Hearing God's Voice
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And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Greek word for knowing is ginosko. Also used in
AND ADAM knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain; and she said, I have gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord.
The most intimate relationship possible.
This is what eternal life is all about. It’s based on relationship more than it is on rules. The relationship is characterized by joy not bondage.
We must seek Him as our greatest treasure and our time together as our highest priority in life.
God wants us to come whole heartedly to Him to experience Him.
Mary and Martha:
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Prayer is a Dialogue not a Monologue
Prayer is our link to God thus the most important activity we can engage in.
Some things to learn about prayer:
I can learn my relationship to God is more than monologue metal prayer but also spiritual experiences
The main purpose of prayer is to have a loving relationship - that I might know Him - His heart - His desires -His hurts - His character, His will - not just to get things from Him
The principles from the Bible that relate to prayer provide direction and understanding. However the Holy Spirit will mold my prayer life through instead of taking the principles from the Bible that the Holy Spirit shows me and reducing them to legalistic bondage.
Our Christianity isn’t just a code of ethics, laws and rules to follow but experiences with God.
His Spirit bears witness to our Spirit that we are His. Romans 8:16. We not only seek guidance from the laws of the Bible but also through peace that comes through His Spirit.
We read His word and it isn’t lifeless words on a page but becomes alive unto us:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
God quickens our hears as we pray for a spirit of revelation.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
We not only pray according to our desires but as He burdens our hearts to pray in harmony with His will.
Lets not just reduce God to a set of beliefs about Him or a creed which is important but lets also have experiences with Him.
For Example: we can read about God’s love for us in John 3:16 and know with our mind that God loves us but until we experience Him and He touches our heart, heals our hurts, and breaks our hardened heart we haven’t experienced the Love of God that we read about.
We can lean to much on rationalism or an over emphasis on reason and miss the fullness of relationship with our Father.
49 percent of the New Testament contains references to spiritual non rational experiences.
Let me explain a couple of approaches:
True reality isn’t the physical world as much as it is the spiritual world
Reality is perceived more through the spirit man than through the mind
Do we live out of our mind more than through the spirit
Are we cultivated through our mind more than through our spirit being cultivated by our communication with God
Are we directed through calculated cognitive and analytical thoughts more that what the Spirit directs us through spontaneous flowing thoughts of the Holy Spirit?
Are we directed through sensory knowledge more than through direction received from the Spirit by waiting quietly upon the Lord?
God wants to use our mind but our mind and reason shouldn’t be on the throne. Our hearts should be dominated by the Holy Spirit. He said to renew our mind.
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
1 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV)
17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
You see the mind and your spirit work hand in hand. God gives direction in by God speaking to your spirit. Your Spirit anointed mind acts as a check and safeguard comparing all Spirit spoken words to the Bible.
For Ex for Abraham and Sarah to believe they were going to have a baby at 90 years of age is irrational if your framework is limited only to the physical laws.
If you believe god who injects His power into the natural and who said He was going to give them a child then it is perfectly rational to believe for a child.
John 5:39–40 (ESV)
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
The purpose of the Bible is to introduce us to Jesus that we may come to Him and receive salvation and life. They testify of Jesus. Its a means to a end not the end in itself. Its other people’s experience to learn from but we must ultimately have a relationship with God for our self.
Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God God Is Greater than Our Knowledge of Him
Our life does not come from the Bible; it comes from Jesus. Those who wrote the Bible wrote to bear witness of Him. The Old Testament prophets pointed forward to Him; the New Testament authors direct us back to Him. If we would actually understand what they wrote, we must find whom they found.
You see, we are not seeking knowledge; we are seeking God! We are not hungering for facts but for fullness