Overfamiliarity breeds trust

Every Believer at one point or another has struggled with hearing from God. I hear things like "Am I sure that was from God?", "I thought I heard from Him but I guess I heard wrong", "I don't know when it is God and when it is me", "God doesn't speak to me". 

Many struggle to identify God's voice or impressions especially at times when they need to hear from Him the most because they are not used to His voice.

There is only one formula - to be used to someone, you have to spend time with them. 

By spending so much time in God's presence, you become familiar and used to Him. You know when it is Him and when you are not yet sure. You know when to move and when to just wait, you know when it is a 'yes' or it is a 'not right now' or a 'no'. You also know when God is silent and you trust His silence! There is just some kind of trust you have and so you are hardly ever deterred or anxious about things or about the future.

That is where God wants all of us to be in terms of communion and fellowship with Him. Being millenials however, we want things right here right now or else we bounce. God is not like that. He is looking for a long-term relationship, pretty much a marriage with us i.e. for the long haul, forever and eternal. 

He is also the same God who appeared to many people in the Bible each in a unique way. See some examples:

The Old Testament

*Abraham - He visited Abraham together with two angels to tell him His plans (Genesis 18:1)

*Isaac - He appeared to Him to tell him not to go to Egypt even though going sounded like the rational thing to do (Genesis26:2)

*Jacob - He physically wrestled with Jacob and then blessed Him (Genesis 32:24)

*Moses - He appeared to Moses (showing him His back only) to reveal Himself and His attributes (Exodus 34:6)

One common thing about those God appeared to was that they had a consistent and growing relationship with Him. He desires this and you would be surprised at how your life would transform if you imbibe such a rhythm. One of communion and fellowshiping with Him, as well as putting Him first, that is, saying to Him "What would You have me do?", "What is your kingdom agenda for me Lord?", "It is not about me but about You."

God also sends His angels and speaks to us through visions, dreams, words of prophecy and knowledge. 

Here are some examples of people He sent angels to in 

The New Testament:

*Joseph - An angel was sent by God in a dream to tell him Mary would bear Jesus Christ (Luke 2:9)

*Zechariah - An angel physically appeared to tell him Elizabeth would bear John the Baptist (Luke 1:11)

*Peter - An angel physically appeared to him to release him from prison (Acts 12:7)

*Cornelius - An angel appeared to him in a vision to tell him to locate Simon Peter (Acts 10:3)

Even in the New Testament, God was still sending His angels to people - both young and old; so why do you think He also cannot appear to or speak to you in a unique way?  (For other appearances of God and His angels to people in the bible,  see here.)

It is time to get back to making God our everything and putting Him first in our lives. We need to spend more time studying His Word. We tend to be getting lazier in our generation but that is truly the secret - The Word. Today, there are tonnes of resources online to help us navigate the Bible in an easier way so we should leverage them and not miss out on so much goodness that awaits us even in this lifetime!

May God bless us all as we do! Amen

This Week's Listening:

Everything by Israel Houghton

Are You Intentional About Soul-Winning?

Yikes! I don’t know about you but the most daunting task for me as a new believer was soul-winning. It always seemed so unappealing and I had no interest in it.  Many believers feel the same; evangelism activities are usually glossed over when trying to plug one's self into serving at church. Yet that is the main reason why we are here – to love and glorify God, and to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Loving God means doing things that are pleasing to Him and giving Him glory means doing things which gives only Him honour. By sharing the Good News with others, we are putting God first and honouring Him and His word [Mark 16:15]

Loving our neighbours means we want them to enjoy the same benefits of being a believer as well as make heaven.  It doesn’t matter what religion - our primary primary purpose is to share the Gospel of Christ with our neighbours, in love. 

This is where it is tricky though. I always felt it took a lot of liver to speak to someone who is Christian but not necessarily a believer talk-less of approaching someone who practices another religion. Scary stuff. However in the final analysis, God categorises everyone as either believer or unbeliever. It is neither about being a good person/having been born into a Christian home/being the child of a preacher nor is it about doctrines and practices. God's only trigger for salvation is the conscious acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Saviour into one's heart [John 1:12, 3:16] 

In shying away from it altogether, many believers would give reasons such as:

1) "I am sure I can just pray for him or her from afar, that is fine too."

Counter Argument: The reason you are here is to serve God and to be used as a vessel by Him for His Kingdom expansion. It is more rewarding to be proactive in doing so and also willing. [2 Timothy 2:21]

2) "I am still trying to work out my own salvation and I am not a mature Christian. Shouldn't it be a pastor doing that?"

Counter Argument: God can use anyone, it doesn’t matter when you came to know Him [Jeremiah 1:6-8]

3) "I am neither social nor an extrovert and find it hard to talk to people."

Counter Argument: God's strength is made perfect in your weaknesses, the key is to just let Him use you [2 Corinthians 12: 9]

Now to the approach. Most people imagine soul-winning to be standing by the roadside with a megaphone or distributing tracts to others or even preaching on buses. If that isn't really your scene (not mine either), there are modern ways to evangelise such as:

- Simply talking to others

- Music (singing, writing)

- Theatre

- Writing

- Social Media

- Comedy

- Organising events (e.g. movies, soccer games, book-readings, similar interest groups)

There are so many channels, the key thing is to find how you can share the Word with authenticity, care, trust and transparency. 

So get going, some people's clocks are ticking!  Here are two very apt songs for some motivation! The bottom line is to move your ego/interests aside so He can use you:

1) I Give Myself Away by William McDowell (video)

2) Background by Lecrae (video)

God bless you! Please leave a comment :o)