Obedience, it is life or death! Richard V. Milner Jan 27, 2003

I would like to tell you about something that happened to a friend of mine and I as we were coming back from a Men's Full Gospel Business convention in Rock Eagle, Ga. I had gone up there to be a servant to Dennis a sound engineer for that weekend. As we got up there and as the weekend progressed, I saw nothing out of the ordinary for the reason of the Lord wanting me to be there. I had heard even before I got there that I would not have seen this kind of event and I would really enjoy it. Well I had been to smaller events just as this one was. I saw nothing special this weekend other than I was able to pray for a few people and blow my shofar to open the event during Praise and Worship. At the end of the weekend as we were packing up to come home, Dennis decided to take advantage of their 40 foot screen and watch the playoffs of Tampa Bay. I was not interested in watching so I let him enjoy and I went and chatted with my wife on the internet. As I was talking to Renee, I kept getting a ugly feeling in my spirit, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't go away. Toward the end of the game, I decided to check on Dennis and see how much more time was left. Yeah, 1:25 on the clock and I convinced Dennis that his team wasn't going to lose and ask him to leave. I was ready to see my wife and get the 3½ hour trip over with. As I was heading back to load my personal items in the truck, I felt the Lord pull me into a side room to pray. I had been feeling ugly in the spirit and now He was grabbing my shirt right in the chest to pray. So I went to prayed. I guess I missed Him when the ugliness came on, but I definitely heard Him when He grabbed me. I went into the room and kneeled down on the side of the bed and I ask what I should pray for. He said just as clear as I was talking to someone, "Pray for your trip". Well I had been praying for the angels to protect us for a while anyway. But this was different, the Holy Spirit led me through a prayer. It was short but you could tell He was there guiding my voice in what to say. I got up and that was it. It was dark about 12:30am and we made it almost all the way back to Brunswick, we were 40 miles from home with a very uneventful trip. We were pulling a 5x7 U-Haul trailor with a large Dodge Ram extended cab pickup. We came into a patch of fog or at least that is what we thought it was. But it wasn't fog, it was dust. We came up on a street sweeper that was running about 3 miles an hour. We were going between 45 and 60 miles an hour. We are not sure how fast, but it was between those two numbers. Either speed it would have been devastating if we had hit that sweeper. I hollowed at Dennis and some how we missed that sweeper within ten feet of the back of it. We moved over without the trailor moving wrong and then we moved back into the lane in front of it of the sweeper. How we did that without the supernatural intervention of the Most High God, I will never know. As soon as we got our composer back(trust me it is difficult to do this after that)we started discussing what had happened. And then started to breathe. Dennis made a statement that didn't make too much sense at the time, but later it did. He said that I may have come along just to pray and get him back home safely. The obedience didn't start when I prayed for our trip, it started when I said, Jesus come into my life and be my Lord and lead me through green pastures. Teach me how to be a servant so that I can minister to those who need my help even when I don't know that I am doing it. I accepted a job to go and help Dennis as a servant and to others. By my obedience I prayed just at the right time to be able to save our lives. I know and have known for a long time, that it is about timing. It is sort of like the Space Shuttle. If it doesn't hit that window to enter back into our atmosphere, it can cause disasterous conditions when you are suppose to be at a certain place and your not. Please remember, that when He calls you to do anything, do it. Most of us don't think about what your messing up at a later time or the blessings you are missing when you don't do it when He asks. It is all about the timing. I am one that will do what I am asked when I am asked from now on, with His help. I can't do it on my own. I need His help to condition my mind and heart to respond at the time of His is talking. The Jabez prayer is a good example here. Bless Me Indeed, Expand My Territories. What I am asking in this prayer is, Bless me in this area that I want to change. Right now my mind and heart is not capable to receiving an everytime quick response, but by Him Blessing me Indeed in this area, and expanding my territories (my mind and heart) I can then do as He ask when He ask. This is something that you can do also. I am alive today because He tested me at the level I was at for hearing and obeying. But He wants me to increase. Does He want you to increase? Yes, He is always looking for us to increase. He know exactly what we can do at all times. The increase isn't for Him, it is for us. To let us know what we can do and to increase our faith. So bless me indeed and expand my territories, put your hand upon me and keep me from evil so I cause no pain. And the funniest thing about it is. He grants the request, just as He did for Jabez. BE Blessed! Richard