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Volume 8 ... #27
Waiting on God
There are waiting periods for us where we just keep ourselves ready ... then the Word comes to us and we move out.
In Exodus, God led HIS people out of Egypt... There were very visible signs whereby the people knew when to go forward and when to remain still.
Ex. 13 ... 20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Numbers 9 ... 15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
18 At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. 19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not.
20 And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed. 21 And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22 Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23 At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
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John the Baptist was that prophesied Elias who would come before the Messiah was revealed to the children of Israel.
At the time of his birth, a very strong prophecy was spoken over John the Baptist as follows.
Lk. 1 ... 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare HIS ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto HIS people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
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Then when it was time, the Word came to John and John the Baptist came forth from the wilderness to the people of God.
Lk. 3 ... (when Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea) the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make HIS paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
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There was an exact time of God for this to happen ... and when it was time, "the word of God came to John in the wilderness" and THAT WORD brought John forth.
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I find exactly the same thing today ... there is a time for the work ...
Until God speaks, bringing me forth, I can do nothing.
In 1979, I closed my secular business "to go into the ministry." I had no where to go and no specific direction. I just stayed at my apartment and studied Bible. The business closed July 31 ... I had to wait for the next 6 months ...
On January 10, 1980, I was asleep in the night and a trumpet like voice awoke me with three words: "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"
When I heard that voice, which I believe to have been the voice of an angel of God speaking, I prayed immediately:
"God ... are YOU telling me to go on radio? I wouldn't know how to do that."
A very gentle response came to me in form of a thought: "Call the radio station manager."
That morning I called the station KWJS and told manager that God might be showing me to go on radio and I asked "how would you do that", and manager told me to make audition tape 29 1/2 minutes long and send it to him and if I fit their broadcasting they would offer me a contract.
I made the tape that same morning and mailed it that same day to the station manager.
Within 5 days I was broadcasting on radio station KWJS.
Twenty two years later, I found myself in a waiting period again. I just stayed at my home and didn't try to do anything. I read Bible and prayed. At the end of 7 months, God gave me a dream. In the dream there was a woman singing. I said, "It's a little voice ... but it's a nice little voice." All of a sudden I knew this was a blog. I called Pam Padgett, who had been a computer programmer at FedEx and asked her if she could set up a blog for us. Though she didn't know anything about blogs, she prayed and saw how to do this and within 3 days we were publishing exhortations daily on a blog: Jesus Ministries Exhortations.
To me, all this is like the story in the book of Numbers in Old Testament.
When a cloud was over the tabernacle, they did not journey ... When the cloud lifted they moved.
If you don't know what to do, just wait, doing nothing.
When the time is of God, HE will show you and then move immediately.
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