{NOTES LISTED BELOW ARE SO THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE VIDEO MESSAGE.}

RECOGNIZING THE VOICE OF GOD IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES

IF WHAT YOU SAY, THINK, OR DO IS DOES NOT LINE UP WITH TO THE WORD OF GOD, THROW OUR YOUR WORDS, THOUGHTS, & ACTIONS – NOT THE BIBLE… NO MATTER HOW RIGHT OUR FEELINGS OR THOUGHTS MAY SEEM, THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY GUIDE WE SHOULD FOLLOW, BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY TRUE DIRECTION WE CAN FOLLOW.

HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO US?

We often hear people say, “God spoke to me,” or “God told me to…”

How should we interpret these kinds of expressions? Did God really speak? If so, how did He do it? If God speaks to people, how can we recognize the voice of God in our lives?

RECOGNIZE: To recognize is identify (someone or something) from having encountered them before; know again.

• Judas heard Satan’s Voice and betrayed Jesus (Matt 26:14-16). He perished.
• Peter heard Satan’s Voice and did not believe the Voice of Jesus (Mark 8:31-33). Peter got rebuked.
• Pontius Pilate had determined to let Jesus go, but the raging of the People’s Voices persuaded him to do otherwise (Matt 27:23).
• Adam and Eve “Heard the Voice of the Lord God.” Eve heard the Voice of the serpent; she chose to Obey the serpent’s Voice rather than God’s Voice. Adam chose to the Voice of his wife rather than God’s Voice. (Genesis 3:8)

CIRCUMSTANCES CAN SPEAK TO YOU SOMETIMES LOUDER THAN WE CAN HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD… THE LOUDEST VOICE, IS NOT ALWAYS THE TRUTH.

PROVERBS 28:26“Those who trust in themselves are foolish. But those who live wisely are kept safe.”

Remember, just because we THINK a THOUGHT or FEEL a FEELING does NOT mean we must OWN (BELIEVE) that thought.

2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-6“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

WHICH VOICE DO YOU OBEY?

· Is it the Voice of the Desires of your Heart?

· Is it the Voice of the Thoughts of your Mind?

· Is it the Voice of God and His Word?

JOHN 10:1-5  “Jesus said, “It is certainly true that when a man enters the sheep pen, he should use the gate. If he climbs in some other way, he is a robber. He is trying to steal the sheep. But the man who takes care of the sheep enters through the gate. He is the shepherd. The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. The sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But sheep will never follow someone they don’t know. They will run away from him, because they don’t know his voice.”

Two Voices are portrayed.

• One is the Voice of the Shepherd, which is Jesus. (protection)
• The other is the Voice of the stranger, which is Satan. (deception)

The voice you are led by will lead you into protection & freedom – or deception & domination.

There are many Voices that we hear – These Voices are from social media, TV, our flesh, our feelings, our emotions, our circumstances, our Desires, & even from People around us.

• The world’s Voices lead us away from God.
• The Voice of the Bible leads us to God.

1. The Voice of the Desires of your Heart?

PROVERBS 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.  In all your ways obey him. Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.”

God thinks about you all the time.

• His thoughts toward you are loving and caring.
• He wants the best for you.
  • If you listen for His voice, He will help you get His best.
  • In fact, when we listen carefully and include Him in our decision making, He will do His best, which is as good as it gets, so we will not miss what He is saying.

MATTHEW 6:33

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, & then all these things will be given to you too.”

 

GOD IS THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU YOUR DESIRES & DREAMS!

Why do you think we are fearful to trust Him with them?

• IT IS BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LISTENING TO HIS VOICE!

2.   The Voice of the Thoughts of your Mind?

Often our problem is not that we cannot hear God, but rather we have heard him & do not want to do what he says.

• It is interesting how often God speaks – & we shut Him out because it isn’t what we want to hear.
  • We want our own way, & then we get mad when God doesn’t make it go well for us.

PROVERBS 9:7-9

“Criticize a person who is rude and shows no respect, and you will only get insults. Correct the wicked, and you will only get hurt. Don’t correct such people, or they will hate you. But correct those who are wise, and they will love you. Teach the wise, and they will become wiser. Instruct those who live right, and they will gain more knowledge.”

MANY PEOPLE SEEK ONLY COUNSELLORS WHOSE WORDS ARE APPEALING.

• They do not want to hear the truth – they simply want to further validate what they want.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

OUR EARS ARE TUNED TO WHATEVER HOLDS OUR HEARTS & MINDS.

• If this world is our focus, we’ll hear its messages & receive its fruit.
• However, if our hearts are set on Christ, & we take time to listen for His guidance & instruction, you will get everything your heart has ever wanted or desired.

COLOSSIANS 3:2-5

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is worship to false gods.

YOU MATTER—YOUR LIFE MATTERS, YOUR VOICE MATTERS, & THE CALLING GOD HAS PLANTED DEEP INSIDE YOUR HEART MATTERS – HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ON YOUR OWN TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PLANS!

What are the primary reasons people don’t listen to God?

• They don’t have a relationship with Him.
• Many people don’t expect the God to speak to them.
• The voice of the world drowns out God’s voice.
• They doubt that He has ever spoken to them.
• Their minds are closed to His voice.
• People are too busy.
• They may resist the voice of God because they want their own way.
• A poor self-image causes them to doubt that God would speak to them.
• Sometimes people are angry with the Him.
• A rebellious spirit & selfishness keeps Gods voice small in their life.
• They are distracted by the sounds of the world.
• Sin has prevented them from hearing God – because sin separates.

3. The Voice of GOD & His WORD.

We live in a world that has no shortage of opinions. The world we live in wants to critique, review, & quantify everything.

• Every experience is rate-able, up for review, and open for critique.
• How many stars, how many likes, how many page views?

Solomon knew all about this, he said:

“Do not pay attention to every word people say.”

ECCLESIASTES 7:21–22

When we allow who we are be defined by anything other than the God who created you – on purpose and for a purpose… is as meaningless as trying to chase the wind.

• & when we find ourselves facing criticism—our head seems to be swirling with voices & opinions—what I’ve learned to do is stop everything, and go back to the very beginning.

START WITH WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU.

If you want to live a life that is reflected in the word of God – we must start by understanding what He says & feels about us.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have made you with my loving kindness.”

JEREMIAH 31:3

 

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

ROMANS 5:8

 

ROMANS 8:37-39

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

EPHESIANS 2:4-5

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.”

 

So much of what we learn about God’s love – is that His love is calling us away from our selfishness & sin, over and over. & no matter what we do, He loves you just as if you were perfect – nothing we do changes or can change His love.

• When we allow another person’s opinion of us to define us, that person becomes an idol, a substitute for God.

John 12:43 says of the Pharisees that “they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”

Without knowing God’s love for us, we will never be able to push back all of the other voices that try to tell us what we’re worth.

I don’t want to be the kind of person who wanders away from the life that God has called me to because I let the voices of the crowd win.

• I don’t think you do either.
• When you have been called to something, I can almost guarantee that you’ll receive criticism.
  • Keep your calling right in the forefront of your vision all the time.

PROVERBS 1:7

“Start with God — the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom & learning.”

The antidote to the voices of doubt: LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD.

The Bible tells us that Noah listened to God.

• & what did he hear? He heard God’s warning that the world was going to be destroyed.
  • He believed what he had not yet seen. That’s what faith is — being certain of something we don’t see.
• So, Noah didn’t turn back on the vision God had given him. Instead, he built the ark.

God is going to give you a goal for your life, & some people may think it’s crazy – But you’ve got to stay focused on what you know God has said through his Word, the Bible.  

Then, you’ve got to go build your ark!

Often, God will speak to you progressively, a little at a time until you get the whole message.

If you struggle to hear the voice of God, remember the example of Samuel as a young boy. It took several times for him to recognize it was God speaking.

• As Samuel grew, he became closer to God and soon was easily able to hear and even speak for God.
  • So, you may have a dramatic encounter with God’s voice, or you may gradually get to recognize it.
  • Just keep listening. You will hear it.

WE MUST ASK OURSELVES— “DOES THIS VOICE I’M LISTENING TO… “

1. LINE-UPwith GOD’S WORDin the Bible or is it CONTRARY to God’s Word?
2. Is it HONORING& Truly GLORIFYINGto JESUS? 
3. Does it REPRESENTJESUS?
4. Is it “PURE & LOVELY?
5. Is it up lifting or EDIFYINGto myself?
6. Would this THOUGHTlead to an ACTIONor WORD that would be GRACIOUS & BENEFICIAL to others?
7. Will this THOUGHTproduce “GOOD FRUIT“?

JOHN 15: 16

“You did not choose me. I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.”

• Remember when Satan tried TEMPT and TEST JESUS in Matthew 4:1-11& Luke 4:1-13?
  • Jesus did NOTgive Satan “the time of day”… He did not give “a place for the devil to speak in his life.” (Ephesians 4:27)

When Satan came to JESUS with HALF-TRUTHS & LIES Jesus confronted Satan with TRUTH from the GODS WORD, & did NOT entertain any THOUGHTS that were contrary to what Gods Word says.

MATTHEW 4:4

“But He answered & said, It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'”