You have no items in your cart.
Hearing the Voice of God – Week 43 / October 24th
“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals
His secret to His servants the prophets.”
Amos 3:7
There is no doubt that there is a feeling everywhere amongst God’s servants of repute that very challenging and difficult days are ahead. Paul had this feeling in his days as he wrote about what he called the “impending distress.” He was so convinced that some overwhelming issue would befall the world that he cautioned about the wisdom of getting married in the light of it. (1Corinthians 7:26) He was right because some years later the Roman armies marched east and conquered Jerusalem and just before this Nero, the Roman Emperor, unleashed a terrifying persecution against the Christians in his realm. God in His love had warned His people.
As I travel the globe and have the privilege of sharing with wonderful men of God there is a single message that filters through all of our conversations and that is get ready for difficult times! We must understand that Jesus is determined to purify His Church and before He deals with the world He will judge His Church. (1Peter 4:17) That is; He will beautify it and separate it from the world. This will be a painful process and may even involve intense persecution but most certainly we must get ready for it. The Spirit of God warns of this everywhere!
Essential to making it through these approaching days are the following:
1. Make sure that your relationship with Jesus is real and dynamic.
This effectively means that one has to live in the Word of God and that one’s prayer life is solid. By this I mean that we recognize that we cannot get by on what I call “two minute prayers” and short readings of the Bible. Jesus craves our fellowship more than anything and this is why He died for us; in order to bring us into a living relationship with Him and the His Father. In John 15 He reminds us that we are to abide in Him just as a branch has to abide in the main body of the vine for life and vitality. There is no short cut to this and apart from it we cannot experience real joy and fruitfulness in our lives.
Real prayer is like setting out to exercise by running; once you get through the “determination and pain barrier” you realize that you cannot do without it. So many Christians never enter into the real blessing and power of prayer because they will not push through! Be sure of this; the days ahead will require that we have spiritual resources within us. If we do not strengthen our spiritual lives by good spiritual habits we will fail and many have over the centuries!
2. Make sure that you are living in the will of God.
The safest place in the world is where God wants you to be. Some people ask me how I could leave Jerusalem and live in Tennessee? The contrast seems so amazing to them that they cannot conceive how one could leave Zion for a small town in America. The answer is simple; this is precisely where God wants me to be at present! It’s not only where He wants me to be but it is where He will bless me. If I stayed another day longer in Jerusalem I would have disconnected myself from His will for my life and therefore from His blessing! I choose His will all the time and so must you. In seeking to find the will of God for your life remember that He is more eager to speak to you than you are to hear him. The will of God is always found by those who are near Him.
I once saw a plaque on a wall that ran as follows: “Those who walk with God will always get to their destination.” If you cannot find the will of God for your life then take stock of your relationship with Him. It’s as easy as that!
3. Make sure you are in fellowship.
No follower of Jesus can afford the luxury of not being in fellowship with God’s people. This will definitely disconnect you from the full voice of Jesus and leave you spiritually impoverished. You cannot afford this and you must integrate yourself into the day to day life of the local Church. This is not my teaching but that of the Bible’s. Difficult days are coming and you will face them more resolutely with your brothers and sisters in the faith around you. The Bible has much to say about “body life” and we should heed it. (1Corinthians 11-14) The early Church became powerful and unstoppable because they constantly gave themselves to corporate prayer, Bible study, fellowship and the Breaking of Bread. (Acts 2:42) We should do likewise!
So then, as we approach days of upheaval, uncertainty, financial instability and war we must draw near to God and seek, more than ever, to have the life of Jesus entrenched in our lives. Holiness is an inward desire that becomes a reality by the grace of God working in us. Let us pursue this holiness for without it we shall not see God. (Hebrews 12:14)
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2012Devotional