Dear children
Thought I'll share what I taught in cell today. I expanded on what I read in my Living Life today on vs 17 about hearing God.
What is God's unvarying requirement throughout the ages? It is to hear His voice & act on it. To some folks this may sound radical but it is really fundamental Christianity.
Take for eg the old Testament, Jeremiah 7:22-26. I wont be quoting the whole scripture, it's too long, just excerpts of it. "... For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt... I gave them this command: Obey me, & I will be your God & you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention, instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward & not forward.. "
God reprimanded the Israelites for not listening to Him & understanding His purpose for them. They missed the whole of God's purpose & plans. Aren't we foolish if we hear God but do not obey Him?
Now we move on to the New Testament in John 10:3-5 where it says, "The watchman opens the gate for him, & the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name & leads them out. ... his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger's voice."
Jesus presents Himself as the good shepherd, & we the sheep, hear and know the voice of God. You will notice that the sheep do not follow the shepherd by watching him; they simply follow him by listening to the right voice. The sheep will not follow deceivers or false teachers who sound religious.
Likewise, the shepherd's voice is v personal to you. You will come to a terrible grief if you open your heart to the wrong voice. You will be harmed, deceived & disappointed. Because the voice of God is intangible, it gives you this sense of being almost dangerous. That's how I felt when I first learn how to hear - it's very tricky & I had to really discern correctly. This is done by 1st digging into the Word daily. God speaks to us daily - that's the Rhema word - It is the spoken Word which is received daily to build faith in us.
Hearing is not instantaneous as we have to come to a certain frame of mind. Our mind must be at rest, not anxious. Reading the Word should not be a ritual, rather it should be seen as a relationship with God.
A voice has no past or future. It just shuts you up in the present. God is the God of the NOW; God is the God of what's happening in your life right now.
Equally important, it is in our heart that we hear God's voice through the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 4:23 tells us "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." In other words, it is what is in your heart that will settle the issues of life.
The bible has much to say about people who are spiritually deaf. 1 eg is in Matthew 13:13-15 "..Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand... You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving; For this people's heart has become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, & they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts & turn, & I would heal them."
This is a picture of people who have no heart to hear the voice of God. Their heart is careless, hardened & no longer sensitive.
So children, you have to cultivate an inward sensitivity to the Lord by reading His Word so that when you hear, you know it's Jesus' voice & not the devil's. Isnt it true that the more time you spend with someone, the more you will know his mind & thoughts?
Some people may ask "Does it mean that everything we hear has to equal scripture?" No, sometimes it doesnt. I have on many occasions heard my inner spirit saying, "Dont trust what he says," or "Go to this person's house & pray for her," or "Go talk to this person." These are simply directions or guidance you may receive for your life.
As a precaution, always remember the voice has to come from inside you, ie, your heart/spirit, NOT on the outside. If it comes from the outside, then it's the enemy. If it sounds enticing or is rushing you to do something without the supporting scripture, then it's the enemy.
If you learn to hear God's voice by training your inner spirit, then you will live a life that is different - like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season & whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Mark 4:9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
WIll be in Berastagi next Monday so be good the 2 of you esp the 1 with the crooked smile! We will be flat out by the time bedtime comes as we will be teaching for 5 nights in a row plus Sat morning & afternoon on marriage, singlehood & family. Dad says God will deliver many & bless them. So if I have time in the afternoon, I shall blog on Deliverance in stages.
Love U, Mum