Training Your Ear To Hear God

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT & LIFE: TRAIN YOUR EAR TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE
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Key Scriptures: Romans 8:14; John 10:1-6; John 16:13-15
Introduction:
This conversational nature of our relationship with the Almighty makes our faith unique. It isn’t based on rules or
regulations, on rugged pilgrimages to make, or sacred rivers to bathe in. The foundation of our faith is on sweet
fellowship with God, who clearly, biblically, wants our relationship with Him to be both intimate and interactive.
Priscilla Shirer, “Discerning the Voice of God”
There is nothing more glorious in all of life than hearing His voice! God has always longed to have the kind of
intimate relationship with His people wherein they hear His voice and respond accordingly. We close the door to
our secret place so that we might shut out all distracting voices and tune our hearts to the one voice which we
long to hear. “Secrets of the Secret Place”
Do you think He loved you enough to die for you but not enough to talk to you?
As a child of Almighty God, you have the right and the spiritual ability to hear the voice of God for yourself!
When we have trouble hearing God’s voice, it’s almost always for one of the following four reasons:
 We don’t believe He is speaking.

 We’re not paying attention.
 We’re allowing some kind of interference to drown out His voice.
 We just plain don’t know what frequency He is on.
I. God speaks to His people.
A. Throughout the Old Testament God spoke to His people, i.e. Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, Samuel, David, etc.
B. Although God’s methods varied from person to person, His pattern remained the same throughout the Old
Testament.
1. God wants our experience with Him, and His voice, to be personal; therefore, the method was usually
unique to the individual, i.e. Moses and the burning bush.
2. When God spoke the person was sure God was speaking even if they couldn’t logically prove it.
3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.
4. When God spoke, that was the encounter with God. God is the only One who can cause you to
experience His Presence or hear His voice.
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4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

C. New Testament
1. In the Gospels, God spoke through His Son (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1-4). When Jesus spoke, the Father
was speaking through Him (John 14:9-10).
2. In Acts, God clearly spoke to His people.
3. From Acts until today, God has been speaking to us through His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1
Corinthians 6:19).
4. The Scriptures clearly tell us that His sheep will know His voice.
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D. God takes the initiative to speak to us through the Holy Spirit, but it is our responsibility to train our ears to
hear him.
1. Compare this to a television or radio. The stations are transmitting, but unless you have a receptor you
won’t be able to hear.
2. Learning to hear God’s voice is a process, a learning experience, a discipline that involves active
elements like prayer, meditation, worship, and listening.
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II. When God speaks to His people, He reveals something about Himself, His purposes, or His ways. God’s
revelations are designed to bring you into a love relationship with Him.
A. God reveals Himself, i.e. His name, nature, or character (Genesis 17:1; Leviticus 19:1-2; Malachi 3:6-7; John
6:51).
1. To Abram, He revealed His name, to Moses His holy nature.

2. Jesus revealed Himself as the source of eternal life.
B. God reveals His purposes so you will know what He plans to do and you can join Him.
1. God reveals Himself to increase faith that leads to action in response to that faith.
2. Your plans and purposes must be God’s plans and purposes or you will not experience God working
through you.
 What you plan to do for God is not important. What He plans to do where you are is very important.
(Noah, Abram, David, Paul)
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 Planning is a valuable tool, but it can never become a substitute for God.

 Our biggest problem with planning is that we plan and carry out things in our own wisdom that only
God has a right to determine. We cannot know the when, where, or how until God tells us.
C. God reveals His ways.
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1. God’s thoughts and ways are not ours. (Isaiah 55:8; Isaiah 53:6; Micah 4:2)
2. God uses kingdom principles to accomplish kingdom purposes.
3. God reveals His ways to us because they are the only way to accomplish His purposes and bring Him
glory.
4. He doesn’t wait on us to accomplish our goals. He comes to accomplish His goals through us – in His own
way.
III. God speaks to individuals and He can use any way He chooses, but today He primarily speaks by the Holy
Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church – although these four are difficult to separate.
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A. The Bible (Matthew 7:24-29)
1. When you read the Bible, the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) takes the Word of God and reveals truth – God
and His purposes. Truth is a Person.
2. It is our responsibility to respond to truth by applying it to our life.
 It is crucial that we immediately adjust our life once we hear from God.
 Radical obedience is required.
 If the Holy Spirit brings conviction, confess and repent.
 The true fulfillment of serving Jesus is discovered when we get first things first: First we sit and
listen, and then we go and do.
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B. He speaks through prayer (Romans 8:26-27)

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1. Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity. It is a two-way fellowship and communication with
God.
2. Listening is important. What God says to you in prayer is far more important than what you say to Him.
3. As we pray about a particular matter, the Spirit of God can take the Word of God and apply it to our
heart and mind to reveal truth.
4. If you want to hear from God, you must decide that you only want His will. That means dismissing your
own selfish or fleshly desires.
5. In this way, the Holy Spirit can touch your heart and cause you to pray in the direction of God’s will (Phil.
2:13)
6. Watch for God to confirm with His Word what you sense you are hearing in prayer.
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C. God speaks through circumstances. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
1. Never think that the circumstances in your life have nothing to do with God’s will. They have everything
to do with it!
2. When you’re seeking His guidance, you should always reflect on the events that the Lord is allowing to
occur in your life.
3. Persistent, internal inklings matched by external confirmation are often the way God directs believers
into His will.
4. However, our experiences alone cannot be our guide. Every experience must be controlled and
understood by the Scriptures.
5. Watch for the Spirit to personalize Scripture, making it connect with your current circumstances.
6. It’s important for us to see things from God’s perspective or we can be overwhelmed by our
circumstances. Job and his friends didn’t understand (Job 1-2; Job 42:12-17).
 A whole lot of wrong conclusions can result if you try to look at God from the middle of a painful
circumstance.
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 The first thing you should do when faced with difficult circumstances is go to God and ask Him to
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show you His perspective concerning the circumstances. The Lord will use His Word to give you
understanding.

 Then look back at your circumstances from the heart of God.
 If God doesn’t explain to you what He is doing, acknowledge His love and sovereignty and depend
on His sustaining grace to see you through.
7. We should pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17).
 The word wisdom in this verse is from an old Greek word sophias. It was used to describe insight or
wisdom not naturally attained. In other words, this is not speaking of natural human wisdom. It’s
speaking of special insight.
 The word revelation is from the word apokalupsis. It refers to something that has been veiled or
hidden for a long time and then suddenly, almost instantaneously, becomes clear and visible to the
mind or eye, i.e. pulling aside a curtain to reveal what was behind it.
 The truths we now grasp and enjoy were always there in the realm of the Spirit, but they were
veiled – or hidden to us.
 When the time is right for us to have understanding, the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
 In that divine moment, we see as God sees. We have His perspective on the matter.
8. You cannot know the truth of circumstances until you have heard from God (Exodus 5-6). He is the
Truth!
 God had to take time to explain to Moses His perspective.
 God wanted Pharaoh to resist so the people could see God’s mighty hand of deliverance.
 He wanted people to come to know Him (by experience) as the great “I AM.”
 Learn from Moses’ example. Don’t blame God or quit following Him when you don’t understand.
9. What should you do when your plans seem hindered? (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
 The word “hindered” comes from a Greek word (“egkopto”) that was originally translated to
describe a road so deteriorated and broken up that it was impassable.
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 In Greek times, it was also used in an athletic sense. It portrayed the moment when a runner comes
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alongside another runner and literally elbows him out of the race.

 When these two ideas are combined, the primary idea of the word “hindered” becomes that of an
impasse so severe that it prohibits you from going where you need to go or an aggressor who
unkindly elbows you off course in your spiritual race.
 Paul is actually saying:
o Satan created an impasse that kept me from coming to see you.

o Satan put obstructions in my path to prevent me from getting to you.
o Satan cut in on me and prohibited me from visiting you as I wanted to do.
o Satan tried to elbow his way in on me to keep me from coming to see you.
 Don’t despair. God will make a way for you to do whatever He desires you to do.
 Be patient and trust Him for His perfect timing and way.
 Satan may temporarily hinder you, but what God has promised shall come to pass if you hold fast to
your faith in Him!
10. We need to have our lives radically oriented to God. The most difficult part of our relationship with God
is being God-centered rather than self-centered.
11. When Jesus is the Lord of your life, He alone has the right to be:
 The Focus in your life

 The Initiator in your life
 The Director in your life
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D. He speaks through the Church (Ephesians 4:14-16)
1. God speaks through the members of the Body to help others know and understand God’s assignment
for their lives.
 God places every member in a church to accomplish His redemptive purposes through that church.
 Therefore, what God is doing in and through a Body is essential to me knowing how to respond to
Him.
 Apart from the Body, you cannot know God’s will for your relationship to the Body.
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2. In the final analysis, you receive counsel from others, but then you must go to God for clear direction.
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3. When you share with the Body what God is doing in your life, it may help someone else encounter God
in a meaningful way.
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IV. The word “hear” is one of the most important words in the Bible! The most important treasures in the
kingdom are predicated upon the necessity of hearing God.
A. It is impressive to realize what a large place the Lord gives to the ear, and how much Scripture is occupied
with hearing; and, as we put the various Scriptures together, we come to find that the matter of hearing, or of
the ear, goes right to the heart of spiritual life.
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B. We are to have an ear for God alone (Revelation 3:20-22)
1. It was by capturing the ear of Eve that all sin was introduced into the human race.
2. Much is lost by lending an ear to Satan and gained by listening to what the Spirit says.
3. We must train our ear to what the Spirit says, and then use what He says. "He that has an ear, let him
hear."
4. Life depends upon that kind of hearing inside.
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C. The Bible mentions several kinds of ears in the Old Testament that are types for the ear of a believer.
1. The pierced ear of the servant. (Exodus 21:5-6; Deuteronomy 15:12-17)
 Here we see the connection between love, the ear, and abiding service.
 This was voluntarily entered into by the servant because of a heart attitude and a heart relationship.
 The servant reaches a higher level who says, “I will not go out free; I might, I have perfect right to do
so, but I will not. I am not here simply because I must be, because I am compelled; I am here
because of love.”
 Galatians 4:7 tells us that we are no longer slaves or bond-servants. God has sent the Spirit of His
Son into our hearts, so we are now called sons and heirs of God.
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2. The consecrated ear (Leviticus 8:22-24)

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 The blood was always the means of consecration and separation.

 The principle of the blood is that it separates from one system and makes a way for another.
 The blood was going to challenge, test, and judge every presentation to the mind through the ear.
 The spiritual man is going to be very careful what he allows himself to hear, what he allows to enter
into his mind, into his inner life, and become a part of him inwardly through his ear.
 He is not going to listen to everything. He is going to judge what he hears and to refuse quite a lot.
 We can do unspeakable damage to our own spiritual life, and make it impossible for the Lord to
speak to us, if we allow ourselves to listen to that which is contrary to Him.
3. The Spirit-anointed ear (Leviticus 14:25-29)
 In type, he is the man who is freed from the defiling life of the flesh and is walking by the Spirit, in
newness of life.
 He has the blood-touched ear - the token of his refusal to listen to what is not of God; and he has
the oil-touched ear - the token of his readiness to listen to and obey the Lord.
 Much is lost because so many of the Lord's people do not have an ear to listen to Him - the open,
sensitive, quiet, and alive ear quickened by the Holy Spirit.
 The need is for an ear open to the Lord for correction, for adjustment, and for knowing yet more
fully His mind and what He thinks about things.
 We can have an ear that is sealed against the world while being open to the Lord.
4. The opened ear (Read: Isaiah 50:4-7)
 He brings this word of hope. It is a word of hope to a people without hope in a very desperate
situation.
 It is rather remarkable that the Lord Jesus should be saying that He is as a disciple, as a learner, as
one who is taught.
 Even though He came from the Father and is still one with Him, as the Son of Man, in the flesh he is
totally dependent upon God for everything. He received from the Father His daily direction and
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instruction. What a picture of self-emptying!

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 Having an open ear means one has a readiness not only to hear what He says but also an eager
readiness to do what is heard.
 Others are going to be helped, sustained, given hope, by those who live daily in touch with the Lord.
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V. Tune in to the voice of God (John 10:1-6)
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A. God leads His children not by outward voices or signs and wonders but by the inward witness of “the hidden
man of the heart.” So to find His frequency, the first thing you’ll have to do is tune in—not with your head but
with your heart!
1. Scripturally speaking, your head is your soul, which is comprised of your mind, will and emotions.
2. Your heart is your spirit, which is the core of your being that has been born again and joined to the Spirit
of God.
3. Granted, discerning the difference between the voice of your soul and the voice of your spirit can be
challenging, and it takes spiritual wisdom to do it. But the Bible tells us clearly how to develop that
wisdom: We do it by spending time in the written Word of God.
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B. He has given us His Word as a covenant and signed it in the Name of Jesus by the blood of Jesus.
1. Since God cannot lie, there is no way He will ever do or say anything contrary to that Word.
2. He has absolutely joined Himself to it forever. So the first place God takes us to train us to recognize His
voice is to His written Word.
3. He uses it to tune our spiritual ears to the real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.
4. The character of God will come shining through when He speaks to you. If it doesn’t, it’s not His voice
you are hearing.
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C. The better you know God’s written Word and the more you’ve heard God’s voice speaking to you through it,
the easier it is for you to tell the difference between His voice and another voice.
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1. God has taken on the burden of responsibility for communicating with you.
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2. Realize that Scripture is not just the boundary into which everything God says will fall but is itself the
chief means through which He will speak.
3. The more you know God’s Word, the easier it is for you to divide your soul from your spirit and discern
the difference between the voice of your head and the voice of your heart.
4. Open the ears of your heart and start listening for the voice of the Spirit, especially when you’re reading
The Word.
5. Pay attention not just to the activity in your brain but to the quickening in your inner man (primarily the
area just below your chin, or chest area).
6. Purpose to become more aware of the promptings that arise from your spirit because they are the
leading of God. Learn to trust them. The Holy Spirit will help you step out on them a little at a time.
7. The more you trust His voice and follow His leadings, the more clearly you’ll find you can hear from Him.
D. When we read God’s Word, we must pay careful attention to what we are reading.
1. Paying attention is more than just mentally assenting to a scripture.
2. To hear the voice of God through His Word, you have to take aim and zero in on every word as you read
it. Instead of just breezing through the Bible reading it like you’d read a novel or a history book, read it
deliberately.
3. Meditate on it and determine in advance that you’re not going to bend the Word to fit your lifestyle. On
the contrary, you’re going to bend your lifestyle to fit that Word.
4. Make a firm decision that from now on, you will see this matter the way God sees it instead of the way
you’ve always looked at it.
5. With that attitude, your spiritual ears will be open to hear whatever God has to say.
6. Trust from His Word that it is His responsibility to show you what He wants you to do and how you’re
supposed to go about doing it—that if you focus on keeping your spiritual ears open, you will hear His
voice when He speaks.
7. If you are seeking Him and being obedient to what He has placed before you today, then you are in His
purposes for now, and that is all He is asking of you and of me.
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E. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher (John 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)
1. The Holy Spirit is to us what the control tower is to an airplane pilot.
 The Spirit’s ability to see what we cannot, and then communicate information to us based on His
knowledge, provides us with insight we could never obtain through onboard instruments alone.
2. As a child of God, you have all of His Spirit, His power, all His wisdom, all His counsel, all His
encouragement available to you, all the time.
3. Whether or not you choose to allow Him to fill you by yielding to His leadership in your life is another
story altogether.
 But this fact is imperative for you to always remember … He’s in you.
 This means that listening to Him is an exercise in hearing from within—not being directed by
external stimuli that divert your attention away from His direction.
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VI. The secret place (Matthew 6:6; Psalm 91:1)
A. Deep down we know that sermons and teachings, although edifying, can never replace the carrying power we
find when we sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His Word for ourselves.
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B. If you want to hear, you have to listen! (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)
1. One of the most common reasons we don’t hear from God is the most obvious: We’re not listening.
2. We must deliberately carve out time in prayer to be quiet and listen for God’s voice.
3. Carving out time in prayer to purposefully listen for God’s voice—His voice and nothing else—retrains us
so we can hear the Spirit’s whisper and gain the ability to hear Him clearly.
4. Stopping to listen to Him enables us to become familiar with what a sense of God’s presence feels like,
while enlarging our understanding of His plans for us, seeing them emerge into the light.
5. Creating time, space, and opportunity to hear God is paramount for those of us who desire to sense His
Spirit’s conviction, to receive His detailed guidance, and to discern His intimate leading.
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6. It all starts here: if we want to be able to sense His direction, we must slow down, quiet our hearts, and
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listen for the way His Spirit communicates.

7. In the regular rhythms of life, it means being willing to wait and watch, to sense where God is moving
before I hurry to make a decision.
8. In one case we can be too busy to come to God at all. In the other we can be too busy (even while we
are with Him) for Him to come to us.
 The Enemy wins a victory every time we let our jam-packed schedules invade the sanctuary of
our quiet time with God.
9. Reading a verse, saying a prayer, or singing a song may help you feel better about checking “quiet time”
off your to-do list, but these alone won’t help you get what you’re after—knowing Him more intimately,
uniting with His heart, and receiving His direction for your life.
10. The lesson: creating and allowing margin to hear God is fundamental to discerning His voice. Because in
that space, we seek Him, lean into Him, and acknowledge Him in a way we might not otherwise be able
to.
11. Have you sincerely taken time to hear, to see, to wait, to watch—to allow for the margins that would
give God an opportunity to offer you that which you claim to desire so earnestly?
12. Or have you already filled in every conceivable space with your own opinions, ideas, decisions, and
actions—space that God might otherwise fill with His perfectly timed, precise, and personal insight?
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C. The listening that God requires is active, intentional, and aggressive.
1. Create an atmosphere more conducive to learning how to recognize His voice and respond in obedience.
Include: worship, prayerful listening, and meditation.
 Worship rolls out the red carpet for God’s presence to invade a space. Music can help.
 Prayerful listening:
o Pray with you “spirit.”
o Rather than telling God things He already knows, invite Him to tell you things only He
knows, things He wants to share with you by His Spirit.
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o Allow the Holy Spirit to bring people and situations to mind that you wouldn’t normally
think of.
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o Ask Him to “search you … and know your heart” (Psalm 139:23), and when you sense
conviction concerning a sin you didn’t even realize you were committing, offer it to Him in
prayer, seeking forgiveness and soaking it deeply in His grace.
o Give God an opportunity to speak because when you do, He usually will.
 Meditation: The bottom line is this: Scripture encourages believers to meditate on God and His
Word.
o Not to empty our minds for the purpose of focusing on “nothingness” as pagan meditation
aims for, but to fill them with intentional thoughts of Him and His Word (Joshua 1:8; Psalms
1:2; 119:15, 97).
o At its core, meditation is about getting to know God, because the discipline of discerning His
voice really boils down to one very simple yet poignant principle: The more you know God,
the more clearly you can hear God.
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2. Remember, learning to hear God’s voice is a process, a learning experience, a discipline that involves
active elements like prayer, meditation, worship, and listening.
D. Listening to God is a purposeful activity that God commands us to do. It is the investment of time we must
make in order to yield the spiritual dividends of wisdom we so desperately need. The Bible tells us to “incline”
our ears toward Him (Isaiah 55:3), to “draw near to listen” (Ecclesiastes 5:1).
1. Until we intentionally discipline ourselves to be still and listen, we will miss most of what He’s saying.
2. Really listening in prayer gets you on a whole new wavelength.
3. When you know He’s going to speak to you, prayer becomes a delight rather than a chore.
4. You may not get clear answers every time you pray, but you’ll enjoy His presence and the awareness
that He cares.
5. I’m in no way implying that it’s impossible to hear God speak amid the regular rhythms of everyday life.
On the contrary, we can, and He does, i.e. while doing chores, walking, sitting in traffic, etc.
6. But until we intentionally discipline ourselves to be still and listen, to acquaint ourselves with His voice
and His stirrings in our private, intimate moments with Him, we’ll never hear Him consistently
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anywhere. We’ll miss most of what He’s saying.

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E. When we learn to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, we are positioning ourselves to discover the key
to true kingdom fruitfulness.
1. Everything in the Kingdom is dependent on whether we hear the Word of God.
2. Everything changes when you hear from God and act upon His Word.
F. My role in the secret place is to listen for anything God might want to speak. If He doesn’t speak to me, my
time spent in silent listening is not futile or in vain.
G. Scripture says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7). So hearing the
voice of God is largely a matter of the will.
1. We must choose to hear Him. We make the choice by setting aside time to listen quietly.
2. The verse also says “if,” because hearing His voice is conditional—built upon the condition of quieting
our hearts to listen.
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H. Knowing God is the key to knowing His voice.
1. When knowing God is our chief priority, He will reveal truths about Himself—His personality and His
plans—that will point us toward the path we should take.
2. Then when we take that path, we’ll be able to walk ahead carrying the greatest blessing of all—the
privilege of close, warm relationship with God.
3. When His presence is our constant companion, His chosen path not only becomes clearer to us, it also
becomes the only path we truly want.
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I. Hearing God in the secret place is one of the greatest keys to the overcoming Christian life. However, it must
be linked with its corollary: radical obedience.
1. We hear, and then we do. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James
1:22).
2. Obedience involves listening attentively with a heart of compliant submission, and then, obeying His
Word.
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3. By “radical obedience,” we mean immediate obedience that fulfills the commandment to its fullest
measure.
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4. Radical obedience does not seek to comply with the minimal standards but pursues extravagant, lavish
fulfillment. If Jesus says, “Sell all,” then we sell all! Immediately!
5. The true fulfillment of serving Jesus is discovered when we get first things first: First we sit and listen,
and then we go and do.
J. The Holy Spirit works in tandem with our conscience to direct us (Romans 9:1; Acts 23:1; 2 Timothy 1:3).
1. Pay attention to your spirit and your conscience which is one aspect of your spirit. Your conscience will
steer you, direct you, and compel you toward a particular decision.
2. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in you, He doesn’t do away with your conscience. He awakens
it. It’s no longer just your own voice bubbling up from within.
3. Like the rest of your soul, your conscience is being actively transformed by the Holy Spirit and becomes
the mechanism He uses to relay the direction of God to you as it steers you toward decisions that reflect
His perspectives.
4. As you are diligent to allow God’s Word and His Spirit to reprogram your conscience, it will begin to
function with reliable data, thus responding differently—more accurately—regarding the decisions you
are making in life.
5. When you recognize that the Holy Spirit has given you specific insight and direction on a matter, and you
sense that your conscience is giving you assurance to confirm that leading,
 yet you deliberately go against it—even if it’s something the Bible doesn’t clearly come out and
say—
 you weaken and desensitize your conscience, and you sin against God - even if the issue is
seemingly trivial.
TRAINED TO LISTEN SLIDES
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VII. Recognize the sound of His voice
A. He is persistent (Job 33:29))
1. When God speaks to you by the Holy Spirit within and also confirms it by other means from without,
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then be on the lookout for His directions.

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2. If you notice a consistent message through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Scripture, your
circumstances, and other people, pay close attention. God is repeating Himself to make sure you get the
message.
3. The Holy Spirit is at work in your heart, in the hearts of others, and in the events of your own life to
point you in His direction. All of these things—and more—represent His unrelenting attempts to speak
to you and cause you to listen.
4. It is even more important that you have confirmation when making vital decisions. Trust God to provide
them.
5. His pattern is to say things more than once, in more than one way, so that if we’re genuinely trying to
listen and respond to His direction, we won’t miss Him.
6. One of the best ways to discern the inner leading of the Holy Spirit is to watch how He continues to
confirm His messages to you in ways only He could orchestrate, with shocking patterns of consistency.
7. When discerning the voice of God, expect Him to be persistent.
8. The book of Job reveals some of the persistent ways God spoke to His people (Read: Job 33:14-33).
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B. He communicates personally (Isaiah 45:3)
1. Jesus used everyday language to communicate with regular, ordinary people, while the religiously astute
and the social elite often stood on the sidelines.
2. Because His knowledge of you and His designs for you are extremely personal, He will apply His truth to
you in ways that are as unique as your circumstances.
3. This is why the application of His principles in my life may possibly look very different than they do in
yours.
4. He may even direct you to place a temporary restriction on yourself, like steering clear of certain foods
for a while, or certain activities, or certain entertainment options—all for a particular purpose He needs
to perform in you, something He’s especially preparing you for at this current season of life.
 Any kind of prompting like this from God’s Spirit is specifically designed for you—the person to
whom He’s speaking—to foster your needs, to care for your family, to orient your life.
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 And you should trust what He’s telling you. It’s personal. It’s for you, individually.

5. As God leads us through our journey of life with Him, He marks out different avenues for each of us
within the overarching guidelines of Scripture, drawing an individualized map for us to follow.
 Each man and woman is responsible for following the Lord according to the way God has
personally led them, bringing glory and honor to Him by their obedience to His instructions.
 Our job is not to judge others but to give our fellow believers the freedom to be who the Lord
has led them to be, while being sure we’re following God’s individual leading in our own lives.
6. When a message or inner voice you are sensing makes you feel condemned or burdened with guilt, then
it is probably not God (Psalm 16:11).
 You’ll know the Spirit is speaking to you personally about your sin when the feeling you get is not
despair but a fresh desire for holiness and purity.
 He doesn’t want you acting out of guilt or a fear of rejection but out of your love relationship with
Him.
 Learning to recognize the difference between the Enemy’s condemning voice and God’s convicting
voice is a great tool for determining God’s leading in your life.
o To condemn means to consider something worthy of punishment.
o To convict means to bring something to light in order to correct it.
 When the Lord brings conviction—which is many times the purpose of His personal message to you
—He will also bring you a road map, a way back, a way out.
o He has no desire to pummel you and prevent you from getting up again.
o Far from wanting to harm you, He is initiating freedom and blessing in your life.
o He will offer us enough grace to leave our sin behind and walk in righteousness.
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C. He brings peace (James 3:17; Romans 8:5-6: John 14:27)
1. Not only will God’s voice be persistent and personal, but the cumulative effect of His speaking will be a
peaceful assurance – a peace that you can sense deeply even when there is chaos around you.
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2. The Spirit’s peace soothes and strengthens you, giving you confidence to accomplish the task He’s
sending you out to perform.
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3. The peace of God is strong, intense, palpable, and real. You can sense its stable presence giving you
inner security despite insecure circumstances.
4. Peace is not only an element of His character; it’s evidence of His Presence.
5. In my life, the Holy Spirit often gives me “supernatural previews” of what He wants to do. They are
accompanied by great peace. Then, when the Spirit of God is ready to move forward, He gives the
“green light.”
 For example, God will give you a red light of conviction, telling you to stop.
 Or a yellow light of caution, instructing you to hold back and wait a second.
 Or a green light of peace and permission, encouraging you to go ahead.
 When He does this, celebrate! It’s living proof that the Holy Spirit is in there, working, guiding, and
changing you from the inside out.
6. It is imperative that you allow the peace of God to rule in your heart (Colossians 3:15).
 When peace reigns in a matter we’re dealing with—when God’s voice is accompanied by deep
assurance and permission—pay close attention to what you’re hearing and sensing.
 See which option is accompanied by a steady, solid, gripping sense of “being settled” deep within,
despite the difficulties you may face if you proceed.
 Christ wanted the Colossians to be committed to and ruled by the assurance given or not given by
His Spirit as they sought to discern God’s will.
o In other words, His peace wasn’t supposed to be merely a part of their lives; it was to rule them,
direct them, and govern everything they did.
o Don’t take lightly those decisions and plans the Spirit rejects. He is steering you away from
spiritual, financial, or relational disaster.
o Tune in to the peace signal.
7. Remember, it’s also imperative that you take time to differentiate between what you might think about
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your ability, your preferences, or the outcome of the situation, and what you believe about Him and His
Word.
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 The Scriptures are full of people whose most life-changing encounters with the Lord occurred while
they were in places they did not want to be:
o Moses leading sheep in the middle of the desert (Exodus 3:1)

o Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 6:16)
o Jonah in the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:1)
o Hagar in a dry wilderness (Genesis 21:17)
o Gideon while threshing wheat underneath an oak tree (Judges 6:11–12)
o Mary and Martha grieving the loss of their brother Lazarus (John 11:21–27)
8. Obviously, God speaks through difficult circumstances too. Sometimes His voice is clearest when we are
in situations we don’t prefer.
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D. He will challenge you (Matthew 7:13-14; 21)
1. The challenge is part of the plan.
“You see, Son, it’s important for the moth to struggle like this, or else it’ll never be able to reach its full potential,”
I told him. “Unless it builds itself up by battling its way out of the cocoon, it’ll never develop that beautiful
wingspan or the leg strength to survive. If it gets out too early, without fighting through, it’ll be crippled the rest
of its life.”
2. This is God’s time-honored track record. He has always called people from unlikely places, asking them
to do things that were far beyond their abilities, far beyond what they felt equipped to handle.
3. In fact, if you want to get really honest about it, this pattern seems to be the most consistent way to
characterize God’s voice in Scripture.
4. Over and over again, He laid down a challenge. When God spoke:
 Noah was asked to build an ark.

 Abraham was asked to leave home for an unknown country.
 Gideon was asked to go to battle with less than adequate troops.
 Samuel was asked to give a tough message to his mentor, Eli.
 Esther was asked to plead the case for her people before a king.
 Mary was asked to become the mother of the Messiah.
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5. The purpose behind His challenge is to put us in a position to see the miraculous work of His power
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operating in our frailty.

6. Your Father wants you to experience Him, not just know Him, by allowing you access to see His
supernatural activity.
7. So when a thought comes to you out of left field, consider—before you dismiss it—that it might be
God’s thought for you.
 Don’t just ignore it.

 Check inward to see if the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to pursue it despite the challenge it
presents.
8. Be prepared to stand firm once you do know what you are to do. A fight always follows illumination.
Slide 6 - f
 In Hebrews 10:32, the writer is telling us that spiritual conflicts accompanying a word of divine
direction are normally not small but great.
o The word great in the Greek is “mega” which describes something very big.
o The second word fight is “athlesis” and it refers to a committed athlete.
o The third word affliction is from the Greek word pathema and it usually refers to mental
pressure or suffering that affects the mind.
 This is pointing to a war in your soul or an attack on your mind.
 By looking at the Greek, we can paraphrase the verse:
After you were illuminated, you endured a mega-sized ordeal that threw you into the biggest fight you ever faced
in your life. But the most critical part of the struggle resulted from unremitting assaults that literally battered
your mind…”
 Don’t be surprised by the battle you are going through. As an example, perhaps God has spoken to
you about tithing. You committed to obeying Him and now you are experiencing the worse financial
problems you have ever had.
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E. He exudes truth (Psalm 33:4; 31:5)
1. God speaks principally through His Word, and His Word is always true.
2. The more acquainted you become with the Word the more accurately you will be able to hear Him.
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3. Anything the Spirit says will fall within the boundaries of what has already been written.

4. Satan often disguises himself as an “angel of light,” but he will never be able to sound exactly like God.
 We need to know God’s voice so well that we recognize the counterfeit.
 The Lord wants your relationship with Him to be so close that Satan can never deceive you.
5. The Holy Spirit who lives within you will never speak to you without having received direct revelation
from God.
 He doesn’t create messages on His own initiative. “Whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will
disclose to you what is to come” (John 16: 13).
 Every message He delivers to you comes straight from the God of Truth.
6. Strongholds or mental fortresses are another extremely critical reason for staying committed to the
truth of God’s Word.
 Strongholds are spiritual barricades that keep the voice of God from reaching our spiritual ears.
 Paul called them “fortresses,” “speculations,” and “lofty things” that become set up in our hearts
“against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).
 Strongholds can be things like worry, fear, doubt, pride, low self-esteem, shame, sin, etc.
 There’s only one way to deal with a stronghold. Demolish it with Truth!
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F. He speaks with authority (Matthew 7:28-29; Luke 24:32; Mark 4:39-41)
Slide 9 - i
1. Expect God’s voice to resonate with an authority and weight that other influences do not have.
2. When God speaks, His voice is noticeable by its resonance, depth, and impact. It pulses with a calm,
steady force that makes a clear impression on your soul.
3. It is the “burning fire” that the prophet Jeremiah described (20:9); it’s the “hammer which shatters a
rock” (23:29).
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4. Truly, you can distinguish the voice of God from any other voice by the powerful influence it carries in
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your soul. David said that his heart was hot within him; while he was meditating the fire burned (Psalm
39:3).

5. When God’s Word leaps off the page and grips you, don’t rush ahead with your Bible reading. Stop right
there. Lock on to those words.
6. When a Scripture verse or its message hits you out of nowhere while you’re in the middle of your day,
don’t dismiss it.
 These aren’t random occurrences or coincidences. They are God Himself speaking through His
Word. It is the living Word of God at work - speaking with authority.
 Trust that the Holy Spirit is at work within you, speaking God’s Word to you concerning what He
needs you to know at that moment, what He wants your next actions to be.
VIII. Remember what He wants to accomplish.
Slide 10 - j
A. That you might know Him better (Jeremiah 24:7)
1. When discerning God’s voice, consider which option will bring Him the most glory and draw you into a
more experiential relationship with God.
2. Pinpoint and disregard the alternative that detracts from God’s character or will keep you from
depending on Him more fully.
3. God’s apparent silence is often His chosen means of communication. Do not be frustrated while waiting.
4. Consider what God may be trying to say to you through the silence.
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B. So that we might do the things He has planned for us (Ephesians 2:10)
1. Rest in the knowledge that God has a plan for your current circumstances, which He prepared before
you were born.
2. Keep your spiritual eyes open to see where God is already working.
 This is the key for knowing His will for your life.
 When you catch sight of what He is already doing, this is your cue to get involved.
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3. God is never hurried, rushed, or behind schedule. If you do not know yet, it’s because you don’t need to
know or do it yet.
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4. Zero in on what you are certain you’re supposed to be doing right now, and get busy doing it.
5. To make a time-sensitive decision, prayerfully consider which option will bring God the most glory and
will encourage a more intimate relationship with Him.
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C. To train you to be obedient (Read: 1 Samuel 12:14-15; 1 Samuel 15: 17-23; Hebrews 13:7-13)
1. God’s people often do not experience His activity because they haven’t laid the framework of obedience
on which it flourishes.
 In the next twenty-four hours, commit to obeying whatever you sense God’s Spirit compelling you to
do, no matter how small or large the task.
 Record anything significant that happens as a result of your obedience.
2. Remember that tomorrow’s obedience hinges on today’s commitments.
3. Don’t just determine to obey immediately; also obey completely.
4. Recognize that disobedience causes the heart to harden and become desensitized to God’s future
leading.
5. Don’t be deceived into thinking you can hold on to certain areas of resistance to God’s will and expect to
hear God’s voice clearly.
6. You can obey without hesitation because God is kind, He is good, and He loves you.
Slide 13 - m
D. Expect to hear His voice (Psalm 27:13-14)
1. Live in a mode of expectation as never before.
 Look toward each day and every moment in it with the knowledge that God has invaded its
space and is eager to communicate with you so that you can join Him in His efforts.
 Have your eyes and ears perked up and on alert, ready to hear His voice and believe that it will
arrive in due time.
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2. Indeed, an expectant heart is a heart ready to hear. When we truly expect, He incredibly delivers.
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3. Sometimes we don’t receive because we don’t truly expect the Lord to speak to us or hear our prayers
(Habakkuk 1:2–3: Habakkuk 2:1-3).
 Habakkuk had prayed and prayed, but God didn’t seem to be listening.
 If He was, He sure wasn’t answering.
 So when we first meet up with him, this is what we overhear him saying—actually, what we
overhear him praying:
o How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” yet
You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness?
4. When the circumstances of life seem to be closing in on you, when you see no end in sight, when you’ve
waited and waited for God to speak into your situation, it’s easy to stop expecting much, and you can
easily go from waiting to not expecting and then to blaming.
5. The point that God was trying to make to him—the point He keeps trying to make to us—is that a heart
that continues to anticipate His movement will result in eyes that are open to see and recognize His
activity in the circumstances of life.
6. But God is always working. And what He is doing is His word to you for right now. The more you see, the
more you can believe, the more you can hope, the more you can expect.
7. Always remember: there is a high correlation between our level of anticipation to hear from God and
our willingness to wait.
8. The process of waiting for a message from Him is often just as important as the message itself.
If you want to hear God’s voice clearly and you are uncertain, then remain in His presence until He changes this
uncertainty. Often much can happen during this waiting on the Lord. Sometimes He changes pride into humility;
doubt into faith and peace; sometimes lust into purity. The Lord can and will do it. — Corrie ten Boom
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Slide 14 - n
SUMMARY
1. God speaks deep within my Spirit; Satan speaks to my mind or soul.
2. God’s voice is gentle and persuasive, free from pressure – Satan is loud and clamoring, always
demanding an immediate response.
3. God’s voice produces peace and a sense that everything is under control.
4. Satan’s voice speaks of despair, “you have missed it, all is lost…”
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5. God’s voice is always clear and distinctive, giving us clear direction in which to go. The voice of Satan
perplexes, causes confusion, loss of direction…
6. God tends to speak when I am seeking and listening for him. Satan breaks into our thoughts uninvited…
7. God’s Spirit convicts of specific sins, leaving no doubt what needs to be confessed. Satan & self speaks in
generalities.
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IX. Logos versus Rhema
A. There are two primary Greek words that describe Scripture which are translated word in the New Testament.
The first, logos, refers principally to the total inspired Word of God and to Jesus, Who is the living Logos.
1. The world was created by the Word, logos, of God.
2. Logos is the written Word of God, stretching from Genesis to Revelation, for all of these books, directly
or indirectly, reveal to us the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
3. By reading the logos, you can receive all the knowledge you need to know about God and His promises.
Slide 17 - q
B. The following passages of Scripture give examples of the logos of God:
1. “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was
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God” (John 1:1).

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2. “For the word [logos] of God is quick, and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12).

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3. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word [logos] of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).
4. “The seed is the word [logos] of God” (Luke 8:11).
5. “Holding forth the word [logos] of life” (Philippians 2:16).
6. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word [logos] of God, which lives
and abides forever” (I Peter 1:23).
C. The second primary Greek word that describes Scripture is rhema, which refers to a word that is spoken and
means “an utterance.”
1. A rhema is a verse or portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention with application to
a current situation or need for direction.
2. Every word of God is inspired, and “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16). It is the Holy Spirit
Who illuminates particular Scriptures for application in a daily walk with the Lord.
Slide 19 - s
3. Even though we receive knowledge by reading God’s Word, we do not receive faith by reading alone.
4. Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (rhema) of God.
5. The words of Jesus are significant on this point.
 “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceeds out of the mouth of
God” (Matthew 4:4).
 Jesus also stated, “The words [rhema] that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”
(John 6:63).
6. When God gives a rhema for us to act upon, He often confirms it by a second rhema, that “in the mouth
of two or three witnesses shall every word [rhema] be established” (II Corinthians 13:1).
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D. The following passages of Scripture provide insight into the rhemas of God:
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1. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word [rhema] of God” (Romans 10:17).
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2. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [rhema] of God”
(Ephesians 6:17).
3. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word [rhema]” (Ephesians 5:25–26).
4. “If ye abide in me, and my words [rhema] abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto
you” (John 15:7).
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E. The following passages of Scripture give examples of the rhemas of God:
1. When Jesus told Peter to cast the fishing nets on the other side of the boat, Peter answered, “Master,
we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word [rhema] I will let down the
net” (Luke 5:5).
2. When the angel told Mary that she would have a child, “Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be
it unto me according to thy word [rhema]” (Luke 1:38).
3. Simeon recalled the promise that he would see Christ before he died: “Now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word [rhema]” (Luke 2:29).
4. God gave John the message he was to preach as a forerunner to Christ: “The word [rhema] of God came
unto John” (Luke 3:2).
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5. God reminded Peter of His Word: “Then remembered I the word [rhema] of the Lord, how that he said,
John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:16).
6. Jesus told Peter he would deny Him. “Peter remembered the word [rhema] of Jesus, which said unto him,
‘Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice’” (Matthew 26:75).
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F. In the regular course of our daily reading of God’s Word (logos), we need to ask God to speak to us through
His Word and give us insight into it.
1. The Holy Spirit can cause certain passages to stand out with significant meaning or application for our
lives.
2. These are the rhemas of Scripture and should become a part of our daily thoughts and actions.
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G. "The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph. 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the
individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the
regular storing of the mind with Scripture." (Vine's Expository Dictionary)
1. According Vine's, logos can include the whole Bible, the written word, while rhema can refer to an
individual scripture quickened to us by the Holy Spirit for a specific need.
2. The rhema need not necessarily be a quote from the Bible, but a word spoken to a believer by the Spirit.
However, it must be in accordance with Scripture.
H. We often see a contrast in the way traditional evangelicals or charismatics approach these two.
1. Traditionally, evangelicals have put much emphasis on the written word, devoting much time and effort
to Bible study. They purpose to lead their lives in accordance with the counsel found in God's written
word.
2. While charismatics believe in the importance of the written word, they also believe that God will give a
specific rhema to them to address a specific need.
I. Each approach has strengths and potential weaknesses.
1. When an evangelical believer puts all emphasis on the logos to the exclusion of the rhema, he may
rarely sense the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 There will be relatively less opportunity for the Spirit to speak to or direct him about a certain
matter if he is not waiting and inclining his ear to listen.
 Thus although the believer is most certainly living a righteous Christian life according to the written
word, incursions of God's miraculous grace into that life may be rare.
 The believer might not be experiencing all the victories that God intends for him.
2. Similarly, charismatics who choose to place excessive dependence on receiving a rhema from the Holy
Spirit might also find themselves falling short of walking in the victory that God has for them.
 Charismatic believers who place very heavy emphasis on receiving a rhema or the direct leading of
the Holy Spirit on every matter before taking action might be robbing themselves of the power and
the authority inherent in the logos.
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 Because of this they might find themselves in a state of timidity and indecision which can lead to
paralysis in life or in ministry.
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 Of course, when we do receive a rhema from the Lord, we act upon it with confidence and may see
God's supernatural intervention.
3. A challenge presents itself. Does God give us a word for every matter or decision that we must make in
life? For example, do we share the gospel to someone only when we feel led to, or may we share the
gospel to others simply because the logos, the written word, commands us to?
J. Take healing as another example.
1. Yoy may be preaching in a service when you receive a rhema about back problems. When you speak
forth these words, those people who respond and come forward for healing prayer will almost always
be healed of their back pain. It is indeed very exciting when that happens.
2. But what if you don't hear anything from the Holy Spirit? Does that mean you cannot minister to the sick
in that meeting? By no means. You may not always have a rhema from the Spirit, but the written word
of God, the logos, does tell us that we have a measure of authority over disease in the name of Jesus for
the sake of the gospel (Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1,9).
K. Examples by Pastor Yonggi Cho
G. Logos is given to everyone so they may gain knowledge of God. But rhema is not given to everyone. Rhema is
given to that specific person who is waiting upon the Lord until the Holy Spirit quickens logos into rhema.
1. If you never have time to wait upon the Lord, then the Lord can never come and quicken the needed
scripture to your heart.
2. When you listen to a sermon and then fail to wait on the Lord, you may miss out on seeing the
miraculous workings of God and then begin to doubt.
3. When you come to hear a message, you should prayerfully prepare your heart. What does God want to
say to you through the message?
4. If you do not, your Bible knowledge increases but you cannot receive the faith you need to find solutions
to your problems. This often leads to discouragement and people fall away.
H. Too often pastors in their busyness don’t wait on the Lord for a rhema word before they preach.
1. Pastors need to wait on a specific message for a specific people at a specific time.
2. Without hearing from God, preachers only give general knowledge and fail to provide the true manna
from heaven that will feed the people and change lives.
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3. Churches should be places where people can get their needs met.
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X. Understanding God’s will for your life
A. For many Christians, discerning God’s will for their future presents a challenge; however the Bible says little
about the will of God as a future pathway.
1. Instead, the Bible warns us about anxiety and presumption concerning the future, assures us that God is
in control, and commands us to do the will of God we already know in the present.
2. Biblical authors do not ignore the future. They simply have a different view of it than we do.
 They believe that God worked through Christ to redeem the past and that God will work out all
things for good in the future. God had the first word; he will also have the last.
 As biblical writers state time and again, Christ will eventually return and establish God’s kingdom on
earth. God controls the future because he is sovereign.
 Human beings are powerless to determine the future because we are finite.
 Thus, the biblical authors emphasize how believers should live in the present, which is the only
moment we have to know God and do His will.
 If we sense any agony in the heroes of Scripture, it is not in discovering the will of God but in doing
it.
B. The conventional approach to knowing God’s will for one’s life assumes there is a specific pathway we should
follow into the future.
1. God knows what this pathway is, and he has laid it out for us to follow.
2. Our responsibility is to discover this pathway—God’s plan for our lives.
3. Unfortunately, it is not always obvious.
C. There is also another problem with the conventional approach in that it presents a false and negative view of
God.
1. It implies that God for some reason “hides” his will and thus forces us to look for it, as if God were
playing the celestial equivalent of “hide-and-seek” with us.
2. According to this way of thinking, God hides his will, and we must go searching for it.
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3. God is always clear when he needs to be. He does not play a celestial game to frustrate us.
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4. The conventional approach to the will of God leads to second-guessing and wishful thinking, which
contradicts God’s gracious provision for us in Christ.
D. A much better approach is to put God first in everything and allow Him to order the future.
1. Who we choose to become and how we choose to live every day creates a trajectory for everything else.
2. Perhaps that is why the Bible says so little about God’s will for tomorrow and so much about what we
should do to fulfill his will today.
3. When we make specific decisions concerning the future, we can be confident that what we choose
becomes God’s will for our lives.
4. If we truly seek God above all, then we will always be doing the will of God, no matter where our
particular choices lead us, because seeking God’s kingdom first is God’s will.
5. When we come to a crossroads with no signposts to guide our way:
 We then have the freedom to choose what we want

 The confidence of knowing God will go with us
 The security of trusting our decisions become his will.
 In other words, we simply cannot lose.
6. This perspective on the will of God gives us astonishing freedom.
 If we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, which is the will of God for our lives, then
whatever choices we make concerning the future become the will of God for our lives.
E. We often have a problem with this approach because man has a desire to know the future, and to control it.
1. Do I dare even hazard a guess about the future? Do I really want to know what the future will be? How
would such knowledge really help me?
2. Our preoccupation with what lies ahead betrays a desire to control a future that simply cannot be
controlled.
 We want the security of knowing what the future will bring rather than risk trusting God as the
unknown future gradually unfolds before us.
 We keep hoping that light will shine to illumine the entire journey ahead so that we will know
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everything there is to know about the future, and thus be spared the difficulty of having to trust
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God.

 Ironically, we want to know so much about the future that we won’t even have to trust God
anymore.
3. Yet Jesus only requires that we make sure our heart is good, our motives are pure, and our basic
direction in life is right, pointing toward the “true north” of the kingdom of God.
 We can, in good conscience, choose from among any number of reasonable alternatives and
continue to do the will of God.
 In the end what matters most is that we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.
4. Jesus wants us to devote our time and energy to all the little tasks we must do every day, not just to the
big decisions we have to make every so often.
 The little responsibilities we do prepare us for bigger responsibilities in the future.
 Good decisions in the little things set the stage for big opportunities yet to come.
 And faithfulness in things that appear to have only modest importance enables us to respond
wisely to duties that seem—and perhaps are—very important.
F. The will of God concerns the present more than the future.
1. It deals with our motives as well as our actions.
2. It focuses on the little decisions we make every day even more than the big decisions we make about
the future.
3. The only time we really have both to know and to do God’s will is the present moment.
G. It is the daily choices we make to honor and serve God that determine whether we are doing the will of God.
1. We already know the will of God for our daily lives, however cloudy the future appears to be.
2. That we do not know what God wants for tomorrow does not excuse us from doing his will today.
3. We simply need to do what we already know in the present. God has been clear where clarity is most
needed.
4. If we have a problem, it is not lack of knowledge; rather, it is our unwillingness to respond to the
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knowledge we have.
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5. Yet the little choices we make every day often have a cumulative effect far exceeding the significance of
the big choices we occasionally have to make.
H. As we will see, of course, we still have to make difficult choices regarding the future, but these choices are
secondary all the same.
1. We are human beings; we must make decisions.
2. But whatever our choices, we must always make God’s kingdom and righteousness our greatest passion
in life.
I. God does have a plan for our lives; however we will discover that plan by simply doing the will of God we
already know in the present moment. Life will then gradually unfold for us.
1. The responsibility for our knowing God’s will is primarily His. Do not be burdened by fear of failure or
paralyzed by “not knowing.”
2. Jesus knew the Father’s will for His life and daily activity by watching the Father’s activity (John 5:17, 19-
20).
 Jesus did not take the initiative to do for the Father, but when He saw what the Father was doing,
that was His invitation to join Him.
 We need to look and see where God is at work and then adjust our lives, our plans, and our goals to
Him.
 We are to make ourselves available to Him – where He is working – so He can accomplish His
purposes through us.
J. When we pray, “Lord, show me Your will,” we’re often asking for things that He knows are not pertinent for a
number of years.
1. We want God to paint the whole picture right away, but He wisely withholds certain truths and
information from us until we need it, when we can actually do something with it besides just mess it up.
2. The Father will wisely show you just what you need to know in order to participate with Him in His plan
and program for this season on His calendar.
 The Holy Spirit is our guide and He gives continuous direction on a need-to-know basis (John 16:13).
 He will tell us everything we need to know for now, and then to continually update His instructions
33
as we step out in faith and obedience.

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3. And when He does, the timing of His message will be as important as the message itself.

 Have confidence in this: if you don’t know yet, you don’t need to move forward yet.
 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
 Nothing catches God off-guard or alters His agenda.
K. Bottom line, you have everything you need from Him at this moment. Otherwise, He’d have already given you
more.
1. So until God makes His next message clear to you—at the exact right moment, in His perfect knowledge
and timing—here’s what you should do: whatever He’s told you to be doing right now.
2. Doing this assures you that you are in God’s will for your life.
L. We will discover at just the right time what we need to know and do.
1. We will walk through a door into one room and then, over time, recognize which door we should take
next—or, if clear guidance is lacking, simply choose another door and walk through it.
2. That process will continue as we move from one room to the next and progress from one phase of life to
the next.
3. We will discern God’s will as naturally as we learned how to walk—one step at a time.
4. We will never have to look back, never have to fret over decisions, never have to worry that God has
abandoned us.
5. Over time we will begin to see that the course our lives took was exactly what God intended.
6. We will observe this pattern, however, only by looking back on what has already happened, viewing our
life story in retrospect.
7. In the meantime, let’s concentrate our energy on the present moment.
8. God, we can be sure, will be clear when he needs to be. He has already been supremely clear about one
thing—that we must seek him first.
M. Here’s the blessed fallout of living by this “right now” perspective: If you truly believe that God will speak to
34
you in the appropriate time and place, you should never feel hurried or pressured about making a decision.
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1. If you’re not clear about something, stay put. Don’t move.

2. Only when God has spoken will you be cued to respond in obedience.
3. It’s His job to speak; ours is to listen; and our joy to be invited to join in.
N. Our lives, really, are like a box containing all the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. And only God can see the
picture on the lid.
1. He alone has a full grasp of the entire layout and knows exactly how (and when) all the pieces need to
come together—the arrival of financial assistance, the emergence of a ministry opportunity, the opening
of a career promotion or change of direction.
2. Can you just live with that? Live worry-free? Live watchful, but waiting?
3. His eternal plans and His perfect timing are gifts to us that enable us to rest in Him and enjoy the
adventure of following Him.
 They free us from the burden of trying to make things happen on our own, from working overtime
to make sure everything lines up and comes together at the right time.
O. Refocus your aim on knowing Him, as opposed to just knowing His direction for your life.
1. Since everything God says today will fall within the boundaries of Scripture, be certain to remain loyal to
the study of its precepts.
2. Keep coming back to these questions when you’re not sure how God is leading you:
 Will it contradict the truth found in Scripture?

 Will it cause me to indulge in sin of any kind?
 Will it encourage me to hypocritically cover up my sin?
 Will it give glory to God by magnifying His truth to the people involved?
3. Strongholds block divine reception. Pinpoint any you may have, and then specifically target them for
destruction with the weapons of specifically tailored Scripture.
P. Once you sense God might be leading you in a certain way, do these five things:
1. Look for the message of the Spirit.
2. Search the model of Scripture for guidance.
 Stay in the Word so your spirit will be sensitive to God’s standards.

35
 Does what you are hearing contradict the whole counsel of God or God’s character as revealed in
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the Bible?

 Keep your eyes open when reading the Word for a particular passage that grips you and confirms
what you’re hearing in your spirit.
3. Live in the mode of prayer.
4. Submit to the ministry of wise counsel from mature believers.
5. Expect the mercy of confirmation.
HOMEWORK:
1. In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people. Although God’s methods varied from person to person,
His pattern remained the same throughout the Old Testament. Please explain.
2. How did God speak in the Gospel? How does God speak to us today?
3. Communication with God is a relationship and a two-way communication. He takes the initiative to
speak. What is our responsibility?
4. Learning to hear God’s voice is a process, a learning experience and a discipline. What are the key active
elements involved?
5. God’s revelations are designed to bring you into a love relationship with Him. What types of things does
God reveal to us when He speaks?
6. Although today God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit, what are the vehicles He uses?
7. Briefly discuss why the word “hear” is one of the most important words in the Bible.
8. Discuss why it is so important for you to know the Word of God well in order to discern His voice.
9. What do we mean by the “secret place” and how does one enter in?
10. What kind of listening does God require of us?

36
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11. Explain what is meant by “radical obedience.”

12. Please list several characteristics of how God speaks that help you to recognize His voice.
13. What does God desire to accomplish when He speaks to us?
14. Please discuss the weaknesses inherent in the conventional approach to seeking the will of God.
15. Please discuss the better way to seek the will of God.
16. What five things should you do once you sense God might be leading you in a certain way?
TEXT REFERENCES:
Holy Bible
Experiencing God, Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King
Discerning the Voice of God, Priscilla G. Shirer
Tune In to the Voice of God, Kenneth Copeland
Secrets of the Secret Place, Bob Sorge
Spiritual Hearing, T. Austin Sparks
The Will of God as a Way of Life, Jerry Sittser
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Training Your Ear To Hear God

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Training Your Ear To Hear God

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CHRISTIAN THOUGHT & LIFE: TRAIN YOUR EAR TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE

Key Scriptures: Romans 8:14; John 10:1-6; John 16:13-15

 We don’t believe He is speaking.

I. God speaks to His people.

3. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

2. In Acts, God clearly spoke to His people.

1. To Abram, He revealed His name, to Moses His holy nature.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

C. God reveals His ways.

2. God uses kingdom principles to accomplish kingdom purposes.

A. The Bible (Matthew 7:24-29)

2. It is our responsibility to respond to truth by applying it to our life.

 Radical obedience is required.

 If the Holy Spirit brings conviction, confess and repent.

B. He speaks through prayer (Romans 8:26-27)

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

C. God speaks through circumstances. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

 Then look back at your circumstances from the heart of God.

 God had to take time to explain to Moses His perspective.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

 Paul is actually saying:

o Satan created an impasse that kept me from coming to see you.

 The Focus in your life

D. He speaks through the Church (Ephesians 4:14-16)

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

B. We are to have an ear for God alone (Revelation 3:20-22)

4. Life depends upon that kind of hearing inside.

1. The pierced ear of the servant. (Exodus 21:5-6; Deuteronomy 15:12-17)

2. The consecrated ear (Leviticus 8:22-24)

 The blood was always the means of consecration and separation.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

3. The Spirit-anointed ear (Leviticus 14:25-29)

4. The opened ear (Read: Isaiah 50:4-7)

instruction. What a picture of self-emptying!

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

V. Tune in to the voice of God (John 10:1-6)

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

1. Paying attention is more than just mentally assenting to a scripture.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

E. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher (John 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

1. The Holy Spirit is to us what the control tower is to an airplane pilot.

VI. The secret place (Matthew 6:6; Psalm 91:1)

B. If you want to hear, you have to listen! (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)

listen for the way His Spirit communicates.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

C. The listening that God requires is active, intentional, and aggressive.

o Pray with you “spirit.”

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

2. Really listening in prayer gets you on a whole new wavelength.

anywhere. We’ll miss most of what He’s saying.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

1. Everything in the Kingdom is dependent on whether we hear the Word of God.

H. Knowing God is the key to knowing His voice.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

TRAINED TO LISTEN SLIDES

VII. Recognize the sound of His voice

A. He is persistent (Job 33:29))

then be on the lookout for His directions.

4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders

7. When discerning the voice of God, expect Him to be persistent.

B. He communicates personally (Isaiah 45:3)