How do you react when someone says, “God told me…?” Some people are awestruck, some are skeptical and some are confused and don’t know how to respond.
A man once told me that God had spoken to him. He said, “God told me to marry a certain woman.”
I listened to his story. He was very sincere and it sounded legitimate. It had the language of spirituality, but I was skeptical. In fact, God had not told this man to marry this woman. She was already married and had a family. It was very obvious that though this man thought God had spoken to him, it really wasn’t God speaking to him at all. He had not learned to recognize God’s voice.
When we hear such stories, it makes us wonder, “Does God ever speak to people today and if so, how do we recognize God’s voice and distinguish it from our wishful thinking and all other impressions?” Here are some general guidelines.
1. LISTEN TO GOD’S VOICE
There is no question, that in a variety of ways, God still speaks to people
– the key issue is to learn to recognize his voice and separate what he says from our own thoughts
– Samuel went through a process with Eli as he learned to recognize God’s voice
– Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” (John 10:3-4)
God spoke to Elijah
1 Kings 17:2-4 (NIV)
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”
– God has always spoken to his people
Acts 13:2 (NIV)
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
– this is not only a phenomenon of Bible times
– it is something that happens today
– God speaks to give counsel and direction
– God speaks to rebuke and encourage
– God speaks with assurance and promise
A word of caution…
– hearing God’s voice is no sign of spirituality
– often when God spoke to people in the Bible, it was to deal with sin and disobedience
Learn to recognize the Lord’s voice
– we need to hear his voice
– we need his guidance, comfort and warnings
i. Listen
– don’t be cynical, God does speak
– he may be wanting to say something to you
ii. Never make a decision on a single “prophecy” or one-time impression
– don’t make a major decision on the basis of a momentary impression of what you think God is saying
– never make a major decision solely on what someone prophecies over you
– test what you hear – there are many spiritual flakes around today!
iii. Seek external verification
– don’t be afraid to ask someone who is more spiritually mature than you, to pray with you for verification
– talk with a pastor or another spiritual leader, someone who is not afraid to disagree with you
– when the Spirit called Paul and Barnabas, the Spirit spoke to the whole church (Acts 13)
iv. Check what you hear with Scripture
– make sure that what you hear lines up with all Scripture
– God will never tell you anything contrary to the Scripture
– Test everything, talk to someone who knows the Bible better than you do
v. Don’t tell everyone that God spoke to you
– just do what the Lord tells you to do and leave the results to him
– if God is in it, the results will speak for themselves
– I’m suspicious of people who go around saying, “God told me!”
– they seem to be saying, “If this doesn’t work out, blame God!”
– you don’t need to go around looking for God’s voice
– when God wants to speak to you, he will take the initiative, get your attention
and you won’t mistake his voice
2. LEARN TO TRUST GOD’S GUIDANCE
– when God spoke this time to Elijah, it was to give him guidance
– “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the ravine of Kerith, east of the Jordan.”
God has a plan for our lives
– we call it his will or his purpose for our lives
– God does not leave us struggling to determine what to do
– He doesn’t keep his plan a secret from us; he wants to reveal his plan to us
God has a plan for your life
– it’s the best possible plan for you
– he knows you, your strengths and weaknesses, and he knows the future
– you will never be happier than when you are doing his will
God won’t necessarily tell you all the details of his plan all at once
– Elijah was just told to go to the ravine
– Elijah didn’t know everything that would happen, but when he needed to make a decision, there was guidance
– when he needed to know what to do, God told him the next step
– learning God’s guidance is an on-going process
Sometimes God’s guidance is negative – “Don’t do this!”
– Paul heard God say, “Don’t go there,” as much as he heard “Go there!”
Understand the situation when God spoke to Elijah
– Elijah had just burst on the scene
– he had confronted the king and pronounced judgment on the nation
– he was in a position of power and influence and prominence
If Elijah was alive today, I can imagine what he would do…
– he would have formed a new organization: “Rain-stoppers for God”
– he could have written a book, “How I stopped the rain.”
But God had other plans
– at the moment his star was rising, God told him to go into hiding
– “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the ravine of Kerith, east of Jordan.”
– to put it bluntly, God told him to get lost
– just when Elijah thought he was indispensable to God and essential for God’s work…
– when Elijah was tempted to think God couldn’t get along without him…
– when he felt he is desperately needed and the only one left to speak for God…
– God took him out of the limelight and put him in seclusion
What God was doing was a sign of God’s care
– at this point, Elijah wasn’t too popular in Israel
– preachers who denounce sin are never popular
– Ahab was angry, Jezebel was out to get him and Baal’s prophets were upset
Elijah wasn’t going to the ravine because he was afraid of Ahab
– Elijah wasn’t being punished
– God was taking him out of circulation for a reason
– God was protecting Elijah
– Elijah had some lessons to learn and some spiritual growing to do
– some lessons can’t be learned in public
– the great lessons of life are learned at the brook, not at the king’s court
If God puts us aside for a while, he may be trying to teach a lesson
– he may be protecting you from making a big blunder in public
– there are times when we all need to go down to the ravine to grow
3. LEAN ON GOD’S PROMISE
– notice what the Lord told Elijah
“You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”
What a provision!
– there was drought in the land
– but God knew where there was a private supply of water
– “you will drink from the brook”
What a promise!
– “I have ordered…”
– God had everything under control
– God is the ultimate provider – Jehovah Jirah
– “I have ordered the ravens”
– when the unemployment insurance runs out, God still has ravens at his beck and call
– ravens are carrion-eaters and scavengers
– to the Jews they were unclean and contaminated
– this was a lessen in humility for Elijah
– he was learning to trust the Lord
– “I have ordered the ravens to feed you”
– the promise was for Elijah
– there was famine in the rest of the land
– but the man who obeyed God had his needs met
– and God has ravens for you
– “I have ordered the ravens to feed you there!”
– the word “there” is the operational word
– the promised provision would only come if there was total obedience
– the Lord had said, “Leave here… and hide in the ravine of Kerith”
– the ravens’ delivery service only delivered to the brook
CONCLUSION:
1 Kings 17:5-6 (NIV)
So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
– Elijah obeyed and the Lord provided
– notice, it says, he “stayed there”
– perhaps there were times when he wanted to leave the brook
– perhaps he missed his family and friends
– I’m sure he wanted to hear the news of Ahab and Jezebel
– I’m sure there were times when he had the preacher’s itch and wanted to get back to preaching
– but Elijah was patient and obedient: “he stayed there”
God’s ravens will look after you if you stay in the place of obedience
– God’s ravens are not dependent on which political party is in power
– God’s ravens are independent from the world’s economy
– God’s ravens are contingent on your obedience
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