Hearing God's Voice
I believe one of the most important ministries
in Kenya is teaching. People need understanding, and teaching brings
understanding. Understanding makes you outstanding. Any area of life you see
people being outstanding, business, relationships etc. it’s an indication that
they’re walking in understanding. It is my prayer today that in this session
understanding will come to you, and this understanding will make you
outstanding.
Hearing God’s voice is the master key to a life
of difference. For us to navigate in the years of our youth and life, hearing
God’s voice is very critical. It is extremely important. You can miss the
latest phone, having a boyfriend/girlfriend, but you cannot afford to miss out on God's voice.
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. 6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.) 1 Samuel 3:1-7 NKJV
Note that in those days the Word of the Lord was rare, and that there was no widespread revelation. We thank God that in the days we are in God's Word is in plenty all around us and is easily accessible to all of us owing to the vast technological advancements, so no one can stand and rightfully say that they can't access God's Word and hear His voice.
Verse 7 is also critical. You must know God and His Word be
revealed to you, and when this is done you will be able to distinguish His
voice. God can be speaking to you say and night and you miss out if you don’t
know God nor have His Word revealed to you. If you are dating or looking forward to date, ensure
you have or get someone who knows God and has His Word revealed to them.
Make the prayer for you to know God and have His Word
revealed to you part and parcel of your family.
We need spiritual perception, that which the older
generations have. I pray that God may help you to perceive. Perception will
help you to avoid bad dates and shady deals with shady people etc. Without spiritual perception, God will be speaking and you miss out, thinking it is another person speaking. Perception helps us to clearly distinguish God's voice.
Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:9-10 NKJV
God is still speaking, and won’t give up even if and when we
miss out on His voice. I think one of the best statements God loves hearing is
“Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” This is the foundation of the greatest
prophet who ever lived. There was a spiritual positioning Samuel had in the
region.
Generally, God speaks in two ways:
1. God speaks by general revelation best expressed
in creation.
In every culture of the world, people have a revelation of
God, through creation. It is easier to believe God exists than it is to believe
he doesn’t. Desire never to miss on the voice of God, because the times and
seasons of God are revealed.
Still, general revelation is not enough...
2. God speaks by special revelation best expressed
in His written Word, the Bible.
God is there and is a speaking God. He speaks to us also
through the Bible. God’s Word isn’t only just a book. Those who say God’s Word
is boring is because they don’t know Him
nor have they had His Word revealed to them.
God’s Word should settle all arguments in our lives. We should
never argue against anything God’s Word says. We should always believe that
God’s Word has the final say. God’s Word
shows us how to live, and we should know this and believe it. We have to
believe that God’s Word settles it. We
have to come to a point where we believe God’s Word is final. We should stop
where God’s Word stops. I pray that you shall be addicted to the Word of God.
Some of us issues in our lives will be settled if we
prioritise God’s Word. If you’re in a
relationship where you can’t have
spiritual and Scriptural discussions with your partner, there’s a problem. God’s Word should be enthroned in
our lives. We can’t complain of not hearing God’s Word if we aren’t giving His Word space.
God’s Wisdom will send us to the top.
We should measure everything by the “Wordometer”. Whoever
speaks to us of God speaking to them has to align with God’s Word. Depth and
grounding in God’s Word will protect us from deception.
With general revelation and special revelation, with the help of the Holy Spirit, it becomes possible to know God.
What does it take to hear the voice of God?
1. You must be born again. You must realise you are
a sinner, you have missed the way of life and are willing to get back. Jesus
said that His sheep hear His voice (Jn. 10:4-5). For you to hear His voice, you
must be His sheep. The voice of God is a spiritual thing,
so you must be be spiritual to hear it.
2. You must be filled with the Spirit. You are 3
part: your body, mind/soul (what we educate and what makes us different from
animals), and a spirit. God communicates through your spirit. The steps of a
good man are ordered of the Lord (Ps. 37:23). God’s voice will lead us out of
trouble.
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart. Proverbs 20:27. NKJV
If your spirit man is in tune with the Lord, things in
your life will be easier. God can reveal all things to you, from a day in
advance to even a year in advance. The saints of God are never caught by
surprise. You can walk with God to an extent where you are even sure you're
going to heaven, and when exactly you will die. God and His Word cannot be separated. Everything
has to be cross-checked by God’s Word. I pray you walk in that realm.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet... Revelation
1:10 NKJV
Only spiritual people discern spiritual things.
3. Be willing to be led. We shouldn’t be
rebellious. When God shows you the way, follow it. When you decide to seek God,
seek Him and not your friends.
After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Acts 16:7 NKJV
We should stop when the Holy Spirit says we stop, and move when He says we move. We can't be disobedient to His instructions and keep desiring to hear new instructions from Him. The more we disobey, the more we harden our hearts to His voice and it becomes harder to hear Him.
4. Be meek/humble. One of the things that should
make you humble it is God’s voice. It doesn't make sense for someone to boast once they hears God's voice, and see themselves as above others, boasting with what was revealed to them. The reason something was revealed to you was
for you to stand in the gap. God’s voice should not make us proud. The Spirit
of God operates in our lives even while we’re sleeping.
5. Be joyful. When you hear the voice of God,
you'll be joyful.
Let me finish by talking about the 5 kinds of spiritual movement that you can pick. This is how we hear God, and I am sure that you have had one if not all of these. This is to confirm to some of you that you actually have been hearing God, and encourage you to keep pursuing Him:
1. Spiritual conviction. This is an inner awareness
that something is wrong. Many of us have had this, especially when we accepted
Christ, or when we've sinned.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me... John 16:7-9 NKJV
When someone is truly walking with God and they sin
or miss the mark, they'll be heavily convicted. The aim of spiritual conviction
is righteousness. People who feel no conviction are past their conscience. They
never feel anything when they sin. I pray we may not get to this place, that
place of hardness of the heart. When walking with God, conviction will be often. Conviction is not to be confused with condemnation, which puts us down and attacks us. Jesus never condemns us (Jn. 3:17, Rom. 8:1). The devil and our hearts are what condemns us (Rev. 12:10, 1 Jn. 3:19-21). Conviction is to lift us up; condemnation is to put us down.
3. Spiritual witness. This is the inward assurance
that lets you know that all is well. It tells us that all is well, no matter how
things look. You may be in a storm but inwardly you are very calm, with a "strange" assurance that all things will turn out well. This witness is from God, and keeps us calm in storms.
The spiritual witness is also what assures us that we are God's children and do belong to Him wholly, right from the time we accepted Him.
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God... Romans 8:15-16 NKJV
4. Spiritual burden. This is an inward persuasion God places on
you, and in many cases it is for someone else. It’s usually heavy on you and
stays with you for a while. This is not suspicion, rather something God
Himself places on you. Normally this is how God speaks to us concerning someone
else. Sometimes the spiritual burden will go after the one who has received the burden prays in the Spirit, Who is the Burden Remover, and Who intercedes for us according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26-27). Our carnal minds may not understand why someone's name suddenly popped up in our minds and refuses to leave, but suddenly after praying for them in the Spirit the burden feels like it has been lifted up.
Other times the spiritual burden is here to stay, and is how we know what God has called us to do in this life. A signal of your spiritual ministry is the burden you carry in your
heart. For example, you may be walking with a fellow believer in the streets and they tell you that they feel burdened for the street children, and feel like something should be done to change their situation. Just because you don’t feel someone else’s burden it doesn’t mean God
isn’t speaking to you. We all have our own individual burdens, which is how God uses us to accomplish His purpose. Carry your burden. Your burden may not be mine and mine not yours. One person's burden may be street children, others witnessing to the prostitutes, others the youth, others young women etc. May God give you a burden. Something
should be able to move you.
Paul had a burden to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and nothing could stop him, neither chains nor tribulations. A spiritual burden, if and when placed by God, makes you bold and willing to do anything to see God's purpose prevail and His name glorified.
5. Spiritual perception. Inward knowledge about
things, people and places. You need perception in your life, to know that there
is a right time to go to some places.
When a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.” Luke 9:46-48 NKJV
Jesus could often tell what people were thinking in their hearts, and this basically is spiritual perception. We can operate in the same, and this again will help us avoid making many mistakes and cause us to walk in God's purpose and ways, also keeping us from deception.
6. Spirit's testimony. This is an outward
confirmation of the will of God, by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s not a movement or leading you feel, but
someone else outside your world or life that they let you know. This is why
it’s important to have mature believers as friends.
And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. Acts 20:22-23 NKJV
As we walk with God, He will keep sending people our way whom He has given a word to confirm what it is we are looking to Him for. Who surrounds you? Is it people who speak to you God's Word, or people who speak to you what the world is saying? We all need people who will help us make godly decisions, as they're used by God to bear witness to what God is speaking to our hearts.
God's voice is not a mystery that we have to live without. God wants us to accomplish His purpose on earth and most importantly fellowship with Him, and this is made possible by us first acknowledging that He speaks, then acquainting ourselves with His voice.
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| Pastor Daniel Gichana |
1st teaching during the 4th June 2016 Youth Transformation Summit, at Teaching Transformation Ministry, Ruiru.
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Blessings.