God's Goal in Communicating

It’s nice to have an understanding of Greek and Hebrew, but God speaks to us in the language we speak. That’s why, when you pray, you hear God in English!

God’s Holy Spirit teaches us. Check out

1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

That’s kind of confusing. Now look at verse

1 Corinthians 2:10 NKJV

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

We understand because of the HS

1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

The unbeliever CANNOT hear from God.

God’s first goal: know the truth about Himself

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He doesn’t just want us to have book knowledge, but personal knowledge of who He is and why He wants to communicate this to us.

The more time we spend in His Word and in prayer, the more we’ll know about Him.

God’s second goal: know the truth about ourselves

“God wants us to know our position and our supernatural privileges of who we are in Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

Since we are one with Christ, His privileges become ours!

God’s third goal: know the truth about other people

We need a reminder that we aren’t to look at others with earthly wisdom, but the wisdom that comes from our heavenly Father.

When you are going through a difficult time, go to your Christian friends for encouragement-your real Christians friends.

Passive and Aggressive Listening

Passive Listening=bad :(

They don’t come to God prepared to listen.

They don’t expect to hear from God.

Indications according to Dr. Stanley of passive listeners.

The 40 year old Christian who won’t teach a Bible study class because “they don’t know the Bible well enough.”

What have you been doing for 40 years?

Aggressive Listening=good :)

They come ready to hear from God.

They have their Bible open, pen out, and notebook ready to go.

They are involved in personal devotions.

They ask questions, search, and compare what they hear to other data they’ve researched.

They ask, “How can I apply this to my life?”

Acts 17:11 NKJV

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Lives are transformed when people are aggressive listeners.

Matthew 7:24 NKJV

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

Nothing less will do.

Conforming to the Truth

Romans 8:29 NKJV

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

When we learn about God’s truth we can do one of two things:

Refuse to be pushed into God’s mold.

Yield to Him and be fashioned into His likeness.

James 1:23–24 NKJV

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

Timothy was a good example of this:

1 Timothy 4:12 NKJV

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

When we are conformed to the truth, it’s a whole lot easier to hear from God than when we are adrift.

2 Timothy 3:14–15 NKJV

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Communicating the Truth

A couple of easiest passages to test whether we abide in the truth are and

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Not only are we to listen to Him and allow Him to communicate His truth to us, but we are to communicate His truth to others!

Write down this Bible verse and make a commitment today to act it out. I call it the 2-2-2 verse

2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV

2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

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