You Can Hear Him
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.
I. God is Actively Speaking Today
a. Jesus had much more to speak to His disciples, but He was going to the cross and they could not bear them just yet.
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
ii. Jesus was saying that I want to communicate things that you cannot handle right now,
1. Church, the word of God is weighty, and it is very easy to mishandle it
a. We must do so in humility, recognizing that we cannot handle it
iii. However, when Holy Spirit arrives
b. Holy Spirit empowers His followers to handle or bear what Jesus wanted to say but couldn’t because we did not have Holy Spirit with us
i. Grace gift – grace = empowerment
1. Grace follows mercy – we fail, God does not punish us for our weakness but shows us unmerited kindness and then gives us His grace, empowering us to accomplish what we have previously failed to do
ii. He will GUIDE into all truth, how… He will SPEAK
iii. This means that Holy Spirit will communicate things to us that we have not heard before, learned before, or understood before…
1. Isn’t the word of God enough?
a. I need a means to get somewhere, someone gives me a car but not the key
i. Holy Spirit is the key that unlocks scripture
2. The word of God is not deficient in any way; however, we are, and thus the Holy Spirit wants to guide us through the areas of scripture that we do not know how to navigate on our own
3. In fact, we can stand upon the word of God to determine if we have indeed heard Holy Spirit correctly
a. Everything we think we hear from Holy Spirit should be tested upon the word.
i. If you believe you know and recognize the voice of Holy Spirit, but you do not know the word, you are deceived
ii. God is not inconsistent, this is why we must show ourselves trustworthy with His word
2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
b. Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, we study to show that we can divide (to proceed on straight paths) the word of truth
4. Holy Spirit is guiding us into truth, we study the word so that we can stay the course, proceeding on a straight path.
a. Holy Spirit will never violate the word of God.
i. If you don’t know the word, you can’t know if it is Holy Spirit speaking to you.
c. If Holy Spirit GUIDES us by SPEAKING, how are we to be LED by Him? LISTENING!!!
i. Hebrew word for Listen is Shema
1. to hear – to take notice
2. listen – to give your attention
3. obey – to respond positively, doing what you were told
James 1:22-24 New King James Version
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
d. Three Ways Holy Spirit ACTIVELY Communicates with Us:
i. His Word
2 Timothy 3:16-17 New King James Version
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [a]instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1. The PRIMARY way the Lord speaks to His children is through His word
a. If you want to hear God regularly, read His word
i. Prayerfully
ii. Faithfully
iii. Reverently (Respectfully)
2. If you cannot be trusted with THE word of God, you will not be trusted with A word from God
1 John 2:3-6 New King James Version
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God [a]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
a. How do we get to know His commandments?
i. We read His word
ii. His People
Ephesians 4:11-13 New King James Version
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [a]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Hebrews 13:17 New King James Version
17 Obey those who [a]rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
1. If you want to hear the voice of God, be sure that you are listening those He speaks through.
a. Authority
i. Look at ever biblical character that heard the voice of God clearly, want to know one thing they all had in common?
1. Joseph, David, Moses, Daniel
b. Spirit Filled – don’t have to be in positions of authority over you but you should weigh their words
i. The prophets – young Samuel speaking to Eli
c. Parents asking sitters if their children listened while they were away
d. Rebelliousness/disobedience is a quick way to prevent yourself from hearing the voice of the Lord in your life, we’ll get back to this on another Sunday
iii. His Voice
Isaiah 30:21 New King James Version
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
1. Holy Spirit will directly “speak” to each of us as we grow in our ability to bear (carry the weight of) what He communicates to us.
a. We might go into more detail in this on another Sunday but for now there are three main ways (aside from His word and His people) that we can expect to hear from the Holy Spirit
i. Hearing – thoughts that are quicker than you can think, have authority behind them, and cannot be traced back in your own mind.
1. Words of wisdom, knowledge, etc…
ii. Seeing – the use of your imagination, in varying degrees, to communicate in images/daydreams
1. Visions & dreams
iii. Feeling/Sensing – intense emotions or experiences that do not originate in natural causes
1. Impressions, trances, at times intense emotions, heart POUNDING, etc…
e. I don’t want to lose anyone here, this may sound super weird or super complicated, but don’t worry, I promise…
II. Hearing the Voice of God is SIMPLE
a. Everyone who is a follower of Jesus, a son/daughter of God, has already heard His voice
Genesis 3:9 New King James Version
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
i. Ever since the fall and separation of God and man, He has been calling us by name, when we answer, it is because we are capable of hearing
John 10:27 New King James Version
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
ii. If you have determined to accept Jesus’ invitation to recognize Him as Lord and Savior of your life, you have already heard and answered His call
1. “Here I am”
2. It wasn’t the worship, not the preaching/teaching, not the evangelist or pastor, it was the voice of Holy Spirit you responded to
b. If you want to hear Him clearly, get into His presence
i. When you are near someone it is easy to hear them
1. Mouth breathing, loud chewing, whispers, rumbling stomachs, it’s CRAZY what you can hear when you’re close enough to someone
ii. It’s the same with Holy Spirit
1. Just get in His presence
a. You will hear His words
b. You imagine what He sees
c. You will sense/feel what He desires/feels
Psalm 95:1-2 King James Version
95 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Psalm 100:1-4 King James Version
100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
iii. We have said, and modelled this, over and over at BCF
1. Something about singing, thanking, and praising Jesus just manifests His presence
2. Why do you think the vast majority of the prophetic words at BCF happen during prayer & worship?
a. Many Psalms were actually prayers that were sung to God
III. How to Encounter His Presence at Home
a. Invite Him over, don’t just hope to show up at the same places randomly
i. If you want to hang out with someone what do you do?
1. Set a date, a time, and a place
ii. Be intentional, and schedule your time with Holy Spirit
1. Believe that He can be trusted to show up
b. He enjoys being sung to, thanked, and praised
i. Put some worship on, sing to Him, thank Him for everything He has done, and tell Him about all the great things He has done for you, until you can only sing about how wonderful He is
c. Talk to Him
i. Don’t just tell Him what you want from Him, ask Him questions
1. Ask Him if you can do anything for Him
2. Ask Him what He likes
3. Ask His opinion of things going on in your life/decisions you have to make
4. Tell Him how you feel about things – He’s incredibly trustworthy and gives the best advice
d. Value Him
i. He knows what He offers and He’s more amazing than you can ever imagine
ii. If you want to grow close you have to be consistent
1. Schedule daily time together and give Him your best time
a. When you’re the most alert/awake
b. The first hours of your day
c. The final hours of your day
d. Spend time together multiple times a day
iii. As you grow closer He is going to invite you to spend time with Him
1. Don’t be afraid to make sacrifices to be with Him, it will ALWAYS be worth it
IV. Who Wants to Hear Him More?
a. Let’s Worship and ask Him together
i. Right now…
