HINDRANCES TO HEARING GOD
INTRODUCTION
- We have discussed many things about Hearing God’s Voice at this point.
- Today, I want to address what might be hindering us from Hearing GOD’S VOICE in our life.
STORY – I grew up playing the game of baseball. Not only did I play little league but all the kids in my neighborhood played baseball in our cul-de-sac. When I was about 9, I remember gathering with the other kids on our block to play baseball and I ended up being the catcher that day. A friend of mine got up to bat and as the ball was pitched, he took a step back and swung for the fences. Unfortunately, he did not hit the ball but he did slam the bat into the right side of my head knocking me to the ground. This event caused a bit of damage which left me a bit hearing impaired for a time. I can remember many times where people were talking with me and I just shook my head and said “yeah totally.” I had a physical hindrance in my ability to hear what others saying. The problem was not with the speaker.
- Spiritually speaking, our ability to hear the voice of God was secured through the work of Jesus Christ.
- There were a handful of times in the Gospel’s where after Jesus taught something He would say;
Mark 7:16 - "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
- The crowds were listening, they had physical ears, but did they have true spiritual ears? DO WE?
- A hindrance is something that would obstruct or stop us from our path – FROM HEARING HIM!
- Before I say anything else, let me ask you this question – “What is hindering you from hearing God?”
- As I ask that question is there anything that comes to you – do you already know what it might be?
- There are many hindrances to HG, here are a few – some of these will convict and others will liberate!
HINDRANCE #1 – WE DON’T KNOW GOD
- Obviously, the first reason anyone is hindered in hearing God is that they don’t know God.
- You will not recognize the voice of someone you don’t know. Being a Christian is about knowing Him.
- In John chapter 8, Jesus was talking to some Pharisees, religious leaders and other Jews who had started to believe in Him. They began to question his identity based on the contextual conversation where Jesus spoke so freely about God being His father – and Jesus said this to them in verse 47;
John 8:47 - "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."
- They knew the Scriptures, but they did not know God, thus they were hindered in hearing.
- Do you know God? Have you received Jesus as your Lord and savior? Is Jesus your Sheppard?
- If not, today is the day to give your heart to Jesus and begin experiencing the life you were made for.
HINDRANCE #2 – WE NEGLECT TIME WITH GOD
- As a Christian, one of the greatest hindrances to hearing from God is neglecting quality time with Him.
- To neglect means that we pay little attention to something or disregard it entirely.
- Time represents an element of our life and what we give it to speaks of what we truly value.
- During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked specifically about prayer saying this;
Matthew 6:6 – “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
- In this passage, Jesus taught for one to go into an “inner room” to pray – be ALONE WITH GOD!
- An inner room was most likely a store room or an inner chamber. Sometimes these store rooms would be on the roof and often were the only room with a door on it which is why Jesus mentioned it.
- Notice that Jesus also says SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND YOU!!!!!
- Shutting the door means that we shut ourselves in with God and shut ourselves out from distractions.
- We often neglect time with God because we are distracted by lesser things….
- The primary distractions in their time were much simpler than they are today (people, voices) …
- We must learn to “shut the door” to our distractions if we are to hear from the Lord.
- I don’t think anybody would disagree that we are a very distracted people in a very distracted world.
- We live in the information age where technology, entertainment, and social media consumes us.
- Take back your life, take back your time and find a secret place with God and SHUT THE DOOR.
HINDRANCE #3 – WE HAVE A HARD HEART
- The writer of Hebrews really helps us understand how serious a hardened heart is;
Hebrews 3:12-15 - “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME."
- Sin is deceitful. Prolonged, unrepentant, willful sin will cause us to have hard hearts that won’t listen.
- When we ignore the conviction of the Spirit it will close our ears to the rest of God’s voice.
- When we humble ourselves in repentance, our ears are open and our hearing is clear.
HINDRANCE #4 – WE THINK THAT ONLY SPECIAL PEOPLE HEAR FROM GOD
- Some people think that God only speaks to really special or spiritual people – FALSE!
- Let’s be clear, everyone is flawed and God doesn’t play favorites – no special Christians.
- Don’t use the “I am not as special as that person” excuse – it’s not Biblical. Asking is Biblical;
James 1:5-8 – “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
- James wrote that if we lack wisdom to ask of God who gives generously.
- To receive wisdom from God is to hear from God – we are asking Him to communicate with us.
- What if those who hear more from God are simply asking more often showing a dependence?
HINDRANCE #5 – WE THINK THAT HEARING GOD IS A SPIRITUAL GIFT
- Hearing God’s voice is the privilege of relationship, not the fruit of a spiritual gift.
John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;” - Sheep
- Hearing God for other people and sharing it with them is prophetic and that is a gift.
- This is the reason I wrote two books – Hearing God and Understanding Prophecy.
HINDRANCE #6 – WE HAVE BEEN DECEIVED BY THE ENEMY
- Nobody wants to be deceived. But the nature of deception is that it works through lies and trickery.
- The enemy will seek to deceive us primarily through false teaching and false prophetic words.
- Paul warned against false teachers/prophets because of deception which is like a cancer – consumes.
1 Timothy 4:1 – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons”
- The enemy is at work to deceive God’s people; if he is successful then we will be unfruitful.
- When we are deceived, we can’t hear the word, we resist the voice of the Spirit – this is serious.
HINDRANCE #7 – WE HAVE RELIGIOUS PRIDE
- Religious pride is when you think that you are good with God and you’re actually not.
- A prideful person tends to hear the sermon for other people because they lack humility to receive.
- A prideful person doesn’t grow because they don’t live with a sense of need where they have to.
1 Peter 5:5 – “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
- The Pharisees had pride. They thought their knowledge about God caused them to be close with God.
- Prideful people don’t ask what others think about their life and they don’t ask God either.
HINDRANCE #8 – WE FAIL TO OBEY WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY SAID
- People will ask me to pray for them with the hope that God would give direction/instruction.
- I will often ask those folks “what was the last thing that God spoke to you about? How did that go?”
- God gives us precious words of direction/instruction and we move on without following through.
- There is a danger in constantly seeking directional words if we are avoiding previous direction.
- Think about what God said to Noah in Genesis chapter 6 – “Build an ark of gopher wood.”
- Noah was told to build a boat, even given specifics. Its estimate that it took 70 – 100 years.
- What if Noah got tired half way through and started seeking another word from God about his life?
- Noah went to the prophetic conference and got a word about starting a business and giving to poor.
- What would God say to Noah? “Finish your boat Noah”. The boat is what mattered.
- Friend, what has God told you to do? Have you done it? Have you moved on?
CONCLUSION
- God is not holding back on us, He has called us, He wants to use us, and He is speaking to us.
- Are you hindered from hearing? Do we have ears to hear God and follow Him?
- If its conviction we need this morning, let it rest on us and motivate new action!
- If its freedom we need, let His truth liberate and compel us toward His purpose in our life.
- WORD – STOP HIDING – my daughter. STOP HIDING!