My wife and I went on our first missionary trip before we were married. It was to the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Lana led scores of children from the streets in daily Kid's Crusade meetings like a Pied Piper. I preached each night. There, we met a special couple, John and Sylvia. We appreciated being invited into their home and observing their wonderful marriage. He worked in St. Thomas for the U.S. immigration service. They had a lovely daughter, about 10 years old, named Karen.
I remember Karen coming into the kitchen and saying, "Mom, I can't get that ugly song out of my head." It was a song she heard on the radio that was catchy but not nice. Her mom said, "Why don't you ask the Lord what you should do?" Later in the day I overheard her mom ask her, "Karen, what did the Lord tell you?" "He told me to sing a praise song and it would fix it." "Well, did it?" "Yes, mom, it sure did!"
Even a child can hear God's voice! It's only as we mature and grow up that we start filtering out the Lord's voice from our thoughts. We get so busy that we don't take time to be still, to shut off the noise of the world. We assume the Lord has gone silent. Some theologians have made this into a doctrine, saying that the Lord never speaks to us today. Nonsense!
I'm so glad our Lord Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." (John 10:27) Anyone who has an ear to hear should listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. (Revelation 3:22) The great Christian thinker and apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote that, "He is there and he is not silent."
If God were to speak to you, what would he say? Would you listen for condemnation? Would you expect to hear words of love? The Scriptures tell us that we should expect the latter not the former. Even when the Lord warns us, his words are meant to save us, not destroy us.
In church, spontaneous words can be given by the Holy Spirit from one believer to another. "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good..." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21) We can evaluate what we hear based on God's written word. Genuine words prompted by the Spirit are edifying.
The Scriptures -- the written word of God -- are given for our instruction so we can know God's ways. (1 Cor. 10:11) Spoken words given by the Spirit should agree with the Bible and must be for "edification, encouragement, and consolation." (1 Cor. 14:3) God speaks this way to inspire our faith and guide us, never to condemn, control, or shame us.
Over the years I've received letters through the mail with news, even legal documents. No letter can replace the times when my wife and I were far apart and I received a phone call with her voice. A letter may be true. It may also be old. But a phone call comes from a living, breathing person. I can feel their heart and feelings coming through to me in the sound of their voice.
Try this experiment. Get alone and become still. Read from your Bible, quietly praise the Lord, mention your needs, then wait on the Lord and just listen. Expect to hear his voice. He's already been speaking... have you been listening?
RON WOOD IS A WRITER AND MINISTER. CONTACT HIM AT [email protected] OR VISIT WWW.TOUCHEDBYGRACE.ORG. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Religion on 08/09/2017