Today’s post are my preaching notes for my sermon at Kishwaukee Community Church. If you are at Kishwaukee today, you may follow these notes as I preach. If you are not at Kishwaukee today, click here to go to our website on Monday and follow the links to hear the sermon. You can then follow these notes as you listen to the sermon.
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How We Hear God Speaking to Us, Part 2
I. Review from last week
Hearing God speak to you,
should be a common experience to all Christians
This is a tough issue for us because
- Unfamiliar territory for most – for me a common experience
- Spirit driven – we prefer certainty and precision – never vague
- Abuse by others for personal gain
Three Areas which I will cover
- How God Speaks
- How to Hear God
- How to confirm it was God speaking
4 Boundaries to confirm God spoke and I heard correctly
Whenever God speaks to you, what you hear will be:
- Consistent with scripture
- Confirmed with a specific scripture
- Confirmed through someone else or the body
- Requires you to change plans
How God Speaks to You –
1st Way Through Scripture
Tells us His Heart/Will – His will for you
If you tell me, “God does not speak to me!”
Then I know that you are not reading the Bible
II. 2nd way God speaks to you – Prayer
Jesus frequently withdrew to pray alone
Prayer not only to commune, share heart, ask for intercession
Prayer to shape your heart
Transform and conform your will to His
2 prayers –
Lords and Garden “Your will be done”
John 17 – “I have done your will
The greatest issue in hearing God is the battle of wills
Confusion of my agenda as His will
Allow God to speak – not a jabber-hour prayer
Instead a Psalm 46:10 prayer
When seeking guidance
Read scripture and then pray
Present question don’t sell the question
Listen, listen, listen
Do not be in a rush – several prayer sessions
(My worse decisions, rushed out of hunger, want, envy, pride)
III. 3rd way God speaks to You – Worship
God will speak to you every week at worship
Despite what does or does not happen up front
Worship praise – any style
Prepares and softens the heart
Provides God an entry
Makes space for the Holy Spirit to speak
Personalize your corporate worship
God will use your Pastor, even a bad one to speak to you
My lifelong preaching experience
Parishioners telling me That was just for me
Then restating points, I never spoke
I simply Praise God
IV. 4th way God speaks to you – Dreams, Visions, and Theophanies
SVHS Play Joseph – about his dreams and interpreting
God continues to speak through dreams and visions
Theophanies – God appearances in our lives
I had some – shared one last week
Many highly personal to you or one you love
Still will be confirmed by God
Scripture, consistency, others, call to change
V. 5th way God speaks to you – Circumstances and Life Events
God puts you in a place to act at a particular moment
Usually obvious
Frequently serendipitous
Pulling together what He spoke to you recently
Making sense out of purpose of previous message
How we see, hear, and observe daily events in our lives
Critical to hearing God
Which will be our focus next week
ELF - A New Road for 2018 