The God Who Speaks - Sept. 2

Dear Friends,

I'm coming out of a 3 month period of restful listening... and although it doesn't feel like I need to hit the ground running, perhaps it IS true that I'm now seeing some of the purposes of God bursting out dramatically. What's come clear to me through this period is that we must NOT treat the voice of God like another handy evangelical tool to add to our tool-kit to be pulled out on an as-needed basis. Rather, his voice--his word--are to be our daily bread (emphasis on daily... as often as you pray, listen!).

This hit home last Sunday. I was teaching on the phrase, "Word of God," and had noted that Jesus exhorted us, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." This includes Scripture, but much more... EVERY word that proceeds...
So I looked at Deut. 8 (which is the chapter Jesus was quoting). At the end of the chapter, there's a notation in vs. 19-20:

"It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God." (NASB)

Not that I wanted to make it a "big heavy," but simply to emphasize that the Scriptures say:

1. listening = living, and
2. forgetting or refusing to listen to the voice of the Lord = perishing

At this point, Eddie, a pastor in our church, gave me a big, "AHEM!" and was pointing to a particular text in his own Bible. Eddie isn't able to read, but the Spirit had [once again] guided him to a passage which he wanted me to read RIGHT THEN. As if to confirm the importance
of this message, he had me read Isaiah 28:11-14:

"Since they refuse to listen, God will speak to them through foreign oppressors who speak an unknown language! God's people could have rest in their own land if they would only obey him, but they will not listen. So the LORD will spell out his message for them again, repeating it over and over, a line at a time, in very simple words. Yet they will stumble over this simple, straightforward message. They will be injured, trapped, and captured. Therefore, listen to this
message from the LORD." (NLT)

Ouch!

I won't theologize about this. I won't try to harmonize it right now with other texts or current events. That's not the function of the passage. The reason this Word is in our Bible is so that we'll do it, so we'll listen and obey... and it's given in urgent tones, not so we'll beat ourselves up or get paralyzed with guilt. The tone is urgent because God has a Word of promise or blessing for you today that if heard and heeded will 1. fill you with life, (whatever that looks like) and 2. keep you from "perishing" (whatever that means)... Just reading Psalm 119 again should make the point.

All that to say that I sense God is rousing us with a fresh call--an alert--to listen to what he is saying... And you'll need to be hearing it from HIS mouth with YOUR heart. This fall, can I please ask you to beware of living off the crumbs of someone else's bread. Of course we want to hear the word of the Lord together and be open to each other. BUT there are also many false voices and a horrendous amount of prophetic fluff out there right now (esp. on the internet)... it's essential that you spend the time listening to the Lord for yourself and exercising your discernment. Having said that, simply NOT listening doesn't protect us from deception... so whatever it takes, stay tuned in to the Wonderful Counsellor and Good Shepherd.

Do I sound more urgent than usual? I am... but I am also confident that as we take time to incline our ears to heaven, the Lord will have a good word for you. So here's a couple of questions you might present to him:

1. Lord, do you have any urgent warnings for me as I enter the autumn months? [remember: Fear No Evil... just listen and obey] How shall I respond to this warning? Do you have a strategy for me as I navigate these waters?

2. Lord, do you have any urgent promises and blessings that you're longing to pour out on me? How can I best receive them? What shall I do with them?

For some further reflection on "the Word of God," feel free to check out my article at www.clarion-journal.ca titled "the Word of God." Also, just below it is an excellent piece on the "Silence of God" by Erin Buczkowski... If you want to know what God's silence means, other than a "celestial cold shoulder," that's the article for you!

Thanks for receiving this newsletter and for your encouragement as we share the good news that God speaks and his Word's name is Jesus! If you'd like to invite others to receive this newsletter or to pick up one of our books on "Listening Prayer," etc., please refer them to www.bradjersak.com. We'd appreciate it!

By the way, can I ask you to breathe a prayer about our foreign translations: Can You Hear Me? is out in Korean and will be appearing in German this fall. Please pray that God would cause the fire of his Word to spread throughout those two nations.

Many blessings,

Brad Jersak