Monday, March 9, 2015

Oooh, would you listen now if God Could Talk

I have always loved Classic Rock and many of the artists that were popular in the 70's. You have heard me mention it before, but one of my favorites was Meatloaf. Meatloaf, you say? Wasn't he that guy that made the albums named Bat Out of Hell, I, II, and III?

Yep!

Before I truly turned my life over to God, that is how I lived, like a bat out of hell. Now I guess it more closely resembles a crazed Goonie out of Heaven.

Anyway, on what appears to be his last and final album, there is a song titled, "If God Could Talk" in which he asks his lover if God could talk, what would God suggest, and what road would they take.
The last line of the song slows down tremendously as he sings it:
"Oooh, would you listen now if God could talk?"

I can't help but wonder if there are a lot of people in the world who wonder if God can talk. To many it would sound strange to consider it as they see God as this "thing" up "there" somewhere in the Universe. It is a presence that has no way of communicating with us, just a way to dangle things before our eyes that we may or may not ever get to experience. 

One problem that I find here in the "bible belt" is that the older generation takes it for granted that most everyone has attended church for a period of time and they are familiar with God and how He works. Sadly, especially in these days, fewer and fewer people attend church and those who do attend get a VERY watered down version of God, usually just the "Happy God" version. Pastors never preach about Hell and the consequences of not accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. It's more like: Just believe in Christ and your life will change. Things will go smoother, you'll be blessed financially (especially is you keep sending your $$$ into the pockets of these TV shysters), your health will be great (don't forget to buy those prayer cloths to keep you well), and you'll never have a worry again.

I hope if you are reading this that you haven't bought into the Happy God Religion. It certainly isn't Christianity. Far from it. You Will have troubles, You Will have financial hardships, You Will experience sickness and death in your family. The difference is with Jesus Christ and God, His and our Heavenly Father, you will have a sense of peace and courage to face those trials. And in the end, when you look at how your life plays out each day, you will realize that this is the true Happy experience.

Another problem most people have trouble with is believing that what is in the bible applies to them, and could very well happen in their lives. In the book of the bible called Hebrews, Paul writes:
"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.…"  Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV

In Genesis, we see where God is talking to Adam and Eve in their walks through the Garden. He was as much a presence that could be seen and heard as you would be if you were standing beside me today. Did you know that "God spoke" occurs 9 times in the Old Testament and 3 times in the New Testament.Now, I'm no scientist, but it seems to me that the only way we could know that "God spoke" was if someone heard it.

Sin changed a lot of things that I would have loved to experience, one of them being able to meet face to face with God when we wanted to, especially after a hard day.

God now uses Jesus Christ, His Son, to speak to us through what is called "The Holy Spirit". No, you won't experience a ghost hovering in mid-air most likely in front of you, telling you what you need to hear. What you will experience is what some people call "their conscience". It is a little voice inside that is not "audible" as most people would use the word, but nevertheless, it is that nagging feeling, those words that keep popping up in your head for no reason, that urge to do or not to do something that is before you. That is the Holy Spirit talking to you. Problem for mankind is that we refuse to listen. I WANT IT MY WAY! AND I WILL BLAST THROUGH ANYONE WHO TRIES TO STOP ME! Well, all I can say is "Good Luck With That."

Think about it for a minute. We read instruction manuals written supposedly by someone who has done a certain task and knows how to complete it successfully. We read biographies of successful people to learn how to be more successful in our lives. We search the internet for information about something from someone who is credited as an expert.in that field.

So you have someone who has been around since before the Earth was formed, who can guide you in what you need to be successful and to survive this crazy life, and yet most people refuse to listen. What the ???? It seems pretty stupid to me. You would rather listen to some guy with maybe 20 or 30 years experience at the most instead of someone with 1000's of years of experience? Really? I mean Really? (to quote that annoying guy on the arby's commercials).

Quit wasting your money to make someone else rich (why do you think he/she is so successful, it isn't because of their great knowledge all the time, it's because you keep sending them your money!) and start listening to The One Who Never Charges A Dime! 

No, I have never "heard" a voice from Heaven, yet I have been given many words of instruction from God. Take this blog for example. God gives me the wisdom to write this. I have no degree in journalism and I'm not some big lecturer in some vast circuit. Yet, the words flow from me, whether it is on a page, in a blog, or in a sermon given somewhere in front of an audience. Pay attention the next time you see me preach. I have an outline, but I do not stand there and read from a script. I study the material that I want to preach on, and then I stand up before you and bring the word that God wants to tell you. Many times I have it all planned as to how I'm going to present it, then God gives me the words otherwise and by the time I'm done, I'm hoping it was recorded because even I can't remember what all He flowed through my mind and to my lips.

So in closing I'm going to ask you again ... "Oooh, would you listen now if God Could Talk?" And now that you know that God Can Talk, will you pay closer attention to what He says? And will you take the words that God has given you, and act upon them accordingly?

Only you can answer for yourself.

In Christ,
Keith

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