How To Recognize God's Voice in Your Daily Life

When I get an idea in my mind, how do I know where that idea came from? That impression, that thought, how do I know it didn't come from the devil, or it came from the bad burrito I ate last night, or or it came from, uh, my own thoughts? I just thought it up. I mean, you talk to yourself all the time. I talk to myself all the time. I am my own best friend. And you're talking, you have a running conversation with you throughout the day. How do I look? How do I feel? What's going on? How should I handle that? Respond to that. And it's very easy to sometimes be confused on, is this God telling me to do this, or is this just something I want to do? Do you know what I'm talking about? Is this really just my idea, or did God give me this idea, or did it come from the devil, or is it some bad tape that I'm playing in the past?

It is extremely important you know how to discern when it's God talking to you, because if you don't, it can be fatal. The Bible says this: Proverbs 14:12. "What you think is the right road may lead to death." In other words, it can be fatal. And you know, you know, a lot of evil gets blamed on God when people say, "Well, God told me to do this." The Bible says in 1 John, uh, 4:1, "Don't believe every message you hear just because someone says it's a message from God." Test it first to see if it really is.

I want you to learn seven ways to test an impression from the Bible. Because the fact is, one moment you can get an idea from God, and the next moment you can get an idea from Satan in a split second. Let me give you a classic example of it. One day Jesus is with his 12 disciples, and and, uh, he he turns to Peter, one of the 12, and he says, "Uh, Peter, who do you say that I am?" And, uh, Peter says, "Well, Lord, you are the Christ. You are the Messiah. You are the son of the living God." And Jesus looks straight at Peter and he says, "Right on, Pete." He said, he says, "You have spoken the truth." He said, "Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you." In other words, Peter, that idea didn't come from you. That idea came from God. He said, "You're right. You spoke the truth. I am the son of God." And that idea that was put in your mind came from God. It wasn't revealed by flesh and blood.

Immediately Jesus says to Peter, "Now, Peter, I've got to go to Jerusalem, and I'm going to be crucified, and I'm going to die there." And Peter immediately says, "That's nonsense, Lord. You can't let them do that to you." And not 5 seconds later, Jesus looks at Peter and [music] says, "Get behind me, Satan." What's he saying? He's saying that thought didn't come from God. That c thought, Peter, that you just spoke came from the devil. That's how quick you can miss it. One minute you can be saying, "You're right. That thought came from God, and upon this rock, this truth, I will build my church." And the very next second you're saying something, and Jesus looks and says, "Peter, you didn't get that one from God." That's the devil. Because the devil did not want Jesus to die, because die in dying on the cross, he would die for the sins of mankind and allow our salvation, and he didn't want that to happen in that way. And knowing that, he said that thought is from the devil.

Now, how do you know? Well, he says, test it. Look at the next verse. Jesus said in John 7:17, "Who wants to do God's will?" And now that's the key. You got to want to be willing to do it in advance. "Anyone who wants to do God's will can test this teaching and know whether it's from God or whether I'm making it up." Jesus says, "You know what? You can test what I say, and you can then know for sure that it's from God."

Now, how do you do that? Well, that's what we're going to look at. We're going to look at seven ways to test an impression. Now, these seven tests form a filter. And if you get an idea from God, or you get an idea in your mind, you're going, "Now, did I just think that up? Or is that from the devil? Or is that some old tape that my [music] great grandmother said or something? Or is that really from the Holy Spirit?" You test it by these seven tests. And if it passes all seven, then you can know for certain it's from God. Now, you can't pick and choose. You can't say, "Well, that passed test one, three, five, and seven, but it didn't pass two, four, and six." No, no, it's got to pass all seven. But if an idea that you have passes all seven tests, then you can know absolutely certain, and God wants you to know this, that you have heard from God, that God put that idea in your mind, and it is something he wants you to do.

All right, let's look at these seven tests from the Bible. The first test. There's seven questions. The first question is, does it agree with the Bible? Does the idea that I've got in my mind right now, that thought, that impression, does it agree with the Bible? Because God's will will never contradict God's word. What he's already said. God doesn't say one thing and then change his mind and say another thing. If he said it, it's true, and it will always be true. See, God is consistent. God isn't moody. God doesn't change his mind. God will never tell you to violate a principle that he's already given in his word, the Bible, the word of God. He won't tell you to ignore this book. He'll never tell you to disobey this book. So, the first question you ask is, does this line up with what God has already said? And if what I have in my mind contradicts something God has already said, then I know I'm wrong, that it didn't come from God. Because truth is eternal.

Notice these verses. Luke 21:33. Jesus says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." God's word is eternal. The earth isn't eternal. The universe isn't eternal, but God's word is eternal. Because truth never changes, whether you believe it or not, because God cannot lie. I lie, you lie, but God cannot lie. And so God always tells you the truth. And if he told you in this book to do something, then he's never going to contradict it. So the first question I ask is, is this idea in harmony with the word of God?

Uh, for instance, let me give you some examples. Uh, in the book of Romans, the Bible tells us, "Pay your taxes." We are commanded as good citizens to pay our taxes. And Jesus said, "Um, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Now, if all of a sudden you get an idea, "God told me to not pay my taxes this year," that wasn't God. Okay? That wasn't God. Because God has already said, "Pay your taxes," and he's not going to contradict it.

Um, if I go over here to the book of Proverbs, there's a bunch of principles for how to have a successful business in the book of Proverbs. And one of the principles is, God says, "I bless businesses with integrity. Businesses that are fair in every business dealing, businesses that are just, businesses that are honest." And so if you get an idea that, "Well, you know what? I could make a little bit bigger profit this year if I just shaved a little. I know it wouldn't be quite right if I was a little dishonest. My profits could increase." That idea did not come from God because it contradicts what God has already said.

The Bible says that even if some angel showed up and came along and said, "Oh, by the way, I've got some new revelation. I've got some stuff to add to this book. Uh, yeah, that's good, but here's the new stuff. This is the new revised, and we're going to update it. We're going to give you one or two or more other books besides the Bible." God says, you know, that's not right. In fact, here's what the Bible says. Galatians chapter 1. "Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself," Paul says, "who preaches any other message." Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, says, "No, no, the Bible's not enough. You got to add this to it. You got to add this revelation. You got to add this book. You got to add this thought." If anybody else adds to it, he goes, "Let him be cursed." The Bible says this again in Revelation, "You may not add to what God has already said." What am I saying? The vast majority of God's will for your life is already here. It's right here in this book.

Now, the second test is just as important. All seven of these are important. The second test is, when I get an idea, I ask, "Does this make me more like Christ?" Does this idea make me more like Christ? Jesus is the standard by which I evaluate every thought, every idea, every philosophy, every opinion, every fad, every opinion. I I I hold it up against Jesus Christ. Why? Because God's purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus. We've talked about this many times. Why doesn't God just take you to heaven? Why did God put you on earth for 80 years and then take you to heaven? Why doesn't he just create you and take you to heaven? Why does he put you here on earth for 80 years? You ever thought about that? I mean, he could have just taken you straight to heaven. He put you here because life is a test and a trust and a temporary assignment. He wants you to practice the things you're going to do in heaven. And he wants you to become like Jesus Christ in character. That's going to involve some problems and going through the things Jesus went through.

Now, um, life is tough. Everybody agree with that? Life is hard because nothing works on this planet correctly. Everything is broken. Every body is broken. Every mind is broken. Every relationship is broken. There is nothing perfect. There's no perfect marriage, no perfect economy, no perfect church, no perfect country. The weather is broken. All because of sin. Heaven is going to be the place where we relax and have fun. Right now, God is more interested in your character than your comfort. And he wants you to grow up and become like Jesus.

Now look at these verses. The Bible says, "In your lives you must think and act like Jesus Christ." God says, "I, Jesus is the model." And in the next verse, "We take every thought captive." In other words, we test every thought. We test every thought so it's obedient to Christ. So we ask, it means that when I get an idea, the first thing I ask is, "Now, would Jesus do this? Would Jesus think this? Would Jesus feel this way? Would Jesus act this way?" Because he's the standard. He's the second filter. "What would Jesus do?" is a good question. It's a good question. What? Because I want to be like Christ.

Now, God gives a specific checklist because you say, "Well, what's Jesus like?" Well, he's the fruit of the spirit. God says Jesus is love, and he's joy, and he's peace, and he's patience, and kindness, and gentleness, and goodness, and meekness, and self-control. But here's another passage I want us to look at. James chapter 3 gives us some things that Jesus is and some things that Jesus isn't. And if you get an idea, this is a good filter or grid to test the idea. "If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition, such wisdom," in other words, those thoughts, those ideas, those impressions, "such quote wisdom, that's of the devil." You know where those ideas came from. The wisdom that comes from God, the the ideas, the impressions, the thoughts that come from God. That wisdom is pure. It's peaceloving. It's considerate. It's submissive and full of mercy. It's impartial and sincere.

Now, notice. He says, "Here's a test. There are two things you can know an idea is not from God. And there's seven things you can know it is an idea that is from God." And he says, "Now, if you get an idea and it's from God, it's going to be one of these things: pure, peace, loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, you know, uh, impartial and sincere."

Now, Tom's going to come and teach us the third filter. The third way you test an impression is you ask, "Does my church family confirm it? Does my church family confirm it?" You ask other mature believers, "What do you think about this idea?" Might check with God's word, might check with, uh, the other filters, but does my church family confirm it? Now, why is this one so important? Because you were not meant to live life all alone. You were meant to live life in relationship to other people. And so you go to others, other mature people who are trying to follow Christ as well, and you say, "What do you think about this?" This is why it's so important that you have a church family. Listen to what the Bible says about this in Ephesians 3:10. "God's intent is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known." Through the church, God's wisdom is made known into all eternity and to each one of us individually. He wants to use other people in your life, in my life.

Now, what does this mean? This means that if God has genuinely spoken to you, other believers, other people who are following Christ are going to confirm it when you talk to them about it. "Oh yeah, that makes sense. Oh yeah, I can see that." This also means if you get an idea, an impression, something from God, and you think, "Maybe I should do this for this area of my life, or for a relationship, or for my business," and you have a resistance to telling anybody else about it, that should be a huge red flag. "I don't want to tell anybody else." It's either, you know, I look at myself. I like to think things through and make plans. And if I'm resistant and telling somebody else, a lot of times it's just my pride. I just want to feel like I made it up all by myself. It's either my pride, or it could be in the back of your mind, you know it's the wrong thing to do, and you know what they're going to say when you tell them. So, you just don't want to tell them. You pre you test the impression with other people because you realize that they're going to confirm it. If you get some idea, crazy idea that you can't find any other person who's trying to follow Christ to confirm it, guess what? It's wrong. So you just throw it out, you drop it, and you realize, "I'm going to go on to the next idea." If mature belief, if mature believers question it, you should question it, too.

Now, why does God want us to get advice from other people? Because he wants to save us from a lot of things. The wisdom of the righteous can save you. Now, what can it save you? It can save you a lot of time, wasted time and doing the wrong thing. It can save you a lot of pain. Pain in making a mistake. I'd rather learn from somebody else's pain than have the pain myself. Can you agree with that one? No doubt about that. It can save you a lot of embarrassment. It can even save your life. That's how important advice from other people can be in your life. One one of the biggest reasons we mess up our lives is either we have no godly friends. No one else in our lives that we can talk to is trying to follow God and live life the kind of way he's made for us to live. Or I've got some friends, but I just won't listen to him in this case. I just want to do what I want to do, no matter what. So, I got to build godly relationships into my life.

Now, this this is why every one of us, we need something in our lives. You probably know what it is. We all need a small group. You know this already. In fact, most of you are in a small group. But maybe you were in one and you've gotten out of one. You've never been in one. And it's just, it's the time. It's just the hassle. It's If you're not in a small group, you're skating on thin ice, and you don't know where the thin ice is. You need some other people in your life that you can bounce some things off of. Relationships aren't just, "Every once in a while, I'll try to call." You got to build them in on a regular basis. I can't tell you how many times in our small group, someone has said something, and I wasn't even thinking to ask them about it, but just what they said, it caused me to think in a different direction, in a different way. That's the power of relationships, what God wants to do in our lives. You need a small group for feedback when it comes to hearing from God, impressions from God. Proverbs 11:14 says, "In the multitude of counselors, there is safety." So, if you want to make fewer mistakes, then you get all the godly advice that you can get and you follow it. With one big disclaimer on that one. There there are some people, they've got an idea and they go ask 10 people, and they realize it's wrong. So, then they go ask 99 people, just looking for one person who will agree with them. I'm not saying to do that. What you do is you just find some people that are trying to follow Christ, trying to live the kind of life God's given us to live, and you ask them, and you allow them to be a part of testing God's impressions in your life.

Now, the fourth test is a test that will save you an awful lot of money if you'll really listen to it. I have met so many well-meaning Christians who've gone off and started businesses and then they failed and they lost a lot of money from it because they didn't go through this fourth test. And, uh, they they would say, "Well, you know, it passed the first three. I want to start this business. Does it agree with the Bible? Yeah, it's not unbiblical. Uh, does it make me more more like Christ? Yes, I can become more like Christ in starting this business. Uh, does my small group confirm it? And the church family and other mature, they say, 'Yeah, you'd be good at that. Try that.'" Uh, but they didn't really look at the fourth test. And the fourth test is this: Is it consistent with how God shaped me? Is this idea that I've got, this impression, this thought, is it consistent with how God has shaped me?

Now, before you were born, God decided what he wanted you to do with your life. And then he formed you. He shaped you for that specific task. He doesn't want you to be somebody you're not. He doesn't want you to pretend to be a copy of somebody else. He made you to be you. We've talked about this often over the years. It's called your shape. S H A P E. [music] Your spiritual gift, your heart, your abilities, your personality, and your experiences. These are the five things that make you you. The Bible says this in Ephesians 2:10. "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." Did you know that God created you to do good works? Why are you here on this earth? God created you to do [music] good works, and they're unique to you. "We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Before you were even born, God knew what he wanted you to do. So he shaped you for that work. The Bible says we're his workmanship. That word in Greek is the word poa. It means poem. We get the word poem from it. You are God's masterpiece. You are God's poem. You are God's work of art. There's nobody like you. Quit trying to be somebody else. You are God's workmanship. He's you are his handicraft. And he broke the mold when he made you. Shape determines purpose. You are shaped in a certain way. God has given you certain abilities and talents. If you have a musical ability and you're shaped in music, God expects you to use it. He never gives you a talent he he wants you to waste. The Bible says this in Romans 12:6. "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well," which implies that there are certain things you don't do well. Okay? Nobody is good at everything. And that's why we need each other. And that's why we need a small group because we we help each other out. So in this question, you want to ask, "What am I good at? What what do I love to do?" But more than what do I love to do? What am I really good at? You discover a lot of God's will by simply looking at how God has shaped you. Now, just because you love to do it doesn't mean you should do it. And when you're doing what you're good at doing, people go, "Hey, you're good at that." Okay? And and they will tell you. Um, you, I, if you get an impression from God that is totally opposite of what you are shaped to be, it didn't come from God. You can know it didn't. That idea did not come from God. It may have been something my parents wanted me to do, and I feel pressured to do it because they wanted me to do it, or my wife wants me to do it, or my husband wants me to do it. But I'm not shaped to do it. So don't do it because you, your shape determines God's will for your life. And that's where you're going to find fulfillment, not trying to be somebody that you think you ought to be. God's leading will not contradict what he's gifted you to do.

Number five, the fifth test. Does it concern my responsibility? Does it concern my responsibility? Now, if it's not your responsibility, why should God talk to you about it? In other words, if God wants to talk to somebody else, he can talk directly to them. Every believer has direct access to God. He doesn't really need to go through you. And so stop trying to get God's word for somebody else. I is it your responsibility? A good example of this again is going back to Peter. Peter, uh, at the end of Jesus' time on earth, Jesus looks at Peter and says, "Peter, one day, uh, you're going to die for me. You're going to be martyred. They're going to put you in chains." And he's telling Peter in advance, "You're going to die a horrible death because you're going to be martyred for me." Now, Peter isn't happy with that. He immediately looks at his buddy, fellow disciple John, and goes, "What about him?" Human behavior. Human behavior. What about what about John?" And and Jesus basically says, "It's none of your beeswax. It's none of your business. Okay?" And and and and Jesus says this here in John 21:22. Jesus says, "If I want him," that's John, the the other disciple, "if I want him to remain alive till I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." In other words, don't worry about what other people, don't try to figure out their lives. You follow me. "What is that to you?" And when God speaks to you, he's going to speak to you about you, in your current situation, about things you need to change, not somebody else. It's going to be your responsibility. It'll be relevant to you. You see, it's quite presumptuous to assume that you can hear God speak for somebody else. You need to be very, very careful about that.

Here's what the Bible says. Romans 14. "Who are you to judge someone else's servant?" In other words, that person isn't your servant. That person's God's servant. "To his own master, that's God. M God is his master. To his own master, he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." So you quit picking on him or her. Says, "Who are you to judge?" To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Now, you've all heard this phrase, "God told me to tell you." That phrase has done more damage than you could possibly imagine. "God told me to tell you." I'd be very careful in that one. You say, "Wait a minute. Does God ever speak to you, Rick, through other people?" Of course he does. Does God ever speak to other people through you, Rick? Of course he does. But you must be very, very careful. And there are three guidelines I want you to write down. You must write these down because otherwise you're going to get into trouble on this one. Three guidelines. If God is going to speak to you about somebody else, you need to follow these three guidelines.

Number one, be patient and pray. Don't immediately go and just blab it to that person when God has given you a word about somebody else. You wait, you be patient, you pray, you make sure you heard from God, and you give God a chance to speak to them directly first. All we are saying is give God a chance. Okay? Give him a chance to to speak directly. In fact, sometimes God will tell you what he intends to tell somebody else so that you can pray for them, so that they will be receptive to receiving it when God tells them directly. He doesn't have any intention of you saying it anyway, but he's telling you so you can pray for them. And God will give you an insight into somebody else's life, and you can pray for them and say, "God, may they be receptive when you tell them that." Okay? So, you be you be patient. You pray. You don't be in a hurry.

Second thing you need to understand, God will use you to confirm what he's already said to them. Now, that happens all the time. Okay? That happens all the time. Sometimes God will tell you something, and you will say it to another person, and they'll go, "You know, I've been feeling that, and I I just wasn't sure that it was God, but I was I was thinking about that, and I felt like God was telling me to do that." And often God will use a human being to confirm in another person's life what he has already said to them directly. It's, yeah, you did hear me correctly. It. This happens to me all the time. And I'll I'll say things to somebody, and they go, "Oh, you know what? I really felt like God was telling me that." And that's just a confirmation. That's very, very common. So, you got to be patient and pray. You got to realize that it's usually going to be for confirmation.

Third thing, God usually uses you without you being conscious of it. When God wants to speak through you to another person, it's usually going to be done in a way that you don't even know he spoke through you. And that is so cool. And that happens all the time. You're at a small group, and somebody will say something, and they don't even realize what they're saying, but it hits you like an arrow straight to your heart, and you go, "Whoa, that was meant for me." And God just spoke to you through the mouth of somebody in your small group. I mean, people tell me all the time, "Pastor Rick, when you teach, I feel like you're speaking directly to me. I feel like you've been reading my mail." I'm not reading your mail. I'm not even reading your email. Okay? All I'm doing is I'm getting up and teaching the word of God. And one thought will go and hit somebody here, and another one will say hit somebody over here, and somebody over, and I'm not even aware of it. But you're aware of it, 'cause God wanted it for you. And he had me say something that he wanted you to hear, even though I didn't know what it was that you needed to hear. Now, that happens all the time.

Romans 14 says this about concerning my own responsibility. "We will all be judged one day." Not by each other's standards, thank God, or even our own standards, but by the judgment of God, because God is just, right, fair, and true. And nobody's going to say, "You're not fair." It is to God alone that we will have to answer for our actions.

Now, number six. Tom's going to come and teach on these last two, uh, filters. Is it convicting rather than condemning? That's the sixth text. Tom's going to explain this. Is it convicting rather than condemning? If you missed this one, the difference between being convicting and condemning, you're going to find yourself, even though it passes all the other tests, constantly making decisions because you thought you've heard God's voice, but really it's this voice of condemnation. So, what's the difference between conviction that the Bible talks about, where God convicts us when we've done something wrong so we can get right, and this general feeling of condemnation?

Conviction comes from God. He gives it to us to correct us. So, I say something to one of my kids that I shouldn't have said, or to my husband, my wife. God says, "You shouldn't talk like that." That's conviction. And he does it to correct us because he loves us. Because he wants us to live the right kind of way and enjoy the kind of lives that he made us to live. He wants to develop our character. And conviction is something that God is just saying, "In my life, this needs to change." So I know what I need to change. On the other hand, condemnation comes from Satan. And it's just to criticize. It's just to accuse you. It's motivated by Satan's hatred for you. And it just gives you this overall feeling, "I'm a jerk. I'm worthless. Why did I do that?" If you've ever, and I think we've all felt this way, just felt vaguely guilty, just this cloud, this dark cloud of guilt hanging over your head, but you couldn't put your finger on it. You just felt bad all the time. That is that is condemnation. And when you feel that way, that's not from God. If you feel, "I'm worthless. I'm useless. I'm nothing. I'm not worth a thing." That is not God's voice. How do I know that? Romans 8:1. "There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." God does not speak that way. He does not speak with a voice of condemnation. So, anytime you feel that way, you can know that's not God's voice. And I know a lot of people to try to get rid of this general feeling of condemnation, they'll do all kinds of crazy things, thinking somehow you're following God's voice. It is never his voice. He never attacks your value. Now, will he point out your sin? Oh yeah, of course. But he doesn't attack your value. You're his child. You're the one that he loves. That's not the way that God speaks.

Revelation 3:19. Here's how God speaks in my life. Here's how God speaks in your life. "Those whom I dearly and tenderly love, I tell their faults and I convict and I discipline. So be earnest and repent." Changing your mind and attitude. That's how God speaks. Condemnation is like this dark cloud of guilt. When God speaks, it's like a pinpoint of light. He tells you exactly, "This is what's wrong, and this is how you change it." So now let's change it together. That's how he speaks in my life. That's how he speaks in your life. He tells you the solution. And then as soon as you confess, as soon as you change, that feeling of conviction, it goes away. It doesn't last for the rest of eternity. Condemnation is general. It's vague, and it never goes away. Conviction, it's specific. It's clear, and it goes away as soon as you respond to it.

Let me give you another picture of this. It's like it's like the court system. In in our court system, you've seen all these courtroom dramas, or some of you are in court every day of your life. In our court system, there's really two stages. If you're convicted or condemned, first you have the first you have the stage where you have all the sentencing going on, and you have the conviction. You are guilty. And then after that does come the sentencing from the judge, and you are condemned to this certain punishment. That's our court system. God's system is not the same. God's system doesn't have two parts. It has three parts. First comes the conviction. The feeling, "I've done something wrong. I know I shouldn't have gone that way." And then secondly, here's the good news. Jesus takes the condemnation. That's what the cross is all about. Jesus died on the cross because he loves us, and he took our condemnation for us. And so then third, when I recognize that, I am forgiven. I am set free. That's God's system of justice. It's an awesome system of justice. It's a good news, God. And so when I'm convicted and I realize I've done something wrong, how long should that feeling that I have of conviction last in my life? It should last only, it should last only as long as it takes me to repent. If it takes me a month to repent, I'm going to feel conviction for a month. If it takes me a year to repent, I'm going to feel it for a year. But if immediately, as soon as God says it, I respond to it, then I know, okay, he's speaking to me. You just recognize so many times we mistake our low self-esteem for God's voice. The Bible says this about Satan. "Satan is the accuser of believers." Revelation 12:10. He wants to accuse you. You got to understand how Satan works with your sin. When it comes to sin, before you sin, Satan minimizes it. Have you noticed this? And then after you sin, he maximizes it. Before you sin, he says, "Oh, it's no big deal. Everybody's doing it. Don't worry about it." And then the minute you sin, you hear Satan's voice saying, "How could you do that? And call yourself a Christian? How in the world could you? You are the worst slime in the universe that you did that?" That's how he speaks. So what do I do? I realize that is the voice of Satan and not of God. So I'm going to look to God. And when I feel conviction, I'm going to immediately respond. Is it conviction? Convicting or condemning? That's one of the tests.

And then you come to the seventh test, and that test is, do I feel? Do I sense God's peace about it? Do I sense God's peace about it? If you feel pressured, if you feel overwhelmed, if you feel confused about a decision that you're trying to make, it might be about money, it might be about some ministry in your life, it might be about your kids, and you're constantly feeling confused. One of the reasons for that is you're caught up in yourself, probably, and not in God's voice. The Bible says this about God. "God is not the author of confusion." 1 Corinthians 14:33. He is not the author of confusion. So if I'm feeling confused, guess what? It's some other voice. It's not God's voice speaking in my life. Those of you that are parents, do you want do you want your kids to feel pressured or confused when you ask them to do something? No. You want them to understand what to do and then respond and do it. And God's the perfect father. So, he wants us to understand what he's asking us to do.

Do I sense God's peace about it in my life? Now, the the only time pressure could be legitimate is if God's told me to do something and I keep saying no. Then the pressure does build. But there's always peace when I say yes to what he's asked me to do. Satan wants to drive us compulsively, and God wants to draw us compassionately. Satan wants to drive you compulsively. I think we've all got some OCD in us. And Satan wants to take advantage of our compulsions and use those to drive our lives. But God instead, he wants to draw us compassionately. He's like a good father. He's like a good shepherd. He wants to draw our lives.

Do I sense God's peace about it? I've always loved what Peter Lord used to say. "90% of what God wants to say to you is encouragement." And if all you ever hear from God is negative messages, something's wrong. The wires have been crossed. Do I sense God's peace about it as I'm listening to him? If you're trying to figure out what God wants you to do, and you feel like God's told you to do something, and increasing anxiety is happening because of what you feel he's told you to do, something's crossed up because the Bible says this in Philippians 4:6-7. "Here's how how God speaks. Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and your minds as you live in Christ Jesus." When God speaks, it does not create anxiety and worry. It creates the exact opposite. And in fact, one of the great signs that you've heard God's voice is you're in the midst of a storm, and everybody else around you is worried and running around, and you have this peace that you cannot explain, even as you're walking through that storm. That's one of the signs I'm listening to him. I'm hearing from him because I have his peace in my life.

But notice in that verse, it says, "If you do this, you will have God's peace." It's not just a matter of hearing from him. It's also a matter of acting on what you hear. In fact, I I love this next verse. Proverbs 22:17 tells us the three things we need to do as we hear God's voice, hear God's impressions. Listen to this wise advice. "Follow it closely, for it will do you good. And then you can pass it along to other people." So it's not just hearing from God. You do these three things. First, you listen. You hear it. But then you follow it. You do what it says. And then you pass it on to other people.

If you could hear God clearly in the past, but it's not so clear anymore. I mean, the transmission has gotten fuzzy. The lines are messed up and jammed. The message is muted. It's not getting through. What's the problem? If you could hear God clearly in the past, but you can't now. Here's the problem. You have allowed sin to come between you and God. And you need to pull out that blockage, and then you'll be able to hear him clear again. It may be a relationship you need to let go of. It may be a habit you need to let go of. It may be a hurt that you've held on to and said, "I am not going to let that person off the hook." And that has created a barrier between you and God. And God can't hear your prayers, and you can't hear him speak to you. And what you need to do is confess that area, that blockage. Say, "God, that's wrong. And I want to confess it, and I want to change. I want to turn away from my my sin. I want to turn back to you. I want to be able to hear from you." And you'll be able to hear him again.

Well, what if I've never ever heard God speak to me in my life? I've never felt it. Then you need to get to know Jesus Christ. You need to begin a relationship. You may have been in church all of your life. You can have churchianity without Christianity. You can have religion without a relationship. You can know all about God and not really know him. Now, we can settle that one right now. The Bible says this. "He who belongs to God hears what God says." That's the mark that you belong to God. You can hear him. The reason you don't hear is that you don't belong to God. You've never been saved. You've never been born again. You've never stepped across the line in faith. You've never put your total life in his hands. And this is the day to do it. Let's bow our heads. [snorts] I'm going to pray a prayer right now. And if you've never heard God speak to you, you need to begin a relationship to him today. You can say something like this in your heart. Just follow me and say, "Me too, God."

"Dear God, I want to know you, and I want to hear your voice, and I want to know what you want me to do with my life. Jesus Christ, I don't understand it all, but I thank you that you love me, that you made me, that you shaped me for a purpose, that you forgive me, and you take away my condemnation. Show me the things in my life that are keeping me from hearing you. I want to confess them, and I want to get rid of them, and I want to follow you and trust you from this day forward. I ask you to accept me into your family and help me to hear your voice and feel your presence."

The rest of you who've you've already opened your life to Christ, you join me in this prayer. Say, "Dear God, I I want to hear you when you talk to me this week. And more than that, I want to do what you tell me to do. I'm choosing your way in advance, and I want to pass on what you tell me to others so I can grow. Help me to use these seven tests this week as I listen to you. In your name, I pray. Amen."