Hearing God: The Burdens of His Voice (INTRO)
John 16:12-15 New King James Version
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [a]will take of Mine and declare it to you.
I. Bearing the Burdens of His Voice
a. Jesus told ALL of His disciples to count the cost before following Him
Luke 14:28-33 New King James Version
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he hascannot be My disciple.
i. Jesus never made it easy to become His disciple, He made it simple – forsake all
1. As His church we have a responsibility to do the same
2. Like Jesus, we must always cling to uncompromising truth, while revealing and leading people to God’s mercy and grace
a. Jesus is never ok with sin, transgression, or iniquity, yet He mercifully forgives us, and graciously empowers us to overcome
ii. Mercy is undeserved kindness that covers past failures
iii. Grace is undeserved favor that empowers future success
1. Grace – charis
a. Good will, loving-kindness, favor
i. Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christ virtues.
1. Grace empowers you to be like the Christ - Jesus
2. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more (Romans 6:1)
3. Prophecy is a grace gift because it empowers the church
iv. Jesus’ invitation to count the cost was not a one-time event…
Luke 9:23 New King James Version
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [a]daily, and follow Me.
b. Hearing the Voice of God is costly, because hearing His voice, is a deeper level of following Him.
i. Someone leaving you a map vs someone guiding you themselves
1. Requires faster response times
c. The word/voice of the Lord as a burden in scripture:
John 16:12 New King James Version
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
i. Bear – bastazo
1. To take up with the hands
2. To take up in order to carry or bear, to put upon one’s self (something) to be carried
a. To bear what is burdensome
Nahum 1:1 New King James Version
1 The [a]burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
Habakkuk 1:1 New King James Version
1 The [a]burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
Malachi 1:1 New King James Version
1 The [a]burden of the word of the Lord to Israel [b]by Malachi.
3. Burden – massa
a. Load, bearing, tribute, burden, lifting
i. Load, burden
Matthew 11:28-30 New King James Version
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am [a]gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
4. Here is an example of Jesus inviting us to bear a burden, His burden
a. Burdens are by definition heavy, why is Jesus saying His burden is light, especially after asking followers to count the cost?
II. How Can We Bear this Burden?
a. Our Desperate Need for Holy Spirit
i. Looking back at John 16:12-15, Jesus wanted to say more, but could not say more, because His disciples could not bear the burden of the new things He wanted to say to them
1. It was beyond what they were capable of
John 16:12-13 New King James Version
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
b. Holy Spirit is EVERYTHING
i. What Jesus wants to speak to us will be HEAVY and only Holy Spirit is capable of bearing the weight
ii. This is why the disciples and apostles were told to wait for Holy Spirit before going out and making disciples of the nations:
Matthew 28:18-20 New King James Version
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go[a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [b]Amen.
Acts 1:4-5 New King James Version
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
iii. Jesus was God WITH us, Holy Spirit is God IN us
Ezekiel 36:27 New King James Version
27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
1 Corinthians 3:16 New King James Version
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
John 4:24 New King James Version
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
1. meaning that all authority on heaven and earth has been given to the One who dwells within us.
iv. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the only way a follower of Jesus can truly hear God consistently and bear/steward what He has spoken
1. This is why we can never settle for not being filled and baptized by Holy Spirit, it is ESSENTIAL to following Jesus
a. All you need to do is ask, seek, and knock in faith, and then keep asking, seeking, and knocking in faith.
c. Holy Spirit is the only way we bear the burden of God’s Voice
III. The Four Burdens:
a. Every message Pastor Raquel and I bring on Sunday mornings are messages we genuinely believe Holy Spirit gave us specifically for BCF.
i. We are not speaking to the global church although the message may be relevant
ii. We are not speaking to the world, although the world may need to hear what Holy Spirit is speaking to us.
iii. We are speaking to BCF, all of BCF, including Pastor Raquel and I.
b. Today we believe Holy Spirit is speaking this to us
John 16:12, 13a & 14a New King James Version
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come… 14 He will glorify Me…
i. I sense in my spirit this:
1. Holy Spirit has many things, many more, new things to say to us, but we cannot bear them now. However, He desires to fill us in greater measure so that we can bear them. For this reason alone, that Jesus is glorified.
ii. Holy Spirit wants us to hear EVERYTHING that Jesus wants to speak to us, and thus, He wants to empower us to bear the burden of His voice
1. I believe Holy Spirit has revealed four specific burdens that He will be empowering us to bear over this series.
a. Humility
b. Truth
c. Fear of the Lord
d. Surrender and Sacrifice
