Can I really hear God's voice for myself?

Series: Back to the Basis: God’s Great Reset

Today is part 1 of a message within a series.

Today were going to deal with

Can I really hear God's voice for myself?

the simple answer is Yes…Yes you can! and Yes you do!

I also want to spend some time revealing How you can understand God more clearly!

In the next part on March 14th I’m going to spend the time discussing How you can verify you are hearing God correctly.

that’s going to be a world changing message, so plan to be a part of that one!

But today we want to talk about laying the ground work.

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God...If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey." As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience.

He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street. This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either the businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat.

"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here. "He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep.

"What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk , "Here, I brought this to you. "The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk." His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked Him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"

The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.

Prayer is an integral part of having a relationship with God.

but prayer is not just offering up your wish list,

I’ve often described it as 2 way communication. Talk and Listen.

talking is the easier part, but there’s still lots to learn to how to go about that.

but the more difficult aspect to deal with is the aspect of listening to what God has to say.

God wants to lead us

These is a deceptive belief that has entered the hearts of many christians.

The idea that God created us with a brain and expects us to go through life figuring things out for ourselves.

God loves us but He expects us to deal with things on our own.

If we pray hard enough He might intervene, but for the most part He leaves us to our own devices.

This could be farther from the heart of God.

Matthew 6:25–34 NASB95

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God Love causes Him to lead you down the straight and narrow path.

.....

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

So How does God reveal these plans to us?

How can He lead us if we can’t hear His voice?

It’s Not in us to lead the Life He’s called us to

Jeremiah 10:23 NASB95

I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

Left to our own devices we will fail!

Proverbs 3:5–6 NASB95

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

I am convinced, Most of the negative issues we face in Life are a direct result of us doing our own thing.

Either us or the people we interact with.

I truly believe if we learn to hear God’s voice and obey , a large portion of the pain and heartache we face would disappear.

Sounds like a pipe dream doesn’t it.

But think about it. If God plans for us are good, all we have to do is tap into what he has to say and then obey Him

and those plans will come in being.

too many believers have a pessimistic view of the future.

that things are going to get so bad Jesus is going to have to come and save us …again..

That’s not my view, nor do I believe its the plan that God put forward in His word

Yes we can face trials and persecutions.

Jesus promised us that

John 16:33 NASB95

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

We often think about “in this world you have tribulation”

But we miss the most important part

“take courage, I have overcome the world”

Yes the world can be in complete turmoil. but you can still reside in God’s peace.

How? By hearing His voice and obeying!

Matthew 13:15 NASB95

For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’

The reason there is so much division in the body of Christ right now is because the hearts of many believers has become dull.

as a result we can scarcely hear!.

But the Good news is God has not stopped talking, and its well within us to start listening

John 10:1–5 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

They know His voice!

You hear the voice of God! Jesus declared it

I can prove it to you!

To become a believer you must first hear God calling you

Are you a believer? How did that come about?

John 6:44 NASB95

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

How did the Father draw you?

by speaking to you though Holy Spirit

Ephesians 2:5 NASB95

even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

You cannot come into salvation without responding to the call of Holy Spirit

So if you claim to be a Christian, you have heard God calling you.

Non Believers hear God

Universal conscience

Morality

general morality

Murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, sex with a family member is wrong, lying is wrong

The world may call this having a conscience

I believe this to be God speaking to His creation

Incidentally, universal does not mean everybody believes

people have the free will to reject God’s leading

1 Timothy 4:2 NASB95

by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

Your conscience is that basic way God speaks to us.

Have you ever done something, and while doing it you knew you shouldn’t be doing it. later to find out you should have never done it!

That’s the Holy Spirit leading you.

John 16:13–14 NASB95

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Holy Spirit is the one who allows us greater communication with the Father.

Please understand its not weird to hear voices in you head.

Everybody does! Ever talk to yourself? and I don’t mean outloud that’s definitely weird

who voice is that?

Your own - Your own thoughts are probably going to sound logical or analytical. It’ll sound like the kind of things you often think.

Ever hear a voice that just doesn’t sound right. telling you to do something you know you shouldn’t do

satan - satan always condemns. His purpose is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. So if the thoughts you’re hearing are negative, destructive, vicious or accusing, it’s the enemy.

God - When God speaks, it always lines up with the Bible - His character and His actions. He is kind, loving, inspirational, wise, healing, and convicting without being condemning.

God’s speaking might seem like a tangent. Your thinking one thing then all of a sudden your going another direction

The skill to develop is the ability to distinguish between these voices

I have met many people who tell me they hear from God all the time. But their lives and choices don’t line up with someone following the will of God.

I believe many christian’s are caught in a deception of listening to the enemy believing it’s God!

We’ll get into that is part 2 of this message

my hope is to help you to be able to distinguish the voice of God in your life.

When someone you know calls you on the phone. they don’t have to say who it is because you recognize the voice.

likewise God has granted us grace to know and recognize His voice.

and I want to give you 4 steps to help you along that path

4 simple steps to help you hear God better

1.Be still: Quiet yourself down

I wonder why I don’t hear from the Shepherd anymore

In our crazy-busy lives, it’s important to take some time out to find peace and listen to God without distractions.

1 Kings 19:11–13 NASB95

So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The still quiet voice of God.

Sometimes we expect God to speak through dreams or visions, or audibly or on billboards

True He does all these things, but they are the extraordinary

story of God speaking through a Billboard (before the days of digital billboards)

But the most common way God speaks to us on a regular daily basis is by His still quiet voice.

Find a quiet spot, get comfortable and get rid of any distractions.

Keep a notepad nearby for the items on your to-do list that will inevitably pop into your mind.

Welcome the Holy Spirit, simply by saying, “Holy Spirit, I welcome you.

Come and be here with me at this moment.”

2. Look: Fix your eyes on Jesus

Use the eyes of your imagination to picture Jesus. You might see in black and white, in colour, a still image, or a movie on the screen of your mind.

If you’ve been told that it’s bad to use your imagination, or find it a bit unorthodox, then it’s valuable to remember that people heard from God through vision all throughout the Bible.

Jesus even used vision to connect with the Father

John 5:19 NASB95

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

As you picture Jesus, ask him a question, “Jesus, how do you see me?” or “Jesus, what do you want to say to me today?”

3. Listen: Tunein

Now, listen. What is Jesus saying?

Again, His response it might not be an audible voice, but God often speaks in our thoughts, images, memories

It might sound like your own thoughts at the start, but as you practice, you’ll be able to more clearly distinguish God’s voice.

Story of preparing sermons

That’s where point 4 comes in.

4. Write it down

Keep a journal of what God says to you.

Write it down, unfiltered, just as you hear it.

Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, and don’t course correct.

Then, share it with other people that are more experienced in hearing God.

They’ll be able to help you figure out what was God speaking, and what wasn’t.

This will aid you to distinguish God’s voice

As you develop your understanding you will become more and more familiar, and this will help you to recognize God speaking throughout you day.

but always maintain this quiet time with God.

Let’s pray