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BIBLE STUDY 0701: THE VOICE OF GOD [PART II]

 

HEAR FROM GOD AND GROW

 

Text: Genesis 32

 

Introduction: Hearing from God is better as a firsthand experience than a second hand experience. By firsthand experience I mean hearing from God yourself. By second hand experience, I mean hearing from God through another person, e.g. a pastor, prophet, etc. When you begin to hear from God you begin to grow. All Christian can and should hear the voice of God. If you do not hear from God your spiritual life will be stunted.

 

The Experience of Jacob

 

Gen 32: v28; v30

 

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

 

30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

 

There is no way you will not remember something happened to you after meeting the Almighty. Jacob had this experience and his life was changed forever. Before this experience, he was known as a deceiver, his days were full of evil and these early years experience shortened his lifespan compared to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac [Gen 47:9]. Twenty years earlier in Gen 28, running from his brother Esau whom he had deceived for the birthright, he slept and put his head on a rock. He saw in a dream, angels ascending and descending from heaven. He saw the LORD and God reassured him of the Abrahamic covenant. He lived a hard life with his uncle in Haran. But for the children whom God blessed him with in Haran, he did not have anything to show for his sojourn in Haran.  In this second encounter with the Almighty, he fought with the angel until the breaking of dawn, and when the angel saw the importunity of Jacob, he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh, dislocated the joint which made him to limp for the rest of his life.  He prevailed as a prince with God and man.  Hearing from God is the right of every Christian saved by the blood of Jesus. It is not for spiritual giants alone.

 

Jesus said; “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27. Also, read John 10:4-6

 

God wants us to communication with him no matter how you think you are busy or you draw up a schedule that completely choke your time that so that you have no room for daily fellowship with God. This is the sin in the developed world when you have to crowd your time with work or work-related schedule and no time for God.

Every believer has a spiritual capacity to know God and hear God.

 

Heb 8:10-11 

10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

 11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 

The Battlefield of the Mind

The untrained mind is bombarded by different thoughts. It is like a busy market. You might ask, how do I hear from God? For a Christian whose mind has been tempered or controlled by the Holy Spirit, God speaks to your spirit-man not your brain. The mind is in the soul –realm, and God does not speak to your soul, he speaks to your spirit.

 

Proverbs 20:27 

 

27The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

 

You need to switch off your brain rationalizing the things of God to hear clearly from God. The natural mind cannot receive the  things of God because they are spiritually discerned. You need to be ultra-sensitive to the voice and command of the Holy Spirit to receive the best from God.

 

1 Corinthians 2: 9-16

9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

 16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

 

CONCLUSION

We have established from this study that hearing from God can be one big encounter the first time you hear it like Jacob had or it can be a daily occurrence for guidance like Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27.  You need to train your ears to hear his voice and do not allow the things of the world to make you deaf from hearing God’s voice. If the enemy shouts into your ear, allow the voice of God to shout louder to drown the voice of the enemy. Continue to meditate on heavenly things. This is the battlefield of the mild, and victory is yours in Jesus Name.

 

 

 

Bible Study

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BIBLE STUDY 0618: THE VOICE OF GOD [PART I]

 

“STILL, SOMETIMES SMALL BUT ALWAYS POWERFUL”

 

Text: Psalm 29

 

THE SIMILITUDE OF THE GODHEAD TO A REGENERATED PERSON

 

Introduction: The voice of God is one everyone will be awestruck when you are privileged to hear it. Adam heard it in the Garden of Eden and was convicted of his sin, Abraham heard it and moved by faith out of a heathen land to the land of Promise, and Moses heard it in the burning bush and moved closer to hear it. Samuel also heard it audibly as a young child and grew to hear from God all the time. The bible is full of stories of people who have heard the voice of God and their lives never remained the same again.  Psalm 29 describes vividly how powerful the voice of God can be. In this study, we will look at how we can place ourselves in a position to hear more of his voice – maybe audibly, maybe not. But one thing is certain; God always speaks and want to get our attention all the time.  I pray that your spiritual ears be always attuned and connected with the frequency of God’s voice after you go through this study in Jesus Name.

 

The image of God in Man

God made man in his own image and likeness. Gen 1:26, Gen 9:6, 1 Corinthians 11:7]

Man was created with different parts of the body, with a soul and a spirit.

 

The Godhead consists of the Father, Son on and the Holy Spirit.

•         God is a real person – He is a Spirit being, with a soul and a heavenly body [Job 13:8; Heb 1:3].

•         God goes from place to place in a body and spoke to men at different times. He is Omni-present but not Omni-body] – his presence can be felt everywhere at the same time [Gen 3:8, 11:5, Gen 35:9-13; Titus 2:13]

 

Parts of God’s Body Revealed to man:

 

Heart [Gen, 6:6; 8:21]

Gen 6:6 “And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart.”

 

Nostrils and Mouth [Psalm 18:8, Num 12:8]

Psalm 18: 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

 

Lips and Tongue [Isaiah 30: 27]

 27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

 

 

Other parts of God’s body described in scriptures; Eyes, eyelids, sight [Psalm 11:4, Psalm 18:24] , Back parts, hence front part [Exodus 33:23];  Hands and Fingers [Exodus 31:18, Psalm 8: 3-6];  Breath [Gen 2:7], Ears [Psalm 18:6], Hair, head, face and arms [Dan7: 9-14, Rev 5:1, 6-7; Rev 22:4-6];  Loins [Ezekiel 1:26-28], and Bodily Presence [Gen 3:8; 18:1-22; Job1:6-12; 2:1-7; Ex 24:10-11]

 

Voice [Psalm 29; Rev 10:3-4] – The topic of the study

 

Matt 3: 16-17

 

16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

 17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

Practice the Presence of God

Since God is a real person, begin to practice his presence in your life. He sees you and is interested in every detail of your life. He is interested in your success. Do nothing he would not do if he were bodily present. Learn to communicate with him effectively in prayer. Listen to his voice as he speaks to your heart through his Holy Spirit.

 

Encounter with the Almighty:

When you meet God or you hear the voice of God, the effects are alike. It is called an encounter with the Lord. You are caught between the ROCK Himself and a hard place. If you flee from the ROCK, you jam the devil or you stay with the ROCK, he melts and moulds you. Have you had an unforgettable encounter with the Lord? How do you think God looks like if you encountered him face to face? An encounter with God leaves a permanent memory. It will be so vivid that you can say I know when it happened to me and nothing can remove that meeting from my spirit. You can hear of somebody and it has no direct relevance to you or you can hear of someone and it has a dumbfounding impact on your life. When you meet God you meet the greatest mirror, because he is a spiritual mirror who tells you what you are. Job had an encounter with the Lord and was honest with himself.

 

[Job 42:5-6]

 

5   I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

6   Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

 

When you have met the Lord, your life will be completely reversed, you will undergo complete overhaul; a new thing will begin to happen.  When Peter encountered Jesus he exclaimed depart from me for I am a sinner. Isaiah saw the Lord and said “Woe is me”, Ezekiel saw God and fell on his face; Daniel saw the Lord and said I was like a dead man. Paul when he was Saul of Tarsus met the Lord and the effect wore on and revived the early church.

 

CONCLUSION

Now that you know that man was created in the image of God’s PERSON and LIKENESS and the desire of God is that we have an unbroken fellowship with him, it will benefit you to seek to hear his voice all the time. Ask God to open your inner ears so your ears will not be dull of hearing his voice in Jesus Name.

Living Bread Nuggets

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FOUNTAIN OF EVERLASTING LIFE

  

[Living Bread Nugget 0616]

 

 

REVELATIONS 22: 1-2 [KJV]

1   And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

 2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

 

Jesus promised that anyone who comes to him and believes in him on earth, out of that person’s belly (inner heart) shall flow rivers of living water. This represents the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit rejuvenate and revives a spiritually dead man back to life on earth [John 7:38-39].

In Heaven, a child of God has free access to the Holy Spirit. No more sin, no more curse, no more sickness; nothing to hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit in the everlasting life of the believer. Wouldn’t that be refreshing and amazing? Ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and begin to enjoy a measure of his powerful presence in your life today.

 

 

Prayer Point

 

1.           Oh Lord let your Living water flow over my soul. Every situation that has troubled my heart be rolled away in Jesus Name.

 

2.                Come Holy Spirit; come in your power; I need your presence; revive my heart and revive your church today in Jesus Name.

Living Bread Nuggets

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MEAT AND DRINK ALTERNATIVE

 

 

Living Bread Nugget 0614

 

What are your cravings? If you are craving for more of Him, His love, His power, His peace, His joy and His righteousness, expand your bowels and he will fill it.

 

ROMANS 14: 17

 17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 

 

Prayer Point

 

1.    I reject every spiritual junk food and every contaminant of my spiritual life in Jesus Name.

 

2.  Lord fill me with your heavenly food and satisfy all my cravings for you in Jesus Name.

Living Bread Nuggets

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The satisfying Bread

  

Living Bread Nugget 0611

 

 

John 6: 35

 

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 

 

Prayer Point

 

1.            Lord, satisfy every hunger in my heart for you in Jesus Name.

2.            Make me to hunger and thirst for your righteousness in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon Devotions

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COMMANDED BLESSINGS (I)

 

Scripture Reading: [Deut 28: 8]

The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

God’s blessing brings increase not decrease. The above verse summarizes a special type of uncommon blessing. God is good and benevolent to everyone having breath of life on the earth. That is why for example, the sun shines on both the righteous and the unrighteous. He also pours out his blessing because of his steadfast love and mercy, which he renews on the righteous everyday (Lam 3:22-23). Today we will look into commanded blessings and our anchor verse will be Deut 28:8.  Commanded blessings will be enjoyed by anyone who is aware of such a special type of blessing and diligently obeys the word of God. What does the word ‘command’ and ‘blessing’ mean?

 ‘Command’ means to have dominion, authority and power.  When we say the commander of a battalion for example, we know he has authority and power over his troops.  From the above scripture it is clear that the person issuing the command is God Himself who has total control over all things in heaven and on the earth. Everybody and everything. It is only what he says that stands. For example he established the earth by a changeless decree, as the hymn writer rightly captions.

‘Blessing’ in the scripture means gift from God due to his grace.

 

Commanded blessing comes from obedience (Deut 28). We can link the following to commanded blessings: 

1.                  Divine Health: Ex 15:26

 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

 2.         Longevity: Ex 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

3.                  Gift of children: Psalm 127:3

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4.         Divine Prosperity: Mal 3: 11, a blessing for tithes and offerings to God.

11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Now that we know what commanded blessings mean, we will look into it in more details later.

 

 

Prayer Points

1.    Oh Lord, command your blessings on my life. Let me enjoy your special blessings in Jesus Name.

2.      LORD, open your windows of heaven and rain down your blessings upon my life in Jesus Name. Amen.