5 12 13 Hearing God Notes

7/30/2019 5 12 13 Hearing God Notes

1/31

Can I Hear God?May 12, 2013


2/31

Can we reallyhear God, or

is that justsomething

crazy people

say?


3/31

Assumption #1: God is good

Jesus' good news about the kingdom can be an effective

guide for our lives only if we share his view of the

world in which we live. To his eyes this is a God-bathed

and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a

glorious reality, where every component is within the

range of God's direct knowledge and controlthough he

obviously permits some of it, for good reasons, to be for a

while otherwise than as he wishes. It is a world that is

inconceivably beautiful and good because of God andbecause God is always in it. It is a world in which God is

continually at play and over which he constantly rejoices.

Dallas Willard, "The Divine Conspiracy" pg 61-62


4/31

Assumption #1: God is good

Starting here is crucial because the idea of hearing

God can easily make us feel excluded from an elite,

or as though God is disappointed with me for notbeing able to hear him.

Truthfully, we often refashion God in our minds as a

passive-aggressive, easily offended deity who would

just as soon give us the silent treatment as invite us

into deeper levels of intimacy.


5/31

Assumption #2: God is

confident & competentMy one-on-one withDallas Willard

Dallas confidence

was not in me, but in

God

Even so, Gods

confidence is inGod! He is not worried

about his ability to

help us grow.


6/31

Assumption #3: God is chatty

Just look at Genesis, for example: God keeps

dropping by to have a conversation

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the

garden in the cool of the day... (Gen 3:8)

So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to

Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?...

(Gen 4:57)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God

spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these

last days he has spoken to us by his Son. Heb 1:1


7/31

Where were going today:

Look at some obstacles to hearing GodConsiderwhy and how God speaks

(and how I can know when he does)

Explore what this means for my daily life


8/31

So why dont I hear God?

There are some typical obstacles to us hearing and

recognizing Gods voice today:

Theological obstacles

Practical obstacles

Motivational obstacles


9/31


Many people believe that God does not ta lk to us

anymore, so they simply are not listening.

Gods Word, on this view, is sufficient and listening

beyond that is dangerous.

Another way to look at it: the Bible presents us

with the typical experiences of people whoencountered God, so that we can recognize

when we encounter Him, too.


10/31

Theological obstaclesThus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face,as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does

not know what his master is doing; but I have called

you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I

have made known to you. (John 15:15)

I still have many things to say to you, but you

cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truthcomes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will

not speak on his own authority, but whatever he

hears he will speak... he will take what is mine and

declare it to you. (John 16:12-14)


11/31

Theological obstaclesOne reason for this theological obstacle is fear: weveall hear stories of someone who said, God told me...

and then did terrible things.

Gen 22Abraham and Isaac.

My recommendation: ask, Who is this?

Remember that Abraham had a lifetime of

knowing and interacting with God behind him by

this point! This was not out of the blue.

Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham reasoned on

the basis of the character of God he already

knew: Hell raise him from the dead!


12/31


So, lets make the point early on:just because we

hear an infallible God does not mean we heard

him infallibly!

Testwhat we hear by:

Scripture

CommunityCommon sense/experience of God (would he

do this? Is this Christ-like?)


13/31

Practical obstacles

We assume that if God were to speak, we would not

be able to miss it!

But this doesnt seem to be true from Scripture!

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time.

And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am,

for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord

was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel,Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say,

Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel

went and lay down in his place. (1 Sam 3:89)


14/31

Practical obstaclesDistraction and noise: we are constantly plugged in.Again, our assumption is that God will overpower

us with his voice. But he tends not to do this!

And he said, Go out and stand on the mount before the

Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great andstrong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the

rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And

after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the

earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord

was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low

whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in

his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the

cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said,

What are you doing here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:11-13, ESV)


15/31


If we do listen for God, whydo we want to hear

Him? This makes a difference.

Often, we want God to tell us what to do so we

can avoid responsibility and be in the clear.

God told me to break up with you.

side noteyou rarely, if ever, need to report

that God told you x. Resist the trump card!

Or, we want God to tell us how to achieve our

own goals.


16/31


As we listen, do we intend to obey?

Jesus speaks often of those who cannot hear

because their hearts are hardwhich means,

primarily, that they are settled in their ways and

do not wantto be changed.

Listening to God goes hand in hand with

repentance (thinking about your thinking).

At a certain point, if someone does not want to

hear you, you give them spaceyou dont nag.


17/31

So, if we want to hear God...

Expect that God does speak,

create space to listen closely for him, freefrom distraction,

invite him to speak,

and listen with a willingness to change if

needed.


18/31

Why God speaks to us

AFFIRMATION

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zeph 3:17Do not be surprised when God doesnt want to talk

shop, but comfort & encourage you!


19/31


GUIDANCE (Direction & Protection)

And your ears shall hear a word behind you,

saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn

to the right or when you turn to the left. (Isaiah30:21)

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own

sheep by name and leads them out... he goesbefore them, and the sheep follow him, for they

know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but

they will flee from him... (John 10:35)


20/31


PARTNERSHIP

We are not spectators, we are in the game. The

game is producing the greatest creative goodness

possible under the power and character of God inwhich we share. God is not just a creator, he

creates creators. We were meant to live in a

fellowship that is meant to be described as a

conversational relationship with God.

Gods intent for each of us is to grow each of us to

the point where he can empower us to do what we

want.


21/31


Gen 1: Then God said, Let us make man in our

image, after our likeness. And let them have

dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds

of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the

earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on

the earth. (Genesis 1:26, ESV)

Rev 22: They will see his face, and his name will be

on their foreheads. And night will be no more. Theywill need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will

be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

(Rev 22:45)


22/31


For by grace you have been saved through faith. And

this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a

result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are

his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for

good works, which God prepared beforehand,

that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10,

ESV)

Gods intent for humanity is not just to whisk us awayto heaven, but to create a people zealous for good

(Titus 2) who will partner with him in creative acts of

goodness for others & for the world.


23/31


And he wants to do this RELATIONALLY!

I have called you friends...

Friendship is born at that moment when oneperson says to another: "What! You too? I thought I

was the only one. C. S. Lewis

Most often, in the Bible, we see God talking with

people about things they are doing together:

ways the person and God are together

conspiring for goodness in their world.


24/31


This, by the way, is why he will not overpower: His

primary intent for you is not just doing what you are

told but joining him in his life creatively, bringing yourown ideas to the table.

Parable of the Talents

This is also why the message-a-minute view isflawed. God is not interested in overriding you, but

seeing you mature!


25/31

How God speaks to us

Weve already seen that God tends to speak quietly,

not to shout: in fact, generally speaking, visions &

angels and fiery bushes are needed when

someone is notattentive to God.

Three common ways God speaks:

Through the Bible

Through other people

Through our thoughts


26/31


Through the Bible:

Meditative reading is attentive to hearing what God

has to say to me todayas I read the Word

Slow, repetitive, listening while reading

We are listening formore than just the words on the

page: we are listening for God to catch ourattention and speak affirmation, instruction, love, or

gentle correction.


27/31


Through other people:

This is common in the Scripture. Ex: Nathan &

David.

The other person may or may not be aware that

God is speaking through them!

God enjoys using the community to care for oneanother, so we should listen to one another with an

ear open for words from God


28/31


Through our own thoughts:

The still small voice is often inaudible, but comes

as a thought with a certain resonance, a weight, apower as though from outside

We can learn to recognize this voice, with help

(Samuel & Eli)

Jesus: My sheep know my voice, and they will

follow me. (John 10)


29/31

Recognizing Gods voice

TONE/QUALITY

(weight, confidence, not thought up, surprise, does not

argue)

SPIRIT

Jamesthe wisdom that comes from above

CONTENT

keep to the principles. If the Bible says something once,

dont worry about it; if its fundamental, use that as aguideline to understand what comes as the voice of God.

Biblewhat is taught on the whole based on a fair

interpretation when compared Bible with Bible.


30/31

Listening for God in Life

So what does this all mean?

Because God is good and wants to do life with us

relationally, we can choose to live attentively, with

an ear open.In ourrelational lives, we can expect that God will

do more than nudgehe can and does often give

us specific words to speak when we need them.

Which means we can engage difficult situationstrusting him.

In ourvocation/business, we can expect God will

have good ideas about how to do our work.


31/31

Listening for God in Life

God does not only speak to believers!

Acts 10, Cornelius sees an angel to prepare him to

listen to PeterSo we can also expect that, more frequently than

we think, God is speaking to our non-Christian

friends.

We can invite them to listen experimentally; we canalso listen to their words and see when God might

be inviting them.

Documents

5 12 13 Hearing God Notes