Posted on 11/22/2021 10:11:48 PM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words” (Proverbs 23:9).
During the time of Eli, in First Samuel 3, Samuel being in the tabernacle of the Lord ministering unto the lord before Eli, and the word of the LORD was “precious in those days, there was no open vision.” The idea here is that all the way through the Judges period, you know there was no King in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and God basically quit speaking to men.
You get all the way to first Samuel 3, and you are still in a phase where God is still upset enough with Eli and the way things have gone in the apostasy of Israel that He is no longer regularly speaking to man. “There was no open vision”; that is, the average guy doesn't know what God's thinking; and it took Samuel to come in and start being the Prophet of the Lord before somebody did. Again, these were silent years and foolish doings of men and women led God to grow silent.
Now, to me the easiest way that you can avoid that is first of all, “Do right!” And second of all, go to a solid Bible-preaching, Bible-teaching church. In this church age now, you go to church to hear God speak. I truly, earnestly believe that. You have a Bible that you read—God speaks; you have a regular place to go to, to hear preaching to hear the word of God preached—God speaks. I believe God speaks to you that way.
In the latter days, and days when perilous times have come, you are foolish to play around with that. This is not just some cheap attendance pitch. The pastor wants you to come, and not just because he is the pastor, and not just because you put money in his pocket. That's not the reason! If you want to hear the voice of God, and if you don't want to be caught fooling around, and when Jesus Christ comes back for things to have been silent for you for months, or even perhaps years—you need to read your Bible and you need to get in church and stay in church where you can hear God's voice on a regular basis. If you can't hear God's voice where you are going, then by all means go somewhere else where you can. If you are not getting fed at the church where you are presently attending—go to a church where the preacher is faithful to preach the whole counsel of God.
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