Part 5 of 6
Listening Listeners: Can You Hear God's Voice?
Notes: Hearing the Voice of the Lord - Derek Prince
The distinctive mark of those who come to and follow Jesus are those who hear his voice. The one basic requirement for an ongoing personal relationship with God is hearing his voice. Do we hear what we want to hear from false teachers, our own hearts or do we listen to the voice of God? The one requirement that hasn't changed throughout every age and dispensation is those who are God's children hear and listen to his voice.
Exodus 15:26 The Lord becomes my physician when I listen diligently to him with both of my ears "listen listening"
“He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”” Exodus 15:26 NLT
Exodus 19:5-6 “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.””
Exodus 19:5-6 NLT
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 &15
““If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:
“But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:”
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15 NLT
“This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’ “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.”
Jeremiah 7:23-24 NLT
John 10
““I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”” John 10:1-21 NLT
There are three things that distinguish those who really follow Jesus 1. They know his voice 2. Jesus knows them 3. They follow Jesus. This has nothing to do with denominational labels.
Blessed are those who have ears that hear! Jesus did not say blessed are those who read the Bible. He said blessed ( remember he came to give them that follow him a rich and satisfying life) are those who hear my voice. There are many people who read the Bible, but who do not do what God says to do. It is essential to read the word, but it is more essential to do what it says.
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:22-27 NLT
Hearing God's voice is
1. Personal: Your heart is like a safe that hides and protects the valuable gift of life God has given you, and only the voice of the Lord can unlock your heart. There are no two voices alike. Many harmful troubles can come when the door of your heart is opened to the wrong voice. Listen to your Shepherds voice.
2. Intangible: It cannot be touched, felt or apprehended. It can only be heard. It's outside of the physical and material perspective. It has nothing to do with buildings, clothes, books, furniture, uniforms. God's voice is not restricted. It is relational.
3. Present in time: It's not in the past nor the future. It is now. When you hear a voice it is because that person is present. God is present now. We do not live in the past nor the future. We live in the present. We live and hear God's voice now. "Who should I say sent me, and God said ' Tell them that I AM sent you'"
God is a personal relational and present God.
Hearing God's voice produces faith. Many people long for and struggle for faith, but they don't achieve it because the secret to faith comes by hearing God's voice.
“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News ( RHEMA) about Christ.”
Romans 10:17 NLT
“Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven.”
Psalms 119:89 NLT
The logos or total mind, counsel and will of God is contained in the word, the Bible, and the word of God is summed up in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the personified logos of God. The total counsel, mind and representation of God. Being that this is true, if you deny Christ you deny God. If you hate Jesus you will hate God and his Followers. Where is your heart toward Jesus? Now is the time to hear and listen to God's voice in the logos and the rhema as it pertains to Jesus Christ. John 1:1-2
Logos vs Rhema
Logos is the totality of the mind and counsel of God. Eternal unchanging. Comprehensive, settled, final.
Rhema is the word spoken to describe and help understand the logos. Comes down from heaven, they are personal, daily words from God to us. The GOSPEL!!!
Man does not live on bread alone but on every Rhema of God's voice! Matthew 4:4
God has a rhema for us each day. A portion of rhema.
THEN HOW DOES FAITH COME? Have you ever read the Bible, and received nothing from it? It's just black marks on white paper with no voice of God? Are your ears open to THE VOICE or are they closed to it? GOD IS A LIVING SPIRIT. Are you rebellious in heart? Apathetic, indifferent, unforgiving, stubborn in heart? What is keeping you from receiving and hearing the God who loves you? Only the Holy Spirit of God can make the RHEMA of God come alive to you.
Read how Jesus depended on the RHEMA of God in Isaiah 50:4-7
“The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:4-7 NLT
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
Romans 8:14 NLT
There are three steps to receiving the faith that heals or brings about salvation:
1. Reading the Rhema ( the actual Words in the Bible)
2. Hearing or listening or believing the voice of the Lord that reveals the Rhema. This is not instantaneous. It is an attitude and a frame of mind. You listen. Do you accept God's voice?
3. Receiving the faith that heals follows. The Holy Spirit interacts with our lives causing us to 1. To be born of the Spirit of God and 2. To be led by the Spirit of God to mature and grow in the character of Christ. This is being continually led, not just once a week.
How do we hear God's voice?
“Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.””
Mark 4:9, 23 NLT
This is listening with the heart
A callused and hard heart is spiritually deaf and cannot understand the teachings of Jesus. It is a heart that will not hear God.
Cultivate a sensitive heart to hear the voice of the Lord.
Solomon asked for a discerning or hearing heart. One that would hear the voice of the Lord.
“Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?””
1 Kings 3:9 NLT
God does not shout. He will whisper. We need to cultivate a special sensitivity to the voice of God like the sensitivity in the finger tips of a blind person who reads braille. An ordinary person cannot read braille unless they cultivate the right sensitivity.
Four requirements to cultivate a unique sensitivity to the voice of God:
1. Attention
2. Humility
3. Time
4. Quietness
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully ( incline, bow down your head, humbly receive) to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:20-23 NLT
“My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully ( bow down) to my wise counsel.” Proverbs 5:1 NLT
“Listen to the words ( pay attention to the words) of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction.” Proverbs 22:17 NLT
““Be still, ( cease striving, let go, relax) and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”” Psalms 46:10 NLT
“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.”
Psalms 62:1 NLT
“Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness.”
Psalms 95:6-8 NLT
To hear God's voice approach him with a heart of worship.
God sets the time and place to speak to us. We must let go of all our other priorities and honor God with the time we have with him. Everything else is second. The time and place may not be what we expect.
1. Moses: “Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The LORD spoke to him from there.” Numbers 7:89 NLT. The place was sacred from the Holy of Holies behind the second curtain.
““When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:5-6 NLT
2. Elijah: ““Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”” 1 Kings 19:11-13 NLT. God is not like a big man shouting. The power of God's voice is in a whisper and it can create worship and reverence in our hearts.
3. Jeremiah: “The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” Jeremiah 18:1-6 NLT. God chose the place to speak to Jeremiah. Jeremiah received the message at the right time. Israel is still being formed to this day.
What people are waiting for today is a man who has heard from God.
How can we know for sure we heard God's voice? There are four confirmations:
1. Agreement with Scripture. The Spirit reveals Gods voice and is the author of all scripture. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NLT. The Holy Spirit is a person and does not contradict himself. Satan has many counterfeits to the voice of the Lord that when listened to will end in judgement: “Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. They will go from one place to another, weary and hungry. And because they are hungry, they will rage and curse their king and their God. They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.” Isaiah 8:19-22 NLT. Mediums , spiritists, oujie boards, psychics, fortune tellers, horoscopes, tarot cards, tea cup reading, yoga. The only voice that guides is the voice of God through the scriptures. “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." Psalms 119:105 NLT
2. Confirmation of Circumstances: “At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said, “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’” Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD. So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it.” Jeremiah 32:6-9 NLT.
3. The Peace Of Christ: “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” Colossians 3:15 AMP. Peace, thankfulness and God's Word in your heart.
4. Confirmation Through Fellow Believers: “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man” ), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas ), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.” Acts 13:1-3 NLT. Worship is the best preparation for hearing God's voice. Public confirmation of the call of God on Barnabas and Saul. “This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.” Galatians 1:1 NLT. We are members of a body with other members, and depend on the other members for unity in agreement with the Spirit of God. Truly Spiritual men do not move ahead unilaterally. It depends on who we hear confirmation from. Proven integrity and maturity of believers is key when accepting the confirmation of God through them. Right relationships are necessary. The better our relationship the better we can hear. There are three primary relationships that God uses and we can expect to hear God's voice: 1. Pastors and their people (“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.” Hebrews 13:7 NLT), 2. Husbands and wives (“For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” Ephesians 5:22-24 NLT), 3. Parents and children (“Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.” Ephesians 6:1 NLT)
The Holy Spirit will not say anything to us individually that contradicts or disagrees with what is already in Scripture.
Lord, help us to hear your voice!
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