Once again I was reassured in knowing that God's Word is going forth in FULL FORCE, and there are MANY great pastors delivering His message.
Today's church was the smallest of all that I've visited, but the Praise and Worship was just as mighty as you'd find at any "Megachurch."
Before service begins, the pastor greets and shakes hands with the congregation. After service, he stands outside and again greets folks as they are leaving. That's such a nice personal touch.
Today's message was one that I needed to hear. It was titled, "Knowing the Voice of God," and although I haven't shared many notes before, I wanted to share a few that I jotted down today.
"My obedience to God is predicated on being able to hear His voice."
"In order to KNOW His voice, I must BELONG to Him."
That's makes total sense! For example...my kids know MY voice because they belong to me and have heard it all their lives. On the flip side, I know my children's voices because THEY are mine.
When they were small we could be at a park, or any place with lots of children, yet when MINE called out, I knew exactly whose voice I was hearing and knew to go to them. Same with God. Because I am His, and BELONG to Him by way of His Son, He KNOWS my voice.
This next one is HUGE...
"Knowing the voice of God comes by knowing the Word of God."
Yes, yes and YES!
Because God speaks to us through His Word, I must stay IN His Word (studying/reading/meditating) in order to hear from Him.
"Observe ALL of what Jesus Himself spoke and taught."
That simply means, pay attention to all of the "red letter" wording which represents Jesus speaking, and do all that He has commanded and instructed.
"When I am unsure about whether I'm hearing from God, or myself, or the enemy...PRAY."
Yes...PRAY and ask for WISDOM as stated in James 1:5-6.
That passage of Scripture hit me like a ton of bricks. It reads like this:
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
The key is, "...you must believe and not doubt..."
God knows when I am doubting Him, so why would he grant me what I am asking if He knows that in my heart I don't believe He will do it.
Instead, I must ask in FAITH and NOT doubt.
So yeah.
That was my visitation experience at Arise Christian Center. I hope to go back one day.
Oh, and now that I have recently learned how to add links to my posts, I'm going to go ahead and add the links to the other churches that I have visited thus far. I may not have them in the right order, but they're all here.
- Rhema Word Bible Church - Long Beach, CA.
- Carrollton Avenue Baptist Church - New Orleans, LA
- Victory Institutional Baptist Church - Hawthorne, CA
- City of Refuge Church - Gardena, CA
- Faith Tabernacle United Holy Church of America - Washington DC (no website)
- Glory Christian Fellowship International - Carson, CA
- Light & Life (North) - Long Beach, CA
- Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church - Los Angeles, CA
That's all for now.
I am greatly looking forward to the next church that God will lead me to visit (by way of my bowl.)
It's late, so Let the DIALOGUE begin: When was the last time YOU heard from God...and how did you KNOW it was Him?
Talk to me!
Til next time...
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