The Seven Realities of Experiencing God

1. God is always working
2. He invites us into a relationship with Him
3. He invites us into His Work (last week)
4. God speaks –how?
5. His invitation leads us into a crisis of belief
6. We must adjust our life to join Him
7. When we obey God, we experience Him

The Fourth Reality: God Speaks

• Some can’t fathom that God would speak to them, so they never listen
• Some people don’t actually really want to know what God thinks
• The common ways that God speaks are ALL important

1. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO ALL BELIEVERS

The Holy Spirit lives within us — 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT)

2. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS WORD

God’s Word is the starting point for listening to God in every way. We test everything we believe we hear from God against the scriptures.

Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) — 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)

3. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PRAYER

• Prayer is a relationship, not a religious activity.
• “The purpose of prayer is not to convince God to chance your circumstances, but to prepare you to be involved in God’s activity.”
• Listening to God is a discipline.
• What we hear from God will NEVER contradict the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the author of scripture the author isn’t going to contract his own writing.

4. GOD SPEAKS IN OUR CIRCUMSTANCES

• One problem is that when we pray, we often don’t look to see what God is doing around us. Our prayers shouldn’t’ be disconnected from how God responds.
  •  After you pray, practice spiritual concentration to notice God’s work.
• Many believe God is not working if their circumstances are not what they desire
  • Paul didn’t confuse his circumstances with a lack of God working. He was in chains, but knew God wanted to use that — Colossians 4:3-4 (NLT)

5. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE, THE CHURCH

•  God uses mature believes to help us make godly decisions — Hebrews 3:12-13 (NLT)

To know if God is speaking, we should use the following decision-making matrix: (Download graphic below) 

When God speaks, He reveals these things:

1. GOD REVEALS HIMSELF

•  “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

2. GOD REVEALS HIS PURPOSES — Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

3. GOD REVEALS HIS WAYS

•  God does things differently than we do — Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

Questions to Consider

• How do you create time to listen to God?
• Who are the people in your life that help you determine God’s direction?
• What seemingly ordinary circumstances could God be using to direct your life?

Life Group Discussion:

Scriptures to Consider: Heb. 1:1-2 — John 14:22-26 — 2 Tim. 3:16-17 — 1 Kings 19:11-13 — Eph. 1:15-20

Questions:

1. In general, what are some ways that God speaks to people? Write them down as a group.
2. What ways does God speak to you personally? Are there environments where you tend to hear God more clearly?
3. Are there times in your life when God seems silent? How do you interpret that silence? What assumptions are you making?
4. Considering 1 Kings 19:11-13, how can we position ourselves to hear from God, even in ways we might not expect?
5. What have you been praying for recently? What answers to prayer have you experienced?
6. How do you plan to hear from God this week?

Click here to download graphic: