By Steve Shultz, Publisher, THE ELIJAH LIST

Only a few days before Father's Day, I was listening to a commercial advertise a race to be held at the Portland (Oregon) International Raceway to be held on Father's Day, the following Sunday.

It occurred to be that in my entire life, (I'm about to hit 44) I'd never seen a car race in person. I figured that would be fun and since my family of 5 let's me do whatever I want on "my" day, I thought, "We'll all go to races."

As I bought the tickets (gulping several times at the cost, even for general admission), I had the distinct sense that the Lord was going to speak to me at this event, which often means He's going to give me something to tell others. God likes to speak to us through natural things--about supernatural things.

We arrived an hour and a half before the start of the race--and not wanting to miss the REAL action, I asked several people where the best place to view the race was. "The straighaway" is where I told them I wanted to be. You see, I wanted to see the fastest action and I felt that would be where the drivers let loose and "gave it all she's got"---the fastest part of the race. Surely anyone trying to pass another car would try it there.

Several people pointed us to the best spot--they each pointed to the same place--- but when we got situated, there was this blaring speaker (too loud for me!) and there were all these curves and turns. They'd have to brake to go around those curves, I reason. I wanted ACTION and SPEED.

People weren't listening to me, were they? I scouted out more of the track and found the straightaway about 150 yards to the right. This was where I was wanted to be. And no blaring speakers either.

This location was on the "back" straightaway. Couldn't afford the one in front of the pits. Nevertheless, we got a great seat right in the middle of the straigtaway, sitting on the lawn--- with a perfect view!

The race started and man, was it loud!! And better . . . was it ever FAST! Cars were going by so fast, our heads looked like a kitten following a moving string back and forth with it's eyes. So did everyone else's.

By about halfway through the race, I had absolutely NO IDEA who was ahead, who was behind, and who was out of the race. All I saw were cars going by so fast that you had to read the ad on the side of the car to know which car it was.

I was getting bored. "Why do people pay all this money for this?" I asked myself.

Then I got a brilliant idea. We'll go back to the spot where everyone told us we should go.

On the curves.

When we got there, the first thing I noticed was that it was more interesting to watch the cars make the curves and still try to pass one another. Beyond that, the speaker that was "blaring" was massive--and over the noise of the ear-piercing engines, you could actually hear a blow-by-blow description of who was ahead, who had dropped out of the race---in fact I learned what had happened to the lead car that has stopped coming around. . . He'd had an accident and was out of the race completely. The guy that was winning--- was now out of the race but I had no idea he'd turned his car on its side.

Now this was getting interesting.

The last half of the race was really fun to follow. The announcer made it interesting by telling us what was going on on the whole track, not just our little vantage point. He'd call the turns that the leader was on and I learned what was the number of our turns. I was actually now informed.

I sauntered over to my kids and intelligently explained to THEM what was happening, as if I was the expert---and to them, I was.

When the race was complete, I thought, "That was kind'a fun."

But what made it fun?

Ohhhh..... NOW I was learning what I was SUPPOSED to be learning. This was a lesson in THE PROPHETIC.

The deal is . . . the race would have had the same ending, no matter where we sat and what we heard. A lot of believers are like that. The race is on, and it's fast and furious, but they don't have a clue of what's going on in the Lord's race. Who's winning? Who's out of the race and why? And what is their part? They just see cars whizzing by . . . and after awhile, things just get boring, you know what I mean? I mean, why did they even sign on to this race? It just isn't interesting any more.

Recently I've encouraged some brothers in the Lord to get around the PROPHETIC wherever it's happening, so they can hear what God is saying for themselves and for the church, and even what God is saying to THEM.

"God knows my address," some of them say. "If He has something to say, He knows where I live."

Well, yes that's true. And the people coming to see Jesus knew right where He was ministering, too. But in order to hear Him themselves, they had to get up and GO TO WHERE HE WAS SPEAKING . . . AND HEALING . . . AND TEACHING. Of course, being God in the flesh, Jesus certainly knew where THEY lived. But with a few exceptions, they had to go to him.

He knew where the woman lived who touched the hem of his garment . . .but until she fought to get to him and TOUCH Him, she didn't receive a whole lot of benefit for that knowledge, did she? And Jesus put a premium on her desperation. Virtue even "went out of" him because of it.

It's funny that with God---- who has the ability to be everywhere at once--and to talk to everyone at the same time----this same God sent an Angel to Cornelius to tell him ONE THING. . .

"Go get Peter! He's going to talk to you and tell you about ME and what I'm saying TO YOU." (paraphrased)

Isn't that odd? You see, God works through people---men and women with personalities and voices. He gives information, teaching, inspiration to people and then he tells the people---"Now go tell those people over there what I told you to tell them."

That's called "PROPHESYING" OR "GIVING A PROPHETIC WORD."

Or he says to the Cornelius's of the world, "I want you to go see this person who is speaking. His name is Pete. He's got a message for you."

"But Lord, just tell me the message yourself!" you say.

"I WILL and I AM telling you myself. Go to Pete, and He, who has ME living in him, has a message FROM ME----TO YOU."

Back at the races . . .

It occurred to me that Jesus LIKES (No, maybe he loves it) to tell us how the race is going, who's winning, who crashed, who needs help, and what our part in the race is! Jesus likes to tell us what's going on and He loves it when we listen Him. Sometimes, just because that's what people in relationship do. They talk to each other. Remember what Jesus said?

John 15:15 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Let's face it. We already know the top guy is going to win. His name is Jesus. We know the end of the story. But if we don't get to talk to Jesus---learn his strategies, and find out how he's going to make the fuel last---it gets a little boring, doesn't it?

Have you felt bored lately?

God may be telling you to move to where he's talking? He wants to give you a play-by-play, (that's what FRIENDS do, after all) but if you just sit there saying, "God knows my address," You may sit there a long time. I ask you again, "Are you bored?"

Find out when and where God is speaking and through whom? (The Wise men came from a long distance to experience God.) Then if I were you, I'd go listen to what he's saying---Get in front of the loudspeaker and take it in? What's going on in the race?

The end of the story will be pretty much the same, either way.

But wouldn't it be more interesting to ENJOY the race along the way, instead of just attend it---and say you did?