Overcoming Barriers to Hearing God's Voice

Devotional

Day 1: Prioritizing Reverence for God

Reverence for God is not about having the capacity but about prioritizing Him above all else. It involves loyalty, faithfulness, and awe towards God, which should be evident in our daily lives. By creating margin for God, we demonstrate our reverence and make room to hear His voice. A casual attitude towards God diminishes our ability to hear His voice. We must approach God with reverence, prioritizing Him in our daily lives. This involves making intentional decisions to create time and space for God, demonstrating our loyalty and faithfulness. [08:23]

Isaiah 66:2 (ESV): "All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."

Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to create more margin in your life for God, demonstrating your reverence and prioritizing Him above all else?

Day 2: Understanding God's Heavenly Language

God's language is from above, and it often conflicts with our earthly mindset. To understand and obey God's voice, we must set our minds on heavenly realities and seek God's agenda for our lives. This requires a shift from earthly thinking to a heavenly perspective. An earthly mindset filters God's words through a worldly lens, leading to misunderstanding and disobedience. God's voice speaks a different language, one that requires us to set our minds on heavenly realities. [21:00]

Colossians 3:2-3 (ESV): "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

Reflection: In what ways can you shift your focus from earthly concerns to heavenly realities today, and how might this change your understanding of God's voice?

Day 3: Embracing Humility to Hear God

Humility is foundational to hearing God. It involves recognizing our dependence on Him and seeking to understand and obey His voice. Humility allows us to approach God with a contrite spirit, ready to listen and act on His word. Pride creates unbelief, which hinders our ability to hear and obey God's voice. Humility, on the other hand, seeks to understand and obey God's voice, recognizing our dependence on Him. [29:50]

James 4:6 (ESV): "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'"

Reflection: Identify an area in your life where pride may be hindering your ability to hear God's voice. How can you practice humility in this area today?

Day 4: The Danger of a Casual Attitude Towards God

A casual attitude towards God diminishes our ability to hear His voice. We must approach God with reverence, prioritizing Him in our daily lives. This involves making intentional decisions to create time and space for God, demonstrating our loyalty and faithfulness. Reverence for God is not about having the capacity but about prioritizing Him above all else. It involves loyalty, faithfulness, and awe towards God, which should be evident in our daily lives. [08:23]

Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV): "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

Reflection: Reflect on your current attitude towards God. Are there areas where you have become casual in your relationship with Him? What changes can you make to approach God with greater reverence?

Day 5: The Power of Repentance and Commitment

Through repentance and a commitment to follow Jesus, we can align ourselves with God. This involves turning away from casualness, earthly thinking, and pride, and embracing a life that mirrors Jesus. Repentance opens the door to a deeper relationship with God and the ability to hear His voice clearly. Jesus' interaction with the Jews in John 8 is likened to a spiritual paternity test, revealing that their actions and desires mirrored those of their true father, the devil. This stark revelation calls us to self-evaluate: do our actions and words reflect our Heavenly Father or something else? [34:09]

Acts 3:19 (ESV): "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you need to repent and realign with God's will? How can you make a commitment today to follow Jesus more closely in that area?

Sermon Summary

### Summary

Today, we delved into John chapter 8, focusing on the escalating conflict between Jesus and the Jews. Jesus' profound declaration, "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," underscores the importance of truth in a world filled with lies. The Jews' misunderstanding of Jesus' message, rooted in their earthly mindset and spiritual blindness, led them to reject the very freedom He offered. This passage serves as a mirror for us, challenging us to examine our own barriers to hearing God's voice.

We explored three primary barriers: a casual attitude towards God, an earthly mindset, and the pride of our hearts. A casual attitude diminishes our reverence for God, making it difficult to hear His voice. Reverence for God is not about having capacity but about prioritizing Him above all else. An earthly mindset filters God's words through a worldly lens, leading to misunderstanding and disobedience. God's voice speaks a different language, one that requires us to set our minds on heavenly realities. Lastly, pride creates unbelief, which hinders our ability to hear and obey God's voice. Humility, on the other hand, seeks to understand and obey God's voice, recognizing our dependence on Him.

Jesus' interaction with the Jews in John 8 is likened to a spiritual paternity test, revealing that their actions and desires mirrored those of their true father, the devil. This stark revelation calls us to self-evaluate: do our actions and words reflect our Heavenly Father or something else? The good news is that through repentance and a commitment to follow Jesus, we can align ourselves with God, who desires a relationship with us as His children.

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Key Takeaways

1. Reverence for God Creates Margin to Hear His Voice: Reverence is not about having the capacity but about prioritizing God above all else. It involves loyalty, faithfulness, and awe towards God, which should be evident in our daily lives. By creating margin for God, we demonstrate our reverence and make room to hear His voice. [09:58]
2. God's Voice Speaks a Different Language: God's language is from above, and it often conflicts with our earthly mindset. To understand and obey God's voice, we must set our minds on heavenly realities and seek God's agenda for our lives. This requires a shift from earthly thinking to a heavenly perspective. [21:00]
3. Humility Seeks to Understand and Obey God's Voice: Humility is foundational to hearing God. It involves recognizing our dependence on Him and seeking to understand and obey His voice. Humility allows us to approach God with a contrite spirit, ready to listen and act on His word. [29:50]
4. The Danger of a Casual Attitude Towards God: A casual attitude towards God diminishes our ability to hear His voice. We must approach God with reverence, prioritizing Him in our daily lives. This involves making intentional decisions to create time and space for God, demonstrating our loyalty and faithfulness. [08:23]
5. The Power of Repentance and Commitment: Through repentance and a commitment to follow Jesus, we can align ourselves with God. This involves turning away from casualness, earthly thinking, and pride, and embracing a life that mirrors Jesus. Repentance opens the door to a deeper relationship with God and the ability to hear His voice clearly. [34:09]
### [34:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:37] - Introduction and Midtown Update
[01:58] - Conflict Between Jesus and the Jews
[02:58] - The Importance of Truth
[03:35] - Jesus' Declaration of Freedom
[04:47] - The Maury Show Analogy
[06:54] - Self-Evaluation and Hearing God's Voice
[08:23] - Barrier 1: Casual Attitude
[10:42] - Reverence for God
[12:38] - God's Word and Anxiety
[14:13] - Creating Margin for God
[16:05] - Understanding God's Voice
[17:37] - Barrier 2: Earthly Mindset
[21:00] - God's Different Language
[24:07] - Tithing and Financial Freedom
[26:59] - Reverence and Obedience
[29:50] - Barrier 3: Pride of Heart
[31:47] - Sheep and the Shepherd
[34:09] - The Gift of Repentance
[35:42] - Prayer and Commitment

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What does Jesus promise to those who abide in His word according to John 8:31-32?
How did the Jews misunderstand Jesus' message about freedom in John 8:33-34?
What does Isaiah 55:8-9 reveal about the difference between God's thoughts and our thoughts?
According to Colossians 3:2, where should believers set their minds, and why is this important?

Interpretation Questions

Why is reverence for God essential in creating margin to hear His voice? How does this reverence manifest in daily life? ([09:58])
How does an earthly mindset hinder our understanding of God's voice, and what steps can we take to shift our perspective to heavenly realities? ([21:00])
In what ways does pride create barriers to hearing and obeying God's voice, and how can humility help overcome these barriers? ([29:50])
How does Jesus' declaration of freedom in John 8:31-36 challenge our understanding of spiritual bondage and freedom?

Application Questions

Reflect on your daily routine. How can you create more margin to prioritize God and demonstrate reverence for Him? ([09:58])
Identify a specific area in your life where you have an earthly mindset. What practical steps can you take to align your thoughts with heavenly realities? ([21:00])
Think about a recent situation where pride may have hindered your ability to hear God's voice. How can you approach similar situations with humility in the future? ([29:50])
Jesus' interaction with the Jews in John 8 serves as a spiritual paternity test. Do your actions and words reflect your Heavenly Father or something else? What changes can you make to better align with God's character? ([06:54])
Consider the concept of repentance and commitment discussed in the sermon. Is there an area in your life where you need to repent and realign with God's will? How will you take action on this? ([34:09])
How can you practically demonstrate loyalty and faithfulness to God in your daily decisions and interactions? ([09:58])
Reflect on a time when you misunderstood God's voice due to an earthly perspective. How did you overcome this, and what did you learn from the experience? ([21:00])

Sermon Clips

1. "We desire the truth, right. And this is so important. And this series is so important because we live in a culture that has a lot of lies. And we don't realize what we pick up. We don't realize what we internalize. And the story, you see that. The lies that these Jews were believing were forming a desire. And their desire was to kill Jesus. Which is mess because this is the son of God. If they only knew because they said they were of God. They said they were of Yahweh the father. If they only knew who they were talking to." [02:58] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "What Jesus is saying is, do our imitations, do our actions, do our behaviors, do our words imitate or resemble our father in heaven or something else? And if something else, who is that someone else? Can this help explain why we struggle to hear God's voice? I want to speak to us about those who struggle. Anyone struggle? I still struggle. Who struggles? There's a lot of hands. Okay. So you all know how to hear God's voice because you heard last Sunday's message." [06:54] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "Reverence for God is loyalty. It is faithfulness. It is honoring him. It's being in awe of him. So that should be evident in our life. So it's not a capacity issue. It's an unwillingness to create margin for the Lord. That's deprioritizing what you value less of and prioritizing what you want most of. And if we're honest, we value and want God's voice more. Most. So do our actions. Do our actions reflect that? Do we make decisions to reflect that? If there's no reverence, then what are we? Are we just Christians like by label?" [10:42] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "My advice to you is to keep going. Keep sowing. Make the time. If he is really reverent, you will wake up earlier and do it before you focus your attention on anything else. If he's really reverent, you will not watch that late night TV show or binge on that TV show so you can go to bed on time and not have excuses the next morning. It would be on that Saturday morning when you make plans. You are like no, this is time that is carved out for my God because I revere him. I need him. I want to show my loyalty and my faithfulness to him." [14:13] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "God speaks a different language. The world will tell us to save up money to get your financial security. The world will tell us to work harder. Work harder. To be recognized. To get promoted. So you can have financial security. God speaks a different language. What about when it comes to relationships and conflict that we experience. What does the world tell you? The world tells you to ignore them. The world tells you to hold the grudge. The world tells you probably to gossip about them. Which, you know, we've done. We're human. But God's language is so different. In Matthew 5 he talks about praying for those who curse you." [26:01] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "Reverence for God is demonstrated by our willingness to voluntarily die to ourself and obey his commands. The inability to hear. When it said they had the inability to hear means in the Greek to not just understand but obey. Isaiah 66 verse 1-2. The Lord says... What does this mean? See God is speaking to the people and comparing the idol worship or false worship to true worship. And it's good to build a temple. It's good to have a house for God. But they were so concerned about building the temple or having a temple. And so God is humbling them in this moment. That there's nothing that could contain God." [26:59] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "Humility seeks out to understand and obey God's voice. I want to bring up the Bible. Humility seeks out. It goes after. To understand. But then also obey God's voice. Let's not people who just try to understand it. If we fully understand it, then we will obey. There is a connection there. I have a 2 1⁄2-year-old daughter, Audra. And she's in the season right now where she likes to get ready on her own. And her pride comes up in the sense that, because you know, she's a little chubby girl. Which I love. You know, I've always wanted a chubby kid." [29:50] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "Sheep need a shepherd. They're dependent on a shepherd. And to read this scripture where we are the sheep is to say that God is the shepherd, we are the sheep. Sheep is to humble ourselves, admitting what is true about us that we are dumb, directionless. Think about it. We pray a lot about direction and defenseless because we don't have control of the outcomes. And declaring what is true about him. The danger is if we don't hear God's voice, who am I hearing? The voice we listen to indicates what and who we belong to." [33:09] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "Jesus died for us on the cross. He made a way to the father. What that means is we have this beautiful gift of repentance. Where we can repent of our attitude toward God. We repent of the casualness we bring to him. We can repent of the mindsets and the way of thinking that we bring to him when we read his word. Read his scripture. We can repent of the pride in our heart. And when it comes to this evaluation, this paternity test, with our decision, our commitment in our heart, and our confession of our mouth, Jesus will say, God will say, you belong to me." [34:09] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

10. "I want to speak to anyone who has never committed their life to Jesus. And you know, man, I've been influenced by something of this world. And I want to be influenced by God. I want to be called his son. I want to be called his daughter. And if that's you today, in a moment I'm going to ask you to raise your hand to commit your life to Jesus. Or maybe you're this other person who feels distant from God. And you know what, you're like, this is me. I'm repenting of my ways. Because I want to resemble Jesus. I want to mirror Jesus. I want to, I'm created in his image. And so I want to be more like him." [35:14] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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