Can you hear God speaking?

John 10:25-27 “Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

How many can remember the commercial on TV done by Verizon Wireless. It’s the one where the guy walks around to various places where a phone normally would not work. He goes out further and further away from the main connection and asks the question, “Can you hear me now”? ?

The commercial is trying to make a point about how well and how good the reception is for their phone service. No matter where you are; no matter how far away; Verizon service is still available and usable. You are never out of range. Some times we as Christians get to the point where we can’t hear God. We are still a part of His family but we have lost our connection to Him. This can be caused by something we have done or something we have omitted to do.

God has always wanted us to worship Him, but without us listening to Him we have a problem understanding what He has to say. And time and time again God is sending His message and asking, “Can you hear me now”? LISTEN I am here today to tell you that we serve a God that is alive, He is not dead and he is still speaking to this world, and when God speaks everyone had better listen.

The things that God says are important and it would be beneficial to us to pay attention and when He speaks listen. How many of you can remember when your mom would call out to you, you would hear her voice and respond to it. When she yells, and uses your entire name, there is authority that goes forth and you know that it says you had better respond if you want to survive what I am calling you for. But there is still that feeling of; “It’s only Mom”.

But let the same situation happen and let your dad speak. When dad speaks it is with an authority that says I have no doubt I had better respond AND it had better be the correct response. When we do not respond the way dad thinks we should there is always an unwanted result. We know that we had better do right then and there what he tells us to. Too many times we get the feeling with God like we do with mothers; “It’s only God”. “Yes, God I hear you but I know you’ll forgive me this time”.

Listen when God speaks it is with an authority from the throne of heaven that carries more power than Mom or Dad. It is with the same authority of the voice that spoke and worlds were formed. It is with the same authority that spoke from a burning bush that said; “Take off you shoes for you are on holy ground.” It is with the same authority that spoke and a dead man came out of a tomb. It is with that same authority that he speaks into our live today. Mom & Dad may have spoken with a voice of authority but it came forth dripped in love.

God speaks into our lives words of Compassion; Direction; Correction and Understanding because He loves us. When God speaks there is always reaction. There are those that act with rejection. Look at Jonah. Jonah was to go and preach unto Nineveh but he went unto Tarshish to flee the presence of the Lord. Many would refuse to hear what God has to say. They are asking God to speak to them but run around like the child with his finger in his ears saying, “I can’t hear you.” It is as if we refuse to hear. Revelation 2:29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

That what God has to say will not effect us. Many of us don’t want to be bothered with what God has to say. Our life is comfortable, and hearing from God could cause us to move from a lack of interest or apathy about things of God to caring about the things of God. Move from apathy about prayer life to caring about prayer life. Move from apathy about souls to caring about souls. Many don’t want to hear from God because they know that they are in store for a voice of change from the way they are living.

God is then getting ready to take us to the woodshed. The woodshed is not a place of excitement and praise. But it is a place of discipline and correction. Then there are those that act with reception. They receive what God is saying. John 6:67-68; “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. The words of God may be hard from time to time, but in His words we can find eternal life.

Many that were there that day had heard Jesus speak and had seen Him perform miracles but when what he had to say became costly to them and difficult for them to receive. The crowds left Him but the twelve remained. They were there because they understood that it was going to be hard and they were ready to accept what ever Jesus had to say. Many people want an audible voice from God to knock them on the ground, pick them up, and tell them each step to take.

I want you to listen to this, why would God speak aloud to someone that is not willing to search the scripture daily to grow in the word that He has already given you. God is still speaking to us today and He is asking us, “Can you hear me now”? How can you hear from God?

There are times that God speaks and we never realize it is God. We must look for Him to speak through His written word. His word is alive. Alive means at work making a difference. We must be ready to accept what He has to say to us. We must be willing to do what He has for us to do. I wonder what is it that needs to take place in our life; God is speaking today to our hearts but we are refusing to listen. “Can you hear me now”? God is telling us which way to go and what to do. “Can you hear me now”?

God is saying, “My sheep hear my voice and they know me”. “Can you hear me now”? so whatever it is that you are doing that prevents you from hearing God you need to make a change. God says, “Be still and know that I am God”. “Can you hear me now”? God says, “I love you so much that I am going to send My Son”. “Can you hear me now”? God says “My Son will give His life”, Can you here me now”? God says, “after three days I will raise Him up again, Can you hear me now”?

God says “I will place all power in His hands, Can you hear me now”? but we have got to open our ears, eyes and hearts and listen to what God has to say. God speaks to us in many ways and all he is asking is, “Can you hear me now”?

When the storms of life are raging God says, “Can you hear me now”? When you’re down to your last dime God says, “Can you hear me now”? When the doctors have given up and said there is nothing left for them to do God says, “Can you hear me now”? When you have come to a crossroad in your life God says, “Can you hear me now”?

Can you hear God talking to you? Can you hear the Holy Spirit guiding you? Are you being receptive to what He has to say or are you rejecting Him and doing your own thing? God is talking to us today I wonder, “Can you hear Him now”?

I want us to pair up, and we are going to spend some time praying together. I want you to be open and honest about a situation that you are going through, one that you need to hear from the Lord. I want you to be vulnerable with this other person. Then I want you together to pray for the Holy Spirit to speak into that situation. Then I will at some point have you switch and we will do it again for the other person.