If you want to continue hearing God, you need to be willing to act on what He says.
Hearing God involves being willing to line up your whole life with His purposes. When you come to God with an attitude of obedience it’s easier to receive what He has to say.
Jesus has opened up the way to God. The only obstacles that exist are those you allow to stay put or subconsciously put in the way.
What are the obstacles to hearing God speak?
The most obvious obstacle is unrepented sin. When you don't acknowledge your sin, or when you persist in sinful behaviour, you create a barrier.
If you’re living in a way that displeases God and have stopped listening to your conscience, your heart becomes hardened. A hardened heart is a result of ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The more hardened your heart, the more difficult it is to hear God and obey what He says.
How can you hear God when you continue to disobey Him?
Have you paid attention to the things He’s revealed before?
If you’ve only made a token effort and aren’t doing what God has said, it’s unrealistic to expect the Holy Spirit to reveal anything else to you. You can’t expect to receive further revelation from God when you aren’t doing the things He’s already revealed.
Do you really expect God to speak? Lack of expectation can keep you from revelation.
There are many reasons why you might struggle to hear God's voice.
Examine your relationship with God.
Are you tuned to the right frequency?
Have you got a good connection? Sin, wrong attitudes and unforgiveness can block communication. So can greed, selfish ambition, pride and your own agenda.
God can and does break through the sin barrier – Adam and Eve still heard God even though they had sinned – but sin that isn’t dealt with can get in the way and make it difficult to hear.
What’s your motivation?
If you’re seeking to hear God for selfish reasons and looking to profit from what you hear or if you’re looking to achieve your own ambitions – God’s unlikely to cooperate no matter how long you pray or fast.
Have you acted on what God has already told you? He’s looking for obedience and faith.
Have you died to self? Are you ready to lay down your own will and your own agenda and sincerely ask the Lord what He wants in the situation?
Are you resentful? Are angry that God isn’t doing things your way? Do you think you know best and are scandalised that God isn’t co-operating with you. Beware; resentment will make you deaf to God’s voice.
Selective hearing can keep you from hearing God. You might not hear because you think God always speaks in a particular way. When God doesn’t speak in the way that you expect you might not recognize that it’s God speaking to you. You need to be open to God speaking in any way He chooses.
Beware of sifting out what you don’t want to hear because it isn’t comfortable or it doesn’t fit with your plans.
Are you impatient? Are you in a rush to hear and not prepared to wait long enough. I wonder how many times you’ve missed God speaking by giving up just as you were about to break through.
Do you want to hear God enough to wait and listen, believing that He will speak?
Are you hungry to hear God?
"If you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, believe me, before you know it Fear of God will be yours; you'll have come upon the knowledge of God."
"Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God."
Proverbs 2: 3-5
If you've given yourself a spiritual check up, you will hear God if you position yourself to hear. That is God's promise to you.
Be like Habakkuk - stand at you guard post, keep watch and see what He will speak to you.
Habakkuk 2:1-2
Friday, November 24, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Every Day Is A Day To Pay It Forward
Are you listening to the Holy Spirit's promptings?
This story was posted on the Elijah List.
I hope it encourages you as much as it does me.
Psalm 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
God will take care of you. Friends can be God's way of taking care of us, and He sends them when we need them.
The following was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:
I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life and wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends.
One evening, I was driving home from a meeting and got stuck in traffic on Colorado Boulevard, and my car started to choke, splutter, and die. I barely managed to coast while cursing into a gas station. I was only glad that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. My car wouldn't even turn over.
Before I could make the call to the tow company, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building. It looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it appeared she was overcome by sobs because she had fallen. She was a young woman who looked really worn-down with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something, and as I helped her up, I picked it up to give it to her---it was a nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me--the crying woman, the ancient suburban crammed full of stuff with three kids in the back (one in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, "I don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California, and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and I said, "He heard you, and He sent me."
I took out my credit card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump, so she could fill-up her car completely. And while it was fueling, I walked next door to Mc Donald's, and bought two big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She then gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
Her Story
She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left two months ago, and she had not been able to make ends meet. This young mom knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent on January 1st, and finally in desperation, she called her parents, with whom she had not spoken to in about five years. They lived in California, and her parents said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned into the car, told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but didn't tell them they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug, and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year, angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car, it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll take it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
"Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings..."
Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Let's Remember to Pray for One Another
Prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost, but there a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another:
"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives, and cyber friends reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and Your mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."
When satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could You please get that for me?"
Remember - Tomorrow is not promised to us and waiting for another day may be too late.
Take advantage of the time!
If this is a blessing, feel free to pass it along to some friends!
Story submitted by Kim Alexis
www.kimalexis.com
Email: kim@kimalexis.com
www.elijahlist.com
If you'd like to know when the next article is posted, please click on the subscribe link in the right hand column.
You can send this page to a friend by clicking on the arrow below.
This story was posted on the Elijah List.
I hope it encourages you as much as it does me.
Psalm 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
God will take care of you. Friends can be God's way of taking care of us, and He sends them when we need them.
The following was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:
I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life and wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends.
One evening, I was driving home from a meeting and got stuck in traffic on Colorado Boulevard, and my car started to choke, splutter, and die. I barely managed to coast while cursing into a gas station. I was only glad that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. My car wouldn't even turn over.
Before I could make the call to the tow company, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building. It looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it appeared she was overcome by sobs because she had fallen. She was a young woman who looked really worn-down with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something, and as I helped her up, I picked it up to give it to her---it was a nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me--the crying woman, the ancient suburban crammed full of stuff with three kids in the back (one in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, "I don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California, and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and I said, "He heard you, and He sent me."
I took out my credit card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump, so she could fill-up her car completely. And while it was fueling, I walked next door to Mc Donald's, and bought two big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She then gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
Her Story
She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left two months ago, and she had not been able to make ends meet. This young mom knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent on January 1st, and finally in desperation, she called her parents, with whom she had not spoken to in about five years. They lived in California, and her parents said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned into the car, told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but didn't tell them they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug, and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year, angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car, it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll take it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
"Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings..."
Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Let's Remember to Pray for One Another
Prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost, but there a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another:
"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives, and cyber friends reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and Your mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."
When satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could You please get that for me?"
Remember - Tomorrow is not promised to us and waiting for another day may be too late.
Take advantage of the time!
If this is a blessing, feel free to pass it along to some friends!
Story submitted by Kim Alexis
www.kimalexis.com
Email: kim@kimalexis.com
www.elijahlist.com
If you'd like to know when the next article is posted, please click on the subscribe link in the right hand column.
You can send this page to a friend by clicking on the arrow below.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Hearing God Through His Word
The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
God speaks through His word. It's living and active and He's speaking to us through it today.
We need to read God's word, study it and meditate on it. It's a lamp to our feet and a plumb line to measure everything by.
When you read the Bible, read it with the expectation that God will speak to you.
When we first learn to hear from God, He mostly speaks to us through Scripture. A passage suddenly 'comes alive' to us - it jumps out and we understand it in a way we didn't before.
God speaks to us about things that aren't actually in the Bible but they always agree with the principles we find there - they line up with what the Bible says.
If we 'hear' something that doesn't agree with what the Bible says, we need to reject it as not being from God.
John 6:63 tells us that the words that Jesus spoke are spirit and life. We need to feed on God's word to be spiritually healthy. God's word is like to food to us and we need fresh food every day to grow strong in God.
The Bible guides us on many issues. It's important that we know what God says about things. If we don't know what the Bible says, we can easily be deceived into believing that what we think or hear is God leading us, when it isn't.
There are many ways to read God's word. Here are a few suggestions:
Read a whole book through at one sitting to get a feel for what God is saying
Read the same book in 5 different versions so that it really becomes a part of you
Take one verse or passage and meditate on it
Use study aids to unlock meaning
Read through the Psalms for months at a time
Read one chapter of Proverbs a day alongside whatever else you are reading
Personalise what you are reading and pray God's word back to Him
Invite the Holy Spirit to come alongside as you read and teach you
I can't stress how important it is to know what the word of God says so that we're not easily deceived.
If we have a dream, a prophecy, a vision, inner thoughts or an audible voice that doesn't line up with God's word, then it isn't God speaking to us.
Our Father has given us His written word to help keep us on track.
All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ...
Timothy 3:16-17
When we read God's word we renew our minds
Beware of falling into the trap of taking words out of context so that they fit with what you believe God is saying.
If someone says they have revelation from God, one of the tests is whether or not it agrees with God's word.
When you are learning to hear God it's important to check everything out with the written word of God.
The Bible says many things about God's word, Psalm 119 has much to say about it. I recommend that you read it.
Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice.
Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart!
Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health.
Proverbs 4:20-22
As you learn other ways of hearing God, always remember the importance of God's written word - it will help you to go in the right direction.
Hebrews 4:12
God speaks through His word. It's living and active and He's speaking to us through it today.
We need to read God's word, study it and meditate on it. It's a lamp to our feet and a plumb line to measure everything by.
When you read the Bible, read it with the expectation that God will speak to you.
When we first learn to hear from God, He mostly speaks to us through Scripture. A passage suddenly 'comes alive' to us - it jumps out and we understand it in a way we didn't before.
God speaks to us about things that aren't actually in the Bible but they always agree with the principles we find there - they line up with what the Bible says.
If we 'hear' something that doesn't agree with what the Bible says, we need to reject it as not being from God.
John 6:63 tells us that the words that Jesus spoke are spirit and life. We need to feed on God's word to be spiritually healthy. God's word is like to food to us and we need fresh food every day to grow strong in God.
The Bible guides us on many issues. It's important that we know what God says about things. If we don't know what the Bible says, we can easily be deceived into believing that what we think or hear is God leading us, when it isn't.
There are many ways to read God's word. Here are a few suggestions:
Read a whole book through at one sitting to get a feel for what God is saying
Read the same book in 5 different versions so that it really becomes a part of you
Take one verse or passage and meditate on it
Use study aids to unlock meaning
Read through the Psalms for months at a time
Read one chapter of Proverbs a day alongside whatever else you are reading
Personalise what you are reading and pray God's word back to Him
Invite the Holy Spirit to come alongside as you read and teach you
I can't stress how important it is to know what the word of God says so that we're not easily deceived.
If we have a dream, a prophecy, a vision, inner thoughts or an audible voice that doesn't line up with God's word, then it isn't God speaking to us.
Our Father has given us His written word to help keep us on track.
All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ...
Timothy 3:16-17
When we read God's word we renew our minds
Beware of falling into the trap of taking words out of context so that they fit with what you believe God is saying.
If someone says they have revelation from God, one of the tests is whether or not it agrees with God's word.
When you are learning to hear God it's important to check everything out with the written word of God.
The Bible says many things about God's word, Psalm 119 has much to say about it. I recommend that you read it.
Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice.
Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart!
Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they're bursting with health.
Proverbs 4:20-22
As you learn other ways of hearing God, always remember the importance of God's written word - it will help you to go in the right direction.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Walking in Eternal Life
I thought you might be inspired by this article, written by Francis Frangipane.
Francis is encouraging us to be more conscious of God and more open to His Holy Spirit. Have you got a listening heart?
God's end time people will "end time." What I mean is that, as we near the end of the age, we will increasingly learn how to walk in eternal life, abiding above the boundaries, constraints and the pressures of the realm of time. We'll see what's coming and either avoid it or announce it, but we won't be limited by it.
Jesus taught that those who come to Him "have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16). Right now, we have eternal life in our spirits. Yet, how do we access the timeless place of God's presence? This is a serious question, for we have become more "time conscious" than "God conscious." Schedules, meetings, appointments and deadlines all fuel our anxieties and compel us to live horizontally, instead of vertically in the Presence of God.
The Lord seeks to deliver us from anxiety, but that can only happen if we truly learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The sad fact is, most Christians fail to spend time with the Holy Spirit. We pray, even calling upon the Lord, but few are they who have cultivated moment by moment openness to the Spirit of God.
"But, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:23).
The Holy Spirit will guide . . . He will speak . . . He will disclose" to us what we otherwise could never know or attain. To guide, speak and reveal are forms of communication. Clearly, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to talk to us.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There are issues in our hearts that the Holy Spirit alone can reveal and remove. Listen to Him, like Christ, He does not come to condemn but to save. His voice is Salvation speaking to us.
Jeremiah said that the heart is deceitful above all things. We cannot objectively know ourselves. Yet the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth sees and understands our ways. Trust Him, He cannot be deceived. Indeed, the ancient Greeks used the same word for truth as they did for "reality." Thus, we could accurately say that the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Reality." He shows us the reality of our need and the reality of God's answer. To hear Him is to hear the voice of eternal life.
Jesus lived in union with the Holy Spirit continually. The miracles He accomplished came through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit He saw the things the Father was doing; He heard the words the Father was speaking. Every strategy we may come up with pales in comparison to seeing God and doing what God does and hearing God and saying what God says. You see, Jesus lived in the dimension of time, but was not limited by it. His consciousness was always aware of the eternal realm.
Even the urgent news of Lazarus' illness did not make Jesus move anxiously. As right as it seemed to rush to Lazarus' aid, Jesus was aware of another reality. He was conscious of the heavenly Father. Because He knew that the Father was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He lived without hand-wringing or being driven by anxious thoughts or pressures.
Oh how we need to walk in the Spirit today. In every situation, we would consciously be aware of God's involvement in our lives!
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God has a system of thoughts and ways that are totally on another plane, yet He invites us to abide with Him!
Beloved, we are not mere human beings. We each are a temple for the Holy Spirit, but we must cultivate a listening heart if we will do the things that God is doing. A Christian is not just someone living out a natural life, hoping that God will bless him. No, God has more for us than that. Jesus set the standard, and He's given us the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him.
Spirit Filled?
When we are born again, we begin a journey with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts to help us grow; He baptizes us in power to increase our effectiveness. All of this is to lead us until we are actually filled with the Holy Spirit, where we think and act like Jesus.
Many of us think we are already filled with the Spirit, but we are not. We have three quarts of self and one quart of the Holy Spirit, and we think we have a gallon of God. There is still too much self ruling in our hearts. In America, some pastors identify themselves as being Spirit filled and say they pastor Spirit-filled churches. To be perfectly candid, I have never attended a church that is truly Spirit filled. In the Book of Acts, we see a picture of a Spirit-filled church. The leaders met daily for prayer, and on the way to prayer, their shadows healed the sick! Their offerings went to feed the poor. Out of their sense of love and community, they held all things in common. In that atmosphere, the church grew exponentially.
I know some are thinking, "My church is getting close to this example." Oh, I forgot to mention, in a Spirit filled church, if you lied, you died (see Acts).
You see, let's not accept that we are further along spiritually than we are. God desires to take us further, deeper into eternal life. Having a spiritual gift doesn't mean that you are filled with the Holy Spirit; being born again does not mean you are also Spirit filled. I have never met a truly spiritually mature person who was anxious; no one who is nervous about time can truly be led by the Holy Spirit.
Where Do We Go from Here?
In our quest to walk in eternal life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of self. If we want to tune into the God channel we must tune out the "self channel," where the anxieties, fears and sins exist.
I want a heart that can hear God; I want perception that can see God. We are too much like the world. How do we break this? Spend time with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to talk to your heart and then write down what you feel He is saying. If we want more of God, we must cultivate the awareness of His Presence, and especially listen for His voice.
We must also take faith and believe that the Spirit is here to help. Zechariah 4:6 teaches us that it’s not by our might or power, but it is by the Spirit of the Lord that we succeed. Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days God seeks to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. I love the words "pour out." We must stop thinking "thimble" and think Niagara Falls!
It's time to step out of the box called "time," and live in the Spirit. I’m not suggesting that you become unreliable or are late for your appointments, but that you give yourself to learning how to hear God's voice and how to live in His presence. If you are one of God's end-time elect, then it's time to rise above the pressures of time and walk in the eternal life of God.
Published on 18.2.2005 by Francis Frangipane http://frangipane.org
Used with permission
If you'd like to know when the next article is posted, please click on the subscribe link in the right hand column.
You can send this page to a friend by clicking on the arrow below.
Francis is encouraging us to be more conscious of God and more open to His Holy Spirit. Have you got a listening heart?
God's end time people will "end time." What I mean is that, as we near the end of the age, we will increasingly learn how to walk in eternal life, abiding above the boundaries, constraints and the pressures of the realm of time. We'll see what's coming and either avoid it or announce it, but we won't be limited by it.
Jesus taught that those who come to Him "have everlasting life" (Jn 3:16). Right now, we have eternal life in our spirits. Yet, how do we access the timeless place of God's presence? This is a serious question, for we have become more "time conscious" than "God conscious." Schedules, meetings, appointments and deadlines all fuel our anxieties and compel us to live horizontally, instead of vertically in the Presence of God.
The Lord seeks to deliver us from anxiety, but that can only happen if we truly learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The sad fact is, most Christians fail to spend time with the Holy Spirit. We pray, even calling upon the Lord, but few are they who have cultivated moment by moment openness to the Spirit of God.
"But, when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:23).
The Holy Spirit will guide . . . He will speak . . . He will disclose" to us what we otherwise could never know or attain. To guide, speak and reveal are forms of communication. Clearly, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to talk to us.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. There are issues in our hearts that the Holy Spirit alone can reveal and remove. Listen to Him, like Christ, He does not come to condemn but to save. His voice is Salvation speaking to us.
Jeremiah said that the heart is deceitful above all things. We cannot objectively know ourselves. Yet the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth sees and understands our ways. Trust Him, He cannot be deceived. Indeed, the ancient Greeks used the same word for truth as they did for "reality." Thus, we could accurately say that the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Reality." He shows us the reality of our need and the reality of God's answer. To hear Him is to hear the voice of eternal life.
Jesus lived in union with the Holy Spirit continually. The miracles He accomplished came through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit He saw the things the Father was doing; He heard the words the Father was speaking. Every strategy we may come up with pales in comparison to seeing God and doing what God does and hearing God and saying what God says. You see, Jesus lived in the dimension of time, but was not limited by it. His consciousness was always aware of the eternal realm.
Even the urgent news of Lazarus' illness did not make Jesus move anxiously. As right as it seemed to rush to Lazarus' aid, Jesus was aware of another reality. He was conscious of the heavenly Father. Because He knew that the Father was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He lived without hand-wringing or being driven by anxious thoughts or pressures.
Oh how we need to walk in the Spirit today. In every situation, we would consciously be aware of God's involvement in our lives!
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God has a system of thoughts and ways that are totally on another plane, yet He invites us to abide with Him!
Beloved, we are not mere human beings. We each are a temple for the Holy Spirit, but we must cultivate a listening heart if we will do the things that God is doing. A Christian is not just someone living out a natural life, hoping that God will bless him. No, God has more for us than that. Jesus set the standard, and He's given us the Holy Spirit so we can follow Him.
Spirit Filled?
When we are born again, we begin a journey with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us gifts to help us grow; He baptizes us in power to increase our effectiveness. All of this is to lead us until we are actually filled with the Holy Spirit, where we think and act like Jesus.
Many of us think we are already filled with the Spirit, but we are not. We have three quarts of self and one quart of the Holy Spirit, and we think we have a gallon of God. There is still too much self ruling in our hearts. In America, some pastors identify themselves as being Spirit filled and say they pastor Spirit-filled churches. To be perfectly candid, I have never attended a church that is truly Spirit filled. In the Book of Acts, we see a picture of a Spirit-filled church. The leaders met daily for prayer, and on the way to prayer, their shadows healed the sick! Their offerings went to feed the poor. Out of their sense of love and community, they held all things in common. In that atmosphere, the church grew exponentially.
I know some are thinking, "My church is getting close to this example." Oh, I forgot to mention, in a Spirit filled church, if you lied, you died (see Acts).
You see, let's not accept that we are further along spiritually than we are. God desires to take us further, deeper into eternal life. Having a spiritual gift doesn't mean that you are filled with the Holy Spirit; being born again does not mean you are also Spirit filled. I have never met a truly spiritually mature person who was anxious; no one who is nervous about time can truly be led by the Holy Spirit.
Where Do We Go from Here?
In our quest to walk in eternal life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to excavate our hearts of self. If we want to tune into the God channel we must tune out the "self channel," where the anxieties, fears and sins exist.
I want a heart that can hear God; I want perception that can see God. We are too much like the world. How do we break this? Spend time with the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to talk to your heart and then write down what you feel He is saying. If we want more of God, we must cultivate the awareness of His Presence, and especially listen for His voice.
We must also take faith and believe that the Spirit is here to help. Zechariah 4:6 teaches us that it’s not by our might or power, but it is by the Spirit of the Lord that we succeed. Acts 2:17 tells us that in the last days God seeks to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. I love the words "pour out." We must stop thinking "thimble" and think Niagara Falls!
It's time to step out of the box called "time," and live in the Spirit. I’m not suggesting that you become unreliable or are late for your appointments, but that you give yourself to learning how to hear God's voice and how to live in His presence. If you are one of God's end-time elect, then it's time to rise above the pressures of time and walk in the eternal life of God.
Published on 18.2.2005 by Francis Frangipane http://frangipane.org
Used with permission
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
How Do We Recognise God's Voice?
God will teach us to know and recognise His voice if we ask Him.
As we grow in our relationship with God, we will become more aware of when it's God speaking. The more we communicate with God the more familiar we become with His voice.
How do I know it's God speaking?
We hear many voices. How do we know when it's God speaking?
It's easy to confuse what we want with God's voice, especially when something is really important to us. We can turn down the volume of our own voice by dying to our own agenda.
When our thoughts or other people's opinions don't line up with God's word we need to demolish them. The enemy's plan is to confuse us and take us off course. We're told to resist him and silence him by speaking the word of God as Jesus did.
Learning to recognise God's voice is a process. If it is God's voice, it will lead to peace.
As believers and followers of God we have the Holy Spirit within us. He helps us to discern when the Father is speaking to us.
When we renew our mind with God's written word and spend time in His presence – we have the mind of Christ.
The more time we spend renewing our mind with God's word, the easier it is to discern when it's God and when it's just our thoughts.
"My sheep recognise my voice. I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27
"The Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and cause you remember all that I have told you."
John 14:26
We are His sheep and we hear God's voice. We can be confident that we know the voice of the Lord if we belong to Him and follow him.
We can train ourselves to recognise when it's God. It takes effort. We learn by practicing and being prepared to make mistakes. Don't let fear of making a mistake stop you from stepping out in faith. God is our Father and He will take care of our honest mistakes.
As we listen more we’ll learn to distinguish between the different voices.
The key is to learn to evaluate everything in the light of God's word.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong."
Proverbs 3:5-7
Sometimes we struggle to hear God or we don't hear as clearly as we'd like. At other times, we think we’ve heard God and respond to what He says only to find that we made a mistake.
If that happens, find out why you got it wrong and don't let it hold you back from stepping out in faith next time. God teaches us through our mistakes. It's better to allow yourself to make a mistake than never to step out in faith.
We've been living with abnormality for so long that we don't even recognise that it's not normal to go through life without hearing God.
'Normal', is hearing God every day.
Is that your expectation?
Are you actually scheduling time for God every day? Or, are you just trying to squeeze Him around everything else you do?
Do you struggle to believe that God will speak to you?
Confess your lack of faith to God. Ask Him to increase your faith. He will.
It's time to exercise faith. We have to overcome the doubts and keep on knocking.
Stop and listen to Him because He has the words of life.
Our Father is speaking to you – believe it. You can learn to recognise His voice.
If you'd like to know when the next article is posted, please click on the subscribe link in the right hand column.
You can send this page to a friend by clicking on the arrow below.
As we grow in our relationship with God, we will become more aware of when it's God speaking. The more we communicate with God the more familiar we become with His voice.
How do I know it's God speaking?
We hear many voices. How do we know when it's God speaking?
It's easy to confuse what we want with God's voice, especially when something is really important to us. We can turn down the volume of our own voice by dying to our own agenda.
When our thoughts or other people's opinions don't line up with God's word we need to demolish them. The enemy's plan is to confuse us and take us off course. We're told to resist him and silence him by speaking the word of God as Jesus did.
Learning to recognise God's voice is a process. If it is God's voice, it will lead to peace.
As believers and followers of God we have the Holy Spirit within us. He helps us to discern when the Father is speaking to us.
When we renew our mind with God's written word and spend time in His presence – we have the mind of Christ.
The more time we spend renewing our mind with God's word, the easier it is to discern when it's God and when it's just our thoughts.
"My sheep recognise my voice. I know them, and they follow me."
John 10:27
"The Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and cause you remember all that I have told you."
John 14:26
We are His sheep and we hear God's voice. We can be confident that we know the voice of the Lord if we belong to Him and follow him.
We can train ourselves to recognise when it's God. It takes effort. We learn by practicing and being prepared to make mistakes. Don't let fear of making a mistake stop you from stepping out in faith. God is our Father and He will take care of our honest mistakes.
As we listen more we’ll learn to distinguish between the different voices.
The key is to learn to evaluate everything in the light of God's word.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong."
Proverbs 3:5-7
Sometimes we struggle to hear God or we don't hear as clearly as we'd like. At other times, we think we’ve heard God and respond to what He says only to find that we made a mistake.
If that happens, find out why you got it wrong and don't let it hold you back from stepping out in faith next time. God teaches us through our mistakes. It's better to allow yourself to make a mistake than never to step out in faith.
We've been living with abnormality for so long that we don't even recognise that it's not normal to go through life without hearing God.
'Normal', is hearing God every day.
Is that your expectation?
Are you actually scheduling time for God every day? Or, are you just trying to squeeze Him around everything else you do?
Do you struggle to believe that God will speak to you?
Confess your lack of faith to God. Ask Him to increase your faith. He will.
It's time to exercise faith. We have to overcome the doubts and keep on knocking.
Stop and listen to Him because He has the words of life.
Our Father is speaking to you – believe it. You can learn to recognise His voice.
If you'd like to know when the next article is posted, please click on the subscribe link in the right hand column.
You can send this page to a friend by clicking on the arrow below.
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