Do I Hear God When He Speaks To Me?
Have you ever considered or listened to God when He spoke to you? Do you even believe that God can speak to you?
Do you feel as though you’re unworthy? Do you feel that nothing anyone could do would bring you back in the good graces of the Father?
Do you believe yourself to be the forgotten ones of God? Take heart beloved this article is for you…
There was a time not so long ago that I believed everything my stepfather had told me about myself. He said I was worthless, wouldn’t amount to much and that I would never be a real man which I’m assuming was according to his standards.
It took me years to get past those cutting remarks but what a friend I have in Jesus! Amen?
Many of you are feeling this same state of unworthiness in your relationship to God and to His Son Jesus Christ and feel that God has nothing in store for you because you’re just not salvageable material.
When Christ came to start His ministry, He called upon sinners and those who felt hopeless as His disciples, tax gatherers, church persecutors, and so on…
When Christ first started His earthly ministry, these were just the kinds of people He was hoping to attract. Society’s forgotten, the downtrodden, the hopeless, and the unworthy – sinners all.
In one of His first lessons to us He tells everyone why He was there and what they could expect from His ministry. He began to teach them saying,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me”…
The beatitudes speak to us just as clearly in this day and age but in order for you to “cash in” on these promises and great direction for your life, you must want them. You must meet them halfway and you must never give up on yourself.
God will never give up you regardless of what you’ve done! The blood of Christ Jesus is sufficient to take care of all your sins. As with all things, you’re only going to get out of this what you put into it. I’ve heard it said that you can lead a horse to water and he won’t drink. But if I lead you to spiritual waters, I can darn sure make you thirsty!
Too many are the times that I see someone give up before they even try or figure that they are just too bad or too old for God to make a difference. I stand here as living proof that God does not forget. That His promises are never broken and if I can learn from the greatest Teacher of all, then so can you.
I’m not perfect nor do I claim to be. I am however forgiven which is more important to me than what mere words could express.
Whatever you do, don’t sell God short. We are told in Ephesians (2:8-9) that it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast…
Titus says for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives. (Titus 2:11-12)
Christ Himself tell us that “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). That means He came here for you and me. What we need to decide is if we’re in for a penny or if we’re in for a pound.
There is no halfway with God! I know I can’t reach all of you but I can create a spark in some of you. I can want better for you all day long but until you want better for yourself, you’ll be lost to sin and to Satan and could face your second death and then the fires of hell.
Paul talking to the faithful in 1st Timothy 1:16 reminds us why Jesus came in the first place. “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”
To one degree or another, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God Himself assures all of us a victory of the very sin that grips us by cleansing us in the blood of Jesus Christ where all sin may be forgiven.
Think back 5 years, what did you picture yourself doing? What do the next 5 years hold for you? Do you even care? God does and He cares about you or else He wouldn’t have sent His only begotten Son to assure you of salvation through His death on the cross.
In 2nd Corinthians (5:7) we are told that “We live by faith, not by sight” and this plays itself out more times than not to be very true. When I first enlisted in the military and was sent to the barber shop, I was what the military classified as a hippie. Once they had cut my hair, they had me sweep the floor, collect the fallen hair of the day and take it outside to the dumpster.
When I reached the outside I heard this strange whistling noise. I stopped, looked all around and couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally, I looked at the trees and saw that they were swaying back and forth and that the whistling noise I heard was just the wind! How cool – I told myself. I’d often seen its affect on things but never really heard it before.
Faith is the same way – you can see and hear it manifesting itself. Put the two together and they make for fierce allies and the results and blessings because of it are phenomenal.
“For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. (II Peter 1:5-7)
It takes on the same characteristics as the classic snowball effect once you get the ball rolling! You have to start somewhere and remember that anything worth having takes time. Change will come but it will not be an overnight thing in most cases.
Remember the parable of the seed sower? …”And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty.
This is how you want your life fashioned if you fear the wrath of God and the pains of hell. But again, you have to want it for yourself. I can want it for you all day long but until you want it for yourself then, you’re still lost to Satan.
You can pretend church all day long but must remember that “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)
There is nothing you’ve done or nothing that you’re going to do that God doesn’t already know about but He wants to hear from you! He wants fellowship with you! That’s why such an awful price had to be paid on that Roman Cross so that the gulf between man and God might be bridged.
(Psalm 139:1-4)
”O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.”
He knows each and every one of us completely yet still, He’s willing to forgive us even despite our best efforts to push Him away or turn our backs on Him. What a friend we have in Jesus! And all God’s children said; AMEN!
We are a very pride filled people so much so to the point of death of our souls. There are even those times when we get angry at God and defy Him and shake our fists at Him daring Him to pick us off. Thankfully though, we have a Father who is very merciful and more than willing to forgive His children. He wants your friendship but as in any relationship there is give and take. He does not desire to be your task master or run you into the ground to “break” you like one would a wild horse.
Galatians 6:7 tells us “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless, than a rich man whose ways are perverse. (Proverbs 28:6)
There is no need for any of us to live in spiritual poverty not when we have the bread of life which is the word of God. , God is yesterday, God is for today, God is now, and God is our future.
Proverbs explains poverty this way:
He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker (Proverbs 17:5)
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern (Proverbs 29:7)
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute (Proverbs 31:8)
Defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:9)
These verses serve as our blueprint for spiritual poverty as well as earthly poverty. If you feel devoid of any spirituality at all, ask yourself why? It is not good for man to be wrestling with himself or with the Almighty – what good can come from it?
The bible tells us that we cannot serve two masters because we’ll either hate one or love the other. You people here are where it all begins. In your present set of circumstances if you come to God and bring yourself into fellowship with Him and His Son Christ Jesus, you will be truly be blessed among men.
It was by the grace of God, a loving woman, and a desire to want better for myself that I was able to be pulled out of poverty’s grip. It can be this way for you as well.
Even in poorest of surroundings, you may think of yourself as the lowest of the low but let me remind you there is always someone somewhere who has it worse than you and they’re praying to God for help for the next day of just getting by.
You too can be a blessing to so many people if you just think about it. A kind comment, a smile, a lending hand anything so long as it moves forward. What is meant here is that as you bless others, they in turn bless others and God will richly bless you for your efforts.
There are a lot of things going on in the world today which are quickly adding to moral decline and spiritual emptiness. I believe that decency, and equality, while rare, are still alive today. It might take a bit of CPR to get it going again but why not start out right now and get surrounded by Godly people?
God is still alive and waiting on you – do you here His call? I did and for me it wasn’t an easy sell starting out. All the doubts, fears, mistaken ideas about who and what God was and what He could possibly want with me raced through my thoughts. I wasn’t ready yet. I had too much living to do yet.
Let me tell you my beloved that you truly don’t know living until you are doing it through Christ!
Our Father tells us “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15) He also reminds us in Ephesians (4:32), to “Be kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.”
If you don’t know forgiveness, you’ll never understand or be ready for salvation. So ask yourself this, “What must I do to be saved?”
1) Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is not a promise of a perfect life – quite the opposite! Jesus said “Take up your cross and follow me!” You may be ridiculed, lose friends, lose jobs and be persecuted for your beliefs. If this happens, and more times than not it will, praise God for this tells you without a doubt that you are His child and when the day is over and everything is said and done, that’s all that matters.
2.)Confess your sins. Bring all your sins to the cross of Jesus. Christ’s blood has the power to cleanse all sins – don’t hold anything back! God knows everything but He wants you to come to Him freely and make your confession.
3.)Repent of Your Sins. What does it mean to repent? To repent is to completely turn away from old habits that cause you to stumble or sin in the first place.
4.) Live a Godly life. Christ said in John, Chapter 11 that “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even if he dies…” In John 14 he reiterates this statement and adds that “no one comes to the Father but by me” There is no name under heaven other than Jesus that will unlock the gates of heaven to you when you die.
None of us are guaranteed anything. You and I may die today, only the Father knows the appointed time. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’ve laid up for yourself treasures in heaven?
If you do not know where you’ll go when you die, I would encourage you to examine your heart, listen and wait upon God and the Holy Spirit to work in your life. There is no decision you and I will ever make that’s more important than this one.
If you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, please pray this prayer with me;
Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I deserve hell, but You sent Jesus to die for my sins.
I believe that He died and rose again and ask You now to forgive my sins, once and for all. I now receive Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Please come into my heart and save me. Help me to know that I am saved and help me live for You the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen
God patiently waits on those who seek Him. If you’re unsure of your relationship with our Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, contact me. Together, we’ll seek guidance from the Father to eliminate those things which are interfering with your walk with God.
© Copyright 2010 Dr. Brothers is an Independent Christian Minister with Doctorates in Biblical Studies and Divinity He is also a motivational speaker and writer and may be reached at dr_chas_brothers@msn.com All scriptures are taken from the Zondervan 1984 NIV and used with permission.
About the Author
Dr. Brothers is an Independent Christian Minister with Doctorates in Biblical Studies and Divinity He is also a motivational speaker and writer and may be reached at dr_chas_brothers@msn.com
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