Cultivating a Relationship with the Holy Spirit Part 3 [hearing His voice]

Messages for November 2015: Our Month of the Holy Spirit

 John 14:18, 26; John 16:13; 1Cor.12:7

Message for Sunday 22^nd November, 2015

Theme: Understanding the Gift and Ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Topic: Cultivating a Relationship with the Holy Spirit Part 3 [hearing His voice]

Introduction: Last week, we established that God speaks and why. We also began to look at the different ways God chooses to communicate His mind to us. Today, we shall continue looking at how God speaks and begin to look at how to hear the voice of God spoken directly to us by the inward witness which is the main way God wants to speak to all His children apart from the bible:

A sixth way God speaks to us is through the written word or the bible. It is a compilation of prophecies spoken by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit to reveal the heart of God to man and the stories of men and women who walked with God and people of their time. See 1John 5:7-8, 2Peter 1:19-21 and 2Tim.3:16.  This is why Isaiah, referring to those who consult familiar spirits; said in Isa.8:20 that if people do not refer you back to the law and testimony [the confirmed word of God] that it is because there is no light in them. Spiritual light can only be generated when the written word of God is mingled with faith otherwise, God is not obligated to confirm what a purported preacher preaches.

I consider the Bible the Creator’s manual for mankind and his environment. All that can be known of God and man are packaged in the bible made up of the Old and New Testament. Thus the only way we can actually live meaningful lives is by living by the word of God.

A seventh way God speaks to people is through circumstances. A good example of the circumstantial leading of God is seen in the entire book of Esther in the bible where the name of God was not mentioned once yet His acts from behind the scenes were evident. In our lives, God can bring this about by shutting every door except the one He wants to open for us. I have had this experience several times in my missionary journey and at the end of the day, it always turns out that God was actually working behind the scenes and usually, the hand of God becomes visible in the testimonies that accompany the outcome of being led circumstantially. See the story of the four lepers at the gate of Samaria in 2kings 7:3-8.

An eighth way God leads us is through the teaching and preaching of the word of God. This method is usually taken lightly by many, but I have found it to be one of the best ways to confirm a leading you get privately from the Lord. See Isa.30:20-21, Mt.4:23, Mk.9:35, Acts 15:35; Acts 28:30-31 and Hebrews 10:25.

A ninth way God leads is through prophecies: Prophecies are messages from God through mostly human vessels intended to bring edification, exhortation and comfort to us. They do not invoke fear; even when they foretell of terrible events that may come, they also tell the solution that could avert the crises immediately. See 1Cor.14:3, Acts 11:27-30. In our example here, through prophecy, the Church received prudence, they saw the evil ahead and took care of it. See Prov.22:3; 27:12. This is comforting.

A tenth way God Leads is through angels: we see this so many times in the bible like in Gen.18 when God sent angels to assure Abraham of the coming of Isaac and when God revealed His impending judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and gave Abraham the opportunity to intercede for them. Also, an angel was sent to reveal the virgin conception and birth of the Messiah in Matthew 1 and Luke 1 and 2. Also, angels were assigned to help Paul in his missionary journeys like in Acts 27 when they were affected by a shipwreck that would have cost all of them their lives.

How to hear the voice of God using Habakkuk’s example

In Habakkuk 2:1-3, we read:

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”

From this text of scripture, we can identify four steps we can take to start hearing the voice of God and build on it to consciously be led by the Holy Spirit through the inward witness or inward perception. They are as follows:

1.     Stillness of quietness before God: In the first verse, we are told to be still before God. This entails that we shut out every other voice consciously. This is not a time to remember the many other things we want to do. We must shut out the world, television, radio, internet, phones etc and get quiet in a quiet place before God. This is what Jesus sought to do daily on his earthly sojourn. See Mark 1:35. Indeed, to make a practice of waking up early and seeking God this way is the best. This was Abraham’s style too. In Gen.19:27, we see an account of Abraham rising up early as is the habit with him to the place where he usually stood before the Lord. We must make a habit of making out time daily with the Lord. I do this in my bedroom every morning taking the posture most comfortable for me. When this is in place, then we are ready for the next stage where we begin to see what God is saying.

2.     Vision: When God speaks, His voice activates our imagination so that we begin to see what He says with our minds. This is why Habakkuk says he has to see what the Lord would say to him. In other words, what God is going to say to us would be first caught in vision before our inner ears can pick it. The power of our imagination cannot be overstated. In Gen.11:6, God said nothing will be withheld from a people working together as a team with one imagination. This is why God involves our imagination when He speaks to us to enable us have faith. It is one of the complex means of getting our faith to work because our utterances are empowered by a unity of our speech and imagination. When our imagination becomes one with God’s own, we are said to have vision. This is why it is very necessary for us to be filled with the word of God so that our minds can be renewed enough to be able to comprehend what the Spirit is saying to us. See 1Cor.6:17, Rom.12:1-2 and Col.3:16.

3.     Spontaneity: When God begins to speak to our hearts, it comes through a spontaneous flow of thoughts which can only be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Even though we can stop the flow by our distraction, we cannot turn it on at will. However, God has promised us that when we seek Him with all our hearts, we shall find Him. See Jer.29:13; 33:3, Matthew 7:7-8. The first answer to prayer I look forward to is what God has to say to me in answer to my prayer. Once God says anything to you, you can lay your life on it as it would surely come to pass even if not immediately. See Hab.2:3

4.     Journaling: Finally, to maintain the flow of thought, we should immediately begin to write whatever we hear down in our diaries. This way, we would be able to capture most; if not all of what we hear. Then later, we can go over them along with our bibles to enable us ascertain it was the voice of God. The scripture we are looking at in Hab.2:3 says to write the vision down and make it plain on tables that we may run with it when we read it. This is very important to God. In Jeremiah 36, when He sent the prophet to his people and they burnt the scroll in which His words were journaled, God instructed the prophet to write it out again. What is documented cannot be forgotten easily and even if it is forgotten, we can refer to the documents again. See Apostle Paul’s example in 2Tim.4:13. I have kept journals since 1990 and many of what the Lord had told me then have come to pass.

I will stop here today. Next week by God’s grace, we shall be looking at how to know that what we heard is actually God’s voice and not another.    

However, this blessing is meant for those who have entered into the covenant relationship of the New Birth with the Lord. The bible says that Christ in you is the hope of glory and this mystery was hidden from the foundation of the world for our glory. They are not hidden from us but for us to be able to discover them. If you desire this new birth experience so as to take advantage of what God has given us, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be saved and granted access to the mysteries of God that would enable you manifest His glory on earth. When Jesus was about to round off His mission on earth, he said he had brought glory to God by fulfilling His purpose. See John 17:4. If you want to be able to say the same thing when the time comes, please say the following prayer out loud and God would honor your faith:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name!

Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.    

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!