Visitation Part 1

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or whatever the case may be. I have something on my heart and mine I want to share with you for the next few weeks. I hope this is an appetizer to what God give to those who approach his throne room.

In the Bible and through the years, we have seen and heard friends and pastors around the world speak of visitations from God. These words though Biblical, can be defined in many ways. This week I want to investigate this and see the value of a visitation. Hebrews 2:6 is a good place to start:

"One in a certain place testified, saying, what is man, that You are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that You (visit him)?"

What a powerful verse we have here, it is a verse full of suggestion and anticipation. To think that an infinite God would visit a finite human being. I have chosen to live with the anticipation that God has a knack of visiting the hungry and thirsty. His Word is an open-door policy:

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

Has the thought ever crossed your mind the reason that some are never satisfied? Is it simply because they never put a demand on God's Presence in this manner? How hungry are you for a visitation from God? It may be as simple as you not even believing this is a remote possibility. Some may not even believe that a Sovereign God would even think of them, but that is not true. On a personal note, when our son Kyle was born, we had a friend Paul Paulson who was a poet and at that time he wrote a poem for my wife GayNell, and we appreciate to this very day.

Like Hannah in the Bible,
GayNell had prayed.
She prayed so hard
Her faith was frayed
But God had remembered
And worked out a scheme
That fulfilled both Cleddie
And GayNell's dream.

Kyle is ours by selection, and we always told him as a child growing up this is how much he was loved, he was chosen. He did not just come for a visitation he came for habitation.

As a child my home was like a turn style. You never knew who might be in the house when you woke up. I remember one early morning my cousin Keith (that was his first name) and his buddy Runt (which was his real name), came knocking on my parent's window about 3 AM in the morning. They had come to town to enroll at the Arlington State University. I am not sure my mother even knew they were coming into town. Those were days when there were very few late-night greasy spoons open and more than likely you just drove right past them. As was the custom, a breakfast was cooked, and they had some catching up to do. You know what I mean. They were not there for habitation because the next day they were moving into the dormitory which was less than a mile away.

Recently, I was studying the nature of a visitation and as I was pouring over scripture, I was able to see the supernatural reality which God repeatedly had put an emphasis on.

Luke 7:15 and 16 is a wonderful verse which the Holy Spirit, inspired to record for the ages:

"Jesus visits a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Lately, God has been dealing with me about the FEAR OF THE LORD. As I was typing these verses, I noticed what happened when the dead man sat up and began to speak. "Fear seized all, (not some of them but all of them) and they began to glorify God."  The Fear of God is a component that comes with His visitation, and we know that according to the scripture, FEAR IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM.

In that I have already mentioned Hannah, let me take you there in this study to see what it meant to her to have a visitation. In 1 Samuel 2:21, we have the statement: "And the Lord visited Hannah."

ALL HOPE WAS GONE, WHEN YOU SPEAK OF A WOMAN PREGNANT WITH CHILD, WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT HER? SHE IS EXPECTANT, NOT SO IN THE STORY OF HANNA.

This is the story of Hannah and the birth of Samuel.

"There was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah, he had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children."

Let's look at the unfolding story of Hannah and how she made it into the page of the Bible.

"Now Elkanah, used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?" 1 Samuel 1:3-8

Elkanah like most husbands would not have made a very good counselor as you can see, there is very little understanding in the words he spoke to her. This however is a BUT GOD story and it is not done until the Lord has the final word.

She received from the Lord the answer to her prayer and herein is how the Lord changed the sad saga of her life. "And the Lord visited Hannah." In other words, the Lord visits us, so to speak, in answer to earnest prayer. Hannah's desperation was met with terminology inspired by God, I have a growing understanding of what VISITATION means. In Hannah's case her need aligned with what God needed. Hannah got what she wanted, and God got what he needed. What did God need? A VOICE. To be a voice, you must be able to hear His words. In Samuel's case, God started by calling Samuel by his name. God heard Hannah's voice, and as a result she gave birth to a generational marker who did not let one word be lost that God spoke to him. Hannah's legacy was in her seed of a son who was a prophetic gift to God's people and ultimately the Providence of God.

Visitations happen when God's people put a demand on Him which align with what His desire is. The desires He give us in our heart are His desires. Remember even Jesus said, "I do what I see my father doing." in other words with what aligns with God's will.

We often find ourselves singing:

Come! Holy Spirit, I need you
Come in thine own gentle way
Come in thy strength and thy Power
Come in thine own special way.

I love songs that are written with an anticipation of an encounter or (as I may say) a visitation. Spiritual bondage is as if you have no freedom. Do you feel as though you are enclosed, shut up in any way? Do you feel somewhat confined spiritually, tethered like a ball on the end of a rope? Then this will be the lesson for you. "The Lord their God shall visit them."

Thanks for loving us and allowing us to serve with you all these years. 2025 is welcoming us to a year of visitation.

I believe in You,

Pastor Cleddie