28. Hearing God’s voice

 

Hundreds of people in the Bible heard God speak to them. Since then millions of others have heard Him speak to them, but many of us are not too sure how He speaks today.

 

 

A. The requirements for hearing God speaking to us

 

                Christ must be Lord of your life

       submission to His Lordship protects you from other powers;

       you must be willing to do His will before you even know His will, otherwise you will not hear His voice; Jochanan and his men had no intention of obeying, unless it suited them  -  Jer. 42:1-22.

 

                You must have a clean heart

       If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear  -  Ps. 66:18;

       confession cleanses  -  1Jhn.1: 9.              

 

                You must be moving in obedience and faith  -  1Jhn.1: 7

       as you move in faith and obedience, you will be guided;

       if you have not obeyed the last thing God told you, you will not receive more light  -  light rejected becomes darkness.

 

                You must be living a life of praise and worship

       God inhabits the praises of His people  -  Ps. 22: 3;

       His Presence being His guidance;

       as you thank Him for what He has done in the past, He takes you further.

 

                You must engage in spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness

       resist the powers of darkness in the Name of Jesus  -  …..the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful…..(2Cor.10: 4);

       there are three voices:

-                    receive God’s voice,

-                    resist Satan’s voice, and

-                    reckon (= die to self) to man’s voice.

 

                You must begin to practise

       do not wait for perfect knowledge and understanding;

       step out, learning through practice.

 

                You must be growing

       My sheep hear My voice  -  Jhn.10: 27a

       Not: my lambs!

 

                You sometimes need to fast  -  Acts 13:1-3

       food;

       time;

       pleasures.

 

                You must know the ways through which God speaks to us

       through the audible voice

-                    Old Testament example: Moses at the burning bush;

-                    New Testament example: Christ’s baptism, Paul’s conversion.

       through the inner voice (inaudible)

-                    This could be the nudging of God or your own imagination:

       the devil cannot read your mind (1Kings 8: 39);

       submit your imagination to God’s will; then ask Him to speak to you;

       how to be sure it is not you or the devil?

              …..Resist the devil, and he will flee from you  -  Jas. 4:7  -:

the devil drives	-	God draws
the devil condemns	-	God convicts
the devil harasses	-	God harnesses
the devil hurries	-	God never hurries

 

       through the Bible

-                    sometimes He says: “Go and open your Bible” ;

-                    sometimes He tells you a chapter and a verse;

-                    as you are reading the Bible, God quickens a portion: Thy Word is a lamp…..light -  Ps.119:105;

-                    sometimes He quickens a verse memorised;

-                    sometimes He speaks through the Word, preached from the pulpit.

       through the gifts of the Spirit

-                    Old Testament example: Elisha and Gehazi (2Kings 5: 26);

-                    New testament example: Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11).

       through dreams

-                    Old Testament example: Nebuchadnezzar’s dream;

-                    New Testament example: Joseph’s call to a far country (Matt.1: 20).

       through visions

-                    Old Testament example: Isaiah’s vision (Is. 6);

-                    New Testament example: Paul’s Macedonian call (Acts 16: 9).

       through people

God can tell us His will even through ordinary conversation.

       through angels

Angels often appear(ed) to men (Num. 22: 32).

       through circumstances

God arranges circumstances in order to tell us something (Balaam could not get to where he wanted to go, and was frustrated).

       through an animal  -  Num. 22: 28

       through songs and hymns

       through many other ways and means

 

Remember:

                we cannot dictate in which way God will speak;

                He is King;

                we are His servants.

 

Safeguards for direction:

                the Word of God;

                the peace of God;

                circumstances.

 

 

B. The reasons for God speaking to us

 

                Relationships

       Because He loves us

It is His love, that causes God to speak to us:

-                    most important: do not seek answers, learn to commune with Him. As the relationship grows, communion grows, and words are not even needed;

-                    He speaks to us to confirm His personal relationship with us.

       Because we are His bride

-                    He is the Lover of our souls;  surely He will speak to us;

-                    He assures us of His love.

       Because we are His children

Children need to hear their father’s voice and reassurances.

       Because He created us in His image

-                    this image is restored;

-                    and it carries responsibility.

       Because the veil has been torn through Christ’s death

-                    this gave us access to God’s immediate Presence;

-                    we are standing at His right hand in Christ; He can hardly ignore us!

-                    God did not speak to us. His Son’s death would have almost be in vain, because He would have a very immature and unholy people, but because we are in Christ, God sees the Son, not us.

 

                Revelation

       Communication  -  Questions and answers

-                    situations arise, that demand decisions; we need to know how to make the right decisions;

-                    God wants to commune with us, a two-way system.

       God wants us to know His will

-                    He is our Commander, and He will give us His “marching orders”;

-                    there is the “broad” will of God;

-                    there is the “specific” will of God for each person.

       God wants His purposes fulfilled on earth, as in heaven

-                    God is building an habitation for Himself; Jesus is the Cornerstone;

-                    we,  therefore, need “building instructions” (equipping);

-                    God does not “act”, He has ways; He wants us to understand how He works;

-                    He wants us to see Satan crushed beneath our feet, experientially; this enables us to live a victorious life.

       Because God has something to say:

-              to us:             

                            # warnings (discipline);

                            # comfort

                            # commands (correction);

                            # direction.

This enables us to be more effective in counselling;  if we do not know His will, we will flounder and mess things up.

-                    through us:

              # to the people;

              # to edify the Body;

              # to make us effective witnesses.

 

Summary: He wants to guide us, teach us, encourage us, challenge us, chastise us, reveal Himself to and through us, share the mysteries of the Kingdom with us. This:

-                    protects us, and

-                    sets us free.

 

                Rejoicing

Because He rejoices in our joy of answered prayer …..golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints  -  Rev. 5: 8.

Jhn.15:11  -  an ongoing circle.

 

 

C. The results of God speaking to us

 

1.                What we get

                we get security; we know He cares; our security and trust deepen.

                we grow in faith:

       as we receive from Him it encourages us to expect far more;

       we begin to move into a larger realm of faith.

                we are encouraged to share with others; as we receive God’s voice we become enthusiastic and want to share with others.

                it creates an eagerness to communicate with Him; we want to pour out love at His feet.

                it creates desire for His Word and a realisation of  Its truth.

                we gain a knowledge of His perfections, and also see how perfect His ways are.

 

 

2.                What we give (our response)

                demands obedience:

       if we are of the truth, we will hear  -  …..Every one who is of the truth, hears My voice  -  Jhn.18: 37;

       if we love Him, we will obey Him (Jhn.14:15, 23, 24, en 15:14);

       our attitude should be that of Ps. 40: 8  -  I delight to do Thy will, o my God.

                demands whole-hearted commitment:

       we enjoy His will (Rom.12:1, 2) and experience His blessing;

       we open the way for Him to take us further to say more.

                carries responsibility; not to obey means disaster (Heb. 3:15-19)

                God speaks to us to make us aware, that we are a separated people.

                releases us to respond positively in praise and worship:

       praise brings His Presence;

       His Presence causes the enemy to leave;

       His Presence guarantees victory and blessing;

       praise releases power (Acts 2)