THE SILVER TRUMPET ANNOUNCES- MARCH 2011

“God’s Word for the Hour, Spiritual Detours Needed” by: Prophetess hilda arredondo

Dear Praying Friends, We are quickly moving on into the New Year and many of us are anxiously looking toward our Lord God and wondering what good thing or Word He might have in store for us this New Year. Just recently, I spent some time alone seeking God while He may be found. Among the many things I have heard from Him—one good Word for all of us is to be sensitive in our everyday “course” with Jesus and watch for the DIVINE DETOURS in the Highway of Life. What is a Detour? The Webster Dictionary says that a detour is a roundabout way of “course” especially a road used temporarily instead of a main route. Detour also means “deviation” from a direct course of action to or cause to go by a roundabout way. A very important word here is “deviation”. Deviation means to depart from the accepted norm, or to turn aside. In the book of Acts 8:26, it reads “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert”. Philip was preaching the gospel in Jerusalem’s surrounding villages winning the Samaritans. He was at a great revival, things were going so well. He felt comfortable where He was at, but suddenly the Holy Spirit told him to leave and go South through the GAZA Desert—surely a spiritual detour!! God sent him to preach Jesus to one Eunuch, a special man, the treasurer of Ethiopia, a Eunuch of great authority and because of Philip's obedience, the eunuch was saved and baptized. In order to accomplish the salvation of this Eunuch, he drew Philip away from the usual highway of a great revival and detoured him to go preach to one man. Philip could have thought this truly is not God--winning many at the revival and now detoured to go to one person?

THE DETOURS OF LIFE ARE FOR A PURPOSE

If you are a child of God, He always has very good reasons why the “detours of life” come. Philip’s obedience raised him to a higher place in the supernatural—he was promoted!! He was a servant that was now ready for the Master’s use. “And when they were come out of the water, the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at A-zo-tus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” Acts 8:39-40. He had just passed his test for greater “divine appointments” and “assignments” from the Lord. Azotos means fortress or stronghold. Philip was sent there to tear down the principality that had the people in the region in captivity. God wanted to set the captives in those regions free and He did because Philip obeyed.

WILL YOU PASS YOUR TEST OR WILL YOU FAIL

If you encounter a divine spiritual detour this year--How will you handle it, will you pass your test or will you fail it because you cannot change your course? Are you so comfortable that you will not move or obey God? You see, when on a highway headed one way, then suddenly you encounter a detour sign, there are certain emotions that immediately surface in us. You become anxious and possibly fearful because you are not familiar with the new route you will be traveling; therefore, you will have to slow down. You can also become frustrated, pressed for time and you think it is going to mess up your usual schedule. But if our Jesus is in control of our “spiritual detours,” then He is with us in that change and we can trust in the Lord with all our heart; and not lean unto our own understanding, continue to acknowledge him and he will direct our detour. Detours are needed many times because of dangers that lie ahead in the road. That “detour” could spare your life and those that are with you or you could encounter someone who desperately needs your help.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN HELPED A POOR MAN

In Luke 10:30, we read the account of the Good Samaritan. He was on his way to take care of his usual business for the day when he encountered a certain man who was attacked by thieves leaving him half dead. He was stripped of his raiment and wounded. As we read in this chapter, we know that a priest and a Levite passed this man by. They would not take the detour to help this man. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. He bound up his wounds, poured in the oil and the wine and set him on his very own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. He paid his motel bill, so to speak, for the time he needed to recuperate from the beating and wounds. Then the Good Samaritan told the inn keeper, I will stop on my way back and if he owes any money I will take care of it. He had compassion and took the detour from his daily schedule. What an example unto us!

THEIR LIVES WERE SPARED AS THEY WENT ANOTHER WAY

Another example are the wise men that came to see Jesus at his birth, they had to take a detour. Our God knew that Herod was waiting to kill our baby Jesus and God was protecting and watching over the Saviour of the world; therefore, it reads, in Matthew 2: 12, “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” The detour was to protect baby Jesus and them from danger and our God showed them another way – a detour. You can be sure that as a child of the Lord, He is watching over us. If you don’t take the detour it could rob you of your blessing. My daughter Debbie shared with me that she had been out running errands during the holiday season and along the way she gave an offering to some church group and in return they gave her this ticket. She looked at it briefly; it was an invite to go to some church who was putting on the birth of Jesus with live actors and animals. She was not familiar with that particular church and didn’t know where it was located. Therefore she dropped the ticket in her purse and went on.

HE IS STILL DOING THE SAME THING TODAY

On a Saturday night her and her husband James were out riding around and they thought let us go and find a place where can get some hot chocolate with marshmallows—James’s favorite. As they were traveling and looking here and there, suddenly a detour sign appeared on the road, so they followed the detour but they didn’t know where it would lead them till finally they came to what appeared a dead end. Staring them in the face was this big beautiful church that had a lot of commotion going on. They thought, well we don’t have anything else to do, let us stop and see what is going on here at this church. Immediately, Debbie remembered the ticket and looked at it and sure enough it was the invite to the birth of Jesus celebration. They went in and enjoyed it thoroughly, when they started to leave walking toward their car, someone came up running and said, “Wait a minute; we have a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows for you!” God is so wonderful, if they had not taken the detour, this couple would have missed their “blessings”, Hot Chocolate and all because they obeyed – our Lord was in control and the Holy Spirit was surely leading. Usually a detour will lead you a different route that you are not familiar with, but usually the detour will lead you back to the main road you were on and as you catch up it will take you to the original destination where you were headed. The secret is this; the detour was needed to get you there. To God be the Glory!

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 its 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://NDCPrayer.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, 195 El Shaddai Rd, Opelousas, La. 70570

The Silver Trumpet Announces:

A Season To Love Your Fellowman By: Prophetess hilda arredondo

A few months ago we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. That "Season of Joy" brought with it, a flow of “Good Will and Giving” demonstrated all over the earth towards our fellowman. This should not stop, but should continue all year long. In Luke 10:27 it reads, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” We are compelled by the Holy Spirit to love our fellowman as ourselves. Our Lord Jesus instructed us to love God with all our strength, heart and soul which is our total being and in the same breath “Love Our Neighbor As Ourselves.” Then, in this same chapter, the example of the good Samaritan is given to us. “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him; he had compassion on him.” Luke 10:30-33. This poor soul fell among thieves that attacked him, took his clothes and possessions. If this was not enough, then they stabbed him, thinking they had killed him, leaving him for dead. What a terrible thing to do to this man. The thief always comes to kill, steal and destroy. He was left there for dead, then mercy and compassion showed up. Jesus has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” Luke 10:33-35.

THE RELIGIOUS CROWD

This poor man was laying there bleeding and dying by the Jericho road. He was wounded, helpless and needed mercy. The first person to come along was the priest, the man of God and what did he do? He passed by on the other side. Yes, the priest looked and probably thought “I’m on my way to church, I’m too busy; therefore, let me go around him and go take care of my business.” No compassion, no mercy did this man have! Then a Levite came along, also looked on him and also passed by on the other side. The Levite was the lay church member and he probably thought, “I’ve got to get to church because I don’t dare be late for Sunday School.” Today, there are many "ONLOOKERS" people that come and look at your problem or situation and say, “I heard you were having problems” or “I heard that you were hurting; I’ll pray for you, I’ll see you later.” And that is as far as their Christianity goes. Thank God that the God of compassion and mercy had His eye on the wounded man all the time. Then, along came the Samaritan who was also going somewhere on personal business, but when he saw this man, he had mercy and compassion towards him. A compassion that moves his heart to go beyond being an “onlooker” and put his personal business on hold and do something for him!

POURED IN THE OIL & WINE

This man had Godly character. He went out of his way, bound up his wounds, poured in his oil and wine, picked him up with his own hands, helped him on his beast and brought him to an inn and personally took care of him! He took responsibility for his fellowman. This Samaritan had more Christianity than the priest and Levite. The priest and Levite were the religious crowd of that day who had forgotten to love with compassion. Today’s church has lost something also, the action of mercy, called compassion towards our brother and fellowman. Compassion is a loving concern, a deep intense desire for the well being of others. We must learn to be like the good Samaritan. What a heart of love!! This man had the heart of God. He personally took care of him. He didn’t call the “ministry to the poor” in the church or welfare as some would do, instead he took responsibility, knowing that God had put that man in his path to do something for him. This good Samaritan went the extra mile. After spending the night with him and personally taking care of him, the next day he gave the inn-keeper two more pence and said, “Now I have to go, but you take care of him and if the bill is more than two pence, when I return, I will reimburse you!!” Our Savior born two thousand years ago gave us these words, “Go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) Many today are sitting in the church with thousands of dollars piled up in their savings and checking accounts, and passing up their brethren and fellowman as “ONLOOKERS” with no compassion and mercy for their need.

LET’S LOVE IN DEED AND TRUTH

Those individuals are described in the book of Revelations, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17) God’s word tells us that we are blind with our eyes wide open. We are rich and have wealth, yet we are wretched and poor. God help us in America today! In the book of I John 3:17-18 it reads, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Neither in word or in tongue means that real love will do something more than, “I’ll pray for you!”

PAUL & ONESIMUS

In the book of Philemon, the account of Philemon and Onesimus is recorded. Onesimus’ name means profitable. The word profitable means gain, useful, or beneficial. Therefore, God had a purpose and a plan for Onesimus, but he needed compassionate men and women to help him so he could get to the place to be profitable, not unprofitable! Onesimus stole from his wealthy master, then ran away and met up with Paul while in prison. Paul ministered to his needs, led him to the Lord, and sent him back to Philemon. Slaves could be brutally whipped and killed by their masters when they ran away, but Paul said to Philemon, “Receive him as a brother in the Lord now.” “Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:…If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;” (Philemon 11-12, 17-18)

A TESTIMONY--BLINDED BY SELFISHNESS

Paul, just as the good Samaritan, also told Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother in the Lord; be just as kind to him as you would be to me. Oh, church we fall so short of the true love of Jesus Christ. Many of us are living unto ourselves and blinded to our own selfishness. Our "GIVINGS" many times will not go past any inconvenience or sacrifice on our part. Over the years the Lord has shown me His way to love. When I had two of one thing that someone else needed, the Holy Spirit would say, “GIVE IT TO THE ONE IN NEED” He showed me how to share. I can recall one particular situation. One day, I went to visit a sister and her two children who had no living room furniture and were sitting on the floor. Her husband had left her and she was struggling financially. At that time, we were in transition, being prepared for ministry and the Holy Spirit was showing me His ways of compassion in action. We had some things in storage and among those things I had an extra set of very beautiful couches. The house that we formerly owned had a living room and a den with a set of couches in each room. And now we were living in a much smaller home and had put the extra set in storage. The Holy Spirit dealt with my heart and said, “GIVE HER THOSE BEAUTIFUL COUCHES” I obeyed and later that afternoon, my husband and I drove up with those couches in our truck and put them into her living room. She and her little girls were so full of thanksgiving, as we shared the “JOY OF GIVING” like we had never experienced before! Beloved, let us love one another with more than tongue and word, but rather in deed and truth and as we do we will please the Father and honor His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory! 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 its 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://NDCPrayer.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, 195 El Shaddai Rd, Opelousas, La. 70570

THE SILVER TRUMPET ANNOUNCES:

"JESUS, THE MIDDLE LAMP"

By:Prophetess hilda arredondo

Dear Ministry Friends, If we have ever lived in a time of darkness it is now; if ever a scripture is coming to pass, it is the following one, Isaiah 60:1-2 reads, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” This past December 2010, we entered one of our darkest hours of "DIVINE JUDGMENT" upon this world, including our nation. We will see and hear about terrible weather destruction's of all kinds and devastation's like never before, worse than what we are experiencing at present! For some, this will be the coldest winter we’ve ever experienced and others who are jobless will wonder how they are going to pay their utility bills and put food on their tables. The “CRIME WAVE” will escalate with robberies and senseless murders on the rise. Surely “DARKNESS" shall cover the earth and “GROSS DARKNESS” the people. Surely it is a time to make a decision and draw close to Jesus, making Him your secret hiding place. This will be the only way to survive what is about to come upon us. In the above scripture it says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee… but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” Yes, we need HIS WONDERFUL GLORY UPON US and we can only shine forth with that glory as we make Him our Lord and Savior. In John 8:12, it reads, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” We are being called in this hour to make sure that we are following the LIGHT OF LIFE which is Jesus who dispels the darkness! Without the LIGHT OF JESUS we will not be able to see where we are going, groping around in that darkness without a sure course or direction IN TIMES OF GREAT SORROW. GOD'S LIGHT has always been VERY IMPORTANT - way back from the beginning of time.

THE LIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING

In Exodus 37:17-23 in the Message Bible, it reads, “He made a Lamp stand of pure hammered gold, making its stem and branches, cups, calyxes, and petals all of one piece. It had six branches, three from one side and three from the other; three cups shaped like almond blossoms with calyxes and petals on one branch, three on the next, and so on—the same for all six branches…” This lamp stand had a total of six (6) branches plus one middle lamp, making a total of seven (7) LAMPS. It was made of pure hammered gold and all shaped out of one piece of gold not pieced together. The middle lamp was always lifted up higher or taller than the rest and was used as the “LIGHTER”, being lit first as it was used to light all the other lamps. The middle lamp was a very important position - the middle lamp was known as the SERVANT LAMP. This lamp was one of the seven pieces of furniture in the holy tabernacle and worth about $27,000. It was called the MENORAH in Hebrew. It brought the light into the Holy Place. After the tabernacle was finished, the lamp stand had to be lit at all times and there were priests assigned to do that job. The MENORAH DISPELLED THE DARKNESS! The MENORAHS or CANDLESTICKS are always designed in odd numbers having 3, 5, 7, 9 oil lamps.

THE SERVANT LAMP

Our Lord and Savior was the middle position in many instances, or the middle lamp of three (3). When you count God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, of those three, He was in the middle. When He was crucified, a thief was on one side and one on the other. Again Jesus was in the middle position pointing to Him as the MIDDLE SERVANT LAMP, also known as the Shamash – truly He was the Servant lighting the way for all mankind! “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. In the book of Acts 2:2-4, it reads, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” The Lord instructed the disciples to wait in the upper room (Acts 1:13). Church, you know what those cloven tongues of fire were. They were the “SERVANT LAMP” or the Shamash or Jesus, that came to light the candle of the church that day. Surely, He was the “LIGHTER” first to be lit, then came to light all the rest in that upper room experience. It was the same order of the Menorah; the middle lamp (Jesus) was lit first and then all the rest (the church) were lit from the middle lamp. Since it was in a higher position this servant lamp had to bow lower to the rest of the lamps. Jesus bowed down to wash the disciple’s feet and many other times He bowed in humility. He was the humble servant that came to light the whosoever wills in a dark world.

JESUS THE SHAMASH

But now, going back to the history of the Menorah, something happened! Years and years later about 164 B.C., an evil Syrian king took the Holy Place from God’s people and stole all the furnishings and set up the Greek god “Zeus” in God’s stead! That terrible “evil god” was now standing in God’s Holy Place. Then if that was not enough, he boiled a pig, and poured the pig broth over all the altar of God and the temple; the pig representing the “UNCLEAN SPIRIT.” According to Jewish history, our God raised up a man whose name was Judas Maccabees, nicknamed “HAMMER”, with a few followers and they fought that evil Syrian king and overthrew him and took the temple back. They cleaned up the tabernacle and all the pieces of furniture, and in the month of December, dedicated that temple back to our God. One very important thing was missing when they went to light the lamp stand or the Menorah. There was no oil and it would take 8 days to make the oil—but they had to have the light- that beautiful light-bearing Menorah, the tabernacle would be incomplete without the light. In searching for some oil they found some, but it was only enough for one day. To their surprise, not only did it last a day, but rather eight days, until the new oil was finished. What a miracle! This is why this holiday season is known as the season of miracles. It has nothing to do with Santa Claus’s Christmas. He is not the miracle worker. Our God was the first to perform miracles during this season.

THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Every year the Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah, “THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS”, also known as the Feast of Dedication, representing that this was the season of rededicating the temple after it was taken back from the Zeus followers. In John 10:20 it reads, “And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.” Jesus the light-bearer was doing the works of the Father that day in Jerusalem; Miracles! Miracles! at the Feast of Dedication and it was winter. The blind man sat in darkness, but now something happened at the festival of lights; at the Feast of Dedication the blind man’s eyes were opened by our Jesus. He could do nothing but bring the light wherever darkness resided. This blind man had sat in darkness, but now light had entered in. In John 1:3-5 (Message Bible) it reads, “Everything was created through him; nothing-not one thing!—came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.” It is the season to follow hard after Him and His word, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105. When Isaiah 60:1-2 talks about our light has come and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon us, then those of us who have received Jesus into our hearts become the light bearers of Christ. We bring the light to a lost and dying world.

THE FEAST OF DEDICATION

As we move into the gross darkness in 2011 our light will shine like never before in the mist of that darkness and just as the blind man whom Jesus gave sight to, many will have their spiritual eyes opened in 2011. We will enter the season of the “BEGINNING OF MIRACLES” in the midst of gross darkness. He will come to set many free from their sins. Yes, it will truly be a PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR for those who have stayed close to the LIGHT OF THE WORLD—JESUS! As we come into the New Year, this is a time to celebrate the Festival of Lights by rededicating our lives to Jesus. The world says to make New Year Resolutions. We can be part of the rededication and make Holy Christian Resolutions this coming New Year. This is a year that many will come to Jesus, the Son of God because of the gross darkness---the GLORY OF GOD WILL BE BRIGHTER than ever - many will be looking for the light of the world and we will know where to point them. To God be the Glory! In his love and service, Prophetess hilda arredondo ======================================================== 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 its 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://NDCPrayer.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, 195 El Shaddai Rd, Opelousas, La. 70570

The Silver Trumpet Announces:

"THE LOST DONKEY"

By: Prophetess hilda arredondo

In I Samuel 9:1-3 it reads, “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. And the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.” Saul was a tall, nice looking, and well behaved young man. For Saul, the son of a mighty man of power, this seemed to be just another ordinary day on the farm. His father’s donkeys had strayed away and now were lost. His father needed his son to go out and find them. Therefore, Saul picked out a servant to go with him on this errand. This was just part of being a farmer, animals straying away, and sons being sent to find them were common. But because we serve a great and mighty God who has plans for our lives, Saul’s life was about to drastically change. His date with destiny was awaiting him unbeknownst to him. Our God in Jesus’ name who looks down from heaven takes what appears to be an ordinary day and turns it into an unexpected “date with destiny” as we will see as we read on.

ISRAEL REJECTS GOD

In Jeremiah 29:11, the promise of God's word states, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God had a purpose and a plan for His people Israel. Israel had rejected the sovereign rule of God. Up to this point in history they had Samuel, the prophet, as their governor and judge who had replaced the Eli priesthood whom God had rejected. He had let that corrupted priesthood run their course to the end, and then had Samuel ready for that timely moment in history to make him judge over Israel. God is never in a hurry and waited for Eli to run the course of a generation – 40 years. Today, He is still not in a hurry and will do what He needs to do in due season with a modern day corrupted priesthood, just as in the day of Samuel. Samuel was an honorable man and full of integrity. He was raised in the house of God learning His ways and was a pure, consecrated vessel as he stepped up to the place of service to lead Israel.

MANY CALLED, FEW CHOSEN

Samuel’s name was called out by Almighty God and he heard and responded to the mighty task of being judge over Israel. Many are called, but few are chosen-Samuel had been chosen! Later, as time went by, we get an idea of what kind of leader Samuel turned out to be. At the end of his reign Samuel stood before Israel and said in I Samuel 12:3-5, “Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither has thou taken ought of any man’s hand. And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.” No one could point the finger at Samuel for any wrongdoing. Now here we are, Samuel is old and retires from his post and his sons are moving in to be judges over Israel, but something was not quite right. “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” I Samuel 8:3-5. This was another point in history that would change Israel’s course – to become like other nations at their own request. They no longer wanted the rule of the God of the Universe. Not because He had failed them in His holiness and rule but because honest, holy men full of the Holy Ghost was nowhere to be found. Most were after money and took bribes, perverted justice, and had “Respect of Men.”

MISSING INGREDIENTS

Sounds like some of the church problems of today. The problem of that day and still today was no sanctification and consecration of the office. These missing ingredients, so to speak, had caused a problem then and are still causing a problem today in our churches. Fast talking men and women who have placed themselves into the office of the priesthood are full of sensual and evil lusts, dishonest, liars, greedy, and lovers of money. Many have not gone through the sanctification and consecration necessary to stand in the office. That is the problem with some of our nation’s spiritual leaders. I thank God for the few among us who are consecrated men and women, but it is not a majority. For this reason there is little “fire of revival” in our churches. Consecrated men and women that bring true preaching and teaching will ignite the hearts of the listeners – stirring them to embrace Him (Jesus) and lay their sin and worldly lifestyles down. Consecration is the vein of fire that pours out of those vessels. It brings a hunger and a thirst after righteousness. So now, let us look back at Israel again, they wanted a king. Samuel was shocked over their request. “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but have rejected me, that I should not reign over them”. I Samuel 8:6-7. From that point on Israel would have their way, God who knew best would let them go to settle for second best. The prophet represented the heart of God leading them, but now they wanted man to rule them as other nations. Yet we see God's mercy and love for His people, the promise of scripture that He would never leave them or forsake them would always ring true.

THE LOST DONKEYS

God now leads them to a king—Saul and the lost donkeys. He and his servant set out to look for donkeys and they look and look and cannot find them. Yet, on the other hand, God is working and setting up all the steps of Saul to accomplish his destiny. He is out looking for his father’s donkeys. No other thought is on his mind, just being obedient to the task. God is planning a sacrifice of the people in the high place, and a table is being set for Saul to honor him as the upcoming king over Israel. Church, Jesus holds our destiny. Saul had to go to the high place to hear that his life was about to change to bring about his destiny. Do you want to know about your destiny? Then you will have to go to a “high place” if you’re looking for your destiny. It was in the high place that God revealed to Saul God's plan and purpose for his life. It was in the high place that a table of honor was set for him. Also, in a high place the vision is broader, you can see further then you can in a low place. The whole view is clearer there. In a high place you can see what paths are best to take and the paths not to take.

AN APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY

Are you looking for something? Or possibly think that you’re going a certain way to look for a specific thing? Does it appear to be another normal day for you, as it was for Saul? But suddenly a “Divine Appointment” pops up in your path bringing changes that affect you and your whole life. You will never be the same again – your destiny is about to begin. You see we never know what our God is preparing for us. Your thought may be, I’m just looking for something. Saul was on a “Common Errand” looking for his father’s strays. But when they couldn’t find the donkeys a thought came to the servant, “There is a prophet in this area who is very accurate, let us ask him about our lost donkeys.” Immediately after asking where the seer was, they were directed to the Prophet Samuel. I Samuel 9:13-17 says, “As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him. And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man who I spake to thee of! This same shall reign over my people.”

OUR CHOICE MAY NOT BE GOD’S BEST

God had already informed Samuel, that He would put a man in his path that would be the one to reign over Israel and here he was – Saul, the son of Kish. This was not God's best, He wanted to be their king, yet He would still give them the king they wanted and they would have to live with their decision. In I Samuel 9:18-20, it reads, “Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found…” Samuel told Saul not to worry about the donkeys, they were found and now what seemed like a wild goose chase turned out to be Saul’s “divine appointment” with his destiny—to be the first king over Israel. It appeared that he was out looking for lost donkeys, but God used the donkeys to get Saul to cross Samuel’s path and get him to go where He wanted him to go. Church, many times God will use a certain situation that affects us in our everyday lives to get us where He needs us. We may think it’s about this or about that, but really it’s about getting us to our destiny. Since His thoughts are higher than our thoughts He will use whatever He needs to get us there. Our Jesus has a purpose for everything in our lives and God's plan will come to pass as the Holy Spirit leads. Out of the many experiences I’ve had over the years with the Holy Spirit, I would like to share with you the one that changed my life forever and brought me to my destiny.

LOOKING FOR THE ALL-AMERICAN DREAM

Many years ago my husband and I were without jobs. At that time (1980) we lived in the Ohio area which had become economically depressed. The auto and steel industry was struggling and the steel mills and factories were laying off workers and some were closing down. Our driving thoughts were to find better jobs so that we could continue pursuing the All-American dream. Nothing wrong with that – but if God has a dream that He wants you to pursue then He will do His best to get us there, just as Saul. He was looking for lost donkeys, yet the day of his destiny was at hand! Church, if we are born again then we are His children. He loves us and the negative circumstances sent our way, our Lord will use them to get us to our destiny. Never in our wildest imagination did we think that Louisiana would be the place where our God would lead us to those new jobs.

A DIVINE APPOINTMENT OF PRAYER

Through many circumstances (too many to write about in this letter) our family ended up in Louisiana in 1980. We were looking for the All-American dream, but our Lord had other plans for me—my destiny was waiting for me in Louisiana. I needed God so desperately in my life at that time and still do and He needed me. Here I was looking for a job, but He had a job waiting for me—a job of prayer--The National Divine Connection Of Prayer was waiting to be birthed. The Lord would bring me in touch with some of the most wonderful praying people in the nation. A faithful committed people that would be willing to join me and pray for America to repent and turn back to God so we could have a mighty revival. This year will be twenty-seven (27) years since we set out to look for those jobs – a step that would change my life forever. While looking for that job Louisiana became a “Divine Appointment” of prayer for me and my real job was assigned – Prayer for America. I have never been so fulfilled and happy and He has always taken care of me and my family in every area. Are you looking for something today? If you are – don’t be surprised – the destiny of God could be waiting right around the corner for you! To God Be the Glory! 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 its 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://ndcprayer.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, 195 El Shaddai Rd, Opelousas, La. 70570