Sadhu Sundar Singh - (cont'd) The Second Question

I know that you have , as I so often have.... prayed for unsaved loved ones. We have asked that God reveal Himself to them in some tangible way so that they will know without a doubt that He is real.

And we wait... and watch... and feel disappointment when nothing seems to change.

Sadhu had this same concern for the lost... He said to the Lord..."If you would only manifest Yourself by special revelation to the world then men would not longer doubt the existence of God and all would believe and enter on the path of righteousness."

I know Jesus' answer will encourage you in your faith, as it did me.

His answer doesn't really say anything we don't know from scripture , we know God has promised to answer our prayers.

Joh 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

But the enemy is soo quick to plant seeds of doubt in our minds... maybe we aren't asking right, maybe we are not asking according to His will.

God reveals Himself personally to every man

Jesus answered Sadhu assuring him that yes, indeed, there is no better way to bring people into the path of righteous than by a manifestation of Himself. Man was created that he might know God. A God who is not terrible and foreign but a God that is full of love and like him, for man was truly made in God's image.

Jesus explained that He is intimately acquainted with and understands the inner heart of every man, and to every man He makes Himself known according to his personal needs.

What will melt one person's heart will not melt another ... how precious of God to personally draw each person according to his personality or his life situation.

When we pray for God to reveal Himself to someone so they will know He is real... it is already His will to do so ! We can know without a shadow of a doubt that He will answer our prayer.

God has Revealed Himself to the World

While God manifests Himself to every man in a personal way ... .. He has revealed Himself to the world so that every man can find Him.

1< The Father is manifested in Jesus --- The Father cannot be seen so Jesus came to dwell among us , in the form of man so that we could see and understand Him. He said .."If you have seen Me , you have seen the Father."

2< God is manifested to man through love --- God is love and to all His creatures, especially man, He has given the faculty of love. It is as we love God with all our heart and our neighbour as ourselves that we allow ourselves to be melted and moulded in the fire of love ... and so be established in the Kingdom of God.

3>God has manifested Himself through nature -- His attributes are clearly seen in the things He has made.

4< God is manifested to man through His Word -- To those who seek Him with a sincere heart He gives the Holy Spirit through whom the spiritual language of His word is understood.

Does Doubt stand in the Way of Faith?

This statement is often made... "If only this or that doubt of mine could be removed, I would be ready to believe!"

Is doubt really a deterrent to faith ? Jesus explained that every man has been endowed with faith. It is man's choice who he fastens this faith to. If it is not fixed on God, it will be shattered by the shock of sin and transformed into doubt.
To ask to have the doubt removed is like someone with a broken arm asking the doctor to take away the pain before he sets the limb. The pain comes from the breaking of the limb and when that is set the pain will of itself go away.
Sin causes the breaking of man's tie with God and doubts are the resulting spiritual pains.
For the spiritual pain of doubts to disappear, union with God must first be renewed.

Just as the chick in the shell can not understand or believe the wonders of life outside its shell, even if it were told it, so also many people are uncertain about the future life or the existence of God because they cannot see beyond this shell-like body of flesh.
All the chick need do is receive life-giving warmth from the mother hen until it hatches from its shell.
So also we, if we receive by faith the life-giving warmth of the Holy Spirit, we will one day put off this body shell to enjoy eternal life.
Jesus said about those who believe on Him .. "I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28
**
tomorrow.... Sadhu asks..."what is sin , and how did sin come to be?"
**