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.