Transcription
You are welcome to the presence of the Lord. And today, by the grace of God, we want to share on hearing from God.
Hearing from God. God communicates with us and reveals Himself to us through revelation, the uncovering, unveiling of information. God also speaks to us through inspiration. That is when the Holy Spirit acts on man to make known God's revelation. And then God also communicates through illumination. This is a ministry of the Holy Spirit which enables those who are in right standing with God to understand revelations as they pertain to our individual lives. It is the will of God that we hear Him. Every time He ministers to us, Romans chapter 8 verse 14 makes us understand that the children of God are led by the Spirit of God.
So how can we recognize God's voice? When you are making decisions, when you are about to make a critical choice, or in different issues that play out day in, day out in different realms of our lives. The answer is to look inwards towards the Holy Spirit present in the life of every true believer. The Holy Spirit is a guide on the inside of every born-again Christian. And one of those principal purposes for which the Holy Spirit has been given to us is to guide us, to direct us in the perfect will of God, and to make clear to us certain things that are beyond our human comprehension to understand clearly. So our goal when making decisions should be to recognize and follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. John chapter 10 verse 27, John 10:27 says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." My sheep hear my voice. So this implies that the moment you become born again and you begin to build up your intimacy with God through personal fellowship, personal devotion, which would include daily study and meditation in the word of God, there will be capacity. God gives you the capacity to discern His voice and hear His voice. You will be able to discern when the Spirit of God is leading you.
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Is giving you certain signals indicating certain things. And by the grace of God, we want to quickly look at 10 principal ways that God communicates, 10 principal ways you can hear from God. And number one is through God's written word in the Bible. True God's written word in the Bible. Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16. I will read from the amplified Bible, classic edition. "Every scripture is God-breathed, given by His inspiration. Every scripture is given by God's inspiration and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness, in holy living, in conformity to God's will, in thought, purpose, and action."
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The Bible is the word and voice of God. As we read it, the Lord is talking with us. As we meditate on the Holy Scriptures, God also reveals or confirms things to us. And take note of these. Sometimes God can also speak to you through specific leadings to some very particular scripture in the Holy Bible. It can come in diverse ways. Sometimes it can come in a flash. Sometimes it can come in a dream. God can sometimes give you a specific scripture, and when you turn to that scripture, there will be a message from God.
And the second major way that the Lord communicates with us is through the inward witness of the Spirit. Through the inward witness of the Spirit. Romans chapter 8 verse 16. Romans 8 verse 16. I will read from the easy-to-read version. It says, "And the Spirit Himself, Himself speaks to our spirit and makes us sure that we are God's children."
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In Acts chapter 27 verse 9 to 10. Acts chapter 27 verse 9 to 10, King James version. It says, "Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them and said to them, 'Sirs, I perceive, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.'" So you can see that the Lord Almighty speaks through the spirituals. Now, talking a little bit about the inward witness. The most common way you can hear the voice of God, the leading of God, is not audibly. It is not audibly. That happens sometimes, but the principal, one of the principal ways God speaks is to your inward. It is through your inward witness. It's through what is called the inward witness. The Spirit of God will give you promptings in your spirit, promptings in your inner mind. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 16.
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Promptings are inclinations or thoughts. They are inclinations or they are thoughts. Describe them as inclinations or thoughts. And these promptings can come when you are reading the Bible. These inclinations can come when you are seeking God in prayer and fasting. It can also come when you're listening carefully for His guidance. Sometimes when someone is giving you counsel.
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Such promptings and inclinations can also come. You either begin to feel peace in your spirit man as you consider the decision, or on the other side, the reverse, you begin to feel some kind of uneasiness over that decision, over that move you're about to make.
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You will be led by the inward witness more often by the Holy Spirit when you listen for His promptings. And for those who are disciples of Christ, you need to have it in mind that as your counsel, whenever you're counseling people, you need to be constantly sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit. Because whenever you're counseling, the Holy Spirit will from time to time speak to your spirit.
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Point out certain things that are absolutely key that you will need to emphasize to the person you are counseling. So these are very key facts that you need to understand about hearing from God. And then number three, God also speaks to us through by speaking to your heart. Yes, He speaks to your heart. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 12. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 12.
Easy to read version. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 12. He says, "Then at night, I started out with a few men."
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"I had not said anything to anyone about what God had put on my heart, about what God had put on my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no houses with me except the horse I was riding." So from time to time, God will speak to your heart. God will speak to your heart. And this could happen in different ways. It could come through a still small voice. It could also come through an inner voice. It could come through an impression on your heart. And sometimes it could also come through burdens. The Lord could just put a burden on your heart over something concerning someone. Still in this realm, the sickness to the heart could come in the form of intuition. It could come through a sudden impulse. It could also come through God, the Spirit of God speaking to your conscience, speaking to your conscience. And then it also happens when you are listening to a sermon, you're listening to a message, you're listening to teachings, you're listening to God's, to godly counsel. If I could say a little bit, say something on intuition. Your intuition is about the ability to know something by using your feelings rather than considering the facts. And you can, one illustration is by looking at the operations of very experienced detectives.
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The more they become experienced and skilled in that profession, the more they are able to discern the possible truth or secret which is will be far beyond what is ordinarily presented. It's a strong, your intuition is a strong feeling that something is true, although you cannot explain why. There will be times you know something inside your gut tells you that this, it's true, or this is false, this is a lie, even though the facts being presented indicate otherwise. If what you had a strong feeling. And then talking about instinct. This talks about a feeling that makes you believe that something is true, even though it is not based on facts or reason. So it's advisable that you must learn to be sensitive to your intuition. Because from time to time, God will minister. He will minister to you in this, in this, in this fashion. When you don't have peace in your spirit, please be patient about that decision. When you don't have peace in your spirit, please avoid taking that decision. Even if it's God's will, then possibly it is not yet God's time. There are two major dimensions to the perfect will of God. The first part of God's will, God's perfect will, has to do with what God has said should happen. However, there is often a perfect timing, a right timing, and a pointed time for that particular thing. If you look back at the story of the prodigal son, the inheritance of his father, his inheritance from his father was due to him. However, he was wrong with timing. He demanded for it far, far ahead of time, and that was very wrong. And we've also observed that many mature believers often get it right with the perfect will of God, but they sometimes miss it in the realm of timing. And still looking at the issue of timing, errors are more likely from the part of haste rather than being too slow in terms of timing. So when believers make mistakes with the perfect timing of God, they are often too quick, too hasty. And maybe less than 10 percent of the time, it could be a situation where such believers are slow and too slow compared to the actual times God wanted them to act on that particular issue.
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Without your instinct, you can commit your valuables.
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The best you have in different realms of life into the hands of the wrong people, into the hands of someone that appears to be loyal, but is sure to betray you tomorrow. And in this present generation, pretense, deception has been taken to a digital level, very advanced level.
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So if you allow yourself to be moved by what people tell you, what people present to you, the way people package themselves to you, without listening to the promptings of your spirit, you could form, sometimes fall into the deceptions and traps of men and women in different realms of life. So the Lord speaks to us in these different ways. And then number four, the Lord also speaks, communicates to us through dreams. He communicates to us through dreams. Genesis chapter 20 verse 6. Genesis 20 verse 6, easy to read version. It says, "Then God said to Abimelech in a dream, 'Yes, I know that you are innocent.'" Take note that God spoke to him in a dream. In a dream, "Yes, I know that you are innocent, and that you did not know what you were doing. I saved you. I did not allow you to sin against me. I was the one who did not allow you to sleep with her.'"
And then Matthew chapter 1 verse 20. Matthew chapter 1 verse 20, easy to read version. He says, "But after Joseph thought about these, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, 'Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.'" Once again, you see that this was communicated to him in a dream. Dreams are one of the major channels through which God communicates, communicates to His children. However, not all dreams are from the Lord. A lot of dreams come out of the abundance of the desires of people, out of the abundance of the thoughts of people, out of the abundance of the yearnings of people, the worries of people, the fears of people.
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Also, a lot of dreams come from the demonic world. In fact, certain dreams are deliberately projected to people to mislead them, to set them up against an innocent person. It's also been noted that most of the time when very advanced witches and wizards are attacking, they will come, they carry such attacks sometimes in people's dreams, using the face of someone they know has issues with that person. Because they know it will be very naturally, very easy for you to believe that such a person is attacking you because you already have differences with that person. And please, the very, very times these dreams could be correct. But we are emphasizing that you must learn to subject any of these supposed revelations to back to God through prayers. When you commit them to God in prayer, asking the Lord for clarification, whether truly these revelations are from Him or not, He will minister to you. And the more you develop this habit of cross-checking whatever is supposed to be a word from God, then you become also less vulnerable to spiritual manipulations. But if you are the type that just easily believes anything as a word from God, then you can be easily deceived and misled. So I pray that grace to be more discerning, grace to be patient, and subject even supposed revelations to God back in the place of prayer for clarification, that grace be increased as you listen to God's word.
Number five, through visions. God also communicates through visions. This could be, for instance, through our spiritual visions, as we can see in Acts chapter 16 verse 9. Acts 16 verse 9, easy to read version. It says, "That night Paul saw a vision. In it, a man from Macedonia came to Paul. The man stood there and begged, 'Come across to Macedonia and help.'" That was obviously a revelation from the Lord. That was obviously an invitation from the Lord. And then you see in Acts chapter 18 verse 9 to 10. Acts 18 verse 9 to 10, easy to read version. It says, "During the night, Paul had a vision. The Lord said to him, 'Don't be afraid, and don't stop talking to people. I am with you, and no one will be able to hurt you. Many of my people are in this city.'"
And then the second way He communicates through visions is by what is called a trance. And we can see some scriptural references in Acts chapter 10 verse 9 to 16. Acts chapter 10 verse 9-16. But I'll make specific reference to Acts chapter 10 verse 10. I read from the Living Bible. Acts 10 verse 10, Living Bible. It says, "It was noon, and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance." Some versions of the Bible will call, we use the word open vision. Some other versions will say he saw a vision, and God started communicating to him.
The number six, the sixth major way that the Lord communicates to His people is through revelational gifts of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 8 to 10. First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 8-10, King James version. He says, "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. So God speaks through the word of wisdom. To another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. Verse 9, to another faith by the same Spirit. To another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. Then verse 10, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues." So three, we see three key channels here of divine communication. First, words of prophecy. Words of prophecy. And the second one, words of knowledge. And the third, words of wisdom. These are channels that the Lord uses from time to time to communicate, to reveal His mind, His will, His purpose. And the manifestation through this channel can come in different platforms. And take note that for these revelational gifts, God, a lot of times, we use other people, other believers, to give His message even to you. So He could use a minister of God preaching to prophesy, an intercessor leading the prayer session to prophesy. You could give a word of knowledge through someone else, a word of wisdom to someone else that has to do with you or over an issue you should act on.
Number seven, God also communicates through an audible voice of the Spirit of God. True an audible voice of the Spirit of God. Exodus chapter 3 verse 2 to 4. Exodus 3:2-4, easy to read version. This was Moses' encounter with the Lord on that mountain. Moses saw the angel of the Lord in a burning bush. Moses saw a bush that was burning without being destroyed. So he decided to go closer to the bush and see how a bush could continue burning without being burned up. The Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush, so He called to him from the bush. You could see God speaking now.
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Through the audible voice. He said, "Moses, Moses." And Moses had clearly and he replied, "Yes, Lord."
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I pray that from now, every time the Lord speaks to you, you will hear Him clearly. May the grace to hear the voice of God clearly be increased upon you in the name of Jesus. Can the Lord hear you say a powerful amen? And then Acts chapter 9 verse 4-9. Acts chapter 9:4-9. This was the encounter of Paul, initially called Saul, with our Lord Jesus Christ. He fell to the ground, and he had a voice. He heard a voice, and what he had was also heard by all the men that were around him at that moment of this encounter. That confirms to you that clearly this was the audible voice of the Spirit of God. He said, "He fell to the ground and had a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'" And Saul said, "Who are you, Lord?" The voice answered, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do." The men traveling with him stood there, unable to speak. They heard the voice. Yes, that's the audible voice of God. They heard the voice, but they saw no one. Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but he could not see. So the men with him took his hand and led him into Damascus. For three days, Saul could not see, he could not eat or drink.
And then the eighth channel of divine communication. God also speaks through circumstances.
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He speaks through events. He speaks through happenings. One instance was in Genesis chapter 24 verse 12 to 27. Abraham had told his chief servant to go back to his own people and get a wife for his son Isaac. And by verse 12 of Genesis 24, we could see the servant praying to God, asking that the Lord Almighty would direct the steps of his choice for Isaac as a wife to show up at that point in time. And he gave some conditions to God. Fortunately, God answered his prayer. God ordered the steps of Rebekah.
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And you see all of that in Genesis 24 verse 12 to 27. And another instance was in Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 6 to 8. Jeremiah 32:6-8. Easy to read version. He says, "While Jeremiah was a prisoner, he said, 'This message was, this message from the Lord came to me. This was the message: Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel will come to you soon.'" And I speak to someone listening right now, just say the Lord, you will hear very good news soon. And if you have an inclination in your spirit that this word is for you, let the Lord hear you say amen.
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And he said, "Jeremiah, your son, your cousin, sorry, Hanamel will come to you soon. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say to you, Jeremiah, buy my field near the town of Anathoth, because you are my nearest relative. It's your right and your responsibility to buy this field." Then it happened just as the Lord said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard. Hanamel said to me, "Jeremiah, buy my field near the town of Anathoth in the land of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy that land for yourself because it is your right to buy it and own it." So I knew that this message, that this was a message from the Lord. So God can speak through circumstances. He can speak through events. He can speak through, you know, some peculiar happenings. And that is why this calls for sensitivity as well. Go about our daily affairs, sensitivity in the spirit.
And then number nine, God also communicates through directing someone, by directing someone to specifically give you His message. In Acts chapter 21 verse 10 to 14. Acts 21:10-14, easy to read version. He said, "After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came from Judea. He came to us and borrowed the belt. He used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, 'The Holy Spirit tells me this is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who wears this belt, then they will hand him over to people who don't know God.' When we had this, we and the other followers there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But he said, 'Why are you crying and making me feel so sad? I am willing to be put in jail in Jerusalem. I am even ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.' We could not persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem, so we stopped begging him and said, 'We pray that what the Lord wants will be done.'" So sometimes God can give someone a specific message to deliver to you. And sometimes, even in a spiritual meeting, which could be large or small in terms of the number of people present, God could give a very specific word to you.
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However, however, there has been a lot of abuses through this channel of divine communication. We have seen a lot of errors where God never said anything, and someone has been told, "This is what the Lord is saying." And I also want to caution that whenever somebody comes to you and tells you, "God is saying, give this to me," something material, something financial, or even in the realm of relationship, "God is saying you are my wife," "God is saying you are my husband." Anything that is going to take something from you, please, you must personally confirm it with God. You must go back to God in prayer. And whatever that person is saying he heard from God, he heard from God, you must ask the Lord to also confirm it to you before you act on it. There has been a lot of manipulations. There has been a lot of deception. And sometimes the errors have also happened innocently. The person saying it never meant to deceive, had an intention to deceive, but it was an error. So you have a responsibility to prayerfully verify whatever anyone is saying God has said you should do. However, this is one of the channels of divine communication.
And then the last one, number 10, God could send an angel. God communicates through sending an angel to convey His message. And this is one of the most credible, most credible, most powerful
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channels of divine communication. But it's extremely rare, very rare. It happens, but it's very rare. In Luke chapter 1 verse 11 to 20. Luke 1:11-20. I read the easy-to-read version. "Then on the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. But the angel said to him, 'Zechariah, don't be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby.'" Born is a message now delivered, and you will name him John. An instruction from God being communicated. "You will be very happy." Now the angel was beginning, I began to predict, began to reveal what was going to happen in the days ahead. "You will be very happy, and many others will share your joy over his birth." That is the birth of John the Baptist. "He will be a great man for the Lord." The destiny of John the Baptist was being revealed. "He will never drink wine or beer. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God." What will happen through his ministry was being revealed. "John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for His coming," referring to our Lord Jesus Christ. "He will be powerful like Elijah, and we have the same spirit. He will make peace between fathers and children. He will turn people who are not obeying God to change and start thinking the way they should. Revival, revival." And this happened through the ministry of John the Baptist. Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know what you say is true? I'm an old man, and my wife is also old." He found it very hard to believe that his wife could still conceive at her age. The angel said, "Answer him, I am Gabriel, the one who always stands ready before God. He sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news." So once from time to time, God will send His holy angels to deliver specific messages to people across the globe. Said, "Now listen, verse 20, you will not be able to talk until the day when these things happen. You will lose your speech because you did not believe what I told you. But everything I said will really happen." Unto the glory of God, everything the angel said happened, even in the life and ministry and the times of John the Baptist. In Acts chapter 8 verse 26 to 29, you see another instance where an angel spoke to an evangelist, Philip.
So in closing, how do you know it's God's voice? How do you know it's God's leading? And one way to be very sure you are hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, you are hearing God's voice, is to spend time learning the act and the skill of hearing clearly from God. I give you an instance. You can easily recognize the voice of your parents. You can easily recognize the voice of your spouse, if you are married. You can easily recognize the voice of your children. You can easily recognize the voice of your siblings, your close friends. Why? Because you have spent enough time with them. You have spent so much time with them, hearing them speak over and over. And it has come to a point where when you hear their voice in the midst of voices, all the voices, you will recognize the voice of that close one. This is the same thing that happens when you become familiar with the voice of God. And one way to become familiar with the voice of God is by studying the Holy Bible. By studying the Holy Bible, you become familiar with the voice of God. By meditating on the Holy Bible, you become familiar with the voice of God. The more you spend time in the presence of the Lord, studying the word, the better and deeper you discern divine leadings and instructions. It also becomes easier for you to recognize a counterfeit voice, the lie of the devil, the lie of the demonic spirits that are out to mislead you. You'll be able to discern because you have spent so much time studying the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, in this present times, the distractions of social media, the distractions of excessive concentration on diverse messages coming through our phones are taking, as taking the focus away from quality time in God's presence onto other issues of life. I pray that having heard God's word, having identified these 10 principal channels of divine communication, you will refocus your attention on spending quality time with the Lord every new day. I would pray with you at this moment. Shall we pray?
Our Father and our God, we thank you for your word that has come expressly at this time. We ask, Lord, that you will touch everyone listening to this message. You have said it clearly that your sheep hear your voice. Let that ability to hear you clearly, that ability to interpret your signals, spiritual communication, let that ability be increased upon everyone listening to this message. Lord, we pray that you will make everyone listening right now more discerning to recognize counterfeit voices.
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And even when a believer is coming with a message that is not truly from you, Lord, give them the ability to discern. Let your grace, oh God, that delivers men from deception, from error, and the spirit of error, let that grace be increased upon everyone, that no one listening to this message will fall into any major error through spiritual communications that they wrongly thought was a word from you. Father, we thank you. We are praying that your grace, the grace to hear clearly the voice of God, increased upon everyone. And so we decree that from now on, because you are a son of God, you are a daughter of God, as the Lord speaks, as the Lord leads, as the Lord directs, as the Lord instructs, you will interpret clearly, and you will hear Him clearly. And may the Lord's word prosper in your life and situation in Jesus' mighty name, we have prayed. Hallelujah. Thank you for spending time with us. From now, you're going to have a better experience in your relationship with the Lord. Stay tuned with us as we continue to bring God's word to you from Jesus Evangelical Assembly, the House of Answered Prayers. God bless you richly in Jesus' name.
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