God speaking through the environment

  Scripture Reading: Gen. 35:1-8; 34:30

One

  No matter how much spiritual advancement a man has achieved, he often needs the speaking from the environment. This kind of speaking can be found in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. In reading church history and in considering the experience of the Lord's followers, we do not know of one person who did not need the speaking of the environment at all. Everyone needs the environment to remind him and speak to him. Many examples point to the fact that the more spiritual a person is in the eyes of the Lord, the more he allows his environment to speak to him, and the deeper a person is in following the Lord, the more he allows his environment to remind him and speak to him. Those who have problems with the Lord are either easily affected by the environment or insensitive to God's speaking through the environment. Brothers and sisters, the precious thing about a man who has normal fellowship with God is that he will not be influenced by the environment, yet at the same time, he will allow the environment to speak to him. If a man is not proper with the Lord and if he is not in fellowship with the Lord, a very small thing in the environment will affect him; however, at the same time, even a great thing in the environment will not cause his ear to be attuned to the Lord's voice or speaking. I present this principle, and you can test yourself accordingly. If you can be affected by your environment yet not hear its speaking, it proves that you are no longer in fellowship with the Lord and that you have become fallen. No environment should affect you, yet every environment should speak to you.

  If an environment is placed before us, there is a speaking behind it. Whenever God puts an environment around us, He is speaking to us through the environment. Hidden within the environment is God's speaking to us. When I say "us," I mean every one of us. The environment that we face every day has a word for each of us Christians. Brothers and sisters, if we are living under God's light, we will see that He puts us in an environment for His way's sake on earth. In order to gain something from His children, God puts them in an environment. We should not consider things in a superficial way; we have to see the Lord's hand behind the veil. Once we see that the Lord is arranging the environment, we will be filled with a sense of sweetness. Although we cannot say that every environment is initiated by the throne, we can say that each one is according to the design of the throne. There is a throne in heaven, and our Lord resurrected and ascended to sit on that throne; all things are under His feet. God speaks to His children through the environment He has arranged. We should receive His speaking through the environment. If we are affected by the environment but not taught by it, we have a problem with the Lord; there is something wrong between us and Him.

Two

  Let us consider the story of Jacob. Everyone agrees that the most profound experience in Jacob's life was his wrestling with the Lord at Peniel. As a result of that wrestling, his name was changed. Even though Jacob went through a profound experience at Peniel, God still had to raise up circumstances when He spoke to him again. In Genesis 34 Jacob's daughter suffered a tragedy, and his sons caused a great deal of trouble. When such an environment arose, God spoke to Jacob in Genesis 35. Some may argue that God spoke to Jacob directly in Genesis 35 rather than speaking to him through the environment. Yet one must first read Genesis 34. God first put Jacob into the environment of chapter thirty-four before He spoke to him in chapter thirty-five. God said, "Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother" (v. 1). Brothers and sisters, God reminded Jacob of an old story. Many years earlier Jacob had run away to his uncle Laban's home out of fear that his brother Esau would kill him. When he reached Bethel the sun had set. He lodged there and fell asleep on a rock. God appeared to him in his dream, and when he awoke, he vowed, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (28:20-22). He made a vow to the Lord.

  Brothers and sisters, did you not make a vow to the Lord when you were saved? Although you may have vowed like Jacob, bargaining with God while you vowed, your heart was still proper. When you began on this path, your heart toward the Lord was proper. Jacob made a vow to the Lord. His condition is a picture of our condition. The morning after Jacob made his vow, he left everything behind. During the entire time he stayed in the east, he maneuvered to protect himself. Although he prayed that God would protect him and give him food and raiment, he trusted in himself the whole time. He is a perfect reflection of us. He looked to God, yet he also exercised his own maneuvering hand. When he left Laban, he had to bow his head and acknowledge God's mercy on him. If it had been left to Jacob, he could not have prevailed over Laban! Jacob was crafty, but God had prepared Laban who was craftier. Jacob was dealt with for twenty years. Finally God took him out of Laban's hand, and Jacob had to acknowledge God's care. However, he had forgotten his earlier vow to the Lord. When he came back from Padan-aram, he settled in Shechem.

  Brothers and sisters, you may think that Jacob should have been able to settle comfortably in Shechem since he had suffered so many dealings, passed through so many experiences, endured so many hardships, and acquired so many possessions. But this was not the case. The God whom he served would not allow him to settle down in peace. Jacob's heart was satisfied, but God's heart was not satisfied. God had given Jacob what he desired, but Jacob had not given God what He deserved. God still had to speak to him; He still had to speak to him through his environment. God knew that unless He dealt with Jacob through his environment, he would not be able to hear His voice.

  Brothers and sisters, do not think that your spiritual experience is so deep that you can go by the inner voice alone. No, God often has to speak through the environment. You may encounter great things or small things, and they may have a little impact or a severe impact on you, but God has to raise up environments in order to speak to you. No one can be so spiritual that he no longer needs the speaking of the environment. God must create an environment around a believer and speak to him through that environment. Jacob was spiritual after Peniel. He was no longer Jacob; he had become Israel. He had passed through many trials and dealings and had even been touched by God in a thorough way. He was truly spiritual. Yet even after arriving at such a state, God had to raise up the environment to speak to him. He wanted to settle down in Shechem, but God would not allow it. The Bible does not say whether or not he realized this within himself. He may have seen something, but it did not remain in him for a long time. We have no idea whether he was conscious of his condition. We only know that God raised up the environment to speak to Jacob. What was the circumstance? His daughter suffered a tragedy, his sons caused him a great deal of trouble, and he was no longer able to keep his peace. When confronted with these circumstances, Jacob did not realize that God was trying to speak through the environment. He put the blame on his sons and became afraid. At this juncture God spoke to him: "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother."

  Brothers and sisters, the environment which Jacob encountered prepared him to receive God's speaking. Jacob thought that he had everything he needed and that he could live in peace. But God raised up the environment so that he could no longer be peacefully settled. God was saying, "I have given you what you asked for at the beginning. Now you should honor your vow." God raised up this environment. He spoke to Jacob through the environment. After Jacob heard this speaking, he offered himself and his household to the Lord once more and cleansed himself and his household.

Three

  Brothers and sisters, when God shook up Jacob, what was found? Idols were found in Jacob's house! Such a spiritual person, one who knew God very much, had not only forgotten his vow, but also had hidden idols in his house! We still have idols hidden in us, and the inner voice is not enough to shake them out. It takes outward circumstances to shake them out! Brothers and sisters, in order to return to Bethel, all these things must be surrendered! If you ignore your first vow and allow these things to remain in your house while claiming to obey the inner leading and inner voice, God will raise up circumstances that will shake you so that the idols in your house will be shaken out. He can even shake out the golden earrings and other improper objects in your house. In our fellowship with the Lord, we often are not sensitive to His rebukes and our mistakes. God has to raise up an environment to shake us up. Then we will realize that there are still hidden idols that we have not yet given up. We should not trust ourselves and say, "As long as I have the peace within, I am all right." We do need to inwardly hearken to the inner voice, but brothers and sisters, we must realize how deeply we have fallen, how difficult it is for us to stand, and how easy it is for us to fall. At times our inner feelings are not that sensitive, and the inner admonition is not that strong. Therefore, we still need God to speak to us through the environment. Brothers and sisters, we may have been Christians for many years. As far as our experiences are concerned, we may have made considerable progress since our first time in Bethel. But as far as our consecration goes, we may have lost our initial consecration at Bethel. God is happy to see that we have some experiences and to work Himself into us through these experiences, but He is even happier to see us sustaining our initial fresh consecration. Brothers and sisters, no matter how mature you are, you still have to return to Bethel. From Jacob's experience, we can see that God had worked much into him, and much of His element had been deposited into him. Yet Jacob had lost his initial vow of consecration. This is why God had to speak to him through the environment. Jacob was already very spiritual, yet God still had to speak to him through the environment.

  Brothers and sisters, it is not enough to just have the inner voice. Sometimes we still need the speaking of the outward environment. We may want to settle down comfortably in Shechem, but God will raise up the environment so that we cannot settle down comfortably. He wants us to fulfill our first consecration; He wants us to return to Bethel. We may have forgotten our vow, but God has not forgotten it. We may not have honored our consecration, but God honors it. Brothers and sisters, consecration exposes our shortcomings. Whenever we turn back to our initial consecration, we find many unnecessary things within us, and we find that we have backslidden. Brothers and sisters, we should not think that we are that spiritual and that we have no problems at all. Go and pray, perhaps saying, "Lord, seven years ago I was revived for the first time. I prayed that night and consecrated everything on the altar; I offered up everything to you. Today I will offer up everything to you again." Once we return to our first vow, we will find that we have many unnecessary things. We will realize that we have fallen away from our initial consecration. We may be more experienced than before and we may boast that we know God more and that we are more mature, but when we turn back to our initial consecration, we will see we have fallen and that we have idols and golden earrings in spite of our maturity. There are many things that need to be buried. We need to bury the idols and the earrings under the oak tree in Shechem before we can return to Bethel to serve the Lord. Brothers and sisters, Jacob was mature, yet he did not return to Bethel until God raised up the environment and spoke to him.

  We should consider whether God's voice is in our environment calling us back to Bethel. We have come to where we are, and all our needs have been met. We would like to settle down, but will God let us settle down? We have our rest, but does God have His rest? Has He gained what we vowed to Him at Bethel? God has to raise up the environment to turn some brothers and sisters back to Bethel, that is, to their first vow. If we have given up our first vow, God will order an environment to stir us up, to make us restless, and to speak to our inner being. The environment that God has ordered for us will not affect us without also speaking something to us. Brothers and sisters, even a man as spiritual as Jacob could not hear God's speaking except through the environment. We should never presume that everything is fine as long as we feel peaceful inside. Sometimes our feelings of peace are a kind of self-deception. We may say that our heart is at peace, but have we received more of the Lord's correction recently? Have we been reminded by Him? How much has God gained in us? How much has He stripped from us? Brothers and sisters, we must remember that we should have the Lord's speaking in our environment. We should hear God's voice through the environment and return to Bethel, to our initial vow of consecration so that God can be satisfied.