Hearing the Voice of God
Faith in Action • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Word of Prophecy
I have come into this world to seek and save the lost
you were once lost
a foreigner to my kingdom
But I adopted you into a new life, a new home, a new spirit
Stop fearing your past.
I love you
I have redeemed you
I have great plans for you
Stop listening to the shadows of your past
In the light of my love, they are but shadows shrinking in the darkness
I love you
I weep before the father on your behalf
I hate seeing my children in pain
I have adopted you
You will never be alone again
I love you
You need me
Don’t you see it?
Don’t you understand?
You need me
Please, open your heart to me
Let me heal you
Let me save you
Surrender all that you are
all that you have
all that you were
to me
Pray
talk to me
listen to my voice
give me your fears and anxieties
and let me have them
so that I can give you peace that lasts,
that you will never understand
I love you
Can’t you see?
I loved you so much, that I died so that you can live
I loved you so much, that I paid the price for your sins
Will you trust me?
Will you stop trying to do things without me?
I love you
I gave you my all, everything
Will you do the same for me?
I want you
I want to help you
You have value to me
You have worth in my eyes
Does anyone else opinion even matter?
Because I love you
You are mine
You belong
I love you
Come early to pray
What is more important: Your job or your faith?
They are both important, but money is temporary
God is eternal
If we are to live eternal life, than invest in the things that are eternal
When I worked at my first job with a time card,
I would get in trouble if I was even one minute past my start time
My boss told me that I should get there 15 minutes early,
so that I can put my stuff in my locker,
get a drink,
go to the bathroom,
and wait at the time clock to clock in exactly on time
That way, when I clocked in, I was ready
Ready to work
I know church isn’t work, but we should question how much we value it if we aren’t willing to come prepared, and come on time.
Here is my request
Ideally, I would love everyone to come to Sunday School, and many of you do
However, I would like everyone to make an attempt to be here 20 to 30 minutes before service
I want everyone to take a moment before service
find your seat, and either kneel or sit for a couple of minutes to pray
Pray for the service
Pray to get yourself right before God and confess your sin
so that nothing is hindering you from the presence of God
Pray for revival to break out
Pray for me and my family
, as I give you the word later
Pray that I will clearly hear God’s voice to lead you and this church in His plan
Thank God for what he has done
give Him praise
“I will enter his courts with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter his gates with praise”
How can we expect to praise God corporately until we have done so individually
Next week, and every week after, will you take a moment to pray before service?
Here is the thing. I know for some of you, getting somewhere on time can be a challenge.
I can often be that person, too.
But here is my official request for you to come early
Tell yourself that Church starts at 10am
I pray these things every week.
and I know that God will move when he sees his people go out of their way to ask Him to move
Intro:
A missionary named Francis once invited a student to go with him to preach in a village.
The young man agreed.
He had hoped to hear his teacher preach
But when they reached the village, Francis did not go to the village square and begin to preach.
Instead they visited the butcher.
Then they visited a shoemaker.
Later they stopped by the home of a widow.
They spent the entire day visiting and encouraging people.
Finally, they returned to the school.
Francis noticed that the young man was unhappy and asked what was wrong.
The young man said. “I thought we went to preach
Francis replied: “But we did.”
“Every encouraging word and deed was a part of our sermon.”
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
The author of James would have liked Francis’ answer.
Works do not save Christians, but saved Christians do good works.
A man once bought a used, rusty bicycle for a low price.
He painted the bicycle and told his friends that it was new
But is friends noticed the rust coming through the new paint.
The man learned that you must remove the rust before painting.
Likewise, many Christians add Jesus to their lives like a coat of paint,
But they fail to allow His Word to change them under the surface.
In time, the “rust” shows through, and all can see a lack of character
James does not just speak God’s word.
He shows us how to respond to God’s word.
Discern the Source
Listen
Hindrances to hearing God’s voice
We talk too much
Our Anger blocks us from listening
Our moral filth
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
Discern the source
Discern the source
In trials do not blame the Father of light for what the devil of darkness does
Note the context of this passage.
In the previous paragraph, James makes it clear that temptations come from the world and the flesh, not from God.
James does not want believers to blame God
Either for trials or temptations
So he emphasizes that daily trials and temptations are a part of life
God is not the source of these
Rather, God is the source of the good gifts we receive.
James wrote to Jewish believers that were scattered by persecution
James 1:1 (NASB95)
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
They fled from Jerusalem and other places after the death of Stephen
Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
They hoped that persecution would end, but the fiery trials continued for decades.
Hebrews explains that many believers lost their possessions,
and authorities put some in prison
For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.
Circumstances forced believers to work for any wages they could get
as we will see later in James, rich men cheated poor believers out of all or part of their wages (James 5)
in the midst of their trials, believers were tempted to blame God
Sometimes in the midst of trials, we become confused.
Since we know that God is King and sovereign,
We may error by blaming Him for what Satan, demons, evil people and sin cause
Later in this letter, James reminds us that we have a great enemy-
The devil
We must discern and resist him
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Peter writes that Satan prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Likewise, John reminds us that the whole world is under the control of the evil one
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
God is not good one day and bad the next.
He never changes
God is good all the time
He is the one who gives every good gift,
including eternal life
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
The contrast between our heavenly Father and our earthly enemy is as great as the difference between light and darkness
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
We cannot prevent the difficult circumstances that come to us in life
but we can practice looking upward
and giving thanks to our father for his love and goodness to us
Job is famous for saying:
He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job is a good example of trusting God during fiery trials
He was a great man of faith and righteousness
walking in the light of the Old Testament
But today, we understand more about spiritual warfare than Job knew.
Job blamed God for all of his trials
Job’s theology was incomplete, because it left the devil out of the picture
Some give the devil too much credit.
These see a demon behind every bush
even blaming Satan, instead of mosquitoes, for malaria
But there was no devil anywhere in Job’s theology
yet it is Satan, not God, who attacks God’s children
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And it is the devil, not God who bites like a lion
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
God is always a good God who gives good gifts to us
It is true that He may take something way from us in a time of discipline.
But most of the time, it is the devil,
enemies of the cross,
or sin that takes away from us in this life
So let us never blame the Father of lights for what the devil of darkness does
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
The Word of truth is the Bible, and since it comes from God we can trust that it is good.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
Listen to the Word, for it can save you
Listen to the Word, for it can save you
God gave us two ears and one mouth, so let us listen twice as much as we speak.
Our teeth are like bars to keep the tongue in the mouth
This idea of being slow to speak and quick to hear is not unique to James
Proverbs is full of warnings against being quick to speak and too slow to listen
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
We are to keep a tight rein on our tongues
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
This is a helpful word picture.
Those who ride a horse use reins to guide it
James later returns to this analogy when he talks about bits
Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
The bit in a horse’s mouth is connected to leather or rope reins.
Keeping the reins tight causes the horse to be very sensitive to what the rider wants
In the same way, we are to keep a tight rein on our tongues
to practice self control of the tongue with the help of the Holy Spirit
The more we mature, the less we speak and the more we listen
Maturity teaches us the importance of listening to the words of those who are wiser than we are.
We should listen to people and to God.
God gave us birth through the word of truth
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
We must accept the Word
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
God’s Word in our lives cannot work in our lives unless we listen to it.
Turning from Anger to Trust
Three problems arise to prevent us from listening to others and to God.
We talk too much
We talk too much
Some interrupt people often
some do most of the talking
and do not encourage others to talk
in contrast, some are very wise and ask questions that lead others to talk
Most of us are better at talking to God than we are at listening to Him.
Maybe it might be better to say that we are talking AT God at times.
Effective prayer is more than just talking to God.
Prayer is communication with God, which should include some listening.
Our anger blocks listening
Our anger blocks listening
We cannot hear well when anger controls us
Anger clouds the mind and stops up the ears
One way the devil destroys people is to first make them angry
When anger simmers within, we cannot think clearly, or listen to man or God
That anger may be the hot flash of temper or the quiet brooding of resentment.
It might even take the guise of offense, as our culture increasingly tells us we should be offended at every turn.
In either case, it will prevent us from listening.
Let us be very slow to speak when we are angry.
One father told his son
When you are angry, count to ten before you speak
If you are still angry, count to twenty
If necessary, count to 100 before you speak
It is foolish to speak when we are angry
Angry words wound people
Even after we apologize, people may remember angry words for years
Mature followers of Jesus are “slow to become angry”
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:26
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
God knew that anger and resentment in our hearts lead toward sin.
An angry person cannot please God.
Some people speak of righteous Anger as an excuse to lash out at others
While it is true that we must hate sin,
That does not gives us an excuse.
We are accountable to God for every careless word
for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
You have fair warning that our anger cannot bring us to righteousness, nor be used as a tool for righteousness.
Moses is a great example of how even a righteous man can be undone by his anger.
Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt.
He wrote the Pentateuch
Moses is one of the greatest men who ever lived.
However, at key moments in his life, Moses lost his temper and his ability to think clearly
-His first outburst of anger we read about is when he killed an Egyptian who was mistreating an Israelite
-His tempered flared again and he shattered the Ten Commandments that God wrote
-And after leading the Israelites in the desert for 38 years, his anger boiled over and he struck the rock God told him to speak to
Moses was not known as a man with a short temper.
But despite all of his great deeds,
anger caused him to die just short of his life’s mission,
as God did not allow him to enter the promised land
because of his anger led him to disobedience
As we learn to talk less, we are able to listen more to God’s word
Remember that James is writing to suffering Christians.
Many of these believers lost their possessions because of persecution
Some of them were forced to leave their hoomes in Jerusalem
We know from previous verses than some of the believers were blaming GOd.
They were angry about theire loss
and they were angry that others were still rich
In contrast, let us, like Job, turn from anger to trust, even when we suffer loss.
Some people get angry when they hear the truth about themselves.
The wicked queen from snow white looked in the mirror and was mad when the mirror told her that there was one fairer than her
An aging woman once saw in the mirror that her beauty was fading so she broke the mirror in anger because she did not like the truth it revealed
Many Christians react in a similar way to God’s Word or messenger.
We do not like the truth that it reveals to us so we lash out in anger.
The words we speak in anger are destructive to the church, neighbors, family members and our testimony.
We should remember this warning
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
One fruit of the spirit is self-control
Self control starts with tongue-control
As we learn to talk less, we are able to listen more to God’s Word
Which reveals areas that need cleansing
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
We already mentioned how God gave us spiritual birth through the word of truth.
We have been born again
We have become God’s Children
Members of His family
We have begun the journey to heaven
But we are still on earth
Salvation is a process, with a beginning, middle, and end
A wise man once said
I was saved,
I am being saved,
And I will be saved.
At our new birth in Christ, we were saved from the penalty and power of our past sins.
This verse here shows us the continuing role that the Word of God has in our salvation
For once we reach heaven, we must continue following the teachings of Jesus
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
God’s word can save us
Scripture is the main way that God speaks to people
We learn God’s plan of salvation through His Word, the Gospel message
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So let us read the Bible
And even more, let us let the Bible read us
In other words, let us LISTEN as God speaks to us through His Word
Moral Filth hinders our hearing God’s Word
Moral Filth hinders our hearing God’s Word
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
At new birth, God frees us from the guilt, penalty, and control of sin
Still, every Christian brings baggage into their new life
Old habits that do not match new life in Christ
With the help of the Word and the Spirit, we must remove anything evil
As we take off our dirty clothes after a day of work
James urges us to listen to and receive God’s word with humility.
A proud person is not willing to receive direction or correction
The “humble” person sees his need
Humble, describes a person who is teachable
The teachable person can receive truth even when it hurts and reveals wrong
When truth knocks at our door, we have two choices:
We can reject it
or We can recieve it
We need to open the door to our hearts and minds and receive God’s Word with great hospitality
Christ cleanses believers by the washing with water through the word
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Read the Bible
Study through it every year.
Take time for biblical devotions morning and evening
Hide the Word in your heart
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Listen to the Word
Pay attention to the Scriptures “as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns
Welcome God’s word as a Savior at your door
God’s Word can save you
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
