UNDERSTANDING HOW GOD SPEAKS
INTRODUCTION
- It is pretty common for me to hear people say “I don’t hear God’s Voice.” Since I have heard this comment so many times I have started to understand what I think people mean when they say it.
- They probably mean “I don’t hear God like you do” or “I don’t hear God clearly.”
- Part of the problem with all of this is that I think we may be missing HOW God is communicating to us.
- Jesus said in John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me”
- He is speaking to us, but maybe it sounds different than what we are looking for…. In fact I think it is.
- In the Bible. God speaks in many different ways, but seldom is God’s voice and actual voice (different).
- We understand this concept because we live in a world that is full of many forms of communication.
- We have many forms of communication – verbal and non verbal – roughly 6500 languages, Braille, sign language, digital communication (email, text), body language, coded language (Morse).
- This is why when someone says “God spoke to me” we tend to get the wrong idea “spoke?”
- God communicates many ways and we will go over 9 of different ways today in this message.
1. THE BIBLE
- The Bible is the eternal word/voice of God for all people/all time. Every gender, generation and nation.
- The Scripture is the ultimate authority and the primary way we discern if God is speaking to us.
- However, there are 2 primary ways we will hear God through the Bible.
1. God will speak to us through the Bible as we STUDY IT.
- 2nd Tim. 3:16 tells us that ALL SCRIPTURE is God breathed - we can expect to hear from God through it.
- 1st Timothy 2:15 – Paul told Timothy to accurately handle the Word by rightly dividing it (study it).
- I personally practice the inductive Bible study method – Observation, Interpretation and Application.
- Additionally, I journal everyday through the OSL reading plan – I regularly receive revelation from God.
- Recent Example – Acts chapter 4 – share this with the Church?
2. God will speak to us through the Bible by reminding us of various passages
- Jesus said many things to His disciples, but he let them know that the Holy Spirit would remind them;
John 14:25-26 - “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
STORY –
2. IMPRESSIONS
- An impression is an internal sense in which you feel, think, or know something regarding a person or a situation. God impresses something on your heart – often like a gut feeling (they can be faint).
- The Bible does not use the word impression, but we use this word to describe certain experiences.
- When Paul was imprisoned and sent to Rome to stand trial, they have some difficulty with the voyage
Acts 27:9-11 – “When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul.”
- The word perceive here means “to see, look or behold”, so it’s safe to assume that Paul was looking at the water and the weather and had some kind of impression that this would be an unsafe trip.
ILLUSTRATION – I receive these often. Physical and internal. Last week I was praying for someone after the service and as I had an impression that their lower back was in great pain and had been diagnosed.
3. OUR THOUGHTS
- God will impart thoughts into our mind for ourselves and others.
- An important principle to know is that not every thought we have originates from us. God, enemy, us.
STORY – I was at a house up north having dinner with a family and a thought came to my mind “Brazil”?
- King David said that God had more kind thoughts about us then we could ever count.
- I think it would be powerful, when praying for others, to ask God what he thinks about that person.
Psalms 40:5 – “Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.”
4. VISIONS
- Visions are a form of spiritual sight given by the Holy Spirit. They appear a lot in Acts and today!
- In the coming of the Holy Spirit we see how these are available to all believers as Peter explained;
Acts 2:17-18 – “AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; 18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.”
- There are a few things that you need to know about visions.
- Visions can be literal or symbolic. Some interpretation may be needed to help understand them.
- Also, there are two kinds of visions.
- First, there are internal visions (eyes closed, inside). Second, there are open visions (eyes open – real).
- Internal visions are much more common then open visions. I have a lot of visions when I pray.
STORY – I was in Nashville last May and praying for people outside of the main session. I started praying for this guy and I saw a picture of him chopping down small trees with an axe. He seemed angry but the more wood he chopped the less angry he became and I watched him take the small trees and make something wonderful out of them. He began to cry and told me that he just started doing that very thing.
5. DREAMS
- God spoke to many in the Bible through dreams – Joseph, Jacob, Solomon, Daniel, Joseph(J), more.
- Dreams can be literal or symbolic and in need of interpretation. I don’t have many dreams.
- We spend one third of our life in sleep and it’s my belief that God doesn’t waste that time.
- There are several kinds of dreams, but the most frequent are;
1. Directional Dreams – God will show you where he wants you to go/do (Matthew 2:13-15).
2. Correctional Dreams – God will show you something that needs to stop or change (Job 33:14-18).
3. Prophetic Dreams – God will show us something that will happen (Daniel 7, etc).
6. INTERNAL VOICE
- Sometimes God will speak in our heart clear phrases, words, or sentences (not really a dialog).
- Some have referred to this as the “still small voice” of the Lord but I think this is a better name.
- When God speaks to me this way it’s clear. It sounds like “tell Curt this,” or “read Psalm 91.”
STORY – Walking down the aisle, “Go and pray for her.” Regularly – “don’t say anything.”
7. AUDIBLE VOICE
- We see from Scripture that God spoke audibly to people like when Jesus was baptized;
Luke 3:21-22 – “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
- God does speak audibly today at times. I have not had this happen but I know people who have.
STORY – Chuck story – 18, about to take his life, God spoke audibly “Why don’t you give me a try?”
8. ANGELS
- The word “angel” can mean “messenger” and in the Bible we see angels delivering God’s message.
- In Scripture we see Angels all over the place delivering messages to people.
- In the book of Acts we see lots of angelic activity and Hebrews 13 tells us we entertain them unaware.
- Although this may be a rare form of communication from God, it is Biblical and still can happen.
- Angels are not Gerber babies; they are massive fearless beings who stand in Gods presence.
9. OTHER PEOPLE
- Another primary way in which God will speak to us is through other people.
- While it is important to cultivate a close relationship with God and hear from Him, we must have an open heart to God using others to speak words that are from Him both indirect and direct.
- Some of the ways we will hear God’s voice through others are;
1. When someone is teaching the Bible (gift of teaching, Bible is God’s word, etc).
2. When someone gives us wise godly counsel (mentor, friend, during prayer time)
3. When someone gives us a prophetic word (personal prayer or corporate time, church or other).
STORY – In 2003 a prophetic guy pulled me aside during a meeting in the Tri-Cities and told me I would write books, etc… I hadn’t written anything at that time, but I couldn’t shake it. It was God.
CONCLUSION
- God speaks, but we may be missing what is being said because we don’t understand the language.
- How is God speaking to you? What is he saying? Is it possible you have missed something?
- The question may be “Why does God speak in so many different ways?” That is a great question.
- Vision – different seeds produce a different fruit and that’s what God does with different communication.
- He plants his word in different ways (seeds) to achieve different results (fruit).
- Therefore, I have learned to trust that God knows what I need to hear and how I need to hear it.