April 22, 2018
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD
Tribe Recap April 22, 2018 | I Cor 2:9-16 | Gen 12, 13, 15, 17, 18
Your conversations with God could begin anytime with this prayer... “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit.” Once he lives inside you his voice becomes closer than the blood running through your veins.
I Corinthians chapter 2 is filled with the most spectacular revelations. One such revelation is that the Spirit living in us searches the mysteries of God’s mind, and a second is that his desire is to freely give us what he finds there. The Spirit inside you knows God’s deepest thoughts about your life and wants to share them with you.
So when this Spirit speaks to you from the depths of God and you hear his still small voice, WRITE DOWN what you hear. Write down the ‘spiritual words’ (verse 13) God gives you. Journals are a great way to collect what God is saying to you and what you want to say to God in return.
In Genesis chapter 12 God began to speak to Abram saying, “go forth from your country.” Abram obeyed. The Lord appeared a second time saying, “To your descendants I will give this land.” In Genesis 13 God repeated that he would give Abram and his descendants the land forever and invited him to take a tour!
In chapter 15 God proclaimed that Abram’s “reward shall be very great,” and in verse 2 something very special happened: Abram responded to God by asking him how God’s promises could be possible since he did not have a son. So Abram’s conversation with God was born through an honest question, “How are you going to do this Lord?”
God seemed happy to continue speaking with Abram but instead of answering the question the Lord took Abram outside into the night air to look at the heavens... “So shall your descendants be,” God said. The Lord was sure he could deliver.
In chapter 17 the Lord renamed Abram and Sari to Abraham and Sarah...Father of a Multitude of Nations (which seems like ‘king’ to me) and Princess for Sarah. God’s secret thoughts know who we are much more than we do.
God kept speaking to Abraham, pursuing him with words rich with blessing to come, revealing secret thoughts about Abraham’s destiny. The Spirit of God has been freely giving his words of life and destiny to his ‘kings’ and ‘princesses’ since the world began. Abraham and Sarah were forerunners for the saints of God (you and I) living today.
In Genesis 18 God showed up to Abraham’s house and they shared a meal together while the Lord spoke more about his plans for Abraham. “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Sarah sarcastically laughs at this and God responds by saying “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” Sarah denied laughing, God corrected her, then the Lord proceeded onward to say, Abraham is my friend (John 15:15), “shall I hide what I’m about to do?” The Lord was planning to destroy an evil city because of their great sin. From here Abraham negotiated with God to save the city while God granted his every request.
Have you had a conversation like this with God? Why not? Was it just for Abraham? Or is the problem that we do not seek first the Kingdom and have little or no interest in talking to God like Abraham did? Abraham had conversations with God; none of which seemed surprising or out of place to Abraham...and he did not hide his feelings or questions. Each time Abraham questioned or redirected (17:18), God was gracious and kind, giving more breath-taking insights into Abraham’s life.
Conversations with God should be normal for us, honest to our feelings and questions, and filled with the insights of God for our lives. Does this sound like our walk with God? It should.
If you haven’t gazed at the night sky lately expecting God to speak kindly to you and reveal wondrous mysteries about his intentions for your life, you should begin giving it a try. And not just once, get into a habit. Write down the things the Spirit says. Record your conversations with God so you can see how faithful he is and pass down a rich legacy of conversations with God to generations to come.