How to hear the Voice of God?

Isa Bella:

I had to council a Christian sister today and it was not as gentle as I wanted it to be. I ended my mission with a prayer that the Holy Spirit will touch that sister and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will deliver and release her from the devil's lies.

Hearing God's Voice through conversations with fellow believers
I asked another Christian sister to confirm that I was not judging that sister but was merely trying to guide her back to God. And why God had to use me to speak to this sister is because she couldn't hear Him anymore.

This sister was living a life of sin, yet used certain bible verses out of context to deceive herself and assure herself that she was still in the perimeter of God's favor and protection. When I shared with her using bible verses to prove to her what God wanted. She just rejected it all and claimed that the word was not from God.

Instead of abiding by God's word, this sister used several other bible verses to rebuke me. I was a little annoyed at first but when I saw how deep her deception was, I began to feel fear. I was fearful for her.

I immediately recognized that because this sister read the bible without the Holy Spirit, she simply picked and chose whichever verse she thought she liked and applied it the way she wanted to in her life. And because God was not the center of it at all, that opened the grounds for the devil to work in her life.

She used Deuteronomy 5:11 to rebuke me and called me a self-righteous hypocrite. When I read her response, I actually stopped and asked myself with complete honesty " Bella, are you being judgmental and giving her the holier than thou attitude?" then I thought for a minute and realized HEY! those aren't even my words, I am just the messenger girl!

Hearing God's Voice through the Bible
God uses the bible to speak to us and He led me to some awesome verses which had all the teachings of Jesus and the most amazing part is that as I shared the word with her, I myself began to really understand what God wanted us to learn!

Revelation on the Bible Verse :

The NIV Bible Version of God's Word:

Deuteronomy 5:11 (New International Version)

11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."

This means if you use the Lord's name as and when you like without thinking of the consequences, the Lord will deem you GUILTY. This commandment has nothing to do with what we say, and everything to do with how we live.

Example 1: This person keeps praising God, talking about God and telling others about God and at the same time lead a life of sin and does not repent. This person's actions will be a bad testimony of Jesus and cause Non Believers to doubt Jesus because the person as a Christian is not just a person but an image of Christ.

Few, if any, cultures or societies encourage their married women to live in the same way after the marriage as when they were single.

For example, if my mother had taken my father's name, but not changed her lifestyle, she would have taken my father's name "in-vain". She would have had a ceremony, but not a new life, and my father would definitely have been very upset.

When we put on a uniform, we take the name of those whose uniform it is. Whether it is a sports team uniform, a work uniform for that employer or a military uniform. When we choose a career, we take the name of the best of everyone in that career field. When we take on a title, we take the name of the best o everyone with that title.

If you take the name of God, at a ceremony, and tell the world that you are now part of the 'bride of Christ' as the church is called, yet you do not live like a 'bride of Christ', you have taken His name in vain, and you will not be considered guiltless. Live with Jesus as if you are committed to Him for life, not as if He is only a friend.

A spouse is supposed to be an intimate friend, companion, confidant, friend and a lifetime commitment. To treat Jesus as anything less than that, is to take His name in vain.

Example 2: This person uses God's word out of context to instill fear into a fellow believer.

In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 12, Verse 1-3, we see what God says about His response to how people treat Israel:

“And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

In the Book of Numbers, where the Bible is telling us about the Nation of Israel that God delivers out of bondage in Egypt, it tells us:

“He crouched. He lay down as a lion, and as a great lion. Who shall stir him up? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.”

God showed me all the scriptures of what Jesus said about disobedience and using the Lord's name in vain as this sister always has God at the tip of her tongue but at the same time she was leading a life of sin. She shared with me that in her opinion, doing what makes oneself happy is the correct thing to do! I remember my Senior Pastor taught me :

" the word SIN is spelt S "I" N so whenever you put "I" which means yourself before GOD then you are definitely sInning! "

I shared that with her too. But just in case because I am a nobody to her, she would dismiss God's message again, I applied what Jesus taught us through the bible.

Hearing God's Voice through Jesus

The words of Jesus Christ:

"There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
(Proverbs 14:12 RSV)

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart."
(Proverbs 21:2 RSV)

"This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' You leave the Commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."
(Mark 7:6-8 RSV)

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."
(Ephesians 5:6 RSV)

"See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8 RSV)

"For they are a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who will not hear the instruction of The Lord; who say to the seers, "See not"; and to the prophets, "Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel."
(Isaiah 30:9-11 RSV)

What Bella Said to the Sister:

I still know that the words I heard are indeed for you. God has tried to save you from the devil's trap and He has sent us to warn you but you refuse to see God's will and you reject His words. If you do not heed His warning, you will be under wrath. If you think I am wrong, please print this email out and approach a Pastor.

Let the Pastor pray and discern and the Pastor will tell you how God sees this situation.


Hearing God's Voice with the Help of the Holy Spirit

Reading the bible without the Holy Spirit and NOT Understanding the word of God is a VERY dangerous thing because then you open the grounds to Satan who has blinded you and will lead you to destruction.

Hearing God's Voice through Prayer

I send you this email not in anger but in fear as you are blinded and you refuse to see the truth. I pray that the Holy Spirit will touch you and the blood of our dear Lord Jesus Christ will cleanse you of all your sin and release you from the devil's lies.

In the most Powerful Name of our Precious Lord Jesus,
AMEN.

Listening To God

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

One of the concepts we've tried to emphasize in the last few devotionals is the idea that our relationship with Jesus has much in common with our relationships with friends and family. When we demonstrate effort and commitment in our relationships, they flourish. When neglected or abandoned, they suffer and decline.

Last week's devotional examined the difficulty many of us have with attentive listening, so with that in mind, let's look at how we can apply the concepts from that devotional to our relationship with Jesus.

Does God talk to us? Can we actually perceive God communicating with us? Absolutely! God does not typically speak in an audible voice, but He most certainly is speaking with us. The voice of God whispers directly into our heart and soul, guiding us, counseling us and comforting us. But are we listening, or are we too busy talking? God will not scream at us to pay attention, so if we are too preoccupied with our own thoughts, His gentle voice will be drowned out.

Our prayer time must consist of listening as well as speaking. We need to attentively reach for that small voice and eagerly let it guide us. In quiet prayer, ask God to reveal His will and then listen patiently for His response. The more often you do this, the easier it will become.

However, if you fail to do this, you will miss out on the advice and direction God is offering. Worse still, your relationship will suffer, just as a marriage suffers when one partner simply refuses to listen.

For Christians who know Jesus intimately, the deterioration of their relationship which comes as a result of not listening is a steep downward slope. For those who are just getting to know Him, it can be a serious impediment to growth in their relationship. If you consistently fail to pay attention to what God is telling you, it will become progressively harder to make out His will against the background noise of your own desires. It may become so difficult that you will no longer believe that God even speaks at all.

Let me close with a powerful example from Erwin Raphael McManus. His son Aaron had run into trouble at camp and was preparing to leave. In a final effort to convince him to stay, Erwin had the following conversation.

I asked him a simple question: "Aaron, is there any voice inside you telling you what you should do?"

He paused and then responded, "Yes."

"What's the voice telling you?"

"That I should stay and work it out."

I asked him, "Can you identify that voice?"

He immediately said, "Yes, It's God."

It was the moment I had waited for. I didn't expect it to come under those circumstances. Nevertheless, it was there. I turned to Aaron and said, "Aaron, do you realize what just happened? You just heard the voice if the living God. He spoke to you from within your soul. Forget everything else that just happened. God has spoken to you, and you were able to recognize Him."

I'll never forget his response: "Well, I'm still not doing what He said."

I explained to him that was his choice, but this is what would happen. If he rejected the voice of God and chose to disobey His guidance, his heart would become hardened, and his ears would become dull. And if he continued on this path, there would be a day when he would never again hear the voice of God. There would come a day when he would deny that God even speaks or has ever spoken to him. But if he treasured God's voice and responded to Him with obedience, then his heart would be softened, and his ears would always be able to hear the whisper of God into his soul. (Erwin Raphael McManus, The Barbarian Way, pp. 87-88, Thomas Nelson, 2005)

by Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries

Follow That Voice!

The thought of a fire on an airplane is really pretty unsettling. That's exactly what happened on an Air Canada flight a few years ago. The fire started in the lavatory and smoke quickly spread throughout the plane. The pilot couldn’t see and he didn't know how he was going to land. But suddenly this calm, measured voice came into the cockpit, "Just do what I say. I'll bring you in." It was the flight controller. And that calm voice literally talked the pilot in for a miraculously safe landing!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Follow That Voice!"

If your life is like mine, there are lots of choices you have to make - it's a turbulent flight. There are lots of voices pulling at you; even smoke that makes it difficult to know how to proceed sometimes. What will bring you in safely is what brought that pilot in safely - that one calm voice from the Tower.

Our word for today from the Word of God takes us to one of those moments in Jesus' life when the pressure was really on. The day before He has been in Capernaum healing sick people who were brought to Him, even casting demons out of people. Then in Luke 4:42-44 it says, "At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for Him and when they came to where He was, they tried to keep Him from leaving them. But He said, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.' And He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea."

Here is Jesus, surrounded by voices that are vying for His time and for His attention, and everyone had a legitimate need. Does that sound familiar? But Jesus has a clear "I must" and it helps Him stay on course as He makes His daily choices. Now, your life is the sum of hundreds of little choices you make each day. Tomorrow you'll reap today's choices. And if you're like me, you have a lot of needs and a lot of possibilities tugging at you every day. Most of them are good, but God has you on earth for some special missions and you must be true to those, no matter how noble the detours that are pulling on you.

Often we end up running around all stressed out, trying to satisfy everybody, and often satisfying nobody. We lead these fragmented, frustrated lives because we forget our "musts." And those non-negotiables have to come from God. And if you ask Him, God will lay on your heart your personal mission or missions. And some will be needs that only you can meet - like being there for your family or like reaching your lost friends and family for Christ. You need the kind of clear "I must" priorities that Jesus had.

But how do you keep your course when the flight seems to be out of control? Look at how your Lord did it. "At daybreak He went out to a solitary place." You know what He was doing. It's what He always did: going to hear from His Father. Jesus stayed on course by staying in touch with the Tower - with His Flight Controller in heaven. That's how you're going to stay on course. And, like Jesus, you have to get in touch with the Tower daily, and early, and by yourself.

Listen to your Father's calm voice before you let any other voices get to you. Let Him affirm the musts in your day. You will always land where you're supposed to if you begin with the voice from the Control Tower. Let God set your course. Forget the confusion, forget the smoke, forget the danger, and focus on your Father's instructions. Then follow that voice!

Let Go & Let God Lead The Way

The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
But Yahweh weighs the motives.
Commit your deeds to Yahweh,
And your plans shall succeed.
Yahweh has made everything for its own end --
Yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from Yahweh.

Proverbs 16:1-4, 33.

Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter end.
There are many plans in a man's heart,
But Yahweh's counsel will prevail.

Proverbs 19:20,21.

Watchman Nee in his book, Let Us Pray, wrote, "Prayer is the union of the believer's thought with the will of God. The prayer which a believer utters on earth is but the voicing of the Lord's will in heaven. Prayer is not the expressing of our wish for God to yield to our petition and fill up our selfish desire. It is not a forcing of the Lord to change His will and perform what He is unwilling to do. No, prayer is simply speaking out the will of God through the mouth of the believer. Before God, the believer asks in prayer for the Lord's will to be done.

Prayer does not alter that which God has determined. It never changes anything; it merely achieves what He has already foreordained. Prayerlessness, though, does effect a change, because God will let many of His resolutions go suspended due to the lack from His people of prayerful cooperation with Him."

"Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it." John 14:12-14.

"If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. "In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples." John 15:7,8

"You didn't choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. "I command these things to you, that you may love one another." John 15:16,17.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:2-8

Watchman Nee puts it very well, "No master has so many servants as our Master, and for each he has a suitable employment. Even the little maid was at hand to testify to Naaman in his need. Many of us murmur against the position God has given us. We want to do this, but God puts us into that. We have an ambition to serve him here, but his plan for us lies elsewhere. When faced by such apparent reverses, it is well to remember that God's purpose for us goes back before our conversion, for his foreknowledge has determined our circumstances even before we were born. God never does a think suddenly; he has always prepared long, long before. So there is nothing to murmur about, nothing to be proud about, in the calling of God. There is also no one of whom to be jealous, for other people's advantages have nothing to do with us. When we look back over life, we bow and acknowledge that all was prepared by God. So there is no need to fear we have missed something. To have this assurance is true rest.

Act On Your Childlike Faith

When everything in the world seems to be against you and everything you can do, is still not enough – when the facts are against you and your circumstances are overwhelming – you have one very powerful weapon that will help you endure and assures complete victory…you still have your faith. 1 John 5:4 says, “For Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”

The problem with faith is that it is absolutely senseless and totally unreasonable. You would have to be an unreasonable person to even attempt to operate in faith and the act itself is senseless. Let me explain my position.

Faith and reasoning border each other but never overlap. When you leave one you enter the other. Where reasoning ends, faith must begin, and where faith ends, reasoning will begin. Reasoning relies on inferences and logic using information gathered from our senses and processed in our brains. Reasoning is overrated. I have seen far too many men and women miss out on salvation and many of the wonderful blessings of God because of reasoning. They are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 3:7).

When Peter walked on water as Jesus bid him, he did so in faith. It was unreasonable for Peter to attempt defying the laws of physics. As a fisherman, he knew walking on water was an impossible feat. Peter didn’t care about physics at this moment; he abandoned his reasoning and walked in faith because Jesus said he could. Faith will cause you to act in ways that are senseless and unreasonable. However, when Peter’s senses began to notice that the winds were picking up and the waves were growing fierce, he began to again reason within himself…he was in danger. Once he began to reason, his faith came to an end and he began to sink and drown. When Jesus caught him, He said, “O thou of little faith, why did you begin to doubt?” The reason is simple: Peter abandoned faith and began to rely on reasoning and his own understanding. He understood that walking on water was “impossible.” You cannot operate in the things of the spirit through your senses, feelings and reasoning. You must crossover on the bridge of faith. Peter did not have access to the impossible through reasoning. Your only access to the impossible is by faith. If your situation is impossible, hold onto faith.

According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. A reasonable person cannot compute hope because their evidence must come through their senses. They can’t hope, they must see.

When I speak of faith, I speak of faith in God. You can put your faith in a lot of things, but Jesus Christ is the only one who can save you. Be careful in who or what you put your faith. I support our president, but my faith is in the lord. I like myself, but I put no confidence in my own flesh. Money is good, but it in God will I trust. Education and degrees are awesome, but it is God who orders my steps. When I feel overwhelmed or out maneuvered I will look unto the hills from where my help comes, my help comes from God. We must have faith in God.

If you want faith, ask God for it and seek the kingdom of God!

Faith is a persuasion of the mind that comes through knowledge of the word of God.

However, faith is not merely knowledge. You can quote every scripture in the Bible and still not have faith.

Faith requires you to act on it in order to bring it to life.Faith without works is dead.

We must act on our faith and live what we believe. However, often the act required to release your, faith does not pass the “prudent man” test. In other words, when you attempt to operate in faith, you run the risk of looking foolish, senseless and unreasonable. Imagine how foolish Noah looked building an ark when there had been no rain for years; or how unreasonable a 99-year-old Abraham was to trust God for a son. Just lifting our hands in prayer, singing praises to God or even going to church on Sundays can make us look foolish in a world with no appetite for the things of God.

If you already know Christ as your lord and savior I challenge you to be bolder in your faith. Let your light shine. If you don’t know Christ and find yourself at a crossroads where you need some hope and love, let me introduce you to a man named Jesus.

A Transformed Life

Transformed

From life to death to life again
You are my dearest and most treasured friend
Because of you I am what I am
Singled out amongst all of them
You called me out and set my path
And delivered me from your wrath
There was a time when I was blind
When heavy chains had me tied
But there you were to break me free
Everyday awaiting me
The one and only who holds the keys
Setting me free from conformity
And transforming me through your deity

Gary Glenn Gregor

Copyright ©2009 Gary Glenn Gregor

After A Painful 7 Years...

After a painful 7 year relationship, devoting my life to a person who was not after God's heartbeat. I was emotionally drained and I had lost faith in human relationships.

My past made me think it was God's will that I remain single...but somehow I'm not so sure now.

My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak. I have to admit and confess that even though I have to be strong as my work calls for me to be a tower of strength. In matters of the heart, I am fearful of being hurt again...

God, I don't doubt you. I just doubt myself..please show me signs that this is really what You want for me cos you are the only one I can depend on and trust. This I pray in Jesus's most powerful name, amen.

God's Word For A Friend

Numbers 6:24-26
'The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.'

On the 23rd of February 2009, As I prayed for my cellgroup mate's brother.
This was the word, God revealed to me for him.

And I sent it to him on Facebook by faith.

How It All Began

I was just browsing through my facebook profile and checking out what my friends were up to and saw that one of my cell group mate's brother needed prayer. That was on February 23rd 2009.
So I went in to check out who I was supposed to pray for and found him.

I prayed for him and did'nt see much of it as I pray for friends all the time but on that same night I felt something warm and fuzzy inside of me as I lay down on my bed and tried to get some sleep after the prayer. Impressions of my friend's brother just kept on filling my mind and I did'nt know what was going on but there was a feeling of joy and peace that accompanied that warm and fuzzy feeling. I prayed another prayer for myself that in all things God's will be done in my life not mine.

I then drifted off to sleep knowing that my God knows what is best for His little girl :)