“God Is TRYING To Talk To You!” (How To Hear The Voice Of God pt. 3)

Pastor Jim Lowe III

Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 07/02/23 (1st Sunday Message)

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{All scriptures are “NIV84” unless stated}

This is the 3rd message in the series of How To Hear God Better.

Memory Verse:

Job 33:14

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it.

How many of you would like to hear God better?

Too many times we fall for things THINKING it was God.

…but it wasn’t.

We’ve walked into things only to find out it wasn’t what we thought it would be. Last month we started a discussion on how to hear God better.

Part 1:

“Is That You God?” (How To Hear God)

In that message we talked about how to hear God.

How Does God Speak?

When it comes to hearing God…you need to know some of the ways he communicates with you.

4 Ways God Can Speak:

• Through His Word (The Bible)

• Through Other People

• God Speaks Himself

• Through His Actions

Starting with the first one:

We talked about the foundation to hearing the voice of the Lord.

Hebrews 4:12 (a)

12 For the word of God is living and active…

1 Peter 1:23

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

It is living and active.

We talked about how the Bible isn’t just a book. It tells us how God feels about us.

It is God’s words…

John 1:1 - It IS God.

The book was written by men…but outlined and worded by God. This is a necessary step to learning the voice of God.

This is why we should STUDY the word.

The more word we know…

the better we could understand God’s voice.

To Understand God’s Voice, You Should Know How He Talks!

The better you KNOW the word of God… you understand how he talks!

(Part 2)

The 2nd week we discussed the fact that he can speak through others.

- Through Other People

God can speak to you through someone else.

The memory verse (Job 33:14) comes from a conversation Job was having with Elihu. Although this is a conversation:

Elihu is speaking for God.

Job is broken…

asking God “What did I do?”

and Job is convinced that God won’t answer him. he thinks God won’t talk to him…

Elihu says…God DOES speak. but we can miss it.

Job couldn’t see this on his own.

Sometimes In Our Deepest Pain, God Uses Someone Else To Speak To Us!

This is how Job was…so God used Elihu.

A personal voice to give the answer Job needed. and it came from someone else.

God spoke through Jethro to Moses.

God got a message through Balaam’s Donkey.

We also talked about the importance of allowing God to speak to us for others!

Part 3 {Today}

God Speaks Himself

So God speaks through his word and through others… Today we start talking about a different way.

How can God speak?

• God Can Speak To You Directly

“For God DOES speak…now one way now another.” He can speak to you directly.

What are some examples of God speaking? In Genesis in the garden.

God spoke to Adam and Eve.

the convo about the fall.

God spoke to Cain.

the convo about Cain’s offering.

God spoke to Abraham.

Genesis 18:1-2

The Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of 3 men.

They told Abraham that when they returned the following year…Sarah would be pregnant.

God spoke audibly to Abraham.

Sarah was listening…so she heard it as well.

God spoke to Moses:

In the burning bush…

God calls to Moses from a bush…

This is where God tells Moses to go to Egypt.

These men had personal relationships with God. They could recognize his voice.

But God can speak to whoever he desires.

Many Times We Don’t Recognize God When He Is Speaking To Us

1 Samuel 3:1

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

Samuel was a boy.

He ministered under Eli.

In those days the word of the Lord was rare… God wasn’t speaking much…

or was man not perceiving it??

Verse 2-5

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

Samuel was in the temple of the Lord. The Lord calls Samuel.

Samuel RESPONDS.

He then runs to Eli asking him what he needs.

God’s voice spoke to Samuel in a way to where he thought Eli was calling him. God was using an audible voice.

Verse 6-8

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

Samuel did not yet know the Lord. Yet the Lord was calling him.

- you might not have the best relationship with God… you might not know his voice at all…

but it doesn’t mean he isn’t calling you.

God Is Calling You To Something, But You Have To Learn To Recognize his Voice

The same thing happens 2 more times…and Eli realizes what is happening.

Verse 9-11

9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.

God may speak to you audibly… God also speaks this way:

• God Can Speak Through Your Thoughts

One of the safest places we can have is in the safety of our own thoughts. No one knows what you think.

…unless your face gives it away.

Some of us can have the most random thoughts.

some of us have full conversations in our own mind. we make master plans in our own head.

we try to figure how we can do something and not get into trouble.

We Learn To Control Our Actions Through Our Thoughts

Just because we don’t say something mean or DO something… doesn’t mean we didn’t think about it first.

we CHOSE not to do that thing. This is why it’s important to know God’s word.

Because God can begin to plant thoughts in your mind.

He shares his will this way. He tells us what is Godly.

Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

As you renew your mind…

as you are allowing God to change you… God will show you his will.

1 Corinthians 2:16

16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

We have the mind of Christ… he shares things with us.

God will tell you certain things you SHOULD go to. God will tell you certain things you should NOT go to. God will tell you who you need in your life.

God will tell you who you DON’T need in your life.

Many Times We Credit Intuition And “Gut Feelings” When It Was God Talking To Us All Along!

Philippians 2:13

13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

How can God work in us and WILL us unless he is speaking to us in our thoughts?

God Wants Us To Control Our Actions Through The Thoughts He Gives Us!

Some things might be right for YOU.

But they may not be good for everyone.

When We Have People Come Up On Our Minds, That COULD Be God Telling Us To Check On Them!

Job needed Elihu

Who needs You?

But how would you know if you can’t recognize God’s voice? Which ever way God chooses to speak to you…

He IS speaking.

Isaiah 30:21

Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

If you hear it with your ears or in your thoughts… God IS speaking…

EVERYthing you think isn’t random… God is in there somewhere.

But to hear him better…

You’ve got to focus on what you hear… and test it against God’s word.

This Week:

• Review This Message (Today’s Stream, Study Groups, Lunch Recap)

• Find Ways To Get Into The Word This Week!

• Ask God To Help You Hear Him Better When He Speaks

If we’re seeking God’s word on things… Remember he DOES speak…

But we gotta find ways to hear him better.