Hearing God's Voice - The Kind of People Who Hear God's Voice - Message 2
TURN TO MARK 14:32…
• Before there can be a solution, there must be a problem.
• Before there can be healing, there must be disease.
• And before there can be a resurrection, there must be a death.
And Christ had to cooperate with it. His life wasn’t taken away, it was given away. He made a choice. He made a willful decision to cooperate with the plans of His Father.
Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, opens with Jesus praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. Powerful images portray the struggle between flesh and spirit, between self-will and God’s will and between Satan and God’s Son. This was Christ’s moment of decision: Will I – or will I not – cooperate with the plans of the Father?
The text from which this scene comes reads this way…
“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”” Mark 14:32-36, NIV.
This prayer is a battle. It is a war. And it is a war where Jesus had to make a choice: “Will I willingly give myself away to the purposes of my Father – or will I selfishly and soulishly choose to do my own will?”
And if you were to continue reading – you’d discover that Jesus entered into this battle of the wills – not just once, but three times.
Three times Jesus goes to battle. Not with His Father – but against the Enemy of His Father! For if Jesus chooses to protect Himself and to ignore the will of His Father – in choosing self over submission, He would lose everything! Jesus was living out in real time His own words…
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25, NIV. (See also – Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24 and Luke 17:33)
Willingness to abandon everything temporary – is the only way to be guaranteed that you’ll receive everything eternal!
Martyred missionary Jim Elliott wrote: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”
And when Christ willingly gave His life – His Father responded:
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8-11, NIV.
Christ will never be humbled again. He came, he willfully submitted – and he completed His work. The result: Exaltation!
The Greek word: Hooper-oopsa – literally to ‘be exalted beyond measure’ – and today, as it has been for 2000 years – hundreds of millions of people will gather in millions of different settings with one purpose: To exalt Christ in their lives!
Prayer: “Lord – we join with the millions, the hundreds of millions, the billions – who for 2000 years have been rightfully speaking of Your glory and Your praise! You are exalted – You are Lord! You are King! You are Wonderful! There is no other name quite like Yours! Jesus – Jesus – Jesus! Amen.
Now – I want to use the example of Jesus to help you and I grow in our ability to hear the voice of God.
Availability to Christ is the first character trait for those who will hear the voice of God. It is our task – and privilege – to wait on the Lord and to actively seek the Lord. And as we do – we hold claim to the promise of God that says: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8, NIV.
The second trait that we must develop if we are to hear the voice of God is… WILLINGNESS.
Write this down: “I will hear the voice of God when I become willing to do God’s will.”
Jesus’ teaching constantly amazed people. They didn’t know how he – an uneducated carpenter – could teach at such an incredible level of insight and power. They were blown away by how he out-taught the Teachers of the Law. Where did this ability for spiritual insight come from? What was its origin? When He was questioned about this – we read in John 7:16 the following:
“Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:16, 17, NASB.
In effect – He was saying: “If you want to hear the voice of God – be willing to do the will of God!”
This is – without a question – the second prerequisite for hearing God’s voice – first AVAILABILITY, second WILLINGNESS TO DO GOD’S WILL.
Jesus modeled this perfectly…
“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” John 5:30, NIV.
“For I seek not to please myself but him who sent me…” This is the priority of the authentic baptized in the Spirit believer in Christ!
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit – you begin to experience a dynamic in your spiritual life that is of far more value to you than simply ‘feeding your flesh’ with pursuits of pleasure and self-gratification!
Therefore – if you want to hear God…
• Surrender your life plans to Him
• Submit your daily agenda to Him
• Sink your life into Him!
Dear friends: Have you settled the issue of whom you are going to please in your short life on earth? If the goal of your life the same as the goal of Jesus’?
“I have come to do your will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7, NIV.
Success in Jesus’ ministry was not determined by any of the usual factors that the world holds dear! Success was determined by His faithfulness in following the will of the Father!
But, there is a price to be paid. When you are willing to do the will of the Father – it has a cost associated with it. TURN TO MARK 15:33…
Jesus is on the cross. He had been there for three hours now. The beatings and mockery have taken their toll. His body is being reduced towards death. His mother and the few friends who stayed – sit near his feet in shock and overwhelming grief. And we read…
“At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” --which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” Mark 15:33, 34, NIV.
When I watched Gibson’s movie – The Passion of the Christ, the brutality of the beatings and savagery of the people got to me. It was extremely difficult to watch. But, this week, as I studied for this message something struck me square in the forehead – that which was far worse than the physical pain that Jesus suffered ---
Jesus cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Theologians believe that it was just prior to this that the sin of mankind was put upon Jesus. This is the moment in time when He indeed became the sacrifical lamb and the guilt of all I’ve ever done – and all you’ve ever done – and the guilt of all the people who have ever lived or ever will live – was ‘imputed’ upon Christ!
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24, NIV.
Three years earlier – John the Baptist had prophesied over Jesus by saying:
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29, NIV.
And how did Jesus ‘take away the sin of the world…’?
He became sin so that we could be forever forgiven and reenter into relationship.
And at that moment – He no longer could hear the voice of His Father. For the first time in eternity, His fellowship with the Father was cut off. Not because of His disobedience, but because of the sin put upon Him.
He willingly allowed this to happen. Why? Because He loved and trusted His Father and He loves and cares for you.
There will times when you are WILLINGLY OBEYING the will of God – and everything will seem to turn dark and everything you touch will turn to dust. And in that season of pruning and struggle – keep doing the last thing God told you to do and trust Him to work it out.
“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6, NIV.
You and I each have a DESTINY in the kingdom of God. My destiny and yours are different – but they are equally wonderful! You see – if you are following and serving the will of the One who is all good, all knowing, all generous, all merciful and all powerful – and if He has promised rewards for those who earnestly seek Him – then, whatever your reward might be – when it comes - it’s gonna be A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
Now – here’s something you need to get: NO ONE CAN KEEP YOU FROM FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY! No gossip, no slander, no betrayal, no tragedy – not even the devil himself – can steal your destiny in Christ!
I’m the only one who can throw away my crown. I’m the only one who can surrender my crown to another.
But – this won’t happen – if you keep the issue of your life’s goal settled in our heart of hearts! So long as I remember why I am here – my destiny is secure! Regardless of the temporary circumstances of this life – God’s promises are absolute.
CONCLUSION:
In 1979 Bob Dylan wrote a song called “Gotta Serve Somebody” – part of the lyrics go like this:
“You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
Who are you living for?
What is the goal of your life?
Who do you belong to?
Christ was willing to serve the will of His Father.
The Father was willing to speak clearly to His Son.
And if that isn’t enough – the Father was willing to EXALT His Son.
And – we – the people who have been brought back from live unto death – because of the willingness of Christ – we choose right now to join the Father in EXALTING Christ!
Let’s worship the Lord!
• Before there can be a solution, there must be a problem.
• Before there can be healing, there must be disease.
• And before there can be a resurrection, there must be a death.
And Christ had to cooperate with it. His life wasn’t taken away, it was given away. He made a choice. He made a willful decision to cooperate with the plans of His Father.
Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ, opens with Jesus praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. Powerful images portray the struggle between flesh and spirit, between self-will and God’s will and between Satan and God’s Son. This was Christ’s moment of decision: Will I – or will I not – cooperate with the plans of the Father?
The text from which this scene comes reads this way…
“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”” Mark 14:32-36, NIV.
This prayer is a battle. It is a war. And it is a war where Jesus had to make a choice: “Will I willingly give myself away to the purposes of my Father – or will I selfishly and soulishly choose to do my own will?”
And if you were to continue reading – you’d discover that Jesus entered into this battle of the wills – not just once, but three times.
Three times Jesus goes to battle. Not with His Father – but against the Enemy of His Father! For if Jesus chooses to protect Himself and to ignore the will of His Father – in choosing self over submission, He would lose everything! Jesus was living out in real time His own words…
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25, NIV. (See also – Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24 and Luke 17:33)
Willingness to abandon everything temporary – is the only way to be guaranteed that you’ll receive everything eternal!
Martyred missionary Jim Elliott wrote: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”
And when Christ willingly gave His life – His Father responded:
“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8-11, NIV.
Christ will never be humbled again. He came, he willfully submitted – and he completed His work. The result: Exaltation!
The Greek word: Hooper-oopsa – literally to ‘be exalted beyond measure’ – and today, as it has been for 2000 years – hundreds of millions of people will gather in millions of different settings with one purpose: To exalt Christ in their lives!
Prayer: “Lord – we join with the millions, the hundreds of millions, the billions – who for 2000 years have been rightfully speaking of Your glory and Your praise! You are exalted – You are Lord! You are King! You are Wonderful! There is no other name quite like Yours! Jesus – Jesus – Jesus! Amen.
Now – I want to use the example of Jesus to help you and I grow in our ability to hear the voice of God.
Availability to Christ is the first character trait for those who will hear the voice of God. It is our task – and privilege – to wait on the Lord and to actively seek the Lord. And as we do – we hold claim to the promise of God that says: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8, NIV.
The second trait that we must develop if we are to hear the voice of God is… WILLINGNESS.
Write this down: “I will hear the voice of God when I become willing to do God’s will.”
Jesus’ teaching constantly amazed people. They didn’t know how he – an uneducated carpenter – could teach at such an incredible level of insight and power. They were blown away by how he out-taught the Teachers of the Law. Where did this ability for spiritual insight come from? What was its origin? When He was questioned about this – we read in John 7:16 the following:
“Jesus therefore answered them, and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:16, 17, NASB.
In effect – He was saying: “If you want to hear the voice of God – be willing to do the will of God!”
This is – without a question – the second prerequisite for hearing God’s voice – first AVAILABILITY, second WILLINGNESS TO DO GOD’S WILL.
Jesus modeled this perfectly…
“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” John 5:30, NIV.
“For I seek not to please myself but him who sent me…” This is the priority of the authentic baptized in the Spirit believer in Christ!
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit – you begin to experience a dynamic in your spiritual life that is of far more value to you than simply ‘feeding your flesh’ with pursuits of pleasure and self-gratification!
Therefore – if you want to hear God…
• Surrender your life plans to Him
• Submit your daily agenda to Him
• Sink your life into Him!
Dear friends: Have you settled the issue of whom you are going to please in your short life on earth? If the goal of your life the same as the goal of Jesus’?
“I have come to do your will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7, NIV.
Success in Jesus’ ministry was not determined by any of the usual factors that the world holds dear! Success was determined by His faithfulness in following the will of the Father!
But, there is a price to be paid. When you are willing to do the will of the Father – it has a cost associated with it. TURN TO MARK 15:33…
Jesus is on the cross. He had been there for three hours now. The beatings and mockery have taken their toll. His body is being reduced towards death. His mother and the few friends who stayed – sit near his feet in shock and overwhelming grief. And we read…
“At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” --which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” Mark 15:33, 34, NIV.
When I watched Gibson’s movie – The Passion of the Christ, the brutality of the beatings and savagery of the people got to me. It was extremely difficult to watch. But, this week, as I studied for this message something struck me square in the forehead – that which was far worse than the physical pain that Jesus suffered ---
Jesus cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Theologians believe that it was just prior to this that the sin of mankind was put upon Jesus. This is the moment in time when He indeed became the sacrifical lamb and the guilt of all I’ve ever done – and all you’ve ever done – and the guilt of all the people who have ever lived or ever will live – was ‘imputed’ upon Christ!
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24, NIV.
Three years earlier – John the Baptist had prophesied over Jesus by saying:
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29, NIV.
And how did Jesus ‘take away the sin of the world…’?
He became sin so that we could be forever forgiven and reenter into relationship.
And at that moment – He no longer could hear the voice of His Father. For the first time in eternity, His fellowship with the Father was cut off. Not because of His disobedience, but because of the sin put upon Him.
He willingly allowed this to happen. Why? Because He loved and trusted His Father and He loves and cares for you.
There will times when you are WILLINGLY OBEYING the will of God – and everything will seem to turn dark and everything you touch will turn to dust. And in that season of pruning and struggle – keep doing the last thing God told you to do and trust Him to work it out.
“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6, NIV.
You and I each have a DESTINY in the kingdom of God. My destiny and yours are different – but they are equally wonderful! You see – if you are following and serving the will of the One who is all good, all knowing, all generous, all merciful and all powerful – and if He has promised rewards for those who earnestly seek Him – then, whatever your reward might be – when it comes - it’s gonna be A-W-E-S-O-M-E!
Now – here’s something you need to get: NO ONE CAN KEEP YOU FROM FULFILLING YOUR DESTINY! No gossip, no slander, no betrayal, no tragedy – not even the devil himself – can steal your destiny in Christ!
I’m the only one who can throw away my crown. I’m the only one who can surrender my crown to another.
But – this won’t happen – if you keep the issue of your life’s goal settled in our heart of hearts! So long as I remember why I am here – my destiny is secure! Regardless of the temporary circumstances of this life – God’s promises are absolute.
CONCLUSION:
In 1979 Bob Dylan wrote a song called “Gotta Serve Somebody” – part of the lyrics go like this:
“You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.”
Who are you living for?
What is the goal of your life?
Who do you belong to?
Christ was willing to serve the will of His Father.
The Father was willing to speak clearly to His Son.
And if that isn’t enough – the Father was willing to EXALT His Son.
And – we – the people who have been brought back from live unto death – because of the willingness of Christ – we choose right now to join the Father in EXALTING Christ!
Let’s worship the Lord!
posted by Doug Love at 6:45 AM
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