Hearing God's Voice

Hearing God’s Voice

Introduction

Thoughts from- Hearing God’s Voice by Blackaby.

Does God speak today- if so, how does He speak?

What is the significance of God speaking to us?

Rom 8:26-27, 33-34

Intercession- type of prayer- prayer is talking w/God.

Intercede- to bring before God a person/situation and to ask God to move in that person’s life/situation.

Intercession- not praying what I think should happen.

To pray God’s will I must look beyond my pre-conceived thoughts/ideas/opinions/agendas.

We must pray/intercede according to God’s will.

To do this we must be able to hear what God is saying

This type of interaction w/God distinguishes Christianity from other religions and their gods

Ex 33:12-16

God’s presence speaks of a God who interacts and communicates with people.

How does God speak to us today?

God’s Word is the authoritative foundation for everything that we do and believe.

Many times as I seek God’s heart on a particular matter He speaks to me as I read His Word.

Oswald Chambers- chaplain- British forces- WWI- sent to Egypt, too dangerous to take his family, but both he/wife desired to be together. As he was reading the Bible- God spoke to him through Psa 37:4- Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. He felt this was confirmation to bring her over.

The Bible lays down a foundation for understanding the heart/mind/purposes of God in everyday life.

However, as we examine the scriptures we see God speaks in many ways.

However God speaks, it will not contradict the Bible.

When God speaks He takes the revelation found in the Word and applies it to specific situations.

Therefore, we know God both by revelation from Scripture and by personal experience.

Jesus did not rely on OT scripture alone or His own thinking- depended on hearing God the Father.

Jn 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. NASU

Easy for a person to misuse the idea of God speaking personally as an excuse to do what they want to do

Part of the problem comes from our lack of understanding of absolute truth.

We sometimes ignore/modify the words of scripture because it does not align with our experiences.

Result- interpret the Bible to match our experiences.

At the same time, God is more than theology- He is a personal God desiring a relationship w/His people.

Jn 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NASU (1 Jn 1:3)

Mistakes we can make in recognizing God’s voice …

God does not speak beyond the Bible

God’s personal word to me overrides the Bible

Doctrine about God replaces relating to God

When God speaks He does not give new revelation about Himself that contradicts what He has already revealed in the Scripture. Rather, God speaks to give application of His Word to the specific circumstances in your life. (Blackaby)

How did God speak in the Old Testament?

Creation

Psa 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. NASU

Angels

Prophets

Dreams and Visions

Gentle Voice

1 Sam 3:4 that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am." NASU

Burning Bush

Preaching

Judgments

Symbolic Actions

Isaiah walking about naked- sign of judgment.

Hosea marrying a harlot- demonstrate God’s love.

Signs and Miracles

Donkey

How did God speak in the New Testament?

When Jesus came to the earth, God did not change, but- a new dimension of how God speaks to men.

Heb 1:1-2

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. NASU

Jesus was not just another vehicle through which God spoke to men, Jesus was and is the Word of God.

Jn 1:14, 18

However, since Jesus earthly ministry, God has continued to speak to men in various ways …

Nature

Angels

Dream and Visions

Prayer

Prophets

Signs and Wonders

Preachers

Scripture

Holy Spirit

Summarizing How God Speaks

We can see that God expressed Himself and revealed Himself and His will through many vehicles.

Jn 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. NASU

God speaks to people in countless ways.

What is important is not how God spoke, but that He does speak and desire a relationship.