You are invited to close the circuit of faith by moving beyond just hearing God's word to actively obeying and confessing it back to Him. Take a moment to be still today, ask God if He loves you, and listen for His response in your daily life. Start by quieting your mind to distinguish His voice from your own thoughts.
Welcome to the Real Church podcast. Our mission is for you to know the love of Jesus and live out your God given purpose. Now join us and listen in to the latest message from pastor David John Phillips.
Today, we are continuing the Hearing God series. We're doing part 4 of Hearing God series. And just a quick reminder, in part 1, we talked about can you hear God's voice? And, we proved through scripture that, yes, absolutely, you positively can hear God's voice. In part 2, we answered the question, why don't I hear God's voice?
And, we answered it in a life giving way. And then in part 3, we talked about how do I hear God's voice? Specifically, practically, how do I hear God's voice through the Bible? Right? Because if you hear God's voice in any other way whatsoever, in any of the ways that we're gonna talk about today, because we're gonna talk about some stuff very practically, if you hear God's voice in any other way other than what comes through Scripture, meaning, if it's not in line with God's character, God's nature, the principles that He lays out in Scripture, then it's not from God, it's from you, it's from the enemies, from Satan, it's from somebody else, or but it's not from him, because God will always speak, because he's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, he will always speak in line with his character, nature, his principles, as outlined in scripture.
So today, I'm excited about we're gonna talk about how part 4 of this series, we're gonna talk about how to hear God's voice practically in our daily lives through prayer, through experience, and through other people. And before we do, I gotta I gotta share this with you. So let's let's pray. Father, I thank you for who you are. Lord, you're amazing and you're wonderful.
Lord, I pray that today, everyone under the sound of my voice, whether it's through the podcast, or those that are here, Lord God, I pray we walk away from this moment, walk away from this time with a deeper understanding of your love for us, a deeper understanding of what it means to be in **conversational relationship** with you every single day, Lord. Thank you Jesus for who you are. Lord, let us walk away with a deeper understanding of you. In Jesus name, amen. Start by saying God is the Creator.
God is the Creator. In John-1, and I've quoted this verse multiple times over the last 6 weeks. In *John-1:1* through 3, it says, in the beginning was the Word. Everybody say, the Word. The Word.
And the Word was with God, and the "Word was God". He was with God in the beginning. So, the word is a person. Through him, all things were made that was made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
In verse 14, it says, who the word is. The word was Jesus. He became flesh and dwelt among us. So, God is the creator, and all things were created are created by his word. Alright?
You see that? Principle number 1, all things are created by his word. Colossians-1:17. And actually, let's We're gonna start in verse 15. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, that's Jesus.
For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers, rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him, in Jesus, in the word, all things hold together. So God is the creator of all things, so all things are created by the word. Number 2, all things are held together by the word. *Hebrews-1*, verses 2 and 3.
Says this, but these last days he has spoken to us by his son, that's the word, that's Jesus, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe, visible and invisible, you see the connection there from the other verses. The sun, the word, is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his **powerful word**. So all things are created by the word, all things are held together by the word, and all things are sustained by the word. Follow me so far. I'll give you a little science explanation here.
We're gonna go back to seventh grade science. You guys ready for this? Alright. So this table right here, what is it made of? What is it It's probably, if I had to guess, this is like some kind of wood, and this is like aluminum, a metal.
Okay? So let's break that down some more. This wood and metal, what is that made of? Well, from seventh grade science class, or eighth grade, or whatever it is, we know that that's made of atoms. Right?
So if we continue in that vein, then what are atoms made of? You guys remember? What are atoms made of? Protons, neutrons, electrons. Right?
Well, if we keep going, what are protons, neutrons, and electrons made of? Quarks. Good. I like it. If you didn't know that, protons, neutrons, and electrons are made of quarks.
What are quarks made of? They believe quarks are the most basic building block of life, the most basic building block of everything that we have. Follow me here. Stay with me here. Quarks are made of what they say to be strings of vibration.
When I speak to you right now, my voice is because of my voice coming out of my mouth, it's hitting your eardrums and creating vibrations so that you can understand what I'm saying. In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God, and all things that were made were made through him. He sustains all things, he created all things, and he holds together all things. The visible universe and the invisible, what we don't see, is held together by his word. How amazing is that?
It's powerful. So 1 thing, if if we are held together by his word, when we turn away from his word, we begin to fall apart. So we see the power of his word creates, sustains, and holds all things together. And as we hear his word, it creates life in us, sustains our lives, and holds our lives together. To experience the full power of his word though, we can't just hear it.
Let me explain. There's a principle there. In Romans-10:17, it says, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the *word* of God, or the word of Christ. Okay? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word.
So as we hear and receive his word, it builds faith in us, which is a big deal. But then, James-2:17, it says, **faith without works** is dead. So there's more than just hearing and receiving, There's an action because if faith is believing something so much that you do it, you do something about it. Right? So we receive it, but then we give it.
We receive it, and then we do it. We respond in a certain way. Let me explain. This You guys know what this is? It's a charger.
It's an iPhone charger. Right? I learned a couple months ago that this is called a brick. I never knew that. My little brother said, hey, go get me that brick.
I'm like, what brick? What are you talking about? Anyway, this brick has 2 prongs. Okay? And this cord has at least 2 wires in it.
Okay? So these 2 prongs, have like a positive and a negative. To break it down super simple, you have a the negative is a receiving power, and a positive is a giving power. Okay? So as I plug this into the wall and I plug it into my iPhone, then it receives power from the source.
Right? So the the iPhone receives power from the source, but then also gives back. Right? Now if I were to take 1 of these leads, 1 of these off, let's say I take the giving back off of it, and it only receives if I plug it in then, would the iPhone work? Would it have any power?
Would it charge? No. It would not because it's created to be in a circuit, and if the circuit is closed, if there's I mean, it is open, if there's no receiving and giving of this, then there's no power. We are created not to just hear the word, but to be doers of the word. Cause "faith without works is dead".
So we receive it, and we receive it, and we receive it, but then we do it, and do it, and do it. We walk in obedience to what he's saying, or we repeat what he's saying as we hear him. And in doing that, that is life to us. We are experiencing the full power of his word because we are not created to just receive. To only receive is death to us.
There's no life there. For instance, there's a big imagine like a big tank of water, and I I I used to explain this I've explained explained it like this a lot. So there's this huge tank of water, and this tank of water is the source, it's the life giving water, it never runs out. Right? So imagine God is the water.
And then you have a pipe and you have a faucet, and we're the faucet. Now, if we never open to give out what we've been given, then all we have is stagnant water that's stuck in the pipe. But as soon as we open to give out what we've been given, as soon as we respond to the word that we've heard, then we let it flow through us and it fills all the cups around us, but then also we are receiving more and experiencing more of his *life* giving flow. Does that make sense? So, 1 of the things my wife says a lot is is, you don't feel like you're hearing from God.
Have you done the last thing He told you to do? Have you responded? Have you said the last thing He told you to say? Because maybe, just maybe, He's waiting on you, As we're faithful with a little, then He shows us more. As we're faithful with a little, then He gives us more.
As we're obedient to do what He says, and obedient to go where He says go, and to give what He says give, and to say what He says say, then He gives us and blesses us with more. So, it's it's it's part of His nature. It's part of what we we do, and you can clearly see His nature throughout creation, and this is just a part of Him. So then, if that's the case, how do we hear Him? Let's go to 1 Corinthians-2.
We talked about you gotta do it, and that's part of it. That's part of the principle. Because if you're gonna be entrusted with knowing and hearing His voice in a conversational relationship with Him, then then there's a a response. Okay. 1 Corinthians-2:4-5.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power. And I've heard over and over by from the worship people, you know, the worship team singing and stuff, and us singing in here, or or me speaking that people walk out of here with, you know, they're crying, feel feeling touched. There's been multiple, like, you know, 30 something people at least giving their life to Jesus. Like, that's not because I'm smart and have a lot of wisdom, and are persuading you to do that. I'm not that good.
I can't create life change. That's not because, yeah, our although our musicians are amazing, and Justin and Paige, I mean, of the singers are are wonderful, their voice isn't moving you to tears, not causing you to feel the very presence of God. What are we doing? We are speaking and singing as we're hearing God, and we are a conduit because we're letting his talents and the gifts and abilities that he's gifted us with, we're we're we're letting his power flow through us, using them as He's created us to use them, and because of that, we're impacting the world around us, just like the faucet turning on. I'm, by faith, speaking to you what I believe he spoke to me, and because of that, his word is being is coming through me and changing hearts and changing lives and creating life and hearts that are hearing.
He who has ears, those that can hear, hear it. So that's really amazing. But we're not special, like, created you to do that in your daily life. He created you to be a minister of the gospel, to hear Him in your daily life, and to minister what He's saying to you, to those around you, to change the world around you, because you have a relationship with Jesus. I'm not special because people give their life to Jesus.
No, we're all created to do that. I'm just a guy that knows how much God loves him. So, how then? How do we hear that? How how how does it work?
What's like, practically, because that's what we're really trying to get to, because I want I want to encourage you guys in in practical ways, like, so this is amazing. This is gonna be fun. Verse 9, 1 1 Corinthians-2:9, however, as it is written, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind say human mind. Human mind. And what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him.
And a lot of people stop right there, and they're like, you know, God is just this distant God. Nobody can understand him. Nobody can know him. He's just way out there, and it gives them the ability to just kinda cop out in life, and go on about their daily business, go to church on Sundays, and not let it change them from the inside out, just kind of, come receive, but no give because we can't really understand. That's, for lack of better words, b s.
It's wrong. Because they forget the next verse, the very It's not even a complete sentence, what I just read. These are the things So, what are the things? What no has seen, what no ear has heard, what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love Him. These are the things God has revealed to us, verse 10, by His Spirit.
God has revealed to us by His Spirit what no eye has seen. He's revealed to us by His Spirit what no mind has human mind has conceived. He's revealed to us when? Now. The Spirit searches all things.
Everybody say, all things. All things. Even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? Just you.
Like, nobody else knows what you're thinking and knows the intentions, the will, your will, except for your spirit, except for you, your inner man. Nobody. Well, in the same way, because we're created in the image of our creator, no 1 knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. So nobody can know that except for his spirit. But here's the crazy part.
Verse 12, what we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God. Yeah. Yeah. So that we may understand what God has freely given us. We have received his spirit who knows his thoughts, his will, his mind.
He has been given has been given to us so that we can understand what He has freely given us because He wants us to freely understand all things in Him. Wow. Well, thank you. So, Verse 16. Another another cop out verse.
For for who has known the "mind of the Lord" so as to instruct him? People quote that without quoting the next part. Who has known the mind of the Lord? We can't know all of that. No way.
They didn't read the paragraphs before it, they didn't read the next verse the next sentence, or the next part of that sentence. But we so who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. It's no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. We can know the mind of the Lord.
How does God speak to us? He speaks to us in our thoughts. He speaks as you read the Bible and and then the words jump off the page, how do they how do you understand them jumping off the page? Through your mind. As you pray and you feel led in a certain way, how do you feel that leading in your mind?
Right? As I'm speaking to you and you feel like it's just truth because the Holy Spirit's speaking through me to you, how do you know that? It's through your mind. But it's the Holy Spirit confirming to your mind that it's more than just your thoughts. You see, every thought that you think is not your own.
Think about that for a second. Every thought that you think is not your own. Some, according to this, according to this passage, I'm just reading the Bible here, could be the Holy Spirit speaking to you. It could be more than just you. And, it says, the My sheep know my voice, and the stranger's voice they will not listen to.
Which means the stranger is speaking too. So you're not just hearing God's voice in your voice, but the stranger is trying to lie to you to make it think make you think that it's you or that it's God, condemning you and saying you're never good enough. But we don't trust what we owe that. We what? *Romans-12:2* says what?
*Romans-12* says verse 2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the **"renewing of your mind"**. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, what he's trying to speak to you, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. So we renew our mind. How do we do that? By the washing of the water of his word, by knowing his nature, character, his principles, so that when he's leading us in different ways, we can differentiate, we can know what's from us and what's from him.
Because what's from what's from us is not gonna cause life. But what's from him will. It will give us life, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, meekness, self control. But also, as we respond and we let it pass through us, it will create life in those around us. That's really cool.
So, practically speaking, or the practical ways that God speaks? Well, we God has created us as learners, and different people learn in different ways. There's 3 ways that I've found that people learn. You either learn by hearing, you learn by seeing, or you learn by doing. Right?
So people learn by hearing, by seeing, and by doing. So the Holy Spirit, which if you've accepted Jesus Christ, you've accepted Him, it says anybody that doesn't have the Spirit doesn't know God. So if you've accepted God, and you you have a relationship with Him, that means you have the Spirit of God. So the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and it filters through our mind in ways that we can easily understand. Hearing, seeing, doing.
So how does he speak? Well, let me give you an example. For me, perfect example of this is is I hate doing the dishes. I absolutely hate doing the dishes. It's not it's not my spiritual gifting.
But sometimes, I will have the thought when I absolutely do not wanna do the dishes to I will I will hear, not audibly in my ear, but just this in my mind, almost like a sentence, it will say, or he will say, go do the dishes for your wife. So I have this thought. Right? It's And I know that that's not me, because I don't wanna do dishes. Never have, until it piles up like crazy.
It it wouldn't be a So so the Bible says, carry your cross, take up your cross and follow follow Anybody who wants to follow me must take up his cross daily and follow me. Right? So in that moment, I have the choice whether or not to follow my will, which is to go to bed because I'm tired, or to do whatever I'm doing, or to lay down my life in the moment in order to do his will for me and do the dishes. Just simple. I mean, this is like simple, real life here.
So, in that moment, what do I do? Well, by His grace, I I I choose to obey. So, in that obedience, His grace empowers me to do what I don't want to do, and I end up doing the dishes and having fun while doing it, probably. And it it ends going a little faster than I thought possible, and all this kind of stuff. Why?
Because His grace, by His Spirit, is empowering us to do what we don't want to do, because we're being obedient to what He said to do. Now, this has happened more than once, guys. But as I'm obedient, and I do that, my wife comes home later, she sees that the dishes are done, and she said this word. She said these words. This specific time she said, Baby, you have no idea.
I I was dreading doing the dishes, and and I I just I really didn't want it. I was hating it, I came home and I see I feel really loved. What was God doing? God was loving my wife and and partnering with me to love her. And so by my obedience, I'm learning to hear God's voice.
Did I know in the beginning that it was God's voice? Well, mean, I've done this a while, so I thought, well, this could be. I can if it's not bad, and if it's loving someone, and it's it's showing goodness to someone, or kindness, or patience, or gentleness, or meekness, or self control, a result of who he is, then chances are I might as well just try it to see if it was God. Right? Or you can make an excuse so that you can do your will, but but it would be better just to to try it and see.
So as I as I am obedient to do that, my wife feels loved, and because she feels loved, that's God loving her, but I get the benefits as well. I get some of the fruit of enjoying God loving another because I got to participate and partner with God in loving my wife. How amazing is that? So that's hearing. If it was seeing, if you if you learn by seeing, you might see picture in your mind, your imagination or something of of you doing the dishes for your wife, and it just all of sudden pop in there, you're like, woah, where was that?
You know, I don't want to do that. Same way. So that's seeing, and then doing, you might just have this over overwhelming feeling to go and do the dishes. Who would who would I don't I don't get it. But really practical how the Holy Spirit speaks, and it's always going to build up and encourage and be in line with who He is nature, and and help others to see how much he's loved by them, and encouraged by them.
It'll give those around us exactly what they need in the moment, in whatever way. And a lot of times, when God challenges us in different ways like that, it will challenge us outside of our comfort zone, outside of what we're used to, so that we grow and we have to step by faith in what he's saying instead of doing what we're always used to. Because you can't grow where you're comfortable. Let me give you an example. So we said practically through prayer, experience, and through other people.
Right? So so that was kind of experience, if you will. Prayer. A while back, maybe a couple years ago, and I I've quoted this verse multiple different times, and and I quote it over and over and over because I want you to understand it. I want you to get it.
I want you to memorize it. Want it to become a part of you. 1 John-5:14 and 15 says, this is the confidence that we have in approaching God. If we ask anything according to his will. How do we know his will?
His *spirit* who's communicating His mind, His will to us and is verified by His word. So we ask in His anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we know that we have whatever we've asked. So, we pray, if it's in line with His will, it has to happen, because it's a promise. So, what I like to do when I pray, is I don't just go to God and say, God, give me this, God, give me this, God, give me this, I'm confessing this and I'm gonna get it because the Word says confess.
No, we confess in line with His will. The word confess in the Greek is homo logos. Split that apart, homo means same, logos means word, ***same word***. In the beginning was the logos, the word. The word was with God.
So to confess means to say the same word he's saying. Receiving what he's saying, hearing it, and confessing it is saying the same word. And as we say the same word that he's saying, it has to happen because it's not our word. So when I pray then, a couple months ago, or if I mean, a couple years ago, I was I I was asked God, God, what do you want me to pray? Father Father, what is it?
And I'll just be still and be quiet. And then I'll have different thoughts come to my mind, and by faith, not because I'm a 100% sure every thought that comes to my mind is God's, that's not the case, I'm a person. But by faith, I pray, if it's a good thing, I pray about those thoughts. Okay? And I just speak those thoughts.
Alright? You know, and and so I had the thought that come to my mind, was way bigger than what I would normally think, and I think pretty big, to pray for the Middle East, for Muslims in The Middle East and around the world to begin to have dreams of Jesus. Yes, God. Okay? And come to know Him as a result of that.
Now, I'd I'd heard about that happening and and that kind of thing, and and I'd heard stories of that. No. So I I just, by faith, began to pray this big audacious prayer. God, would you I I pray for the Muslims, Lord God, that they would come to know you in a real way, Father. Put in them, Lord God, show them as they're sleeping, or give them visions or dreams of you, just like you gave Paul on the road to Damascus, Father, because they need to know you, God, in a real way, in a loving way that changes them from the inside out, Lord God, so that I just began to pray that my heart, or His heart, what He was putting in my mind.
Now, the crazy thing is, is that a lot of times when you pray, His will a lot of times, not every time, but a lot of times, He uses you as part of the answer to your own prayers. If you've been praying for your spouse, chances are He wants to use you as part of the answer to your own prayers. You've been praying for your city, chances are He wants to use you as part of your own answers, the answers to your own prayers. So, last June, my little sister and I, who was playing the keys, she's awesome, we were in India, and preaching the gospel, and people were getting saved and healed. I mean, God's just doing miraculous things because he likes to love people through people.
And we were flying home from Hyderabad, which is 1 of the cities in in India, mostly Hindu, but Hyderabad has a very big concentration of Muslims. We're flying from Hyderabad back to Dubai on our way back home, and I sat down by a Muslim Indian guy. And, I began to ask him what he believes and why, just because I like to learn about people and all that kind of stuff. And, which was, you know, nerve wracking. You're talking with people cross culturally and and all that, and you hear in America, you hear all this stuff about Muslims, they're just people.
Just love them. Just love people. So I was just asking to understand and get to know the guy, and he's sharing, and he I listened for 20 or 30 minutes, and finally he says, hey, what do you believe? Well, I gotta share the gospel with him. And right there, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, right there on the plane, which is awesome.
But then, he proceeded to tell me, he said, man, I want to tell you something that I've never told anyone. 6 weeks ago, I had a dream, and I dreamed of Jesus. I didn't tell my mom and my dad or, you know, his parents. He was he was, I think, maybe 30. So he didn't tell his his parents or his family, because they're Muslim.
And a lot of times in those countries, that's not a good thing to tell that Jesus is coming speaking to you. And, God sent me to interpret his dream for him. And that's why he gave his life to Jesus. How amazing is that? A lot of times, God uses you as part of the answer to your own prayers, as we pray the prayer of faith.
Now, the prayer of faith is what? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So we pray what we hear. That's the "prayer of faith". That's amazing.
God loves us And he wants to speak to us in real ways, and use us because we don't just receive from him on Sunday mornings, but we receive from him on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays. And as we receive, we are faithful to speak what we hear, to do what we see, because that's what Jesus did. And we're supposed to be in this world, 1 John-4:17, in this world we are like Jesus. We follow him in everything that we do. So, what I would like to do is I would like for everybody to stand and have a time of response.
How do you respond to a word like this? This is kind of different from what you might or may normally hear, but I have a great idea what we're going to do as Justin plays. I want you guys to be still. Just close your eyes for a moment and be still. Bible says, "be still and know" that I am God.
So be still and recognize. It says, where 2 or 3 gathered, he's there in the midst of them. Plus if you know him, he's in you. So he's here and he leads you up with you. And I want you, as your eyes are closed, I'm just gonna be still for a moment recognizing he's here.
I want you to ask God. You can say it out loud, you can whisper it under your breath, but ask him verbally. God, do you love me? Somebody maybe is blaming God for something that happened in your past. Something that maybe happened to you.
Ask God, God did you cause that? Where were you in that? I can tell you with confidence that if you heard in your mind, no, I don't love you.
Wasn't Thanks for listening to the Real Church podcast. If you have questions, comments, or would like to get to know us, be sure to check us out on social media by searching Real Church Clearwater or visit us online at www.realchurch.us. If you'd like to play a part in what we're doing, you can do so right where you are. Your prayers are powerful and effective. You can also be a part through giving.
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