Yes, Jesus is Speaking to You

Wouldn't it be great if God would speak to us in times of crisis? Wouldn't you have liked to talk with God over this past month of crisis? Many people have claimed that God has spoken to them by various means with various messages. You have most likely heard Christians saying in the past month that "the end times are here" and that all these things happening are fulfillments of Biblical prophecy. It seems dark and threatening. It also doesn't seem personal. When you are looking for comfort, you don't want some generic message about grandiose things or a booming sound from heaven making decrees. You want a voice that can tell you what to do and that can assure you that everything will be okay. The good news is that, if the Gospel is accurate, we can rightly conclude that Jesus will speak to you personally. He probably already is.

Some people have been turned off by weird and frightening things coming out of the mouths of Christians claiming to speak for God. They have written off the possibility of God speaking as a safeguard against these voices. However, if Jesus doesn't communicate directly and personally with individuals, it is no good claiming that He is alive. You could argue that Jesus is an inspiring historical figure or that Jesus taught noble principles or that He had an inspiring philosophy. But the claim that Jesus is bodily alive from the dead requires us to accept the natural conclusion that an alive Jesus communicates directly and personally with those who desire to follow Him. I will venture to say that no person is truly a Christian who has not had personal contact with the risen Jesus. That is not to say that they have touched Jesus physically, but they have experienced His real presence. Without the real presence of Jesus, the Church is dead. It is more than a metaphor to say that the Church is the body of Christ. Without a living Jesus, there would be no Church. Jesus Himself said, "Where there are two or more of you gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20. That is a real presence, not just imagined. Depression, grief, and tragedy can temporarily steal your hopeful imagination, but they cannot take the real presence of Jesus. It may just be that we have to experience real tragedy to encounter the risen Jesus without chalking up our comfort solely to good weather, good food, or good friends. Right now, many of us are experiencing fear that is threatening to kill our joy. But let's take comfort in this: Nothing will ever kill Jesus.

The Communist government in China has tried to kill the Church for decades now, but they continually fail because they can't kill Jesus. As long as there is a living Jesus, there will be an alive Church. As long as there is a live Church, rest assure a live Jesus is interacting with her. Therefore, if you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, you must also understand that Jesus can and will speak to you personally. You only need to learn how to hear His voice. And the best way to begin to do that is by reading what He has already said. The four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, give a thorough introduction to the life and person of Jesus. Get to know Jesus well in the Gospels, and then you will recognize His voice in your present life and circumstance. And ask for the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Father is glad to give us the Spirit when we ask Him. And the Holy Spirit is provided so that we might know Jesus intimately. So ask Him, and you will receive it. It is an exciting day. Today, you can meet Jesus.