Ahava Love Letter - "Move Out To Move In"

Ahava Love Letter

“Move Out to Move In”

“…if anyone hears My voice and opens the door…” Rev. 3:20 (NAS)

Sometime early this spring of 2010, Laurie and I were sitting in the 9 a.m. Sunday service at the Heritage International Ministries, location of Morningstar Fellowship (Rick Joyner and team), in Fort Mill, SC. where we fellowship. (One gets good seats in the early service!) There was nothing extra special about the day so far. At least I wasn’t really expecting anything. Let’s just finish the service and get home in time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Maybe Jeff Gordon (#24) will win his fifth championship this year.

After a long “season of the soul” winter, plus “in the natural” (we had just gone through an unusual cold North Carolina four months), we were sitting there. Trying to be faithful in our walk with the Lord. But to be real honest, I wasn’t anticipating a fresh wind in my life, though I really longed for one. Even the prophetic words I had received over the last year weren’t stirring me up. Nor the resignation notice I had given on Thanksgiving Day, 2009, which would then take us down a new road. Somewhere yet to be revealed.

After twenty minutes of worship and a few announcements, the speaker came and started sharing. My mind doesn’t remember all the details (who, what), but I can say that I wasn’t paying as good attention as I should have. For the most part, I was probably trying not to close my eyes (in private prayer of course.) The speaker might have thought I was dozing off, and take it as a commentary on his message.

In the course of about fifteen minutes, with his words going out over the open sanctuary air, came this simple sentence out of his mouth, “This year you might have to make room in your life by taking out the old, to let in the new.” He continued on without a break.

But that word I just heard, with my natural ears, was one of those “Was he (He) talking to me? No. It must have been for the guy sitting next to me. I don’t have anything that needs moving.” (Don’t ask my wife to comment on that last part. She would tell you the truth!) But I had caught that. A seed had been planted.

Of course the usual Sunday continued on once we got out – head back home, slap together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, turn on the race, “really” doze off, watch the news, ride along with “Amazing Race” episode with Laurie (I like the nations travel), head to bed by 9 pm. The usual usual, with the work week starting again in the morning. Normal routine in our lives then, as the months drifted on by.

“Move it out so I can move it in.” I basically heard the same words again. About four weeks later.

You know how you “hear a word”, but then think it was just a thought that came out of nowhere. Bonnie Chavda taught me that those words are often the Holy Spirit, the “still small voice” that just “pops” into your head, and you wonder, “Where did that come from?” Well, “that” may just be from Him, the third living person of the Holy Trinity.

Surely the Lord wasn’t talking about my enormous NASCAR memorabilia collection I had in my converted  double car garage – now a “man cave”. That had cost me thus far $5,504.71 (according to my two itemized inventory reports - for just the die cast replica cars and the autographed items.) That in just the last three years. Let alone all the hours I spent covering every inch of the sidewalls, ceiling, and African skin look-alike carpeted floor.

The #24, and a bit of #48, #5 and #88 stuff were all over, surrounding this “inner chamber” world of “precious” items. (I have the pictures to prove it, for those who don’t believe. And with the photos of it, which I sent in to a contest on one of the two Jeff Gordon websites, I won two Sprint Cup All-Star race tickets in May, 2008 which I gave to a friend, who was also a racing fan. I was in Israel on tour with Christian Friends of Israel, as a board member, and I couldn’t go.)

More months went by. I know you also know how you “put off” doing what you just think the Lord might be asking you to do. Obedience is better than sacrifice, but when He starts talking about your NASCAR collection (or whatever you are personally holding onto to), then it doesn’t seem so great a word. We don’t seem to get quite as excited then, as we do when we hear the words we also receive, like “Bless you My child. I have great things in store for you.”

Finally, after still more weeks had gone by, and the words “Move out to move in” grew deeper in the now fertile soil of my heart, I obeyed last week. It was after our Ahava Adventures trip to Israel.

To give you some idea as to how finally obeying this word had been – I have never been addicted to anything (OK, NASCAR was my addiction) - I experienced the release of the heavy weight I actually carried without realizing it. And then the joy came, that in-spirit joy that comes after one walks out His word.

The zeal of the Lord’s Holy Spirit energized me. What had taken over five years to build up in that large room took me just two days to move out. And I am talking about 32 tubs of the 17 gallon size, four Sprint Cup tires, posters galore, etc. Whatever the marketers had offered,  I had bought.

And what do you suppose “moved in”? Maybe you’ll read about that in a future Ahava Love Letter (or come by and see for yourself! But please e-mail or text me first. I really am not a phone person.)

Ahava y’all,

Steve Martin

P.S. Underneath a lot of the posters and prints on the walls I found my original posters and prints I had put up many years earlier, but just covered over. Photos of Israel, plus posters of Christian concerts and events I had gone to before. It was the Lord peeling away what had become “precious” to reveal the true treasure again in my life. Him and His purposes. That had gotten covered up. I am SO THANKFUL!

©2010 Steve  Martin      P.O. Box470035  Charlotte, NC 28247-0035    704-806-6934       http://www.loveforhispeople.com/                       martinlighthouse@gmail.com          stevemartin@loveforhispeople.com

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