Jul. 27, 2025

God Wants to Talk to You (27 July 2025)

Introduction - This lesson will have some personal benefit to all of us, as we learn about how God speaks to us.  Over the last decade one or two of the Christians I have known well told me something which filled me with empathy for their situation.  They told me that they really tried to hear God speak to them, sometimes sitting for hours and reading the Bible, then waiting and waiting only to hear nothing which would be considered unusual thought not originating from their own mind.  “I don’t get anything” was a common statement.  

Many Christians have the impression that God will talk to us just like He did to Samuel, Moses, Ezekiel, and probably every prophet of the Old Testament.  Those men and women, in their normal, natural state, heard an audible voice. Even Paul, who, as an unsaved man recorded in the New Testament, was approached by God audibly:

Acts 9:3-6 Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.” NASB

That must have been impressive! It was rare for any Old Testament person to be in an altered spiritual state, like being translated in the Spirit to a distant location (lPhilip to Azotus, or Paul to the third heaven, or John to a view of the Throne of God in the Revelation). Old Testament saints saw and heard heavenly things through their 5 senses.   Although it is technically still possible to experience God like that, It appears that He has moved away from those pointed 5-sense messages to newer, more widespread means of communicating with us.  The big difference between then (life in the Old Testament) and now (life in the New Testament) is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on every believer.  In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit settled upon only select individuals.  It was necessary to communicate with them from a source external to their senses, so God spoke to them just like we speak to each other.  The Spirit of God did not yet dwell within people.  With the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, a new era of communication from God began. Consequently, instances of direct, audible messages from God to man in our normal, natural state are much scarcer in the New Testament.  Let’s explore some common methods God uses to speak to us today: 

First, The Word of God has been recognized all through history, especially in the Church age in which we live, as a prime source of truth and communication from the Lord.  

I Tim 4:13-15 Until I come, give your attention to the public reading, to exhortation, and teaching. 14Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was granted to you through words of prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

This advice, given to Timothy, a pastor, is timely and true.  Some people have trouble reading on their own.  This Scripture recommends the public reading of the Scripture, so it can be explained.  Some of our branch groups are discovering a rich reward in doing public reading just as Paul describes here.  Many good questions are raised and answered.  People learn and grow.  

Second, a big change from how God used to communicate is that he uses groups of people not just a select few:

Acts 2:17-18 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,‘THAT I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL HAVE DREAMS; 18 AND EVEN ON MY MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT IN THOSE DAYS, And they will prophesy. NASB 

I Corinthians 14:26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. 

It is, therefore, important to be vitally involved in a group of saints to hear communication from God.  It is not in God’s plan for us to be alone, just surviving on private readings and devotions.  We will miss some vital communication if we are isolated.

Third, don’t overlook the importance of the Sabbath.  It may be that God has some special things to say to you on that special day when you are honoring him.  

Isaiah 58:13 If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking business; 14 then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.” CSB

No, this is not a return to the Old Testament Law.  Of the 10 commandments, nine are mentioned in some form in the New Testament.  The only one not mentioned is the keeping of the Sabbath as a ritual.  In fact, the New Testament (Colossians  2:16) cautions us to avoid having anyone act as our judge in the observance of the Sabbath.  We have been called to freedom from the observance of what was a shadow of things to come.  We are freed to celebrate Christ, who is really our Sabbath.  

It is true that Isaiah 58 is written to people who were under the Old Testament law.  But Isaiah 58 is not a prescription of the Law.  It is a look at God’s true intentions for the Sabbath, rest and settlement.  Right after God made the creation, He rested (stopped working, in Hebrew, shabbat).  A few verses later, He created humans and settled them (nuakh) with him in the garden.  Man’s sin a bit later did not change this purpose.  Jesus said very plainly that the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath.  This day, one day in the week, is a provision for you to rest, heal, recalibrate, have the Holy Spirit repair necessary body parts, and for God to encourage and counsel you.  Earlier in this same discussion He says, 

Isaiah 58:9 “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’  NASB

He is still trying to bring us into true rest and settling down right next to Him, even while we are on this earth.  God is still earnest about talking to us like He did in the garden with Adam and Eve!  The Sabbath is a likely occasion for this to happen.     

Conclusion - 

1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake: 12and after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  ASV

God has never changed his mind about talking to us.  Because of Jesus, He wants us close to Him, enjoying real life as He intended from the time He created us.   His messages are not loud attention-getters.  They are usually soft and quiet, easily pushed to the side by louder things in life.  It is true that, in the Scriptures, God used a donkey to speak to a wayward soothsayer.  You are not one of them.  Jesus said that rocks would cry out His praises if his followers were forced to be silent.  You are not forced to be silent.  God loves you and has lots of things to tell you beyond your biggest imaginings.  Let’s start to look for him in the unexpected places -from our brethren, in the public reading of the Word, and in your personal, private version of the Sabbath. Still, Small voices!