God Speaks with a Purpose

God develops character to match the assignment he has for you. When God speaks, it is not just for conversation sake, but to reveal his purposes.

The moment God speaks is the very moment that God wants you to respond to him. The moment he speaks to you, it is God’s timing. We often believe that we have weeks or months to think it over, but when he speaks, he means for you to act NOW.

Sometimes it takes 25 years to come to a reality, like Abraham finally getting Isaac, the child of promise, but God had a purpose in that, too. Abraham needed to develop character before becoming a father, and the father of a nation.

As goes the father, so goes the next several generations.

God said that Abraham’s name would be great (Genesis 12:2) but he was not ready for that, so his character needed to develop. It is pathetic to see someone with small character in a big assignment. We often don’t want character from God, we just want the assignment.

We must prove ourselves faithful  in the small things to be trusted with larger things (Matthew 25:21). You are not investing into your abilities, rather you invest into a relationship. Do NOT bypass the relationship.

How often do we make these concessions:

  1. I will finish my plans and then fit God’s plan into my next available slot in my schedule.
  2. I will assume that since God already knew my plans, this new assignment can’t be from him.
  3. I will try to work out a way to do both what I want and what God wants.

God has a right to interrupt your life, if he is your Lord. When you received him, you gave him the right to help himself to your life anytime he wants. The servant never takes an order and then differs it to his own schedule, basically saying he’ll do it when he gets around to it. The Master would discipline that servant!

How long was it between David’s anointing as king and its fulfillment? Maybe 10-12 years. What God did was develop David’s character. How about Paul finding salvation and his first missionary journey? Maybe 10-11 years. The focus was not on Paul but on God’s desire to redeem the Gentiles.

Think about God’s purpose for YOU: It is for the sake of lost people that God calls you to join him and his purpose. It is for YOUR SAKE that God may take time to prepare you for his purpose. It is for THEIR SAKE, that you will allow God to work in your life.

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God Speaks to His People

God has not changed; he still speaks to his people (Hebrews 1:1, John 14:26, John 16:13-14, John 8:47). He spoke in the Old Testament, then through his Son, and now through the Holy Spirit who guides, teaches and reminds us of what Jesus taught.

If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience.

When we do not hear from God, we must check to see if sin has caused separation from God (Romans 3:10-11). We cannot understand the truth of God unless the Holy Spirit speaks to us and the Spirit speaks to us four ways:

  1. Through the Bible.
  2. Through prayer.
  3. Through circumstances.
  4. Through the church.

When he speaks, he reveals these two things:

  1. His purposes.
  2. His ways.

So, why can I not hear from God? The key to knowing God’s voice is found in a relationship. It is not a formula, but a person. Check out John 10:2-4, 14.

  1. Jesus is the Shepherd, we are the sheep.
  2. Sheep listen to his voice.
  3. Sheep follow him because they know his voice.
  4. The Shepherd knows the sheep and they know him.

When we hear God, or we think we have heard him, we sometimes ask for a sign of proof, Like Gideon (Judges 6), but Jesus had something to say about people who seek signs.

  1. Wicked and perverse generation (Matthew 12:38-39).
  2. Asking for a sign is an indication of unbelief.

When we claim to hear from God, there is a caution to heed (this is serious business):

  1. If God has given you a word, you must follow through in that direction until it comes to pass (even 25 years like Abraham).
  2. If you have not been given a word from God yet you say you have, you stand in judgment as a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

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