Hearing God - Part 1

One of the best things about the month of October in Honduras is that there are lots of holidays that lead to 3-day weekends. While enjoying the fall-like weather (there's a little chill in the air!) on this Monday off, I decided to start the day by listening to a recent sermon from my college church, Central Avenue United Methodist Church in Athens, Ohio. Paul Risler's message was too good not to share! Here are the notes:

Why do we not hear God speak?

1.  We are surrounded by distractions and noise.

• "We have this tendency to think that the immediate task is the primary task. And Jesus says, 'No, that's not the case.' The primary task is to attend to God's voice in every single situation." (Luke 10:38-42)

2.  We aren't listening. We don't expect God to speak.

• "[In the Bible, God] speaks to the most unlikely people that you would ever imagine, which means that God does want to speak to you and to me."

3.  We are not tuned into God's voice.

• John 10:3-5 - Why do the sheep follow him? Because they know his voice.
• "We haven't learned it enough to stand out from the rest of the voices that are clamoring for our attention."

How can we know God's voice?

• "The primary way...is to know God's Word, to learn what He's said and to find out if the voice is consistent with the kinds of things that God would say."

Why do you want to hear God's voice?

• For your own benefit?
• To be more invested in others, God's glory, and to advance God's kingdom and purposes?
• To be more conformed into God's image and likeness?

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