by Dr S Sam Selva Raj, Founder and Pastor, Echo of His Call Ministries, Chennai, India

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Editorial Notation:
It was 56 years ago that a young man responded to God’s call to serve Him faithfully… and he did, willingly. I have known Dr Sam for many years and can declare him as an achiever for God’s kingdom, having had the honour of ministering in the main church as well as some of his outreaches. I also had the joy of being special speaker at a Nehemiah Bible College graduation service, encouraging the enthused graduating students eager to minister in the Holy Spirit to their fellow countryfolk.

I count this servant of faith as my brother-in-Christ. He and his family know their calling in God and haven’t hesitated to be led by Him, always relying on the Holy Spirit to win souls for Jesus, open doors, provide needed finance and enable them to be accomplish whatever the ministry challenges have been, still are. And God has blessed them all!

What the ministry has accomplished over the past 56 years (celebrated earlier this month) through ready willingness to serve God is incredible! May Dr Sam’s article this month encourage readers to be daring and ‘go for it in God.’

It has blessed greatly me to support Dr Sam and Echo of His Call Ministries in whatever way I can, especially his special daily YouTube broadcasts. Karthar ungalai aasivathipar! Bhagwan tumhare saath ho!
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(August 26, 2024) S. Sam Selva Raj encourages and strongly challenges…

Abounding with God’s blessings is the reward of leading a faithful life! But this is not always seen… and some Christians can wrongly think, ‘What is the use of living a faithful life?’

Take heart! The truth is that those who are faithful to God and His wishes receive divine help abundantly!

‘A faithful person will abound with blessings…’ confirms Proverbs 28:20NASB. CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) reads, ‘A trustworthy person will receive many blessings.’ Message: ‘Committed and persistent work pays off.’ 

God will—

• Listen to the faithful servant’s prayers.
• Answer their applications in His perfect timing.
• Help when they are in danger.

Trusting God
King Hezekiah is a great example to us! He was faithful and righteous before God. 2Kings 18:5-7aNKJV tells that ‘He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments… The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went.’

With confidence in His God, he courageously abolished idolatry that his foolish father had allowed in the nation (v4). He also gained victory over his people’s oppressors: ‘He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. He subdued the Philistines…’ (v7b-8).

As we seek to hold fast to God and follow Him, enemies, particularly Satan, will seek to deter us! Let us stand fast against such as we in trust our God! And may we never allow anything idolatrous to infiltrate our life!

Even sickness may hit us… as happened to this dedicated servant! In 2Kings 20:3NKJV, we find Hezekiah seriously ill; but He turned his face toward the wall and prayed to God saying, ‘“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.’

God’s response was ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you’ (v5). We too can call out to God and trust Him for healing.

Dear children of God, we live in troublesome times and the Lord requires us to be like Hezekiah — faithful and upright, standing strong in our trust in Him and being about His kingdom business. And the Lord will help us in whatever way we need His power. Note the close relationship between being faithful and being ‘good’ — 2Chronicles 19:11, ‘Behave courageously, and the Lord will be with the good (ie: The upright)’    

God enabled Judah’s new king, the committed Hezekiah, to remove idolatry and stand against the tyranny of the controlling Assyrian king and marauding Philistines.

Are you fully committed to the Lord in these dark days? If so, the promise of 2Chronicles 16:9 is for us too as we serve uprightly and trust God: ‘For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.’

Serving God
I remind us of another righteous, upright man whom God used in dark days not as a king but in the most usual way (Genesis 6:14).

Genesis 6:5-6 tells that ‘The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.’ 

And God found a man that He could trust to fulfill what He intended next — His name was Noah and he ‘… was a just (tsaddiyq – righteous) man and perfect (tamiym – upright) in his generations…’ (Genesis 6:9).

• Noah was singled out in his generation due to these two characteristics!
• ‘Build an ark.’ ‘What’s an ark?’ we’d ask: But Noah responded to God’s calling!
• And the Lord enabled him to be an achiever! Verse 22NLT says that he ‘… did everything exactly as God had commanded him.’ 

Can we be chosen by God to achieve whatever He asks in our evil generation because we are upright and righteous and trust Him? If so, is God challenging you today, even about a simple matter, not an ark?

If God should speak to us, may our ears be sharp to hear, our heart pure and open to receive. Remember: He never anoints or speaks to us when we are one with the world, involved in its deceptions.

(i) Live as God’s children, and hear our heavenly Father’s voice.
(ii) Fear Him and, leading a righteous life, God will enable us to fulfill the challenge.
(iii) Honour God and He will enable us to handle diseases, problems, sorrows and other matters that would hold us back from fulfilling His calling.

My own testimony here is that several times in my life I have heard God’s voice very clearly. It is a very sweet voice. Once He gave me a promise of healing while I was lying sick. It is very difficult to forget such experiences. At other times I heard Him distinctly direct me regarding this ministry.

I encourage you to hear what God wants you to do for His kingdom. Now such ministry won’t be like Hezekiah’s or Noah’s! But whatever it is, He will enable us, having given each of us a different voice and different talents. By His grace and Holy Spirit power we can achieve for Him!

When I am alone in my room I pray, ‘God, I praise you that you are with me. I could not have achieved all the things Echo of His Call has accomplished these past 56 years, if you were not with me. It is because of your divine power and anointing we were able to do such great things— and still are!

God saw Noah an upright person in that evil generation. We too should be upright and enjoy the privilege of walking with God in our evil generation. When we are not covetous but truthful in all dealings and fear God, He will walk with us… we can experience the presence of God when we are alone.

Honouring God
Dear friends, know that God is just and will appreciate all the good things you have achieve for His church and the kingdom. Hebrews 6:10 confirms: ‘God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.’

Our God is a righteous God! And as you are righteous before Him and make yourself available to Him, He will surely walk with you and through the Holy Spirit grant you the grace to fulfill His will. Do be aware that there are times when the Lord speaks to our hearts! We can surely hear His voice when He does. Listen for His guidance… God’s blessings depend on the commitment we have to do His work and honour Him by accepting whatever ministry service leading He gives us.

I seek to encourage every believer — do be servants of God who receive His orders and honour God by achieving for Him!

Feeling inadequate? Don’t! When you willingly surrender yourself totally as Noah did, you begin to experience God walking with you and His enabling. If not, it’s because we are not in His grace and ‘doing things His way’! When we do things on our own, we meet with failures, not doing His work efficiently! But when we work within God’s will, He gives us great power through the blessed Holy Spirit’s enabling.

As He qualified such as Noah and Hezekiah, God qualifies us. We develop skills…  and God also rewards us in our work. Sometimes I had heard parents of some ministers say, ‘My son has taken up the Lord’s ministry. I wonder how he is going to live.’

From my own experience, I can honestly say that those who work for the Lord’s kingdom are looked after by God! He wants to — and does — bless those who work for Him.

Many a time, we are unable to accept the plans given by God. If it is beyond our ability we begin to wonder, even doubt. Know this: Even as He expects each one of us to do what He wants us to do, He will enable us! Therefore we should do exactly what He asks us to do, whatever it may be.

Regarding Noah, Genesis 6:22NKJV tells us that ‘… according to all that God commanded him, so he did.’ What God has started in your life, He will enable you to fulfill. For whatever purpose He called you, He will surely enable you to accomplish it if you are willing.

• Always honour your holy God.
• Be truthful in His sight. Don’t tell lies… God won’t use liars or the covetous.
• Dare be bold, knowing that ‘… the Lord shall be with the good’).
• Hear His voice and move forward under His direction.
• I encourage you, I charge you, be a willing servant of God… for God.

May we allow God to use us in reaching out to lost souls as commissioned by the greatest servant of all — Jesus! (Matthew 28:18-20).

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Dr S Sam Selva Raj is founder of India’s National Spiritual Newspaper Echo of His Call, printed monthly in 16 languages. For 56 years Dr Sam has overseen many community outreaches blessing thousands, the Chennai church, Nehemiah Bible College, St Paul’s Matriculation School, postal and online Bible correspondence/theological courses. God’s particular challenge for Dr Sam is his daily broadcasting 5-minute messages in Hindi, Tamil and English on YouTube, trusting the Lord to provide for the costs. Link: sam@echoofhiscall.org / Real Revival
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