God always speaks with a purpose. No idle words come from our Lord’s mouth. If we were to generalize the kinds of things God speaks about, we could say that God speaks in order to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. 

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As you begin today’s study, write this week’s memory verse in the margin above. 

GOD SPEAKS TO REVEAL HIMSELF 

Perhaps the most significant times that God speaks to you are when He wants you to understand a new dimension of who He is. You will never live a holy life without first understanding that you serve a holy God. You will never attempt the impossible until you believe that the God who commands you to do so is an all-powerful God. You will never be able to forgive others genuinely until you understand the incredible price God was willing to pay to forgive you. All of your activity with God is based on your understanding of who He is. An important principle in God’s dealing with us is that God reveals Himself to us progressively. Read Exodus 6:2-3. God revealed aspects of His character to Moses that He never shared with Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. God’s name of Lord was a window into the character and nature of God that had not been revealed previously. Jesus indicated there was much that God wanted to reveal to the disciples, but He would not disclose more than they could handle. If God is not revealing deep truths to you, it is not that He does not want to, but that you are not yet capable of responding to more than God has already shown you. Only time and experience with God will bring you to a mature relationship with Him. “God spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them’ ” (Ex. 6:2-3). 

FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Read John 4:1-42 and see what difference knowing who Jesus was made in the life of the woman at the well. (Note especially verse 10). Write a brief summary in the space below. What has God revealed to you about Himself lately? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

GOD SPEAKS TO REVEAL HIS PURPOSES 

When God speaks to His people, God reveals His heart. God is on mission to redeem a lost world. God expects people to adjust their lives to Him so that He can work through them to bring others to Himself. Consider some of the purposes of God. Underline key words and phrases in the following verses that tell of God’s purposes. “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3). “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). From these verses, what do we know about the purposes of God? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

What God purposes, He brings to pass. It is God’s purpose to bring His children into conformity with His Son. God’s purposes are extremely different from ours. Our purpose in a situation may be to “do” something great for God, while God’s purpose might be to build our character. At times we do not hear a word from God because we want Him to speak to us about our plans and purposes. Instead, God says, “I have no interest in speaking about how I can help your purposes, I want to talk about how you can adjust your life so that I can use you to accomplish Mine.” What has God revealed to you about His purposes for your life? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

What has God revealed to you about His purposes for your family? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

What has God revealed to you about His purposes for your church? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

GOD SPEAKS TO REVEAL HIS WAYS 

God’s ways are not our ways. Read Isaiah 55:8-9. David understood that his ways were not God’s ways. Read Psalm 25:4,12. A fundamental problem with many Christians and churches is that they do not realize that God does things in radically different ways than people do. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (Isa. 55:8-9). “Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (Ps. 25:4,12). 

Oftentimes the way God acts is more important than what He does. Some Christians have assumed that the end justifies the means. Yet, the way we do something can say more about what we believe about God than what we do. We can completely disgrace the cause of Christ at the very time we are doing something for Him because we do it in a way that is not sanctioned by a holy God. Fighting a religious war or deceiving someone to get them to attend your church might be examples of doing things the wrong way. “The ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD” (Prov. 5:21). Psalm 103:7 makes an interesting distinction: “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” God said the children of Israel saw the acts of God as He performed miracles to deliver them, but Moses came to understand the way God worked. 

Are you satisfied with only seeing the end result of God’s activity and never coming to know God through the way He acts? When God’s ways are followed by an individual, a family, or a church, fear and reverence may come upon those around them as they realize that there is something divine about what is being done. This was experienced by the entire church when Annanias and Saphira did not follow God’s ways. “Great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things” (Acts 5:11). Do people fear the God of your church? Your denomination? If not, could it be because the way you are doing things is no different from the ways of the world? Many churches are just like the world around them. The people in the church see nothing to cause them to recognize the presence and power of God. 

FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Read 2 Samuel 6:1-11. How did God deal with His people when they attempted to do something in a way He had not prescribed? Write your answer in the space below. How is God revealing Himself to others through the way He is working in your life? ___________________________________________________ 

What adjustments do you need to make for God to reveal Himself more clearly through you? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

What did God say to you during your study today? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

What will you do as a result? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 

FOR FURTHER STUDY Study Luke 6:46-49. Identify two different responses to receiving a word from God. Write them in the space below.