JESUS-CHRIST IS LORD

THEME: HOW TO HEAR GOD TO RECEIVE THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

Beloved, very few Christians can confidently answer the concern of knowing if God speaks to them. Because of the distractions that lead them to lower the voice of the Spirit in them, they resort to prophets, eager for: "God said to me..." Now, Jeremiah 10:23 affirms: "I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man, when he walks, to direct his steps."

It is therefore clear that the Christian life consists of being directed by God, knowing how to wait for his order.

Faced with the chorus of voices that are attributed to God in this world, Job recognizes that God speaks to us sometimes in one way, sometimes in another. However, it is necessary to have discernment to follow the good shepherd in the pasture. Hence the importance of speaking in tongues for the edification of the Christian.

God speaks to us in at least 5 ways: 1) through conscience; 2) through the word of God (Bible) as confirmation; 3) through our spirit (being attentive); 4) spiritual gifts; 5) dreams which are thus an open window towards a kingdom.

That being said, God has manifested himself to men differently according to the times. In the Old Testament where the spirit was dead because of sin, it was through external signs that God spoke to men or through the voice of the prophets. In the New Covenant, because of the sacrifice of Jesus and through grace, He now speaks to Christians from the inside because He lives in them. If He speaks to you through another person, this is a clear sign that you have moved away from Him (through your distractions, and therefore by lowering the volume of the voice of the Spirit) or that you are not in His camp!

Acts 9:1-11, which tells us about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, this man who "always breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord", puts in parallel two characters Saul, opposed to God, and Ananias inhabited by the Spirit of God.

Saul is dazzled by a bright light coming from heaven and he hears a voice; while Ananias receives the direction of things to do from Jesus in a vision.

Beloved, the Christian in whom God lives in his fullness always receives the right direction. He must however stop bothering God for things that are already given to him. Wisdom consists in seeking first the interest of the Kingdom of God so that the rest also may be given to us. This necessarily implies that we are in the constancy of the presence of God and avoid distraction in order to be in the dispositions to receive what GOD tells us.

Let us remain abundantly blessed in the name of Jesus Christ!

Apostle Olivier FOANZ

- Acts 9:1- 11.