Hearing from God pt2

When I deal with this issue of hearing from God, the question I get all the time is, "How do I know if I'm hearing from God & not making this stuff up? How do I know it's God & not me?" That's a great question. I answer that question the same way every time, and I want to share it with you.


Think about the first time you went bowling. You go up to the line, roll the ball down the lane, and if you're like most of us, went straight in the gutter & don't hit a single pin. With a little bit of practice, you don't roll of in the gutter as often. Sometimes to help the inexperienced bowler, the bowling alley will pull up these little guard rails. If you go to throw the ball down the lane and it goes toward the gutter, the ball will bounce off the rail and continue on the right path. You may not get a strike every time, but you will at least hit something.


Just like those rails protect your ball from getting in the gutter, there are some "guard rails" in your Christian experience that will prevent you from getting off in a ditch. If you take what you believe God is speaking to your life & make sure it stays within the boundaries of these rails, you avoid falling off into the ditch. Otherwise, you most certainly will wind up in the gutter & not hit a single pin.


So, what are the guard rails to protect you from going off in the gutter? The first rail is Scripture. 


2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". Scripture, not any form of what we believe we're "hearing from God" is our PRIMARY means of instruction in righteousness. Any "word" you have that contradicts the Word is deception & will put your life in a ditch.


Romans 15:4 tells us, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Paul admonishes us that Scripture was for our learning. Learning Scripture acquaints you with the very nature of God and allows you to discern truth from error. 


Filtering what you "heard from God" and strictly filtering it through His written word is the most sure way to avoid getting your life in a ditch. Is that the only way to know you've heard from God? No, there is another critical test we'll talk about in the next post.

God's Talking

From the dawn of mankind, God has spoken to man. In the Garden of Eden, Scripture recounts God coming down & walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He communed with them as friends. Later, God came down to talk to Abraham face to face. He told Abraham his plans for Sodom & Gomorrah and how He was going to destroy the city, but Abraham out of his relationship with God, convinced God to stay His hand & to spare the city for as few as ten righteous men. Fast forward to the New Testament, and you find God in the flesh (Jesus) dwelling among men. He walked & talked with them. When He went away, He promised them a comforter & teacher, assuring them it would be better for them if He went away. The Apostles & the early church evidenced the fact that God speaks to men & women (if we believe the Bible is God breathed, then we believe God spoke to man).

The pattern that is shown all throughout the entire Word of God is that God speaks personally & directly to us. There is no place I can find (other than a sadly misinterpreted Scripture in 1 Corinthians) that gives any indication that God has suddenly quit speaking. Despite that, it seems most people have no idea what it means to hear from God or what that might possibly look like.

I just want to stretch your thinking a bit here. God speaks. That has been true from the beginning of humanity until today. The problem is not His ability to speak, it’s our ability to hear. We'll explore a bit more over the coming days how you can hear from God and, just as importantly, how you can discern whether it's the voice of God or not.

Don't Drink the Kool-Aide

My dad invited me to come with him to this make a living at home on the internet workshop. Really, what they called a "seminar" was nothing more than a sales pitch. Throw out a few technical terms, give them a free lunch and a voucher for a free MP3 player and it's game on. For about an hour, the salesman (excuse me, "instructor") walked around the room selling you the moon. I mean, he was brilliant. His "honesty" in telling you about people who washed out makes him seem trustworthy, and his charm & charisma make you like him & keep people paying attention.

A quick check with the Better Business Bureau revealed everything you need to know about his "offer": eight hundred complaints & an "F" rating with the BBB (not to mention legal action by several states). What amazed me was watching him take a room with probably a hundred people & convince them they were special because they "qualified" to attend the next special training & that they were privileged to only give them $99 to get in. After all, they'd get a free computer as part of the deal. Naturally, when he called their name as being qualified for a spot, they flocked back with credit card in hand like sheep to the slaughter. They ran back to buy that ocean-front property in Arizona.

Why did people respond like they did? They wanted an easy way to improve their life. He offered what they wanted, and they bought & drank his kool-aide. I mean, if "Donna"  could go from being a struggling single mom with no computer skills to quitting her four jobs & make a full time living by creating a website selling Rand-McNally maps, they could too!

He sold people a quick fix to problems they've spent their lives creating. They don't know how it's going to work or even what they're going to try to sell, but they know this: my life can change & I can make a living working ten hours a week. A little effort for two months & then it's living on easy street!

Don't drink the kool-aide. Most problems in life have no quick fix. Whatever your current reality, it took time & small decisions to get you there, and it will require time & discipline to change. Short of a miracle, it won't happen overnight, but if you will focus in on daily decisions and commit over the long haul to be different, your life can change. It's not magic or a miracle cure- it's small daily decisions & time that can change your life for the better. Anything else is a sure-fire way to keep circling around the same mountain the rest of your life.

The Impact of #KidMin

I wrote a letter to our nursery team today just to encourage them in the impact they're making. The fact is, no matter what you do for the Kingdom (especially working with kids), this is still true. Thought it might encourage you as well:

Why do we do what we do? I mean, after all, the nursery can't possibly be that important, can it?

Certainly we care for the babies. They're too little to respond to an altar call or give their heart to Jesus. They may not be able to quote Scripture or tell you the Easter story. So, why do we do it? What's the point? Aren't we really just glorified babysitters?

In short, NO. First of all, you are the first representation of Jesus to many of these babies. Second, you are frequently the deciding factor in whether or not a parent or family will return to the church (statistically, most families make their decision about a church long before they hear the sermon- it's the nursery, parking lot, & restrooms that make the decision). 

Maybe what we do in the nursery has nothing to do with the babies at all. Sure they're cute, sure it's fun to get to go in and play for awhile, but maybe the point is something bigger. Maybe it's about the single mom of five who is at her wits end who finally makes it to church, knowing there is something better and looking for hope. Because of our children's ministries teams, she is able to respond without distraction to God tugging on her heart. Maybe it's about the teenage parents who just need to encounter God and learn how to be the parents they never had. Maybe it's about the young family who are running from God who just need to know that someone loves them & their family.

What I want you to see is that, although what you do may not be glamorous or exciting, you play a huge part in a much bigger picture. You are a part of every parent who meets God in our adult services. You are a part in raising up children in the way they should go, teaching them how to live & modeling Godliness for them. You make a difference you probably will not see until eternity. 

Let this encourage you as you serve. Although the job may seem mundane, it is what God uses to touch lives. Steven in the book of Acts had the mundane job of waiting tables, but God used him in that seemingly insignificant job to live Christ in front of Saul (later Paul- you know, the great apostle :) Jesus told Peter to go fishing, and he brought in a catch of money to pay the taxes. A little boy just had a few loves & fish, and Jesus made it into a meal for 5000. I just want you to understand that Jesus specializes in taking the mundane & making it have a miraculous impact.

THANK YOU for your service. Although you may never know the impact you make, the fruit of your labor lasts for eternity. 

Appreciate all you do!!
Jeremy