Greetings everyone. As I am still young I have learned a tiny bit about life and about God and faith. What scares me often is not how little I know, but in contrast how little the teachers and preachers of our time know. I make no claims to be as head of a church, organisation or institution. But it has come to my understanding the things of God which I need to know because of the grace which God has laid upon my life. No one claims knowledge out of themselves. A pastor or minister would often claim knowledge from their institution, giving accreditation as to those under whom they have trained. But as Peter, that which I learned was by God's grace and that of my parents.
We all know the story of the Gospel. But I'd like to express a way of thinking and living which I do not perceive. To ensure that my message is totally understood I would like to start at the beginning of the Gospel.
In Genesis we know Adam talked to God. He heard God. He knew exactly what God was saying to Him. And through the act of disobedience he has lost a tremendous amount between him and God. We also know that God also spoke to Eve. Now we also know that God spoke to Cain and Abel. They didn't just have a feeling of some sort. They had interactive conversations. Both Cain and Abel. So much so that when Cain committed murder he was seeked out by God. To continue the story... Noah litterally heard God. He didn't have a feeling about a boat and thought it might be a wonderful idea. I heard God. Spoke to God and offered the people repentance even. We know Abraham heard God. And we understand that it was not just a feeling because no one would kill their own child based upon a feeling. You might even go into the unknown - maybe... but killing your own child. No. You would be very sure before you even consider this. We know that Samuel definately heard God speak, because he wouldn't think that Eli was calling him based on a feeling. We know Moses heard God speak and did exact instructions based upon what God told him to do. And so we can continue through David, Daniel and the rest of the prophets. We also know that at a certain stage God wanted to speak to the people under Moses but they were to frightenened and for that reason the job of the priests started to evolve. However when Jesus came He taught His dsciples again about how to speak to God, how to listen ( as we can see throughout the New Testament... it was not a feeling. They heard God)
Now Jesus said... not everyone that calls me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but those that do the will of My Father...
If we take a look at it. IF you are in your house, your father always had a will and it was based into two sections. House rules. And what he wanted you to do. Certain things were the house rules. You knew what to do, because of the house rules. But a lot of times your dad would ask you a simple task. Make me some coffee, go mow the lawn, help your mother in the kitchen. Tell your brother this or that. Fetch me a spanner. Simple everyday tasks. Completely do-able. That too was his will.
So in likewise God has house rules. The ten commandments, etc. However He also asks of us simple tasks. Go tell that guy this... go pray for this person. Remember to go to the bank this afternoon. go tell that person you are sorry. And this is the basis of communication. And the basis of building ANY relationship. When we build a relationship this happens. Many times I would ask my father things and out of his wisdom he would answer me. And many times I ask my Father things and out of His wisdom He would answer me. Many times my father would ask things of me and I would do it. Many times my Father would ask something of me, and I would do it.
And this is what the verse means... when it is written Faith cometh by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God. That we must hear to have faith. We must not just hear but obey. Because in hearing we receive faith and in obeying we complete the act of faith. This is often how my life would work. I am a teacher at a High School. I would give class and sometimes God would tell me to tell this or that to this or that kid. And then I do it. And I can really see life changing events. Sometimes I get asked to heal and sometimes a word of wisdom, etc. Always sharing hope and faith through His grace. If a child ask me a question (spiritual) to whom I do not know the answer... I stop ask my Father and He answers me and I tell the child or person that asked me the question. It is not glamourious or whistles blowing and firecrackers and stuff. In fact most healings which happened in front of me I haven't noticed until the person I prayed for showed me how they were healed or told me that she could now hear. Now this I consider to be normal. That is how I grew up. When we were toddlers and got sick my mom would sit at our bed and pray for us and we got healed. Most of the time we didn't even go to the doctor. Sometimes we did. But this was how we grew up. My father is the head of the house, because that is how God ordained it to be. And we have a happy home. When we were younger every Sunday night we would sing together and get a message from God together for the family. Everyone in the house received a scripture from God and in total it always made a message. My father would explain it to us and we would adjust our lives accordingly. And as far as youngsters go I thought this was true in all happy homes... in fact I didn't quite know anything else. My father was working in a factory and my mother was a teacher. And since they weren't pastors or anything I pressumed this was how everybody else did it as well. (later I discovered the truth) My parents even taught us how to pray when we want to pray for sick people. And how to listen to God. When they were younger (just after our birth) they made a commitment to God to bring us children (3) up correctly according to the ways of God.
Now I hear a lot of people stating that all you get is a feeling. And that you don't actually hear God word for word. ??? Ok. Maybe you don't know how... I can get that. But if you don't know how, wouldn't it be better to find out? But here is my problem. I understand if some people haven't learned how to listen yet. But what I don't understand is this. How can a person (pastor or minister) lead people, if he cannot hear God. I mean what message does he then give to the people. Shouldn't at the very least he be able to hear God word for word. I mean how would you like it if someone tells you... I think God wants me to talk to you about divorce. (Even though that might be what the person's problem is) wouldn't it be a lot better if you told the person word for word exactly what he or she must do to save her marriage?
But yet again people are afraid to hear God's voice. And the reason is simple. If you hear God you MUST obey God. If you don't you can state that you only had a feeling and were never sure. The other side is also true. If you do not obey God you will never discover how good He is or build a relationship with Him. You'll never truly experience the true awe of His miracles seeing them as you pray. I am not trying to create a theological debate. It is what it is. If you are a Christian. You might have a Bible. IF you have a Bible and you know your Bible even only slightly you would know that God never was unprepared, never based anything on a hunch or feeling alone and made sure that the people that worked for Him followed suite. Take Gideon for example. He asked God for three signs just to be sure it was God talking to Him. And God allowed it, because He wanted Gideon to be sure. But once Gideon was sure... he HAD to obey. God never said you will always agree with His ideas either, He did say we must obey. A lot of the times when God use me to perform miracles I have no idea why He wants me to do this or that. But I do it and I see how the miracle happens. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't, but God always backs up His word.
And that is how your faith grows. Going to a church and singing a few songs. Well that is nice, but it doesn't really build faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God. I enjoy the singing tremendously and I love worshipping God. However I also know that if my actions were not in obedience towards Him my worshipping does not availith much. For it is like you never do what your dad asks you, but you tell him you love him. He won't believe you. We need to do God's will. His entire will, not just the parts we think is acceptable. God is our Master, we are the servants. Not the other way around.
My grandfather was devoted to God. Yet he only learned late in his life how to read. Was he therefore not truly a Christian? No. He had a relationship with God. He just didn't know how to read.
These days people measure you life as a christian based upon the amounts that you go to church and read you Bible. Yet they often forget the missionaries that had no churches for months on end, yet were devoted to the cause of Christ. Some even died for their faith. How many Christians in the disciples time do you think could actually read? They were more concerned with other things... history shows this clearly. But those people had such a relationship with God that they were willing to be burned at the stake.
So my problem is this... if those that are supposed to lead us, do not lead us to hear God's voice or teaching us how to do this... cause often in my classes I find youngsters (high school) that have no idea how to hear God's voice, yet they have been their entire life in their church. That means for 14-16 years they have never learned how to hear God's voice. Think of how sad that is. I hate the fact if I am not hearing God's voice for a day or even maybe a week. They never heard it!!! They never experienced the grace of knowing that God is there for you in everything that you do and He watches you and talks to you while you do you chores throughout your day. IS it any wonder that the youth are so confused in these times. So I am asking everyone here that belongs to a church (any christian chruch) CAN you hear God's voice? And if you cannot... can your pastor? And if he can, wouldn't you want to learn how and ask him to teach you? ANd if he can't wouldn't you want to ask him to go with you to someone that can teach you both how? Cause if he can't, he is endangering the entire congregation by not listening.
blessings to all
We all know the story of the Gospel. But I'd like to express a way of thinking and living which I do not perceive. To ensure that my message is totally understood I would like to start at the beginning of the Gospel.
In Genesis we know Adam talked to God. He heard God. He knew exactly what God was saying to Him. And through the act of disobedience he has lost a tremendous amount between him and God. We also know that God also spoke to Eve. Now we also know that God spoke to Cain and Abel. They didn't just have a feeling of some sort. They had interactive conversations. Both Cain and Abel. So much so that when Cain committed murder he was seeked out by God. To continue the story... Noah litterally heard God. He didn't have a feeling about a boat and thought it might be a wonderful idea. I heard God. Spoke to God and offered the people repentance even. We know Abraham heard God. And we understand that it was not just a feeling because no one would kill their own child based upon a feeling. You might even go into the unknown - maybe... but killing your own child. No. You would be very sure before you even consider this. We know that Samuel definately heard God speak, because he wouldn't think that Eli was calling him based on a feeling. We know Moses heard God speak and did exact instructions based upon what God told him to do. And so we can continue through David, Daniel and the rest of the prophets. We also know that at a certain stage God wanted to speak to the people under Moses but they were to frightenened and for that reason the job of the priests started to evolve. However when Jesus came He taught His dsciples again about how to speak to God, how to listen ( as we can see throughout the New Testament... it was not a feeling. They heard God)
Now Jesus said... not everyone that calls me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but those that do the will of My Father...
If we take a look at it. IF you are in your house, your father always had a will and it was based into two sections. House rules. And what he wanted you to do. Certain things were the house rules. You knew what to do, because of the house rules. But a lot of times your dad would ask you a simple task. Make me some coffee, go mow the lawn, help your mother in the kitchen. Tell your brother this or that. Fetch me a spanner. Simple everyday tasks. Completely do-able. That too was his will.
So in likewise God has house rules. The ten commandments, etc. However He also asks of us simple tasks. Go tell that guy this... go pray for this person. Remember to go to the bank this afternoon. go tell that person you are sorry. And this is the basis of communication. And the basis of building ANY relationship. When we build a relationship this happens. Many times I would ask my father things and out of his wisdom he would answer me. And many times I ask my Father things and out of His wisdom He would answer me. Many times my father would ask things of me and I would do it. Many times my Father would ask something of me, and I would do it.
And this is what the verse means... when it is written Faith cometh by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God. That we must hear to have faith. We must not just hear but obey. Because in hearing we receive faith and in obeying we complete the act of faith. This is often how my life would work. I am a teacher at a High School. I would give class and sometimes God would tell me to tell this or that to this or that kid. And then I do it. And I can really see life changing events. Sometimes I get asked to heal and sometimes a word of wisdom, etc. Always sharing hope and faith through His grace. If a child ask me a question (spiritual) to whom I do not know the answer... I stop ask my Father and He answers me and I tell the child or person that asked me the question. It is not glamourious or whistles blowing and firecrackers and stuff. In fact most healings which happened in front of me I haven't noticed until the person I prayed for showed me how they were healed or told me that she could now hear. Now this I consider to be normal. That is how I grew up. When we were toddlers and got sick my mom would sit at our bed and pray for us and we got healed. Most of the time we didn't even go to the doctor. Sometimes we did. But this was how we grew up. My father is the head of the house, because that is how God ordained it to be. And we have a happy home. When we were younger every Sunday night we would sing together and get a message from God together for the family. Everyone in the house received a scripture from God and in total it always made a message. My father would explain it to us and we would adjust our lives accordingly. And as far as youngsters go I thought this was true in all happy homes... in fact I didn't quite know anything else. My father was working in a factory and my mother was a teacher. And since they weren't pastors or anything I pressumed this was how everybody else did it as well. (later I discovered the truth) My parents even taught us how to pray when we want to pray for sick people. And how to listen to God. When they were younger (just after our birth) they made a commitment to God to bring us children (3) up correctly according to the ways of God.
Now I hear a lot of people stating that all you get is a feeling. And that you don't actually hear God word for word. ??? Ok. Maybe you don't know how... I can get that. But if you don't know how, wouldn't it be better to find out? But here is my problem. I understand if some people haven't learned how to listen yet. But what I don't understand is this. How can a person (pastor or minister) lead people, if he cannot hear God. I mean what message does he then give to the people. Shouldn't at the very least he be able to hear God word for word. I mean how would you like it if someone tells you... I think God wants me to talk to you about divorce. (Even though that might be what the person's problem is) wouldn't it be a lot better if you told the person word for word exactly what he or she must do to save her marriage?
But yet again people are afraid to hear God's voice. And the reason is simple. If you hear God you MUST obey God. If you don't you can state that you only had a feeling and were never sure. The other side is also true. If you do not obey God you will never discover how good He is or build a relationship with Him. You'll never truly experience the true awe of His miracles seeing them as you pray. I am not trying to create a theological debate. It is what it is. If you are a Christian. You might have a Bible. IF you have a Bible and you know your Bible even only slightly you would know that God never was unprepared, never based anything on a hunch or feeling alone and made sure that the people that worked for Him followed suite. Take Gideon for example. He asked God for three signs just to be sure it was God talking to Him. And God allowed it, because He wanted Gideon to be sure. But once Gideon was sure... he HAD to obey. God never said you will always agree with His ideas either, He did say we must obey. A lot of the times when God use me to perform miracles I have no idea why He wants me to do this or that. But I do it and I see how the miracle happens. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't, but God always backs up His word.
And that is how your faith grows. Going to a church and singing a few songs. Well that is nice, but it doesn't really build faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God. I enjoy the singing tremendously and I love worshipping God. However I also know that if my actions were not in obedience towards Him my worshipping does not availith much. For it is like you never do what your dad asks you, but you tell him you love him. He won't believe you. We need to do God's will. His entire will, not just the parts we think is acceptable. God is our Master, we are the servants. Not the other way around.
My grandfather was devoted to God. Yet he only learned late in his life how to read. Was he therefore not truly a Christian? No. He had a relationship with God. He just didn't know how to read.
These days people measure you life as a christian based upon the amounts that you go to church and read you Bible. Yet they often forget the missionaries that had no churches for months on end, yet were devoted to the cause of Christ. Some even died for their faith. How many Christians in the disciples time do you think could actually read? They were more concerned with other things... history shows this clearly. But those people had such a relationship with God that they were willing to be burned at the stake.
So my problem is this... if those that are supposed to lead us, do not lead us to hear God's voice or teaching us how to do this... cause often in my classes I find youngsters (high school) that have no idea how to hear God's voice, yet they have been their entire life in their church. That means for 14-16 years they have never learned how to hear God's voice. Think of how sad that is. I hate the fact if I am not hearing God's voice for a day or even maybe a week. They never heard it!!! They never experienced the grace of knowing that God is there for you in everything that you do and He watches you and talks to you while you do you chores throughout your day. IS it any wonder that the youth are so confused in these times. So I am asking everyone here that belongs to a church (any christian chruch) CAN you hear God's voice? And if you cannot... can your pastor? And if he can, wouldn't you want to learn how and ask him to teach you? ANd if he can't wouldn't you want to ask him to go with you to someone that can teach you both how? Cause if he can't, he is endangering the entire congregation by not listening.
blessings to all