Hearing God’s Voice - AG

1 Revelation means: something communicated or disclosed. The Bible itself is a revelation and God reveals himself to us through the Bible. God revealed to Noah His plans to flood the earth. The Bible says that Noah lived a good life that pleased God. But because the earth was filled with violence and godless people God made a decision to destroy the earth and every living thing along with it. He spoke very clearly to Noah about His plan and Noah tuned in, listened, and obeyed. Noah built a huge ark with specific instructions from God about what kind of wood to use and the exact measurements and size of the ark.

2 God made a promise with Noah that he and his wife and their sons and their sons wives would be spared any harm. Then he was told to bring two of every living creature along with enough food into the ark to keep them alive along with Noah and his family. Events happened just as God said they would. The great flood came, destroying all living things outside the ark. Yet, Noah and his family remained safe because he tuned in, listened, and obeyed God! Genesis 6:5-13 Talk about your favorite TV show. What is it about the show that excites you the most? The story? The characters? The fun of talking about it with your friends?

3 Imagine how ridiculous it would be if after all the excitement, you missed seeing your show because you didn t turn the TV on! God still speaks to us today when we are tuned in to hear Him. God still speaks to us today. Just as Noah walked with God, so can we. We can more clearly hear His Voice as we pray and read our Bible. Talk about what would have happened if Noah had not listened and obeyed God? Dear Lord, thank You that You still speak to us today. Thank You that this story we have talked about is not a myth; that the Bible is true and trustworthy. Help us, Jesus to walk closely beside You and to tune in so that we can hear Your Voice when You speak to us.

4 And in Hearing Your Voice , help us to obey You. Hearing God s Voice Week #1 2011 My Healthy Church. Springfield, MO 65802. All rights reserved. For God does speak now one way, now another though no one perceives it (NIV). There are three clear ways God speaks to us: Through the Bible Through prayer time Through other people Someone said, The Bible is a Guidebook. The way to master it is to let it master us. It is always good to pray before we begin reading Scripture. Just as plastic wrap is clear and we can see what s inside its covering, God wants to clearly show us His plan and direction as we read His word.

5 Also, as we pray (which is simply talking to God) we can tell Him what s going on in our lives what we re grateful for, what fears and problems we have, and then just allow time to be quiet in His presence. There are also numerous times in the Bible when God spoke through prophets and other spiritual leaders (Exodus 18:17-19, Ezekiel 2:3-5). The same is true today. God can speak to us through the wisdom of a family member who knows us well. Maybe God will prompt them to tell us something that will confirm a ministry or calling in our life. If you want to hear from God just imagine His Voice is clear like plastic wrap and easy to hear as you read your Bible, pray, and find encouragement through your parents and other spiritual leaders.

6 Job 33:14 Examine a roll of plastic wrap. It is clear. It is waterproof. Talk together about its usefulness for wrapping food. God speaks to us in many different ways. Gather as many devices as you have that communicate messages phones, iPads/e-Readers, laptops, DVDs, radio, CDs, pen and paper, etc. Talk about how the same message can be communicated through these different mediums. Would the messages be easier for you to receive with one medium over the other? How is this similar to the way God communicates a message through different ways? Dear Jesus, thank You that You still speak to us today in different ways.

7 Help us to hear You as we read our Bible, and pray. Help us to clearly hear Your Voice . Thank You that You love us and that You want to show us more and more of You as we grow in Your love each day. Hearing God s Voice Week #2 2011 My Healthy Church. Springfield, MO 65802. All rights reserved. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION , NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. In the story of Zechariah, God sent an angel to tell him the good news that they were going to have a baby, but instead of believing what God had revealed to him, he doubted it.

8 God corrected him by administering discipline and He caused Zechariah to be unable to speak until the baby was born. God is our heavenly Father. And just like our fathers here on earth, there are times when God disciplines us because He loves us and wants to help us be the person He knows we re capable of being. We often hear God s gentle Voice correcting us when we re doing something we know is wrong. Some people call it their conscience, but as Christians, we call it the Holy Spirit. The Voice you hear telling you that you ve done something wrong is God s gentle Voice correcting you pointing out what you did wrong and encouraging you to ask for forgiveness and to make it right again.

9 Luke 1:11-20 Talk together about a time you remember when you needed discipline. What was the offense? Did you try to hide what you did? How did the correction from your family make you feel? What lesson did you learn? God s Voice is gentle correction. Go around in a circle and let each family member share a time when he experienced God s Voice gently correcting him. How did you know it was God? How did you respond to the situation? Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to discipline me. Even though it might hurt, I know that it s only because You want to see me become the person You created me to be.

10 Help me not only to hear your Voice of correction, but also to accept what You say and learn from it. Hearing God s Voice Week #3 2011 My Healthy Church. Springfield, MO 65802. All rights reserved. In today s Scripture passage we see how Elijah was waiting to hear God s Voice . It took him a while to hear it, but he eventually did. Let s look at a few reasons why it can sometimes be hard to hear God s Voice : Sometimes we can t hear God s Voice because we are distracted. Our lives can be so busy between juggling school, sports, extra-curricular activities, church activities, and family commitments.