Reality #4 Part 3 How do I know when God Speaks?
Romans 3:10-11
"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.'"
Sin has so affected us that you and I cannot understand the truth of God unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals it. He is our Teacher. When He teaches you the Word of God, sit before Him and respond to Him. As you pray, watch to see how He uses the Word of God to confirm in your heart a word from God. Watch what He is doing around you in circumstances. The God who is speaking to you as you pray and the God who is speaking to you in the Scriptures is the God who is working around you.
God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
You will know when God is speaking to you!
John 10:2-4,14
"But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice...I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me."
The key to knowing God's voice is not a formula! It is not a method you can follow! Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. That is why those who do not have the relationship ("do not belong to God") do not hear what God is saying (John 8:47). You are going to have to watch to see how God uniquely communicates with you. You will not have any other crutch. You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship to Him is of utmost importance.
The Love Relationship is the Key:
An intimate love relationship with God is the key to knowing God's voice, to hearing when God speaks. You come to know His voice as you experience Him in a love relationship. As God speaks and you respond, you will come to the point that you recognize His voice more and more clearly. DO NOT BYPASS THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP!!! Some look for a miraculous sign or try to depend on a "formula" or a set of steps to discover God's will. NO SUBSTITUTE, HOWEVER, EXISTS FOR THE INTIMATE LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!
1. Not a miraculous sign: Sometimes in Scripture God grace a miraculous sign to assure the person that the word was from Him. Gideon is one example (Judges 6). However, asking God for a sign is often an indication of unbelief. In Gideon's case God had already sent fire from stones to consume a sacrifice and even the stones it was on. Yet, in his unbelief, Gideon asked for another sign. "Putting out a fleece" like Gideon is often a sign of your unbelief or an unwillingness on your part to trust God for an answer.
When the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a miraculous sign, Jesus condemned them as "an evil and adulterous generation" (Matthew 12:38-39). They were so self-centered and sinful that they could not even recognize that God was there in their midst (Luke 19:41-44). Don't be like that wicked and adulterous generation by seeking for miraculous signs to validate a word from God.
2. Not a formula: A "correct formula" is not the way to hear God's voice either. Moses heard God speak through the burning bush. If Moses had been around today, he would have been tempted to write a book about How to Know God's Voice in Burning Bushes. Then people all over our land would be out trying to find their burning bush. But wait! How many other burning bushes like Moses experienced were there? NONE! God does not want you to become an expert at using a formula, He wants an intimate love relationship with you. He wants you to depend on Him alone.
3. Not a name-it-and-claim-it method: Some people have a tendency to open their Bible, pick out a verse that they want to use, and claim that they have a word from God for their circumstance. This is a very human-centered (or self-centered) approach. You may ask, "Can't I get a word from God from the Bible?" Yes, you can! But, only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal to you which truth of Scripture is a word from God in a particular circumstance. Even if the circumstance is similar to yours, only God can reveal His word for your circumstance. Also, be very careful about claiming you have a word from God. Claiming to have a word from God is serious business. If you have been given a word from God, you must continue in that direction until it comes to pass (even twenty-five years, like Abram). If you have not been given a word from God yet you say you have, you stand in judgment as a false prophet: "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' -- when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
In the Old Testament law the penalty for a false prophet was death (Deuteronomy 18:20). That certainly is a very serious charge. Do not take a word from God lightly!
4. Not open and closed doors: Some people try to hear God's voice and know His will only through circumstances. Many people will say, "Lord, I really want to know Your will. Stop me if I am wrong and bless me if I am right." Another version of this is, "Lord, I will proceed in this direction. Close the door if it is not Your will." The only problem is I don't see this as a pattern anywhere in the Scripture. God does use circumstances to speak to us. But we will often be led astray if that is our only means of determining God's directions.
We do see the case in Acts 16 where Paul sought to go into Asia and Bithynia and the Holy Spirit would not permit him to go. This, however, is not just a simple case of looking for open and closed doors. Paul depended on prayer and the shared counsel of those traveling with him. As they sought the Lord's directions, the Holy Spirit kept telling them not to go but to wait. Then when the vision of the Macedonian man came, the Holy Spirit gave affirmation that that was God's directions for their missionary work.
The Word of God is our guide. The pattern I see in Scripture is that God always gives a direction on the front end. He may not tell you all you want to know at the beginning, but He will tell you what you need to know to make necessary adjustments and to take the first step of obedience. Your task (should you accept it, and I think you will!) is to wait until the Master gives you instructions. If you start "doing" before you have a direction from God, more than likely you will be wrong. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by experience alone. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by tradition, a method, or a formula. Often people trust in these ways because they are easy. People do as they please and put the whole burden of responsibility on God. If they are wrong, He must intervene and stop them. If they make a mistake, they blame Him. If you want to know the will and voice of God, you must give the time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with Him. That is what He wants!!!
God loves you!!! He wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He wants you to depend only on Him when you are seeking a word from Him. He wants you to learn to hear His voice and know His will. Your relationship to Him is the key to hearing when God speaks to you. If you do not already have that kind of relationship with God, consider seeking Him out.
If you would like, to start a Love relationship with God you can start by praying this prayer:
God, I pray that I will come to such a relationship with You that when You speak, I will hear and respond. I acknowledge that I am a sinful person and that I have fallen short of Your Glory, Your standard. I thank You for what Jesus Christ did on the cross and through His resurrection and I accept Your Love and Forgiveness that you have freely offered me through Your Grace. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
In Christ,
David
"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.'"
Sin has so affected us that you and I cannot understand the truth of God unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals it. He is our Teacher. When He teaches you the Word of God, sit before Him and respond to Him. As you pray, watch to see how He uses the Word of God to confirm in your heart a word from God. Watch what He is doing around you in circumstances. The God who is speaking to you as you pray and the God who is speaking to you in the Scriptures is the God who is working around you.
God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
You will know when God is speaking to you!
John 10:2-4,14
"But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice...I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me."
The key to knowing God's voice is not a formula! It is not a method you can follow! Knowing God's voice comes from an intimate love relationship with God. That is why those who do not have the relationship ("do not belong to God") do not hear what God is saying (John 8:47). You are going to have to watch to see how God uniquely communicates with you. You will not have any other crutch. You will have to depend on God alone. Your relationship to Him is of utmost importance.
The Love Relationship is the Key:
An intimate love relationship with God is the key to knowing God's voice, to hearing when God speaks. You come to know His voice as you experience Him in a love relationship. As God speaks and you respond, you will come to the point that you recognize His voice more and more clearly. DO NOT BYPASS THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP!!! Some look for a miraculous sign or try to depend on a "formula" or a set of steps to discover God's will. NO SUBSTITUTE, HOWEVER, EXISTS FOR THE INTIMATE LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!
1. Not a miraculous sign: Sometimes in Scripture God grace a miraculous sign to assure the person that the word was from Him. Gideon is one example (Judges 6). However, asking God for a sign is often an indication of unbelief. In Gideon's case God had already sent fire from stones to consume a sacrifice and even the stones it was on. Yet, in his unbelief, Gideon asked for another sign. "Putting out a fleece" like Gideon is often a sign of your unbelief or an unwillingness on your part to trust God for an answer.
When the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a miraculous sign, Jesus condemned them as "an evil and adulterous generation" (Matthew 12:38-39). They were so self-centered and sinful that they could not even recognize that God was there in their midst (Luke 19:41-44). Don't be like that wicked and adulterous generation by seeking for miraculous signs to validate a word from God.
2. Not a formula: A "correct formula" is not the way to hear God's voice either. Moses heard God speak through the burning bush. If Moses had been around today, he would have been tempted to write a book about How to Know God's Voice in Burning Bushes. Then people all over our land would be out trying to find their burning bush. But wait! How many other burning bushes like Moses experienced were there? NONE! God does not want you to become an expert at using a formula, He wants an intimate love relationship with you. He wants you to depend on Him alone.
3. Not a name-it-and-claim-it method: Some people have a tendency to open their Bible, pick out a verse that they want to use, and claim that they have a word from God for their circumstance. This is a very human-centered (or self-centered) approach. You may ask, "Can't I get a word from God from the Bible?" Yes, you can! But, only the Holy Spirit of God can reveal to you which truth of Scripture is a word from God in a particular circumstance. Even if the circumstance is similar to yours, only God can reveal His word for your circumstance. Also, be very careful about claiming you have a word from God. Claiming to have a word from God is serious business. If you have been given a word from God, you must continue in that direction until it comes to pass (even twenty-five years, like Abram). If you have not been given a word from God yet you say you have, you stand in judgment as a false prophet: "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' -- when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
In the Old Testament law the penalty for a false prophet was death (Deuteronomy 18:20). That certainly is a very serious charge. Do not take a word from God lightly!
4. Not open and closed doors: Some people try to hear God's voice and know His will only through circumstances. Many people will say, "Lord, I really want to know Your will. Stop me if I am wrong and bless me if I am right." Another version of this is, "Lord, I will proceed in this direction. Close the door if it is not Your will." The only problem is I don't see this as a pattern anywhere in the Scripture. God does use circumstances to speak to us. But we will often be led astray if that is our only means of determining God's directions.
We do see the case in Acts 16 where Paul sought to go into Asia and Bithynia and the Holy Spirit would not permit him to go. This, however, is not just a simple case of looking for open and closed doors. Paul depended on prayer and the shared counsel of those traveling with him. As they sought the Lord's directions, the Holy Spirit kept telling them not to go but to wait. Then when the vision of the Macedonian man came, the Holy Spirit gave affirmation that that was God's directions for their missionary work.
The Word of God is our guide. The pattern I see in Scripture is that God always gives a direction on the front end. He may not tell you all you want to know at the beginning, but He will tell you what you need to know to make necessary adjustments and to take the first step of obedience. Your task (should you accept it, and I think you will!) is to wait until the Master gives you instructions. If you start "doing" before you have a direction from God, more than likely you will be wrong. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by experience alone. You cannot allow yourself to be guided by tradition, a method, or a formula. Often people trust in these ways because they are easy. People do as they please and put the whole burden of responsibility on God. If they are wrong, He must intervene and stop them. If they make a mistake, they blame Him. If you want to know the will and voice of God, you must give the time and effort to cultivate a love relationship with Him. That is what He wants!!!
God loves you!!! He wants to have an intimate relationship with you. He wants you to depend only on Him when you are seeking a word from Him. He wants you to learn to hear His voice and know His will. Your relationship to Him is the key to hearing when God speaks to you. If you do not already have that kind of relationship with God, consider seeking Him out.
If you would like, to start a Love relationship with God you can start by praying this prayer:
God, I pray that I will come to such a relationship with You that when You speak, I will hear and respond. I acknowledge that I am a sinful person and that I have fallen short of Your Glory, Your standard. I thank You for what Jesus Christ did on the cross and through His resurrection and I accept Your Love and Forgiveness that you have freely offered me through Your Grace. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 9:20 PM
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