Reality #4 God Speaks to His People
John 8:47
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
If anything is clear from a reading of the Bible, this fact is clear: God speaks to His people! He spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. He spoke to Abraham and the other patriarchs. God spoke to the judges, kings, and prophets. God was in Christ Jesus speaking to the disciples. God spoke to the early church, and God spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation. God does speak to His people, and you can anticipate that He will be speaking to you also.
One Critical point to understanding and experiencing God is knowing clearly when God is speaking. If the Christian does not know when God is speaking, he is in trouble at the heart of his Christian life!
God speaks to His people:
Hebrews 1:1-2
The Supremacy of God's Son
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."
John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
John 16:13-14
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
John 8:47
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
God spoke in the Old Testament:
1. Through Angels (Genesis 16)
2. Through Visions (Genesis 15)
3. Through Dreams (Genesis 28:10-19)
4. Through the use of the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30) [Lit. "lights and perfections." These two Hebrew words begin with the first and last letters of the alphabet (cf. the "the first and the last" of Revelation 1:17). There is no hint of how they functioned or what they were -- perhaps stones of different colors, or two small objects engraved with symbols or letters of the alphabet. Whatever the Urim and Thummim were, they were used to receive oracles from God (Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 28:6; Ezra 2:63).
5. Through Symbolic Actions (Jeremiah 18:1-10)
6. Through A Gentle Whisper (1 Kings 19:12)
7. Through Miraculous Sings (Exodus 8:20-25)
8. And Many More....
The fact that God spoke to people is far more important than how He spoke. When He spoke, the person knew God was speaking; and he knew what God was saying. There are 4 important factors that occur each time God spoke in the Old Testament. Lets look at Moses and the Burning Bush in Exodus 3.
1. When God spoke, it was usually unique to that individual.
Moses had no precedent for a burning bush experience. He could not say, "OH, this is my burning bush experience. My fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had theirs, and this is mine." There were no other experiences of God speaking this way. It was unique. God wants our experience with Him, and His voice, to be personal to us. He wants us to look to Him in a relationship rather than depend on some method or technique. The key is not how God spoke, but that He spoke. That has not changed. He will speak to His people today, and how He speaks will not be nearly as important as the fact that He does speak.
2. When God spoke, the person was sure God was speaking.
Because God spoke to Moses in a unique way, Moses had to be certain it was God. The Scripture testifies that Moses had no question that his encounter was with God -- The "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He trusted God, obeyed Him, and experienced God responding just as He said He would. Could Moses logically prove to someone else that he had heard from God? No, all Moses could do was testify to his encounter with God. Only God could cause His people to know that the word He gave Moses was a word from the God of their fathers.
When someone like Gideon lacked assurance, God was very gracious to reveal Himself even more clearly. Check out Judges 6:21-22. Gideon was sure that God had spoke. Check out that last part of vs. 22: "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."
3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.
Moses knew what God was telling him to do. He knew how God wanted to work through him. That is why Moses raised so many objections. He knew exactly what God was expecting. This was true for Moses, and it was true for Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, and others. God did not use riddles. He made His message clear.
4. When God spoke, that was the encounter with God.
Moses would have been foolish to say, "This has been a wonderful experience with this burning bush. I hope this leads me to an encounter with God!" That was the encounter with God! When God reveals truth to you, by whatever means, that is an encounter with God. That is an experience of His presence and work in your life. God is the only One who can cause you to experience His presence or hear His voice.
This pattern of God's speaking is found throughout the Old Testament. The method He used to speak differed from person to person. What is important is:
1. God uniquely spoke to His people.
2. They knew it was God.
3. They knew what He said.
When God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and through the Body of Christ (His Church), you will know it is God; and you will know what He is saying. When God speaks to you, that is an encounter with God.
Next: God speaking in the Gospels, Acts, and the Present.
In Christ,
David
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
If anything is clear from a reading of the Bible, this fact is clear: God speaks to His people! He spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis. He spoke to Abraham and the other patriarchs. God spoke to the judges, kings, and prophets. God was in Christ Jesus speaking to the disciples. God spoke to the early church, and God spoke to John on the Isle of Patmos in Revelation. God does speak to His people, and you can anticipate that He will be speaking to you also.
One Critical point to understanding and experiencing God is knowing clearly when God is speaking. If the Christian does not know when God is speaking, he is in trouble at the heart of his Christian life!
God speaks to His people:
Hebrews 1:1-2
The Supremacy of God's Son
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."
John 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
John 16:13-14
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
John 8:47
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
God spoke in the Old Testament:
1. Through Angels (Genesis 16)
2. Through Visions (Genesis 15)
3. Through Dreams (Genesis 28:10-19)
4. Through the use of the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30) [Lit. "lights and perfections." These two Hebrew words begin with the first and last letters of the alphabet (cf. the "the first and the last" of Revelation 1:17). There is no hint of how they functioned or what they were -- perhaps stones of different colors, or two small objects engraved with symbols or letters of the alphabet. Whatever the Urim and Thummim were, they were used to receive oracles from God (Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 28:6; Ezra 2:63).
5. Through Symbolic Actions (Jeremiah 18:1-10)
6. Through A Gentle Whisper (1 Kings 19:12)
7. Through Miraculous Sings (Exodus 8:20-25)
8. And Many More....
The fact that God spoke to people is far more important than how He spoke. When He spoke, the person knew God was speaking; and he knew what God was saying. There are 4 important factors that occur each time God spoke in the Old Testament. Lets look at Moses and the Burning Bush in Exodus 3.
1. When God spoke, it was usually unique to that individual.
Moses had no precedent for a burning bush experience. He could not say, "OH, this is my burning bush experience. My fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had theirs, and this is mine." There were no other experiences of God speaking this way. It was unique. God wants our experience with Him, and His voice, to be personal to us. He wants us to look to Him in a relationship rather than depend on some method or technique. The key is not how God spoke, but that He spoke. That has not changed. He will speak to His people today, and how He speaks will not be nearly as important as the fact that He does speak.
2. When God spoke, the person was sure God was speaking.
Because God spoke to Moses in a unique way, Moses had to be certain it was God. The Scripture testifies that Moses had no question that his encounter was with God -- The "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). He trusted God, obeyed Him, and experienced God responding just as He said He would. Could Moses logically prove to someone else that he had heard from God? No, all Moses could do was testify to his encounter with God. Only God could cause His people to know that the word He gave Moses was a word from the God of their fathers.
When someone like Gideon lacked assurance, God was very gracious to reveal Himself even more clearly. Check out Judges 6:21-22. Gideon was sure that God had spoke. Check out that last part of vs. 22: "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."
3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.
Moses knew what God was telling him to do. He knew how God wanted to work through him. That is why Moses raised so many objections. He knew exactly what God was expecting. This was true for Moses, and it was true for Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, and others. God did not use riddles. He made His message clear.
4. When God spoke, that was the encounter with God.
Moses would have been foolish to say, "This has been a wonderful experience with this burning bush. I hope this leads me to an encounter with God!" That was the encounter with God! When God reveals truth to you, by whatever means, that is an encounter with God. That is an experience of His presence and work in your life. God is the only One who can cause you to experience His presence or hear His voice.
This pattern of God's speaking is found throughout the Old Testament. The method He used to speak differed from person to person. What is important is:
1. God uniquely spoke to His people.
2. They knew it was God.
3. They knew what He said.
When God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and through the Body of Christ (His Church), you will know it is God; and you will know what He is saying. When God speaks to you, that is an encounter with God.
Next: God speaking in the Gospels, Acts, and the Present.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 2:20 PM
1 Comments:
Hi David,
Wow, what a gold mine of research! I've been trying to find the time to read your last article for a couple of days now, and when I finally found the time I had two articles!
I recently did a study on how God spoke to the prophets in giving the Messianic prophecy. This is a subject I've actually studied at length, and I did another study based on it. It tells the passion entirely from Jesus' own perspective.
If you have a chance, please take a look at it, I'd love your opinions. Hopefully, this link will work The Sufferings and the Glory
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