Interpreting God

1 Chronicles 12:32 NKJV

of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;

Pray - as God to speak and for us to understand.

We are in a series about hearing God and I want to talk to you about the second most important step in hearing God which is understanding what He is saying to you after He speaks. It is one thing to hear Him speaking to you but if you don’t understand what He means how will you be able to respond appropriately?

Have you ever been misunderstood? Can you remember a time where you told someone something and they totally misunderstood you? Maybe a compliment was considered a critique or a desire to help determined to be a detriment. How did that make you feel?

Do you think that we misunderstand God—His intentions, actions, and inactions in our lives and world? How do you think that makes Him feel?

If you can relate, you are not alone. The Bible gives us an example of someone who heard God, but didn’t quite get the details right. Agabus was a prophet who accurately prophesied of a famine that was going to hit Jerusalem (Acts 11.27-29). Later, he would give a prophetic word to the Apostle Paul that was correct, but not totally accurate:

Acts 21:10–11 NKJV

10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

The record in Acts is that the Roman commander was the one who actually bound Paul and sent him to Jerusalem (Acts 21.33, 22.29). Paul was bound and he was taken to Jerusalem by the Gentiles, but the Jews weren’t the ones who did it. So he was right, but not totally right.

Despite this, Agabus was still considered a prophet. He could hear from God and confidently state what God was saying by the Holy Spirit. And even though he was not fully accurate on all of the details, he was right on the outcome. His example encourages me to keep seeking to hear and understand God.

What if you could understand and interpret what God is saying to you—wouldn’t that be amazing? What if you could speak into people’s situations and circumstances and offer direction and encouragement and hope from God?

Hearing is Just the Beginning

Just hearing God is not enough because God speaks with a purpose.

Jeremiah 1:12 ESV

Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

God speaks to us and expects us to obey what He is saying (John 14.21). If we can’t understand Him, how can we do that?

Not only that but we have to develop our ability to understand God so that we can understand the times and seasons we live in. This will empower us to walk in wisdom so we might know what to do.

The sons of Issachar from our text in 1 Chronicles were a part of David’s mighty men. They were advisors and because they could interpret signs and seasons they had strategic and practical advantage in battle (and daily life).

When we learn how to interpret what God is saying to us we will better understand the will and ways of God for our lives. This gives us a strategic and practical advantage as His people in the world.

God Speaks in Spiritual Terms

But God does not change, and the way that He communicates to us does not either (cf. Malachi 3.6). This is important to recognize because God speaks spiritual truth with spiritual words.

1 Corinthians 2:13–14 NKJV

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We can’t know the things of God nor truly understand God from a natural point of view. We need an interpreter.

On the international mission trips I’ve been a part of it has been necessary to have an interpreter. Otherwise, I couldn’t communicate with the local people. Over time, as the interpreter would speak and explain I would begin to pick up certain words and meanings. I learned to recognize some gestures and understand meaning (e.g. a head shake is different in India than South America).

In the same way, we need help to understand what God is saying. Without this help, we can hear words but not grasp their meaning. We can see visions and dream dreams but we won’t know what they mean or what God is telling us.

Joseph told the baker and the cup-bearer that interpretations belong to God (Genesis 40.8). God often conceals things and invites us to search them out (Proverbs 25.2).

Think about it…what if you knew an Interpreter of spiritual things and He taught you how to understand the way God speaks? What if you could learn to interpret God? What if you could understand spiritual language?

I know that this seems a bit crazy because most Christians are not encouraged to do this for themselves. But the Scripture says in

1 Corinthians 14:31 NKJV

For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

You Can Interpret God

We can all hear what God says to us and tell others what He is saying. The Scripture declares it so. The Holy Spirit and the word of God work with us to give us what we need to do it (cf. 1 John 2.24-27). The Scripture says that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.16). The Lord said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth and tell us what God is saying.

John 16:12–15 NLT

12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

There are four practices that we can implement right now which will help us begin to interpret God.

1. Ask The Holy Spirit to Teach You

Jesus made it clear that we need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us and guides us in the will of God (Romans 8.14). The Holy Spirit empowers us so that we can then do the will of God (cf. Acts 1.8).

When you are trying to understand the Bible, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.

When you have an impression, a vision, or a dream ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what He is saying.

Remember that the Bible is God-breathed, authored by the Holy Spirit, and that every prophecy came as holy men and women were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3.16, 2 Peter 1:21). Who would be better than the Holy Spirit to tell us what God means?

2. Study How God Speaks to His People in the Scriptures

2 Timothy 2:15 AMP

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

The Bible is God’s word, given to us. Every encounter, every miracle, every prophetic action was given to us as an example so that we can learn and know Him (1 Corinthians 10.11).

It is important to study how God spoke to others. We need to notice the words He used and tone that He used them. We need to recognize the various means and methods He used (e.g. still small voice, dreams, visions, trances, creation, etc.).

Knowing how God has spoken to others in the past will help us recognize how He speaks to us today.

As a supplement to this, I highly recommend reading books about the prophetic and interpretation as they will be helpful.

Just be careful that you are constantly asking the Holy Spirit and referring to Scripture as you seek to understand, while books like a “Prophet’s Dictionary” may be helpful, they do not always represent what God is saying to you now.

3. Develop Your Personal Lexicon

This is an extension of the second practice, but an important one.

We need to recognize how God spoke to people in the Bible, and we need to recognize how He speaks to us.

Remember that God speaks to us individually as well as corporately. He will use words that mean something to you personally. Often God will use something in your life that has meaning to communicate something (just like a couple will have inside jokes or hidden meanings).

Remember that hearing God is relational. He will speak to you personally. What He says and how He says it will never contradict Scripture or His revealed character.

As you develop a history with God you will begin to recognize how He speaks to you and the various symbols, phrases, etc. He uses. Write those down, capture them, and you will be surprised how they will help you interpret what God is saying in the future.

4. Share With Wise Counselors

Another key practice is having your understanding evaluated.

1 Corinthians 14:26–33 NKJV

26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

God works for the good of His people and He places us in community for our good.

Sometimes we need others to supply the interpretation of what God is speaking to us.

Sometimes we need others to help us judge our interpretation of God’s revelation.

God gives us the blessing of wise counselors for our peace and safety. We’d be wise to seek their counsel.

Conclusion

Because eternity is a life with God we draw near to hear His voice. And beyond just hearing His voice is understanding how He speaks to us. God speaks to us in spiritual terms and we need the Holy Spirit to understand those things.

When we learn how to interpret God’s speaking we will be less confused and more confident that we are hearing God. We will learn to discern His meaning and act in faith.

The more we learn to hear God and interpret His voice for ourselves and others the more we will discern the times and seasons and know what the right thing to do. We will not only have the peace and confidence of knowing for ourselves, others will look to us for guidance and direction.

They will follow us as we follow God.

Who’s ready to live in that reality—to hear God’s voice and understand what He is saying?

Pray for people according to Ephesians 1:17-21 - for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened, that they may know the hope of His calling, and the exceeding greatness of His power toward us in Jesus’ name.