"When God Is Silent"

"On that day, a servant came to Job. The servant said, ‘Your oxen (farm animals)

were ploughing. And the donkeys (small horses) were eating together.  But then,

people from the nation called Sabea attacked. They took the animals. And they

 killed all your servants. I alone escaped to tell you.’   While that servant was still

speaking, another servant arrived. This other servant said, ‘Fire came down from

 God in heaven! The fire burned your sheep. And the fire burned your servants. I

alone escaped to tell you.’   While this servant was still speaking, another

  servant arrived. This next servant said, ‘People came from the nation called

Chaldea. There were three groups. They stole your camels. They killed your

servants.  I alone escaped to tell you.’   While he was still speaking, one more

servant arrived. This last servant said, ‘Your sons and daughters were in your

 oldest son’s house. They were eating together. And they were drinking wine.  But

then, a great wind blew from the desert. It was so strong that the house fell down.

 Everybody died. I alone escaped to tell you." 

And Satan caused Job to have spots on his body. The spots were sore. And the

spots were on every part of Job’s body.  Job took a piece of pot, which he rubbed

 against the spots. And Job sat on the ground, on the ash heap."

(Job 1-2)

The suffering of Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ understands suffering; He understands pain; He was no stranger to injustice; He knows what it means to be misunderstood; He comprehends mocking  ...  The Lord was with Job in his nine months of suffering.  Job lost all of his cattle, all of his servants, all of his children, all of his assets, and then he lost his health with boils covering his entire body.  Job's wife said, "Curse God and die."  But, Job told her that she spoke as a foolish woman. 

Job was a righteous man, and this was a test.  A test?  Yes, a test; satan approached God and God told satan that Job was a righteous man, that he was his servant and that there was no one else in the world like him.  Then, satan told God that Job served Him, God, because he was rich and had many assets, and that it was because God protected him.  God allowed satan to attack everything in Job's life, but told him that he could not take his life.  This occurred and satan came against him with fury; Job endured this horror for nine months.  If this was not enough, Job's three so-called friends came on the scene and accused him of being sinful, telling him that was why he was going through this.  Of course, this was untrue; Job was a righteous man, and he knew it  ...  Job went through all this  ...  And God was silent.

God finally spoke those powerful words of "Where were you...?"  He brought everything into perspective for Job, because poor Job had gotten to the broken place in his unbelievable pain and suffering to say that he wished he had not been born, and God, in so many words, informed Job that He, God, was in full control of Job's life.  Job was restored, with more than he had before, in assets, in children, in servants, and in wealth.  But, Job passed the test; he never accused God falsely.  Oh, he complained, and moaned and wished he had not been born, but who could blame him?  The main thing is Job never lost his faith in God. 

What about you?  What's going on when you feel God is silent?  Does He care?  Does He know what you're going through?  Is it a test for you?  Does God still test His own?  Oh, it's no doubt that we still battle satan, just like Job did; we still are tested; we still go through times when God is silent.  Why?  This walk with God is a walk of faith; sometimes He just says, "Trust Me."  Well, do we tell our own little children things they can't possibly understand? No, we love them through it.  If we jumped every time our own children whined, we would end up with brats.  Sometimes, we explain things to our kids, and teens, but they still don't get it.  We wring our hands, pray our prayers, stay up nights  ...  "so are we" to our Father God.  Some things we won't understand until we get to the other side; some things we understand later down the road; some things are just "Wait."  There are three answers we get from God: Yes, No, and Wait.  And, sometimes, we grow in Him by searching to find Him, by sitting at His feet in prayer, by fasting, by times in the desert, by times by the brook, by times in prisons of worldly injustice, like what Joseph suffered, having been accused falsely.  Sometimes, God does not remove the storm, but carries us through it, and sometimes it's a refiner's fire. 

Through it all, we must keep the faith, and remember this life is not all there is; we have an eternity to live  ...  earth is just a precursor to our forever.  If we live long enough, every one of us has some Job-like experiences, maybe not as severe, but to us they feel severe.  We don't give up when God is silent; we know that the scriptures say that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  And, we're told we must "endure" to the end.  That word "endure" means to "hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding."  God is always working in our behalf behind the scenes, even when we can't see it.

Fight on, children!  Worship Him in the good times; worship Him in the bad times; worship Him when you feel like it; worship Him when you have no strength left; worship Him in the morning; worship Him in the evening  ...  Worship Him!  Joy Comes In the Morning!  God is never really silent; His Word screams what He thinks, who He IS, and what He feels  ...  His whisper comes through the gentle breezes; His comfort comes through the Holy Ghost and fire; His arms hold us through our brothers and sisters; His song speaks through the voice of His singers  ...  We can hear Him, see Him, feel Him, touch Him through everything and everyone around us.  He's a lion at times, a lamb at times, but He's always a Savior.  He's only silent if we're not listening  ...

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.)

Pastor Kenneth Phillips

(God's voice, hands, and feet in earth)

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas

Services Sunday 10:30 am and Wednesday 7:15 pm

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"Speak to the Rock"

"Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink."

(Numbers 20:8)

"And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham,

unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused

thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."

(Deuteronomy 34:4)

The first time the children of Israel needed water, the Lord told Moses to "strike" the rock (Exodus 17:6), which Moses did, and the waters gushed out as God said they would.  But, later when the situation occurred again, and they needed water, God told Moses to "speak" to the rock (Numbers 20:8), but Moses disobeyed and he "struck" the rock.  Because of this "mistake," God told Moses in the verse above that he could see the land promised to him, but he could not enter it.  "Whoa!" you say, "Just because of one little thing wrong, God punished him so harshly?"  Yep.  We currently live in what is called the dispensation of Grace; if not for that, we would be in severe trouble, considering the "Sin" now parading before the Holy eyes of God.  God expects people to listen when He speaks, and He expects people to obey Him  ...  He IS God  ...

It was at Meribah that Moses struck the rock, instead of speaking to it, as God had instructed.  "Meribah" means 'quarreling.'  The children of Israel had been murmuring and arguing with Moses and Aaron about the lack of water and food, so Moses was fed up, to say the least.  No doubt, in his anger and frustration, he rashly disobeyed God's orders.  We're no different than Moses; we do things in frustration and anger that we possibly wouldn't do otherwise.  But, the same rules still apply.  DON'T go out and do something out of impatience and/or anger, and Sin!  The definition of Sin is "transgression of divine law; or the willful violation of a religious or moral principle; a lapse, or a great offense."  The Holy Bible says clearly what Sin is, and that those who do those things will not enter the kingdom of God.  

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,

uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,

wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,

and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time

past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

(Galatians 5:19-21)

"Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be

not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,

nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,

 nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were

some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified,  but ye were justified

 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."

(I Corinthians 6:9-11)

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things

rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God

gave them over to shameful lusts.  Even their women exchanged natural relations

 for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with

women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent

acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." 

(Romans 1:25-28) 

 It's pretty strong, isn't it?  We need to all look at these scriptures closely, and tell ourselves the truth.  You know, sometimes, we tell ourselves something is "ok," when we know deep down that it isn't.  We've all done it at some time or another, but that's why the Lord Jesus Christ suffered, bled, died, and rose again.  It is so that WE can rise again; we can be washed by the blood of the lamb; we can be cleansed of all unrighteousness and stand before the Lord knowing that our eternal future will be holy and beautiful, and not damnation.  We must be mindful that "THIS" life is not all there is; there is an eternity that is more real than this.  Our seventy or eighty years here in earth is nothing compared to eternity, which will begin for all of us  ... somewhere  ...  We are running out of time; you know it; even if you are not so-called spiritual, you know that the clock is winding down, and we must all be ready.  The Lord will come as a thief in the night  ...  for something of value  ...

We have to ask ourselves, Are we "striking" the rock, instead of "speaking" to it?  Huh?  Are we doing things that our conscience tells us is wrong?  You say, "Everybody else is doing it, and they seem to be prospering and doing well; nothing's happening to them."  It's not over yet!  It doesn't matter if laws have been passed in the State where you live saying it is "ok."  Does Almighty God say it's ok?  Does the Holy Bible say it's ok?  Sometimes, and these days, oftentimes, the laws passed DO NOT coincide with the Holy Word of God.  It is the Lord Jesus Christ who makes the ultimate decision; He says whether it's "ok" or not; we will all stand before Him in judgment; every knee shall bow before Him  ...  and soon  ...

Dear friends, it's time we all "Speak to the Rock."  What?  Obey and follow the commands of the One who holds our future in the palms of His hands.

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.)

Pastor Kenneth Phillips

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas

(The hands of Jesus Christ in earth!)

Services Sunday 10:30 am and Wednesday 7:15 pm

~~~~~~~Live Streaming~~~~~~~

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"Calvary's Miracle"

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for

our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed."

(Isaiah 53:5)

The Miracle lives on!  When the Holy One of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ died on Mt. Calvary, the word "Miracle" was activated for you and me.  Huh?  His torn flesh, His blood spilled, the stripes of agony that ripped the body of Jesus Christ bought it for you and me.  "Bought what?" you ask.  He paid the ultimate price; He bought our salvation, healing and miracles, with His blood shed for all mankind.  The Miracles today are the result of our Savior's sacrifice, "Calvary's Miracle."

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so

 that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his

wounds you have been healed."

(I Peter 2:24)

When we ask for healing today, it is not an unlikely or unreasonable request.  Jesus Christ expects it!  He wants us to ask; it is His desire that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper.  The "gospel;" the virgin birth, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was the deed to Your Miracle.  He came that we might have life, and that more abundantly.  Oh, what a Mighty Awesome God!  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  It was The plan of eternity  ...  that the Almighty, Omnipotent, Holy, Eternal, Creator would make Himself a body, the virgin birth, and give Himself on a splintered wooden cross for His creation that He formed from the dust of the earth  ...  It is magnificent, indeed!

God has a Miracle with Your name on it!  You say, "But, I've prayed, been prayed for, many times, but it hasn't happened."  Keep coming back, keep asking, keep praying; don't give up on Your Miracle!  Sometimes it happens right away; sometimes it includes hospitals, Doctors and medication; sometimes it takes a while and we endure hardship, but through it all, we must do as the song says, "Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus; I've learned to trust in God."  It's all about trust and belief in the Miracle worker, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

"O LORD my God, I called to you for help

and you healed me."

(Psalm 30:2)

  

The scars upon the body of our Savior, Jesus Christ, are evidence that there is hope for our sicknesses, diseases, sin, dilemmas, heartaches, pain, and suffering.  I've been healed many times, and I'm waiting on another one.  I will not give up!  We must pray until, believe until, have anointed hands laid upon us until, trust until, seek Him until, keep going to the altar until  ...  Until when?  Until you walk away with Your Miracle!  You say, "I'm so weary; I've done all that, and I seem to be getting worse."  Are you trying to do it alone?  Make sure you have a prayer chain of people praying for you also, through your Church or through PromiseLand Church; please don't hesitate to turn in your name and prayer request to promiselandchurch.net and we will pray for you, intercede for you, stand in the gap for you  ...  You are not alone; We are Your help; the Lord Jesus Christ is Your help; the praying and fasting people of God are Your help!

 "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will

 guide him and restore comfort to him."

(Isaiah 57:18)

All the promises in the Word, the Holy Bible, are yours and mine.  It's wonderful, isn't it, that we have a God who longs to see us happy, well, and comforted?  He loves us utterly, and You are always on His mind; give Him your life  ...  He gave His for you  ...

He's the Lily of Your valley; He's Your bright and morning star; He's Your whisper in the pain of midnight; He's Your dove with an olive branch; He's Your Miracle of deliverance and joy  ...  He IS!

It was all done for one purpose, for one goal:

"Calvary's Miracle" is YOU!

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.)

Pastor Kenneth Phillips and
Daughter, Karen

Karen Phillips

Miraculously Healed of Leukemia!

Happy Birthday, Karen!

Thank You, Lord Jesus!

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas

The place where Miracles happen!

Services Sunday 10:30 am and Wednesday 7:15 pm

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"The God That Answers By Fire!"

"And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty,

If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty.  And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty."

(2 Kings 1:10)

He's got FIRE shut up in His bones!  Who?  Almighty God!  And, every now and then, He exhales  ...  Hey, you best be not in the line of His nostril flare  ...  unless, it is to be filled with His spirit!  He IS "The God That Answers By Fire!"

The Prophet Elijah did this not in a spirit of revenge, "but for the vindication of the honour and the glory of God, and under the impulse of his spirit, who was abused through the insult on him as his prophet," per Gill's exposition of the Bible.  The wrath of God fell upon men who were unrighteous and ungodly, thus this was an act of justice on God's part, and a declaration of His Prophet, Elijah.  Even today, there are men and women of God who stand in God's stead by the words of their mouths; God uses them to speak for Him in prophecy, and it is wise to not speak against them, if, in fact, they are true prophets and prophetesses of Almighty God.  How do you know if they are true, or like the false prophets of Baal?  The Bible says we know people by their fruits; a good man or woman does not produce bad fruit.  This deserves our Biblical research, because the Word says that in the last days there would arise false prophets and false christs.  We are here; we've seen it! 

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,

and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there

appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire,

and it sat upon each of them."

(Acts 2:2-3)

It has happened to over 580 million people worldwide and it is happening somewhere right now!  What?  The Holy Ghost and fire falling upon hungry humans; it is the Spirit of Almighty God descending like a dove and consuming mortals like a fire.  It's from the God who answers by FIRE.  This "fire" changes, infuses, molds, inspires, calls, sends, anoints, protects, and flames the name of Jesus Christ in the hearts of whosoever will.  Will what?  Whosever will receive Jesus as his/her Savior, repent of all sins, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and be filled with His Spirit.  It is for every human being, in every Nation, every kindred and tongue  ...  yes, the good, the bad, and the ugly  ...  Jesus Christ waits with open arms to all who repent of their sins, ALL  ...  that means He is no respecter of persons; He receives poor, rich, mean, good, and yes, even evil, IF they repent.  He can turn around the most wicked of people by His Spirit.  He is pouring out His Spirit all over the world, and Joel 2:28 says He will pour out His Spirit upon "all flesh."  In India, there are 27 million Christians  ...  and still counting  ...

Ask Him NOW to fill you with His Spirit!

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.)

Pastor Kenneth Phillips

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas

Services Sunday 10:30 am and Wednesday 7:15 pm

~~~~~~~Live Streaming~~~~~~~

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