Our Silent God

I want to start off with some verses from the Bible quoting Jesus as saying, as follows;

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). 

“Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asks, they shall receive and they that seek shall find and to them who knocks, it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7;7-8)

“All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive” (Matthew 21;22)

“Whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you”. (John 15;16)

If we don’t receive from God those things we ask him for, then why do we always make an excuse for God’s silence when our prayers go unanswered?

As believers we've all been there, or will be there. We may earnestly seek God, but in return only sense His silence. And this silence can be difficult, frustrating even excruciating.

And then there are those days when chaos careens with apparent carelessness through our lives and the world, leaving us shattered. Or an unrelenting darkness descends. Or an arid wind we don’t even understand blows across our spiritual landscape, leaving the crust of our soul cracked and parched. And we cry to God in our confused anguish and he just seems silent. He seems absent.

Daily I approached God with growing concern. "Okay, God, I'm sure you've got a plan. Show me what I'm supposed to do here. I need you now more than ever. I'm physically hurting, emotionally spent. How should I deal with this?" My prayers became more strident: "God, this is not the time to play hide-and-seek. I'm facing some serious anxiety here. Now would be an especially good time to hear from you!"

Have you ever felt as if God was giving you the silent treatment? Perhaps you or your loved one are going through a physical illness, and despite your prayers for healing, the Lord has not intervened. Or maybe you're fervently seeking His direction for a major decision, and He's just not answering.

One huge impediment to my faith is that God never communicates with me. I pray daily and ask for forgiveness daily, sometimes even hourly, but I still feel nothing but emptiness and silence from God. How is it possible to have a relationship with God if he won't at least have a conversation with me?

Jesus said; “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

 

This verse tells us that God is ready to answer our prayers and supply our needs. So why are all our prayers not answered?  Why does it seem that God sometimes does not hear us?  What is going on when it seems like our prayers are not getting any higher than the ceiling?

Silence is especially painful when it is the silence of God in our lives. And it seems that when we are going through a painfully long period of silence from God, there are many people that want to tell us about how God has “spoken” to them. That tends to trouble me, because I begin to wonder why God is speaking to them and not to me. The silence that I am feeling becomes agonizing and then uncertainties begin to settle in my mind, and I pray really hard for some kind of answer, and it seems that all I get from God is silence. When God is silent we can simply become upset with God, we become confused, we start to doubt. The truth is that we just don’t know what to do with God’s silence. There is some sort of anguish in my life, I am suffering and in pain  and it seems that I have been praying to God for a very long time, to help me with my problems, and all that I am met with, is silence from God. Then I begin to question if God has given up on me or has stopped listening to me and my prayers.

I begin to wonder if my faith in his words have just been in vain and these words in the scriptures are just words some man has written and not really the words of God. How can a person continue to have faith in what is written when those promises fail to provide results?

Throughout the bible there are examples about God intervening in the lives of many people, providing results that could not be explained away, but they say were positively the actions of God. Why then would God not take an active role in our lives now which could not be disputed, but had to have come to pass as an act of God? Why does God deprive us, his children, of things that we ask for or not take an active role in our lives?

Yes it does appear that we have a silent God, but I wish it wasn’t so. I personally would prefer that God would take a more active part in my life and not be so passive. It would certainly help me to know if the things that I attempt to do right in my life was his will or not. Now some would say that if we just follow and do what the bible says, we will be doing his will. I wish it was that easy, but the way the bible is translated into English, it’s difficult to discern whether God is talking to us or the apostles. In some cases it’s a concern to me that whoever wrote the scriptures in the first place got everything right or not because of some of the errors in the bible that are so obvious. Wouldn’t it be easier if there was more active communication between us and God in order to be certain that we were getting it right. In the old bible days it was not uncommon for God to instruct the people directly and through his prophets. Well today we lack both of these means of communication because God is silent and there are no true prophets of God.

As for me, I’m not hearing God’s voice very often. And by “very often” I mean almost never. Since I’ve spent much of my life encouraging others in a relationship with God, this can be very disconcerting, and it’s made worse by the Christians I know who appear to have a direct line to God all the time. God is finding them parking spaces, telling them about apartments, practically giving them a “to do” list every week.

So how come I don’t hear Him like that? True, there have been times when I have a deep sense of God’s presence in my life. There have been times where I have also had a distinct sense of His voice in my soul, that still small voice that we believe is Him. But the times I “feel” and “hear” Him are hardly frequent enough to consider us in a relationship. If I’m only relying on those rare experiences, I find myself pretty confused and disheartened (especially when I’m around those “other people” who apparently have coffee with Jesus every morning!)

Maybe you also have wondered where God is in your life. Perhaps you have found yourself wondering why God doesn’t give you more specific direction, more often. After all, if He’s off finding your grandma a parking spot, maybe He’s too busy to deal with whatever woe is twisting your heart.

There are plenty of stories in the Bible of God being silent. Job experienced His silence. So did Abraham as he planned to sacrifice Isaac. The Bible doesn’t record God talking to Joseph in prison, nor John the Baptist before his beheading. There are more examples of God’s silence than we may be comfortable exploring. In my own life, I’ve discovered God’s silence always tempts me to doubt. But sometimes I wonder if God’s silence could be  leading us to a richer, more varied experience with Him in surprising ways that we are not aware of.

If I was qualified to give someone else any advice I would say this; My best advice regarding a silent God is, keep praying, keep writing, keep reading, keep walking the path before you. Keep doing the things that have worked in the past (and will work again in the future). Know that we’ve all gone through these times of silence. Ultimately, this too shall pass. In the meantime, “be still and know” that God is there because the bible tells us that.

Grieving Over My Last Baby

Lucy

My Faithful Companion who I miss but will never forget

Passed from this life on January 28, 2015 at 15 years old

Oh how I miss this baby. I wish there was some way to still have her where I could love her and protect her. I didn't do a very good job of protecting her when she was with me or she would still be here. I asked God to give her back to me, but I guess God doesn't do something like that. I believe that God can do that if it was his will. If God was truly my Heavenly Father as the bible says, it would seem like he would fulfill his child's request. Why not? I'm so sorry that I let my baby go, even though she was very sick, I would prefer to even take care of her in her sickness. Is this being selfish? It might be, but I still would like to have her back. I loved her then and love her now. I talk to her every day as though she was still with me. Is this crazy? It might be but that's how grief works in a person who loses someone they love. I want her back! Please God, somehow give her back to me.

I can't get my Lucy Baby off my mind. I keep looking for her everywhere. I go thru the living room expecting to see her laying on my chair. I expect to see her walking through the door to sit with me. I miss taking her out in the back yard and because she is not here, I have no reason to go out the back door, oh God do I miss that baby. My heart is breaking because I think about her all the time. I miss her so much and feel so alone because she is not with me all the time like she always was. I want my baby to be back here with me. Please God give her back to me. I need her more than I ever thought I would. I feel so lost and don't know what to do without her following me around through the house. I feel like a piece of my heart has been ripped from me. Please give her back to me. You can do it, I know you can.

When we first got Lucy, I didn't want another dog, she was for my wife because she wanted a dog of her own and specifically wanted a Yorkie. Because of circumstances Lucy took to me because I did everything for her. She would follow me around the house and found everything that I did was interesting to her. For a long time Lucy would sleep with me in my bed, but she got to a point that she couldn't jump up in the bed anymore. Lucy was my third dog that I had my life consumed with. The first one was MiMi, a white poodle. Mimi lived for 17 years before she started having strokes real bad and was suffering real bad when we had to let her go. Then their was Baby who was a Shih Tzu. Baby had a lot of good years with us before she developed a number of things that were wrong with her. She developed arthritis so bad that she couldn't get up off the floor. Her eyesight got real bad as did her hearing. Then there was Lucy. I guess I developed more love for that little girl more than I had for all the rest of them.

Lucy became very sick. For a long time she must have had internal problems that caused her to emit an odor from her that was very sickening. The Vet said it was her teeth and gums causing the trouble. So I agreed to some dental work that cost $1000 and most of her front teeth were removed. Well I regretted that because it made her life miserable not being able to chew properly and to top it off, it didn't solve her problem about the odor. Then Lucy developed arthritis that was crippling her and her leg joints became crooked. Then she developed a tumor on her right flank that kept getting larger. But through all of this she still exhibited love and wanted nothing but love back.

Lucy wanted someone to love her, take care of her and protect her until she died normally, but I didn't let that happen and will regret that for the rest of my life. I will never forgive myself for not continuing to take care of her until she would die normally. She didn't want to die, all she wanted was our love and care that she deserved to get.

So many people use the term of putting their pet to sleep or putting them down, but those are just words they use to justify having their pet killed. I swore that I would never do that to Lucy, but circumstances caused me to do just that and I wish it would not have happened.

I loved that baby more than anyone can ever know. I hate myself for giving in to the pressure I felt to put her out of her suffering and now I am suffering for doing it.

I want Lucy back and will continue to plead with God to give her back to me as long as I have breathe to do it.

I had decided that it was necessary to take Lucy to the Vet. I wanted to give her everything she liked to make her feel good and feel loved. I began by taking her on a walk which she loved to do. After we returned I gave Lucy her favorite treat and sat down in the chair with her so I could hold her close to me. As I petted her and kissed her, she began to lick my hand as she always did. I felt real bad about that because she was expressing her love for me and was licking the hand of the person who was going to end her life. As I held her and talked to her I realized the tenseness in her body which I believe was tight and rigid because of the pain she was bearing.

When I was in the Vet's office , they gave her a sedative by way of a shot in her hind quarter which caused her extreme pain and she whelped and raised her little leg in pain. As she laid on my lap I could feel her little body relaxing from the tightness and tenseness that I had felt before at home and knew that she was relaxing from the joint pain she was suffering from. Then when she became completely relaxed, I saw her little tongue protruding from her mouth and just curling up in a circle and I almost cried right there because I knew the end of my baby was getting close. Why didn't I stop it right there when I could. Oh God I only wish I had of and took my baby back home. But I still thought this was for the best. I really wonder know who it was the best for. Certainly I don't really believe it was the best for anyone, especially Lucy.

How sad this was. I want her back so I can make it up to her.

My wife and I visited a breeder to look at the Yorkies she had for sale one day. The breeder brought out several little Yorkie puppies run around playing and I suggested to my wife that she choose a little fairly quiet one who wasn't engaged in the rowdy play. But she wouldn't have that and she chose the most active one who was chasing the other puppies around. She asked the breeder if they had named this certain one and they said her name was "killer". Oh my, I thought we were in for it then, so when we got her home she was given the name of Lucy.

Lucy and our other dog Baby eventually got along very well. They would sleep together in the same bed and groom each other. After the older dog Baby died, Lucy was very lonely because she didn't know where Baby went. All she knew was that Baby left the house with me and never returned.

On one of Lucy's walks after that she met two other smaller dogs that had moved in just 2 houses from us and they became her pals. She would stand outside of their house and look for them to come out every time we took a walk. When Lucy would go out in our backyard, she would look over at the house where these 2 dogs lived and bark for them to come out in their backyard and they would. They would talk back and forth to each other almost every day.

Then one day these 2 friends of her's moved away and she became very disappointed because she didn't see them in their yard. For over a year Lucy would continue to go out and bark for them to come out, but they didn't, although that didn't stop her from looking for them. So Lucy was alone again and I'm sure very sad that her friends were not there anymore.

I remember on that fateful day when I took her to the Vet and parked the fearful look she had on her face. I had never seen such a scared look on Lucy's face and wondered if she thought that would be her last day in this life. That frightened look on her face should have been all I needed to take her back home, but I didn't.

I saw all the signs that what I was doing was not right. Here was a baby that I loved dearly and here I was forcing her to face something that was very frightening to her and my heart was breaking apart because I was about to lose her.

What else can I say except I loved her very much and I would give anything to still have her. She depended on me to protect her and I didn't. My poor little Baby is gone and I hate it.

When a precious pet that you have, that you have cared for, protected and loved all their life is sick in any way, I can't believe they want you to put them to death. All they want is for you to continue to love them and continue to make their life as happy as you can. Whoever started the idea to alleviate their pain by putting them to death must have been sick in the head. A little love will alleviate a lot of pain. You shouldn't get the mindset that you are doing something good for them by having them put to death. Death, even for a precious pet comes soon enough for their short lives. Use whatever time that you have with them to love them, hold them close to you, give them a little enjoyment and a lot of care, that's all they want. Isn't that what we all would like if we were in pain? Just a continuation of our love and not death that we think is doing something good for them.

I wish that Lucy was still here so I could continue my love for her and do whatever I can for her to be as comfortable as possible in her infirmities as possible.

Lord, I miss my Lucy Baby so very much. I think about her all the time. I wish she was still with me.

I always look out the front door to see if she was coming down the street, that you had sent her back to me. I sit in my chair, looking out in the back yard hoping to see her standing outside of the fence waiting for me to come and get her.

Sometimes I picture in my head that when I leave this life and enter into the next one, I see a little Yorkie running towards me and saying Daddy, Daddy I've been looking for you everywhere. She would say: take me back home daddy, you were there when I went to sleep, but when I woke up you were gone. Please daddy, take me back home. Every time I think of that, tears just flow from my eyes.

I miss Lucy and still love her so much. Please Lord, send her back to me, I need her to love her and take care of her so much.

 I will continue this in the attached comments;



Remembering Mother

It's not just around "Mother's Day' that I think of my mother because she comes to mind quite often throughout the year. When I think of her, I don't linger on the bad things that occurred during her life that affected my life because she is still "My Mother". My memories are somewhat bitter sweet due to the fact that I wished our lives together would have been more stable than they were, but I know that life is filled with circumstances that affect us all in spite of the choices we could have made.

I did not have a traditional family life when I was growing up, having a Mother and Father living together to make a home for me because they were divorced when I was very young. It was because of a problem with my Dad drinking that my Mother decided to get a divorce. After all, it was not ingrained into her the value of a traditional family life with the parents raising their children, very possibly because my mother was raised in an orphanage herself, not familier with traditional family surroundings. Even though, I did not hold it against her for not trying to work out their problems because she was "My Mother"

For many years as I was growing up being raised by my grandparents, my mother lived a very tumultuous life as a divorced woman traveling around the country and engaging in a lifestyle that was not very pleasing to remember, but I don't remember her for that because she was still "My Mother". After I was grown and had a family of my own, realizing that their divorce had not been the best course of action when I was young, my Dad and Mother remarried and lived together for the rest of their lives.

After my Dad passed away, Mother spent many lonely and sad years alone, but found happiness being a part of my family and enjoying seeing her grandchildren growing up. It wasn't until she suffered a stroke during the last years of her life that the loneliness and sadness really set in for her that restricted her activity. Because of this I really felt saddened for her because she was still "My Mother".

During those last ten years of her life as she struggled to live her life in spite of her disability from the stroke she suffered, I tried to make her life as easy for her as I could, but I know that there was a whole lot more that I could have done for her because after all, she was "My Mother".

I don't ever remember being disrespectful or dishonorable towards her or holding it against her because of the loss of my having a regular family life because of the divorce and I don't resent what happened during all those years, because she was "My Mother" and the only one that I had. After all, I see it that God gave me to her for a reason, so should I resent what God made to happen? I don't think so!

Now all that I have left is my memories since she is gone and my memories usually consist of my sadness because of not doing more to make my mother's life life worth living than what I did.

So this might not sound like much of a tribute to my mother, but after all she was "MY Mother" and have always felt love in my heart for her and always will.

This is for you Mother, to be an everlasting memory & tribute from your Son.

Thelma M.Cox, 

1914 to 1989

The United States, Living a Lie

We call ourselves the United States, but in reality we are more divided than we ever have been since we were founded. Divided by politics, race, gender, morality and purpose of life.

We have inscribed on our currency “In God We Trust” and that’s a lie because if we really trusted in God, we would believe the words of God in the Bible. So we are really living a lie and that motto of “In God we trust” should be removed from our currency.

God said that “the people draw near to me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me”. This is a perfect picture of what this country has become. We pass laws that to kill unborn babies and promote homosexuality is legal and here we are, on the downward slope leading to destruction. But nobody really believes that the United States will fall, because we don’t really believe the words of God.

The Bible tells us that in the days of Noah before the flood, mankind lived their lives according to whatever was right in their own eyes and not according to God’s words. For this, every creature except for Noah’s family were destroyed from the face of the Earth. God has said this will happen again, not by water but by fire.

The Bible tells us that in the days of Abraham, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire. This is exactly what will happen to the United States because this Country has become what Sodom and Gomorrah was. A Preacher by the name of William Branham prophesied about this coming to pass, except he got the time wrong. Sometimes when God gives a man insight into a future event going to occur, man mistakenly puts his own timetable to it. That doesn’t mean that God didn’t show it to him.

Then there is the City of Los Angeles, supposed to be the City of Angels, but is in reality a bastion of Hell which represents to the World as being the centerpiece of the State of California. It might be a city of angels, but not the angels of God. More than likely it is a city controlled by the angels that God drove out of Heaven because they were the followers of Satan. The same angels that were instrumental in polluting the minds of those who lived during the time of Noah. Those who were responsible for causing the people to do what they determined was right in their own minds and the reason that God destroyed that generation of evil doers.

Once again we see that God gave a man by the name of William Branham a vision about California sliding off into the Sea because of a large earthquake. Here again this man got the vision and the prophecy right, but appeared to fail because he set his own timetable to it.

Now we have come to a place where we have elected a Muslim to be our President and after he showed us in his first four years what damage he could do, we gave him four more years to disgrace us in the eyes of the World.

What next? Are we foolish enough to elect this woman, Hillary Clinton to be the next President? God forbid.

The Bible tells us that God prepared the Lake of Fire of Hell for the devil and his angels because of their sin against Him, but He has enlarged hell to accommodate those who have not believed His Word. That’s you and I unless we repent of the evil that we allow in this Country. But most of us don’t really believe that, do we? Oh what a day that will be.

Mutual Respect

We all, no matter who we are or what we’ve done deserve a certain amount of respect because we are fellow human beings and have like feelings.

People are entitled to their opinions and should be free to do so as long as they articulate their feelings with respect for others. But when people decide to share their opinions in a way that is meant to hurt another person's feelings, or to damage another person’s reputation or character, that is when they become haters.

When others say things about you that are demeaning or disrespectful, I know it hurts. I know it stings. I know how you feel when they say these things. BUT, keep your head up. Don’t look down because in the future. It'll be you, wearing the Crown.

One should always respect our elders and seniors and treat them with respect and courtesy. The bible says, “Do unto others as you want others to do unto you.” If you respect your elders, your juniors will surely respect you. If you don’t, then they won’t. What goes around usually comes around.

Thinking about my Dad

As we approach Father’s day, thoughts of my Dad have increasingly come to mind. He has been gone now for 40 years, but not hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about him. Dad was a kind and soft spoken man and was liked by all that knew him. He was known around town by a lot of people because he worked as a public servant most of his life. Because he was so well known, some of those people call me by his name and that makes me feel good about him and proud that they remember him.

Dad never had much like wealth and possessions during his life and never envied those that did, because he was happy with what little that he did have. Dad never owned his own home and until the last few years of his life he never ever owned an automobile. Those things were never at the top of his most important possessions.

Dad was a believer in God, but I don’t remember him ever going to Church. Not that it is important for a person to attend Church because that doesn’t have anything to do with being a believer.

As we approach this day when we celebrate Father’s day, I will celebrate the memories of you Dad. I have missed you all of these years and wish that you were still here. I know where you reside now Dad and hope that God will have mercy on me and allow me to come to where you are.

In memory of my Father with thoughts of Love

Roda H. Cox Jr.

1913 to 1972

A True Preacher Sent from God?

Called to Preach

Throughout our nation there are hundreds, if not thousands of churches and pastors that have differences in the doctrines they teach their congregations. Each one of us seek a church to attend where we see and hear those things being taught that appear to be truth and what we consider to be a message from God.

The Bible teaches us that a person must be called of God and sent by God to preach or teach the meaning of his Word and if they are not called and sent by God, they should be considered false preachers and teachers.

Rom 10:15   “And how shall they preach, unless they are sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

If all the preachers and evangelists in the world that say they have been called of God to preach and teach, really were called and sent by Him, they would be teaching the same mes­sage and in all cases saying the same things? Just as Paul instructed those in Corinth to “speak the same thing”. It stands to reason that they would and there would be no differences in their doctrines.  Because of this it is evident that all of these people are not sent by God to preach and teach. Most certainly it does say that to us. Then knowing that we are being instructed by false teachers, how can we tell which is which? Which ones God has sent and which ones have not been sent. The scriptures say that the Lord sent preachers and teachers to bring us into the unity of the faith. How can our bible teachers keep us in the unity of the faith when they all teach different things?

Eph 4:11-13  “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”; [12] “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”: [13] “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”:

We read in our Bible, specifically in Ephesians 4:5, that there is “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. This one Lord would be speaking the same thing to all of his people and by way of those teachers He has sent, would be teaching us the principles of the “one faith”.

Satan set out in the Garden of Eden to deceive Eve and cause her to fall out of the will of God and he succeeded. He was so successful doing this in the beginning that he has continued now for thousands of years and is even more subtle now than he was then. For in this day, he does not appear to us in the form of a beast of the field, but in the form of a minister. Can you believe that?  Will you believe what the Bible says? And if you do not believe this, then read what it says in 2nd Corinthians 11:14-15.

“Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” and his ministers are transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

Yes his ministers will pay for the errors they teach because of being so deceived, but that is not the worst part, so will those innocent followers that are being misguided by their false teachings.

So what can we do? How can we be certain that a person truly sent by God is teaching us? The Lord said that in the last days, the false teaching would be so close to the truth that it could deceive even the elect. And I say to you, if you do not follow the leading of the Spirit and keep His Word, you will not be able to tell which is the truth and which is false. For Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth and teach you.

Note exactly what was stated in the above paragraph. It is absolutely imperative to keep His Word. There is only one truth and that is His Word as He spoke it in the beginning, just as He gave it to His Prophets and Apostles. We cannot depend on what any man teaches us, without determining if it lines up with the original scriptures. We each, as individuals, have the responsibility to insure that we know what the truth is and hold to that truth, just as He gave it to them in the beginning.

Now even in the days of Jesus, the apostles could do nothing unless Jesus ordained them and sent them. Does the Bible not say that He gave them power against unclean spirits, to heal all sickness and disease and to preach the gospel? And when the twelve apostles went out, they did all these things because He sent them. There were definite signs that followed them confirming their ministry.

Mat 10:7-8 “And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [8] “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.”

Some time later, Jesus also sent out seventy more of his disciples to preach the gospel, cast out devils and heal the sick. They also were successful in doing these things because He sent them and those same signs confirmed their calling.

Luke 10:17   “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through your name.”

After the resurrection of Jesus, He commissioned His Apostles to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. But He also said to them, wait in the city of Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon you, and then you will have the power to accomplish the task I am sending you to do. Now the Greek word “dunamis,” which was translated into the English word “power,” actually means “miracle-working power.” Jesus knew that they would need this miracle working power for their ministry to be effective as it was when He sent them out before. The powers to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out devils.

Acts 1:4   “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, you have heard of me.” Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” Acts 1:8 “And you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

It’s the same today. He must send you and you must be baptized with the Holy Spirit in order to have the power to do the works He is sending you to do. If the signs are not following a person’s ministry, as they were in the apostle’s days, then the Lord has not sent that person.

In the third chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord says “I will give you pastors according to my heart”. And again in Romans 10:15, Paul says, “How shall they preach, unless they are sent?” The Lord God will confirm the ministry of those he sends to preach, with signs and wonders and all those he sends will speak the same message, if they stay true to their calling.

On the day of Pentecost, after they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, Peter gave his first sermon to the Jewish people. The very first day three thousand people were converted, not because that was the first time they had been preached to, but because the Holy Spirit confirmed Peter’s calling with many signs and wonders.

Acts 2:43   “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”

There are a lot of men called to preach in this day, but how many of them have been call­ed by the Lord and sent to preach? Can you tell if the Lord has sent a man or not? In some cases you can because they are so far off of the Word and have no signs following their ministry, it is obvious that they have not been sent.

But in other cases, there are those that are so close to the truth, maybe just a little bit off or just changing the meaning a little bit, that you will not be able to detect it unless you have the Holy Spirit confirming God’s Word to you. Nothing will take the place of your own personal confirmation of the truth of the Word by the Holy Spirit.

How does a person know for himself/herself personally if they have been called by the Lord into the ministry? The answer to that is if you have any doubt at all, then God has not called you. Let us look back into history and see how God has called people into service before.

God called Moses by speaking to him from a burning bush and confirmed his call to the people with certain signs. Moses knew from an early age that he had been called of God for a certain work, but it was very late in his life before he was sent to do that work. He first had to be prepared by God for that ministry, which was done after spending 40 years in the wilderness. Moses was called, prepared and sent by God.

God called Gideon by sending an angel messenger to him and confirmed that call with certain signs.

Paul the Apostle heard the voice of the Lord in a bright light and God confirmed his call with a sign of prophecy being fulfilled. Paul received his call, but was not sent out to preach until he had received the baptism of the Spirit and prepared himself for three years to do the Lord’s work. Many signs and wonders followed Paul’s ministry. (Acts 15:12)

The twelve apostles were called by Jesus personally, but were told to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit before they started their ministry. Only with the power of God performing signs and wonders in their ministry would it be effective. The confirmation of your being sent by God, with signs and wonders following your ministry, is necessary for it to accomplish God’s will.

Many others in the Bible received their calling as God spoke through His prophets. Others God spoke to directly or through angels. I believe that when God calls a person into service, it is as clear as any other instruction someone in authority gives you. Many men in this day use the scriptures as the sign of their calling and say when they read a certain passage that God was telling them to start preaching. There has probably been many a man called into the ministry, but the man, instead of waiting for God to send him out, thought that he was ready and impatiently started on his own, only to fail because he did not wait for the anointing from God.

What are the signs that will follow the ministry of one who has been called into service by the Lord? This is very important for all believers to know in order to recognize that a person has been sent by the Lord to minister to his children. If we follow one who has not been commissioned by the Lord, it will be like the blind leading the blind and both will fall into the ditch.

In Matthew, the 11th chapter, Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist to go tell John certain things that would convince him that God had sent Jesus.

He said to tell John about the things they saw happening; the blind were receiving their sight, the lame were walking, lepers were being cleansed, the deaf were receiving their hearing and the dead were being raised. Without the evidence of those signs and wonders, John would not have been convinced that Jesus was the sent one.

When Jesus sent his twelve apostles out to preach to the Israelites, He gave them power to do those same miracles that He was doing. Without those signs following their ministry, the people would not believe that they were sent by God and would not hear the message being prea­ched to them. For the miracles were to get the people’s attention and cause them to believe that God had sent them out to preach.

If those same signs are not following man’s ministry today, how can we be sure that God has commissioned him to preach the gospel?  We cannot be sure!

Look at the story of Moses in the 4th chapter of Exodus. Moses told God that he did not think the people would believe him no matter what he said, so God gave Moses some signs to prove to the people that He had sent him. The same must be true today; signs and wonders being performed in Jesus’ name will evidence the proof of God’s calling.

The Lord said in John 10:27 that His sheep will hear His voice and will follow Him. Today we hear many voices saying they are of God. They say believe this, go this way, do these things, abstain from certain other things. How can we be sure that we are listening to the right voice? Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus never changes. He is the same today as He was then. He is doing the same things, preaching the same gospel and performing the same miracles to prove the calling of those that have been ordained by God. 

Heb 13:8   “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

Mal 3:6   “For I <am> the LORD, I [change not]; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

Man not only has a responsibility to be sure that he is called by God to preach before he enters the pulpit, but he also has a responsibility to insure that what he is preaching is the truth of God’s Word.

Just because the Bible has been handed down to us through the past generations and we have been told that it is the Word of God, does not relieve us of the responsibility of insuring that what it contains is the truth of God’s Word. A person would not pick up any other book and believe everything it says without reservation, unless he researched it to the best of his ability and felt confident about what it said.

So knowing that man, who is not infallible, has translated the original scriptures into another language that we can understand, we owe it to God and to those who we are to teach, that what we are teaching is identical to what the original scriptures said.

Just as Paul the Apostle told Timothy to study to show himself approved, so must all other men who believe they have been called to preach God’s Word. If every preacher living today studied God’s Word to insure that what he was teaching was identical to the original scriptures, we all would be in the unity of the faith today and these diverse doctrines that have divided God’s people would not exist.

There is a difference between being called of God to preach and being sent by God. In between the calling and sending is a period of consecration and preparation.

The apostles were not ready to be sent out when they first received their call from the Lord. There was a period of learning the Word as they followed Jesus during His ministry. There was a period of consecration after His crucifixion and resurrection, when they determined in their hearts that His Word was in fact true and determined to consecrate their lives to the ministry of His Word. Only then were they prepared to receive the anointing of the Spirit and be sent out to perform His work.

It is not enough just to be called of God and then start out to preach the gospel. All men are not called to preach, some are called to do other things. After God’s calling, a person must determine what God has called them to do and prepare himself for that specific work. First, it takes consecration, preparing yourself to give all you have to the calling you have received. When you are prepared, then God will give you the power necessary to fulfill your calling by His anointing upon you. Then, and only then are you ready to be sent out to do the work He has called you to do.

If God has called a man to preach the gospel as He did the apostles, then He will give that man the same thing the apostles received and signs and wonders will confirm his calling. If these signs and wonders do not follow his ministry, then he either was not called to preach or he did not properly prepare himself to be sent out. Too many times man gets in a hurry to do what he thinks God has called him to do before he is properly prepared.  He fails to wait for God to anoint him for the work and send him out into a ministry.

Nowhere in the Bible did the Lord ever send a man to preach the gospel without confirming his calling with signs and wonders following his ministry. In John 10:37, it is recorded that Jesus said: “If I do not the works of my father, believe me not.” Why shouldn’t that apply to any man that says God sent him? Should it be any different now? The answer is absolutely not.