Hearing God Part 1.

 

Bruce Chant

generation-j - Pulse

22/08/03

 

 

Hearing God.

 

The one true God is our creator and He created all that we see around us, including humanity which bears His image. From the time of Adam we are told that God desires to have relationship with us, His creation.

 

The barrier to this on-going, unimpeded relationship is sin. God is life, sin and it’s consequence is death and so an insurmountable divide exists between us.

 

However, God in His love sent Jesus, His son – 100% God 100% man – to the earth to bridge that divide by taking death from us, and giving us life in it’s place.

 

Now through Jesus and what he has accomplished there is able to be a restoration to that relationship between God and us. God desires relationship with us, as any good Father would. He is our perfect Father and should we be wise we will seek Him for guidance, fellowship, love, direction and answers to life problems, mysteries and troubles.

 

Because of this we need to know how to Hear God.

 

God is speaking, are we listening.

 

Isaiah 55: 10 –11

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.


1.      God’s Word comes continually like rain to the earth.

God is always speaking to His children. God’s voice is never far away.

2.      God’s Word has the effect of causing fruitfulness.

Hearing God’s voice and being receptive to it will cause your life to be fruitful. You will flourish as a christian if you have ears to hear what God is saying.

3.      God’s Word is sent specifically, with a purpose that it will achieve.

Bad things can result in good outcomes. Eg Pharoah stubbornness, Judas’ betrayal. Everything has a purpose in God’s plan.

 

 

So why don’t we hear God’s voice?

 

Luke 8:4-15

4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
   " 'though seeing, they may not see;
       though hearing, they may not understand.'[1]
11"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

 

The Seed = The Word

The SEED is the Word of God. The Word of God is all-powerful – the means by which God created heaven and earth was through his Word.

 

Just as the SEED contains the potential for life, growth, fruitfulness – so too does God’s word. And like the seed it needs to be received for it to release that potential and accomplish it’s purpose.

How the seed / Word is received?

 

1)      Trampled on the path

§         Hard heart, not wanting to hear God.

§         People say I don’t hear from God – but the truth is they don’t want to. Why? They don’t like to hear what God says; if you know it’s NO then you don’t ask and try and live as much as possible in the delusion state of pretend.

§         Proverbs 14:14 “The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways. But a good man is satisfied from above.”

§         The backslider is consumed by self and living “my way” – he doesn’t need God. But the good man sees that he needs God and even if he doesn’t like what God says he knows it is right.

 

2)      Fell on the rock, grew fast and then withered away

§         Shallow heart, seed does not take root. There is initial motivation, excitement etc but that fades through lack of root.

§         Where the seed is shallow – there is lack of faith. And where there is lack of faith there is doubt. “Did God really say that?”

§         You can look good on the outside – but do you know God? Knowing God is knowing his voice. If Ruth rings me, I don’t say excuse me who am I speaking to? I know her. How? Through relationship – over time my knowledge of Ruth has become deep and I know her.

§         If you have a shallow heart there will be times when you need to hear from God and you will be confused – eg a double minded man.  Why? No depth.

 

3)      Thorns choked the seed and it died

§         Distractions, idolatry, chasing after ‘stuff’, not acknowledging God or our desperate need for him.

§         Distractions - Like trying to have a conversation with earphones on and Mp3’s blasting in your ears. Not going to work.

§         Removed from fellowship / church / community – hearing God comes through interaction with others: wisdom, counsel, other perspectives through word and situations.

§         Common sense also gets derailed when other things choke out God’s word. God has given us our minds and abilities but these faculties get packed away in light of distractions etc.

§         We see God as the means rather than the END – not a magic trick but a result of walking with God.

 

4)      Other seed fell on good soil and produced.

§         The issue is not the seed, but the soil. The soil talk of the heart.

§         A good and humble heart receives the word, and holds on to it, and thereby produces much spiritual fruit through perseverance and obedience to God.

§         The issue is knowing God.

 

Summary: Hearing God’s voice is the end. God’s word spoken to us in relationship is our purpose in life – it will result in fruitfulness. Therefore seek God 1st and the stuff will be taken care of.

 

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