Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week I talked about putting our eyes on God and keeping them there.

This week we’ll focus on hearing God’s voice.

We fellowship in a Holy Ghost church.

The Holy Spirit is a welcomed guest in our worship, in our preaching and teaching, in our prayer… It is not unusual to hear a prophet say that “the Lord had revealed”, or “the Lord was saying”… Pastor will be speaking and stop to acknowledge “yes, Lord, thank you for that”.

Or ask “did anyone have anything to share?”

We are used to hearing form God, because we actively listen for his voice.

Scripture tells us in John 10

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.



16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.

I must bring them also.

They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

But not everyone listens for God’s voice.

In fact most people have no desire to hear what God has to say.

They believe he will tell them to do something they don’t want to do.

OR to stop doing something they are doing.

Some are afraid to hear what He has to say.

They think He will condemn them for their sins.

The bottom line is whether people want to hear from God or not, He still has a message for all of us.

This morning’s lesson is not new revelation.

You already know what I’m going to share.

The reason we’re devoting 40 minutes to this topic is so that by the time we are finished, you will know what to say the next time someone says “oh, yeah right, you heard from God”, you will be able to say, “yes, and you can too.”

Here’s how…

/God speaks to us in 3 ways./

Turn with me to Psalms 19

1.  God reveals himself in creation

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge.

It doesn’t matter whether it is day or night.

God’s creation is speaking to us.

It says there is a Creator.

Life is not an accident.

There is an order in design.



3 There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

It doesn’t matter where you are.

Creation surrounds you.

No one can say they didn’t know there was a God.

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

Now remember that when David wrote this he did not have the scientific knowledge of the cosmos that we have today.

We know that there are stars bigger than the sun and that really doesn’t change the fact that for us here on planet earth, the sun is the most dominant part of creation.

And yet the Creator still controls it.



5 [the sun] which is like a bridegroom coming forth

from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens

and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

2.

God speaks to us in Scripture.

When you see the word “law”, I want you to think, “word of God”.

The two are interchangeable.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,

Perfect meaning flawless.

There are no errors in the Bible.

When you follow God’s word, you walk in his order.

We look at the dietary restrictions listed in Leviticus and we think their unreasonable.

No pork, no lobster, no shrimp.

Those are some of my favorite foods.

But they didn’t have refrigeration or FedEx.

Nor did they have antibiotics.

If you didn’t practice the sanitation rules as set forth in the Law, you got sick.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

There is wisdom in the word of the Lord.

When we read about the trials people faced in Biblical times, we can learn from their mistakes.

We don’t have to go through the same hardships they did.

Flip over to Deuteronomy 30

15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.

You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Back to Psalms 19

 8 The precepts of the Lord

Another word for precepts is teachings.

Every time Jesus opened his mouth he taught something.

8 The precepts of the Lord are right,

giving joy to the heart.

God’s word is right.

There is nothing in this book that would lead a person into sin.

On the contrary, meditating on the word of the Lord brings joy to your heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

When someone has light in their eyes, they are excited about the future.

They have hope and expectation.

9 The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever.

The ordinances of the Lord are sure

and altogether righteous.

To fear God means to have respect for Him.

When we obey what the words says, we show God and those around us that we respect [fear] God.

Ordinances are laws.

We have laws to help us do what is right.