I remember the day when I messed up my life... I called Roy and said to him :"It's time for me to know Him (God)." Because I knew Roy would bring me to his church. Back then, there was a longing for me to hear God's voice..
Think about it.. for a person who was totally wrecked, trusting none of himself and filled with despair and no clue about life, all he needed was to have someone to lead him out of this mess.. That person has to be someone greater in status and someone whom one can trust, someone who is on top of all things and by following his instructions, one could be assured to be delivered from the crisis... Who else qualify more than the creator of this universe, God ? The One who create the human race? ... Well, put it this way, if a device (eg handphone or TV) is spoilt, we return to the manufacturer for servicing. Likewise, when we have a problem, we go back to the creator, God. Amen!
Therefore, it was my utmost desire back then to hear God's voice.. I knew if I could hear His voice, I'll be ok, He will lead me out of the tunnel and my future will be bright. Isn't it cool if God can speak to us and give us a direction out of our situation? God is God and He is in charge of all things and if one can hear from Him, it will bring hope, confidence and assurance to the hearer. Amen!
But, is that how it works? For many years after being saved, I couldn't understand how to "hear" from God... Every time, when the pastor said "I heard from the Lord saying...." I often questioned in my heart "Really? How come I can't hear? Must I become a pastor before God can speak to me?"
I am not belittling those man of God who can hear from God like the pastors or even prophets.. I just felt that sometimes we maybe to engross looking out for His voice or signs from the outside that we may miss the point of how communion with our God is supposed to be.
Let's go back to last week Bible study...
Matthew 3:13-17
John Baptizes Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
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| The Baptism of Christ |
Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”[a]
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b]
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”[c]
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[e]
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Notice right after Jesus was baptized by John, God spoke and said that Jesus is His beloved Son whom He is well pleased.
When Satan came and tempted Jesus after He fasted, Jesus kept quoting the Scriptures and said "it is written....it is written...it is written..."
Jesus could have said " Hello Satan, You deaf ah! Didn't you hear what my Father just said at the Jordon river? He said I am His BELOVED Son... Isn't that enough.. What else do I need to prove to you?"
What is the point, bro? You ask.... Well, if Jesus really rely on the voice of God to fight Satan.. Everyone of us will have problems... because every time when we are attacked by Satan, every time when we are faced with challenges.. we always look outwardly for signs from God or search for audible voice from God... "God, speak to me...God if it is You, show me a shooting star... God, if it is You, show Yourself to me in my dream ..."
This way of seeking confirmation from God can be misleading and erroneous. Unless one is discerning in the Spirit, one could be misguided by depending solely on the outward confirmation.
Thank God Jesus set the example for us to follow.. Instead of rebuking Satan with the confirmation from God's voice, He used the Word of God to fight against Satan. Likewise, we should quote the Scriptures in time of our trouble or attack from the rulers of darkness. Amen!
Everything that is needed to say to us by God is all written in this book Bible. Every situation can be overcome by speaking God's Words into that situation. If Jesus chose to use the Scriptures instead of God's voice to overcome Satan, how much more we should do likewise and not be dependent on the outward signs or voice from heaven. Amen!
Ok, I shall stop here and leave you with this Bible verse to meditate:
Mat 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Grace & Peace be with you.
Bro
Dated: 12 Mar 2014
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