Hearing the Voice of God: The Word of God

2 Tim 3:15 - 17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

There’s a question I’ve been asked countless times; it’s one I’ve asked, and I would venture to say most, if not all new Christians have wondered, “How do I know when it’s God speaking to me?”

This next series is entitled “Hearing the Voice of God:” and the subtitle for today’s message is, “The Word of God”

When you are a Christian, and even when you’re not, it’s important to know when it’s God speaking to you and when it’s Satan.

Satan does his best to imitate God, which sounds like a good thing, but the truth is he’s not merely trying to imitate God, he wants to be God, and that’s the problem. When the desire to imitate turns into a desire to replace, that’s when things take a turn.

This second letter written to Timothy, by Paul, from prison, was written to encourage him. Who writes from prison to encourage someone else? The Apostle Paul.

Timothy was Paul’s, what we call, son in the ministry. He was a disciple from Lystra whose mother was Jewish and his father was Greek. His mother and grandmother taught him the scriptures as a child and as a result he became a Christian.

He traveled with Paul, and so he would be able to go and minister with him, Paul had him circumcised. Back then they had public bath houses and Timothy would not have been able to minister and have full access to learn as effectively had he not been circumcised.

He helped to establish the church at Corinth, he went to Thessalonica to help the church there as well as others. Timothy was what we would call a troubleshooter or a fixer. When there was something wrong at a church, Paul would send Timothy in to get things straight.

Paul trusted Timothy to give the correct message, not his own message. That is what every, not just the preacher, but every called out believe is supposed to do.

This Gospel that we preach

is not to be used to further our own agenda or get our own way

it’s not to be used as a weapon

it’s not to be used as a money scheme

it’s not to be used to trick people

it’s not to be used to deceive people

it’s not to be used to put and keep people in bondage

it’s not to be used lead people astray

Paul makes it clear in verse 13 that “… wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived.” But he encourages Timothy to “… continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from who you learned it”

That’s important right there. Who are you learning from? Who are you trying to emulate?

Is it someone who believes in you?

Is it someone who has your best interest at heart?

Is it someone who wants to see you be successful?

Is it someone who understands what you desire, what your goals are and is willing to help you achieve them?

Is it someone you can trust?

Is it someone who knows what they’re doing?

Is it someone who is living what they’re telling you?

Or

Is it someone who is hoping you’ll fail?

Someone who will give you bad information?

Someone who’ll spread gossip and lies about you?

Timothy was a young preacher, but he was also well taught, as I said before he had been taught the Scriptures by his mother and grandmother as a child. He learned from the Apostle Paul who learned from Gamaliel and from Jesus. And because of the assignments and responsibility he had been given by Paul, Timothy had experience beyond his years.

Have you seen the difference in children raised by their grandparents and those raised by young parents? Often times, the things they say, their mannerisms, and their attitudes are very different. They tend to be more mature; they’re less tolerant in some areas while being more tolerant in others.

When you chose to follow someone, please make sure you really know who they are and what they believe. Because what they believe could determine how successful you’ll be.

How do I know when God is speaking to me?

The first way I’m going to tell about how you know that it’s God speaking to you is by what we read in the Scriptures. God speaks through the Scriptures, aka the Bible.

Paul says, “the Holy Scriptures… are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

The Word of God leads you to salvation. It’s not documented the number of people who end up getting saved because whether it was a challenge, curiosity, the desire of a loved one, or the death of a loved one they began reading the Bible and it led them to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, which led to salvation.

Reading the scriptures helped them to develop a faith they didn’t even know they had. I firmly and truly believe there is a hole in each of us that can only be filled by God through Jesus. And until we accept that, there will always be a longing in our soul; a sense that something is missing.

You may not know what it is — it’s Jesus

You may not be able to describe it — it’s Jesus

You may not be able to understand the longing — you’re longing for Jesus

You may not be able to put a name to what you’re feeling — it’s Jesus

Jesus makes our lives complete and the Word of God is where we find him.

The Word of God or the Bible

was written by approximately 50 authors

it is comprised of 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament

it coves over roughly 1,500 years, dating back to around 1,400 BC to about 90 AD

The numbers I’m going to give you are for the KJV translation

the Old Testament has

929 chapters

23,214 verses

592,439 words

the New Testament contains

260 chapters

7,959 verses

181,253 words

For a total of

1,189 chapters

31,173 verses and

773,692 words

For those who like to call themselves purist, let me just tell you right here and now, the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, and the New Testament was written in Greek, so the Bible written in any other language is a translation.

Furthermore there are translations, which attempt to translate word for word and there are paraphrase Bibles which strive to give you the intent of what was being said.

In the hundreds of versions of the Bible, it’s vital you know what you have. It has been translated into 180 of the world’s 3,000 languages and dialects.

What’s a dialect? A dialect is when a language is labeled the same language but there are differences in how it’s spoken and the words used.

There are over 160 English dialects

Spanish has 7 - 12 dialects

Chinese has 7 - 10 dialects

Now, do you see the challenge it is trying to get the Gospel to everyone? It’s a challenge for mankind, but God speaks to us in a language we can all understand.

While the Bible was penned by about 50 people, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, so God is the ultimate author.

These scriptures have meaning, value and purpose. The scripture is profitable or good for doctrine.

God gives us Doctrine through his Word - doctrines are the truths of God’s Word that are to be taught. They encompass the whole body of essential theological truths that define and describe Christianity’s foundational message. They give us the bottom line.

Some years ago, we did a Bible study called The Apostle’s Doctrine. it states

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell. (Eph 4:9 says he descended into the lower parts of the earth)

The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, (this is referring to the church universal, not the Roman Catholic church)

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.

It’s important to note that doctrine isn’t just intellectual, it’s not just a mind thing, it shapes how believers live and relate to one another. In other words it’s not just about how you think, it’s about how you act.

Husbands, how do you treat and talk to your wife?

Wives, how do you treat and talk to your husband?

Parents, how do you treat and talk to your children?

Leaders, how do you treat and talk to your subordinates?

Subordinates, how do treat and talk to your leaders?

Christians, how do you treat and talk to non-Christians?

To truly know when God is speaking to us, we have to take the whole Bible, not just the parts that make us feel good, or just the parts that soothe us, or just the parts that make us happy, or just the parts that we believe justify our wrong doing.

You have to eat the whole loaf.

The Bible is profitable for Reproof. Reproof is constructive criticism. It’s letting someone know when they miss the mark. Someone can have the best of intentions, but what they’re doing, what they’re saying is just plain wrong.

Maybe they have a bad attitude or a bad reaction to what someone said or did to them. Can you say road rage?

The Bible is useful for Correction. We all know what correction is and most of the time we don’t want to be told when we’re wrong. Whether it’s something we’ve said, something we’ve done, something we’ve looked at, our attitude, our behavior, our mindset, or our belief.

We don’t want to listen and we don’t want to be around anyone who would dare to let us know, we’re wrong.

Well guess what. Those are exactly the people you need around you.

You need those who will tell you the truth about what you said, what you did, or how you made someone feel. Not to make you feel bad, but to make you better.

A better husband and father

A better wife and mother

A better leader

A better follower

A better friend

A better believer

We can all use some help in our walk with Christ. God is speaking to us and giving us that help through the Bible when we take the time to study it, and pray on it, and meditate on it.

He speaks, when we study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

God gives us instruction in righteousness through His Word. There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end leads to destruction.

Righteousness is a part of God’s character, it’s humanity’s moral standing before Him and the relational restoration that He offers through Christ.

Righteousness is one of God’s attributes and by our confession of faith it becomes one of our attributes. God demonstrates his righteousness through his faithfulness to His promises, and we express ours through loyal obedience to Him.

We have no righteousness of our own, it all comes from God. In fact, Isaiah 64:6 let’s us know, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Have you ever seen a filthy rag? They can get hard and crusty. They don’t bend, they don’t clean and even when they’re not crusty yet, if you attempt to use it to wipe something you end up adding to the dirt instead of cleaning the surface.

But God didn’t leave us helpless and hopeless, if we continue reading in Isaiah 6 and go the the 8th verse we’ll see these words of encouragement, “8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

When we place ourselves in the potter’s hand,

he makes us a useful vessel for his kingdom.

he fills us with wisdom

he blesses us beyond measure

he gives us gifts and talents

he provides for us

he protects us

he fights for us

he defends us

he speaks to us

he speaks for us

he is our all in all

But why does God speak to us through the scriptures? So that the men and women of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

That’s not to say that we will be perfect here, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but we are on a perfect mission when we are fulfilling God’s plan for our lives.

We ought to be striving for perfection in all things. Doing the best we can with the information, the resources, the skills, and the knowledge we have. And whatever our hands find to do, do it as unto the Lord.

I can remember when I directed the choir in our church in CA and we were preparing for our Christmas Cantata. It was very involved production, I had a lot to remember and I was nervous. I was at home between services and I said, Lord I just want to make you smile. And I believe we did.

If you can tap into that childlike you and remember what it was like when you just wanted to make your mom or dad smile. I believe our Heavenly Father wants His children to try to make him smile. And what makes Him smile, obedience. That’s all. Nothing fancy. Nothing involved. You don’t need an acrostic, just obedience.

What does that look like? Read the Bible, it’s all in there.

Are you looking for peace? Read Phil 4:6-7

Are you angry? Read Eph 4:26-27

Do you need some courage? Read Ps 27:14

Do you need some encouragement? Read Ps 23

Are you stressed? Read Ps 91:7-11

Do you need hope? Go back and listen to last month’s sermon series.

These certainly aren’t all the situations you’ll find yourself in but if you need the answer to something specific, and you don’t know where or how to find it in the Bible go to that great resource called Google and it will list some scriptures for you to read. If you ask it correctly, Alexa will quote you Bible versus for whatever situation you may need or want.

The whole idea though, is for you to read your Bible. You’ll be amazed at the things you’ll find in there. Things you didn’t even know you needed and things you weren’t even looking for.

I need to circle back to verse 15 of our text, we read, and study, and meditate on the Bible because it leads us to salvation. It is God’s desire that none be lost and so, if you find yourself seemingly on the outside looking in, you don’t have to be anymore.

Today is a good day for you to come on in the room. I told you in the Apostle Creed what our foundation was. You don’t need a ticket, you don’t need a reservation, no one has to leave your name at will call, to enter you simply say a prayer.

Father God, I confess I’m a sinner. I ask for your forgiveness. Jesus I believe you are the Son of God, I believe you died for my sins, that you rose again, and that you ascended back to heaven where you now sit at the right hand of God interceding on my behalf. I ask you Lord to come into my heart, I give you my life. In Your name I pray, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family, now find yourself a Bible believing, Bible teaching church where you can continue to learn how to hear the voice of God.

For our online viewers, if you’d like to join us live for the full service starting at 10, or including Sunday School which begins at 8:45 ET, see our website www.lovechristianctr.org for the zoom code and all the information about the church.

If you live in the Douglasville, GA vicinity join us at 3500 Hwy 5. There’s lots of room for your gifts and talents to be used to the glory of God. Come see how you fit into this ministry.

Salvation

Membership

Rededication

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23–34 KJV 1900

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.