Hearing God’s Voice

1 1 Hearing God s Voice Jonathan Rue John 10:1-10, 27 How to Hear God Series 01/17/10 Have you ever had a moment in your life where you were wondering if God was speaking to you? Have you ever had something happen that was so odd and freakishly coincidental that you stopped and said God is this you speaking to me? SLIDE: that you speaking? Now the notion that God can speak to us individually as people is not a well-accepted idea in our culture today. It s very well accepted across the world, of course in other countries on other continents, but in Western modernized countries you re liable to be called crazy if you think God has spoken to you.

2 The comedian Lily Tomlin said SLIDE: Why is it that when we speak to God we are said to be praying, but when God speaks to us we are said to be schizophrenic? Lily Tomlin I think that s a very good question because a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that across the board 54% of Americans pray on a daily basis. That means 54% of people speak to God daily, but for those of us that would think that God might want to speak back, we re considered crazy. One of the reasons why we would be considered crazy is that there have been so many crazy people who have said that God told them to do crazy things.

3 Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite authors and he wrote this book called, Under the Banner of Heaven. SLIDE: Image Banner of Heaven Book And in it he tells the story of two brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty. SLIDE: Image Ron Lafferty & Image Dan Lafferty 2 These two guys felt that they heard from God, they thought that they were prophets and that they had a revelation from God. And here is what Ron Lafferty said God told him. SLIDE: "Thus saith the Lord unto my servants the prophets: It is my will and commandment that ye remove the following individuals in order that my work might go forward. For they have truly become obstacles in my path and I will not allow my work to be stopped.

4 First thy brother's wife Brenda and her baby, then Chloe Low and then Richard Stowe. And it is my will that they be removed in rapid succession." The Removal Revelation of Ron Lafferty This has come to be known as the removal revelation and the most disturbing part of this is that Ron and Dan acted on this revelation. They went into the apartment of one of their other brothers while he was not at home and they murdered their brother s wife Brenda and her baby, with a knife. Because they felt that God had told them to. They were later captured in Las Vegas and on their arrest they were completely remorseless. They claimed in a matter of fact manner that they were God s prophets and they had simply done what God told them to do.

5 See one of the reasons why people think it is crazy to say that you have heard something from God is that so many people have missed it So Far and have used God as a way to authorize their own wickedness. But if you are a follower of Jesus or if you are investigating the Bible to see what following Jesus looks like you can t get away from the fact that Jesus talks about Hearing from God constantly. And Jesus tells us that if we are going to be authentic followers of himself we must be listening to hear God s Voice speak to us. This is not something that can be dismissed because some people get it wrong. But rather the witness of the Bible is not just that God does speak, but that it is incredibly important to listen for God to speak to us.

6 SLIDE: The importance of knowing God s Voice We re starting a new series tonight called How to Hear God s SLIDE: Series Graphic Where we are going to investigate the ways that God speaks to us and how we can better listen and discern his Voice in our lives. So that we don t go through life making every decision on our own, but that we are welcoming the wisdom, the direction and the desire of God for our lives into the way that we make decisions in our lives. I ve called tonight s talk, Hearing God s Voice , Let s 3 TITLE SLIDE: Hearing God s Voice Part 1 Jonathan Rue John 10:1-10, 27 How to Hear God Series 01/17/10 Well tonight I want to look at a passage of text where Jesus tells us about what it looks like to hear from God.

7 And Jesus is going to draw upon the imagery and metaphors that were available to him in his day and time. And he was living in a culture where livestock was and essential part of their economic system. So he is going to compare himself to a shepherd and a gatekeeper and he compares us to sheep. So let s read this passage in John Chapter 10 verses 1-10 SLIDE: John 10:1-10 (TNIV) Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his Voice .

8 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his Voice . 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger s Voice . 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

9 They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Now as we are trying to figure out how to discern what is the Voice of God versus what is our own thoughts and ideas, what might be the Voice of the enemy or other spiritual forces at work in the world? What is God s Voice compared to any other Voice it is very important that we ask two questions and the first is What does God speak to us? 4 SLIDE: What does God speak to us? What are the kinds of things that God speaks into our lives? And I want to point out two things in this text, the first thing that God speaks to us, is that God s Voice speaks rescue to us.

10 SLIDE: God s Voice speaks rescue to us This is a part of how we can know it s God s Voice is because it is a Voice that speaks rescue. We see it in verses SLIDE: John 10:1-3 (TNIV) Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his Voice . He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And then Jesus makes it clear that the Pharisees didn t understand what he was saying he and so he clarifies further in verse 7.