Set Yourself Up To Hear From God

God is actually speaking all the time!

You should be hearing from Him AT LEAST daily!

What has God been speaking to you the last few days?

one of the most effective tools i’ve ever used as a minister was: What is God speaking to me today?

If God spoke to me today, what would He say?

for some reason, that question holds a lot of power. Why? Because when you examine your life in light of what God would say, stuff starts coming up.

As a software developer, my job is running into things i don’t know how to do. That’s my job.

I have to balance asking for help vs. figuring it out on my own. Asking too much is annoying. spending too long to figure it out can be a waste of time. So, i learned a secret question: what are they going to say when i ask them?

Matthew 5 & 6 give us a framework for setting ourselves up to hear from God!

Hearing from God starts with us first.

He speaks in a two-way relationship.

Matthew 6:6–7 NKJV

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Do it FOR HIM ALONE! Not to be seen! Not to tell people about it!

God speaks so that we can know Him. He’s more interested in RELATIONSHIP than in jobs, stuff, direction, decisions.

Matthew 6:8–11 NKJV

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Are you receiving your daily bread?

Think of your time in the Word as Setting yourself up to hear from Him.

Talking about it.

Listening to others talking about it!

That’s why your church is so important!

2. Before He speaks, He gives us a framework to live by.

90% of the time, God has already shown us what to do. When we live according to His principles, our life is setup to already walk into His will.

as an example: if you’re single, what kind of person do you want to attract? What if you dress and talk the way God asks you to? Who will you attract?

If you’re dating, and you live according to His principles, how are you setting up your life?

If you’re parenting, and you do it according to His plans, how are you setting up your kids?

Rejecting HOW He asks us to live will cause us to miss setups!

Matthew 5:3–10 NKJV

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Is your ATTITUDE aligned with God’s will?

3. His presence comes first, then His voice.

Matthew 6:33 NKJV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

4. Remove the BIG 4 blockers:

Matthew 6:25–32 NKJV

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Worry/Fear

Control

God makes His will happen, not us.

He speaks through closed doors as much as through open doors!

3) Unsurrendered Parts

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV

13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

4) Unrepentant sin.

5. Stop Interrupting Him

Very often, He’s trying to say something, but we won’t shut up!

How often are we so busy asking a question, we aren’t letting Him talk?

How often are we focused on OUR situation, and He’s asking us to focus on His?

John 21:15–17 NKJV

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

6. Turn off worldly voices

THEY ARE A DISTRACTION!

THEY CAUSE CONFUSION!

THEY ARE 100% UNRELATED TO ANYTHING GOD WOULD EVER SPEAK TO YOU!

The priorities of the world are different. The values of the world are different. The morality of the world is different. The kingdom of God is foolish nonsense to every one of those voices!

MANY times, you’re confused, because another voice confused you. God is not the author of confusion.

Questioning His Word. Questioning your calling. Questioning things that are clear.

Genesis 3:1–6 NKJV

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.