Introduction to the Oracles of God
.... God goes through a great deal of effort in bringing one of us to Jesus, and through the practicalities of that process – even if we do not fully realize it – we have learned to hear His voice:
.... "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."
(John 6:44-45)
.... Depending on your religious background (if any,) this communication may be something you'll speak to others about openly, or something you'll feel defensive about because you’re afraid people will think you’re crazy. But even so, something deeper inside of you knows it is all true and can’t deny it: .... "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
(John 10:27)
.... When the Holy Spirit speaks to us today, He brings to our remembrance the things Jesus said and uses this to guides us into all truth (John 14:26; 16:13). His primary goal is to show us the heart and mind of Jesus, in order to conform us to His image as we apply those thoughts in our lives (John 15:26; 16:13). But sometimes, for the same ultimate purpose, He will also talk to us about the future, to show us the things that are about to come (John 16:13).
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.... Here, many Christians become even more reticent to discuss their experience. In the church itself, the subject seems shrouded in mystery. Furthermore, they fear the impli- cations of openly discussing this with others. To claim that God has shown them the future (especially when it comes to pass,) is like claiming to be a prophet, and isn’t that a very exclusive club? So wouldn’t other Christians automatically oppose them, and try to discourage them from thinking that way?
.... Here, many Christians become even more reticent to discuss their experience. In the church itself, the subject seems shrouded in mystery. Furthermore, they fear the impli- cations of openly discussing this with others. To claim that God has shown them the future (especially when it comes to pass,) is like claiming to be a prophet, and isn’t that a very exclusive club? So wouldn’t other Christians automatically oppose them, and try to discourage them from thinking that way?.... "Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD'S people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!"
(Numbers 11:29)
.... Actually, we need to understand God's own perspective. He would be absolutely delighted if all of His people were prophets, and He has even expressed His intention to make it so (Acts 2:17-18; 1 Corinthians 14:31). This doesn’t mean anyone will be writing new Scriptures or adding new books to the Bible, it just means that God is still the head of every man and He’s still guiding us and building His kingdom through us.
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.... But what is it like when God actually does talk to someone? Can we describe those terms to another person? And especially, can we describe them from the Bible? Most Christians have developed an ‘intuitive feeling’ for His voice, but giving it that much definition defies them. Yet the Bible does talk about it, and we’ll use that information to describe it further as this module proceeds
.... But what is it like when God actually does talk to someone? Can we describe those terms to another person? And especially, can we describe them from the Bible? Most Christians have developed an ‘intuitive feeling’ for His voice, but giving it that much definition defies them. Yet the Bible does talk about it, and we’ll use that information to describe it further as this module proceeds
To proceed to the next lesson, click here
Daily Bible Reading: Acts 1
posted by loren at 12:23 AM
5 Comments:
I once heard of a radio preacher who didn’t believe that God speaks to us any more. I would like to ask him two things:
“Sir, do you believe that you have been called to the ministry?” He’d say, “Of course I believe so.” So then I would ask him,
“In what way did God communicate this to you? Because the Bible says that “No man takes this honor unto himself but he who was called by God, as Aaron was.” (Heb 5:4). Some of them might answer:
“It’s the passion of my heart to want to be in the ministry.” But I’d have to answer them again,
“Sir, the Bible says that Jeroboam took any one who wanted to and put them in the ministry, and that was not acceptable before God. Those who were called to be in the ministry were the ones whom God wanted in the ministry.” (1 King 13:33). I would then say to him,
“Sir, whether God tapped you on the shoulder and spoke in your ear, whether He pasted little notes onto your wall, Whether God ordered circumstances to bring this to pass, or whether you’ve always had a passion for it in your heart – however it was. If you believe God has called you into the ministry– however God communicated that – then God has spoken even to you, sir. God has spoken even to you. And if you don’t believe that God has communicated with you then you have no business in the pulpit. Because the pulpit is for those who were called by God, “as Aaron was.”
Of course, Aaron was not called by Moses or by any other man. In fact, when Moses was called, Aaron was already on his way to meet him (Exodus 4:14).
By
loren, at 9/09/2005 12:35 AM
Heh, good one.
In the Catholic Church we make a distinction between public and private revelation. The distinction touches upon your topic here, so I thought I'd mention it.
You are absolutely right to affirm that God speaks to us today, and has done throughout the history of the Church, from the Apostles until now. But you are also right in saying that we won't be adding to Scriptures.
That's where the distinction between public and private revelation comes in.
Public Revelation refers to God's revealed truth which is binding on all believers. Public Revelation was completed, and therefore concluded with the death of the last apostle.
Private Revelation, however, is binding only on the person or persons who receive that revelation. For instance, God called me into the ministry using the text of Ezekiel 3:17--"Son of man, I have made you a watchman..." That is binding on me, because God called me to it. However, I can't say to anyone else that Ezekiel 3:17 holds on them in that same way.
Those who receive prophetic private revelation can, and I think should, share it with others in the Church, so that, as St. Paul (I think) instructs, we can test the spirits to know whether they are of God. A person can accept or reject that message (unless the Church judges it false by the standard of measuring it against Public Revelation (ie, the Scriptures--then it is not worthy of belief and should be rejected, obviously), but is encouraged to accept it. Rejection of a privately revealed truth, though, does not indicate a lack of faith or saving grace.
Hopefully that helps somewhat. When I was Pentecostal, we believed the same thing, but not so clearly articulated.
God bless.
By
Gregory, at 9/09/2005 12:51 AM
Hi Gregory,
Well stated. We should all be led by the Spirit, yet it should always match with the Scriptures as well.
By
loren, at 9/09/2005 2:47 AM
Loren,
That was an excellent post. You have a way of bringing just the right and perfect passage of scripture I need at just the right point in time. Thanks for the golden nuggets.
By
Bhedr, at 9/09/2005 10:18 PM
Hi Brian,
I know what you mean, I've had the same experience. Things do 'seem' to come up in a very timely way when the Lord wants to teach us something, so there's a much higher plan behind all that timing. God is awesome!
By
loren, at 9/09/2005 10:57 PM
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