First source of communication: Language of God

One of the first expressions of communication from God is that He describes Himself as a God who feels - Genesis begins with an expression of grieving and a heart filled with pain by chapter 6. For those acquainted with God having such intense emotion, we are sometimes tempted to humanize God at such times.  We need to be very, very cautious that we do not take the terms in their human limitations and with connotations of finitude, but we will be equally in error to deem these words as purely metaphorical with no real emotion behind them.  At the end of the day, I believe we are intended to grieve over evil and to rejoice over good.

John also started off with a description of God's word and being as identical - the incarnate Son of God felt, wept, laughed and hoped. In the beginning was a thinking, feeling God.

But this is where our difficulty begins. As godlike in their origin as feelings are, we must also learn to put them in perspective and protect ourselves from the glorification of feelings as the final affirmation of truth.

God feels with perfect knowledge, and His feeling is in conformity with what is true. He does not act because He feels as much as He acts because He knows.

Nothing is so important to the nature of a word as the truth, and truth is the property of propositions not feelings. Feelings are never described as true or false. Feelings may be legitimate or illegitimate, understandable or incomprehensible; but they are not true or false.

This is where we often get bogged down, longing for feelings when indeed those very feelings could be the most seductive force to take us away from the truth.

The apostle Peter learned this lesson the hard way when he revelled in the glorious feeling of witnessing the transfiguration - how inexpressible must have been the awe when they saw and experienced…
the whitest white the eye could ever contain -
the purest bliss the mind could ever imagine -
the greatest theophany one could ever describe -
the most esteemed human personages the Jewish person could ever have wanted to see – Moses and Elijah -
the grandest ecstasy of spirit the heart could ever yearn for -
the noblest sound the ears could ever desire when the voice came from heaven, “This is my Son. Listen to Him.”

Yet it was in the context of this experience that Peter said what he did about the superiority of the Word --

“For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Peter saw the experience and the feeling as secondary to the certainty of God’s Word.

Knowing then that His Word is constant and eternal and personally applied, let us discipline our wills and minds to hear from Him each day --

•“Early will I seek thee” (Ps 63:1)
•“Search me, O God, and know . . . my thoughts” (Ps 139:23)
•“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” (1Sam 3:9)
•What do you want me to do? (Acts 9:6)

Paul  says something about this as well -- “That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil 3:10).Obviously it was not feeling that drove Paul but the knowledge of Christ.

Even Samuel -- his message was one that broke his heart because he had a message of judgement to give his predecessor and mentor, Eli.  I know that God had given me a word for someone and I did not give it because I knew this couple would be extremely angry.  God had to use someone else in the church, that person knew to speak the truth, the couple were angry for months, but at the end, they thanked him for there was no way they could have dealt with the tragedy if it were not for his word he gave earlier.  I learn a valuable lesson on how my feeling has nothing to do with what God wants for or from me.

"Listen" to these words penned by William Runyan --

1. Lord, I have shut the door,
Speak now the word
Which in the din and throng
Could not be heard;
Hushed now my inner heart,
Whisper Thy will,
While I have come apart,
While all is still.

2. Lord, I have shut the door,
Here do I bow;
Speak, for my soul attend
Turns to Thee now.
Rebuke Thou what is vain,
Counsel my soul,
Thy holy will reveal,
My will control.

3. In this blest quietness Clamouring cease;
Here in Thy presence dwells
Infinite peace;
Yonder, the strife and cry,
Yonder, the sin:
Lord, I have shut the door,
Thou art within.

4. Lord, I have shut the door,
Strengthen my heart;
Yonder awaits the task--
I share apart.
Only through grace bestowed
May I be true;
Here, while alone with Thee,
My strength renew.

What absences or lack of disciplines have we brought into our relationship with God?

This is at the heart of what leaves us restless and uncertain

The distance we feel is not so much that God is so far away as much as it is that we are so far from where we could be

Indiscipline breeds surrender to the lesser and defeat in the face of opportunity

Whether it is in our studies or in our habits, we seem to always find the line of least resistance and then blame God when we fail in our commitment to come to Him on His terms.

Self-government or self-control is the foundation of a strong godly life resulting in growth, and producing fruit. If a person cannot govern himself, if they cannot master their passions, they will certainly not have a good relationship with their fellowman or God. Their life will likely be marked by major excesses.  The Bible uses other expressions like; to behave in an orderly manner, to be sober, serious, sane, sound-minded, discreet, self-disciplined, prudent, and moderate.

A person who has self-control is even-handed, and their passions are under control. They make proper use of their drives and desires, and their manner of life is not one of extremes. A person reflecting this quality will be making steady progress in growing into the balanced character of Jesus Christ.

 

What prejudices and insecurities we have brought into our relationship with Christ?

     For example, when the disciples started arguing who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom. . . they were bringing with them their definitions of success.

Jim Elliott wrote these words in his journal: "He is no fool who would choose to give the things he cannot keep to buy what he can never lose." In 1952, he and Nate Saint and some other young men, who were trying to reach the Auca Indians in Ecuador, were martyred. What he wrote as a very young man, many people live their entire lives without ever understanding.

It's important to remember that the apostle Paul was excited about the church in Corinth. He loved these people. He was their spiritual father, having planted the church. It was a dynamic, gifted spiritual community. But their effectiveness in impacting the Corinthian culture and in ministering to one another was being undermined by jealousy, factions, intellectual arrogance, and selfish ambition.

John Stott in his book -  The Preacher's Portrait:

"To God's revealed message men must humbly submit.... I believe that this 'let him become a fool' is one of the hardest words of Scripture to the proud hearts and minds of men. Like the brilliant intellectuals of ancient Greece our contemporaries have unbounded confidence in...human reason. They want to think their way to God by themselves, and to gain credit for discovering God by their own effort. But God resists such swellings of pride on the part of the finite creature. Of course men have been given minds to use, and they are never to stifle or smother them, but they must humble them reverently before the revelation of God, becoming in Paul's word 'fools' and in Christ's word 'babes'. It is only babes to whom God reveals himself, and only fools whom he makes wise."

Four rhetorical questions: "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

John Stott's book Essays in Evangelical Ethics captures the kind of vision for us today. It is the vision of who God is, the breadth of His plan for us, His wisdom, the expansive view of how we ought to live life:

"The vision we need is the vision of God himself; the God of the whole biblical revelation; the God of creation who made all things fair and good, and made man male and female to bear his image and subdue his world; the God of the covenant of grace who in spite of human rebellion has been calling out a people for himself; the God of compassion and justice who hates oppression and loves the oppressed; the God of the incarnation who made himself weak, small, limited and vulnerable, and entered our pain and alienation; the God of resurrection, ascension and Pentecost, and so of universal authority and power; the God of the church or the kingdom community to whom he has committed himself for ever, and whom he sends into the world to live, serve, suffer and die; the God of history who is working according to a plan and towards a conclusion; the God of the eschaton, who one day will make all things new.
There is no room for pessimism here, or for apathy either. There is room only for worship, for expectant faith, and for practical obedience in witness and service. For once we have seen something of the glory of our God, and of the greatness of his commission, we can only respond, 'I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision."

What emotional trappings have we brought into our relationship with God?

•Was there a problem with unjustifiable anger before we knew Him?
•Was there a battle with fear that stalked our lives?
•Did the spirit of negativism and criticism dominate us prior to that moment of commitment to Him?
•Was there an impulsive and impatient attitude we lived with, wanting everything at the moment we wanted it?
•Were we very hard on ourselves and riddled with guilt if faced with failure?
•Was there a moodiness to our disposition?

Let's see what others had to say about there own experiences:

William Cowper wrote - "Oh For a Closer Walk With God:"
Where is that blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove! return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
And drove Thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,
What e'er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.

Soren Kierkegaard – “In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant.... My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known”

Elijah - Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Just like the rest of us, he experienced the problem of depression--that mental and emotional condition marked by feelings of discouragement, worthlessness, dejection, guilt, apprehension, and failure. Life is much like a roller coaster--full of ups and downs.

Peter's roller coaster ride -
•walks on water
•makes a beautiful confession of faith that Jesus is, “the Christ, the Son of the living God
•crashing down as he tries to dissuade Jesus from dying
•the mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, James, and John
•falls asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane
•cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant
•first to deny his Lord, yet first to run to the tomb when the women came back with the message of Jesus’ resurrection

I think you get the picture...