Hearing the Voice of God

When we encounter the holiness and glory of God, the last thing we'd expect is an encouragement to draw near with confidence to Him. We would expect His holiness to make us step back, aware of the impurities of our own hearts. We might think His glory would exclude us completely from His presence, causing us to cower rather than to step toward our God.

But that mighty and holy God has reached down to tilt our tucked chins back up to Him. Jesus Christ has stepped in as mediator, making a way for even our sinful selves to be washed so pure by His blood that we are invited to come before the Lord's throne, drawing near to all His splendor because we have been made holy in His sight.

We are invited to draw near with confidence to the One who has already drawn near to us.

Helpful Links for Lesson 6-Draw Near with Confidence:

• EP 5: Lesson Four - Draw Near with Confidence
• Workbook is Available on Amazon - Hebrews: Drawing Near to Jesus

In Episode 4 of this season's podcast, we will consider the idea that guilt is a gift, and that it is what we choose to do with our guilt that determines the trajectory of our lives with Christ. We will discuss what it means that God has provided the salvation that He promised. Our walks with Jesus will never be without setbacks. We will always be in need of a Savior. A walk toward Jesus isn't one that never fails. It's one that keeps turning back to Jesus every time we do.

And the beautiful thing about our Savior is that every time we turn back to Him, we find that He was right there waiting.

Helpful Links for the Gift a Guilt:

• EP 4: Lesson Three - The Gift of Guilt
• Workbook is Available on Amazon - Hebrews: Drawing Near to Jesus

So often, we judge God's faithfulness off of whether He does what we want, then way we want, when we want. We look to our circumstances to decide if God is good and if He is faithful. But what does it really meant that God is faithful? To be faithful means to follow through on the things one has promised to do, so in this lesson, we'll consider some of God's promises and the ways that He has kept and is keeping His Word.

With great confidence in God's faithfulness to keep His promises, my hope is that we will begin to view our circumstances through the lens of God's faithfulness rather than judge God's faithfulness through the lens of our circumstance.

In Hebrews 2, the author warns us that we are not to neglect our great salvation. In this lesson, we'll consider what the great salvation that Jesus offers us entails. This salvation is not simply a ticket into heaven. It's not something we put up on a shelf to pull out when we die. The good news of this great salvation is that the Son of God is the King. His kingdom is coming. And His kingdom is one in which we have a place!

Our God has been faithful. He is being faithful. And He will be faithful!

Helpful Links:

• EP 3: Lesson Two Listening Guide
• Workbook is Available on Amazon - Hebrews: Drawing Near to Jesus

This week, we dive into Hebrews 1, considering what it means that Jesus is better than the angels. We will also explore the idea that God has spoken through the ages and continues to speak to us today through His Son and His Spirit. Join us as we consider what it means to hear from God and to trust in both the sufficiency and the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in relation to everything else in our lives.

It is an honor and a privilege that we get to hold the written record of God’s heart and purposes. Let the Bible’s mass remind you of our unchanging Lord. Let it’s weight remind you of His steadiness.

This is not a time for platitudes. There was never a time for platitudes. Life on this land is fraught with terror of the international, national, and personal varieties, and there is no hope apart from placing our confidence in the only One who’ll never change — Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

He’s all we’ve got to secure our faith. But He is also all we need.

Helpful links:

• EP 2: Lesson One Listening Guide
• Workbook is Available on Amazon - Hebrews: Drawing Near to Jesus
• Podcast Episode on Hearing God Speak
• Information about Face to Face: February 12

This season on the podcast, we'll be opening up the book of Hebrews together and find within its pages an invitation to draw near to Jesus. This week serves as both an introduction to Hebrews as well as an introduction to my approach to Bible study. I'm teaching this study at Bayou City Fellowship on Mondays and Tuesdays, and every Thursday (more frequently than the past seasons!), the audio version of the teaching will be posted as a podcast. If you'd like to follow along with the homework, the workbook is available on Amazon: Hebrews: Drawing Near to Jesus. But even if you just listen, I pray our time in the book of Hebrews will help us to grasp the incredible magnificence and holiness of God, and to recognize the significance of His invitation to draw near to Him through Christ.

Each week, I'll also post a listening guide if you'd like to follow along with the notes for the lesson. The introduction, Draw Near to Jesus, can be found below.

Listening Guide - Draw Near to Jesus: Introduction

People sometimes ask me if there’s a woman in the gospels that I most resonate with. There is. I don’t know if I resonate with her or just long to be like her. But it’s Mary Magdalene. She knew something about longing and letting go. We don’t see much of this Mary’s personal life. We know she was from Magdala, but apart from that, we really aren’t told much.

But this is what I’ve observed: Mary Magdalene sought one thing every time we see her – Jesus. She wanted to be near Him. She longed for Him. So, I want to be like her. I want to love Jesus like she did, even if that means embracing a longing for One we’ll never know fully this side of heaven.

Show Notes.

If you've ever heard me teach before, you won't be surprised by today's topic. We're going to talk about hope that holds. I'm concerned that the word "hope" has become so flimsy. Hebrews 6:19 tells us that "hope is an anchor for the soul," holding steady in a world gone wild. But what we often refer to as hope is nothing more than a latex balloon--equally as likely to float away as it is to burst when it comes in contact with anything rough.

What is the hope that Christ intends us to have? And can we get it back?

Show Notes.

In the last episode, we talked about how we respond to the Lord when He hasn't done what we expected Him to do. In episode 6, we're talking about finding God faithful when our life isn't what we expected. Specifically, what do we do when we can't understand what God is doing. What is the difference between understanding God and truly trusting Him? Is it possible that we are demanding answers from God where He is instead offering us the peace of His presence?

View Show Notes.

In Episode 5, we will talk about the primary importance of spending time seeking Jesus. We will look into the lives of Mary and Martha and see how they prioritized the presence of their Savior. Sometimes there are reasons that we're avoiding Jesus' company, but what we see in the heart of Jesus toward His daughters is that He loves it when we come before Him. We will see how Mary sought to sit at the feet of Jesus when He was in their home. We will also consider the death of their brother Lazarus, and discuss finding God faithful when Jesus isn't what we expected, when He hasn't done what we thought He would do.

Full Show Notes.

In both of our stories today, we see women that Christ encountered who did not outwardly display any great faith in approaching Him. In fact, it’s unclear whether they sought Jesus at all, but it doesn’t matter because Jesus sought them!

Sometimes, we need to know that Jesus can find us even when we aren’t all that intent on finding Him, even when we aren’t sure He’s looking for us

I don’t say this to downplay our the significance of our faith but perhaps to position us to recognize His faithfulness in a way that will increase our faith.

His faithfulness doesn’t increase in response to our faith, but our faith often increases in response to His faithfulness.

View full Show Notes.