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I have had discussions with different people over the years that complain that God doesn't seem willing to talk to them like He does for other people. Of course, trying to argue them out of what they believe is generally not very productive or helpful for them, but it does raise an issue that bothers many people. I have a friend right now that has several times talked with me about the feeling that He does not know how to go about having a relationship with God, much less having a feeling of intimacy with Him. He has been asking me how to go about hearing God and I am taking His requests very seriously.
This morning while listening to a sermon as a visitor in another church, some thoughts came to me about this that I had to write down quickly on whatever paper I could find nearby. In this case it was the back of a visitor registration form in the pew and so I spent some time distracted from the sermon trying to capture the thoughts swirling around inside before they escaped.
An illustration that came to me was that the Holy Spirit can be compared to a radio signal in the air all around us. This is a constant signal that is being broadcast without interruption but is far more unique than any earthly radio signal could accomplish. God's “radio” broadcast is uniquely customized so that each person who tunes into it will receive messages designed just for them at just the time that they need it. These messages consist of directions, warnings, counsel, wisdom, comfort and encouragement – whatever is best for that person at any given moment or for any situation.
Even though the signal is custom tailored for each individual, the signal is broadcast on a particular wavelength or frequency that is dedicated for the use of heavenly intelligences. There are also many other broadcasts filling the airwaves that are not from God but are also somewhat customized for people with different interests. These are all spirits designed primarily to entertain and deceive the whole earth and keep them distracted from paying attention to the urgent messages from heaven for God's children on this world.
When people claim that they cannot hear any message from God and assume that it is because God refuses to talk with them, they are buying into one of the lies about God that are very popular on the alternate wavelengths. But the real problem is not that God is not broadcasting His thoughts and communications to people, but the issue lies ay the other end of the process, the receivers. God is faithful to give people messages of mercy and warning and help. But if we do not learn how to deal with the things that prevent us from hearing them the fault lies completely with us, not with God.
Some people are actually ignorant that they have within them the equipment that is needed to listen to the broadcasts from heaven. They may be so intellectual that they are almost totally out of touch with their own heart and so do not know how to listen through their own spirit to the spirit of other people or the Spirit of God. In this case they need to learn from others and from God how to access their equipment and be trained in how to properly operate it so that they can tune into and keep up to date with all the information flowing into this earth from heaven's intelligence center.
Other people are very adept at using their receiving equipment but are keen on keeping their dial tuned to alternate frequencies that suit their tastes better. They don't like the discomfort of convictions that the Holy Spirit brings into their heart and so they learn how to keep switching off the incoming signals from God and filling their minds, hearts and time with all sorts of entertainment designed to neutralize and drown out the many messages of warning and appeal to repent and turn to God for life and hope and peace.
Some people hear God's voice quite clearly and persistently, though they may not correctly identify it as coming from God necessarily. But they harden their hearts in resistance to the messages of truth and appeal and keep resisting until their receivers become so damaged and their hearts so badly calloused that they can no longer hear the messages being sent to save them from sin and imminent destruction.
I believe that God uses all sorts of means to reach every person with messages of warning and appeal. He may have to butt in on the alternative frequencies at times and issue warning bulletins that cannot be ignored. But if people continue to refuse to tune into heaven's frequencies and stay tuned in long enough to have their lives changed and their hearts transformed by His love, then they make themselves liable and responsible for all the disasters that are inevitable for those ignoring the warnings from heaven.
Each one of us is given the choice of how we are going to relate to the messages coming to us from the realms of light and love. Those who accept the invitation to join God's side and become loyal to Him will choose to stay tuned into His frequencies and fill their minds with His truths and His promptings for their lives. This is described best in Romans 8. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Romans 8:14 NRSV)
God also wants us to do something else to protect us from being misled by the many false frequencies that claim to be the Spirit of God to lead us in our lives. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 NRSV) How does one go about testing a spirit anyway?
I think that once again an analogy may be very helpful. Whenever a person owns a computer, especially if it is going to be exposed to the internet, it is generally considered the better part of wisdom to have a virus protection program running on that computer to keep it shielded from being infiltrated and exploited by worms and viruses designed to harm the computer. But a very important part of having virus protection is to keep that software updated on a very regular basis or one may still be vulnerable to new viruses designed to outsmart the software.
Just as virus protection software needs to have its database of virus descriptions up to date, so too must our internal virus scanners need to be updated each day by spending very intentional and quality time listening to voice of God in the Bible, the virus protection bank. When we allow God's Spirit to upload into our minds the needed protection for that day from the reliable Word of God, we can be protected from the latest schemes of the enemy to infiltrate us with deceptions designed to sneak into our hearts and minds unnoticed and cause much damage to the work God is doing in our life.
We must learn how to effectively test the validity and authenticity of every spirit message with the Word of God stored in our memory bank. But when we have checked that message against the Word and find it compatible, we are held accountable for whether we embrace it into our life and heart or whether we reject it because we don't like how it makes us feel.
God's Spirit is given to rescue us from the deceptions that are all around us like a miasma of pollution. It is given to alert us to dangerous temptations that try to allure us into thoughts or activities that would betray us back into the slavery of Satan and selfishness. The Spirit is constantly working for our good, to rescue us from danger, death and unneeded pain and to guide us into a closer intimacy with God. Its messages are always available for everyone, but not everyone is making those broadcasts available to their own heart by tuning into them effectively. That is up to each one of us to choose how we will relate to the provisions of God for our complete salvation.
