The Word of the Lord – Hearing God more clearly

May 1, 2009 · Filed Under faith/believe, spiritual hearing · Comment 

There’s a scripture that I often quote from Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I’ve heard a variety of teachings about this verse. One being that our faith grows as we read our Bible, the “word of God”. And while that’s true, this is not what that scripture is talking about.

The first part of this phrase is present tense. “Faith comes by hearing.” It comes by hearing, not having heard. Faith doesn’t come through knowledge. Rather, it’s a moment, an exact experience of tuning into God’s voice and hearing his will for an immediate situation.

It goes like this: You’re in a situation, and you need some God’s guidance, so you pray. As you’re praying, you have this thought. Hmm, that would apply. So, you act upon that thought and it truly was the best solution. That’s hearing God! That’s faith that comes from hearing God’s voice guide you.

The second part of this phrase “hearing by the word of God” is also quite interesting. Way too often we just substitute in our minds “Bible” for the “word of God”. Yet, I don’t think that was the writer’s intention. When the writer of Hebrews wrote this, he didn’t have a Bible. But what about the Old Testament, maybe that was his “word of God”. Back in Genesis 15:1, the “word of the Lord” came to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Yet, there was no Old Testament or Bible or any written word from God.

The “word of the Lord” is a specific moment of “hearing God”. It’s his voice that often comes to us as a thought, an idea, a memory, maybe even a vision or dream. Sure, the Bible is still essential for us to learn and know what God’s voice sounds like, and everything we “hear” from God needs to be filtered through the Bible. But that should not keep us from “listening” for those specific divine instructions that help us make decisions for our life and for what God has called us to.

The most incredible heavenly power that we can tap into is the voice of God speaking to us. He is constantly wooing and drawing and leading us. When we can “hear” the “word of the Lord” for a certain situation or decision, and we can believe it, then the supernatural power of God is released into our situation. We have agreed with God by believing him. Prayers are answered. Faith is activated. Heaven moves.

This week, I encourage you to really listen. Tune into God through worship, through prayer, through fasting and dedication. Read scripture to help you tune in your spiritual ears. And then listen. Pray a very simple prayer, “Lord, do you have anything to say to me?”

Then, be ready. He’s got a lot to say.

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Is God happy with me? Does he hear my prayers?

April 7, 2009 · Filed Under accepted by God · Comment 

Below is an excerpt from an email I sent to a friend of mine to encourage him that in Christ, God is always pleased with us. Always. He’s never discouraged, disappointed, frustrated or mad at us. He loves us unconditionally.

    I used to get real discouraged when I didn’t spend my mornings praying, reading the Bible and talking to God. I felt like God was mad or frustrated or just disappointed with me. I felt like I had failed him or had fallen short of what he was expecting from me. And, that often drove me further away from spending time with him.
    I was getting discouraged in my relationship with God. I felt like he was disappointed with me, for not doing all the things I know I should be doing. Then, I heard this guy sharing about how God is not mad or discouraged with us in anyway, because our performance has nothing to do with God’s love towards us. We cannot do anything to make God love us more or less. His immeasurable love for us through Christ is never-ending, always faithful, and always abundant.
    I’ve also learned that even in our mistakes, God never pulls away from us. It is us who pulls away from God. He is constantly wooing us, loving us, drawing us, speaking to us. He is always pursuing us, and he enjoys it when we come to him and call to him. But, in no way is he ever disappointed with you for not spending time with him. Sure, he wants us to spend time with him, but that’s for our sake, not his. He knows that when we spend time with him, it helps us grow and protects us from harm.
    I think about my loving parents’ attitude towards their children. If children don’t want to spend time with you as a parent, that’s okay. It doesn’t change your love towards them. You still want to protect them, provide for them, teach them and guide them–for their protection. God is a much better father than we can ever be. How much more does he love us?
    I just wanted to encourage you in that. Know that God has not pulled away from you. He never will. So, be encouraged!

This topic reminds me of a scripture from Hebrews 4:14-16,

    “We have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

Because of what Christ has done for us, we can come boldly to the throne of of our gracious God. Did you catch that word, boldly?

How can we come boldly come to God’s throne as a sinner? Because in Christ, we are no longer sinners. We are righteous in Christ. We are holy. We are perfect in God’s eyes. If you don’t feel perfect, understand that it’s not God making you feel that way. It’s the enemy trying to keep you from going boldly to God’s throne in your time of need. The more he can convince you that you are not worthy enough to go to God, the less you will.

So, go boldly.

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Overcome or Be Overcome

March 9, 2009 · Filed Under renewing our mind, spiritual hearing · 2 Comments 

This morning, I couldn’t sleep. I kept waking up throughout the night. 3am. 4am. 4:30am. 5am. 5:30am. Finally, the alarm went off at 6am.

I didn’t need it. I was wide awake.

Each time I would awake from this trance-like state, I had this thought, “Overcome. Or, be overcome.” Hmm, that’s odd. Back to sleep.

Again, I’d awake. “Overcome. Or, be overcome.” I kept hearing it again and again this morning. I must have heard it a dozen times.

Immediately, I thought of Romans 6:16 which says, “Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master?”

Read the entire verse in context:

    “Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God’s grace. So since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.” Romans 6:14-18, NLT.

Sin is no longer your master. You do not have to obey it anymore. I get this. I understand this. I do not have to obey sin anymore. I have the power of Christ in me to choose right. I used to be enslaved to sin, but now, I am enslaved to Christ. My new master is righteousness. I am righteous in Christ. It’s not anything I can do.

I remembered another scripture as well from 2 Peter 2:19 that says very simply, “You are a slave to whatever controls you.”

So, my heavenly challenge this morning was simply this instruction: Overcome or be overcome. This was obviously a warning from my Father. Either I overcome or I will be overcome. Either I will master my flesh, or my flesh will master me.

I think the key to overcoming anything in your life is found in Galatians 4:

    “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:16-23, NKJV.

The flesh and spirit are contrary. They don’t agree. They are always at opposite ends of the battle, “so that you do not do the things you wish”.

The answer is to be “led by the Spirit”. What does that mean? How do you do that?

I’m still not sure. I’m working this one out as I go. But, here’s where I’ve landed. Sin no longer is an issue for us as believers. Sin was dealt with on the cross. We are free from yesterday’s sins, today’s sins and tomorrow’s sins. We are free.

But, this war we wage against doing the things we know are wrong is a battle of our flesh, not our spirit. Our flesh, like a computer, is programmed and wired to respond a certain way. As a kid (and a non-believer), we were wired to process information incorrectly, through our flesh (our feelings, our emotions, our memories).

As believers we must “repent”, we must “meta-noeo”, or “change the way we think”. We must reprogram our flesh to respond to our spirit. Our spirit, upon rebirth, is new again. We have “new hearts” and new desires. But, our flesh fights against those spiritual desires.

Listen carefully to how Paul describes this battle between flesh and spirit in Romans 7:18-19, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.”

Later on in versus 23 and 24, Paul talks clearly about this war in our members (flesh) and then he cried out for deliverance from his “body of death” (flesh).

My steps from here on out are simple–walk in the Spirit. Try to make decisions based on the Spirit. I need to focus on the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”.

I need to filter my decisions through those nine fruits. Do my decisions produce love? Joy? Peace? Longsuffering? Kindness? Goodness? Faithfulness? Gentleness? Self Control?

That’s where I’ll start this week–memorizing those 9 spirit fruits.

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A good New Year’s Resolution

December 26, 2008 · Filed Under general · Comment 

With 2009 just around the corner, a lot of people start talking about “New Year’s Resolutions”. It those promises we make to ourselves to, like:

  • Lose weight
  • Stop smoking
  • Get out of debt
  • Start exercising
  • Go to church
  • Drink less

Or, maybe it’s a time to set some personal goals, like:

  • Write a book
  • Run a marathon
  • Make a short film
  • Start painting
  • Try sculpting
  • Start an Internet business
  • Go back to school

I’ve made many of these resolutions before, and I’ll probably make many of them again. But something has really got me jazzed about 2009. It’s going to be an exciting year! I believe we are incredibly ripe with opportunity for this coming year.

So, how do we move forward? What are some good, Godly new year’s resolutions? Where do I start?

I think the first, most important step is learning to look forward, not back. Your 2008 may be filled with mistakes, regret, discouragement, and failures. And, you want to enter into 2009 with hope, faith and strength. You can!

I came across this promise while running the Whiterock marathon two weeks ago. It was on the back of lady’s shirt as an encouragement to other runners. It simply said, “Forgetting what’s behind, I press on.”

I knew the scripture. I had read it before. So, this week, I pulled it up in my Bible program and read all of it:

    I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. (Philippians 3:12b-14)

I just love that. Here’s Paul–the writer of the New Testament, the most devoted of Jews, a follower of Christ to his death–and he writes, “I am still not all I should be.” He knows he hadn’t arrived. He wasn’t perfect. He was still working, moving, striving for the goal. So, what did he do?

He focused all his energy on this one thing–forgetting what was behind, and pressing on towards the goal.

This is my New Year’s Resolution: to forget about the mistakes, the failures, the sin, and the regrets from 2008 and focus on what Jesus wants me to be in 2009.

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Surrender

December 12, 2008 · Filed Under renewing our mind · Comment 

My family and I spent Thanksgiving at my parent’s house just south of Austin. We made the 4-hour trek down there the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We had a great time with the family. It really was quite restful for me.

On the drive back, I just had this most wonderful connect time with the Lord. Often, when I drive on long trips, I take my iPod and earphones and just listen to sermons or podcasts or praise music. This trip was no different.

I was really sensing a call from the Lord to just surrender. I knew there were a few things in my life that I was holding on to–things I put my hope in. And, I knew the jealousy of God was fighting fiercely for my heart.

As I drove back to Dallas on Sunday, I listened to Jimmy Evan’s message on The Power of Surrender. And, through it, God really just touched my heart on the need to let go of those things in this life that I trust in for peace, for provision, for whatever. Because ultimately, God is my source of peace, my source of provision, my source for everything.

As we were about to roll into Dallas, God outlined four steps to help me surrender:

    1. Guard my heart
    “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

    2. Take thoughts captive
    “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

    3. Speak Godly thoughts
    “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14).

    4. Believe
    “Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it” (Mark 11:24).

Guard, capture, speak, believe.

As I studied these four steps, I kept wanting to add a step 2.5, to listen, because you can’t really do much until you listen to God and hear his heart.

Then, just yesterday, I knew that it wasn’t a step 2.5. Rather, it was the encompassing step that wraps around all four of those steps. Think about it:

  • To guard your heart, you must listen spiritually to what’s attacking your heart.
  • To take thoughts captive, you must listen to those thoughts and discern the source.
  • To speak Godly thoughts, you have to listen to God to know what his thoughts are.
  • To believe, you must first listen, because faith (believing) comes by hearing.

So, let me challenge each one reading this to guard, capture, speak and believe, and do all those things while listening!

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