God Speaks Through Our Circumstances

This is the Truth Network. And as we learn to discern those, realize he is speaking, in fact, in the middle of what we experience. He actually confirms our path when options evaporate.

I'm sure you've had that experience. So what that means is you're limited. You thought you had many options, in fact. Those options are evaporating, and the path that is ahead is clearly defined by the only option remaining. So God is speaking that way. And if you can just realize it, it helps so much. And actually, I've experienced this, God warns us by allowing certain outcomes to deteriorate, even become intolerable.

So you get this feeling on the inside, something is not right, and if you continue and proceed a certain way, that it will not turn out well. So there again, you know, the warning of the Lord. So he's speaking through circumstances, confirming your path into one option as others evaporate, and also, too, his divine favor intervenes and goes on display when we have, you know, the mind of Christ, when we can realize and listen that he is speaking, then follow through accordingly. And, you know, I've heard many explanations for how this works out, but truthfully, it's just very smart to be able to follow the leading of the Lord, isn't it? Sometimes it's so very simple if we can just, you know, humble ourselves to realize what's happening, that God is leading, and if we just have the good sense, we can appear to be extremely genius if we obey the mind of the Lord. There's an interesting quote from a, actually a Dutch statesman and theologian from the 1880s, Abraham Cooper Cooper, not sure how you pronounce that last name, K-U-Y-P-E-R, Abraham Cooper, 1880, a Dutch statesman and theologian. Here's the quote, there is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign, does not cry, mine.

And isn't that true? The more we mature in the Lord, we realize this truth. Everything, everything is created by him, and he longs to be the influencer in everything through his people, through you, through me.

Doesn't matter your social state, doesn't matter your geographical location. The Lord moves again through our circumstances to say, this is the way, walk in it, and to thereby build his kingdom. So we pray, kingdom of God come, will of God be done, and isn't that the Lord's prayer, right? So as we pray that way, our thinking enlarges, our hearts expand so that we take on his persona that way. We imitate Christ that way. And when we apply all of these things that we're discussing right here, and you know it's really true, we can have the mind of Christ. And as we apply these things, I want to pull in something here that's written by Eric Metaxas in his book, A Letter to the American Church, Letter to the American Church by Eric Metaxas from page six. And this is brief, but let me just interject here.

I love this. Here's the quote. So the question comes to us. How is it that so many in the American church of our time have shrunk back from public engagement and quietly assented to the decidedly unbiblical and the decidedly un-American and unconstitutional view that the truth of God is not applicable beyond the churches? How have we been persuaded to be silent in the face of evil? When did we begin to agree with those trying so hard to marginalize our views to think that perhaps they had a point and perhaps we shouldn't express our views too vigorously, lest we be accused of trying to impose them on the rest of the culture? If Wilberforce did not let the pro-slavery voices of his day deter him and Bonhoeffer did not let the pro-Nazi voices of his day deter him, why have so many American church leaders let the voices of their ideological opponents cowl them into silence?

Did we not realize that no good ever can come out of such silence and inaction? That human beings who God loves suffer when his own people fail to express boldly what he has said, and when they fail to live as he has called them to live? Question mark, end of quote. So why do we interject this quote here, this part of Eric Metaxas' letter to the American church? I'm connecting with the Dutch statesman from the 1880s.

That is a while back. There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign, does not cry, mine, because he is the creator, he is the author, he is the author and the finisher, the alpha and the omega. And God's design is that the end will be better than the beginning so that we grow in boldness, we grow in faith, we grow in understanding and oneness with Almighty God. What his intention is, what the plan looks like, the blueprint in heaven expressed here in the earth, and that done through the individual believer.

That's the point. And as we connect the generations, we see it and we realize the power locked up in this principle here. And as we said, God is speaking right now through our circumstances in the United States, in the American church. He is saying, are you hearing me now?

How about now? Are you hearing me now? What does it take to shake Satan out of our logic and our reason and to wake us to the reality that God is actually speaking? He's doing that now through our circumstances. Our options are, in fact, evaporating.

Our outcomes are deteriorating, becoming intolerable. So we have his warning on the inside. It's on the inside of us. It's built in to everything that's happening as things around us darken and darken by the moment, you know, certainly by the day, but increasingly by the moment. God's divine favor is intentionally intervening to go on display and show up strong in our behalf when we listen to him and follow through with his leading.

So what's the point? The point here is thy kingdom come, thy will be done is the reality what we want. It's the one that's possible, but some things have to shift. Some things have to change.

Alignment has to become more like God's design and his purpose, what is in his heart from the foundation of the world and less like, less of what your routine, your status quo, what will it take to shake, shake, shake you free of that mindset? Well, your options are evaporating. And as things grow darker and darker, the brightness of his shining increases to point the way. This is the way. Do it this way. Look at this.

Look at this. And it's, you know, it's compelling, isn't it? It's compelling. And it's no coincidence. There's no coincidence here.

Actually, it's very intentional. God calls us out to call us up. He brings us out to take us in. He delivers us from to deliver us into from one place that is not good, not productive, not going well. You know, well, you say, well, how will I know my situation is not going well?

Actually, that's a good question because sometimes we're so steeped. We're so really taken by our circumstances and smitten that by the possibility that we're OK, that it takes something rather shocking to shake us free. How is your health? How is your health?

I'm asking, how is your health? How is your mental peace? How is your spiritual acuity? How much of God's presence are you able to experience? How much of his peace are you living in?

I mean, just to name a few. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. God is speaking through your circumstances and Old Testament and New Testament references tell us that God has said yet once more, and I will shake the heavens and the earth. That's where we are.

We're there now. It's happening now because of the day we live in, the hour we are at the end of the end times. We are in the last of the last days. So it's really important for us to align with him in these things. So Father, we pray today out over our understanding of what it is that you are not only doing in the earth, but in our lives, in the American church, in the church in other nations, all over the world. And so many are saying that the globalist movement is where it's at.

Those in the secular culture believing that way. But we have your perspective and we say that for the whole world, the globalist view is your kingdom. The kingdom of Almighty God and of his son Jesus Christ is advancing, is the preeminent move, is embedded in our circumstances, directing us now. And that is our prayer today that we align right there. That you help us by your Holy Spirit to do so and that the reality of the lateness of the hour and the importance of our decisions and of our steps, every step so important. Lord, that you give us peace. That is our prayer. That peace is the single greatest distinctive on the life of the believer in the end times. And the peace of God will guard our hearts and rule our minds and be so appealing to the rest of the world. We thank you, Father, for all the possibilities that you hand to us today, that you put in our path, make available to us because of your sovereign intervention in our lives. We pray for miracles, signs and wonders, and the wisdom to discern those. We pray in Jesus' name for his glory. Amen. Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.