Revelation Gifts: Hearing God's Voice
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
God is Speaking
More than we are Listening
And everything He says is Vital
God is Speaking
More than we are Listening
And everything He says is Vital
Telephone game
Jesus and sheep
“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
Elijah background of mount caramel
Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.”
Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Elijah just had the biggest victory of his ministry
he defeated the prophets of Baal
Called fire from heaven
Ended a drought that had plagued the land for over three years
Elijah is basically attempting suicide
he leaves his servant behind
and wanders into the wilderness
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
He takes a couple naps and an Angel tells him to eat
sometimes we need a nap and a snack
not every affliction is spiritual
take care of yourself
He travelled over 200 miles to the mountain where He hears from God next (~5 miles a day)
the first time since God told him to leave the widow’s house and find the king to end the famine and confront the prophets of baal
Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;
and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
“It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
“Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
God didn’t answer Elijah’s concern right away
Elijah was concerned about the prophets of the Lord being all killed
Instead God tells him to go to the mountain
we are rarely told the why to our what’s
God asks us questions to trigger a response and to get us to think, not to hear a response
God already knows what we are going to say/do
Twice God asks Elijah “What are you doing here, Elijah??”
The second time is because God told him to go to the mountain
God doesn’t always speak to us the same way
God wasn’t in the Wind, the Earthquake, or the FIre
just a month previous, Elijah had prayed and God sent a storm and sent a pillar of fire from heaven
Hearing God’s voice is about being in “Tune” with God’s will
Guitar Example
Revelation Gifts/ Gifts of Knowledge
(know something from God)
Think God’s thoughts
Word of Knowledge
Word of Wisdom
Discerning of Spirits
Word’s of Knowledge
Word’s of Knowledge
What is the Gift of a word of knowledge?
A word of knowledge is to know something you did not know in the natural.
it’s something God reveals to you
A word of knowledge deals with facts, to know something
A word of wisdom deals with action, to know what to do
A word of knowledge does not make a person all-knowing and knowledgeable about everything
It’s God giving someone knowledge for a specific situation for a specific moment in time
What the gift of a word of knowledge is not
A word of knowledge is not suspicion (suspecting something)
It’s not intuition
It’s not guessing something
It’s not finding out something through intelligence or research
It has nothing to do with a person’s inborn knowledge
Example from Elijah
Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”
Examples from scripture
Jesus and the Samaritan woman
The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;
for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
Jesus and the Death of Lazarus
So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”
Jesus and Nathaniel (also known as Bartholomew, one of the 12)
Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Peter and Ananias and Saphira (lying about money)
Ananias knew where Saul was praying
And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,
Peter knew three men were looking for him
While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
“But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.”
Examples from my ministry
spine, numbers
heel and shoulder pain
praying for someone and saw and image of a little boy hiding in his room while his parents yelled
Jon mark
prayer for things/missionaries
Words of Wisdom
Words of Wisdom
What is the gift of a word of wisdom
a word of wisdom is a supernatural revelation from God to man giving a solution to a problem we did not have an answer for
a word of wisdom answers the questions,
What do I do
How do I handle this?
This gift deals with action
it’s God supernaturally revealing practical instruction to a person regarding what to do in a specific situation
A word of wisdom will highlight the best possible course of action to take
Being given a word of wisdom for a specific situation does not make a person permanently wise
it’s a word of wisdom for a specific situation and moment
moses and the rock
What the gift of a word of wisdom is not
a word of wisdom is not guessing what to do
it’s not one’s opinion on what to do
it has nothing to do with one’s natural wisdom in knowing what to do or their overall wisdom
it has nothing to do with one’s IQ
it is not an accumulation of wisdom
He (GOD) gives just enough for the present situation
Example from Elijah
“Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
“It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
Examples from today
handstand story
bathtub story
stop and get gas, and stalled at the pump
pay for person behind me in drive through
envelope of money at Christmas time
Discerning of Spirits
Discerning of Spirits
What is the gift of discerning of spirits?
The discerning of spirits is the Holy Spirit enabling us in a particular situation to distinguish whether something is of the Holy Spirit, of the human spirit, or of a demonic spirit
Some manifestations come from a human spirit
some from a demonic spirit
and some from the holy spirit
Is it of God, of Satan, or of the human spirit?
this gift enables us to discern of what spirit it is
both good and bad spirits inhabit the unseen world of spirits
this gift allows us to discern between good and evil spirits
this gift is vital to keep a believer from being deceived
this gift is God’s answer to Satan’s deception
What the gift of the discerning of spirits is not
the discerning of spirits is not some mystical, spooky gift
it’s a very practical enablement from the holy spirit to discern if something is of God, satan, or the human spirit
it’s not guessing or assuming
It’s not spiritual mind reading or psychological insight
the gift of discerning of spirits is not a natural intuitive gift of showing good judgement or discernment
discerning of spirits is not having remarkable insight, an aptitude for profound reasoning, or wise judgement
it’s not the power to discern the faults of others
notice it is the discerning of SPIRITS, not the gift of discernment
there is no gift of discernment
it is the gift of discerning of spirits
it’s the discerning of the spirit behind someone or something, not natural discernment
Examples from Elijah
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Examples from scripture
jesus healing a man who was mute
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed.
jesus healing a crippled woman
And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
paul delivering the slave girl
It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.
paul and the sorcerer
When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,
who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,
and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
“Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.
Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.
Examples from my life
first deliverance
word of prophecy (abortion)
monster under the bed
home visit (edward)
Hands on Altar Call
everyone raise your hand
now find someone you either don’t know or don’t know well
tallest person goes first
say a quick prayer asking god to reveal something to you and give you a word of knowledge
ask the other person if it is true
don’t stress about getting it wrong
if you do get it wrong, say another quick prayer, asking for God to reveal something to you again, and try again
don’t do it more than three times,
say a quick prayer for the other person and wait
If you get it right, pray for that thing, and clap three times, then wait
I will give you 2 to 3 minutes, then you will switch and the shorter person will go
