.

I SAID EARLIER THAT GOD IS SAID TO BE A MAN OF FEW WORDS…I WONDER IF THAT IS TRUE?

I WENT BACK TO SEE THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE WHEN GOD SPOKE AND TO WHOM HE SPOKE TO…NOAH FOUND FAVOR IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. GOD SAW HOW CORRUPT THE EARTH HAD BECOME AND INSTRUCTED NOAH TO BUILD A 450 FOOT LONG ARK AND TAKE SEVEN OF EVERY KIND OF CLEAN ANIMAL, A MALE AND ITS MATE, AND TWO OF EVERY KIND OF BID, MALE AND FEMALE…THEN HE INSTRUCTED HIM TO REMAIN ON THE BOAT FOR FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS AND HE WOULD WIPE FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH EVERY LIVING CREATURE …NOAH WAS 600 YEARS OLD WHEN THE FLOODWATERS CAME ON THE EARTH.

AND GOD SPOKE TO ABRAHAM AND PROMISED A NATION TO HIM BY FIRST COMMANDING HIM TO LEAVE HIS COUNTRY AND GO TO A LAND THAT HE WOULD SHOW HIM.

AND GOD SPOKE TO MOSES AT A BURNING BUSH COMMANDING HIM TO RETURN TO EGYPT TO RESCUE THE JEWS FROM SLAVERY. THEN WE HAVE THE MAJOR AND MINOR PROPHETS…ALL HAVING BEEN CALLED IN SOME MANNER TO SERVE GOD…YET THERE IS NO ONGOING CONVERSATION LIKE THAT IN JOB AS GOD SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT AS THE GREAT I AM.

NOW GOD DOES STILL SPEAK THROUGH SIGNS AND WONDERS…SO MANY OF US CAN TESTIFY TO THAT…JOB’S TESTIMONY OUTRANKS ANY BY FAR AS HE FIRST ESTABLISHES HIS PLACE ABOVE ALL THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE WITH OUR HUMAN-NESS. IT IS SUCH A GREAT DOSE OF GOOD NEWS TO KNOW THAT OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ONLY HEARD BUT OUR MOMENTS OF ANQUISH AND WORRY DON’T GO UNNOTICED.

FOR THAT REASON I SAY THANK YOU LORD.

I’M SINGING HIS PRAISES, BECAUSE WHILE THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WERE BUSY TRYING TO CONVINCING ME —TO CAST ALL THE HARD WORK AND LABOR PUT IN THIS KIDNEY TRANSPLANT…I SAID NO…ABSOLUTELY NOT…I WILL WAIT ON GOD...HE HASN’T SAID ANYTHING YET.

MY FRIENDS, SOMETIMES THE CLOUDS HANG LOW, I CAN HARDLY SEE THE ROAD, I ASKED THE QUESTION LORD, WHY SO MUCH PAIN…BUT HE KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME, ALTHOUGH MY WEARY EYES JUST CANNOT SEE, SO I WILL JUST SAY THANK YOU LORD…I WON’T COMPLAIN.

BECAUSE GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME....HE’S BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME.

BETTER THAN THIS WORLD COULD EVER BE…I WON’T COMPLAIN.

BECAUSE HE WIPED ALL MY TEARS AWAY, TURNED MY MIDNIGHT INTO DAY, SO I WILL JUST SAY, THANK YOU, I WON’T COMPLAIN. AMEN