FROM THE FISHES MOUTH

BILLY BASS IS ANOINTED!

A few years ago we ordered a fun Christmas present for someone. It was Billy Bass, a fish mounted on a plaque. Billy had an electronic eye that detected motion and when you passed by him, he would suddenly turn his head towards you, wiggle his tail, open his mouth and start singing! Now Billy did not exactly have a great voice, but it was most definitely loud and startling. He had 2 songs: "Don’t Worry, Be Happy and "Take Me to the River." Here are the words to the songs:

"I want to know, can you help me? Take me to the river. Drop me in the river! Take me to the river. Put me in the water!"

And

"Here’s a little song I wrote. Don’t worry, be happy!"

Since we ordered him early in the year, Billy got lost in the closet and we forgot all about him when Christmas came and went. I finally found Billy when I cleaned out the closet during a particularly sad and difficult time for both Wayne and I. We were in the process of overcoming a great oppressive cloud that hung over our lives. When I found Billy Bass in the closet, I could hardly wait to hide him somewhere and hear my husband’s response when suddenly out of nowhere this fish would start to sing. I knew my beloved needed a laugh.

I was having a blast thinking up all the exciting places I would hide Billy. Let’s see now, on the floor in the dark. And when he comes home and opens the door, Billy can greet him! And oh yes, under the covers in bed! I could just feel the joy bubbles of mirth starting to bubble up from Joseph’s dungeon.

My favorite of all my carried out plans was when I sleepily waited until Wayne went to bed so I could put Billy in the fridge. I had to figure out how to put him in there and close the door without activating him because I knew Wayne would hear him through the bedroom wall. I waited until Wayne was in the bathroom and hurried and shoved poor ol’ Billy in the refrigerator. I was chuckling and laughing all the way to bed.

Wayne is always extremely kind and considerate in the mornings and he creeps around trying so hard to let me sleep in when I need to. I had been having difficult and sleepless nights. I went to bed smirking and trying to smother my giggles. I knew I wouldn’t be there when he opened the door, but I could just imagine my groggy husband walking into the kitchen to get his orange juice. I went to sleep with a smile.

In the morning I suddenly woke up to this loud blasting song, "I WANT TO KNOW, CAN YOU HELP ME?" … SLAM.

… Everything is quiet and there is a long silence….

I am laughing out loud in bed. This was worth an entire day of sleep deprivation! Wayne is in there trying to figure out how to get his orange juice without waking me up!!!! This is SO FUNNY I am laughing hysterically!!

The silence breaks and I hear, "Here’s a little song I wrote, don’t worry be happy!" Wayne got his OJ and cold Billy got out of the brink. I popped out of bed still laughing.

We had our season of joy with Billy and finally I put him away in the closet once again. But the Lord wasn’t done with Billy. I didn’t yet realize that Billy was anointed as the Lord’s mouth piece to the body of Christ…

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CONFIRMATION SERMON

Today in church one of our elders preached about worry. He used the old song, "Don’t worry, be happy" as his text!" Then every time he was trying to use the song as an example, our favorite musician in the audience would mutter under his breath, "I always hated that song!" It was so funny because it was like a stage play between the two of them. I laughed and chuckled all the way through the sermon thinking about good ol Billy Bass, who the elder did not know about, because of his being in Mexico the year Billy came out in the stores. I knew the Lord was really talking to me about worry and to just relax with joy and trust Him.

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CONFIRMATION SERMON: A few months later I went to a Bobby Conner meeting and he proceeded to tell us about the time that he had accepted a speaking engagement in a church with some people who were very dignified and staunchly religious. The Lord told Bobby that he was to buy Billy Bass and take him to the meeting and preach about Billy! When he first walked to the podium with Billy, every one was just blankly staring at him holding the fish. He told them that they needed to get into the river and then let Billy sing for them! I don’t remember what else he said, but I do remember that eventually a few people smiled!

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BILLY BASS LIVES ON …

UPDATE EXPERIENCE: One year later, my husband and I were on a shopping trip out of town to find some interesting things to decorate our backyard. We were having our son’s wedding rehearsal dinner outside and were transforming our yard into a paradise of flowers, water and color. On the trip, I was worrying that we were spending too much money on the project and didn’t know if we were being wise stewards and so I had prayed that the Lord would help us find what we wanted and help us to resist overspending. As I was praying over this, we walked into a darling little store full of fun yard ornaments, chimes, etc. Just as I finished my prayer, suddenly a voice I knew very well started singing, "Here’s a little song I wrote, don’t worry, be happy!" I broke out laughing. There was good ol’ Billy touching my heart once again. "Lord You are just too much! Thank You, I refuse to worry and just let You provide! AMEN!"

UPDATE CONFIRMATION: About an hour later we were walking through another fun store and I heard the Lord say to me: "I had something to tell you."

Often the Lord speaks to me just prior to or at the exact moment my eye lands on something. I will hear Him before my brain registers what I am looking at. Immediately after I heard Him say He had something to tell me, my eye looked up and I saw another fish on the wall! This was not Billy but a different and older antique fish. His head and tail were in the exact angle that Billy’s were when he was singing. This was His confirmation that in the previous store, Billy’s song really was His answer to my prayer; don’t worry about finances, He would provide good gifts.

A couple of weeks later, we received the largest job we have ever had. The Lord brought in the extra money!

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GRANDMA ANNA HEARD: Where’s the money? Coming. In the fish’s mouth. A roaring fish. Multiplied.

SANDY COMMENT: Anna heard this many years ago. I thought of 2 things concerning this riddle. First, the time when Jesus paid for the taxes out of the fish’s mouth. He supplies. (Matt 17:26-27) Second, the parable that when the harvest comes in, there will be a large wealth that is deposited into kingdom ministry, straight from the fish themselves.

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CONCLUSION

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{Words to Ponder are summaries of His quickened Words of prophetic revelation, punched with the word of wisdom and written under inspiration.}

WORD TO PONDER: DON’T WORRY, JUMP IN AND BE HAPPY

How I love your smiles and laughs, dear one. If only you knew how much I love you and how safe you really are! I take care of you, you need not worry! Remember when I paid the taxes from the fish’s mouth? Let go of the worry and the fret and the anxiety and the unrest, and the heavy sighs. Let it all go to wash away downstream. I will take care of you.

Think about Billy Bass, he is My Word to you. Don’t worry, just jump into My river and be happy! You will find that nothing else matters when you are in the pure water of My Presence. I will give you My Presence as you pray and seek Me. My peace is so intoxicating that all the frets just melt away as you laugh in delight at My sudden interjections into your life. I AM there with you always. If you really knew Me and My heart for you, you would NEVER WORRY again. Not ever.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:6-7 NLT)