The Way God Speaks

The Bible is God's Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It is a primary means God uses to speak to His people.  Certainly God is not limited in His ability to communicate to those who have ears to hear, and He employs others means to speak as well.  He can speak to us through dreams and visions.  Circumstances of our lives can be open doors which beckon us to take another step of faith.  God also uses others to confirm what we believe God has said to us.

Have you ever had an impression you were unsure of whether it was merely a thought in your mind or God was speaking to you with His small, still voice?  I remember when God impressed upon me during prayer He had called me to be a pastor.  Since I had no desire to be a pastor, nor was it a calling I ever imagined for myself, I knew this idea was not a product of my own thoughts.  This idea from outside almost intruded upon my thinking, and it surprised me.  I was not immediately convinced these thoughts were from God.  God was gracious not to leave me wondering and seeking for long.  A day or two later after prayer, a fellow believer came up to me and said with a grin, "God told me something about you recently."  "Oh, yeah?" I asked.  "And what would that be?"  "He told me you are going to be a pastor."  "That's funny," I answered, "because God recently told me the exact thing."  This is what I call when God is "talking in stereo."  God has ways of confirming an impression on your heart through the reading of His Word or by someone else speaking on that exact subject.

Don't think this is something I came up with myself.  The principle comes straight out of the Bible.  Check out Jeremiah 32:6-8:  "And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁷ 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, "Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it." ' ⁸ Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD."  Jeremiah was a prophet of God who was experiencing great hardship.  The land was in turmoil facing defeat at the hands of the Babylonians.  Let's just say it was not a great time to be buying land which would soon be enemy territory.  Yet Jeremiah believed God told him to buy a field from Hanamel who would come to him.  We aren't told how long he had to wait, but Hanamel came to Jermiah and asked him to buy his field.  Look at the last part of verse 8:  "Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD."

How cool is that?  God spoke to Jeremiah, and then confirmed His word.  Jeremiah knew for certain it was the LORD's will he buy the field, and stepped out in faith according to God's command - though it was a dumb business decision according to man's wisdom.  What God says, He will certainly bring to pass.  That's another way you can know if God was speaking to you or just a thought in your own mind:  the passage of time will make it clear.  In the scriptures, repetition is used to strongly emphasise truth.  When you start hearing God in stereo, listen and believe God.  Even if it doesn't make "cents," the only sensible thing is to trust God and obey.  Whatever Jesus says to you, do it!

Lies and the Bible

I am so grateful for the wisdom of God in His Word.  It exposes the incorrect and foolish views we have been convinced of.  God speaks the truth, though it may hurt.  Receiving God's truth and aligning our hearts with it is a key step in spiritual maturity.  If you are wondering what truths I possibly could be speaking of, here are three examples of lies we tell ourselves exposed by God's Word.

"When I sin, it is out of character."  I recently read a news article about a man who was caught after he installed cameras in public toilets.  He claimed he wasn't a bad man, but he just did a bad thing.  Quoting the man convicted in the article, "While he understood nothing would make up for what he did to up to 90 women and children recorded by his devices, he hoped it helped that he had never done anything similar and never would again. "It was out of character," he said. "I am a human and have made many mistakes."  The Bibles says no one is good before God.  Our character apart from God is completely sinful.  Psalm 14:2-3 says, "The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. ³ they have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one."  Man does not sin in a "moment of weakness."  The reality is, when we are at our worst we witness the real you and me bubbling to the surface.  That ugly monster is not an anomaly:  it is the wretch who hides within us only Jesus can redeem.

"Ah, it's just a little thing.  I can step it up when it counts most."  What people see as little things are as big things in God's estimation.  Man doesn't see a problem with "white lies" or occasionally arriving late to work without reporting it, but such deeds do not escape God's notice.  God reveals the way we handle the little things is the exact same way we handle big things.  Jesus said in Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."  Notice the objective words Jesus chose to use.  The man who is dishonest over a dollar cannot be trusted with thousands.  Argue all you want, but God says it like it is.  If we lie to children over a trivial matters to save face, we will lie in court after placing our hand on the Bible to save our skin.

"I am strong, not weak."  Weakness is a characteristic present in all people.  Measuring ourselves against others we perceive as weaker gives us the illusion of strength.  But what strength can man claim which has not first been given Him by God?  All are born helpless babies, completely dependent upon others for survival.  Proverbs 24:10 says, "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."  We make the mistake of gauging our strength when we are at our best, not when we fail.  If a disobedient child or physical pain is enough to make us lose our temper, how strong are we really?  Being relatively strong in one area does not dispel the reality of our weakness in another.  Compared to the God who spoke the universe into existence, we are small and feeble indeed.  God is strong, and it only through Him man can discover true strength.

These are just a few of the countless truths held forth in scripture which correct man's faulty views.  Can you think of others?  What scriptures has God used to reveal lies you once believed?  The world believes and perpetuates all manner of lies, but the Bible is the source of all truth.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  And that, my friends, is the truth!

The Denial of Silence

Let's face it:  the world has never been keen on Jesus or His followers.  But Jesus never painted a rosy picture of what it would look like following Him.  He spoke of denying oneself, taking up your cross, and being crucified!  Jesus bluntly told His disciples in John 15:18-20:  "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also."  But this is not bad news, for God richly rewards those who walk in faith and obedience to Him.  Jesus also said in Luke 6:22-23:  "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. ²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."  When persecuted for being hated, excluded, reviled, and being called evil for Christ's sake we can rejoice.  This does not provide a license to be unkind, harsh, or hateful towards others.  If people avoid or hate us because we are self-righteous jerks, that is nothing to rejoice over.

Many Christians experience social and political pressure to keep their beliefs silent, as if stating a belief based upon the Bible would unfairly "impose" on others.  The truth is, speaking the truth can lead to all sorts of trouble and persecution for Christians, even when spoken from a compassionate heart of love.  It can lead to being passed over for promotions, being ostracised by family or friends, being singled out, bullied or verbally or physically attacked, and yes - even being crucified.  But this should not cause us to bottle up the love for God, other people, and belief in His Word from public view.  Christianity can never thrive in a test-tube of isolation, but spread like a life-giving antidote for the virus of sin through personal contact in communities, in the shops, the workplace, family gatherings, and even when visitors come to church.  Church gatherings should not be seen as the primary place ministry is accomplished, but more like a relaxing lunch break during a hectic day at work.

Jesus did not caution His people to confine their faith or beliefs within their little group:  He sent them out.  He told them to go into all the world and spread the Gospel and make disciples everywhere, teaching and helping others to follow Jesus faithfully.  If Christians retreat from the public sphere, how will people know the truth of the Gospel?  We play the hypocrite to bow to political correctness instead of remaining obedient to Christ.  If we are silent when God commands us speak, how can we be certain Jesus will speak for us?  Jesus said in Luke 12:8-9, "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God."  As followers of Christ, we are to acknowledge Jesus as LORD by our obedience to His word.  Our silence and disobedience are ways we can deny Christ.  Peter denied Christ three times, but his life later showed he truly loved and followed Christ to the death.  If we only profess Christ before Christians because we fear crucifixion, we are not following Christ as we ought.

So you speak up in defense of scriptural truth and lose your job.  So you are punished or persecuted for doing what is right.  So you end up being crucified!  Rejoice, for great is your reward.  God's grace is yours today, and He will supply all your needs now and forever.

The Sign of the Resurrection

In our discipleship course at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we discussed Matthew 16.  Matthew 16:1 begins with Jewish religious groups who opposed one another united in tempting Jesus:  "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven."  The Pharisees and Sadducees in unbelief came to Jesus and demanded a sign from heaven, ignoring the fact Jesus IS the sign from heaven promised in the Law and Prophets.  Not only that, but Jesus provided clear evidence of His divine power, character, and wisdom which accompanied His daily walk.  But as a dear sister said last night, "Miracles do not make believers."  Jesus said of those who will not hear Moses and the prophets, even someone rising from the dead will not persuade them to believe.

Matthew 16:2-4 reveals the response of Christ.  "He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; ³ and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed."  Jesus called the Pharisees and Sadducees hypocrites because with confidence they predicted the weather based upon the colour of the sky, yet for all the signs He had provided them they did not affirm He was the Messiah sent by God.  Jesus was born of a virgin, turned water into wine, fed 5,000 men plus women and children with 5 loaves and 2 small fish, cast out demons, opened the eyes of men born blind, cleaned lepers, healed the lame, and raised the dead.  No amount of signs were enough to induce the unbelieving hypocrites to believe.

Jesus pointed to the prophet Jonah as a sign provided for that wicked, adulterous generation which has survived to this day.  Jesus explained in greater detail what He meant in Matthew 12:40-41:  "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."  Jesus predicted His death and after three days He would rise again.  This was the sign He offered unbelievers, and it is a sign which has endured until this day.  After Jesus drove the merchants from the Temple, people questioned the authority of Jesus.  John 2:18-22 reads, "So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" ¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ²⁰ Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" ²¹ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²² Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said."  The words Jesus said agreed with the Scriptures already delivered through the Holy Spirit.  The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, thinking that in them they would find eternal life - and those same Scriptures testified of Jesus (John 5:39).  Psalm 16:10 had said, "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."

Jesus provides eternal life and light to all who believe.  It is folly to demand a sign from heaven "to believe" when Jesus has already provided the sign of His resurrection.  Jesus rose from the dead and proved once and for all He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God!  He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as a suffering servant, but when He returns He will sit upon a war horse with eyes aflame.  God holds all men accountable to His righteous standard, as it is written in Acts 17:30-31:  "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."  Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He is the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, the Door, the True Vine, the Light of the World, the Judge of All the Earth, the Son of God, the Way, Truth, the Resurrection and Life, the great I AM.

Are you seeking a sign?  Do not make the mistake of ignoring or discounting the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He is not dead but alive!  He was carried up alive into heaven before hundreds of eye witnesses.  Consider the implications!  The resurrection validated all the Word of Christ beyond any doubt.  The prophets and spiritual sages many believe and follow are dead men, but Jesus proved Himself greater than them all.  He is God of the living, not the dead!  Men who follow prophets or idols end up dead like them, but those who trust in Christ will be raised to eternal life.