Pinecrest Bible Training Center
1968-2008

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.

Beginning in 2008 the vision and bible school that God so graciously gave Wade Taylor beginning in 1968 came to an abrupt end, falling into the ground and dying.-

We now wait for God to raise up and bring forth His seed of promise in another, that the vision fail not.

Summer 1988
 The Call of Samuel
Joseph Nieves
Former Teacher and Academic Dean,

The outworking of the call of God upon Samuel's life included a process by which he learned to recognize the voice of the Lord. This required that he be both willing and teachable.

Today, the Lord is seeking a people with a willing heart that desire to know His voice. "THY PEOPLE SHALL BE WILLING in the day of thy power," Psalm110.3a. This is again expressed in Isaiah 1:19, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land."

It is extremely important that we learn to recognize the voice of the Lord. When the Lord first called Samuel, he ran to Eli instead of responding to the Lord. Notice that he ran. His quick response reveals an eagerness to obey. The Lord called the second time and again he went to Eli. I Samuel 3:7 tells us that Samuel did not yet know the voice of the Lord. Eli finally realized that the Lord was calling Samuel (I Samuel 3:8-9) and instructed him on how to respond.

HOW TO KNOW THE VOICE OF THE LORD

1. A personal intimate knowledge of the Lord is essential to knowing His voice. We learn by daily contact with and obedience to Him. God created Adam with a capacity to know Him. Adam heard the "voice of Lord God walking" in the Garden. They were accustomed to this time of daily fellowship in the cool of the day. The Hebrew word for cool is wind, or spirit. Thus, Adam knew the voice of the Lord.

When Adam hid from this time of fellowship, the Lord sought Adam, "Where are you?" The prayer of Jesus in John 17:3 is, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." See Jeremiah 2:8 and 24:7; Hosea 4:1,6 and 6:6. "For they shall all know Me, "Jer 31:34.

2. We learn, with His help, through experience. "And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord" I Samuel 3:21. This "word" here speaks of the word revealed. The Hebrew word is "Gala," which means to uncover or denude. This speaks of discovering our inner ear. Isaiah 50:4-5 is prophetic of how Jesus received His understanding. "He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear. The Lord God has opened my ear and I was not rebellious neither turned away back." See also I Samuel 9:15 and Psalms 40:6.

Today, there is a multitude of voices. Many false spirits are operating in the world. I John 4:1 tells us "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

It is more important than ever that we know His voice. "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice" John 10:4. Jesus tells us that His sheep hear His voice and another they will not follow. Knowing the real will expose the false. Jesus warned His disciples concerning their hearing, and told them to take care how and what they heard (Mark 4:23,24).

While on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, the disciples wanted to make three tabernacles to represent the spiritual experience they observed. The Father admonished them to focus on the Son and to hear Him. Compare Hebrews 1:1, 2:1, 3:7, 12:25-27. God is a speaking God.

Samuel speaks to us of a prophetic ministry. The Lord is raising up a "Samuel" ministry in our day. We must unite our hearts by faith to "the word of hearing" for this critical time in which we live.