THE VOICE OF THE LORD – Psalm 19
HOW DOES HE SPEAK? i) Dreams & Visions, ii) A Voice, iii) Circumstances, iv) Phenomena, v)Prophets and Preachers, vi) The Gifts of The Spirit, vii) Transformed Lives, viii) The Preached Word, x) Angels, xi) Testimonies and parables and illustrations, xii) Parents, xiii) Miracles and interventions, xiv) The Spirit of God, xv) Intuitive “nudges”, (for Believers, the prompting of The Spirit)
THROUGH WHOM DOES HE SPEAK? This is The Divine mystery … By whatever means or vessel He chooses and deems appropriate to the occasion and individual He seeks to communicate with. There is a remarkable historic account in the biography of the present Queen’s Grandmother, Queen Mary: not very maternal the then Princess Mary called on her Mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, who delighted in her grandchildren (pictured) to support her and care for the children. Entertaining the then, Archbishop of Canterbury Princess Mary Adelaide asked the Archbishop to pray for Prince Edward who she says, “is a dear child with troubles ahead and troubled himself”. Prince Edward became for a brief time the uncrowned King Edward the 8th who abdicated, then was titled The Duke of Windsor, his life was complex, haunted, troubled and many felt, very warped. The older Princess also asked the Archbishop to pray for her second grandchild known as Prince Albert, saying, “he will need God’s help … a great burden will fall upon him and he will be known by his last name, “George”. HE of course became George the 6th who took the role as King reluctantly, because of his brother’s abdication. What insight this woman had, God perhaps gave her that intuition and insight, though she was not renowned to be a godly woman. Princess Mary Adelaide’s great grandchild, Elizabeth the Second is revered and said to be “God fearing” and devout. Was God at work Sovereignly to accomplish a greater, Divine purpose? (Marginalising Edward the 8th from the Throne because of his affinity with National Socialism in the coming World War, a man with doubtful moral scruples and godless views) The Archbishop certainly prayed wittingly or unwittingly, in a way that changed History forever. God intervened and overruled, there is no doubt. Then again, is there any doubt that God sought to speak to “scattered” European Jews or Israel in exile, by Theodore Herzl and by Russian born, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Jewish men who had great insights into the frightening future facing Jews that would be realised in Hitler’s Nazi Empire of Occupation: God through these secular Jews hammered the message to escape the wrath that was to come. A decade or more before Hitler’s rise to power they called. A small remnant heeded the call. Then, when it was apparent the shadows were lengthening the “slow to hear” found it largely too late to escape with over 6 million Jews being murdered. “Whoever” the Mouth piece of God is, is secondary, even of little consequence. Centrally, it is the Message that has to be heeded and obeyed.
WHY DOES HE SPEAK? i. To Reveal Himself, ii. To Reveal His Will, iii. To Warn, iv. To Comfort and Sustain, v. To Direct, vi. To Confirm and Assure, vii. To Convict or Convince or Plead or Reason or Explain.
WHEN DOES HE SPEAK ? i) When we seek Him, ii) When we least expect it, or, when we least want it, or deserve it. iii) When we are confused and assailed. iv) When other voices are prevailing. v) When we are weakened and bereft, overwhelmed and confused vi) When we have strayed and sinned.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HE SPEAKS? i) We are faced & confronted with Reality. ii) We are “shredded”, unmasked, unclothed of our self righteousness, quickened and enlivened Ephesians 2;1. iii) We see ourselves for the first time, “who” we are, “what” we are, ”where” we are and stand. iv) We see Eternity, Eternal Realities, God as He reveals Himself. v) We react and respond spiritually, physically, emotionally, as our nature dictates and as the Impact confronts us. vi) We are convinced, assured, humbled, strengthened, directed, consolidated, confirmed, shattered, affronted, devoid of self, and facades. vii) Challenged and changed forever (Impacted). Biblically there are always two responses ultimately … acceptance or rejection, (Acts 9;5 indicates that Saul of Tarsus struggled with progressive revelation regarding Christ and His Redemption) Acts 2;37, 41 shows the avid acceptance of the Gospel: Acts 16;14 the quiet, affirmative response of Lydia: Acts 7; 54 the equally passionate response but of rejection.
The Voice … The Messenger … The Vision … The Response … all are to be heeded when God speaks.