Knowing III
John 21:22 [NIV] “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me.”
Test #3 for recognizing Gods voice is: Does it concern my responsibility? Is it your business? Peter was asking Jesus in John 21:22 what was going to happen to John. Jesus had already told Peter what would happen to Peter, and how when he grows old, how he was going to be led by another plus how he would die. But Peter turned around and began to ask about John. Jesus’ response in essence was, what is your business? A lot of people are quick to say, “God has spoken to me about you”. My thoughts are, “Really? Read the rest of this entry
Knowing II
Eph.3:10 [NIV] “God’s intent is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known…”
Test #2 for recognizing Gods voice is: Does my church family confirm this? God wants us to connect to each other. The people that usually get into trouble, are the people who do not want to have anything to do with other people. They feel they are better than everyone else so they do not want people in their business. God did not design us to be silos. God designed us for community. Prov.11:9 [GN] “The wisdom of the righteous can save you.” The correction or guidance you get at your life group meeting can change your life. Read the rest of this entry
Knowing I
Luke 21:33 [TLB] “And though all heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my words remain forever true.”
Over the next few days, we are going to learn six plus one ways of testing a message and recognizing God’s voice. This is not some clever way of getting you to solve a math problem. It is six plus one because the first six ways are indispensable. Every Word from God must pass the first six tests. If it fails even one out of the six, throw it out or keep it in the cooler. The seventh is also very crucial but again it is not. You can authenticate with just the first six. So let us just say the seventh is an added advantage.
Humanness…
1 John 4:1 [LB] “Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is!”
God has made it your duty and my duty to test the voices we hear first. Why? It is because even the most well meaning person can be wrong. The best of men is still a man, and men are not flawless; so it is our responsibility to test. Jesus asked a question, “Who do men say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God”. And Jesus said, “flesh and blood did not reveal that to you”. In other words, this broadcast did not come from yourself, this broadcast did not come from the devil; you received this broadcast Read the rest of this entry
Voice Authentication
1 John 4:1 [LB] “Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is!”
Today, we will take off from a thought we touched on yesterday and that is, that there are three sources of voices that exist. The first source is God. Scripture points out in Job 33:14 “For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.” I pray that you will always recognize God, in Jesus Name. The second source is Yourself. Unfortunately, people talk to themselves and say God has spoken to them. No, dear brother or sister; you are the one talking to yourself. I talk to myself, I say “why did you do that?”
Voice Recognition
1 Cor.14:10 [KJV] “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification”
We are confident that because of the spiritual journey God has taken us on in the past few days, a lot of us now know how to tune into God’s frequency, identify the different channels through which God speaks to us, and how to tune clearly into the voice and expressions of the Holy Spirit. I pray that God will even take us further and higher in Jesus Mighty Name.
So how do we recognize God’s voice amidst the very many voices everywhere? Scripture clearly points out that there are voices in the Read the rest of this entry
iWorship
Ps.147:10 (ERV) “War horses and powerful soldiers are not what he cares about. 11 The Lord enjoys people who worship him and trust in his faithful love. 12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord! Zion, praise your God!
Our final lesson about fine-tuning from prophets John the Baptist and Habakkuk is worship.
Lesson#6. I must worship: Spend time thanking God for speaking to you. Hab.3:2 [LB, emphasis added] “O Lord, now I have heard Your report, and I worship You in awe…” The truth is, when you receive God’s response to a question, it makes you love Him more! There is something about God’s response that deepens our love for Him. I hope you get this because no matter how hard I try, I will Read the rest of this entry
I Must!
Hab.2:2 [TEV] “The Lord gave me this answer, ‘Write down clearly … what I reveal to you…’”
We continue in our lessons from Habakkuk and John the Baptist; lessons about fine-tuning.
Lesson #5. I must write: You need to record the ideas you receive from the Holy Spirit. Hab.2:2 [TEV, emphasis added] “The Lord gave me this answer, ‘Write down clearly … what I reveal to you…” [emphasis added]. I suggest you take notes when God is teaching you. Do it the old fashioned way, get a journal and pen it down. On each page, outline three columns: (1) The Question I Read the rest of this entry
Keep Watch
Ps.73:16-17 [MSG] “When I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture.” [emphasis added]
This was someone that was really confused about the world; confused about how wicked people are rich, and good people are poor. But all he got in return was a splitting headache. When you try to figure out the positives and negatives in your life all by yourself, you will just give yourself a headache. But this same person got into God’s Presence and clarity came with no headache. God shows us the whole picture in His Presence. What is that thing that will take you to the next level or the riddle that you need to solve? Ask God and Read the rest of this entry
Sing Songs
2 Kings 3:15-1 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord…
We will kick off our time in God’s Presence today with worship. Do not rush over the words of this worship song. Deliberately engage your mind and imagination as you sing along:
“Lord, I thirst for you and I long to be in Your Presence. My soul will wait on You, Father draw me nearer, draw me nearer to the beauty of Your holiness. I will wait on You, Almighty God, in the beauty of Your holiness. And I will worship You, Almighty God, in the beauty of Your holiness… in the beauty of Your holiness” Read the rest of this entry
