Dave’s Monday Blast – June 19, 2023
I just love the account of the prophetic call of Samuel found in (1 Samuel 3:1 – 20). (Stop right now and read it through). Do you believe that God speaks? John Ortberg comments: “If I am to have a relationship with God that is in any sense personal, I must be open to the possibility that sometimes God does speak to me.” Do you believe that God speaks? INTENTIONAL Men of God, i.e. men who have a personal relationship with Him, KNOW that God does indeed speak. As a result, we are to do three things:
1. Listen
2. Obey
3. Wait.
Since God really does speak to us, we must learn to listen to Him. What does listening to God speak to us really mean? (John 10:27 – 28). It means a basic attitude of receptivity, of attention. A constant readiness to set aside our viewpoints, or pet ideas and our personal convictions. It does not mean that we experience extraordinary signs, although that is plausible. God has endless ways of speaking. Some examples include:
1. Through life events – circumstantial experiences.
2. Through the people we meet – provided we do not undergo these experiences passively.
3. Through our reactions – He gradually shows us in what respect they are limited or inadequate, and in what respect they can have positive value.
4. He speaks to us in stillness – preparing ourselves to receive.
5. He speaks through Scripture – so we must perpetually go through the Word. We must take the Scriptures seriously/literally; tirelessly digging ever deeper, realizing that even our closest attention will never have finished exploring this treasure. Through the Bible God Speaks, Acts, and Transforms. What He communicates is not merely information (Truth) but energy (Life) and purpose (The Way) (John 14:6).
The problem with listening is that God’s voice is not the only one speaking. In fact, His voice is “still and quiet”. We have an adversary, the Devil, who wants us to be DECEIVED and DESTROYED (2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5; John 10:10). Next week I want us to consider a passage from (Genesis 2:16 & 17). Listening to God is not a one-time event. We must continually keep His Word before us, or we’ll begin to listen to the wrong voices.
