Opener:
Good morning everyone! We are just thrilled that you are here this morning. This morning we are continuing our sermon series on Back to the Basics. During this series we will be tackling some of the fundamental doctrines/teachings concerning Christianity. These doctrines will help us to gain a greater understanding of God and who we are in Him.
I would like to share a story with you this morning: A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you." The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."
So the rowboat went on.
Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."
To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
So the motorboat went on.
Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."
To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"
To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
This story illustrates to us that sometimes God’s answer to our prayers are right in front of us yet we can miss it. As you may recall, last week, we talked about the Word of God. We talked about how the bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion copies sold. We learned how powerful the Word of God is and that we are called to use the Word of God in our everyday lives.
This morning we are tackling two very important subjects. We are talking about knowing when God is speaking to us and how to discern His will for our lives.
I. Hearing God’s voice
A. Phone call
a. In getting back to the basics, one of the fundamental teachings that we need to understand is that we have the ability to hear from God.
b. To me, this is just amazing that the Creator of the universe wants to talk to me. He wants to share His heart and His thoughts to me!
c. That is just amazing! Simply Amazing. One of my favorite bible verses is found in Jeremiah 33:3 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
d. Wouldn’t it be really awesome if you could call heaven and talk to Jesus directly?
e. You would not have to worry about His secretary giving you the run around. Maybe like mine does when you call the church office!! LOL
f. You can just call Him and ask whatever questions that you have.
g. What if you could just text Jesus and then He would respond back right away.
h. All of us have moments that we want to hear God’s voice, we want to receive definitive directions regarding a relationship, a business decision, or a major purchase.
i. We recognize that our decisions matter, the choices that we make today, will affect our future.
B. Voice
a. Since we are not able to call Jesus on the phone. How can we hear His voice?
b. There are some practical ways that we can hear from God and here are some of those ways:
i. Bible Reading – God speaks to us through His Word and meditating on His Word. So thinking about His Word throughout the day! Let me say this and God woke me up in the middle of the night the other day and He shared this with me: God’s voice will always align with God’s Word. Every time without fail.
ii. Journaling – This is the practice of writing down personal thoughts, reflections, and meditating on the responses from God’s Word
iii. Fasting- This is the practice of temporarily abstaining from food or other things in order to focus on the Lord
iv. Taking Rest- A period of resting from the busyness of life and spending time reflecting on God.
v. Worship- This is really a powerful way to get us into the presence of God. We do this Sunday mornings that I love it. Sundays should not be the only time we spend worshipping our Creator!
C. Still small voice
a. One of the keys to hearing from the Lord is taking time to spend with Him.
b. I feel that one of the biggest reasons why people do not hear the voice of the Lord is because they do not take the time to hear from Him.
c. We live in a society today that just seems to get busier and busier.
d. The bible says in Psalm 46:10 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
e. It is in stillness, not busyness, that we tune our spiritual ears to God’s voice.
f. Elijah had a major problem in his life; people were trying to take his life from him. So Elijah fled to a quite place, a mountain, so that he could hear clear directions from the Lord.
i. You know sometimes you just need to get away, you just need to clear your head. Maybe it is taking a walk on a trail or sitting and watching the water crash into the shore.
g. While there at the mountain, Elijah was seeking the Lord, while there Elijah observed a windstorm that kicked up and he was looking for God in that storm but God was not in the storm, then there was a tremendous earthquake and Elijah thought “This must be God” but God was not in the earthquake, and then a fire but God was not in the fire. After the fire there was a still small voice and Elijah received the instruction that he was looking for!
D. Spirit to spirit
a. The book of John chapter four verse 24 gives us some insight in how God communicates with us. The bible say: John 4:2424 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
b. This particular verse really gives us a greater understanding of where God speaks to us. He speaks to our spirit.
c. There are three parts to us, we have a body with a soul, and a spirit. The Lord speaks to our spirits, not necessarily in words but in thoughts and impressions.
d. It is then that our spirit that communicates to us in words. So we need to be able to decipher what is being conveyed.
e. This takes time and practice. Jesus was teaching His disciples about hearing God’s voice and using a example of a sheep and shepherd in the book of John 10:4-5 (NKJV) 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
II. Knowing God’s Will
A. Fun
a. There was an elderly lady that would come out on her porch and she would raise her arms to the sky and yell “Praise the Lord” After a while an atheist moved in next door and this atheist would get irritated by this lady yelling “Praise the Lord” and so he would yell out “ There is no God” One day this elderly lady ran out of food and was praying on the porch. Her atheist neighbor heard her praying and decided to go and buy some groceries and put them on the elderly lady’s porch. When the elderly women saw the groceries, she exclaimed “ Praise the Lord, Thank you for these groceries” and right at that moment the atheist popped out and shouted “I bought you those groceries, see there is no God” and without hesitation the elderly women prayed “ Thank you Lord for these groceries and making the devil pay for them.”
B. Road map
a. Hearing God’s voice is mans greatest discovery while doing God’s will is man’s greatest achievement! (repeat)
b. Knowing God’s will for our life can often be one of the greatest struggles that we may face.
c. It is a struggle because at the core of us, we want to be obedient to the Lord, we want to follow His plan for our lives.
d. God has given us many promises in the Bible. With these promises, many of them also have conditions. These conditions point us in the right direction.
e. You can look at the bible like a Global Positioning System or known as GPS.
i. I can’t even tell you how many times that I have relied on GPS to get me to where I was going. Here are some interesting facts about the GPS system.
ii. GPS is made up of 31 satellites that circle the globe twice every day. These satellites travel at a speed of 7,000 miles per hour. These satellites weigh and estimated 2,000lbs.
iii. All this technology helps us to get where we are going!
C. Knowing God’s will
a. When we know God’s will concerning our life, it points us in the right direction.
b. Like that GPS, it will help us to navigate through road construction zones, it will help be patient when we may be ready to give up.
c. There is a tremendous advantage and peace knowing what God has called you to do and working to complete that work.
D. Keys to knowing God’s will
a. So you may be sitting there thinking “ Well how can I know God’s will? I have talked with countless people that have wondered this question. Here are some keys to help you figure this questions out.
1. Walk with God – This is the first and most critical step in our process. Because if you do not walk with God all the other steps won’t matter. Christianity is not about participating in religious activity, rather, it is about a relationship with God. Like any relationship, the more time you take to cultivate that relationship, the closer you will be. I love what Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
2. Surrender to God’s will – So now that you have a relationship with God, the next step is to surrender to your will to His will. We do this through self sacrifice and not be conformed to the world that we live in. We do this by being totally committed to God’s will regardless of what it may cost us.
3. Obedience is better that sacrifice – There are many people that seem to want to know the plan of God for their lives, yet, they fail to recognize that majority of what they are looking for is right in front of them. The bible gives us clear direction concerning God’s will. If we do not obey the things that God has clearly shown us in the Word, why would we think that He would reveal to us any further information. When we reverently and obediently walk with the Lord, He will begin to show us the next steps.
4. Seek Godly input- A key component to finding God’s will is to seek input from Godly people in your life. It is imperative that we surround ourselves with people that will influence us in a positive way, in a godly way. I love what Proverbs 11:14 says: Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
5. Listening to the Holy Spirit- We talked earlier about listening to that still small voice. The Holy Spirit will give us clear direction in our lives if we would just take the time to hear from Him.
6. Knowing God’s will goes hand in hand with hearing God’s voice. When He speaks, we need to listen and obey.
E. Peace
a. As we close about knowing God’s will, I want to close with this. That when we allow God to lead us, He does so with a tremendous peace.
b. The peace of God is a key indicator that God is leading you in a certain direction. In fact, Colossians 3:15 says: 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts
c. If you are experiencing God’s peace leading in you a new direction, you need to follow. On the other hand, if there is no peace, if there is uneasiness about your decision. That is like a check letting you know that it is not God’s will.
d. The prophet Isaiah made a wonderful declaration in Isaiah 55:12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace;
e. We can have God’s best for our lives, when we are led by His peace.
Closing:
As we close here this morning, it is imperative that we hear the voice of the Lord in our lives. We need to take the time to listen to His still small voice speaking to us. Not only does God speak to us through His Spirit. He also speaks to us through our circumstance. God will often demonstrate His plan for our lives by aligning a set of circumstances in our lives. In my walk with the Lord, I have been amazed at all the doors that He has opened in my life. I also have seen God close some doors as well. While it may not be evident to us at the time, why God opened a door or closed a door, we just need to just trust Him and walk through every door that He opens, and keep the doors that He closed, shut. I would encourage you this morning to use these principles that we learned here this morning to focus in on God’s plan for your life. I want to close with a bible verse found in Jeremiah 29:12-13(NKJV)12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
