Hearing And Obeying The Voice Of God

Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God

Study Text: 1 Samuel 3: 1 – 14

Introduction:

- One of the greatest benefits of our salvation is hearing God speak to us personally. There can be no intimate relationship with our heavenly Father without it. But, as easy as it is for us to speak to Him, the average Christian has a hard time hearing His voice. This is not the way the Lord intended it to be.

- Samuel could not recognise the voice of God, and mistaken it for the voice of Eli. But was guided by Eli to recognise and to respond to the voice of God. There are many “voices” speaking in the human heart: the devil, the world, our imaginations, our flesh, other people, and God.

- Many Christians want to know how to hear the voice of God, and distinguish it clearly and unambiguously among all the competing voices speaking to us. The word of God is full of examples and has clear guidelines to help us in discerning God’s voice.

- A great disaster awaits those who fail to apply God’s Word, the Bible, to what they think is the voice of God speaking to them. An absolute requirement in learning how to hear from God is to be convinced that God’s leading will always line up with the principles of the Bible.

- Since God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, you will feel abiding peace in your heart if you are hearing from God. Otherwise, you will experience some confusion within, perhaps in the form of doubts, questionings, and fear.

- We shall discuss the topic under three sub-headings:

1. The Salient Profits of Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God

2. The Scriptural Principles in Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God

3. The Specific Patterns of Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God

1. The Salient Profits of Hearing and Obeying the Voice of God.

- The Lord constantly speaks to us and gives us His direction. It is not that the Lord is not speaking, but it is us who are not hearing.

- Jesus made some radical statements about hearing His voice in John 10:3-5. He was speaking about Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep and the only way to enter the sheepfold.

- Our lives and situations can be radically transformed by hearing the voice of the Lord correctly. The worst marital problem can have a total turnaround by hearing a word from the Lord. If you have sickness or disease, one living word from the Lord will instantly heal you. If you are in financial crisis, the Lord knows exactly how to turn your situation around just by hearing His voice. Now let's look out some benefits we tend to gain when we hear and obey God's Voice.

1. It Gives us Wisdom:

- Proverbs 2 vs 6 says For the Lord giveth wisdom, out if his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

- God is able to give us wisdom, knowledge and understanding if only we trust him enough to ask him in prayers.

- James 1 vs 5 says If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him.

2. It Gives us Godly Prosperity and Good Success:

- Joshua 1:8 says; This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.

- The word of God came to Joshua to instruct about the importance of desiring and obeying the word of God which is able to give not only prosperity and success an but a "good success".

3. It Gives us Right Guidance and Directions:

- Paul was on his way to Damascus when he encountered God. God changed his direction from a killing spree mission to a life changing one.

- In Acts 9:11, The Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called Straight and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth. God is able to give us direction of life and thereby given your life a meaningful impact.

- Believers should seek to get spiritual clarity through prayer as they listen for God to speak to them. We should prioritize our need to hear God’s voice. In doing this, we can receive spiritual guidance and clarity regarding His direction for our lives.

- It can be easy for an individual to be stuck or static because of the difficulty we often face as we fight spiritual battles and face the opposition of the enemy. God wants to guide us through His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.