Hearing God’s voice
June 9, 2013
John 10:4
INTRODUCTION
- People have varying levels of closeness to God
- We are all at different stages of our walk with Jesus
- On our journey, we will be moving forward with him
- 2 Pet 3:18 – Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus
- John 15:5 – Bear fruit
- 2 Cor 3:18 – from glory to glory
- 1 Pet 1:16 – God seeks those who want to be holy as he is holy
- Being part of the vine implies we have close contact with God
- During drought, soil pulls away from the roots, and plants dry up
- There comes a point where the plant cannot be revived (Heb 2:1-3)
- So we need this close contact with God
- Today we are going to examine the subject of hearing God’s voice
IS IT POSSIBLE TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE?
- Time after time in the Bible we read about people who hear from God
- The Bible was written by people who heard God’s voice – it was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Heb 1:1)
- Has God changed?
- Does he no longer wish to communicate with his people?
- Of course not
- Heb 13:8 – Jesus the same yesterday, today and forever
- Mal 3:6 – I am the Lord, I change not
- John 10:4 – Jesus says his sheep know his voice (Heb 3:7)
- So how do we develop hearing from God?
STARTS WITH A HUMBLE HEART
- Isa 66:2 – To this man will I look
- A person who is humble in his walk with God is teachable
- When the Lord says to do something, he will accept it and be obedient
- Sometimes God speaks to us and we make the choice to not obey , at this time
- Eph 4:30 – this grieves the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit is responsive to our attitude
- If we don’t want to be obedient, he will stop speaking
- Sometimes we ask God for direction
- So God responds in a number of different ways.
- Perhaps we do not act on his answer immediately
- We may keep asking for direction, but it seems heaven is silent
- Possibly this is because he has already given direction but we did not receive it
- 1 Sam 3:19 – Samuel did not let one of the Lord’s words fall to the ground
- He kept God’s words holy, he treasured them, he obeyed them
SO HOW DOES GOD SPEAK?
- 1 Kings 19:12 – a still small voice – a quiet thought in our mind – the most usual kind of word from God
- Heb 4:12 - a word from the Bible – a verse jumps out at you with a personal meaning for you – is called a “rhema” word
- Acts 16:9 – visions and dreams
- Acts 16:7, Rev 3:8 - circumstances can show God’s intention for us – a door may be open for one alternative, but closed for another
- 1 Sam 3:10 – an audible voice – not a frequent way God speaks today
- Romans 8:16, 9:1 - an inner knowing through the Holy Spirit should accompany any word from God – disquiet usually indicates a problem
- Romans 8:16, 9:1 - an inner knowing through the Holy Spirit should accompany any word from God – disquiet usually indicates a problem
HOW DO WE KNOW IT IS GOD?
- The word we hear can have three sources
- It could come from God, it could come from the enemy, it could be our own mind speaking
- So how do we know if it is from God?
- 1. It has to be according to God’s Word
- Isa 8:20 – according to law and testimony
- 2. Has to fit with previous revelation
- Num 23:19 – God is not a man that he should lie
- 3. He gives us peace with it
- John 14:27 – my peace I give to you (Phil 4:7)
- 4. Seek qualified counsel before making major changes
- Prov 11:14, 15:22
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH IT?
- The closer we are to God, the more we will treasure what he says
- Like Samuel, don’t let God’s words fall to the ground
HOW TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE
- Hab 2:1-3
- 1. Be attentive to what he will say – expect an answer - according to your faith be it unto you
- 2. God often responds immediately, even as you are asking the question
- 3. Write down the word or revelation in a journal
- 4. If you don’t understand, that is fine, it may be for a yet future time
- 5. Be obedient
SUMMARY
- 1. Be humble and obedient
- 2. God speaks in different ways
- - thoughts, scripture, visions/dreams, circumstances, audible voice, inner knowing
- 3. Evaluate – is it from God?
- - Is it according to God’s word, Does it fit previous words, Inner peace, Seek counsel on major moves
- 4. Listen
- - be attentive, write it down, be obedient
CONCLUSION
- As children of our Father, he wants to communicate with us
- How can we do what he wants, if we are not listening to him?
- I see this church as an army of war4riors, moving out as the Commander sends us
- We need the communication channel open so we can be doing what he says
- Where you go I’ll go, where you move, I’ll move
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