When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!” “Don’t be afraid,” Moses said, “for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power…”
Exo 20:18-20 (NLT) What I want to look at even more closely today is the way God’s speaking, God’s word brings the Immanuel life.
Let me say something strange to you. The universe operates by speaking. You say, ‘What!” But it is true. It seems strange because you think of the universe as complex physical matter that operates by what we call physical laws. We have learned that view of the world since we were children. But it is really inadequate to explain live. The bible pictures the universe much more honestly when it describes material nature as the creation of a God who made it by speaking, and who sustains it by speaking, and upholds it by speaking. “In the beginning, God said, ‘Let there be light’ And there was light.”
God made the universe by his word and upholds it by his word. This is true because God’s word comes from his mind and his heart. So his voice, his speaking, his words carry his authority and his character and his will. That’s why Jesus said his words were ‘spirit and life’. His words are a creative force.
Every time God speaks in scripture, there are extraordinary results. God gives a word, and the cosmos springs to life, the stars are hung in their orbits, the earth is formed, the animals gather their breath. When God speaks the earth shakes. His words are a creative force.
Comments