"Because He Is LORD"

"Yea, they will sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD." (Psalms 138:5)

  You do know that He is ultimately the one that is in control, right? I heard a message yesterday that reminded me of my very first message, it was the one I gave to a class of High School kids, and it was taken from the Gospel of John, Chapter 4, Verse 4; focusing upon the word, "must." I do recall that there were some anxious parents after I was done, because I did go a few minutes over the regular service down the hall; but it seemed really important at the time that they understood the message. The point was that of walking in the ways of the Lord; something that requires a 'must' attitude to accomplish doing, because there are too many chances we get to do something, where we say, maybe, or, I will try, or even, if I feel like it. Jesus was only a 'must' kind of Man! He was all about, "I must do the will of the Father that sent me!" On my living room wall I have a tapestry that was made by several mothers at our church. They made this when Pastor Bill and the elders had decided to move the church from Palo Cedro to the City of Shasta Lake; which was really a bold 'must' kind of a move; one that caused us to loose a few members, most of which were those that helped support the church. Anywho, the tapestry is based upon the this portion of Scripture, where Jesus tells His disciples, "Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already while for the harvest." (John 4:35b) A few things went a little wrong in my life back then: I made several wrong choices, and must have taken too much time listening to the wrong voice. But that is a message for some other time; because this message is about the right way to listen, which is to listen to the Holy Spirit, not the flesh! David, having been the king, knew a little something about what it was like to listen to the LORD. More than just a few times, he did not even make a move until he heard whether or not it was the right move to make. There were also several times when he moved without hearing from the LORD; and even a few times when he refused to listen to the LORD, but chose instead to listen to his flesh. This Psalm must have been written towards the end of his life, because David had learned a few things about how God works, and how He works all things together for good, to them that love Him, and are called according to His purpose...

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)