"A NEW SACRED YEAR BEGINS"
“Now there was a certain man of Ra-ma-tha-im-zophim, of mount E-phra-im, and his name was El-ka-nah, the son of Je-ro-ham, the son of E-li-hu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Eph-ra-thite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Pe-nin-nah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of host in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hoph-ni and Phin-e-has, the priests of the Lord, were there”. I Samuel 1:1-3.
We read here that Peninnah had children and Hannah had no children, but this was all in the Lord’s plan unbeknown to Hannah. His eye was upon her and He had purposes and plans for her life and the special child for whom she longed. You see beloved, many times we don’t understand God’s ways or what He is doing. We think we have been forgotten as Hannah. As with Hannah, many times God also has to get us to the place of “desperation” so that we will be willing to do just about anything He asks of us. “But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb.” I Samuel 1:5. Yes, Elkanah loved Hannah very much, but that did not satisfy the hunger to hold a child in her arms. God had shut up her womb and it was His will at this time for her not to have children. But He also knew that the time would come that Hannah would get so “desperate” for that child and at that time He would answer her prayer. Now we further read, in this same chapter, that her adversary, Peninnah provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. This sent Hannah into “bitterness of soul,” and she prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. “And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” I Samuel 1:11.
***HANNAH’S DESPERATION***
Yes, Hannah promised God in her “desperation” that if He would give her that child she would raise him set apart as a “Nazarite” unto God-a holy child to be used by God in His priesthood. Our God kept His promise to her, “Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.” I Samuel 1:20. In other words, “God has heard” was the meaning of Samuel’s name. “And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one e-phah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: and the child was young.” I Samuel 1:24. She did not wait till He was 16 years old to start teaching him about the Lord, but rather she started teaching him about the Lord when he was young. She said, “For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.” I Samuel 1:27-28. Samuel would be trained in the house of the Lord from a little boy. “And El-ka-nah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.” I Samuel 2:11.
***A CORRUPTED PRIESTHOOD***
In the midst of that corrupted priesthood of that day, God brought up a Samuel. The priesthood had become very corrupted, bringing shame and dishonor to God. Today, in this hour, we are experiencing the same, a corrupted priesthood in America, but in the midst of that corruption, our God is raising up Samuels. They are men and women who are pure and holy and truly know God’s ways. Now Eli had two sons, “….And the two sons of Eli, Hoph-ni and Phin-e-has, the priests of the Lord were there.” I Samuel 1:3. Now Hophni’s name means “fighter” and Phinehas means “brazen”, “harsh,” “piercing” and “shamelessly bold.” This tells us something about their character. No wonder 1 Samuel 2:12, reads, “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Be-li-al; they knew not the Lord.” They were wicked men. “Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And He said unto them, Why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.” I Samuel 2:22-23.
***GOD RAISES UP A SAMUEL***
His sons were wicked men, referred to being sons of the devil or Belial. God sent a word to Eli through Samuel. “And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep.” I Samuel 3:2-3. The light of the lamp began to go out in the house of God under the leadership of Eli—HOLINESS WAS NOT IMPORTANT ANYMORE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD. The light of the lamp represented God’s Word and His ways and He needed a clean new vessel, holy and set apart to shine through and one was already prepared for the hour –SAMUEL! “And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. I Samuel 3:11-13. They had become a corrupted priesthood and vile. The word vile means morally debased and depraved, “of little worth.” They committed fornication, adultery in the courts of God’s house and they also took the fat of the offerings for themselves and did not handle God’s tithes and offerings properly or truly cared for His people. Today is the same, many stand in God’s Holy pulpits, “shamelessly bold” as the sons of Eli did, practicing their sins of adultery, fornication, and pornography.
***SACRED YEAR BEGINS***
Our April is the beginning of God’s Sacred Year. God was finished with the priesthood of Eli and his sons and so today, God is finished with a few things too. We know that Eli never restrained his sons. Oh, he pointed out to them that what they were doing was wrong, but never took any steps to restrain them from their evil. What should have been done to restrain? They should have been made to immediately step down from the pulpit, and repent from their evil sin. If no change, then put them out of the church. They could no longer touch the Holy things of God with such uncleanness. The Apostle Paul warned us of this same sin in I Corinthians 5. Please read this chapter. Today, the house of God is corrupt with adultery and fornication and the sons in the house are not restrained by the leaders, but allowed to do evil, and we say, “The Holy Spirit will convict them.” Many times people will not be convicted of evil because they enjoy their sin, but we the leaders have the responsibility to restrain their evil and maintain the house of God in Holiness. We know the end of the story – Eli and his sons died. The baby born as Eli’s new grandson was named Ichabod which means “the glory is departed from Israel” for the ark of God is taken. I Samuel 4:21-22. Oh what a terrible ending!! The presence of the Lord left the House of God. God would no longer tolerate such a mess and He will not do it today. The Lord had to raise up the prophets to do the job that the priesthood should have been doing. They were able to teach the people the difference between the Holy and the Profane. Our Jesus will begin to make a “clean sweep” in the churches this New Sacred Year starting this April. Leaders will be judged as they continue in their sins of adultery, fornication and pornography. If they don’t step down, He will allow circumstances to remove them from their pulpits. Repentance must come to God’s Holy Pulpits in America in the name of Jesus. We Thank God for the FEW GOOD and HOLY MEN standing in the Holy Pulpits of today. Let us pray that HOLINESS return back to our pulpits and the church in this crucial hour. Jesus is coming again! To God be the Glory!
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your prayers and financial support you give to this ministry. Without you it would be impossible to keep moving forward and you have made that possible. We are so grateful to you and appreciate your friendship over the years. We are all looking forward to summer break, although a busy summer lies ahead. The evangelists will be out on the streets of our city telling others about Jesus and the Word of God will continue to be preached.We continue to build and prepare for end times.
Thank you so much for reading this message. If you would like to make a copy or copies of this newsletter, you are welcome to do so. Make sure your copy is in it's entirety and the message should not be changed. Judgment messages are very serious and those declaring them carry a big responsibility.
Hilda Arredondo's name and her website http://www.uipwc.com/and e-mail address uipwc@bellsouth.net should accompany this message as you print it. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail us. At this point we have no representatives outside this ministry and all business for the ministry is handled by hilda arredondo, 253 Blossom Rd, Opelousas, La. 70570 (337-948-1501)
