When God Speaks To You

When God speaks to you and reveals His purposes for your Life

There are 2 ways you can respond to God

1/ You can say, “No Lord, this is my life and I will do what I want with it”

This is what it means to be Self-centred

A Self-centred person wants what the world has to offer

1 John 2:15a ‘…wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important – has nothing to do with God. It just isolates you from Him’.

2/ you can say, “Yes Lord, You gave me this life and I will do what You want with it”

This is what it means to be God-centred

A God-centred person wants what God has to offer

1 John 2:15b ‘The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is dying – but whoever does what God wants is secure for eternity’.

Many Christians struggle between what they want for their Life, and what God wants for their Life

Romans 7:19 ‘I don’t do the good things (A God- centred Life) I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things (A Self-centred Life) I don’t want to do’.

If you don’t settle this issue, one way or the other, over time, you will learn to live a ‘double life’

You will live enthusiastically for the ‘World’ (Self centred) while trying to appear Godly in front of other Christians

Don’t be deceived, God knows your heart

Revelation 3: 15 & 16 ‘…you are neither hot nor cold…because you are warm, and not hot or cold; I will spit you out…’

“God wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling themself ‘Christian’ without being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ is absurd.” – Pastor Francis Chan

Whenever I struggle with being Self-centred, when I feel my heart being drawn back to the World, all I have to do is remind myself about what God did for me through Christ on the cross

Galatians 2: 20 ‘…The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, He is the one Who loved me and gave Himself to save me’.

“Pastor David, what will happen to me if I fully surrender my Life to God’s purposes”?

You will be… 2 Corinthians 6: 9 ‘…ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumoured to be dead…having nothing, having it all.’

Matthew Ward – My Redeemer

One Of The Great Christian Recording Artists (from the 70’s of course) – Matthew Ward

Perspectives Course Nelson (NZ) 2014 – Secure Your Placement Today!

Perspectives On The World Christian Movement – Nelson NZ February 2014

When God Speaks To You

1/He will reveal His purposes for your life

Genesis 12: 1-3 ‘The Lord said to Abraham…’

At this point we struggle with God

Q. We say: “What about what I want for my Life”?

A. God says: What about what I want for your life?

Remember: Your salvation is determined upon your acceptance of Jesus as Lord of our Life!

Romans 10:9-10 ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’

The Christian Life is not about what you want for your life

The Christian Life is all about what God wants for your life

The only time God will give you what you want, is when you want what He wants

What God wants for your life is far bigger and far better than anything that you could ever imagine!

2/He will require you to obey Him immediately

Genesis 12: 4 ‘So Abraham left…’

Obedience to God opens the way for us to experience all that God has for us!

Romans 4: 16-17 ‘…Abraham…is the father of us all (all who believe)…a father of many nations’. (Genesis 12: 2 ‘…a ((singular)) great nation…’)

If we stop obeying God, we stop experiencing God

Sometimes you will hear people say, “Let me tell what God did in my life 10 years ago, it was very exciting”

When I hear this, I want to say to them, ‘that was great, but, have you heard from God today, are you obeying God today, tell me what God is doing in your life today’!?

Never settle for the experience of God you had in the past

3/trouble will come into your life if you don’t obey Him

Genesis 12: 2

Q. How was Abraham to become a ‘great nation’?

A. Have children!

Abraham and his wife didn’t trust God to give them children in their old age

So, Abraham disobeyed God and got one of his young servant girls pregnant

Genesis 16: 1-4

The child was born and named Ishmael Genesis 16: 11-12

God said Ishmael would be a hostile man

Ishmael is the father of the Arab nations

Last 4, 000 years these hostile nations have been in constant conflict with Abraham’s descendants – Israel

Don’t disobey God; you don’t want trouble in your life

I Am A Missionary

A Classic Message: Prayer and Revival by Edwin Orr 1977

Jesus Said That God Still Speaks To Us Today

Jesus said, John 8:47 ‘The person who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words…’

So, How does God speak to us today?

1/ God speaks to us through His word

2/ God speaks to us through Prayer

3/ God speaks to us through Circumstances

When we fail to recognize God speaking to us through circumstances we offend God by saying that it was ‘luck’ or ‘coincidence’

We need to become aware of what God is saying to us through circumstances

Illustrate: Earlier this year our Leadership Team were discussing giving $1, 000 to our new ministry in Zimbabwe
We debated the issue for months! Finally, we decided to ‘invest’ $1, 000 into this new ministry.
The next week we received (unsolicited) a cheque in the mail for exactly $1, 000

Through circumstances God is speaking to us about confirming new ministry

Illustrate: Many years ago, in our first Church, we had an old guy who had a stroke and was crippled by it (Victor could walk only slowly and with the aid of a walking stick)
He lived in a Hotel in the City, up the stairs in a back room
One Thursday evening the Hotel burned down and many people died in the fire
Next day we were sure Victor had died in the fire but a couple of days later he phoned me and I meet up with him
He told me the night of the fire he went to visit his Sister and so was not there when the fire destroyed the Hotel

Through circumstances God is speaking to us about His love, His care and His protection of us

Illustrate: Acts 15: 36-41 Apostle Paul and Barnabas have a big argument
They split up
Paul takes Silas, a new ministry partner, with him on his next mission
Barnabas takes John Mark with him and go off on their next mission

Was this argument a big mistake?

Did this catch God by surprise?

Of course not, this argument was used by God to double the Mission efforts of the Church

God speaks to us through Circumstances – are you listening?

4/ God speaks to us through the ministry of the Church

God has given ‘gifted’ Leaders to the Church through whom He speaks
Ephesians 4:11-12 ‘… He (Jesus) made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger’.

Gifted Leaders are not here so that you just call on them when you want something

Gifted Leaders are here to prepare you for serving the Lord

Illustrate: In the Zimbabwe Churches God spoke to me through the ministry of the Leaders there

James 2: 5 ‘God chose the poor in this world to be rich in faith’.

Here in NZ we are rich, but poor in faith

God speaks to us through the ministry of the Church – are you listening?