NEVER has a TRUE Christian become an ATHEIST

Imagine this scenario in the theatre of your mind. You walk into a Walmart, shop around for a while, and then leave. A couple of days later you come across a friend and he tells you he's on his way to Walmart. You tell your friend there is no such thing as Walmart and you have a great debate on the existence of Walmart. Eventually your friend gives up and goes to Walmart anyway. What have you just done?

This is exactly what Atheists who claim to be former Christians are expecting to convince others to be true about them. They don't know that's what they are doing but alas, just as John Locke told Jack Shepherd on "LOST"... "crazy people don't admit when they're crazy".

Christianity does not have an arbitrary definition. The first six letters in the word "Christian" spell "CHRIST". A Christian is - a the very minimum - someone who believes and follows the teachings of Christ! And one of the core tenets of His teaching is this:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:27

So then, since Jesus now dwells in the supernatural (transcendental) realm, and a Christian, according to Christ, is someone who hears His voice and follows Him, how could it ever be possible that a person who believes supernatural realities do not exist was ever a Christian? It is not possible.



So how does a person hear from Jesus? How does that work? If we're only saved when we hear and follow Him then how do we know we're hearing from Him? How do we know we're following Him? This is a huge problem for ministries like Ray Comfort's "Way of the Master". He talks people into the Kingdom. He reasons with them and convinces them they are sinners in need of a savior and by intellectual ascension they embrace Christ - intellectually. The question remains: are they REALLY saved? Ray's ministry is valuable, don't get me wrong. It is certain that many people probably are saved because of his effort. The apostle Paul was a highly skilled debater and won many converts because of this. However it should be emphasized that if a smart person can talk you into the Kingdom then someone smarter can talk you out of it. This is the overwhelming state of the vast majority of atheists today.

I can remember being in the office of a ministry colleague many years ago in Salt Lake City talking about the things of God when a young man walked right into our meeting and said he was driving along I-80 and suddenly realized, without any intellectual manipulation at all, that he needed to be saved. Jesus was speaking to this young man. He gave his life to the Lord right then and there. Twenty minutes later he was back on the road headed for California.

To know when Jesus is speaking to us we should first know when He is not. The believer must always be led, even when conversing with God, by peace. Jesus is not speaking while you are in a fit of rage, confusion, mentally disturbed, or in the flesh. He waits for you to be still - to relax - to chill out and wait for Him. He waits for you - patiently - while you go through all the motions of trying to figure it all out on your own. When you've finally stopped doing that He can, and will, speak to you. Even when we THINK we are still and quiet, we often are not. Our minds tend to go a mile a minute even in our quiet time. We think "geeeeez when will this be over so I can go out and think some more".

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Picture this scene - you're a truck driver. You hear that your friend is injured in the hospital and you rush to see him. You head to the nurses station and wait for assistance. While standing there a doctor comes and stands beside you. All of a sudden everything that doctor knows is transferred to your mind. In an instant you gain the knowledge required to do what took the doctor a decade or more to learn. This is what it is like to hear from God. This scenario happens every day to millions of believers around the world who are literally hearing from Jesus. It is a form of knowledge communication. Just like the young man who was driving down the interstate, perhaps in a quiet moment of meditation, and he heard from God that salvation was his and he was led, by God, to two men who would lead him to say the words with his mouth which broke the curse of death off of his soul and voila! He was born again!

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:10

Believers do not hear the audible voice of Jesus but the voice or instructions from Jesus get downloaded to us. Have you ever bee in a church and the pastor pulls someone out of the crown and says something like "the Lord has shown me this about you" and the person breaks down and can't believe his ears? Generally it will be something the Lord does to show Himself to a person - to show that you cannot hide from Him - but it will ALWAYS be a way for the person to get free or get an answer to a secret question. I have seen this countless times. In fact this is how I was delivered from smoking.

When I was saved I smoked and couldn't quit. I tried and tried but could not. So one day I just said "Jesus when you're ready you just take it from me" and that was it. Eight years later the church I was attending had a guest speaker come up from Dallas. I came in late so I sat in the back. With my chair leaning against the wall I listened to this man and all of a sudden he interrupted himself and said "you - come up here". He was pointing to me. I went up front, stood in from of him and he said "God is taking tobacco out of your life right now". Remember that eight years prior I had said to God that when He was ready he could just "take" it! And now, eight years later, this preacher from Texas, who could not possible know what I had said all those years ago or even that I smoked for that matter (he didn't know me and we came in late) tells me God is "taking" tobacco out of my life? Astounding! I haven`t had a cigarette since. Did God mess with my mind - possibly - but whatever the means the result is that I was delivered from a 21 year addiction because a preacher from Texas knew how to hear from God, get information downloaded to him about me that God wanted him to know so that I could be free.

That is how we hear the voice of Jesus; by getting quiet before Him and recieving information He wants us to know. If a person has never heard the Voice of Jesus and yet has recieved the free gift of salvation that person should at least be striving to hear from Him - to enter into that perpetual Sabbath Rest purchased in the cross. We enter into that rest so that we can hear from Him.

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.11 ¶Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.