REIGNING AS KINGS IN THIS LIFE - PART I
SIGNS FOLLOW THEM THAT BELIEVE; SIGNS ALSO BUILD OUR BELIEVING
CHEVY SUBURBAN FOR SALE… I needed to sell my antique truck..
On July 12th, I posted a tremendously encouraging video about 2 young parents whose undying courage, and steadfast faith, brought their newborn daughter back from the brink of death. It was a remarkable and HIGHLY encouraging story.
All of us, at one time or another, are helped by such tremendous testimonies. They build up our faith in times of testing. The video was prominently on my mind today, when I was challenged by a storm.
I’d like to tell you how it panned out, because when God gets going.. it’s like LAYS potato chips - there’s never just ONE miracle! AND.. because of the WAY I got my miracle.. I just learned something new… (Век живи - век учись)
CAR MIRACLES
In my life, I’ve enjoyed any number of ‘miraculous’ events that often involved cars.
TIMING BELT
One time in the 90’s I was driving north on Rt 684 in NY - heading to 84 East for Danbury CT, where I was to participate in an Army Reserve drill. I was in the left lane, of the 5 lane highway, doing about 75 MPH, when my car’s timing belt broke - I lost all power.
The left 4 lanes cleared of traffic as if by magic, and my momentum got me to the side and off a sublimely timed exit.! I took the exit and followed the road up a hill where I ran out of power in a gas station parking lot - safe and sound.
FLAT TIRE /ENGINE QUIT
In this photo below, my son and I were driving home late at night, to New York, from Virginia. It was a 7 hour trip from Leesburg. We were in an old Chrysler that I’d bought used in VA. When we got home at 2am, in the dark, we fell into the house and into bed, exhausted. The next morning the car in the driveway wouldn’t start, and the front tire was flat! I have said it before, I only ever get flats, in the driveway.
TREADMILL
In 2020 I wrote a book (The TYRANNY of MASKS1) about the fake pandemic. The sizeable effort had me locked in my office researching and writing for 12 - 18 hours a day for 16 months. The endless sitting was getting to me (and my trouser size). One day I started looking on the internet for a treadmill. I figured I could make up for some of the inactivity. But the cost of the machines was prohibitive.
Then, one sunny Sunday, for a totally different reason (buying chickens) my sons’ dad and I went driving in the NY countryside - to 2 farms far away from our house. Our son had taken our gas conscious Honda out, so we had to take the beast - my 20’ long 1972, Chevy Suburban.
We picked up our first chickens - then put the next farm in the GPS, and followed the trails till at one point, we took a left on what turned out to be KINGDOM Rd. and did a double take…
On the side of the road, in front of a house in the countryside, was a lovely TREADMILL in perfect condition with a sign that said ‘FREE’.
Laying on its side, the gift treadmill fit nicely into the back of the Suburban..
God’s thoughtful gift and amazing timing, was thoroughly appreciated!
Well, today’s car story has 3 miracles in it. And it’s about the Chevy Suburban again..
In 2016 we moved from Virginia to New York. Within a month I saw a 72’ Chevy for sale in a driveway in Tully NY, and bought it. I’ve had a blast driving it. The car gets more people wanting to take their picture with it, than Tom Brady’s ex wife. (almost).
About a month ago, I decided to sell the Suburban.
For one thing, I need $ for a trip to the Midwest to visit a Church. (I might go to Iowa, or I might go to Glenn Locke’s church in Tennessee. Waiting on the Lord to show me which) (When I need healing and don’t achieve it on my own, I search out somebody with strong faith, and visit them personally. It has been a sound formula for success. (Jesus hardly ever prayed by phone.)
(Why do I need healing? I’ve had ringing in my left ear since 1986. Really loud. Tinnitus is like having someone screaming in my ear 36 years already. I’m ready to have it gone. Then too,.. we need the $ for other things..)
My son put the truck up on Craigslist, with some photos and dry data… 6 weeks - no takers..
Then suddenly last week, the Lord showed me to go to DMV and get a copy of my title. It came to me quietly ‘the car’s going to be sold soon’. (Recently I looked for the registration but couldn’t find it. Old cars in NY get this little registration card that acts as a title; You need it to sell the car). So I went last week and got a new copy.
Then, I decided to PUT MY OWN ad up on Craigslist.. (shown at the top of this post)
I had always thought my truck started life as an ambulance and put that in the ad. (Did you ever see Ghostbusters? These long Suburbans were often used as ambulances.) Well, yesterday Doug (the guy from Tully NY, who sold me the truck 6 years ago) saw my ad and called me, and set me straight. My Chevy was first owned by a guy in NYC with a Chimney maintenance business.
CHIMNEY MAINTENANCE!?
So I changed the ad copy to reflect this new information.
Not long after I spoke with Doug, the phone rang. A guy in Florida named John, who works on classic cars, saw my ad and was interested in the Chevy!
We talked, and he said he’d call me today. He wanted to check the shipping costs from NY to Florida for a vehicle this size.
Today he called to confirm he wanted the car! YEA! SOLD!
Though, on Thursday, I had to make ONE more trip with the truck before John’s wire transfer came through, and I’d take the car off the road, I needed to pickup a 12’ long roll of carpet that had been custom cut for my bedroom (to replace the one that the rug cleaners recently destroyed) It was finally ready - and the Suburban’s super long interior was just the car for the job!
But then the weather ALERT came through with an emergency warning..
Today the weather alarms were going berserk. In fact, NY to the southeast of us had been battered with storms a day or so ago, freak rains that cause amazing flooding. But, I had just this one day to get the carpet, because my bedroom furniture was piled in the Living room, and we had B&B guests coming on Saturday. I HAD to get the carpet and put the furniture back. So I grabbed the Suburban’s keys and headed out. By that time the skies looked nasty.
So I thought about TWO THINGS. Here’s what I want you to know.. the reason I wrote this post -
Not ONLY did the wonderful testimony about the faith of the young parents stir my faith today,.. recently the Lord showed me something I hadn’t known..
‘Where the word of a King is - there is power’. (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
Ok.. I knew that. I thought. Jesus is King right? I am forever thanking Him to use that power on my behalf. Aren’t we all? Well, 2 days ago, he showed me this.. and discussed it with me..
Revelation 1:6 - …drumroll…
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Did you catch that? He made us KINGS …. me too..
Then the Lord started teaching me about the WORD of a King - whose name is Victoria Bingham..
He connected it to things I had learned years ago - like Jesus’ disappointment when he was asleep on the boat, and the storm came up, and the disciples woke him up from his sound sleep, to do what he wanted them to do - REBUKE THE STORM.
Honestly - I had never connected these 3 verses before:
Ecclesiastes 8:4 - Where the Word of a King is, there is power..
Revelation 1:6 - He has made us Kings and priests unto him..
Matthew 8:26 - Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
Then, John 14:12 is also part of this.. ‘He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also..’
MAKE NO MISTAKE…
Jesus thought it not robbery to be like God - but made himself of NO REPUTATION.
This isn’t about acting like royalty. It’s about acting like Jesus.
It’s not about BEING a king, it’s about walking in power.
We are joint heirs. Assigned with power and authority. >When do we use it if not NOW?
With those thoughts in mind, I set out onto the highway today rebuking the storm. I commanded that my rug would NOT GET WET.
It was my goal to:
GET to the carpet store.
PICK UP a dry carpet, (which I would need help to do, the roll weighed 200 lbs, and if it were pouring outside, they might not want to bring it out to my vehicle.
Get me, the carpet, and the car home - dry, safe and sound., since the car was soon to not belong to me.
On the highway to the store, the skies opened up like a monsoon.. cars around me had their flashers on.. I didn’t let a big storm deter me; I kept praising God, COMMANDING the storm.. and heading north to the carpet store in Liverpool NY.
As I drew closer to Liverpool, in the distance the sky was clearing..
I parked at the carpet store and got out. Not a drop of rain was falling.
At the dock in the back, a strong guy brought out the 13’ long wrapped package of carpet, and loaded it in. The car was soaking wet, but there wasn’t a drop on the rug.
Then, on the drive home, the skies opened up AGAIN, and it poured the whole way home to my exit in Fayetteville.. But the carpet was dry.
As I got to the last traffic light before my house - 2 funny things happened.. The rain stopped, and a white van I have never seen in the area - pulled next to me.
A white Chimney Maintenance Truck.. (someone in heaven was laughing)
By the time I put the truck in my driveway - the sun was coming out..
The wire transfer came through today, so the Chevy is officially John’s. He wrote me this text to say thank you.. It time stamped at 444 pm. God time.
VJCB
book online at: bit.ly/3oJrJX6