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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

"Reading Of The Will"

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"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth."  Hebrews 9:16-17.  I just had the opportunity of hearing another great sermon given by Dr. Tony Evans which he entitled, "The Frustrations of Worship".  As I said, this was indeed a great sermon and I in no wise can compare to the brilliance of this man, but it is so true that many of God's children often become frustrated when they do their very best to serve and worship God.  Often times it is due to their feeling of inadequacy, but many times it is due to the fact that when they do their very best, they see the wicked of this world making out like bandits. 

It is to these who are indeed trying their very best to serve and worship the Lord, but have found themselves being discouraged by the appearance of the wicked being better off than them, that this little article is intended.  It is my prayer that the Lord will use this little article as a source of real comfort and encouragement to these.

As I said before, we indeed see those who are wicked seeming to prosper and to just be getting by with all their wickedness, while the ones who are God's chosen people seem to face heartache and trials and troubles while they do their very best.  Friends, I can speak from experience in this matter, for as I write this little article I am undergoing some of the greatest trials of my life.  It is so true that as the Lord gave me this article, thoughts entered my mind as to, "Why Lord?".  Friends, thoughts like that are of the devil and I do need your prayers.  The Lord in His infinite mercy and grace has given me that great sermon by Dr. Evans and He has also through His Word given me this little article. 

Why is it that the Lord allows all those wicked people seem to get by with no troubles and He allows us to suffer so?  Well, I don't claim to know why the Lord does all that He does, but  He has given His Word that we may draw strength when we just can't understand.  Just this morning, I have been reading the book of Exodus.  If you are familiar with this wonderful book, you will know that it tells of the Lord delivering His people out of the land of Egypt where they were suffering at the hands of a wicked man named  Pharaoh.  If you are not familiar with this story, I strongly suggest that you get familiar with it.  This was a time when God's children were very greatly downtrodden by the wicked of this world.  God allowed this to happen for quite awhile as you will see as you read it.  God could have just delivered His children at any time, but He chose to keep hardening the heart of this man Pharaoh that it seemed that no matter what Pharaoh was tougher than God.  Why did God do this?  He did it for His glory because in the end Mr. Pharaoh was begging God's children to get out.

Now, one may say, "Is that suppose to make me feel good about the suffering I endure while all those people who don't even believe that there is a God get by so great?".  Yes, my friend it is for the key words in this whole story are "in the end".  You see, when the devil and his crowd succeed in getting us down, it is when they get us to loose sight of those three words.  Those people who are seeming to have it so great can't see the end and they can even boast of their prosperity without God.  Job 28, verses 22-24 says, "Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.  God understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof.  For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;".  What these verses of scripture are speaking of is wisdom and understanding.  Death and destruction can only boast of hearing of such, but God is in charge of all wisdom and understanding.  You see, He looks to the ends of the earth and that is the final glory.

Friends, when I get a call telling me that my sister is in the intensive care unit of the hospital in a coma and that the doctors are saying there is no hope and I get up on Sunday morning and get ready for and go to church and on my way I see all these people with their big fine boats going down the road with not a care in the world,  can I go on there and worship God and thank Him and praise Him for His goodness?  Yes, praise the Lord I can!  Here is why.  Though I know the end, I cannot see the end.  God sees the end and He has promised me this great deliverance.  God's Word tells me, "Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.  For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off."  Proverbs 23:17-18.  What is this end for them that seem to be cursing God and getting paid dividends for it?  "Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out."  Proverbs 24:19-20.

In the beginning of this little article, I used the scripture found in Hebrews, chapter 9 and verses 16-17.  And I have entitled this little article, "Reading Of The Will".  I have a will and no matter how legal that will is, it is not even worth the paper it is written on as long as I am alive.  I can read this will to all those who are named in it as beneficiaries and it may make them feel pretty good to know that I would think so much of them, but as long as I am alive, they cannot gain anything from my will.  It is my end that they must wait on before getting the benefits of my will.  Friends, there has been a will written and if you and I are God's children we have been named in this will as His beneficiaries.  Now, we don't have to wait upon an end to reap these benefits.  There has already been the death of the testator and His name is Jesus Christ.  Now, the reading of the will,  "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your  conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance".  Hebrews 9:14-15.  Friends, when you see the world getting great gain and the devil tells you that your worship is in vain, please don't stop worshipping.  There is an end and God has already laid it out.  Though we may not be able to see that end, we can be assured of it.  Let us read the will and know that it is already valid.  This life at the very longest is very short, and those wicked people we see having such a big time are celebrating the here and now.  God allows this for His glory, so let us give Him the glory that is due Him and celebrate His grace and mercy for He is truly worthy to be praised. 

It is my prayer that the Lord will use this little article to help strengthen and encourage some dear brother or sister who may be under the attacks of the devil to discourage you from worshipping and serving the living God.  Earlier in this article I asked for prayer as I need the prayers of others so much.  God knew that the more we try to serve Him, the more the devil would try to discourage us and He did not leave us here to serve Him alone.  We, as His children need each other.  We need prayer partners who will run interference for us, who are willing to be burdened by the Lord to feel our hurts, to get down on their knees and pray for us with sincerity and love.  If you have read this little article and have received a blessing from it, it is an indicator that you have suffered the attacks of the devil as you were trying to serve the Lord.  If you have read it and have not been blessed by it because, you have not been discouraged, it is an indicator that you are not serving the Lord.  In either case, you too need prayer partners.  People need the Lord and we as His children need each other.  The Lord has allowed me to see first hand this great need and it is through this burden that I offer myself to those who feel the need.  I am only His unworthy servant and in that same unworthiness I offer myself to serve you.  God bless you.