Hearing God's Voice: Guidance for Spiritual Growth

It is wonderful to have you here with us this morning. If your family is anything like my family, sometimes getting out of the house on a Sunday morning can be a struggle, but you're here, and we are so excited that you're here.

My name is Kevin, I'm the student pastor. If you got a program on your way in the door, there is a QR code on there that you can scan. If you are joining us online, hello, we love you, good to see you. The QR code is also on the screen; you can scan that. That'll enable you to ask for prayer, get connected with us, and figure out how to take some next steps.

Then, in just a few minutes when we worship through giving—because we believe that worship is not just a song, it is every action of our lives poured out for God—you can use that QR code to give as well.

Now, every week here at Brookwood, we feature one of our ministries at Ministry Spotlight right out through these doors in The Concourse. Today that ministry is the South Carolina Guardian Ad Litem Program. You may be wondering, what is that? It's an organization that trains volunteers to speak up for children in legal proceedings, so normal people just like you and me can go and learn how to be a voice for children and help the courts be informed to make the best decision possible for those children.

I have been doing children's and student ministry for 19 years, and I have seen a number of students who just need someone to advocate for them. So if that resonates with you, if you think, "Hey, maybe the Lord is calling me to go and be a voice for someone who doesn't have one," stop by Ministry Spotlight. They'll give you more information. There's going to be a luncheon coming up and an interest meeting, so stop by, talk with those folks; they would love to get to know you.

For everything else that's going on here at Brookwood, you can check out the back of your program, the featured events portion, and that'll keep you up to date with all the comings and goings here.

Now we're going to get ready to praise. We've got an amazing band here behind me this morning. Perry is going to come and preach; we're going to pray for those things. But before we do that, I would love for us just to create a space of some stillness and some silence as we pray, which can sometimes make us pretty uncomfortable. Some of us always have the music on in the background, something on in the background because silence makes us uncomfortable. But I believe in those still small moments, God can speak in some powerful ways.

So I'm going to pray, but on the front end of that, some silence. Would you join me in prayer?

We love you and we thank you for all that you do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

This morning we lift up your name, God, as we enter into a time of worship through song. Holy Spirit, anoint us and give us ears to hear what you have for us. We dedicate this time to you; we love you, Jesus, and it is in your name we pray. All God's people said, Amen.

Who is ready to lift the roof off with praise this morning? Come on, let's sing all together! Let praise be a weapon that silences the enemy and conquers all anxiety. Changes everything. Let the praise of Christ come on, Brookwood people, watch this.

It feels like this is what heaven sounds like. We praise you; this is what living looks like. This is what freedom feels like. This is what heaven sounds like; we praise you, we praise you. This is what freedom feels like. We raise you, rip down hope, you can go please, crazy, what do you receive it?

Of you, Lord, oh, your mercy never fails me. All my days I've been held in your hands, from the moment that I wake up until I lay my head. For I will sing of the goodness of God.

All my life, darkest night, you were close like no other. Thank you, and all my life, your goodness. If you've had your goodness, oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God.

On the hill of Calvary, my Savior bled for me, my Jesus set me free. Look who won't say, give me life, grace flowing from his side, no greater sacrifice. All the glory and the honor to the Son, my sins are forgiven, my future is heavy, and I praise God for what he's done.

Even death is dead in time; his life is overcome, over every broken place from the earth. Praise God, Majesty, the Father's will complete as he reigns, is worthy. My future is already; you deserve the glory.

Father, we thank you for the freedom to be able to worship, pray in your name, and read your word. We thank you for our country where we can come together and worship in Your Name.

Lord God, I ask that you keep our hearts close to yours, help us to grow in our relationship with you because in you alone is where true freedom lies. God, I ask you to bless our offering so that we can continue to spread your word and we can bring more people to know you.

Father, we love you and we thank you for all that you do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Finding myself, I had a lost voice, and the funny thing is, it's okay. We continue our message series, "Hearing God." This morning we focus on recognizing God's voice. If you take out your program, particularly the outline part, you will see what I've chosen for today out of the Book of Job: "For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it."

As we've covered in this series, God communicates in various ways—not only with an audible voice but also through the spirit within. From the Bible, angels appearing and carrying a message, godly people speaking to you, God, you receive messages through dreams and visions, and even through signs and circumstances.

So the methods vary according to the message's content and the identity of the recipient. It seems, at least it seems to me, that the more spectacular methods—the burning bush, the talking donkey, visions as such—are more often used to gain the attention of the less mature recipients. Or sometimes the person may be mature, but they're resistant about a certain topic, and so these more spectacular, more forceful measures—those measures that cannot be denied—are often used.

I think that the more experienced we are at communicating with God, the more likely he is to speak through his spirit to our inner spirit. That includes speaking from the Bible by illuminating some passage we're reading and applying it in a supernatural way to our understanding as we read.

To seek to hear God, we have to believe something about God. We must believe that God wants to and attempts to communicate with each of us personally to share his thoughts and purposes, to tell you his plans.

Do you think God tries to communicate with you? Oh, no wonder that's why people don't hear. Do you think God is interested in communicating with you? Because if you don't, you will never recognize what he's saying.

I'm convinced he does because I think that individualized communication is essential to have a personal relationship with him, just as it is to have with anyone else, especially an intimate relationship. The Bible shows us that God addresses his followers in specific and personal ways.

Ever before, and it's in your Son's name we pray, Amen.

Since you're in this place, let me stay and rest in your holiness. The word of God's feet. Thank you. I'm finding myself in the midst of you. Beyond the noise is to be with you, and in the quiet, I want to hear your voice.

Please, wash my eyes to see your mind. Please, the word of God speed. Godspeed, would you pour down like rain, washing my eyes to see your majesty, to be still and know you're in this place. Please let me stay and rest in your holiness.

Washing my eyes to see Your man. Elijah was feeling discouraged, exhausted, lonely, and abandoned by God. He was even afraid for his life after a wicked queen threatened to kill him. God spoke to Elijah in First Kings, Chapter 19, Verse 11. He told Elijah to go out and stand before Him on the mountain. When Elijah did, a mighty windstorm hit the mountain, tearing the rocks loose. But God was not in the wind, earthquake, or fire. Instead, He spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper, or a still small voice.

God demonstrated great power, but He spoke to Elijah with compassion and understanding. He knew Elijah's state of mind and spoke to him in a way he could receive.

We may think that God always speaks in a harsh tone, but He speaks to us with an understanding of who we are and our entire history.

It can be difficult to discern when the Spirit speaks within us because it can sound a lot like our own thoughts. To confirm that a message we have received is actually from God, we can ask ourselves if it communicates like God. Does it sound like Him? We can also ask if it is consistent with the Bible and if it brings peace.

John 10:27 says that God and His sheep are the same. I don't know this personally, but my grandfather raised cows and hogs, so I know what it is to go soon. How many of y'all have ever slopped the hogs? Sheep learn their shepherd's voice by hearing it repeatedly and gaining familiarity with it. They can distinguish it from other shepherds.

We can learn to recognize God's voice, but it takes some time and it takes some time in His presence learning the sound of His voice. People's voices don't change, and I've noticed that as you get older, old friends start calling. It takes practice to identify voices.

Consider the quality, weight, impact, and power of the voice. Does it convey a sense of peace and confidence, calmness and reassurance? Does it convey the personality of Jesus? Is it consistent with Biblical truths? Is it different and distinct from my own ideas?

When you hear something that cuts cross grain with what you were thinking, it might come from a Godly source. What's the tone of the voice you hear? Does it convey peace or panic? What's the nature of the voice? Is it encouraging, not condemning? Does it communicate a calm joy, not alarm or fright?

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. John 4:16 says, "God loves us first." God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them also (verses 7-10).

God's communications to his children, if that's what you are, will always be guided by his love for you. He will provide you strength and offer encouragement, not criticism, scorn, ridicule, or shame. He speaks honestly, but pairs honesty with hope.

God does correct us, but his discipline is like the discipline of any good parent. It is motivated by love to keep us from danger, to drive out complacency, and to urge us toward integrity and away from hypocrisy. We obey God out of love, not out of fear.

When God speaks to us about our sins, he is motivated by love. He is specific and directs us to turn from harmful habits, which is what repentance is. Sin damages our lives and disturbs our relationship with God. Because of his love, God sent his son to die for our sins, and that death completely extinguished his wrath. He wants us to experience a life of freedom, satisfaction, peace, and fulfillment.

God will never discipline us cruelly or shamefully after he has already disciplined Jesus for us, as it would lessen the death of his son.

As you try to discern God's voice, listen for God's values. God cares about spreading good news, for one thing, to establish his kingdom. So you might hear him encourage you to reach out to someone.

I remember a man who was sharing with me about their loved one who had cancer. I really didn't know where his faith was, and I heard God say, "Pray for him." I ignored it but kept talking to him. I heard God say again, "Pray for him." I ignored God again. I heard God say for the third time, "Pray for him." Finally, I thought, "I guess I better pray for him."

I asked him, "Can I pray for you?" Of course, he said yes. I walked around my work desk, put my hand on his shoulder, and prayed. He just sobbed. The next day he came back and said he felt that prayer, and so did his loved one struggling with cancer. This led me to inviting him to the Christmas program here. He eventually gave his life to Christ, and he thanks me often.

If I hadn't listened to God and prayed, he might still be living his life without Christ. I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this one.

Loving God and growing to know him personally helps us recognize his voice because we become familiar with its sound and its subjects. Know this: God is concerned about your individual spiritual growth. He cares about your personal life, and he cares about the growth of his kingdom here on Earth.

So how about it? Do you know what God's voice sounds like? You can with practice. I've told you before I could not recognize God's voice until years into ministry, so don't be embarrassed or frustrated. Keep calling out, keep listening, keep practicing.

The next question to ask is, "Does the message I receive conflict with the Bible?" John 17:17 says, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." The Bible's true. It accurately reflects God's thoughts, God's purpose, his agenda, and his standards. God doesn't change. He will never contradict his written word, the Bible.

What's right and what's wrong morally is based on God's character, which is recorded in the Bible. It's not based on shifting societal standards or an unstable cultural consensus, which we, let's be honest, don't know what the cultural consensus is.

We should not be listening to media because they are not telling us truth, in my opinion. We hear things like, "Our society has evolved on this issue." We don't know that God has evolved on any issue. God knew the entire lifespan of every one of us before any of us were ever created. He knew the end of the world before he began the beginning.

There are no new events, there are no new developments, there are no new circumstances. God has no new insight. No one informs him of something he didn't already know. As unaware of God as we may be, He knows all.

So if you think that you hear God say something, go ahead and listen. It's okay to explore a matter that the Bible forbids, but you can be sure you are listening to your own desires or worse, a demonic source (2 Timothy 3).

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Put simply, there is no expiration date on his revelation. What God says will always be true because it reflects who he is, and he'll always be consistent. What he tells you will always be consistent with the truth he has already revealed through the Bible and through his word.

So whenever you think you hear something from God, it will be consistent with what he's already revealed, and that includes his plan for each of us and for this world.

A person wrote, "My first time hearing God was at a prayer retreat. A pastor had invited me to go on a mission trip to Uganda, but I wasn't interested. During my quiet time, I had a strong thought pop into my head that wouldn't go away: 'I am calling you to Uganda.' I was startled and responded by telling God that if that truly was him, I needed confirmation.

That night during prayer group, we were being silent before the Lord when one of the leaders said he had a scripture for someone. It was Romans 6:8, which I'll read: 'Then I heard the Lord asking, 'Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?' I said, 'Here I am. Send me!' As I read it, I began to cry because I knew that was my confirmation. The result was that I indeed went to Uganda on this short-term trip, and the Lord completely paid for it."

Do you make sure that the perceived messages from God always agree with his word? Does the message I received complement my shape? That's the next question.

Ephesians chapter 2 says, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." God planned a purpose for your life. Do you believe that you're not living just some random experience? He designed you especially to fulfill that specific plan.

See, God created each of us physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. As Ephesians said, he renewed us when we were born again, but even before he gave us spiritual life through regeneration, through being born again, he had already knit us together within our mother's wombs physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Nothing's an accident about you.

God designed and crafted each of us for tasks that he devised us to fulfill, then he calls us to those assignments. This is explained in many places in the scripture, but notably Psalms 139. It's also in Job 10 and briefly stated in Jeremiah 1. God knew us in our mother's womb. He put his thumbprint on us right there.

If you think you hear God calling you to a specific function, it should fit your shape. Shape is an acronym that stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience. Spiritual gifts are supernatural enablements that you receive when you are born again. Heart signifies your passions, motivations, desires, and interests. Abilities refer to skills and talents. Personality is your unique composition of characteristics and qualities. Experience includes past participations of various kinds.

When God gives you an assignment, it should line up with the way you were formed. For example, a woman wrote that she had her own business that wasn't very successful because she wasn't fulfilled in what she was doing. She prayed and asked God what she should do. She thought about going back to school or searching the web for a job, but she knew her heart was working with kids.

She heard in her head, "I can't bless you if you are not in your purpose." She found a part-time job working with kids until she could sell her business and has been working with children ever since.

When you have an impression from God, ask yourself if it is consistent with how God has shaped you. If God calls you to something, he equips you for that something. That's not to say you don't have to grow in it.

Be careful how you live and don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Wisdom is having specialized knowledge resulting in skill for accomplishing some purpose. It is more than just knowledge; it is the ability to use the knowledge effectively.

Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Wisdom is knowing how to use knowledge. Common sense is a fair synonym for wisdom, although it is not always that common. Direction from God, whatever the method, will be wise.

If God is telling you to do something that seems risky, like buying a house you can't afford, be careful. That is not wise. God may call you into something risky that requires faith, but it should still make sense.

Leanne and I moved to South Carolina with two small children, with enough money to live for one year. I told her that I would work hard and try to start a church, but if we saw that we would not make it, I would either apply for another church job or move back to Georgia and practice law again. It was risky, but it was not unwise. We had a running start.

I left law practice after only a couple of years, even though I had won five cases. People asked why I would do this, but I knew God was calling me. I believe that law school and law practice prepared me better for ministry than seminary did.

Sometimes God's direction may seem unwise and unreasonable until we look back. If you are certain God is telling you to do something, you should rely on him. However, be sure you are hearing God. God knows the future, but we don't.

Listen to God instead of others, but know that you may have to rely on him. If you think you have a leading from God, it is wise to ask if it is reasonable, makes sense, and if the message is confirmed by godly people.

Psalm 37 states that the godly offer good counsel and teach right from wrong. Christianity is designed to be lived in community, not in isolation. We need each other to get a fuller picture of who God really is and to confirm the calling of God on our lives.

Hebrews 10 states that we should not forsake assembling together, and we should always seek the counsel of mature Christians before making any important decision. Refusing to ask advice usually indicates that the choice is wrong. The advisors should love you sacrificially and love God more than they love you. Sometimes God will even speak to you through strangers.

Karen had been feeling lost recently about the life choices she had been making and if they were the correct ones for her. She had been praying and asking God for signs that her decisions were made with Him and hers first. After two weeks of praying, she received her answer as clear as day.

She decided one day to get some sun, and while she was outside in a public area, a sweet woman suddenly approached her. The woman told her that God wanted her to know she was on His path and she needed to continue obeying Him. As soon as she delivered her message, Karen knew she could let go of the anxiety and fear she had been clinging to because God had spoken to her through the woman.

Thank you for joining us at our online campus today. My name is Stuart Mathis, and I'm one of the pastors here at Brookwood Church. If this is your first time joining us, click "Let's Connect" on our website or the Brookwood Church app to request information or let us know more about you.

We also invite you to check out our website and the Brookwood Church app, where you'll find opportunities to grow your faith, give, serve, and receive prayer. If you'd like to support Brookwood Ministries along with our local and global ministry partners, you can donate at any time through our app, website, or by mail.

Now, if you just come on Sunday morning and this is your only contact here, you've got to develop some other relationships. You need to know some people. There are lots of godly people here, and I mean I've been so thrilled to read the depth of people's faith as we've read about their hearing from God.

And you say, "Well, how do I get started?" Well, community groups are a good place. I mean, you can look at your program. There'll be two crash courses for leaders of new groups so that we can start many new groups in the fall. There are a few groups meeting through the summer, but all will start back in the fall.

So, maybe you ought to say, "Well, you know, I'd like to be in a group, but maybe I could even be a leader of a group." Also, you can see there's a men's summer cookout coming next week. So, those are steps you can take to develop some of these relationships with people who can help you hear God.

We continue receiving the responses from people who have heard God, and you know where to send them. Have you heard God speak? What did he say? What resulted? You can send your responses to continue@brookwoodchurch.org.

Hearing God, as I said, please tell us. Use this any way you want. If you send it in, if you have sent one in early before I said to you that we wanted to publish them, I still put up this notice to contact Laura Keita, who's my assistant and Brian's assistant, and just tell her. You can describe what you sent in that you would like it not to be published, and we would certainly withdraw it. We will not expose people's names at all. We don't intend to do that, but we will pull them out.

Our care volunteers will be here if you heard something today from through me or from the Spirit. You want to talk with someone, you want to pray with someone, you'd like to be anointed with oil. Then our volunteers will be here, and they'll also be in the Care Connection room.

Father, I pray that you would speak loudly, speak clearly so we wouldn't miss anything that you want us to hear. In Christ's name, we pray, Amen.

Thank you for coming. Thank you for being his messenger and faithful daughter. If an idea you have is from God, it will make sense to a person who knows him. So, always ask, "What do wise, mature Christians who love me and love God say about this?"

Let's be intentional to love God and love people each day. We look forward to seeing you in person soon. Thank you.