God Is Speaking

God has been speaking to mankind for 6000 years and very few have understood His voice and found salvation by it.
Jesus said, “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” Mark 4:12

Often the lack of understanding the voice of God is willful. Because it rebukes their sins and touches their idols, they reject it. Jesus said, “Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made it a house of thieves. And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him.” Mark 11:17-18.

Jesus quoted the words of Isaiah but they did not want these words to be repeated to them. Nothing new was presented to them, only the old truth, yet they did not understand the importance of the word of God.

The word of the Lord came to old Israel, “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.” Zech. 7:9-11.

God spoke to the people through Noah but they did not hear nor understand His message.
God spoke through Moses to His people, but very few understood and believed His words and by so doing, save themselves.

God spoke through His Son, Jesus, but again very few understood His words.
“These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” John 6: 59-60, 66.

The voice of Jesus was a strange voice to the Jews. The words that Jesus spoke could have brought salvation to them, but they rejected the words of life and chose the deceptions of Satan. Yet there is nothing more wonderful
than to hear the words of God speaking to us.

When Jesus spoke the words, “Peace be still”, the terrible storm became calm. Only a word from the lips of Jesus and the sick were healed; the lepers were cleansed, the blind could see, and the lame could walk. At the voice of Jesus even the dead were raised. It was the voice of Jesus that spoke the world into existence.

The most wonderful words of Jesus are, “your sins are forgiven.” To the dying thief on the cross, the words, “Verily, verily, I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me in paradise,” brought comfort and joy to him in the last hours of his life. Gladly Jesus would like to speak these words to every human being, but so few people are listening to Him.

God is love and His words are an expression of love, but few people can see love in the following words of Jesus:
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matt. 16:24.

“Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor.” Matt. 19:21.
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.” Matt. 5:44.

“Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn him the other also.” Matt. 5:39.

“Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33.

Are these meaningless words that Jesus spoke that we can ignore or does our salvation depend on them?
In the time of Joshua, Achan did not think that the words of God were important and he ignored them; and as a result he lost his life and the whole nation suffered.

Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, had heard the voice of God, but did not take it seriously and as a result they lost their lives. They saw no difference in the fire that God had kindled and the common fire.

God has never spoken an unimportant or meaningless word. Yet people take lightly the counsels and admonitions given by Him.

There are few exceptions; few people who obeyed the voice of God. Abraham did sacrifice his son. Noah did build an ark on the dry land. The poor widow in Zarephath did bake a cake for Elijah of her last handful of flour.

Today God is speaking in clear language to the people, yet very few listen or understand His words.
The wars, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and disasters in the air, sea and land, speak to the people that the end is near.

The prophesies of Daniel and Revelation are almost fulfilled. Yet even the Christians in the church of God are sleeping and not awake to the seriousness of the time. Many ignore the words of Jesus, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5:48.

Did Jesus really mean that we must reach this high perfection in order to have eternal life?
And what meaning have the words, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” 1 John 2:15 Does this mean that we must give up worldly shows on television, and the Internet and all the fashions and vanity in the world?

Have we been considering seriously the following testimony, “Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully… I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action.” EW, p. 71.

God is speaking to us still today in a clear language, but if we ignore His warnings and counsels then there will soon be silence. God will not speak to the sinners anymore. Then the words of the Lord will be fulfilled, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11,12.

Delay in obedience is dangerous, because suddenly it will be too late to find salvation. The clear counsel is given, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Heb. 3:15.

To every church period in Revelation 2 & 3, the admonition is given, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.”

May the Lord open our eyes to see the way of the Lord and our ears to hear the voice of God, and let us hasten to obey before it is forever too late.
AMEN.

Timo Martin