Books, studies, sermons, and/or other avenues

It has been quite some time since I have blogged last.  I am not sure if it is because I was in leveled off spot in my walk with God, was too busy, did not feel the creative juices flowing, or something else.  Whatever the reason, it’s been a while.   So, here goes:

I was reflecting on where I have come over the past few years as a Christian.  Something that has stood out to me is how I approach books, studies, sermons, and other methods of learning.  In the past, as I came upon something, among these forms of media, that I would disagree with fundamentally or theologically I would either stop where I was and throw the whole medium out or just “check out mentally”.

Fortunately, God has matured my discernment to the point of being able to pick out the truths (or at least what I perceive to be the truths) that are being presented.  So many times in the past I would hear or read something that I believed went against biblical truth and would completely disregard the whole message.  It is now that I realize that many times God has something relating to where I am hidden (so to speak) in that message.  I have had a good friend say many times, “truth is truth, no matter where you find it.”  A great example of this is the law of gravity.  Nowhere in the bible does it talk about the revolutions of the earth creating gravity that hold us to the map.  However, it is a truth.  God gave us the bible as a guide for living and discovering Him and most of all to know His Son Jesus and the redemption that comes with His sacrifice.  And, the bible is where we go to validate what we have heard.  It is one of the many ways God speaks to us, but not the only way.

One way that has helped me with discerning messages and still hearing from God has been a study I have done several times.  The study is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby.  In this study, Blackaby teaches ways you hear from God, how to look for where He is working, and how to know it is God who is speaking.  His main point is for us to verify what we have heard through the bible, prayer, circumstances, the church, and other people. 

Another way that has helped me has been when the message I am hearing is seemingly repeated in several different ways in a short span of time. The same friend who talked about truth also believes that if it is from God, it “sticks” in some way.  I have found that to be true on several occasions.  The same “theme” as I call it keeps coming up and it matches the situation I am in.  Usually, when this is occurring, a common phrase I use is, “God works in themes.”

Now, one thing I do note is this:  When God is speaking or working, it is not always pleasant.  Somewhere in my life I picked up this notion that when God works I will get this euphoric feeling of some sort.  As you read through the stories of God speaking to men in the bible, you see that what He has planned for them is not always pleasant.  In fact, many times it is very hard, so that God may be glorified.

So, back to the point I wanted to make.  During those years that I would “throw out the baby with the bath water”… I believe that I missed out on some great messages and teachings from God.  As I have stayed with a study or a sermon or a book, I have found places where God has spoken directly to my situation.  One of the reasons that I can understand this now is because of my own messages that I have delivered in the past.  When I was in a situation to teach something about God or give some wisdom relating to His kingdom, I have found that most of what I was presenting was from God.  However, there is (for me) always that little part where I interject my own wisdom, my own thought.  Sometimes, this little bit of me may be contradictory to what God had in mind.  My hope would be that the listener would hold on to the part from God that “sticks” and throw out my wisdom without throwing out the whole message.

I have also found that God is speaking directly to something that I need to change in my life and I just don’t want to.  Kind of like when Jonah did not want to preach to Nineveh and ran the opposite way.  I have found, like Jonah, that God will get His message across one way or another.  His purpose will be accomplished. 

So, my challenge to the readership of this article would be this:  As you begin a book, a study, listen to a sermon, etc., listen for where God is speaking and applying His knowledge.  Fight through the resistance to the whole message and find that message that God is speaking.  You will find it has a purpose for where you are at that point in your life, or even something He has planned for your future.