I'm about to share with you two really awesome things I have learned this week: how to hear the voice of God and how to read the Bible. Good stuff :)
Our first book report was on a book called "Is That Really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham (the man who started YWAM). Its about how (drum roll please...) how he started YWAM. Its a pretty interesting read. Mom, remind me to get it to you :) Loren Cunningham goes through how he learned how to hear God's voice throughout his life journey and in founding YWAM. Here is what he says as he wraps up his book:
- Submit to His lordship. Ask Him to help you silence your own thoughts and desires and the opinions of others that may be filling your mind (2 Cor. 10:5). Even though you have been given a good mind to use, right now you want to hear the thoughts of the Lord, who has the best mind (Prov. 3:5-6).
- Resist the enemy, in case he is trying to deceive you at this moment. Use the authority that Jesus Christ has given you to silence the voice of the enemy (James 4:7; Eph. 6:10-20).
- Expect an answer. After asking the question that is on your mind, wait for Him to answer. Expect your loving heavenly Father to speak to you. He will (John 10:27; Ps. 69:13; Exod. 33:11).
2. Allow God to speak to you in the way He chooses. Don't try to dictate to Him concerning the guidance methods you prefer. He is Lord -- you are His servant (1 Sam. 3:9). Listen with a yielded heart; there is a direct link between yieldedness and hearing. God may choose to speak to you through His Word: This could come in your daily reading, of He could guide you to a particular verse (Ps. 119:105); through an audible voice (Exod. 3:4); through dreams (Matt. 2) and visions (Isa. 6:1, Rev. 1:12-17). But probably the most common of all means is through the quiet inner voice (Isa. 30:21).
3. Confess any unforgiven sin. A clean heart is necessary if you want to hear God. (Ps. 66:18).
4. Use the Axhead Principle -- a term coined from the story in 2 Kings 6. If you seem to have lost your way, go back to the last time you knew the sharp, cutting edge of God's voice. Then obey. They key question is, Have you obeyed the last thing God told you to do?
5. Get your own leading. Gd will use others to confirm your guidance, but you should also hear from Him directly. It can be dangerous to rely on others to get the word of the Lord for you (1 Kings 13).
6. Don't talk about your guidance until God gives you permission to do so. Sometimes this happens immediately; at other times, there is a delay. The main purpose of waiting is to avoid four pitfalls of guidance: (a) pride, because God has spoken to you; (b) presumption, by speaking before you have full understanding; (c) missing God's timing and method; (d) bringing confusion to others; they, too, need prepared hearts (Luke 9:36; Eccles. 3:7; Mark 5:19).
7. Use the Wise Men Principle. Just as the Three Wise Men individually followed the star and, in doing so, were all led to the same Christ, so God will often use two or more spiritually sensitive people to confirm what He is telling you (2 Cor. 13:1).
8. Beware of counterfeits. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit dollar bill? Yes, of course. But have you ever heard of a counterfeit paper bag? No. The reason is that only things of value are worth counterfeiting. Satan has a counterfeit for everything of God that is possible for him to copy (Acts 8:9-11; Exod. 7:22). Counterfeit guidance comes, for example, through Ouija boards, seances, fortune-telling, and astrology (Lev. 20:6; 19:26; 2 Kings 21:6). The guidance of the Holy Spirit leads you closer to Jesus and into true freedom. Satan's guidance leads you away from God into bondage. One key test for true guidance: Does your leading follow the principles of the Bible? They Holy Spirit never contradicts the Word of God.
9. Opposition of man is sometimes guidance from God (Acts 21:10-14). In our own story, we recognized much later that what seemed like blockage from our denomination was, in fact, God leading us into a broader scope of ministry. The important lesson here, again, is yieldedness to the Lord (Dan. 6:6-23; Acts 4:18-21). Rebellion is never of God, but sometimes He asks you to step away from your elders in a way that is not rebellion but part of His plan. Trust that He will show your heart the difference.
10. Every follower of Jesus has a unique ministry (1 Cor. 12; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rom. 12; Eph. 4). The more you seek to hear God's voice in detail, the more effective you will be in your own calling. Guidance is not a game -- it is serious business where we learn what God wants us to do in ministry and how He wants us to do it. The will of God is doing and saying the right thing in the right place, with the right people, at the right time, and in the right sequence, under the right leadership, using the right method, with the right attitude of heart.
11. Practice hearing God's voice and it become easier. It's like picking up the phone and recognizing the voice of your best friend -- you know his voice because you have heard it so much. Compare young Samuel with the older man Samuel (1 Sam. 3:4-7; 8:7-10; 12:11-18).
12. Relationship is the most important reason for hearing the voice of the Lord. God is not only infinite but also personal. If you don't have communication, you don't have a personal relationship with Him. True guidance, as Darlene pointed out, is getting closer to the Guide. We grow to know the Lord better as He speaks to us, and as we listen to Him and obey, we make His heart glad (Exod. 33:11; Matt.7:24-27).
Ah, such good stuff. And I've put a lot of this into practice already. When I was asking God where He wanted me to go on my outreach, I kept trying to get my leaders to tell me where they thought God was wanting me to go. Thankfully, circumstances came up where I was forced to make the decision with just God. After I had, I read about point number 5. As soon as I had written my name under South Korea, God reconfirmed it in so many ways, including through my leaders.
The next stuff I'm going to share is really good too. Once a week, we will be doing a Bible study as a school. We are going through the book of Philippians. But last week, we just talked about how to study the Bible. Good stuff (This is just from my notebook):
Rule #1 - Rule of Purity of Life: If you are not willing to live up to what the Bible teaches, you are also unwilling to understand it correctly (John 3:19-20). If we go to the Bible with an attitude that we don't want our live styles to change, we are going to read the Bible to fit our life styles, not in a truthful way.
Rule #2 - Rule of Humility: You must have God's help as you study, but God will not help the proud. He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Yet He promises, "To this one will I look, to him who is humble, and contrite of spirit, and trembles at My Word." (Is. 66:2). So you must humbly listen to God. Unless you are willing to begin with the foundations God gives and think them through, then you will be led astray in your own folly, following after false presuppositions. Study the Bible on your knees - totally submitted to God.
Rule #3 - Rule of Prayer: As you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit wants to lead you to God's view of reality. For that to happen, God must show it to you. He is the only One who has a perfect perspective of reality. Only in God's light do we see light. One hand should be holding the Bible - One should be stretched up to God (figuratively speaking).
Rule #4 - Rule of Logic: The Bible is reasonable, because God is reasonable. One part of the Bible will not contradict another part. God is not out to confuse us. (Is 1:18-20). If you choose to spiritualize the Bible, you will misinterpret it! There is NOT hidden stuff in the Bible. The Bible is very clear. Bible stories are cool on their own. You don't need to add symbolic crap to make it more interesting. I mean Jesus calmed storms with His voice! (Luke 8:22-26). It is possible to make the Bible say whatever you want - so we need to be careful.
So that is a lot of stuff. I hope y'all find it interesting. If anyone wants to talk with me more about any of it, or has questions, my email address is bschwantz@hotmail.com.
Last night we had our first South Korea meeting! Nothing is set in stone yet though as far as what we will be doing. But when I know, you'll know :) Trent and I had our passports arrive today. Trent was so excited that he had his own passport! He started freaking out: "Look! I have my own passport! Now I can pass people when I drive!" Oh so cute :)
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