WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO US, ARE WE LISTENING? (PART 3 OF 4)

After God has ‘gotten our attention’, how does He ‘speak to us’?
First let’s look at how He spoke to His people during biblical times.
He spoke to them in many ways and listed below are 8 of them.

Direct Revelation:
This is what many today would call an audible voice of God.
It can also be thought of as a very strong impression, one that
comes unexpectedly, but is absolutely clear and is very specific.
For instance, have you ever had a thought, or a person, come to
mind ‘out of the blue’? If so, how did you handle it? In other
words, did you pray for the person or ask the Lord to let you
know what you should do with the thought? Keep in mind, if
it is a thought that requires action, it might take us out of our
‘comfort zone’.

Dreams:
God has also spoken to people through dreams and visions. It’s
important for us to know that dreams and visions which are directly
from God are very rare and not necessarily meant to be shared
with others. It can occur as a message from God and can often
be confirmed by outward circumstances (a situation, a word
from someone else, etc.).

Written Words:
God has always placed great value on His written word. His
commands were spread throughout the early church by both
spoken and written means. We need to remember that even
though the bible was composed by men, it was inspired by
God.

Prophets:
We find this phrase repeated in Scripture: “Thus says the Lord.”
Those who spoke these words of God (the men we call prophets)
felt so convinced that God gave them the message, that they could
do nothing else but speak it. God spoke and they responded.

Circumstances:
We need to understand that many of the miracles in the Bible are
byproducts of circumstances. Someone is sick and receives a
miraculous healing. God’s people are threatened by others and are
given a miraculous victory over their oppressors. People are held in
captivity and are miraculously rescued and given freedom. There
are many examples throughout scripture and they all contribute to
the good news of the gospel message. They underscore the direct
mandates of God and provide a second witness (or give evidence)
that the gospel has been preached fully.
how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation,
which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those
who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various
miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
(Hebrews 2:3-4)

Angels:
The word ‘angel’ means ‘messenger from God’. God’s angels came
to people uninvited, unannounced, and unexpected. They were usually
so awesome in form that their first words were, “Fear not.” They
delivered messages which were always direct and specific, and then
they left. The Bible refers to angels as “ministering spirits” whom
God sends to help us and give us direction, and they always come as
God chooses to send them and they are on the authority of heaven.

Jesus Christ:
God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is God’s
supreme Word to us; the perfect fulfillment of all His laws and
commandments. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The Holy Spirit:
We should recognize that God speaks to each believer by His Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit conveys God’s truth, and He is “God with us”.
When we are saved, God doesn’t give us the Holy Spirit to ‘hang
around’; He sent the Holy Spirit to become an active part of our
lives in many ways. We need to acknowledge His presence in our
lives and invite Him to become more interactive with us in all we do.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit
of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives
with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans;
I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

NOTE:
    In the last session (next week)
    we will look at how God speaks to us today.