HOW TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE
Learning to Hear God’s Voice - Part 3 of 4
I John 4:1-3 (Living Bible)
o We’re continuing in our series on How to hear God’s voice. Last week we talked about four ways you can hear God speak. One of the ways is God gives us impressions in our mind.
o But if God gives me impressions, how do I know when they’re really from God?
o Because the Bible says Satan can also talk to us.
o If were talking about who to marry or a major career change, this is a major issue. We need to hear from God. So how do I know when it’s really God speaking to me?
o 1 John 4:1 "Don’t always believe everything you hear just because somebody says it’s a message from God. Test it first to see if it really is." Circle "test it." The Bible says we must learn to discern whether God is speaking or some other voice.
o There are seven ways to test an impression. They form a filter and they’re all necessary.
o If the impression passes this evaluation you can know be assured that God is speaking to you.
o Here we go. Here is the test.
1. DOES IT AGREE WITH THE BIBLE?
o God never contradicts His written word. Luke 21:33 "heaven and earth will pass away but My words will never pass away." God will never tell you to ignore or violate anything in this book. Never.
o God doesn’t say one thing one day and another thing the next. He is always consistent.
o For example, the Bible tells us very clearly, "Pay your taxes" so God is not going to give you the impression... "the government wastes your money anyways so just cheat on your Income Tax return
o That is not from God because it’s inconsistent with what He’s already said in the Bible.
o You don’t even have to pray about it, but you have to pay your taxes.
o I do not need to ask God whether I should serve in this church. The answer is yes, the Bible says everyone has a spiritual gift to build up the body of Christ.
o I never pray about tithing, I just do it.
o I don’t pray about telling other people the good news, I just do it.
o Because it’s right here in God’s word.
o So the first step is to check it out. It’s better to memorize it. Then God can bring those verses to mind.
2. DOES IT MAKE ME MORE LIKE CHRIST?
o Philippians 2:5 "In your lives you must think and act like Jesus Christ." Jesus is the standard by which we measure everything we do.
o Our goal is to live Christ centred Spirit filled lives
o To have love, joy, peace, patience, all the qualities that Jesus had -- in our lives. He would never tell you to do anything that contradicts or would hinder you from reaching that goal.
o A practical application of what Christ likeness is in James 3 "If you harbor envy and selfish ambition, such wisdom doesn’t come from heaven. In other words, you know that impression doesn’t come from God if it causes bitterness, envy, selfish ambition, or division in the local church.
o The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere."
o These are filters that you can test the idea. God’s wisdom is not selfish ambition. If you get an idea of how to promote yourself in a better way or how to achieve instant wealth, instant comfort it’s not from God.
o He gives you ideas to be more Christ like
o One person shared something this week
o She shared a picture the Holy Spirit gave her – the clouds were the darkness, the spiritual strongholds in the area
o I said what are those strongholds
o She said they are the strongholds of greed and materialism
o People feel like they do not need God in this area
o She is praying for revival in the area
o Now how do we test this? What she shared with me, is it from God or not?
o My first question is ‘Is it consistent with scripture?
o Jesus said "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
o This area is full of Christians who no longer attend a church
o They feel they do not need God – they work, buy stuff and party
o So her impression was consistent with scripture
o His wisdom is peace loving. Ideas from God promote harmony rather than conflict.
o If all the unchurched Christians came back to the church and put Christ first and prayed it would bring healing and harmony to the area
o If it is an idea genuinely from God, the Bible says it’s considerate. It’s considerate of how other people think.
o A lot of people say, "God told me to do this" and they just bowl over everybody and don’t care how it hurts anybody. Because "God told them to do it." God didn’t tell them to do something like that. The Bible says God’s wisdom is considerate. So you don’t be dogmatic, stern and harsh
o It’s submissive. If you’ve really heard from God you’re not going to be arrogant and bragging about it.
o In my example she was not bragging that God showed her this. She was not egotistical and putting everybody else down. "God told me this and therefore I am really spiritual and your not!"
o God’s wisdom is full of mercy. When she shared this with she was not judgmental and critical.
o Ask this question: Would Jesus do this? First, does it square up with the Bible? Second, does it make me more like Christ?
o Would Jesus do it? That’s the second way to test an impression.
3. When I’m trying to figure out whether I’ve got this idea from God or not, I need to ask "DOES MY CHURCH FAMILY CONFIRM IT?"
o When you become a believer, a follower of Christ, you not only get a new relationship to God, you get a new relationship to other people. It’s called the church, the family of God. You become a member of the family.
o God never meant for you to make a major decision in life on your own. He wants you to get help and advice from wise mature Christians, other believers who are grounded in the faith.
o The Bible says, "Smart people get advice. Fools don’t." Fools just think they know the right thing to do and act on their own intuition without ever checking it out with anybody else who is a mature Christian.
o The third question you need to ask is does my church family confirm it? Ephesians 3:10 "God’s intent is that through the church the manifold wisdom of God who should be made known."
o If God has genuinely spoken to you, you’ve got an idea, an impression; He’s going to confirm it through other believers.
o The biggest reason people mess up their lives, Christians, too, -- is they try to live their life without any accountability to anybody else, without any support, without any confirmation, any guidance. The Bible says, "In a multitude of counselors there is safety."
o So they make a major decision – I am quitting my job and going to school or the mission field without any counsel
o When we try to live a Lone Ranger approach to the Christian life we’re going to fall flat on our face.
o Are you willing to be open to the counsel, the correction of mature believers, pastors, Christian leaders, and other people in the church who have been believers longer than you?
o If you are not then you’re going to make a lot of unnecessary mistakes in life. Your stress level will be much higher than it needs to be. You will fumble and fall, waste time, energy, and money on decisions you should never have made in the first place.
o Check it out with other believers. If you don’t, you’re going to get in trouble.
o Just before I left my career as an accountant to go into full time ministry I heard a message which clearly spoke to me about this change
o Then I checked it out with my wife and godly friends that I had
o A godly friend of mine Randy Martin confirmed it
o Take another practical example
o This week someone said to me ‘I do not need to belong and attend the local church to grow in my faith
o Is that true?
o No, you cannot read the Apostle Paul or Peter’s letters and conclude you do not need to belong to the local church
o The Apostle Paul uses the term ekklesia for the church 114 times– it means the gathered ones
o Furthermore he defines the church as belonging to God, so it is divinely created by God
o The point is that the impression that he had about not belonging to the church is inconsistent with scripture and church history
o This man did not like it when I told him he was wrong
o His entire family is suffering because of his bad thinking
o If you’ve heard from God, really heard from God, other Christians are going to confirm it, and I wasn’t confirming what he said
o Proverbs 11:9 "The wisdom of the righteous can save you." Save what? Money, time, reputation. It is safe to ask mature believers to evaluate impressions. You need to get people who love you enough to level with you.
o If other mature Christian’s question this then a yellow warning light ought to go on that says, maybe I’m not getting this right.
o Bible says God speaks through His word; He speaks if it makes us like Jesus, and He speaks through the body as a whole. We need each other. That’s why you need to be in a HOME group. You can pray with your HOME group.
4. IS IT CONSISTENT WITH HOW GOD HAS SHAPED ME?
o Ephesians 2:10 "We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance [circle this] for us to do." Before you were born God planned your life.
o God made you for a purpose. You’re not here by accident. You’re here for a reason. That reason is a purpose and God designed you specifically for that purpose.
o Example: That clock at the back is designed for a certain thing, to tell time. This microphone has a very different design and purpose. I speak through the microphone. I tell time by the clock, not the microphone
o If I was to say I am going to go back to seminary and take the Worship track – if I ask some of you who know me you should say ‘Randy do not do that’
o That is not your spiritual gift
o Were designed in a certain way. We call that our SHAPE.
o This spring we spent a lot of time on spiritual gifts, our SHAPE
o God has shaped you for a career, a ministry, for life involving your spiritual gifts, your heart , your passions, desires
o Where do you think you got that emotional makeup? God gave it to you. He gave us all different make ups. Different hearts. Why? He wants this church to be a light in this dark world
o Some people love to do bulletins and flyers, some hate it
o Some teach children, others it is not for you
o Some disciple one to one, others are better at preaching and teaching to a crowd
o Others are great with youth but terrible door greeters
o He’s given you Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities.
o God has also given you a Personality. You may be extroverted or introverted. You may like to work all by yourself or you might like to work in a team.
o Who do you think gave you your personality? God did. He was designing you for a purpose.
o Then He gives you Experiences -- vocational experiences and spiritual experiences and educational experiences and painful experiences. All of these things shape your life.
o Just as the design of a clock reveals its purpose, the design or shape of your life reveals your purpose -- what God wants you to do.
o For instance, why would God gift you as a great musician and then tell you to be a mechanic. He wouldn’t. That would be a waste of the shape He’s given you.
o If you’re tone deaf like me forget trying to become a concert pianist
o When you get an impression from God you ask "Is it consistent with how God’s shaped me?" If I had an impression saying "God wants me to resign from Calvary and become a chemistry teacher."
o I would know without a doubt that is not from God because I flunked chemistry
o God says you can discover a lot about His will for your life by just looking at what you’re good at. Romans 12:6 "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well."
o God’s voice and will for your life never contradicts how he has basically designed you. If you ever sense a leading in your life that is contrary to your basic shape, your personality, your experiences, ignore it. It’s not from God.
5. The fifth test is this: DOES IT CONCERN MY RESPONSIBILITY?
o If it’s not your responsibility why in the world should God talk to you about it? In John 21, Jesus is talking to Peter and He tells him how he’s going to die. He explains to Peter that he is going to have to suffer for being a Christian. Peter, very inquisitively, turns around and points to John the Apostle and says, "What about that guy? How’s he going to die?" Jesus says “It’s none of your concern! Don’t worry about it"
o I don’t have to worry about God’s will for every person in this area.
o Listen to God speaking to you; don’t worry about your neighbor
o Romans 14 "We will all be judged one day not by each other’s standards or even by our own, but by the judgment of God. It is to God alone that we shall have to answer for our actions."
o When you listen for God’s voice, listen for yourself, not for somebody else.
o Also don’t become a prophet for everyone else
o What does a prophet for everyone else sound like?
o Here is what I have heard ‘God told me to tell you that you’re going to get well.’
o Here is another one ‘God told me that you’re going to be a teacher.’
o Why would God have to tell what they are going to be?
o Every Christian has direct access to God. God can speak directly to each of us through Jesus Christ, His son.
o Be very careful about saying "God told me to tell you to do this..."
o Does God ever speak to me about other people? Yes, He does occasionally. But three qualifications:
1. God uses me to confirm what He’s already said to them. It’s very unlikely He’s going to tell me first. God will use me to confirm what He’s already said to you. I’ve had God speak to me many times about a person or couple. Then they would say my marriage is falling apart. It would be a confirmation of what I already suspect.
2. If God uses me to speak into someone else’s life he will often do so without them knowing it.
That way your ego doesn’t get in the way and you start taking pride and thinking you’re some super saint. Many times He will talk through you and to someone else and your not even aware that what you said is meeting a need much deeper than you could possibly have imagined in their lives.
3. Trust God to speak to that person first before you talk to them.
"God told me that he wants me to serve in the youth ministry. That recently happened here. I did not even mention that to her. God revealed it to her through some teaching and her shape. I just confirmed it.”
6. IS IT CONVICTING RATHER THAN CONDEMNING?
o Conviction is from God, condemnation is from the devil. Conviction points the way to change; condemnation just makes you feel bad. When God convicts you of sin in your life it is always specific. He says here’s an attitude, behavior, or something in my life that needs to change.
o On the other hand, condemnation which comes from the devil is very vague and basically says, "You’re not a good pastor. You just don’t preach like those radio guys. You don’t have the leadership qualities of a Bill Hybels. God could never use you. Forget ever trying to have a healthy church."
o Where does that condemning voice come from?
o When God speaks to you about something it is not condemning
o It is something specific like ‘pray for someone with this instrument to join our worship team.’
o God is very specific.
o When God is speaking to you, He’ll say, "Here’s what’s wrong in your life and here’s what you need to do." He’ll give you specific things. The result is it always leads to confession, repentance and then forgiveness and the feelings leave.
o On the other hand, condemnation is the devil saying to you, "You’re worthless. You call yourself a Christian? Who do you think you are? You should give up trying to live for God because you can’t do anything. You just keep falling and falling."
o Satan is a liar and a thief. He’s always putting you down. Conviction comes from God, the Holy Spirit. Condemnation comes from the devil
o If you are a Christian, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and asked Him to forgive all your sins and asked Him to be your savior and Lord, it means this:
o Past sins – forgiven
o Today’s sins – forgiven
o Tomorrows sins – forgiven
o All sins - nailed to the cross. That’s why Jesus said, "It’s finished! It’s paid for! It’s done!"
o Many people think that to be spiritual you should walk around all the time feeling "I’m so guilty! I’ve really let God down!" No, you don’t let God down because you’re not holding Him up. He holds you up. You can never even disappoint God because God already knows every sin you’re going to commit.
o So when you have a sin immediately breathe in God’s Spirit (Say, "God fill me with your Spirit") and breathe out your sin. It’s just that quick. You get instantly back into the fellowship. Let go of the guilt. Say, "God, I blew it. I was wrong! Help me change!" then get on with it. Keep short accounts with God. God is forgiving.
o Conviction from God leads to confession, repentance, and forgiveness -- 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins to him, God can be depended on to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong." He wipes the slate clean. God does not hold grudges.
o Ongoing guilt after a confession is not from God. It’s from Satan.
o Here is how Satan lies to us. He minimizes the sin before we do it, "It’s no big deal!" and after you do it he goes "Look at what you did!" He wants you to walk around in constant guilt because guilty Christians are ones who are immobilized, not serving God.
o If He can get you focused on your guilt he has won a victory. Your no longer serving the King
o Revelation 12:10 says Satan is the accuser of the brethren, believers. That means God never tells you that you’re worthless, hopeless, useless. If it is convicting that is the Holy Spirit, if it is condemning that is Satan.
7. DO I SENSE GOD’S PEACE ABOUT IT?
o You say OK Pastor, how do I get God’s peace about an idea
o How do I get God’s peace?
o Your pray through it (Phil 4:6-7)
o When you pray if you still feel anxious about it then it is not from God
o The Bible says the Holy Spirit will bring you peace it the impression or idea is from God
o I believe if you listen to what God has to say, you will inevitably come to the right conclusion that you need to give your life to Christ and live your life the way God made you to live, fulfilling your purpose.
o There are times you may feel legitimately stressed. That is when God clearly tells how to live in the Bible and you keep ignoring it
o Beth Moore in her excellent book ‘Breaking Free’ writes ‘the key to peace is submitting to God’s authority through obedience.
o An obedient Christian is one who hears God’s voice and is obedient
o But don’t expect to hear God’s voice if your living in direct disobedience to the scriptures
o That creates worry and anxiety
o Worry and anxiety are never from God. Never. In the Bible were commanded not to worry. If you get an idea that causes worry, it’s not from God!
o I want to live for Jesus because He loves me so much.
o I want to live for Jesus because the peace that comes when I’m in a relationship with God and there’s harmony between us.
o There is nothing more vital in my life than when I hear from God. Nothing. Because were wired and made to have a relationship with God and if we miss that you miss the purpose you were made for.
o It is not a big deal if I buy oranges or apples
o But there are many major decisions in my life that I need to hear from God about
o God wants to speak into every area of our life
o God does not want to play a cat and mouse game with us.
o God is not saying "Let’s see if you can figure out God’s will and lets see how hard I can make it!"
o That’s not the way God acts to His children. He wants you to know His will, so much that He’s given us these seven keys in which He says "Here are some ways that you can filter out and know if it’s you or is it God talking to you?"
o The secret to hearing God clearly is getting to know Him better and better every day.
o The closer the relationship you have with God the better you will hear his voice
o You may think you’ve never heard God speak to you. That’s a good indication that you don’t have a relationship to Him. John 8:47 "He who belongs to God hears what God says." The reason you don’t hear is that you don’t belong to God. If you’ve never heard God it means you need to establish a relationship to Him. And that’s real easy to do and I can lead you in a prayer this morning that will help you take that step.
o Others of you are believers and in the past God’s voice were very clear to you at different times but right now it’s been a little fuzzy, a little distant. What’s happened? How come you don’t hear God as clearly as you used to? You’ve allowed sin to block the channel that the Holy Spirit uses to speak into your life. Until you confess that sin and repent the channel will be blocked.
o God is calling out to you. He says ‘O my people, hear my teaching, listen to the words of my mouth – Psalm 78:1.’
Conclusion
o Has your heart has grown hard? Are you not as sensitive to God as you used to be? Come home to Jesus Christ. Come home and say Jesus, "I want that relationship that I had before. I want to be able to talk to You and hear You and I want You to lead me and guide me and help me avoid all these mistakes in life. Direct me in the right way." Come home to Jesus.
Prayer:
o If you’ve never opened your life to Christ, pray, "Dear Jesus Christ, I want to hear Your voice. I need to know the direction You want me to go, God. I want to establish a relationship with You through Your Son, Christ. I ask You to come into my life. I ask for forgiveness of my sins. I don’t understand it all but as best as I know how I open my life to You."
o Others of you have heard God’s voice in a long time. Your heart has grown cold. Your ears are plugged.
o Jesus said to the church at Ephesus ‘because you’re neither hot nor cold I am going to spit you out of my mouth.’ The problem is not on God’s side but yours.
o Would you say, "Jesus Christ forgive me for allowing sin to come between me and You. Things I knew were wrong but I’ve allowed them anyway in my life. I ask You to forgive me and help me stay clear of these sins so I can change and hear your voice again.
o I want to hear Your voice in my life on a daily basis. Speak to me. Help me to sense Your love. I want to love You and follow You. In Jesus name. Amen."
