Hearing The Voice Of God

HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD

John 10:27

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. “Stay at Home” orders aren’t really all that new. I heard about one man, long before Coronavirus came along, who was tired of living with his wife.

2. There seemed to be no way he could get away from her verbal harangues; she was always ‘setting him straight.’ At last he got so desperate that he decided that he would be happier in jail. He thought, “I’ll rob a bank and they’ll put me in jail.”

3. So he robbed a bank, was captured by the police, and the Judge gave him 6 months of “House Arrest!” He learned a good lesson; it’s better to learn to get along with your spouse!

B. TEXT “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me” John 10:27.

C. THESIS

1. We live in a time when we need to hear the voice of God and be led by the Spirit! There are a lot of voices that we listen to, but there’s one voice that’s most vital for us to hear – God's voice! Especially in this time of contagion.

2. The wisdom of man often fails. God knows the location of the germs and can warn us or change our itinerary so we don’t come in harm’s way. We don’t need to let fear rule us. “The safest place in all the world is in the will of God.” - Warren Wiersbe

3. So this morning I’m going to talk about God’s voice, how to recognize it, and four prerequisites to hearing it. The title of today’s message is “Hearing the Voice of God.”

I. THE VOICE OF GOD IN HISTORY

History is filled with instances of God speaking to individuals. In fact, the Bible is a record of God revealing himself to people down through history.

A. EXAMPLES OF GOD SPEAKING

1. Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord walking in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). They walked along with the voice, i.e., they kept His pace and direction.

2. One day a farmer, Noah, began to hear God speaking to him about a flood-judgment because of sin but God told them how He would spare Noah’s family if he obeyed God's voice and built an ark.

3. Abraham heard God’s voice telling him to separate from his idolatrous family and travel to a distant land which God promised to Abraham and his descendants as their inheritance.

4. Moses was in the backside of the desert after fleeing from Egypt. He saw a burning bush and as he approached, he heard a voice speaking out of the midst of the bush calling, "Moses!” God said some pretty insightful things to Moses:

“I have seen.”

“I have heard”

“I am concerned”

“I am come down.”

“I will send you.”

These give us great consolation as to God’s awareness of us.

5. Years later, a boy was sleeping in the Tabernacle. He began to hear the voice of the Lord calling to him, "Samuel, Samuel!" He obeyed the Lord and ushered in the time of the kings of Israel.

6. Later a prophet by the name of Elijah traveled to Mount Horeb, because he was desperate to hear from the Lord. Many distractions occurred, including fires and earthquakes, but he didn't let the effects of God's power distract him from hearing the actual voice of the Lord. Finally he heard the still small voice of the Lord asking, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:9. Elijah’s fear of Queen Jezebel had gotten him off track from God’s mission, but God put him back on it.

7. The prophet Habakkuk had a good thought, “I will look to see what He will say to me” 2:1. We should too!

B. THE CLEAREST VOICE OF GOD

1. The book of Hebrews tells us of God's ultimate speaking to us: through his Son Jesus Christ; “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” Heb. 1:1-2.

2. When Jesus spoke, being God incarnate, His words were God's clearest and most authoritative voice speaking to us.

3. After he returned to heaven God sent the Holy Spirit to continue to speak to us. He spoke to the apostles all through the Book of Acts. But God isn't done yet, nor has His nature changed: He is still speaking today!

II. HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE VOICE OF GOD

A. IT MATCHES SCRIPTURE

When God speaks to you He reminds you of His promises (2 Cor. 1:20). God's voice always matches Scripture. God never says anything contrary to it.