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" Reaching The Harvest One Person At A Time "
International Ministries of Last Call, Inc
8311 N E Zac Lentz Parkway Unit
Victoria, TX 77904
ph: 601 324 1240
I SHALL BELIEVEI want to start this message off with a beautiful analogy borrowed from a book I read.Resolution For Women.Written by: Prescilla Shirer.She starts off by telling the story about her and hersons playing on some property behind there house,During their time of exploration they came to a ravine where a tree log had fallen across the water.The kids suddenly made a thrilling discovery of how fun it was to balance themselves on the log and see who could walk across to the other side without falling off.She states that she sat down in a patch of dried leaves and was amused just to watch them play, but of course that was not good enough, no not at all, mom had to play the game with them...She sounded like she was not sure of the idea, but to make her boys happy she started out on her journey across the log, everything going well until about midway she heard a pop and a crack and down she went into the ravine.Now borrowing some of her own words, here is the analogy of her story.There on the ground I sat completely stunned. It had all happened so fast, it took me a moment to regain my composure. But after clammering to my feet, dusting myself off, and looking back at the splintered remains of the tree trunk scattered along the ground, it was clear what the problem had been.Despite the rough, thick bark that made it appear so strong and secure on the outside, this fallen log now with it's insides exposed, showed just how rotten it was.Decay and deterioration had set in over time, which was likely what had caused it to collapse in the first place.Now when the boys walked across it, their tiny bodies hadn't been enough pressure to reveal it weaknesses.But When I stepped onto it with an adult weight, it could not bear it. There wasn't enough resiliency on the inside to match its appearance on the outside.It could not stand under the pressure because it lacked integrity.I'm repeating this story because it is the perfect analogy of how the pressures and trials we face in life will always reveal the truth about whats inside of us.Many of us can stand strong when problems in life are small and less stressful, but when we are faced with the problems and situations in our life that break us, we break and fall to pieces under the pressure.Now when we are broken there is one of two things that can happen, either we reveal our rottoness, and loose heart and faith in God, and get angry and rebel, or we turn our own eyes to see inside ourselves and allow God to reveal to us our weaknesses, so that we can deal with them, and use this time of brokeness to allow God's healing to take place in us.Over and over again the bible unfolds story after story of men and women who were tested under the pressure of circumstance and situations that warred against there very destiny of what God had called them to.From Noah, to Abraham, to Joseph,to Daniel, to David, to Job....and from John the Baptist, to Peter and Paul, just to name a few.But I'm here today to tell you that the truths of these stories have never stopped producing the attributes of Christ in us... who we truly are in Him is being revealed one pressure at a time, one test at a time, and the key is to allow it to build us up and make us stronger in our faith.Your flesh man desires to run away, or to escape it, even sometimes become hard hearted and full of rebelliousness that can rot our spirit and seperate us from God and His promises for us.I do not know today what kind of tree you are, or what you've been through that has made you strong or frail and faint of heart, but I do know that regardless of your situation right now God has sent me to remind you that your faith in Him can be enough to bring you through.Just as he helped Noah build the ark and survive the flood, and to Abraham his promise finally came, to Joseph every dream was fulfilled, and to Daniel He brought out of the lions den, To David whom He made king...and to Job who lost everything he restored a hundred fold.Numbers 23:19God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old.The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.Isaiah 57:13When you cry out for help,
let your collection of idols save you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.”Isaiah 58:66 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.This is what you will come to see when you are broken, you will see and feel the effects of your faults and failures, but in that realization we must come to understand that Jesus will not leave us there.
And neither will He allow us to thrive in selfish motives and desires, for it is when we see we are His hands reaching outward and align our hearts to give, true integrity rises within us, for then Jesus Himself can be revealed.
Now let me bring all this together in relationship with the story about the log, to the writer of the story, all she saw was the the rottonness of the inside that could no longer serve its purpose in letting her cross safely to the other side, but in reality maybe it did and was still serving it's purpose even in it's present state.
It was serving the purpose of God even in its brokenness because it allowed her the opportunity to hear what God wanted her to convey about it.
Samson failed God in several accounts of disobedience, and yes he was completely overtaken by the enemie, but here is the key, God never failed Sampson, and as soon as Sampson realized God was still with him, He took down more enemies in his fallen state than in his greatest moments of victory.
Can I tell you today that the present conflict shall be counted as trivial in the light of the mighty triumph that is to come.
For Jesus has come to light your way, clearing the path to your God called destiny in Him.
Your obstacles He will make your stepping stones.
Let Jesus be revealed in you today, you need not fear nor be dishearted in whatever present state you are in.For the Lord your God is on your side, His promises are as the sand of the sea.Put all of your hope and trust in Him, for He will not fail you.What is it that you need from Him today?Look to Him, IN FAITH, BELIEVING, and I assure you,He will supply, He will bring to you life and strength and surround you and preserve you.His name alone will lift the weariest heart from despair and fill your seeking soul to the utmost of the overflow.He Believes in you, He loves you right where you are,Go ahead and release your faith and say .................LORD I BELIEVE !!!
International Ministries of Last Call, Inc
8311 N E Zac Lentz Parkway Unit
Victoria, TX 77904
ph: 601 324 1240