We are living in crucial times. Times where we as Christians can no longer afford to listen to other teachers for advice. Times when we must hear from the LORD ourselves and test what we hear with His Scripture. Many false prophets, and teachers have risen, and are preying upon the spiritually complacent. When brothers and sisters in Christ could be hearing from Christ themselves, they defer to so called 'experts' who, "make them twice the sons of hell." (Matthew 23:15). No one can tell you what God wants you to do, what Call He has placed on your life, and how you are to respond in these End Times. Only the Holy Trinity can stir you, not the legions of scribes, Neo Pharisees, and teachers of these times. Did you know Dietrich Bonhoeffer wasn't a Christian? That the famous spy who wrote "The Cost of Discipleship" was among a sect of theologians like Karl Barth who didn't believe in Jesus' Resurrection?! and yet the Apostle Paul tells us, to be saved we must, "Confess Jesus as Lord (Christos Kyrion, God of Israel), and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, then you shall be saved." (Romans 10:9), "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised (rose again, resurrection) on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 5:3-4), and did not Jesus Himself appear Risen and Resurrected from the Dead to the Twelve Disciples (Mark 16, John 20:1-20, John 21:1-53), to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), to the Two on Road of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and then hundreds risen from dead? (1 Corinthians 15:5-6), and did not the angel say, "But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying." (Matthew 26:7-6). Jesus Died for our sins on cross, and He rose from dead! He even as the Risen Christ let His disciples touch His wounds from nails and spear that pierced His side, "Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them, As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!," (John 20:19-20), and Jesus ate a fish in front of them to prove He was no vision or ghost, "Why are you troubled,” Jesus asked, “and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have, And when He had said this, He showed them (the wounds) His hands and feet. While they were still in disbelief because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat? So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in front of them." (Luke 24:39-44). Then there is imminent theologian, C.S. Lewis, whom many praise for his "Mere Christianity", and yet in his last Narnian chronicle, "The Last Battle," he places this tid bit of false theology, that Caloremen, though worshipping another god named Tash, may enter True Narnia (New Heaven, New Earth, New Jerusalem) because though he did not know Aslan (a lion, represents Jesus allegorically in The Chronicles of Narnia), he was seeking Him; uh the Gospel disagrees Lewis, "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son," (John 3:18), "It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved," (Acts 4:10,12) and, "Jesus said, I AM the Way, The Truth, and Life, none may come to Father except through me." (John 14:6). Then there is late R.C. Sproul, who just died recently, who espoused that the righteousness we receive is a righteousness created by God, but is not God's righteousness (Justified By Faith Series, Ligonier Ministers, Episodes I-IV), however, the Scriptures disagree with Sproul, "But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets, And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction," (Romans 3:21-22), "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God," (2 Corinthians 5:21), "For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith," (Romans 1:17), and, "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption." (1 Corinthians 1:30). If these, most imminent and reverential figures of theology could so error away from the Truth, what can be said of the contemporary theologians, scribes, and teachers today who make people discard the Scriptures for the Traditions of Men, "Jesus said, You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men," (Mark 7:8), "Jesus said, "Thus you nullify (cancel out) the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that," (Mark 7:13) and "Jesus said, Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God, These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me, they worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules," (Matthew 15:8-9).
The time has come to stop counting on skilled theologians and teachers to tell you what God is saying, and to find out for yourself! Pick up the Holy Bible, read the New Testament, and sit in prayer, listen for the LORD's voice, be patient, and let Him speak to you, and check the voice with the character of God and what He has said before; if it is something very strange like, "you no longer should baptize," you will know this is wrong, "Jesus said, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19), or if some bizarre and blasphemous thought pops in your heard about God become Eight Spirits you can thwart it with the Scriptures. The LORD will speak to you, if you listen, and believe. Say to the Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, "Here I am, Speak to Me Lord!" Let His Still Voice descend upon you, and His loving presence wrap around you. In between your times of prayer, and listening, ask for the Tongues, a Prayer language (1 Corinthians 14), which will help you in lengthy prayer and seeking His voice, and do not think that He desires not to speak to you, and only to clergyman, that is quite untrue! Christ lives in you (Colossians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 3;16, 1 John 4:15), the Trinity lives in every Christian who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, Son of God, and Savior! Thus He can speak from within you, from the deep recesses of your soul and spirit, and to your mind; His voice will be evident. The Accuser's voice, that is the devil's voice and all his fallen angels will always give you thoughts, feelings, and images of fear, death, guilt, self condemnation, accusation, sexual lust, self abasement, double mindedness, timidity, harsh view of God, a feeling of distance from God, will draw you away from Jesus Christ as your focus (Hebrews 12:2 is an answer to this thought) and other negative feelings. God's voice will always affirm who He is, will always honor and draw attention to Christ Jesus, will convict not condemn (there is no condemnation, Romans 8:1), will encourage you, will affirm you, His voice will always agree with Holy Scriptures, will be righteous, will be just, will be loving, will be Truthful, will be Faithful, will be Eternal, will stir you to repentance and to change, and will make you feel closer to Him as you listen to Him; for He is your Father in Heaven, the Son who died for your sins, and the Spirit who is Comforter (John 14:6).
God has always wanted to speak to His people. In the wilderness, God spoke to Israelites, but their response is actually the attitude of many today in churches and followers of Chuck Smith, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, and many others:
"Then God began to speak directly to all the people.
Until now God has dealt only with Moses on behalf of His people; at Mount Sinai, He turns to address them directly in order to express the core of His covenant obligations. He begins by reminding them of all He has done for them. His miraculous deeds in liberating the Hebrew slaves and providing for them in the desert become the basis of this new relationship. He then proceeds to lay out the Ten Directives that will define and shape their lives together. The first four Directives concern their duties to know and worship the one True God. The last six pertain to how Israel is to live with one another in a covenant-based society. Properly understood, all the other teachings, prescriptions, and directives that come in later chapters derive from these Ten Directives.
Eternal One: 2 I am the Eternal your God. I led you out of Egypt and liberated you from lives of slavery and oppression.
3 You are not to serve any other gods before Me.
4 You are not to make any idol or image of other gods. In fact, you are not to make an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. 5 You are not to bow down and serve any image, for I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God. As for those who are not loyal to Me, their children will endure the consequences of their sins for three or four generations. 6 But for those who love Me and keep My directives, their children will experience My loyal love for a thousand generations.
7 You are not to use My name for your own idle purposes, for the Eternal will punish anyone who treats His name as anything less than sacred.
8 You and your family are to remember the Sabbath Day; set it apart, and keep it holy. 9 You have six days to do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is to be different; it is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God. Keep it holy by not doing any work—not you, your sons, your daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, or any outsiders living among you. 11 For the Eternal made the heavens above, the earth below, the seas, and all the creatures in them in six days. Then, on the seventh day, He rested. That is why He blessed the Sabbath Day and made it sacred.
12 You are to honor your father and mother. If you do, you and your children will live long and well in the land the Eternal your God has promised to give you.
13 You are not to murder.
14 You are not to commit adultery.
15 You are not to take what is not yours.
16 You are not to give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 You are not to covet what your neighbor has or set your heart on getting his house, his wife, his male or female servants, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
18 As all the people witnessed the signs of God’s presence—the blast of the ram’s horn, the roaring thunder, the flashing lightning, and the smoke-covered mountain—they shook with fear and astonishment and wisely kept their distance.
Israelites (to Moses): 19 We are afraid to have God speak directly to us; we are certain that we will die. You speak to us instead; we promise to listen.
Moses: 20 Don’t be afraid. These powerful manifestations are God’s way of instilling awe and fear in you so that you will not sin; He is testing you for your own good.
21 But everyone remained far away from the mountain as Moses began moving toward the thick, dark cloud where God was." (Exodus 20:1-21). Like the Israelites, many Christians today want a Moses, to go before God on their behalf, rather than speak to God directly, and even though Christ has come, and the thundering and Word is now Flesh, people still opt for letting some mediator or go between go to speak to God on their behalf. Ah, but there is only One Mediator between God and Man, Jesus Christ, "For there is only One mediator between God and Man, Christ Jesus the Son of Man" (1 Timothy 2:5), and Jesus is the very same God (Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13, John 1:1-17), so the only mediator is God who became a Man between God and man! We no longer need be afraid because Jesus who is God and One with Father and Holy Spirit, The Eternal One, and I AM lives in us (Colossians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 3:16), and He has given us full access, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:19-22).
God has always spoken to man, He spoke to Adam nad Eve (Genesis 2, Genesis 3), He spoke to Cain even after He killed Abel (Genesis 4:10-15), He spoke to Noah to build an Ark (Genesis 6:13, Genesis 8:15), He spoke to Abraham to leave Ur and gave him the promises (Genesis 17:3), He spoke to Moses (Exodus 33:11), He spoke to David (Psalm 110), He spoke to the Prophets (Isaiah 53, Jeremiah 1:5-10, , Ezra and etc.), and then the Word became flesh (John 1:14), God who speaks to us, became one of us, He took on a body and began to speak directly to us, with His own flesh, mouth, and skin, and facial expressions as Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In fact, speaking is one of God's names, The Word of God (John 1:1-3), and so why would we ever conceive that He would want to be silent towards us His children (Galatians 3:26), heirs (Romans 8:17), and Christian Bride (Revelation 19:6-9)? God is not silent, even when He made all things, He spoke them into existence (Genesis 1, and Genesis 2). The One True God of Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, even is able to speak to Himself, "Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again," The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him, Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine." (John 12:28-30), "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him, and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," (Matthew 3:16-17), and "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one (one essence)." (John 17:21-22), and, "All who confess Jesus Christ as Son of God have God living in them and they are living in God." (1 John 4:15). In fact, the processing attribute some people have of talking to themselves I believe comes from the Creator God the Trinity who talks to Himself, the One God in Three Persons of Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit talks to Himself, and so we get it honest if we talk to ourselves.
Jesus Christ is God become flesh and bone, He is the Jehovah, the Y'WH, the God of Israel who is One with Father and Holy Spirit (John 17:20-23, John 20:20-23). God wants to speak to us, but we have to be ready to listen. So sit in prayer, and say as the Prophet Samuel did, "Speak, your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10). You may make your petitions, requests, and thanksgiving to God too, but also listen, give a minute to Almighty to speak to you; and let He who is Lord Trinity tell you what you must do, what He is calling you for, and most of all to have conversation with Him, to know Him in a relationship (John 17:3). The Lord God wants to talk, Its part of His nature, and He made us likewise want to talk; the trick is to listen for His voice, and let Him talk to you. Try it, and learn for yourself what LORD Jesus is asking and saying to you, and read the Holy Scriptures, for they will help you test the voices (1 John 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:16). Amen.
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