I. What does Jesus have to say?
God has been speaking to His people throughout the ages.
1. In the Garden of Eden
2. To Abraham through a visitor
Life Examples: Abraham: The Man of Endurance (Gen. 21:1-3)
Call Abraham not only a man of faith (Gal. 3:9), but a man of endurance.
The starting gun sounded when God promised Abraham a son in his old age, and Abraham "believed in the LORD" (Gen. 15:5-6). Buy a year came and went, and no child arrived.
Abraham kept running.
Two years flashed, and still no child.
Still Abraham kept running.
Despite a stumble at mid-race (see Gen. 16), Abraham kept running. For 25 years he kept running, until at last, at age 100, he and his wife, age 99, had a son (Gen. 21:1-3).
Why the long wait? Apparently, God wanted Abraham (and us!) to learn the connection between waiting, trust, and hope (Ps. 33:20). And that hope, the apostle Paul reminds us, prompts us to wait on God "with perseverence" (Rom 8:25).
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
3. To Jacob in a dream
Life Examples: Jacob: Wrestling with God (Gen. 32:24-32)
The story of Jacob alternately comforts and confounds. For while we could look upon many of his decisions with contempt-and even wonder why God would so favor such a man-it equally reassures us to realize that the God who extended grace to Jacob also extends it to us.
In a famous episode described in Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with a powerful stranger that he later concludes is God. Some scholars believe that Jacob wrestled with the pre-incarnate Christ; others consider the opponent an angel. Still others suggest that Jacob wrangled with God only in prayer. In any event, the nation Israel received its name from Jacob, whom God renamed "Israel", meaning, "he struggles with God.
Despite his many failings, weaknesses, and subsequent sorrows, Jacob was elected and loved of God (Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13). And through his strange wrestling match, he provides us with a model of the effort required for effective prayer (Col. 4:12).
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
4. To Moses in a burning bush
Life Examples: Moses: God’s Pattern for Success (Ex. 3:1-4)
One of the greatest differences between the world’s message about success and God’s is this: The world seeks a single formula to produce one set of results for all people, while God’s plan is far more creative, far more individualized, and far more personal.
Moses did not have a vision for success early in his life, although as an adopted son of Pharaoh he enjoyed a certain degree of privilege. After murdering an Egyptian, however, he ran for his life and then spent forty years tending sheep. But one day the Lord revealed Himself to Moses and gave him a specific life mission.
Many of us go through difficult and even devastating experiences, and then one day come face-to-face with the reality of God. Is this the pattern that god seems to be implementing in your life? If so, stick with His plan, regardless of how unorthodox it may seem-The Promised Land lies in that direction!
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
5. To Isaiah
Life Examples: Isaiah: A Life-Changing Encounter (Isaiah 6:1-7)
Isaiah’s whole life changed when he saw the majestic Lord seated on His heavenly throne. His awesome vision of God pierced him to cry out, "I am a man of unclean lips...For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5).
You will never deal effectively with your sin without first realizing who God is. When you study His Word and begin to grasp His holiness, a deep reverence for Him grows in your heart. You, like Isaiah, are humbled before Him and realize that you fall far short of His holiness. Yet before discouragement can creep in, you also realize that God loves you deeply.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God takes away your sins and shows you His amazing love. The crucifixion and resurrection are the beautiful visions God gives you of His awesome holiness and majesty.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
6. To Ezekiel
Life Examples: Ezekiel: Watching Dead Bones Come Alive (Ezek. 37:14)
In his day, hope had become a rare commodity. Ezekiel must have felt as desolate and useless as the piles of bones that he had seen in a startling vision.
As the prophet sat in the middle of a valley, he knew that only a miracle could bring together his decimated and scattered people. Yet as Ezekiel watched, a miracle of life took place. Where before only dry bones had littered the landscape, the Lord added muscles, tendons, and tissue. And into those restored, silent bodies, God breathed new life.
Maybe you feel dry, defeated, emotionally scattered. Perhaps you sit alone, dejected, watching a panorama of death unfold before you. But do not despair! If the God of Ezekiel is your God, then know that even the dry bones before you can live again. In His grace they can live and stand upon their feet-an exceedingly great army.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
7. To Elijah in a still, small voice
Life Examples: Elijah: Responding to Stress (1 Kings 19:3)
Stressful situations can drive us to inappropriate responses. The prophet Elijah illustrates the importance of viewing circumstances from God’s perspective.
God sent the prophet to rescue Israel from its moral and spiritual decline. Elijah confronted and defeated the prophets of Baal, but the wicked Queen Jezebel immediately threatened to kill him for executing her false prophets.
Instead of holding fast to God’s faithfulness, Elijah panicked, ran, and hid (1 Kings 19:3). Only when he recalled God’s past faithfulness did he realize it was sufficient for his present circumstances. If God could protect and provide for seven thousand others in Israel, He could sustain Elijah. So after a rest, the prophet returned to his mission for God.
Like Elijah, we need to rest in God, recall His faithfulness, and trust Him for the future. God remains active in our lives even when it feels as though He has fallen silent.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
8. To Hosea through tragedy
Life Examples: Hosea: A Longing for Intimacy (Hos 11:8-9)
Without questioning God, Hosea obeyed Him and took the prostitute Gomer to be his wife. Though she wandered and repeatedly slipped into unfaithfulness, Hosea obeyed the Lord and did not cast her way.
The moving poetry of Hosea reveals the longing of God for uninterrupted intimacy with His people. Can you feel the words of agony in the following words?
"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of My anger . . . " (Hosea 11:8-9)
God longs for an intimate relationship with you. He will do anything to get your love—and He did. In the most dramatic display of love for all time, He provided His Son Jesus Christ as the means to make such fellowship possible. God is the passionate and faithful Lover of your soul.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
9. Through Jesus
Life Examples: Jesus: Example or Sacrifice (Mt. 26:39)
Some believe that Jesus came to show us how to live a good life-and to be sure, He is our example of righteousness. We are to become like Him. But that isn’t the reason Jesus came. Jesus came to die, to become the sacrificial, substitutionary, all-sufficient atonement for our sins.
If Jesus didn’t come to die, there is no purpose in the cross or the Resurrection The New Testament consistently confronts us with this message: Christ died for us. Jesus came so that you and I might transfer our guilt to Him and accept by faith that as the guiltless One, He has received our sin and taken it to Himself.
If you are looking for forgiveness on the basis of your pleas, promises, and performance, then you will remain in your sins. Only if you accept His sacrifice will you open yourself to receiving the fullness of God’s life-giving Spirit.
-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible
A. He speaks to us powerfully
B. He speaks to us through our tragedy
C. He speaks to us through our joy
D. He speaks to us through our decision making
II. What does God look like?
Look toward Jesus (Jn. 1:1).
1. As the Creator (Gen. 1:1)
2. At His eternity (Ps. 90:2)
III. How do we worship Him?
1. Let Him be the center of your worship
2. Prepare your heart in a manner toward Him
