READY FOR GOD TO SPEAK

 READY FOR GOD TO SPEAK

I Kings 17:2, 9, 18:1 Then the LORD said to Elijah….. NLT

In all three of these verses, the Lord is speaking to Elijah in different places, to different people, for different reasons. What strikes me is that the Lord spoke to Elijah. James tells us that Elijah was a man just like us. Has the Lord ever spoken to you so vividly that you simply could not deny it or mistake it? Does the Lord speak to you?

There are times in which God speaks to us when we are not expecting it or wanting to hear Him. The Apostle Paul comes to mind. But, most of the time, we have a lot to do with whether we are able to hear from God or not. And, I do believe the Lord still speaks to us. He speaks to us from His Word, through pastors and teachers, books, music, etc. There are some things we must know if we want to hear from Him.

In order to hear the voice of God, we must be in a position to hear it. We must be tuned in with the Lord so that we are able to recognize His voice and respond to it. The only way that can happen is to make Jesus not only our Savior, but our Lord. We must intentionally and passionately pursue Him and live for Him. We must be humbled before Him and long to serve Him.

In order to hear from God, we must be in a place to hear Him. We must be willing to shut out all the distractions that surround us and focus our thoughts on Him alone. We must be still before Him before we can know He is near. We must make it a priority in our lives to spend quiet time with Him where we focus our minds solely on Him. Do you have a quiet place where you meet with God? If not, I urge you to find one today and faithfully go there every day. For some, it may mean that adjustments will have to be made in schedules or activities. There is nothing more important to do in life than to find a place where you meet with God.

In order to hear from God, we must be in a program to hear Him. By that I mean, we must be in a consistent discipline of being in His Word and prayer. We must consistently take the time to read and meditate on the Word. We must allow it to saturate our minds to the point where it is our guiding light in all we do. We must intentionally have fellowship with the Lord, opening our hearts up to Him, sharing with Him all that is within.

In order to hear from God, we must be under the control of His Spirit. We must allow Him to actively work in us to change us and mold us into godliness. We must be a people of praise and thanksgiving.

May the Lord open up our ears, minds, and hearts so that when He speaks, we will hear, listen, and obey.

GOD MEANS WHAT HE SAYS

 GOD MEANS WHAT HE SAYS

I Kings 16:34 It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid the foundations, his oldest son, Abiram, died. And when he finally completed it by setting up the gates, his youngest son, Segub, died. This all happened according to the message from the LORD concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun. NLT

God says what He means and means what He says. Why is it that we so often have to learn it the hard way? Or, is it that we simply don’t care? God does not speak to just hear himself speak. He speaks because He has something important to tell us, things that are for our own good. He wants to spare us from our self-destructive ways and make it possible for Him to bless us. But, we make it so hard on ourselves by not paying attention to what He says.

Do yourself a favor and pay attention to what the Lord has to say. Keep your Bible open and read it often so you won’t miss it. Meditate upon God’s words, pray over them, and then strive to live them. Consistent time spent in His Word keeps us from forgetting His instructions or becoming confused by them. We can’t do what pleases God unless we know what God expects of us. We can’t avoid sin unless we read about it and recognize it when we see it. We can’t discern truth from error unless we are students of the truth.

We are able to discern truth from false teaching as we stay in the Word. We learn the value of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. We learn a lot about God and about ourselves. We learn everything we need to know about how to please God and be accepted by Him.

Wise is he who holds God’s Word close to his heart and obeys it. God holds each of us accountable for what we know and how we live it. He also holds us accountable for getting to know the Word given to us. There is no excuse for ignoring what God says. There is no excuse for not getting to know what God has to say to us and then living it.

HOW YOU LIVE MATTERS

 HOW YOU LIVE MATTERS

I Kings 15:5 For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and had obeyed the Lord’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite. NLT

Funerals are a time in which we gather to support the grieving family and remember the life of the person who had died. As a preacher, I have been a part of a lot of funerals. Some people who have died are a real joy to remember because of the good life they had lived. For some, the memories aren’t so good for they chose to live life without goodness. Some have laid up treasuries in heaven and their funeral is a celebration of life well-lived. For others, their treasures have been laid down on earth and you do the best you can to speak well of them for their family’s sake.

King David was remembered as a man of God who pleased the Lord. He lived his whole life committed to doing what was right before God. But like all the rest of us, he had not lived a perfect life. Even though God was pleased with David, he really messed up as far as his dealings with Uriah and Bathsheba were concerned. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up by having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. To David’s credit, he repented of this great sin. He owned up to what he had done and sought God’s forgiveness. God forgave him and David lived out the rest of his life honoring God.

We too are faced with many decisions to make regarding sin in our lives. We are constantly confronted by opportunities to sin against God. We too must determine in our hearts whether or not we will do it and if we do it, whether or not we will repent. Sin is a choice. No one has to sin and everyone has the ability to not sin if they keep their eyes focused on Christ. We must consider what the desire of our hearts is. Do we want to please God or not with the way we live? Do we want to do what is right before Him? Are we taking precautions to protect our hearts from falling into sin? Are we determined to live pure lives before God?

A life worth living is a life that is determined to please God. It is a life that strives to not sin. It is a life that values the importance of repentance when sin does happen. Live so that there will be a great celebration in heaven and on earth when you die for a life lived that pleased God.  

NO CONTRADICTIONS WITH GOD

 NO CONTRADICTIONS WITH GOD

I Kings 13:18-19 But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate some food and drank some water at the prophet’s home. NLT

As I read these verses, I am struck by the thought that the Lord NEVER contradicts himself. God will never tell us to do something that conflicts with what He has already made known to us. If we are convinced that the Lord is telling us to do something that doesn’t line up with Biblical truth, be assured that it is not of God. If you hear things that are not backed up by God’s Word, they are not true and should not be embraced no matter how convincing they may sound. If you hear things that cannot be supported by the whole of Biblical truth, they are not of God.

We are easily persuaded and we must be careful what we believe to be truth. Open up the Word of God and become a student of it. Evaluate what you hear and read through its lenses. Ask the Spirit of God to give you understanding as you meditate upon the Word. Listen to those only who you know are trustworthy students of the Word. Satan wants to confuse you. He wants to convince you that what God says is not really what God means. He wants you to doubt what God reveals to you.

Don’t let others think for you or convince you of something God has not said. Question what you hear until you know it is from God. He says what He means and means what He says. Believe God and obey Him. Don’t listen to those who might lead you astray. Do not question what you know to be from God.  

WHAT IS GOD?

 WHAT IS GOD?

I Kings 8:46a “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?...…” NLT

Whether or not we know we sin depends on our view of God. I suspect that for the most part we have a distorted understanding of our God. I read through the Scriptures often and I am struck with how God reveals himself. He is far more than what we often think of Him as being.

Our relationship with Jesus has caused us to think less about God as being holy and all that means as we relate to Him. In the Old Testament the holiness of God is His primary revelation about Himself. Because God is holy, man could not approach God without first protecting himself with the many sacrifices and offerings God demanded. No one could escape his sinfulness in the presence of holiness.

We also see God revealed as merciful in His holiness. God did provide a way for man to approach Him, albeit it was through great fear and trembling. God prescribed in great detail how man could avoid being condemned for his sins. It was a rigorous way of life, but necessary until Jesus came.

We now say that Jesus is our holiness from God (and He is) so we no longer dwell on it, think about its rigorous demands on us, and see ourselves in light of it. Jesus has it covered for us so we no longer consider sinning against God that big of a deal. We tolerate our own sin and sin in others instead of dealing with it. Yet, God has not changed. He is holy. He always has been and always will be sin intolerant.

We can never make the claim that we don’t have sin issues to deal with. All of us fall short of God’s holy demands. All of us need to be aware of our sins, take them to Jesus, confess them, and ask for His forgiveness. Let us never forget our continuous need for our Savior and Lord.

ASK FOR WHAT PLEASES GOD

 ASK FOR WHAT PLEASES GOD

I Kings 3:7-10a “O LORD my God—now you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am among your own chosen people, a nation so great they are too numerous to count! Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?” The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s reply and was glad that he had asked for wisdom. NLT

Solomon had just ascended to the throne. He was overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. He was the son of David, so he was familiar with the life of a king. He probably had not given much thought to it as he grew up; it was the only life he had known. But it’s one thing to know about something and another thing to experience it for yourself. Solomon knew enough about himself to know that he needed a lot of help if he was going to be able to do it. So, he did the right thing. He went to the Lord and prayed.

I am struck by Solomon’s humble attitude. He wasn’t arrogant and didn’t take advantage of his opportunity. He saw himself as a little child who didn’t have a clue what to do. He sought help from the only one who could really help him—God.

Solomon asked the Lord for two things: an understanding mind so that he could govern the people properly and the ability to know the difference between right and wrong. Solomon asked for the only things that could enable him to be a successful king. An understanding mind and wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong, are essential for any successful living.

Issues come up that confuse us. We often struggle to know what to do. We hear many voices that try to steer us in certain directions. We can’t see beyond our noses and do not know what the ramifications of our decisions might be. We, like Solomon, need to ask the Lord for understanding and wisdom. He alone knows the right path for us to take and He is more than willing to show us what to do if we were to but ask Him. He doesn’t want us to be confused about life. He wants us to always do that which is right.

When we seek guidance from the Lord He clears up our thinking and helps us to make decisions that are good for us and others. Ask the Lord for understanding and wisdom and He will freely give them.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

 WHAT DO YOU WANT?

I Kings 3:5 That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask and I will give it to you.” NLT

What would you ask for? What do you lack or want that if you had the chance and knew that you would get it, that you would ask God for? Before you answer the question think about this: Whatever you ask for reflects what you value most in life. It was an interesting question God asked of Solomon. Solomon lived a privileged life. He was the son of one of the most successful and respected persons in all of history. Solomon was not deprived of the best of what the world could offer. He lived a life that most people would give their life for. Solomon did not need anything that he did not already have.

By asking Solomon this question, the Lord was examining his heart. The Lord knew what a difference Solomon could make in his world. He knew the plans He had for Solomon. Solomon was going to build the first temple for the Lord. It was going to be a place where God would dwell amongst His people. There had never been such a place before, and there would never be another opportunity for Israel to get it right again. Even though the Temple was rebuilt later on in Israel’s history, it paled in comparison to what God wanted built the first time. Would Solomon be up to the task? Could God trust him to build such a temple? Would he have the wisdom and knowledge to do such a thing? It would be a project unlike any other project given to man. If he asked for the right thing, God knew he would be up to the task.

Solomon was king. He had all he could possibly want, but he knew there was one thing he lacked in order to be the king God wanted him to be. He lacked wisdom to lead his people. Wisdom is a gift from God, it cannot be bought. So, Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom to lead his people.

What do you need to ask for from the Lord? What do you lack in order to do what the Lord has given you to do? If your heart is right, the Lord will give it to you. He wants you to be successful. He wants to use you to honor Him amongst men. If your heart is right with God, you will want God to fill your need and not your want. So, I ask you again: What do you want from the Lord?

May the Lord give you a heart that will desire what He wants for you to have. May the desire of your heart be to complete the task God has given you to do and to receive from the Lord all that is needed to do it.