It's amazing to me how communication has changed over recent years. Think about how we communicate today, right? Yes, we talk in person, but there's phone calls or text messages, um, now with caller ID, right? It's, I don't know about you, but I'd never pick up the first phone call if I don't recognize the name, right? Like my most common phone call on my phone is this guy named Spam. And uh he seems to call me all the time, but uh we get voicemails, we respond, we text, uh we have shorthand for text, right? We abbreviate letters, we uh now have people who just the very formal thing of sliding into people's DMs um or Snapchatting or continuing on, or uh we go back and there was, you know, instant messenger. It was, uh, the very successful, uh, MySpace. Page, I can't even say that with a straight face. Um, you know, we would communicate there when you had back in your homes, when you had to decide, could I have a phone call or could I get on the internet? And if you want to get on the internet, you had to dial up minutes before and that you would hear that just very annoying sound, right? Like you had to, I don't know why that sound was needed to get on to the World Wide Web, but apparently that was decided somewhere uh to represent what was happening. And, and so to think there was a time where people would just 1, had to have a corded phone, and 2, you had no idea who was calling at any given time, and 3, we actually spoke to each other like humans, right? Like I just don't picture it, like, think back years and years ago. Like, can you imagine if we use today's language, but was written on scrolls? You know, like everything was so formal, like, you know, dear King Arthur. Skippity, Ohio, there's like, uh, we're like, it would just be like we're crazy. Like we would, we, we would have scrolls and there was calligraphy and there was writing, and there was homing pigeons. I want to know, did we try other animals first and then pigeons worked. I don't know. And, but all throughout history, we have been trying to communicate with one another. And the reason I say all this is that if we have so many different methods. To communicate as humans, why do we think that God only uses one? See, God speaks to us in a variety of ways. But it's not just how he speaks, it's why he speaks that matters. That God is still speaking and the question is not, does he speak, but rather, are we listening and then are we following what he says. And so we're gonna talk about how God speaks today. But first, let's, I want you to write this down about why God speaks. And that is, is that if God loves you enough to speak. Then he loves you enough to lead. If God loves you enough to speak with you and to you and for you. He's doing so for the purpose of leading you. Into a life that he's called you to. We're gonna wrap up our story here. The wise men this morning. We've been studying all month long, in Matthew chapter 2, of of their journey. And in week one of our Advent series, we talked about about the search for hope, and how the wise men, in studying the prophecies of old from out east, they saw a sign, they saw a star in the sky, and from that they came out in search for hope to find it in this new king of the Jews. And then in week two, we compared the heart and the mindset of the wise men to Herod, and how Herod really heard the news of Jesus and landed in a place of panic, where the wise men heard the news of Jesus and landed in a place of peace. And then last week, we studied how uh really joy can be found in the journey to Jesus, and how on their way to Jesus, the wise men rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And we shared how 4 layers of joy form a s'more of goodness of God. And just wanna encourage you that I also apply the word of God. And so last night I enjoyed myself some s'mores by fireside. It was great. OK. And so today, we, we repeat. Hear verse 11, but then we're gonna continue their story in verse 12, and then also we're gonna see a pattern that extends to other people in the Christmas story. Here we go. Matthew chapter 2 verse 11. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and they worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, rise and take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. And he rose and he took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt. And he remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt, I called my son. And so there he's quoting uh Hosea. Uh, chapter 11 verse 1, the fulfillment of prophecy. So, we find a few interesting things here in this story is that God speaks because he loves and God speaks because he wants our obedience. God's love literally changed the direction of the wise men's lives. They did what they were called to do. They encountered and worshiped Jesus, recognized him even as an infant, as the king, gave him their gifts. But then they received this message from God to go home a different way. Literally, the love of God changed the direction of their life. But what we see in here is this pattern. We see devotion to God, in verse 11. Then we see they receive a dream. OK? And then it changes their direction, but ultimately leads to their obedience. See, that's important because when God speaks, what he's longing for is our obedience. When Jesus speaks of the parable of the sower sower or the parable of the soils, he shares how there is good seed that is thrown on the different types of soil and the and the seed representing the good news of Jesus or the gospel or his word. And only 1 out of 4 is considered a good soil. And the person that represents the good soil there in Matthew chapter 13 verse 25 or 23, 25 in there is the person who not only hears the word. But understands it and actually does what it says. When God tells us to do something, it's a cra crazy thought here. But he actually wants us to do it. And it's in our obedience that we actually see the transformation that we've been praying for. So we have devotion to God, which then leads to a dream that they received from God, which changes their direction, that then they ultimately walk in obedience. Now, why is that important? Well, because we continue the story, we go to Matthew chapter 2 verse 19. And then we see here that it says, but when Herod died. Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. For those who sought the child's life are dead. And he rose and he took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. So we see that God spoke to the wise man in a dream, but he also spoke to Joseph in a dream, multiple times, right? He spoke to him when when he prophesized the coming of his son, like, hey, Mary's pregnant. And she's not lying that she didn't cheat on you, OK? Like you have to get that from a dream, because who else is believing that, right? And then they have the child. OK? And now they get another dream that says you need to flee, because Herod's coming for the baby. And so they go to Egypt and fulfills the prophecy. And while in Egypt, he gets another dream and says, OK, I want you to come back. Same pattern, though, devotion to God, receives a dream. Changes their direction, ultimately leads to obedience. Isn't it fascinating that obedience always interrupts our plans, right? Obedience is not convenient. Obedience is never convenient. It's never comfy. Right? God's never gonna give you a snuggie, like, here's obedience. Right? He's not calling you to be comfortable, he's calling you to be courageous. He's calling you to lead you on who you're supposed to be, and, and what you're supposed to do. And that that obedience, that call, that direction. It's gonna challenge the pattern that you have in your life. It's gonna interrupt what you thought you needed to do. But that interruption is exactly when it's needed, and it's not simply about hearing the word. Many people today are gonna hear the word preached, but it's not the people that hear the word that have their lives changed. It's the people that go home and apply what he tells us to do, where we actually see transformation take place. So what we see here is that God speaks to us in various ways. Already in the Christmas story, he, he led the wise man with a star. Right? He used an angel to them he used an angel and the shepherds, right? And then we see him use a dream. OK. To lead the wise men and ultimately lead Joseph and Mary. So how does God speak to us today? Well, he speaks to us in a variety of ways. Again, the original premise, if we use different means and mediums to communicate to each other, why would we expect God to use less ways to speak to us than we use, right? His ways are so much higher than ours. Uh, when I was actually preparing for the next week's sermon, uh, which again is online, I was reading a book by Mark Patterson. Uh, I'll reference it next week called Gradually, then Suddenly, talking about New Year's resolutions and things and how we can apply and how life change comes. That's next week. But I was actually reminded of one of his other books that actually talks about how God speaks to us, a book called Whisper, and so from his book, uh, that he also references scripture as well, and so it's coming from scripture. But I want to share with you, these are seven ways in which God speaks. There's 7 ways in which God speaks. He speaks more than 7, but I don't know if we can remember more than 7, and 7 sounds really biblical. So can we just roll with that? Does that sound good? So he speaks in more than 7 ways, but let me give you 7, and we go from there, OK? The first way that God speaks to us is scripture. First way he speaks to us is scripture. Even in our story in Matthew chapter 2, multiple times, Matthew writes, this happened to fulfill what was prophesized in the Old Testament. So even in the New Testament, he's quoting the Old Testament, and he's using scripture to validate and affirm and in a sense, notarize what was happening in the New Testament. And so even the early church valued the power of his word. I had kind of a fun moment actually in the last service, where in real time on the stage here, uh, God just kind of gave me a little nugget and said, oh, don't forget this verse. And if you study the Bible, you'll get that in life. And so I paused awkwardly as I was trying to flip to the pages, and I'm like, oh, where's Hebrews again? And uh and trying to get to the page. And so at this for you guys, no awkwardness, I was able to bookmark it this time. Um, but I was reminded, while preaching last service, and God brought to mind this verse found in Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. It's not even on the screens, but I'll read it to you. Says long ago. At many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by His Son. What's so fascinating about that is that God spoke. In many ways to many people. But in these last days, which we are in, God spoke to us. By his son and in his son. What this means is that literally Jesus Christ is the language of God. Right? We speak English here in the States, right? If you're in Germany, you speak German. Right? If you're in Brazil, you speak Portuguese, that's trying to throw you. OK. God, God speaks Jesus. Second part of the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. No one has ever seen God. So the Christmas story comes and how to think about this. How does the apostle John describe Jesus in John 1:1? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. So how cool is this? You have the Old Testament. That tells the history of the world, which by the way, how did God create the world again? He spoke it into existence. So his word is so powerful that everything we have come to know and love in this universe came by the power of His word. In there, we see his faithfulness, his goodness, and the prophecies of the coming So, that when we get to John chapter one, we have the incarnation of his. Word and John 1:14 says, and the Word became flesh, full of grace and truth. And so Jesus Himself, the Lagos, the purpose of life comes here, lives the perfect life, gives us the manifestation of the presence and the power of God the Father, and he gives us, tells stories, gives miracles, models the way for how Power to live, dies on the cross, rises again on the 3rd day, providing salvation, then giving the Holy Spirit and the and the writers of the New Testament, writing down what the word. So we have the Word of God talking about the Word of Jesus, the language of God. Then now for 2000 years, we have been speaking the language of God with how we speak and love one another. You see, when you love people the way that Jesus loved us, you are speaking the language of God. You are showing people what it means to be a follower of Jesus. That's why scripture is so important. That's why we primarily preach through books of the Bible with topics sprinkled in, because we value the Word of God and it's so important. It's not the only way that God speaks, but it is one of the primary ways that God speaks. And here's what's important to know, that God's will will never contradict God's word. And so as we go through these other ways in which God speaks, you can filter it through Scripture because God will not lie and God will not contradict himself. That's why it's so good to have the scriptures in your heart, to read it, to pray through it, to sing songs about it, to meditate on it, because God's word is the best way in which God speaks because you can come back to it time and time and time again. I'll have conversations with people and say, I really wanna know the will of God. And I'll say, well, do you know the word of God? Well, no. OK, why is God gonna give you a new leading or direction when you haven't followed his main one? Right So God speaks through scripture. Number 2 We see that God speaks through desires. God speaks through God-shaped passions. Right? Think about the wise men. They read the prophecies of old. And then when they saw the star, they had a desire in their heart to go see what that was about. There are things that break and burden your heart. Maybe That's a God-placed desire because he wants you to do something about it, right? Now This is why we start with scripture because your desires needs to also align with scripture. Because not every desire is a is a moment and direction from God. Right? If it were up to our children, and honestly, us as adults as well, we would live off of candy and sugar alone, right? As parents, we have to say, uh no, but I want it. OK? Not every desire is a God desire. But some are When you have that gifting, that passion, that skill set, that ability to make a difference, a calling from God. Maybe God is calling you to a different place. Right? So God speaks through our desires. Third, God speaks through doors. These are both open and closed doors. Maybe you've been given an opportunity. Or maybe God closed the door that you thought you needed. And really he was redirecting you where you needed to go. I Think about that, those open and closed doors, OK? God speaks 4 through our dreams. God speaks through our dreams. No, I think God tends to speak in dreams more often in places where people don't have ready access to the Word of God. That's why you'll hear it in other countries and places more evangelistically. Things will happen. There's actually stories of people getting saved. God comes to them in a dream and then someone comes and brings the word. Um, I've talked with people and missionaries overseas. I had talked to one guy who literally, God told him to change his name in a dream, and he changed it. I was like, what is this, the Book of Acts? What's going on? This is crazy. So I know it still happens, OK? Uh, but again, we have the word of God, which is more sure than any dream or inkling or feeling, right? Can you imagine though, for a second, uh, Joseph trying to go back to Mary about, hey, we gotta go to Egypt. Like, what was the last trip they went on? They went to Bethlehem, and you, you know, Mary at some point was like, you didn't check with the innkeeper first. Like I'm having a baby. I'm carrying the savior of the world, and you can't even get us a place to stay, right? And then he's gonna come back, hey, you know how we finally got a house, and we finally got some gifts and some stability. Um, we're gonna go to Egypt now, right? But he followed, So God speaks through dreams. Number 5, God speaks through people. God speaks through people. God used the wise men. To actually give confirmation and affirmation to Mary and Joseph. Of the message, right? And I want, and I wanna emphasize here wise counsel, because there are different kinds of friends. Do you have, do you have the hype man friend? The, the yes, yeah, like, like whatever level you're at, they go higher, you know, I mean, those are fun friends to have, but I would not call those wise counsel. Right? Like you come in the situation and whatever you say, like, man, I wanted to punch him. I wouldn't have only just punched him, I would have kicked him. Let's go. Right? Or like you're at a 5 and they're like, oh, you're at a 5. I'm at a 9. Come on, let's go. Right? And like you like those friends in your corner. But they're not gonna, they're not gonna give you wise counsel because they're just gonna amp up and multiply what you've already said, right? You need somebody that has the other things in mind, right? Somebody who knows the word of God, somebody who knows you. Right? Somebody who understands your story. Maybe somebody who's been through it before, right? So like for myself, I have a series of pastors that I go to talk with. And so that when I bring a situation to them like, oh, yeah, I've I've been there. I get that. Have you thought about this? You know, they ask good questions. They, they know you, they know the word, they know your heart, they know scriptures, and they, they just try to help guide and direct, right? But you can see where these overlap. Right? You're feeling a nudge, you have a desire. You said, OK, is it an open door, closed door? Does it align with scripture? What do the people that know me best say? What do the people that I trust say? Right? And when you start seeing these multiple layered things coming together, you start to lead in that direction, which you can listen. To the heart of God. OK. Number 6, promptings. Promptings. These are be like little Holy Spirit nudges, little whisper in the air, a little tap on the shoulder. Uh, I've gotten a few of these in my life. Actually, one of those times is when I got called to start the church. I was actually up in Cholo on a mission trip with students, and I was in, uh, I think, I, I see Jose here. I think he might have been on that trip with me on that one. And I was there, and I was having a quiet time there on the Moon rim, and I could just see like endless view of forest. And there the clouds parted and a voice of God came down, John. OK, that didn't happen. Although, if you get a Bluetooth speaker, you can make that experience for your friends. OK, just kidding, don't do that. It would be kind of fun, but, so I didn't get like this audible voice or anything, um, but I was kind of processing my future and I'm praying through God, who are you calling me? What are you calling me to do? And it's a little, little whisper, a little nudge. And he gave me two thoughts in that moment. He said, and the first one was, yeah, no matter how big one tree gets, no one tree makes a forest. And I was sitting under this massive pine tree. Him And the second little nudge. was This entire forest that you see, and I've seen for hundreds of miles, is at some point started from just one tree. And that prompting, followed by deep study of the scripture, examining the desires of my heart, looking at the closed and open doors before me, with the counsel of the people that I trust in my life, like my spouse and, and other friends and pastors and mentors, right? And family. When you start combining all of that, that's where I ultimately felt called to start and that's why we're named Mission Grove Church, that no single tree makes a grove, but a grove can start from just one tree. That we want to be a church that plants churches, that plants churches. Right? And God can speak in your life. You might get a prompting, hey, go talk to that person. Hey, you should do here. Hey, you should give, you should serve. But it's always going to be for the benefit. Of people, right? Number 7, the reason I put this last because this is the toughest one. This is the one we don't like. And that is that God speaks through our pain. God speaks through our pain. See, suffering refines and redirects our lives. And it's easy for us to ask the question, why? Right. But I think maybe a better question is not, God, why did this happen, but rather, God, what, what do you want me to do right now? What do you, what do you want me to experience? What do you want me to know? Cause here's what I know to be, I don't know why you're going through a hard time. But here's what I do know. It is two truths. Number 1, I know that God's with you in that valley, in that hard time. That God cares for you Right? He's with you in that moment. OK. And that I know. That the strongest people. In my life, the wisest, the kindest, the most resilient are all people who've walked through tough times. Think about in your own life, who are the strongest, most humble, most consistent, persistent people in your life? My guess, it's somebody who's walked through the valley. It's someone who's been through the storm or someone who's come on the other side of a drought. Those people have been refined, purified, strengthened by the trials in their life, that they are now the most resilient people for who God has called them to be and what God has called them to do. See, before God will take you far, God's gonna take you deep. And it's in the brokenness and in the wrestling that he strengthens you. For what he's called you to do and who he's called you to be. How does God speak? He speaks through scripture, desires, doors, dreams, people, promptings, pain. Here's the thing though, God speaks really one step at a time. Really one step at a time. Trust is not just what we feel, but what we follow. What does it look like for us? We're gonna close with this passage here. First John 4:9. Through 12, it says, in this, the love of God was made manifest among us, right? That God sent His only Son into the world. This is the Christmas story, right? So that we might live through Him. In this love, that we might have love, that not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation or a payment for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. See, if we love people the way that God has loved us, we start to speak the language of God to the people in our lives, right? See, the magi didn't go home. The same way they came And here's the reality, that when God speaks in love, neither should we. We might go back to the same place, same job, same people. But we should go back different in our minds, in our hearts, and how we live. What if the breakthrough you've been praying for is on the other side of the obedience you've been postponing? What if the breakthrough you've been praying for is on the other side of the obedience you've been postponing? Because if God loves you enough to speak, and he is. Then God loves you enough to lead. And so as we close, We have to ask ourselves, not is God speaking, but really three questions. Number 1, are you looking for God? Are you so distracted in the busyness and the stress and the overwhelming and this to this to this to this, that we're not even looking for him. But 2, if you're looking for him, are you listening to God? Are you listening to him? He's speaking. Are we listening? And then number 3, and most importantly, If he's speaking Are you following God in love? The wise men heard him and they moved. Joseph heard him, and he moved. God is speaking. God's love is present here. Are you willing to move? To be who God's called you to be. To do what God's called you to do. You could be one simple step away from a new direction in life. You could be one honest prayer away from a changed heart. You could be one obedient move away. From a changed life. Because ultimately God's love will lead you back to him. Will you do that? Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the fact that not only have you spoken, But God, you're still speaking. So when we take the promptings of your spirit, the wise counsel of godly people in our lives, the the power of your living word that tells us about the your language, your son, Jesus Christ. That you are speaking, you are guiding, you're trying to get our attention. So God, if we're looking for you, if we're listening to you. Give us the courage and the strength to obey and take that next step. Because God, you speak and lead us simply one step at a time. Help us to follow you. Listen to what you're saying and then have the courage to do it and take a step today. 2 sons, let me pray. Amen.