While I don't want to get into a pattern of being expected to respond to each question which comes by, I choose to address Jay's comment from the last post. Can we expect to hear from God today?
Absolutely.
But first I must admit it took me years of study to reach this conclusion. I reached such a position only due to Bible study and no other source. Since I am me I, too, need to state that I am most likely to get much of the God-stuff wrong. Therefore, read with caution and conclude what you think He wants you to believe.
I believe God speaks to us in addition to the revealed Word. I think the Word says so and this is what threw me for a few decades. I can't say that God speaks to me in English...for He doesn't.
However, He surely does communicate to me. This is called relationship. Remember what we sing: He walks with me? He talks with me? Were our grandparents liars?
The most I can describe is to say He causes things to "occur" to me. Of course such a statement causes disbelievers to hold their sides laughing....and I say go ahead a laugh. I stick with my statement that He causes things to occur to me that were not in my knowledge base nor my wisdom base.
Example? Three weeks ago I was at last minute going over my sermon notes about the cross. He did this thing He has done for years...it occurred to me...."note REJECTION"...."what people struggle with most is being rejected and that's the point of taking up your cross daily." Again, that wasn't said in audible voice but came out of the air in an instant.
Example? As I was getting ready to preach Saturday at Stream DFW I was looking at the text of Romans 4:17-25 regarding the deadness of Abraham's body as well as the deadness of Sarah's womb. And God gave me this idea.....when death is placed in the center of God it becomes pregnant with hope. Sarah's womb was such, graves are such, and our dead spaces/places are such. He expressed it in a flash of "occurence" and that's all I know how to say. I didn't get it from flesh and blood.
Bible? This is what tripped my earlier stance of believing He was done speaking in modern times as God had wrapped it up in the presented KJV. James 1:5 says that if we lack wisdom let him ask of God. Why didn't James say, Read your Bibles? We can and do receive wisdom from scriptures; none would deny such. Yet, the Spirit communicated through James that we should ask God.
That isn't the end of it. James continued to write that wisdom requested will come down from above...Jas. 3:13-18. It comes down from above after we sought it by asking. In other words He will send it in. Now how will this heavenly FedEx carrier deliver it? This is up to the mystery of God. It may come by us being directed to a verse, or directed to listen to a song on the radio, or to receive a pertinent phone call with a specific message from God contained in the conversation.
Yes, doubters will take the occurence concept and fly with silly illustrations that believers would, too, regard as silly. Occurences do not mean God directs all of them. We can have our own....I am aware. But I stand on the Word that He clearly stated in certain terms that if we need to hear from Him we should ask and He would send it in from above....and that my friend....is in Holy Print.
The mystery of God bugs naysayers. Truth is always significant. The Truth is some believe God and His Word and some don't. The Truth is His Word teaches us to anticipate hearing from Him separate and apart from the revealed Word of God.
And may I go ahead and say that much of what is written in this post came in from above as I wrote? I'm not wishing to be regarded as a religious nut. I am confessing, though, He and I work together on projects such as these and it would be egotististical of me to act as if I think this stuff up on my own. I'm too shallow. He runs the show.
5 comments:
Thank you!
Jay
Thanks so much for the last few posts...very good (but then most of yours are).
Does He walk w/me and talk w/me? That's a great big 'YES'. And it doesn't bother me a bit if and when unbelievers roll with laughter.
Forgive me as I digress and write some thoughts in reference to the comments about our attitudes toward China...and also the activities of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
My husband and I are into making a difference in His Kingdom and shining His light wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. And believe me opportunities are plentiful when you're aware of His Spirit working in your life.
The two of us were Spirit-moved to move to China when we were both 72 years young...we initially thought to live there only one year but when the Spirit lives in you, you tend to not plan too far ahead...we don't even buy green bananas.
Fast forward two and a half years later, we returned home to our four children and their families (ten g'children) and my 94yr old mother.
Most people were somewhat surprised that we would move to China; at our age, leave our friends, family...the good life?
Pray for opportunities and then refuse His gradious offer? Umm, not a good move...not good at all.
It's important to understand that much is being accomplished in China...even though it isn't publicized. To do that runs the risk of endangering those wonderful Chinese who operate successfully in an underground environment. For those of us who have lived/worked there, we understand and work to keep them safe.
We've worked with and helped them establish ways and means to 'grow' His kingdom...believe me, they're growing in a wonderful way. It's exciting, they're excited and want to share the Word with others.
Opportunities abound; those from China are being trained when 'those who know' thought it impossible...the Spirit intervened and the 'impossibles' became successful reality that continue blossoming and bearing fruit; lots of healthy fruit...wow!
It isn't always prudent to raise a big or even a little stink about what goes on in the world; it can work well to listen to His voice and do what you can...no matter how small an effort it may seem to be in the BIG picture.
Hey, it doesn't get any bigger than God's view...walking, listening and talking with Him is the most awesome trip of our lifetime...trust us, better yet trust Him.
Great post; I once was a skeptic. What changed? My attitude of self had to take a back seat and learned to be still waiting patiently on Him (Ps 37:7). Being a “Martha” is taxing on the soul when always worrying and wondering. It is a lesson well learned to be a “Mary and sit and be still at the Savior's feet. Prayer is communication. To pray without ceasing also means we need to be listening with our spiritual ears. I like Colossians 1:8-10, for this reason, since the day we heard about you; we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
How can one grow in the knowledge of God if the relationship is not there? Therefore, when I was a skeptic my relationship was surface based. Letting go and stepping out on blind faith is the only way to gain the knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom knows what Elijah found out on Mount Carmel. God always has your back, but does on have courage enough to listen to the whisper of God through all the other distractions going on?
I wonder sometimes about people who deny that the Holy Spirit is directly at work in believers. Do they really understand and believe that there is a part of themselves which transcends this physical reality? Have they even tried to understand what that must mean?
What does it mean that there is a part of us which transcends the physical?
ANS: It means that you cannot predict everything about a person, even if you know everything about their molecules, and everything about the way this physical Universe works.
You see, if physical law and our biology is enough to predict what is to come, then there is no room for anything beyond this physical Universe. We are simply wind-up toys moving in prescribed ways, acting in ways that are biologically inevitable.
If the Word of God is correct, then there must be a stimulus which does not originate solely from within this Universe. That stimulus is not fully determined by the physical act of reading, or it would have a physical explanation only. No, it is not something where you "wind the reading knob and experience a specific result that could not vary."
The spiritual/Spiritual is the part which transcends the physical, and moves humans beyond simple wind-up toys. Spirit does not move in a physically predictable way. Jesus put it this way, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Obviously I am way behind on reading blogs. I liked how you explained how we hear from God. It is difficult to put in words. For those who don't think we hear from God, except through His word, I wonder if they think about where they come up with their brilliance at times. I just finished the study of Daniel with Beth Moore and I think of the kings that thought they were so powerful, intelligent, and rich because of their own might not even realizing or acknowledging they were where they were because it was in God's plan.
Janet
Post a Comment