The Way God talks

(1) The Bible

One way the God-Man reveals Himself to us, of all ways, is not in a glorious vision or supernatural event, but in the pages of this thing we call the Bible. Imagine that. How odd. A book. Why not just appear to the one who seeks Him and speak face to face. No! Why? It would kill us. It would absolutely blow us away to be confronted with the Real Jesus, because the Jesus we have come to believe in is a fairy tale, a jolly elf, a fantasy character. The Bible prepares us for Him, does it not? Using types, shadows, stories, just to whet your appetite and get you accustomed to Him and His dealings so you are not totally shocked when you do meet Him.

How flippantly we just pick up the Word and skim through our favorite verses and say "ho hum". We haven't met the Lord. We haven't touched the God of the Word. How can we do that? Because the Bible is, outwardly speaking, so ordinary. Nothing high-tech about it. It seems so innocuous, so innocent. But it is the primary introduction we have to meeting the Man, the God-Man. Absolutely brilliant, this plan of God.

We know that God speaks to us through the Bible. As spiritual babes we may take the dogmatic position of saying that is the ONLY way God speaks to us today. As a result, our field of vision is limited to the written text and we miss the millions of other ways God desires to get through to us. Obviously the written Word is critical, for it gives us an objective criterion against which our subjective spiritual experiences may be measured. Without the objectivity of God's written Word we would all be tossed to and fro by every spiritual experience, false prophet, and false teaching.

(2) Face to face with Jesus Christ

Even so, let us not limit God by saying He will only speak to us through the Bible. What is the Bible, but a record of God's speaking to men and women across a span of many generations through a variety of means? We have audible voices, angels, visions, dreams, prophetic words, signs and wonders, judgments and natural disasters all represented in the Bible as ways in which God sought to communicate with men. These communications were written down in order to provide us with a permanent record. Finally, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to communicate with us face to face, and the record of these encounters were documented and placed in the Bible as well. Then, the letters of the apostles to the churches were copied and made a part of the sacred text.

 

(3) The Testimony of Creation itself

There is yet another record and testimony of Jesus Christ that was present before the Bible even came into existence, and it still exists today. I am talking about the testimony of Creation itself. The Bible tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. It says that through Jesus Christ, God formed the worlds, and that the whole creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God (the Church). The fingerprints of God are everywhere in the starry black depths of outer space, in the polar ice caps of virgin white snow, in the watery depths of the Pacific, in the breathtaking heights of the Alps. His design can be seen under the microscope and through the telescope, from the intricacy of the spider web to the rings around Saturn.

 

(4) Other People

Additionally, God speaks to us through other people. I don't necessarily mean preachers, teachers, and writers, but ordinary people, common people. Relatives, as well as strangers. Children in particular. God speaks to me through my own children, and through my wife. He speaks to me through my critics, and through my friends, through people I like, and through people I don't like. Sometimes it is hard to hear Him speaking through ordinary people, but His echo is unmistakable if we learn how to listen.

 

(5) Our Environment / Difficulty 

God constantly speaks to us through our environment, our difficult circumstances. Whenever we encounter a difficulty, when things do not go as expected, instead of rebuking the devil, let us stop and ask, "What might the Lord be speaking to me in this situation?" Perhaps you are facing a contrary wind because you are sailing the wrong direction. We must learn to discern between the assault of the enemy and the hand of the Lord.

Jesus would constantly say, "He that has an ear, let him hear." The Lord does indeed speak to us in many ways that are often overlooked. Let us ask the Lord for a hearing ear and a receptive heart. Amen.

THE SCHOOL of CHRIST by Chip Brogden © 2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).