New Life Destiny

1) Today is the day of Salvation. 2 Cor. 6:2 - For God says, "At just the right
time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.

2) Today is the day of Rest: Heb.4:7 - So God set another time for entering
his place of rest and that time is today. ... "Today you must listen to his voice. Don't harden your hearts against him."

3) Today is the day to hear Gods voice: Heb.3: 7 That is why the Holy Spirit
says, "Today you must listen to his voice. 8 Don't harden your hearts
against him as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested God's
patience in the wilderness".

The first two items in the above list will never be realized without the personal application of point (3). Clearly God speaks today. That being the case then, God speaks everyday. If there's a break down in communications with God it's not the result of His failure to speak. It's reassuring to know that God is always willing and desirous to talk. The challenge is for us is not to just hear God speaking but to hear what He is saying. As unique as each of the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation were they all received this same instruction. The difference between the NIV translation and the NLT helps to bring out the point I want to focus on! It possible to hear someone speaking but not really listen to what they're saying.

(NIV) Rev. 2:7 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

(NLT) Rev. 2:7 - "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

It's one thing to hear and another thing to listen. With the nation of Israel, for example, it's very clear that they hear the God but they just failed to really take it to heart. They could not have been given clearer instructions about Gods will for them to enter and possess the Promised Land. The first generation exodus Israelites have personally experienced multiple miracles during their deliverance from Egypt. The physical presence of God "in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night" was continually being manifest. When push came to shove, as it were, they balked in unbelief and as a result failed to personally experience Gods best for their lives.

1 Cor.10:4,5 - and all of them drank the same miraculous water. For they all
drank from the miraculous rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet after all this, God was not pleased with most of them, and he destroyed them in the wilderness.

Let's ask ourselves a few questions! Was it Gods will for the first generation of exodus Israelites to enter and possess the Promised Land? Could they have experienced Gods best for their lives in their generation? Did the second generation of exodus Israelites experience what God had promised the first generation? What should we be learning from this example?