GOD SPEAKS

Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. Acts 5:20

God’s words are words of life. These are also known as scriptures. The scriptures were written when the men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20”. So they are valuable and have a definite purpose.

Unfortunately, most of the times, we see numerous interpretations and application of the word of God are like motivational speeches, personality development classes or giving tips how to become rich or prosperous. But, the interpretation or application of the word of God should be like preparing yourself to His kingdom. Many times, they are viewed how to get benefits on this earth than how to be with the Lord after death. One thing that we need to remember is that in Christ, all your earthly needs shall be provided to you in due time. Read this verse-“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Psalms 34:10.” So what do the people need? If everything is provided to His people in due time, why do they need to think to have the things lacking on this earth?  

The main purpose for which the words of life are written is to exhort you, to correct you in the light of the word of God and to make your path right so that you shall enter his kingdom. Therefore, we are required to seek the kingdom above while we live on this earth from the point of view of the word of life as the Lord provides all the things you need on this earth according to his promise written in Psalms 34:10. In this regard, read the following which is written- “set affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2”.

The word of life talks about the eternal life after death. The life on the earth is not permanent. You may live maximum 70 years (Read “the days of our years are threescore years and ten; …Psalms 90:10). Therefore remember that we are sojourners and strangers on this earth. “For we are strangers before thee and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. 1 Chronicles 29:15.” Hence, the application or interpretation of the word of God needs to make ourselves ready for the kingdom above than for this temporary life on earth.

“And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels: must we fetch you water out of this rock? Numbers 20:10”

Whatever may be the surroundings besieging you; never let your mouth speak words without self-control. It applies to all His people. Whoever you may be! Whatever great things you did by the name of the Lord!

They spoke- ye rebels. Were they permitted to speak so? Remember your mouth is given not to insult others. Nor it is given to you speak whatever you want or to judge others! God warns his people to be careful to choose every single word. It is because you need to give an account of every single vain word. “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36”. Also, read- “But I say unto you, That whosever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire Matthew 5:22”. You may see that the Lord told them- “you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them Numbers 20:12”. In other words, it meant that they would not enter the Promised Land. Why this happened? Main reason was their words.

Also, remember God does not like those who exalt themselves. See yourself that words are not of haughtiness. God is not a respecter of persons. All are equal before Him. There is a probability even so called chosen people may also speak words which provokes the anger of the Lord.  This may be because of losing their self control when they are besieged by difficult situations. But our God is not a respecter of persons. In Him there is no partiality. In the above verse, you may see they spoke- must we fetch you water out of this rock? Is it their strength that brings water out of the Rock?

Do the miracles happen in the hand of a mortal man? No, man is only a medium through which God performs his will. We are empty vessels and fit for nothing. It is the Lord who needs to be glorified always. We need to learn humbling ourselves before the Lord and His people Read this- “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are un-profitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:10”.

And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. 1 Samuel 18: 8-10.

Do not ever dare to think evil of others. Also, even never speak evil of others. Don’t ever even dare to speak a single word against others though they have harmed you a lot. This is very dangerous. This disturbs greatly your life. This was proved right in the past and still holds right even today. This must be kept in your mind because you should remember always that you are living on this earth surrounded by spiritual world. Speaking or thinking evil of others surely invites evil spirit into your life.

An evil thought or evil eye will definitely make you full of darkness. It is written – Saul eyed David from that day and forward.  His thoughts were become envy. King Saul had an evil eye on David. His body had become full of darkness. This is because- The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Luke 11:34.Remember, Our Lord does not like to reside in your darkness.

The movement he started thinking evil of David, you may notice two things happened:

(1) The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14) (2) An evil spirit from the Lord troubled him (1 Samuel 16:14).

Thinking evil of others or speaking evil of others may make you to lose the presence of the Lord in your Life. This was what happened in the life of King Saul.It is written-The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. Where the Lord is – there is peace and freedom. If he is not with you, then the peace in your life disappears. Read this verse- Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. John 14:27. On the contrary, the evil spirit creates every kind of trouble in your life. You may notice that the evil eye of King Saul invited the evil spirit. It came into his life the next day itself. See- It came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul. In this context, it is important to read this verse: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27. Do not carry your evil thoughts or sins to the next day. Confess and give them up by tonight. Otherwise, this will invite the devil into your life.  Remember- Eye and thoughts are interrelated. You evil thoughts or words concerning others or evil eye on others really invite evil spirits in to your life. This will deprive the peace in your life as it had happened to King Saul. This will surely trouble you.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4.

Have you ever been given a task by the Lord? Then, never say or speak that it is not possible for you to do the task assigned to you by the Lord. Most of the times we take up new tasks eagerly, but we are unable to finish it off. The task may seem difficult. Going through different difficult conditions teaches us many things. The Lord deliberately allows us to experience such conditions and understand many things. The Lord may use your experienced knowledge for a purpose. Otherwise, what is the use of experiencing such worried conditions? In all such circumstances, He shall be with us. But, in such circumstances, speaking senseless words would definitely be an impediment to the progress of His wished-for outcome. Your senseless words even affect the people around you. For this, each of us may have our own excuses. However, this does not make our Lord happy.

Prophet Elijah did great miracles in the name of the Lord. He was successful to bring the fire of the Lord even before all the heathen people. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.1 Kings 18:38. All people saw it and said –“The Lord is God.”  Was it not his experience? Then why did say- “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”  Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope? Job 4:6. Why did Prophet Elijah speak such words? Could not the Lord save him from the hands of Jezebel? Were his words matched with the purposed of the Lord? These words changed the course of action. The Lord had to make alternative arrangements. The Lord chose Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah and directed Prophet Elijah to anoint Elishato be aprophet instead of him. The Lord might have planned many things and expected many miracles from the Prophet Elijah. However, that did not happen. This all happened as Prophet Elijah spoke words which did not make the Lord happy.

It is still relevant to us. This is a good lesson for all of us. Do you believe that our Lord is a living God? Then why do you speak words which mess-up the plans of the Lord? Wait and see how the Lord leads you in all difficult situations.

For Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 2 Timothy 4:10

What is there in this present world? The Bible says- For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world 1 John 16. From this verse, it is obvious that there are three aspects in this world.

(1)     The lust of the flesh

(2)     The lust of the eyes

(3)     The boastful pride of life.

We cannot love both God and the world at the same time. Some or all of the above three aspects might have attracted Demas. Demas, having loved this world, was unable to continue with God Servant Paul. Thereafter, he deserted St Paul and even God. Why this happened?  This happens even today. Our reasons for accepting the Lord as our personal saviour may be not perfect. The main reason for us to have faith in Him is to have the eternal life after death. This is the essence of the Bible which talks, without doubt, about eternal life after one’s death. The Bible says that the life on this earth is temporary and one should prepare his life on this earth for this eternal life in Christ Jesus. We need a right foundation for our faith. In this regard, the Bible says- Do not love this world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2:15. Therefore, we cannot love both God and the world simultaneously. We must be watchful if the things of the world entering into our lives.

Leaving the living God is not a right decision. People may think that they will delight in the world but practically this might not happen. In reality, we may lose everything we have. This could be our wealth, health, family, happiness, etc.  Look at this verse from the Bible: And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Luke 15:11. What did this younger son gain? He thought he could do well with his share of the estate fallen to him. Finally, he lost everything. He lost the loving presence of his father. He lost his brother’s fellowship. He lost his riches. His status became a servant to a man in a far country. What do you gain if you go away from the Lord? There is no joy in this world. This is available only with the Lord Jesus. Read this verse- You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalms 16:11.

Finally, it is important to note that once we go away from the Lord, it might not be possible for us to comeback to holy presence. Demas was with St Paul. He might have seen great heavenly miracles from the Lord. He might have experienced the presence of the Lord. However, it is written that he left St. Paul as he had loved the present world. In this context, Read this verse: For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Hebrews 6:4-6. In the above parable, the prodigal son came to his senses and returned to his father. How many of us can really come back to our father if we have fallen away? Which is easier for you to keep a perfect relation with God or to fall away and comeback to Him?