Ministering To The Lord

Our theme verse for this message is 1 John 4:19 LEB

19 We love, because he first loved us.

Where Is The Lord? We live in a time where many are far from the Lord. And many say that God doesn’t answer. Where is the manifestation of the power of God?

But Jesus prayed that we would be one in them in John 17:21 LEB

21 that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they also may be in us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me.

There was a time in Israel’s history when “the word of Yahweh was rare”, “visions were not widespread”.

1 Samuel 3:1 LEB

1 Now the boy Samuel was serving Yahweh in the presence of Eli. The word of Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

You know this account. Three times the Lord spoke and three times Samuel and three times Samuel went to Eli because in 1 Samuel 3:7 LEB

7 Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him.

but them, Samuel recognizes the Lord and responds in 1 Samuel 3:10 LEB

10 Then Yahweh came and stood there and called out as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, because your servant is listening.”

The Lord had been there the whole time, yet Samuel had not known the voice of the Lord. There was also a time with Jesus disciples where they began to hear the voice of the Lord and this is what was said about our day, the time after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem in Acts 2:16–18 LEB

16 But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it will be in the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

18 And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

This is the kind of relationship God wants us to have with him. Is this what we are experiencing?

How Do We Know The Lord?

We may think of God of God the way we think of other people. We may think of God as far off and detached.

He says he is “discerned clearly” in Romans 1:20–21 LEB

20 For from the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, both his eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

We can’t know him if all of our attention is on the things of this world, wealth, status, influence. He say they, the people of the world, have exchanged the truth for a lie in Romans 1:25 LEB

25 who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen.

But we get a glimpse of God by looking at how they respond to him in heaven in Revelation 4:8–11 LEB

8 And the four living creatures, each one of them, had six wings apiece, full of eyes around and inside, and they do not have rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God All-Powerful, the one who was and the one who is and the one who is coming!”

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever,

10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and put down their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”

God is worthy of glory, honor, power. The truth is, we know the Lord because he wants us to. He loved us in 1 John 4:19 LEB

19 We love, because he first loved us.

There is an old story about President Lincoln - it is said that a very elderly woman made an appointment to see him one afternoon. As she entered the President's office, he arose, and seated her, and asked, “How may I be of service to you madam?”