Have you ever watched the Antiques Roadshow on PBS? This is the show were individuals are able to take antiques and have them a evaluated with are worth. One of the show’s most famous discoveries was a Seymour mahogany card table from Boston, bought at a garage sale for $25. She later sold the table for over half a million dollars. Sometimes the appraisers tell people they’ve brought in a priceless heirloom, and sometimes they burst some bubbles, revealing items appearing to be valuable as worthless.
Friends, it’s our job as Christians to appraise viewpoints as to whether they come from God or some other source. How many of us have ever questioned the voices we here in our hearts or in our heads? I’m not the only one who has this am I? When you pray and are asking God for something specific and you hear the voices in your head, questioning if the response is of your own selfishness, the devil or is it God Himself?
Read 1 John 4:1-6
Hearing the voice of God is something that every believer wants to do, at least that’s what we say, right? But the truth is; Hearing the voice God, at least in this lifetime is not always easy.
In our scripture this morning, John tells us to test every spirit. Not only the ones in our own heads and hearts, but the ones that we listen to every Sunday and whatever else we use to help us grow spiritually, scripturally, anything that encourages or urges change in one’s life.
In the Old Testament, there were several tests to determine whether prophets came from God: Did their short-term predictions come to pass? Did they use pagan divination methods? Did their teachings match the Scriptures? What about their ethical conduct? And did reliable sources weigh and confirm their beliefs?
This morning, I would like to suggest seven tests that you can apply that, I believe, will greatly increase the likelihood that God is speaking to you, for if it truly is from God, you want to obey, even things that seem illogical at times.
1 - Does it Agree with the Bible?
God has never and will never contradict His written word. Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will not pass away." God will never tell you to violate anything in this book, never.
Again in Hebrews 13: 8&9a, scripture states - “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teaching…”
God is not going to lay anything on your heart to do something that contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible.
2 - Does it Make Me More Like Christ
Philippians 2:5 "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,"
Jesus is the standard by which we measure everything we do. God says very clearly in the Bible that His goal for your life is to make you like Jesus.
In deciding if a thought, impression, desire, call it whatever you would like is from God or our flesh, we must decide if we are being led by the Holy Spirit or our own fleshly desires.
But what does that look like? See Galatians 5:16 to 24 - 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Being like Christ means being led by the Spirit.
3 - Does My Church Family Confirm It?
When we accept Christ as our savior, we are placed in fellowship and unity with God, but that is not all.
We are also place in a relationship with others that have also come to faith in Christ.
Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The Christian life is not meant to be a life of just you and God; you are a part of the body with gifts and talents to be used in unison with others for the glory of God.When you have a thought or wonder if God has given you a thought, check it against scripture, determine if it will make you more Christ like, and seek out the input from other Christians that love and care about you, and the best way to do that is by being involved in a small group Bible study, like Sunday school.
4 - Is It Consistent With How God Has Shaped Me?
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God is not going to ask you to do anything that He has not gifted and equipped you to do.In deciding if God is speaking to you, consider if your life has been prepared to do what He might be asking you to do.
Look for areas of your life that are of particular importance to you.
If you have a particular desire to see children learn the things of God, God could well be asking you to work with youth. If see older folks connect and grow in their faith, perhaps God is asking you to work with older folks.
If you just simply like making people feel comfortable and welcome, perhaps God has equipped you especially in the area of hospitality.
5 - Does It Concern My Responsibility?
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 that he’s 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’ response is “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Jesus was saying that Peter’s first responsibility was to be found obedient to what God was telling him.
6 - Is It Convicting Rather than Condemning?
Jesus said in John 12, “I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. 47 “And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:46-47)
God will most certainly speak to us concerning areas in our life where an adjustment needs to be made, but always with the idea that He loves us, and has given us the ability to do so.
God does not speak to us about what we are not, but rather about how much we are worth.
In fact God speaks to us, saying that we are worth so much, that He sacrifice His own son for our eternal salvation.
The last test to see if this is really from God or not is,
7 - Do I Sense God’s Peace About It?
I close this morning with Colossians 3;15-17 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
If God is speaking to you, it will be a cause of peace; not unrest, uncertainty or confusion.
We may feel a bit apprehension even fear; because sometimes God can be speaking to us about some very large ideas and decisions that need to be made.
But God is not going to steer you into a place where He won’t go with you.
He is not going to speak to you about making a change where He will not be guiding you. The Will of God won’t lead you; where the grace of God can’t keep you.
So when God is speaking to us, we can relax in the knowledge that He will be preparing the way.
There isn’t a one of us that God is speaking to and/or dealing with in some area or fashion of our life. Sometimes we have heard clearly and obeyed, other times we weren’t sure or truthfully, just didn’t want to be obedient for whatever reason. What I want to encourage us to remember today is when you make a mistake don’t give up - get up, dust yourself off & move on.
The Bible tells us in (Hebrews 11:6) “without faith, impossible to please God”
(2 Cor 5:7) “Christian walk based on faith, not on sight”!
More times than not you and I will not know why God’s asking us to do this or that. Lots of the time He will lead us down unknown paths - sometimes for no other reason than to teach you to trust Him and grow our relationship with Him.
Conclusion:
When you want to be certain that the voice you are hearing is God speaking to you; Then make sure:
1. His voice will be supported by scripture.
2. Then end result will be to make me more like Christ.
3. My church family will be able to sense that this is the right thing for me.
4. God’s voice will be in an area where He has shaped me to be.
5. It will be an area where God has given me some responsibility in.
6. God word will convict me of it, but it will never condemn for being in His will.
7. God’s word will only bring peace.
I offer this in the name of the Father and of the Sin, and the Holy Spirit…AMEN!
