Sister Brenda Wednesday Night 2/8/12

Sister Brenda Wednesday Night 2/8/12

The enemy has always challenged faith.  He is just mean.  We want to be strong. 

Gen 18:13  And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

Gen 18:14  Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Sarah was old.  She laughed at the words of the Angel, not in an unbelief laugh but thinking that it was ridiculous.  The enemy was attacking her faith.  Is anything too hard for God?  Nothing is impossible if it is what God says will be.  If God says it and wills it, it will be.

When God told Abraham the same thing, Abraham said, “Oh that my seed might be in Ishmael.”  It looked impossible to him that Sarah could have a child.  He knew God could do it but he was looking to how God could do it easier.

God performed His miraculous plan that looked impossible with man but was possible with God.

When Abraham called his servant in and told him that he wanted him to go back to where his relatives were to find a wife for Isaac, the servant was challenged by the thought.  As he went, he cried out to God for help and put his desire before God for God to lead him to the right woman.  God went before him and caused Rebecca to be in the right place at the right time.  “I being in the way, the Lord led me.” 

It turned out to be a beautiful love story.  Probably as they traveled along, Abraham’s servant told Rebecca about Isaac and she may have fell in love with him as she heard about him on their way back.

There will be challenges in every one of our lives.

Isa 36:14  Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.

Isa 36:15  Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Isa 36:16  Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

Isa 36:17  Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

This is just how the enemy comes to us.  He tries to tear down our confidence.

Isa 36:21  But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

This is wisdom.  Don’t even talk to the enemy.  Don’t even listen to him. 

Isa 37:1  And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.

We need to do this as well.  Cry out to God and get earnest in prayer.  Don’t run before the battle but spread it out before the Lord.

Isa 37:14  And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

Whatever the problem is, spread it out before God, he is our refuge and help and He is the one that can do something about it.

The prophet encouraged Hezekiah.

Isa 37:21  Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

Isa 37:22  This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

The devil cannot defeat his saints.  He cannot defeat God’s church.  It may mean fasting and prayer, but God will come through.  He is faithful.

Isa 37:36  Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

This is what happened to them.  God took care of them.  We don’t want to allow the enemy to destroy our faith or cause us to believe that God is not able to work in our situation.  185,000 were slain.

Building up yourselves in your most holy faith.  Jude 20

Col 2:6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Col 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

When I look at our country and see all the things that are happening I could become fearful.  One thing that I know is that, whatever may happen, we want to take root downward and be established. 

Sister Darla’s testimony – When I was young woman we were driving a jeep that did not have a top on it.  As we came around a corner we came upon two vehicles one facing each way that we did not realize were stopped.  It was dark and they had their lights on.  Myron tried to go around them and hit a rock that broke the tie-rod.  He couldn’t steer. 

I was thrown from the vehicle and landed in the river on my head.  Forrest who was only about 6 months old also was thrown into the river.  He was going further and further into the river.  A police man that was there shone his light into the water and just managed to see Forrest and rescue him. 

For months after that I had headaches.  The doctor told me that I should be thankful that it was only headaches that I was experiencing.  They had thought that much more would be wrong than that.  We had heard about the saints in Paradise and came to visit with the Kelly’s and Sis Kelly saw how I was in such pain and prayed for me.  God healed me.  For years after that I never experienced one headache.  I thank the Lord too that I have a mind.

Sis Vi’s Testimony – 1952 we had moved to Florida and I was saved but had no place to go to church.  We had three little children and hardly had money or food.  One day I got the last can of milk to make Ron a bottle, I fixed it and gave Ron a bottle and prayed.  I told the Lord that we didn’t have money to buy any milk.  There came a knock on the door and there was a lady that had a box in her arms.  She said that someone had given her milk for the children in that neighborhood and she had brought me six cans of milk.  I felt that God had given this woman this milk and told her to bring it to me.

I’d carried the canned goods that I’d canned to the cupboard when we moved there and everytime that I needed to get something for dinner I would go to that cupboard and pull out something to fix.  I don’t know how many days I had gone to the cupboard and done this, but one day I looked at the cupboard and there was not one jar lacking in the cupboard.  All the while we lived there and until we moved each time that I would go to that cupboard to pull a jar out, there was not one jar lacking.  God sees our need and helps us.

I thank the Lord that Michael’s tumor is shrinking. 

Sis Toot’s Testimony -  In 1998 when I had my heart attack, I didn’t know anything for a week.  I was out.  I was dying and I didn’t know it.  They took me to the operating room and I didn’t know it.  During that time I experienced this:  I didn’t have a body but I could see and I could think.  I came to a wall that was whitewashed but didn’t have a window or a door.  I wanted to see what was on the other side and tried to look under, over and around the wall.  I was whisked away from there and thought, “Oh I don’t’ get to see it yet.”  When I came to the doctor told me that I had been dying. 

From the rising of the sun until the going down of the same, the Lord’s name is to be praised. 

The mighty God even the Lord has spoken from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof. 

If it hadn’t been God answering prayer, I would have died.  They told me when I came to that if my liver didn’t quit hemorrhaging they couldn’t do anything more for me.  It quit as they were looking at it and they were able to operate on me.  It is a miracle.

Sis Dorothy’s testamony – The biggest thing that God has done for me is that I’m saved but He has done many things for me.  I count it a miracle that I am one of a family.  God gives us protections.  When we leave home we don’t’ know what we are going to encounter.

In 1965 my youngest sister was getting married and wanted me to stand up with her.  Chuck had to work until 6 on Friday night and we left at that time.  When we got there it was the middle of the night and only the floor was left for us to sleep on.  My farmer sister came clunking down the stairs way too early the next morning and said “We didn’t come here to sleep.”  When my family got together my husband said, “This is as close to heaven as you can get because there is no night here.” 

Needless to say, when we started home we were tired.  I drove because Chuck wanted to sleep.  We got out of Lincoln and my car started bumping over something.  Chuck sat upright and I was lying over the steering wheel and the horn was blaring.  Chuck asked, “What did you hit?”  I told him that I didn’t know.  We backed back over it and found that I had hit a baby bear. 

God sent the bear.  I know that if we hadn’t have hit the bear, I would have wrecked and killed all of us.  If it would have been the momma bear then it would have wrecked the car.  All there was, was a small dent.  If Chuck had gotten out to see what it was rather then me backing back over the bear, the momma bear could have gotten him.

Sis Beryl’s testimony – I’ve been praying that Fran’s son Jerry would call her and he called today on her birthday.  God answers prayer daily.  I was in a hard situation not long after I was saved and soon Sis Kelly knocked on my door; God had sent her.  Her advice helped me to look past the situation.

One time I felt that God wanted me to go to a person and it didn’t seem that good would come from it but God blessed my heart for going. 

Not long after I came back to God, Danny couldn’t find something out in his shop and I prayed and went to the shop where he had been looking and it was right there.

My mother was really suffering.  Sis Kelly prayed for her and mother quit hurting.  It was wonderful. 

God answers prayer.