August 24, 2007

• Characteristics in a person who hears from God by Pastor Don

  I want to first thank you for your prayers for our trip to drop Christopher off at college. He is happy, has a good roommate, and by the time orientation was over preferred being with his new friends than hanging with his parents. We had traveling mercies and just got home a few hours ago. During the time we were in Richmond the hotel had NO computer access, so I couldn’t check in. I will try to get to your sites over the next few days, but today wanted to share the last bit of the Bible study on hearing from God – Pastor Don’s comments after Ernest’s study.

  The characteristics necessary for hearing from God according to Pastor Don are:

  Honesty – which Ernest covered

  Humble – Pastor Don pointed out that to get to honesty you have to have a Spirit of Humility. To be humble to do the things that the Spirit shows you. This is not just humility on the surface, but a heart humility, to be willing to submit to God, and to put aside the flesh.

  Hunger – A hunger to hear from God, to get to the point of honesty. To get to the point of recognizing that if I do not hear from God, I’ll do whatever it takes to make myself receptive – fast, pray, sit and wait on God. I’ll keep seeking in the Word of God, to hear from God.

  Happy – To get a word from the Lord. We are not to be afraid, even if we are not hearing what we want to hear right now.

  Hearing - Are you hearing from God. 1. In the physical, listening to what the people around you are saying, hearing the peoples’ words, what a TV show might tell you, the radio, the Bible, a little child. We can hear from God through others. 2 Hearing in the Spiritual, listening to you inner voice, your inner witness, not always an audible, but a movement in your Spirit. We just know that we know that we know what we are hearing.

  Sometimes we hear:

  AUDIBLY INSIDE

  INNER WITNESS which Pastor Don said is kind of like hearing a wife inside you (or a husband) inside your heart, having a knowledge of yes or no for a situation, giving the good advice that you need to know, even if it doesn’t agree with what you want.

  DREAMS AND VISIONS For a dream or vision to be from God it has to agree with the Word of God, and is usually very clear. It sticks with you and doesn’t dissipate. Pastor Don said that if you do not understand the dream or vision to make sure that if you go to someone for help in interpreting the dream or vision that the person you go to has no ulterior motive, has your best interest in mind, and is willing to give you a correct interpretation. Your vision can be closed, with your eyes closed or awake where you see it with your eyes open and see something acted out in the room. Our Spirit can also help us with interpretation.

  There are things that can block hearing from the Lord.

  1. Spirit of unworthiness, that you believe God won’t speak to you, that you are not worthy, and you discredit what is God’s word by your belief that it can’t really be from God because you are so unworthy.

  2. Pride, elevating yourself to where you refuse to hear what God is saying.

  3. Controlling Spirit, where your motive and agenda are wrong, and you lack discernment so God speaks and you refuse to recognize that He is speaking.

  4. Habit – you have heard from God one way in the past, and if God doesn’t speak to you exactly that way again you do not think it is from God. You make a ritual of how God is to speak to you.

  Without heart honesty we cannot get to where we are hearing from God. We have to make a decision to be honest, make ourselves humble, let go of pride and control unworthy feelings, and believe God. Believe even what seems unbelievable in our minds.

  Pastor Don told us that with personal prophesy and hearing from God that we have to get to know the mailman, to know God through relationship with Him and through His word so that we can discern what is truly from God, and what is not from God.  God gives us the ability to immediately evaluate what is being spoken, and we need to agree with what God has already put in us.

  Watch our discernment though, making sure that pride doesn’t put us on a wrong channel, accepting a false prophesy, letting our egotism get in the way of truth, putting our self into control instead of obeying God.

  When God gives us an answer, He knows when to speak so that we can receive it. God will not let us boss Him around, God is sovereign.

  Part of how we deal with God is how we dealt with our parents. If we got our way through temper tantrums, acting a certain way, pouting, stamping our feet, etc. We will try to do that with God. But God will not do that, He seeks to grow us up.

  We want to have hearts like David, who loved to be with God, and when he sinned, was quick to repent to restore the relationship.

  Our Bible study drew to a close due to time considerations. But these thoughts blessed me a lot. I will hopefully get to your sites over the next few days.

  Have a blessed night!

  Heather

  • 9:17 pm
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