the voice of god

Recorded on Sunday, January 21, 2024. Other scripture cited: Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-18.

In this Bible Story, Samson’s strength and pettiness are on display. He develops a rivalry with the Philistines over his wife, and out of anger and revenge he burns their crops and slaughters 1,000 of their men with the jawbone of a donkey. This story is inspired by Judges 15. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Judges 15:15 from the King James Version.

Episode 68: Samson, missing the physical pleasures of his wife, goes back to her house to claim her, but her father, thinking that he had abandoned her, gave her to his best man instead. So Samson went out, caught 300 foxes, and used their tails and wild energy to set fire to the crops of the Philistines as revenge. But revenge, as it so often does even today, only escalated the situation, and the Philistines retaliated back by killing his former wife and her family. Thus began the long war between Samson and his enemies.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Bible Story, we peer into the dreams of Solomon where God asks him to request anything and it would be given. Solomon asked for wisdom and a kind heart to lead his people. God grants this to Solomon, and gives him more than he could have ever asked for. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 3-4 & 2 Chronicles 1. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 4:29 from the King James Version.

Episode 114: Solomon, having big plans for the peace of his country and the temple of his Lord, married Pharaoh's daughter as a sign of political union. After worshiping God at Gibeon, Solomon returned home where he encountered the voice of God in a dream. In this encounter, God grants his request for wisdom to govern the people well. The very next day, he would have an opportunity to experience the wisdom that God said He would give him.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduction

Today, I would like to talk about a very exciting topic and of much interest among Christians and that is, how to hear God’s voice. In spite of an abundance of Christian materials and sermons available today, many believers still struggle to hear God’s voice and have a genuine desire to know how God speaks to His people in the New Testament. In our discussion today, I will try to provide answers to 5 questions: „Why Do We Need to Hear God? Does God speak today to all born-again believers or only to certain people who are more holy or chosen by Him? How does God speak? How can we discern God’s voice from all the other voices and What can we do to learn faster to hear God’s voice?”

Why Do We Need to Hear God?
Some believers may wonder why they should ever hear God’s voice in their lives. How would it help them? Is hearing God’s voice something of vital importance that deserves our attention, time, and effort, or is it just a good skill to have in any event? Well, there are many great benefits to hearing God’s voice. First, it will protect you from many harmful decisions, situations, people, or things that might try to come into your life. Second, it will help you see many opportunities and open doors for you to be blessed and be a blessing for other people. Third, it will direct your steps to your destiny and calling on this earth, so that you will fulfill as much as possible of what God has planned for you and your life. Fourth, it will encourage you and strengthen you in your spirit and your faith in those moments when you will feel weak or discouraged. Hearing God is vital to a life of continuous glory, victory, success, peace, joy, health, well-being, and prosperity here on earth.

To Whom Does God Speak?

In the New Testament, God wants to speak and speaks to all born-again believers. This is different from the Old Testament, where God spoke only to certain people chosen by Him. You may ask, Why is that? Things are this way because in the Old Testament all people were under the authority of darkness. Jesus had not died yet on the cross and the Holy Spirit was not yet dwelling in human beings in a permanent way. The Holy Spirit was given from time to time to certain people for specific and temporary tasks and in partial measures. In other words, the Holy Spirit would come and go. However, in the New Testament, the Spirit of God has been sent on the inside of believers to be in them and with them forever. We see this in John 14:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6:19:

God always speaks to all believers in Christ and that is something normal. That should be a daily normality for Christians and not something abnormal happening from time to time in some very special anointed moments. Every believer in Christ has the ability to hear God. God wants to speak to us much more than we are ready to hear Him. In fact, He speaks much more than we hear. Look at what John 10:27, John 14:26, John 16:13 tell us about hearing God’s voice:

Christ’s sheep hear and recognize His voice. The Holy Spirit in us will teach us all things, guide us in all truth, and announce to us certain things from the future. These are not all stipulated in the Bible, but the Holy Spirit will speak them directly to us.

Moving forward, another important thing is that it’s not enough to know God speaks and that it is normal for believers to hear Him. We must also search to hear His voice, be preoccupied for it, and we must tune our minds to the right spiritual frequency, the same way we search for a radio channel until we find the right frequency. As long as you can live without hearing God’s voice, you will continue to do so. But it will not be to your advantage. In Jeremiah 29:11-13, God speaks to His people through the prophet Jeremiah the following:

We need to take time to quiet our minds and reduce the volume of all the other voices to a minimum so that we can hear that still small voice of Him. We need to disconnect frequently from the daily noise and meditate on who we are in Christ, where we are going, what we are doing, how we are doing things and why we are doing them and so on. We need to make a habit of meditating on God’s Word. I was once test-driving a new car and, while we were driving, I could hear the noise of the wind quite loud from outside,  even with the windows closed. And that was one of the things that I was looking for in the next new car: to hear as less noise as possible from outside. I asked the lady who was doing the test-drive with us why we could hear the noise from outside, since this was a new car. She replied with a very serious face, “Well, you know, if you turn on the music louder, you will not hear any wind noise from outside.” I couldn’t tell if she was joking or being serious when she said that. I didn’t even know how to react to such reply. The point is that, as long we have other louder voices in our lives, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to hear God’s voice. And in our day and age, the voices have multiplied exponentially: the internet and social media, smart phones, digital media entertainment, and all kinds of gadgets. And as believers, we now have to be even more intentional in hearing God’s voice th...

You may have noticed that we haven’t posted a new podcast episode for a while. I have been in the process of writing what I believe will be multiple podcast episodes, but they just aren’t ready to post at this time. However, I can release to you what I heard this morning as I was preparing for breakfast and the day ahead. 

First of all, I heard “Stop, Look, Align.” I also heard, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

This morning’s revelation was what I would call a multi-channel revelation. I not only heard something in my spirit, But I saw something. I saw an old-fashioned railroad crossing sign. You know, the one with a big “X” mounted on a pole and the words “Stop, Look and Listen.” So, when I put it all together, It comes out, “Stop, Look, Listen and Align.”

I want to take the next few minutes to unpack this…the revelation of the words, “Stop, Look, Listen and Align.”

Bonus Episode! Can you hear the voice of God? Join host, Dr. Ashley, as he discusses the theology in 4Him's "The Voice of God."

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The VOICE of God can be heard in various ways. Sometimes God speaks through rough and challenging moments of life. He knows exactly how to get our attention and get us to follow His voice.

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Recorded on Sunday, December 6, 2020. Other scripture cited: Isaiah 40:1-5 / Hebrews 1:1-3.

Imagine sitting down to catch up with a friend. They unload all the details of all their highs and lows but just as you open your mouth to speak; they up and leave.

In true friendship, that just doesn’t happen. And yet, how often do you do that with God?

When you pray, you are trusting that God is hearing your words. You share all the details of your highs and lows, believing that God is listening.

But, when it‘s your turn, do you get up and leave before giving God the chance to respond?

Prayer is a two-way conversation- a Holy Dialogue. God wants to speak to you. And we don’t want you to miss out.

For now, open your ears and your heart as Josh and Kit sift through some of the barriers to good listening.

Stepping beyond your monologue and into a Holy Dialogue is the next step to “Becoming Whole.”

Highlights:

As we cultivate this aspect of listening in our prayer life that there’s something healing in just that

That’s what I’m made for, that’s what everybody’s made for, to have that communication, relationship with God.

It can really be helpful to seek to hear God with somebody else who’s got a little more experience in discerning God’s voice

Questions:

To hear from God, we need to be able to recognize His voice. Spend time reading the Bible each day to learn what He sounds like.

If you feel like God is speaking to you; ask yourself: Is it consistent with Scripture? Is the tone loving, encouraging?

Hearing from God is sometimes best done with a small group of people. Can you find 2 or more trusted friends to listen with?

After submitting your requests to God; jot down any songs or verses, specific words, or images that may come to mind.

Resources/Extras:

“Walking with God: How to Hear His Voice” John Eldredge EXCERPT

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” -John 10:27

1 Samuel 3

Hearing God Developing Conversational Relationship

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” -Luke 2:19

“Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” - John Wimber, Founder Association of Vineyard Churches

Transcription:
Full Transcription Available here

Original music by Shannon Smith. Audio engineering by Gabriel @ DelMar Sound Recording.

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This week Pastor Joel continued our series on Habits of a Healthy Soul with a compelling message about the way God speaks to our souls, and what we can do to hear him clearly. "It is God’s presence and words that heal the soul."