Last Sunday evening, Church Requel launched a new sermon series. During the month of January we will be learning how to listen to God. If we don't hear from God, it doesn't mean He isn't speaking. It means we aren't hearing. What are the four attitudes we need to foster to be able to hear God speak? Join me as we study Luke 8:4-15. Here are some resources that might help:
- This is the program we used last weekend - it has the handout included
- Download my TEACHING NOTES from last weekend.
How to Hear God Speak from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.
Also you can listen to the audio version either on the Church Requel Audio Blog or take it with you by subscribing to the Church Requel Audio Podcast. Would you like to read my notes for last weekend's sermon? Just click on the "Continue reading" link below.
How To Hear God Speak - 01.03.10
Intro - How many have ever seen the movie, Bruce Almighty or Evan Almighty? For some of us it might be a stretch to imagine Morgan Freeman as God... but every time I watch one of those movies I think to myself, ‘What would it be like to talk to God so clearly that it would be just like talking to another person?’ Then it dawns on me that is exactly what prayer is... the other person is God... and praying is just a conversation. Don’t you wish it could be that simple? That direct?
I know people expect that their pastor would hear clearly from God... that somehow I have a direct line to the throne of God because I’m a pastor. Some of you think that I have an app on my mobile phone and that whenever I want to hear from God I just press God’s speed dial. Even for pastors... there’s no app for that!
Ten years ago my brother Todd preached a series of messages called "Learning to Hear God's Voice". From RW. Nothing is more important to you than understanding that God wants to talk to you and that you can actually hear Him if you just tune in. Jesus once said in Luke 8:8,
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Get your ears on! You've got to be tuned in order to hear God speak. How a farmer planted seed in 1st century - broadcasted. Radio Wave Analogy - Always radio waves going through room. But we may not be tuned in. Hearing God speak is the same way. Am I tuned in? The farmer = God; the seed = God’s Word. The four soils = four different types of attitudes that we each can have from time to time. So when I’m not hearing God clearly, I have to stop and think about my attitude.
How do I hear God speak? I must...
I. Cultivate __________AN OPEN MIND______________.
I've got to want to hear from God, be eager, be receptive. I've got to be ready and willing to hear God. Some of you may say that you’ve never actually heard from God. Is it possible that you've never been open to the possibility of it? Maybe you didn't even know it was possible that God does want to speak to you directly. You've thought maybe God doesn't speak to you and maybe you don't even believe in that. When you've got a closed mind, obviously, God is not going to get through.
This is the first kind of soil!
The hardened path - ______A CLOSED MIND_________
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.” vs. 5
“The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” vs.12
On every farm, in every field there's a footpath that the farmer would walk down. As he went he would sow the seed out onto the land that was tilled. There are two characteristics of a footpath.
#1 -they're hardened because of the constant traffic of people walking. The soil is compacted and it's not fertile and tilled.
#2 - it's narrow.
Do you know anybody like that? They're closed minded, narrow minded, hard hearted. They're not even open to the possibility that God might speak to them. As a result, Jesus says the farmer sows seed but it can't penetrate because it's hard and compacted. It can't take root, it can't
sprout, it just lays on the surface of the ground and the birds come along and eat it. It never even gets a chance.
This is true with us many of the times. God wants to speak to us, but He doesn't even get a chance because our minds are closed, our hearts are hardened, we've made up our mind, we're unwilling to listen, we've already decided what we're going to do so we don't hear from God.
What cause us to have a closed mind?
- Pride. I don’t need God... I can make this decision on my own. I can handle it. I can resolve it. So I don’t pray.
- Fear. Sometimes we're just afraid of what God might say to us. What if I pray or open my mind to God and God tells me to do something I don't want to do? Afraid I’ll lose my freedom, my fun, my fulfillment.
- Bitterness. If we’ve been hurt, we say, “Why God?” You’re going to be hurt. This is earth, not heaven. How you handle will determine whether your better or bitter. Bitter builds up walls, nothing will hurt me, not even God will break through. We close our mind.
If you’ve been hurt, (1) I’m sorry you hurt. God hurts with you. (2) Don’t run from God, run TO God. He’s the one who can heal. The tragedy of the hard beaten path is that it is barren. Nothing can grow there. A bitter life is a wasted life, prolongs the pain. Jesus says the birds come along and eat... That kind of life is for the birds!
Let God love you, drop your defenses and open your mind:
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James 1:21 (NIV)
II. Allocate __________TIME TO LISTEN________________.
I've got to make time to hear Him. I've got to slow down, be quiet, plan it in my schedule. We schedule everything else in life -- vacations, dentist appointments, dates, homework, everything else. Do you schedule time for God in your schedule? Or does God just get the leftovers. The
second reason a lot of people never hear God speak is we're in too much in a hurry. Juice in jars is now outsells frozen concentrated juice because it takes too long to thaw. Even overnight Federal Express mail isn't fast enough any more... snail mail.
We want to hear God speak, yes, but what we say is, "God, I'm in a hurry, so do it quick! I only have a minute!" As I'm running out the door to my next project or assignment or job I'm saying "OK God, speak to me, but do it right now!" As a result, we miss what God wants to say.
“And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away,
because it had no moisture.” vs. 6
“And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while,
and in time of testing fall away. ” vs. 13
The shallow soil - ______A SUPERFICIAL MIND_________
When He talks about rocky soil here He's not talking about soil with a bunch of rocks in it. In much of the middle east and particularly in Israel, much of Israel is built on a bedrock of limestone with about 3-4 inches of topsoil on top of it. That means plants can grow down 2-3 inches but that's about it. So when summer comes and the heat is on, the plants wither. They die because they don't have any roots because there's a bedrock underneath that does not allow them to develop deep roots.
He's saying this represents the superficial type of hearer who hears the word of God. It sprouts up and they're all excited about it but it doesn't last. When the heat is on and when the problems come they will wither and fall away. Likewise we do this. Sometimes we hear God and we get
all excited about it and we're superficially moved and we react emotionally and we're moved impulsively. But we never give it the time to sink in to our bodies, to sink in to our minds.
The verse says the second kind of person -- v. 13 -- "They received the word with joy [circle that] but when they hear it they don't have any root." In other words, they don't retain it. He's saying you can be thrilled without being transformed. You need to write it down in a journal, or a binder
of sermon notes, when you're in a Bible study, you take notes. Then you regularly review those things so you don't have to learn the same lesson over and over.
III. Eliminate _________THE DISTRACTIONS____________.
A lot of times we miss hearing God because our minds are crowded with other thoughts. Our minds are filled with concerns of daily living, worries, plans, goals, ambitions, bills, all these different kinds of things. When our mind is full and always thinking and never give God a chance in silence to talk to us, He can't get through.
A couple days ago I did what many of you did - I tried to send a text to all my kids wishing them a Happy New Years. Half of them didn’t go through. Why? Because everybody else on the east coast was texting.
A lot of times we miss hearing God because our minds are crowded with other thoughts. Our minds are filled with concerns of daily living and never give God a chance in silence to talk to us, He can't get through.
“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.” v. 7
“And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear,
but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches
and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” vs. 14
The soil with weeds - ______A PREOCCUPIED MIND________
If you feel unproductive, like life is passing you by, like you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing... You're not spending much time with God. God had no intention for you blowing and wasting your life. If you'd spend as much time with God talking about your life as you do
worrying about it, you'd have a whole lot less to worry about. God is not playing games with you. He has a plan and purpose for every life. But you're not going to get it watching TV or browsing the web. You've got to get time with God. We get distracted and we allow everything and anything to push God out of our lives.
Jesus says distractions are like weeds and he gives us 3 examples:
- Worries (cares). You can’t worry and pray at the same time. Greek word for worry means to be pulled in different directions at the same time. When you’re worrying you can’t hear God.
- Riches - so busy making money, making a living, don’t have time for God. Work hard, crash in bed, repeat next day. No time for God. God gets the leftovers!
- Pleasures. Nothing wrong with pleasure, fun. God created it. But can be so busy having fun, we forget God. Recreation should never replace worship. Summertime... Vacation... Cant take vacation from G
Theological Question: How much effort does it take to grow weeds? None! Difference between flower and weed? Flower you cultivate, fertilize, water. Weeds just explode. Weeds sign of neglect. Need to work at relationship with God, invest in spending time with Him.
IV. Cooperate _________WITH WHAT HE SAYS__________.
God talks to people who decide in advance that they are serious about this God relationship AND that they’re going to do whatever He tells them to do when He tells them. Most of us want God to talk to us and then we'll decide if we're going to do it or not. Doesn’t work that way.
The (4th) good soil - ______A WILLING HEART________
"The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,
who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop." vs. 15 (NIV)
Circle "retain". They not only hear God's word but they retain it. They write it down, they listen to it, they think about it and go over it. The result is a productive life. Would you like to make your life count? Would like to have a productive, fulfilling, satisfying life? Then do what James
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!" James 1:22 (NIV)
Conclusion - If I could hook up a machine to your mind right now, what would it show? Do you have a closed mind or open mind? Would you have a superficial mind that gets all excited about the service and then forgets everything? Would you have a distracted mind that wants to hear from God, but is just too busy, too distracted? Or would you have willing heart?
Challenge: What are you going to do with what you have heard today? James says, “be doers of the word, not just hearers.” New Years. Do something. Read Bible. Start home church. Daily QT. Let’s pray.
