Hearing the Lord’s Voice

TEXT: Exodus 3:1-6

Introduction:  In John 10 we read these words of the Lord Jesus Christ “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice, But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. One of the characteristics of a true member of the flock of God is that he or she is able to hear, know. and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. How well acquainted are you with the voice of God? When was the last time you could say you really heard the Lord speaking to you? I fear that far too many Christians rarely, if ever, hear from the Lord. I’m not talking about hearing from the Lord in an audible voice, or in a dream or vision, but hearing from the Lord as He speaks, by His Holy Spirit, through His Holy Word. Can you think of the last time you can truly say you heard a Word from the Lord? If we are not hearing the Lord’s voice, it is not because anything is lacking in the One speaking - it is because of a problem with the one listening.

I.    Guiding Principles Concerning God Voice

A.       God wants to speak to us

1.      God’s interest in speaking to us is made evident by all the ways He communicates.

a)      We see Him in creation, in history, in the prophetic word, and in His Son,

b)      If God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us, certainly He loves us enough to continue to communicate with us.

2.      With Moses God initiated the process by sending the Angel of the Lord and appearing in the burning bush.

3.      With us we know that He has given us His Holy Spirit, His Word, and an invitation into His Throne Room so that He can communicate with us.

B.       God will not speak if we will not listen

1.      At the same time we know that God will not waste His time talking to us if He knows that we are not going to listen.

2.      Though the Angel of the Lord appeared in the burning bush, God did not call Moses’ name until Moses “went over to look.” This indicated an interest on Moses’ part, and opened the door for the Lord. When the Lord spoke, Moses listened with “Here I am.”

C.       Sometimes it takes time for God to speak

1.      Moses had been in the wilderness for 40 years before the Lord spoke to him

2.      This was not due to any shortcoming on God’s part, but God was waiting for Moses to be ready and the circumstances to be right.

3.      For Moses these years were very humbling,

a)      He had been raised in Pharaoh’s household and had a privileged life.

b)      He had been raised by those who had a great disdain for shepherds.

c)      Now he finds himself spending 40 years working as a shepherd for somebody else’s flock.

4.      God was waiting for Moses to be ready; he was also waiting for other circumstances to he right.

a)      Note what we read in Exodus 4:19. “Those who sought Moses’ life were now dead.”

b)      The time was not right for Moses to go until everything was in order.

5.      When time goes by where the Lord does not seem to speak, it is because He is waiting for us, and the time, to be ready.

D.       When Cod speaks it is clear who is speaking

1.      The Lord revealed that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2.      This led Moses to hide his face in the presence of Almighty God.

3.      When God speaks to us, especially from His Word, we can be sure that He will make His voice clear to us.

4.      God does not want us to go about life guessing whether or not we heard His voice - He wants us to know when He has spoken.

E.       Once God speaks, things change

1.      When God speaks to us He expects us to make adjustments in our lives that fall into line with His revealed will.

a)      This was the case for Moses, as he would soon leave Jethro and go hack to Egypt

b)      This will also be true for us.

2.      The changes may not always be radical.

a)      Often they will be very subtle adjustments to the way we think, speak, or act.

b)      Yet there should always the some change when we have met with God.

II.  The Problem we have with Hearing Cod’s Voice

A.       Symptom

1.      If we are really honest we often don’t hear God speak to us because we don’t want to hear God speak.

2.      When we hear God speak, we cannot help but make adjustments in our lives.

3.      We don’t like to change. We are comfortable, content. complacent with things just the way they are.

4.      We are afraid to hear Gods voice because it may require some sort of sacrifice in our lives.

B.       Sickness

1.      This unwillingness to hear the voice of God because it may require us to make some changes is symptomatic of a deeper problem - a problem with our love relationship with the Lord.

2.      When we have someone we want to spend time with them, communicate with them, and we willingly adjust our lives to be closer to them.

3.      If we are in a true love relationship with God we will want to take the time to be with Him, hear His voice, and make any adjustments necessary so that we can be closer to Him.

4.      When we have “other loves” we do not care quite as much about spending time with God, and we are not willing to make the adjustments He wants us to make in our lives.

a)      John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

b)      Revelation 2:4-5 addresses the cure for being “love sick.” The church at Ephesus seemed to be a sound church. It was fulfilling its duties, it was sound in its doctrine, but Jesus had a problem with it. Their religious activity had become more duty than devotion. They were now going through the motions. They         were functioning more from the head than from the heart. The Lord called them to repent, and go back to doing the first things. This probably did not mean they were doing too many things differently But it did mean their motivations had changed.

5.      As you go about your Christian duties - reading the Bible, praying, attending church, practicing righteousness, is it out of habit our out of love?        

III.The Practice of Hearing Cod’s Voice

Once we repent of our lack of love and willingness to hear from God, the next step is to practice listening. Consider what Moses was called to do to listen to the Lord. He was told to take off his sandals for he was standing on holy ground. What is significant about that?

A.       Call for Patience

1.      When we take our shoes off it is because we are feeling at home and plan to stay a while.

2.      This is the way it is when it comes to hearing from God.

3.      Sometimes it takes time.

4.      God will normally not speak to us if we just give Him five minutes or less to do so.

5.      He wants us to diligently seek Him, and show that we are serious about seeking Him and hearing from Him, and doing His will.

B.       Call for Vulnerability

1.      Being barefoot in the presence of God speaks also of being vulnerable.

2.      “Uncovered feet” became a Hebrew idiom for being naked.

3.      When we come to hear from God we need to he vulnerable.

4.      This speaks of being humble and allowing God to address areas in our hives that are not right.        

C.       Call for Careful Attention

1.      When you walk around barefooted you are a lot more careful about where you walk.

2.      When we spend time in the presence of God we need to give careful attention to what the Lord has to say.

3.      If we don’t give careful attention, we could end up hurting ourselves.

D.       Call for Purity

1.      This is most specific for Moses’ circumstance.

2.      As we walk through life our shoes get dirty, they pick up mud, muck, mire, bubble gum, and all kinds of stuff that we wouldn’t want on our bare feet.

3.      When we come before the Lord, if we truly want to hear from Him, we need to lay aside our dirty shoes, confess our sin to Him, and have Him cleanse us.

4.      Then, and only then, will our heart be right to hear from the Lord.

CONCLUSION: God loves us and wants to communicate with us. He longs for us to know Him better, and desires to see us make adjustments in our hives that will draw us closer to Him. Are you hearing the voice of the Lord today?

    Remember that in order to hear His voice, we must first be in the fold. We must first have a personal relationship through God with Jesus Christ. The Lord is longing for you to call upon him for salvation. Do it today

    Remember also that we will not seek the Lord the way that we should unless we truly love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Is God’s silence in your life due to other loves? Is Gods silence in your life due to your impatience, your sin, or your unwillingness to submit to Him?

    James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

    Is the Lord speaking to you today from His Word? Respond by letting Him make adjustments in your life so that you can truly draw- near to Him today.