There are few truths in Scripture more exciting than this: God speaks to His people. The same God who created the universe with a word, now speaks to us. There are at least two things that prevent people from having God’s word radically transform their lives. “There is none who understand; There is none who seeks after God” (Rom. 3:11). First is sin. Sin disorients us to God and causes us to stop seeking Him Read Romans 3:11. Sin makes us self-centered instead of God-centered. Sin causes our prayers to go unheard and quenches the Spirit’s working within us. Second, worldly things dull our senses to receiving a word from God. For example, the average household spends over seven hours with their television on each day!

When you watch television you do so to gain information or for entertainment. Too often our thinking becomes blurred. One moment we are watching a dramatic reenactment of a battle scene depicting suffering and death, and then with the push of a button we can see a war-torn country where real people are suffering and dying. Our hearts have already been numbed to death and dying. So, we walk away from our television unmoved and unchanged. We can approach God’s word in the same way. God’s word is never for our entertainment, information, or observation, but obedience. God’s word never allows us to remain the same. Today, many Christians are uncertain when God is speaking to them. Describe two hindrances to hearing a word from God.
 
1. _________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________

All of our understanding must be taken from Scripture. Too many people base their Christianity on human reasoning. It is easy to assume that God relates to you in the same way that people relate to each other. This is untrue. You may need to make adjustments in your life to experience fully God speaking to you. Whenever my experience does not match what I find revealed in Scripture, I immediately seek to bring my experience into conformity with Scripture and not the other way around. God speaks throughout the Bible. Genesis 1 repeatedly states, “God spoke … it was so … it was good.” What God says always comes to pass and it is always good. Read Isaiah 14:24,27. “The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand. … For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?’ ” (Isa. 14:24,27).

GOD’S PATTERN
There are several characteristics of the way God spoke to people in the Bible. Though God used many ways to speak to His people, the key is that God spoke, not how He spoke. Those to whom God spoke focused on God’s message, not the means by which He spoke. Whenever God spoke, the person knew it was God. Scripture indicates we will know God’s voice. When God spoke, the person knew what God said. Usually our problem is not in knowing what God says, but in our willingness to obey what we know He is saying to us. When God spoke, the person knew what to do in response and could no longer carry on “business as usual.” The issue was a matter of obedience. The person who received a word from God could not always prove to others that God had spoken. He could only obey and allow the results to testify to God’s work. Think about a time in your life when God spoke to you. Place a check by each characteristic above that was evident in your encounter with God. Was obedience an issue?

Why or why not? ___________________________________________________
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GOD’S WORD CAME TO PASS!
As a pastor in Saskatoon, God impressed on my heart that He wanted me to be a catalyst for revival and spiritual awakening across North America. He also showed me that an important element to God’s doing this in Canada was by raising up and training leaders. I responded to all God said to me. I studied the great awakenings and prayed with fellow pastors. We began a Bible college to equip people for Christian leadership. Many received training and strengthened churches across Canada. While in Saskatoon, I was privileged to participate in a revival that took place in the early 1970s.

Then God called me to serve as a Director of Missions in Vancouver. The school I had helped to found was closed. There were no city-wide revivals in Vancouver. I had to trust that the word God had given me concerning spiritual awakening and theological education would come to pass. God has been so faithful in fulfilling His word to me! In November 1993, I had the privilege of preaching the installation sermon for my oldest son, Richard, as he was inducted as the president of our new seminary in Canada. God’s word concerning spiritual awakening has also not returned “void.” I was invited to serve as a special consultant to the presidents of our Home, Foreign, and Sunday School boards in the area of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening. What God says will come to pass and it is always good! Knowing when God is speaking to you is not difficult! Like all forms of communication, your relationship with God needs to be cultivated.

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

What will you do as a result? ___________________________________________________ _________