What Happens When You Hear?

Warriors Arise: September 17, 2020

John 21:6-7 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Christians have had this experience. Our ears were opened when we heard the Lord calling us into His family. It is the Father's good pleasure that none should parish. However, we all know people who have rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We know they are going to hell, but that was not God's desire. God's desire if that none would perish.

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

One of the excuses people buy into that causes them to reject God, "With all the evil in the world, why doesn't God stop it. If He is so powerful, why doesn't He do something." Hence they come to the conclusion that if He is all powerful then He must not love us as He has said. Which further leads to another wrong thought pattern, God is a liar or He isn't omnipotent and loving. They place God in a category with everyone in their life, who has said they loved them but lied to them and left.

The enemy is so good at the blame game. The devil causes confusion to the point we have difficulty thinking straight. When this happens, we are led to the slaughter by his lies. This is also what is happening in the world today. So many do not know the truth about God so they believe the lies being spun like a spider's web around them. It amazes me how many disregard the truth. Not even that, they don't even want to hear the truth. Therefore, when the truth is spoken they think it is a lie. My heart is breaking for the police officers who are doing their job right and the public is being led to believe a lie, to not even look at the full footage of the video, to know why the police were called onto the scene, or see that the person in question has a track record of violence.

2 Timothy 3:1-4 (NKJV) But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

The Bible warns us that people prefer to be taught their own wrong thinking, rather than be challenged to accept or even hear the truth.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NKJV) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

I totally get it, not all police officers do the right thing. Some have are leery toward a particular person, mostly because that person has been in trouble before with the law. Beginning with George Floyd and those that have been shot since, these people had a track record disobeying and undermining the law. Not one of them was this their first "wrong doing" or "act of violence". The police have a reason for being prepared to defend themselves and take action. Being prepared doesn't mean that they are prejudice, being prepared is as the saying goes: "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." They know from previous arrests that these people have not come with good intentions.

Peter was focused on pulling the net into the boat. His mind was not focused on why they had so many fish. It was on the task in from on Him. Then John tells him, "It is the Lord!" If the statement is heard, the statement invokes a response. I say if, because how many of us can be diligently working and we don't hear what a person said to us. We may even answer but our mind is on autopilot, we say, "Oh, that's good." That is just to pacify the person talking to us but what they said didn't reach our brain. What they said skimmed over our ears, enough for us to give a grunt or sigh or statement we hope they will accept because we do not wanting to talk right now.

What we have known to be true is now evident by the actions of those who are looting, rioting, killing, bullying, stealing, harassing people in restaurants, preventing people from going to work by blocking highways etc. The list just goes on. Christians have known America has struggled since Clinton to be a nation of godly character. The nation will vote to their moral compass. We have known that Christians needed to re-enter politics or the nation would continue its moral spiral decline. Christians aren't perfect but they understand everything is better with God rather than without.

God is all powerful and one word could make everything evil will stop. The choice we had the day before will be gone. Today, each person has a choice. If God were to stop all the wickedness in the world today that would remove our ability to choose. Without a choice, there is no love. Love is a choice. For everyone who says, "If God is all powerful, then why hasn't He done something to take the bad out of the world. Why doesn't He stop the evil people? Why doesn't He get through to their thoughts and show them the truth?" Love is a choice. God has reveled His love by giving each one a choice. If we choose to ignore His voice then we choose to remain ignorant. God has spoken. God has told the truth. God has revealed what the right thing to do but people have a choice. God gave us the ability to think. If we reject what we know is true because of our own selfish desires then we can't blame God for the bad, the evil, and the despicable things happening in our world.

Of course, God wants the evil to stop. He wants everyone to believe and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Remember, God "wants none to perish." He is depending on His people to share the Gospel, to love the unlovable, heal the broken hearted, to set the captives free by the power of Christ in us. God could do it Himself, but that was never the plan. The plan is for those who are called by His name to release the will of God to all people that none would perish. We can't do anything about those who have already passed but we can start today. Be open to God fulfilling the Great Commission through you. Then have the courage to go and do as He has directed. We must pray for the will of God to be done in Jesus' name. Will you hear, "It is the Lord!"? How will you respond?"

Father, I ask for my ears to be open to hearing Your voice. I pray I will not be so consumed by all that is going on that and all that I have in front of me to do that I miss hearing Your voice, that I miss seeing You. I pray You would call forth an army of Christians to go forth and do the work of the Gospel. I am thankful for all who have started having churching in the streets, the very streets where the riots have taken place. I ask for each one of us to hear You and see where You are. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. I know You do not like what You are seeing. I can't believe You want us to do nothing. We pray. We pray for Your kingdom to come. Your will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. We pray for the salvation of our Lord to be the banner over these cities currently being destroyed by evil. We pray for lies to come down in Jesus name and the truth of Your love to be established in the hearts of people all over the world. I ask for Your kindness to be poured out on all people for Your Word says, "Your kindness leads to repentance." God, we cannot do this on our own. We must have You go with us. I ask for prayers of compassion for the people who are hurting. I pray we would petition You for the lives of those who are being evil, taking the lives of the innocent, destroying businesses, and stealing the very livelihood people have worked for. We need a revival in our land and across the world. The greatest miracle is that those who have done the evil turn to You and do the Godly thing. I ask for people who will believe You can reach the most evil person on earth and everyone in between. No one is a lost cause, because Your love can turn them to You. I ask for Christians to believe what You have done in their lives can be done in the life of another. Let us recognize the Lord and respond to Your presence with readiness to do Your will in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy

My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus, riots, and lies. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.