Call to me, and I will answer

August 8th

We have been given a telephone-number to God and that is:333. In Jeremiah 33:3 it says:”Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. In other translations they might use the word: Cry unto Me! In other languages, it is used a word that says cry out with a loud voice. God has no problems with His hearing. He looks into our hearts. God is not dependent on the volume of our voice.

He wants us to come to Him with boldness and confidence, trusting Him.

God is Almighty. In Gen.35:11 God talks to Jacob and says: ” I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

When we call a plumber, an electrician or a doctor, we call them since they have knowledge that we lack. Even so, they have a very limitted amount of knowledge. We use a very little procent of the capacity of the brain, but even if we had used all of it, it would be very little of all the knowledge existing. With God it is different.

GOD IS AND HAS ALL KNOWLEDGE, KNOWS HOW TO USE IT AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM.

When we call to Him, it is important to remind ourselves of the fact that God has no limitations.

God talked to Jacob many years ago and He is talking to His children to-day. He wants to be with us every day. When you love somebody, you can never be too much together with that person. God loves us and He wants to spend a lot of time with His children. We can call Him all day and all night. We are His first priority and nothing is more important than His dear children.

We read in Heb.10:19 that we can enter the Holiest with boldness because of the blood of Jesus. When we have recieved Jesus as the Lamb that was slain for our sins, the way to God is always wide open.

We can come to God and call on Him with BOLDNESS. If a child comes to his daddy with his head down and his eyes do not dare to meet the eyes of his daddy, the father will wonder why the child is ashamed and what the child has done to make him fearful. We can come to our Father with lifted head and clear conscience if we have confessed our sins since we enter the Throne of Grace.

Many years ago I knew a girl, named June. When she started to pray, she said: ” Hello Lord, I’m calling again.” She said that she came to Him often and she had an intimate relationship with Him. She was like a little child coming to her daddy with faith and confidence. These are two important ingredients for us when we call our Father.

I do not want to go to a doctor whom I do not trust. I do not run into the arms of an unstable father if I don’t know if he will hit me or cuddle me. Quite a few people do not know who God really is and they have wrong perceptions of Him. These perceptions are stumbling blocks to stop them from coming to God with a loving and trusting heart.

We read in Hebrew 11:6 that we cannot please God if we do not have faith We must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

I like those translations that use the word shout or call out loud. When one shouts, one really wants the attention of the other person. One is not indiferrent. When you cry out loud, you have a certain passion. It can also be a desperation. I have been desperate for God lately and desperate for an answer, concerning a certain situation.God says that it is better that we are cold or warm. The lukewarm He will vomit out of His mouth. (Rev.3:16) When you shout, you are activ. We show that we are involved and engaged in the matter we cry out for.

When I see somebody whom I know and whom I like, I start shouting the name of that person and I don’t stop before that person stops and sees me.

When we shout, it can be out of joy or at a cricket-match when we cheer the team we like.

We read in Rev.5:12 that they said with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Others shout when they are close to drown either physical or spiritual. They shout: “HELP ME!”

We can come to God either with praise and worship or with prayer-requests.

I write in the title of the sermon that God answers when we call.

When we call, we get God’s ultimate attention. Then He listens to what we have to say. The next thing He does is to start planning for the prayers to be answered. He looks into the matter and wonders what would be the best for us. Should the prayers be answered right away or would it be better for us to wait till other matters were straightened out.God thinks of the consequences. Maybe He does the same as we parents do when our children ask for ice-cream right before dinner. We say:”First you have to eat your dinner and then you can have ice-cream for dessert.”

I am 100% sure that God plans for the answer right away. We can be totally sure that He does not say that He cannot nor that He does not want to.

We read in John 14:13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

We understand that if we ask God to harm somebody for us, He will not do that. Unfortunately I know one who would gladly answer that prayer and that is the devil.The devil also hears your prayers so be careful with your prayer-requests.

Sometimes we have to wait longer for the answers than God had planned. The answer can be hindered by the devil or our own confession.

God is like a fantastic father. He desires the best for His children. He allowed His own Son, Jesus to carry all our sins and sicknesses in order for us to be free. Sometimes we ask for things we already have been given.When we ask for forgiveness for something we already have confessed, He says:” I can not forgive what I already have taken away.”

When we have called to Him and asked Him for something concrete, we can start thanking Him for the fact that the answer is on its way. Sometimes we order things from other places and it can take quite some time from we order them till they reach us. It might be sent by plane, ship or train, but you know they are coming. ALL OUR ORDERED PRAYERS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO US.

The goods that we have ordered, we must pay for. The things we order from God, are free. Jesus paid the price so that we daily can receive answers to our prayers. Jesus paid with a high cost, His own life. I therefore wish we can be like the leper who got healed and returned to give thanks to Him who paid everything for us.

I close by qouting Matt.7:7

ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU; SEEK, AND YOU WILL FIND; KNOCK, AND IT WILL BE OPENED TO YOU!!!!

Mother Else