Hearing God's Voice - Week 4

When I Ask

Message by:
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

What are you (people in general), afraid of/concerned about when asking for an answer from God about a personal situation or need?

Three areas of fear/concern when asking God for something:

God is Uncontrollable.

Job 38-42


Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

My plan is the best plan - God doesn’t have my best interest in mind.
What if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? Mark 8:36
Better to be blind, or lame, or limbless than spend eternity far from God.
Rather be a door keeper in the house of God than dwell in tent of sinners.
I know what plans I have for you…
God is uncontrollable, but we can know his heart and have the mind of Christ.
Fear hearing “No” - God says no sometimes. (My plan is the best plan lie.)
Fear it won’t be what I want to hear but what I need to hear.
Fear that in my selfishness/ humanness/ weakness/ impatience I want what I want more than I want what God wants.
Fear my answer won’t be the way I imagined or hoped for. Different isn’t bad. Bring pain. Pain isn’t the absence of God, it’s an opportunity for God.
Fear the answer (yes or no) will push me out of my comfort zone. And that I might fail his testing or in the new area he is moving me.

I am Incompetent.

Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

You are incompetent if answered prayer depends on you, but it doesn’t.
Jesus is our High Priest and Intercessor, the
Fear I’m asking the wrong question or the wrong way. I’m worried worry that I am not praying in faith because I have those fears.
Fear my living outside God’s will makes me unworthy.
Fear I’ll be impatient and run toward my own answer, missing his timing
Fear I will not hear Him right/ understand/ interpret the answer correctly. Or misinterpret the answer. Doubt and fear of taking wrong action. Missing God’s will.
Fear I miss God altogether (depart from me)

I am Unworthy.

Luke 5:8
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Moses' reply: "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent . . . send someone else "(Exodus 4:10, 13). After witnessing the presence of the Lord in the temple, Isaiah's response was, "Woe is me for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips "(Isaiah 6:5). After hearing rumours speculating that he might be the Christ, John the Baptist's reply was, "I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals "(Luke. 3:16). When the apostle Peter recognized that he was sitting in the same boat as God Incarnate, he pleaded with Jesus, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man "(Luke. 5:8).

We are unworthy in comparison to a Holy God, but He places value on us. We search for validation and answered prayer is our pat on the back, or our “I love you”. God gave his love, his son, his spirit, his words, his eternity, his grace and invites us into a relationship with him (liken to a bride), how much more validation do you have to have? How wanted and loved and full of worth do you need beyond what God has already done for you? He’s loved you from before you knew him, he’s provided for you, cared for you, courted you and has brought you to the alter to spend eternity with him. Does that look worthless to you?

Recognizing how great God is in comparison to your humanness is not a sin or bad. It should produce humility which God honors and rewards. But when your feeling of unworthiness negates the truths of God, then that is a problem. Guilt is not what God wants you to live in. He never has wanted that and never will.

Dog poops on the floor needs correction. But you don’t constantly walk around with the paper and threatening him. He will live in fear, a broken spirit and in the feeling of being unloved. That is not correction, that is abuse.

Fear God will find me unworthy. He gets fed up with me and my messes. Will answer me with the opposite to punish me for bad things in my past. Not close enough to him.

Fear I’m bothering him with my needs that, in the big scheme of things, are little.

Fear I don’t have the right to really expect God to hear me. So much guilt. Even that God wouldn’t want me to even ask for it.

Fear God doesn’t answer at all.

HOW TO REQUEST GUIDANCE

1.) Believe God cares about the details of my life.

Matthew. 6:31-32
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I can’t teach you how to believe, or make you believe. Those who have eyes/ears.

2.) Ask God specific questions.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This isn’t to help God know the specifics but to help you know and understand when you get the answer. Write them down and celebrate when God answers.

3.) Expect God to answer!

James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

CS Lewis said, “Prayer doesn’t change God; prayer changes me.” If I’m in a boat and I reach out with the boathook and pull, am I pulling the land to me? Or am I pulling myself closer to the shore? This is what prayer does for us.

Whatever answer God may give you or whatever way He may deliver it will always come secondary to your relationship with Him.

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Hearing God's Voice - Week 3

How to Recognize God's Voice

Message by:
Pastor Terry Carwford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

4 Ways to Test an Impression

 

1. Does it agree with the Bible?

  James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

  Psalm 119:89
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

  Galatians 1:7-8
Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

 

Check out the scriptures, know them, memorize them, God can bring them to mind.

 

2. Does it make me more like Christ?

  1 John 2:6  (ESV)
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked

Romans 12:2
Do not conform 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.

James 3:13-17
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,  considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

 

3. Would Godly, wise people confirm it?

  1 Samuel 3
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord , where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 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. 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.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord : The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” 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. 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. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ” Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord . He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.” “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord ; let him do what is good in his eyes.” The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord . The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

 

Ask mature believers to evaluate.  Small Group.

 

4. Is it consistent with how God has shaped me?

  Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

S.H.A.P.E.

S - Spiritual Gifts
H - Heart
A - Abilities
P - Personality
E - Experiences

 

Are you testing what you believe God is speaking to you

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Hearing Gods Voice - Week 2

Message by:
Pastor Terry Carwford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

God created us for relationship, invited us into relationship, fulfills his end of relationship, so we are able to know what he is asking us or communicating to us.

How does God Talk to Us?

God decides how and when he will communicate with us.

1. God speaks through the BIBLE.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (Message)
Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.

Sola Scripturameans.
“The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.” — Westminster Confession of Faith
What Does Sola Scripture Mean C.L.A.S.S. 101 - We teach that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are verbally inspired of God and inerrant in the original writing, and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith and life.

We genuinely long for God to guide us. We genuinely long for a personal word from God, a supernatural experience with God. Yet we fail to grasp that as we read and study and hear the Word of God taught and preached, it is a personal word from God. Because the Scriptures are "living and active," God's speaking to us through them is a personal, supernatural experience.

Who you need be, how you need to live your life and react to life’s struggles, proactive ministry and maturity actions are all in there. I believe 99.9 % of all of your life questions are already in the Word and the other .1 percent will be filtered through it.

2. God speaks through gifted TEACHERS and LEADERS.

Ephesians 4:11-15
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ

3. God speaks through HOLY SPIRIT IMPRESSIONS.

John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you

Job 33:14-15
or God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,

Matthew 10:19-20
But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Acts 16:6-7
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

Every impression is not from God.

And if we want to go back a little further, Jonathan Edwards warned: I . . . know by experience that impressions being made with great power, and upon the minds of true saints, yea, eminent saints; and presently after, yea, in the midst of, extraordinary exercises of grace and sweet communion with God, and attended with texts of Scripture strongly impressed on the mind, are no sure signs of their being revelations from heaven: for I have known such impressions [to] fail, and prove vain.

Godly impressions are given for the building of His Kingdom.

Question: Am I listening for God in ways he normally speaks?

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