HOLY    GOD    IS    ENTHRONED........WHERE?????

Several years ago, before I retired from my job, an incident occurred at work.....through which
OUR HOLY LORD taught me (2) two very powerful lessons - which I remember vividly!

My job (which I really enjoyed) had me working for the state of Georgia, using the rules,
policies, and procedures to  determine which people would be eligible to receive assistance
from the state of Georgia - such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program - better known as
"Food Stamps", and other assistance programs as well.

As you might expect, the rules required that the members of each family obey the rules in order
to qualify for assistance.

I was richly-blessed to have many great friends among my fellow employees.

The incident through which I was taught those 2 powerful lessons..........included one of my
friends/fellow employees/sister-in-Jesus Christ - we will call her "Josephine".

Josephine's job also required her to determine which people would qualify for/receive assistance.
and, as mentioned above, if the client did not obey the rules---then the rules required that client's
case be terminated.

One of Josephine's clients was a young woman   -  let's call her "Tonya"  -  Tonya was well known
in the area - as a tall, VERY STRONG, athletic person.  It was also widely known that Tonya
was sometimes a very violent person!

When Tonya received her notice that her assistance had been terminated for NOT cooperating
 with the rules.....Tonya immediately called  and requested an appointment with Josephine. 
(Josephine was required by the rules to give an appointment to Tonya).

In the same phone call, Tonya told Josephine........."I am bringing my knife, and I am going
to "(CUT YOU)" for closing my assistance case!!!  Again - as mentioned above - Josephine
KNEW that Tonya was prone to violence!!

Because Josephine was my sister-in-Jesus Christ, she and I occasionally exchanged prayer requests.

So Josephine asked me to  -  when Tonya comes to her appointment - I (Josephine) will leave my
office door open, and "please you (Barry) walk back and forth - passing my door and be praying
for me, Tonya, etc."

I readily agreed to do that for Josephine.  Even before Tonya arrived, I began to pray.  After a few minutes of praying, I sensed that the HOLY SPIRIT was leading me to 'stop praying, and begin to
fill that office with PRAISE unto HOLY GOD"!!!!!!!!!

I am sure that may sound rather startling to some of you!  But this is something that I  PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED.

I know now, and also knew at that time  - God's Word says in Psalm 22:3  "But You (God) are holy,
enthroned in the praises of Israel (Your people)".

Different translations of the Bible say it a little differently - for example:
"But You, o god, are holy, you enthrone YOUR PRESENCE in the praises of Your People."

Okay, back to Tonya's presence in Josephine's office-----
Sure that the HOLY SPIRIT was leading and enabling me, I began, and continued, "Filling that
office with (silent) praise unto GOD!!!!!!!!!

In a few minutes the interview ended; everything went smoothly, there were no more threats, and
no "Cutting".  And, as Tonya  walked back up the hall---she was humming a song of worship unto Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!


Oh, I was ECSTATIC!!! At what GOD HAD DONE!!!!!!!  As you can only IMAGINE--- I was Thanking and PRAISING GOD!!! for the transformation that HE accomplished with HIS PRESENCE!!!!!!!

But ...wait.... did I not say in the first paragraph of this message that there two (2) lessons in this
for me?
Yes, indeed I did.

So, Tonya walked back to the front of the office building - Praising God!!! And I was joyous!!!

What I did not know until later in the day.........Tonya walked (through) the lobby... then down another hall - where she "cleaned" off the desks by knocking every thing to the floor--- in general,
she caused such a disturbance that the police were called to come and arrest her.

So - I stopped praising GOD too early!  Perhaps I should have continued Praising GOD until she
drove away!

*** The following portion of God's Word might seem a little long- but hang in there, it is an important lesson.  Thank you! **

II Kings 13:14-19:
"Elisha the prophet had become sick with the illness of which he would die.  Then Joash the king
came down to Elisha, and wept over (Elisha's) face, and said, 'O my Father, my father, the chariots of
Israel and their horsemen!'
     "And Elisha said to him, 'Take a bow and some arrows.  So. he (the king) picked up a bow and some arrows.
Then He (Elisha) said to the king, 'put your hand on the bow.  So the king put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.
     "And he (Elisha) said , 'open the east window', and the king opened it.
Then Elisha said 'Shoot', and the king shot the arrow.
And Elisha said 'the arrow of the LORD's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them!
Then Elisha said, 'take the arrows', so the king took them, and Elisha said 'Strike the ground!'
So the king struck three (3) times, and stopped.
And Elisha was ANGRY with the king, and said, 'You should have struck 5 or 6 times; then you
would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it!  But now, you will strike Syria only 3 times."
-verse 25 tells us that the king defeated (Syria) (3) times."

The king had an OPPORTUNITY to participate in an ENACTED PROPHECY that symbolized  his
future victories over the Syrians.

The king was not as victorious as he COULD have been, because he lacked faith and was unwilling
to do ENTHUSICALLY something that may have seemed foolish to him.

So what is the specific lesson - both from my experience, and from this passage in the Bible?
A. GOD is ALWAYS worthy of praise!!!
B. GOD never changes.(see Malachi 3:6)
C. When God guides and enables us to do something.....let's be encouraged to continue doing it/continue submitting to GOD, and confess to Him that we need His wisdom.

All that (above) might not be as specific as you would like.....but I believe that is intentional by GOD,
because He knows us so well!!!

We as humans tend to want to turn it into a formula - so that WE can do THIS , then do THIS, .....so the result will ALWAYS be (the result that we think we want!).  Subconsciously - we think that if we can get it down to a formula.....then WE can do it  by OURSELVES...and don't need GOD'S help and
enablement.  Of course that is a lie---"without HIM we can do nothing."(John 15:5).

Psalm 139:1-4 shows us that GOD knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we say them---so HE is WELL ABLE to communicate to us!!!

Let's confess to GOD our faith in HIM, (not in our self)!!!!!!!!!

O come let us kneel before the LORD OUR MAKER AND WORSHIP HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!