WHOSE VOICE YOU LISTEN TO?

BIBLE PASSAGE: 2 KINGS 18:25, 30; 19:29-37

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://blog.kcm.org/

 OCTOBER 04, 2020

 

LESSON KEY VERSE

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

JOHN 10:27

 INTRODUCTION:

Our bible passage for today is about the King Hezekiah and the king of Assyria named, King Senaccherib. We have read how the king Assyria gave doubts to king of Israel telling these words, “Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it” (2 Kings 18:25). Did God really say these words?  And he urged the people of Israel not to trust king of Israel for his words about Yahweh.  1 Kings 18:30 says, “Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria”. He showed evidences of their victories against neighboring countries and no doubts they would win in Israel as well; this is what king of Assyria was pointing out. In line with Israel’s situations, we can say that really in this world we can hear different voices and sometimes we don’t know to whose voice we should listen to.

 Our lives can sometimes feel like constant noise—voices from every side—influencing the way we think and feel. But, in the midst of it all, there is one voice we need to hear the most—the voice of God.

 When you’re seeking the answer to one of life’s challenges, do you ever wonder if you’re hearing God’s voice, or if it’s just your own voice? Maybe you’re hoping to hear from Him, but you don’t want to get it wrong and make a bad move. Do you need to hear Him today about your finances, your children, your marriage or your health?

 There is good news—God is speaking to you all the time. In fact, A.W. Tozer said, “It’s the nature of God to speak.” He wants to have fellowship with you, and He wants you to hear Him—all the time.

God has promised to lead His children by His Spirit and enable them to know His voice. That means you can learn to know exactly what the Spirit of God is saying to you about every situation. You don’t have to go through life blindly making decisions or relying on your own abilities.

 When you learn to tune in to God’s voice, it won’t be an occasional event but an everyday part of life. That’s why, in the New Testament, Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” 15 different times.

 We can learn to hear God!

 If you’re longing for certainty in your fellowship with God, here are four ways to know if you’re hearing God’s voice:

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  CHECK YOUR RECEIVER (JEREMIAH 29:13)

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

 

Have you ever tried to watch television or listen to the radio without turning it on? Of course not! You already know that if you don’t turn on the receiver, you’re not going to hear a thing. When you do turn them on, you fully expect to hear something!

 So, how do you check your spiritual receiver? The one way to know if your spiritual receiver is turned on is to answer this question:

 Do you expect to hear from God?

Some people say, Well, God just doesn’t talk to me. But here is an important truth: even if you don’t feel like God speaks to you—He does. In fact, He’s speaking to you right now. But, if you aren’t expecting to hear from Him, you haven’t even turned on the receiver!

 Now, let’s be clear—He isn’t going to scream, yell and demand that you pay attention. He is always speaking to you, but He speaks in “a still small voice”. 1 Kings 19:12 says, “And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice”. So, to hear Him, you have to tune in and listen carefully. Another way to describe the way we hear God’s voice is through an inward witness.

 What is an inward witness?

 God doesn’t communicate with us the way we communicate with one another. He communicates from His Spirit to your spirit, and then your spirit communicates what you hear to your mind. That is what we call an inward witness. It is very similar to a thought or a prompting. It’s very subtle and requires a closeness with God and regular practice to hear it more quickly and clearly.

That’s why the more time you spend with the Lord and the more you practice tuning in to His voice, the more it will become a voice that “thunders in marvelous ways”. Job 37:5 says, “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend”.

 How do you come to a place where you know whether it’s you or the Lord?

Certainty in knowing that you are hearing God’s voice comes to the person who is united with Him. 1 Corinthians 1:17 says, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit”.  United means “joined,” or “in union.”  It doesn’t apply to someone who is not living for God. It applies to whomever seeks Him diligently, spends time fellowshipping with Him through prayer, and obeys the commands in His Word.

A receiver who is intact and ready to tune in to the voice of God is one who is expecting to hear from Him and is willing to learn to know His voice.

2.   FIND HIS FREQUENCY (JOHN 10:4)

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

One kilohertz (khz) is equal to 1000 hertz. Like hertz, kilohertz is used to measure frequency or cycles per second, one khz is equal to 1000 cycles per second (electro magnetic waves. You don’t understand, right? Ha,ha; I’ve just mentioned this to know that the frequency is needed for us to hear properly.

There was once a time when you had to work to tune in to a program on the radio or television set. You had to find the right frequency. You never questioned if it was broadcasting—you knew it was—but you had to do your part to find the frequency and tune in.

How do you locate the frequency God uses to speak to you?

Most often, we miss His frequency because we’re tuned in to hear some huge revelation; when, in fact, He is giving simple instructions. That’s what He will do when you first begin to hear from Him—and He will continue to do this for the rest of your life here on earth. Obedience in the simple things is very important to God—it reveals the willingness of you heart.

So, if you’re waiting for God to send you out to part the Red Sea, you may be missing what He’s saying to you right now—which might be to clean out your closet or stop watching certain television shows or spend more time with your children. He will talk to you about the small things in your life that you need to change—adjustments you need to make. He will begin to deal with you where you are, which most often involves helping you walk in God’s best by getting rid of things that are holding you back.

God wants liberty and freedom for our lives, and that begins with training. He teaches us how to be led by the Spirit. But, if we disobey these promptings in the little things, we won’t graduate to the bigger assignments. Sometimes, the small things He asks of us may seem unimportant or involve giving up things we think we enjoy. But to reach a level of intimacy with God where we hear His voice and have launched us into new places in the spirit, obedience must become a non-negotiable in our lives.

That’s why Matthew 18 tells us to become like little children—which means not to be high-minded and think we’re all-knowing. To find God’s frequency, you must be willing to hear His voice in the small things.

 

3.  LEARN TO DISCERN HIS VOICE (JOHN 10:27)

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

(Insert an audio about how sheep hear their shepherd).

If your spouse or closest friend calls you on the telephone, do you know it’s them before they tell you? Most likely you do! But how? Because you’ve spent so much time with them, the sound of their voice and their way of saying things has become well-known to you—easy to recognize.

          The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God.

If you want to get to a place where you don’t have to wonder whose voice you’re hearing—yours, the devil’s or God’s—you need to spend time with the Lord. A lot of time. But, if you keep your mind and your heart full of the things of this world, it will be difficult for you to differentiate between the Spirit of God and your own thoughts. That is the definition of a carnal mind—one that has not been renewed by the Word of God.

The more time you spend with Him, the more certain you’ll become about hearing God’s voice. It isn’t just time talking to Him, though. We learn His voice when we listen to His voice. That’s why in Matthew 17:5 He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

4.  LINE IT UP WITH HIS WORD – THE BIBLE (2 TIMOTHY 3:16)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 

One sure way to know if you’re hearing God’s voice is to line up what you hear against the Word of God. God will never tell you to do, think or say anything contrary to His Word. If you have a thought and you don’t know if it’s God or not—you can look it up in the Bible and settle it right away.

The Spirit of God will only tell you to do things that will give you a more abundant life.  Every change He tells you to make is designed to bring blessing into your life and minister grace to you. So, He isn’t going to tell you to refuse to forgive someone or spend money frivolously, or anything else that doesn’t match His Word.

God always agrees with His written Word, and His Word always agrees with Him. In fact, Psalm 138:2 says I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. That means God has put His Name on His written Word the way we would put our name at the bottom of a contract. He has given us His Word as a covenant and signed it in the Name of Jesus, by the blood of Jesus. Since God cannot lie, there is no way He will ever do or say anything contrary to that Word. He has absolutely joined Himself to it forever.

God trains us to recognize His voice through His written Word. He uses it to tune our spiritual ears to what is real so that we can easily recognize a counterfeit.

When you’re trained to hear God’s voice in His Word, the devil won’t be able to sneak deceptions in on you. When he tries to razzle-dazzle you with some religious-sounding voice that says, “I love you, my son. But it’s just not my will to heal you at this time,” you won’t buy it. You’ll rise up and say, “That’s not the voice of God. That’s a lie from hell because it doesn’t agree with the Word that says, ‘By His stripes we are healed’” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV).

 

To live in confidence that you are hearing from Him, you need to have a knowledge of His Word continually in your heart.  And you do this by drawing near to God (James 4:8) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” That’s your part—to seek Him. God’s not going to run you down. Your part is to diligently seek Him. That involves spending time in the Word and in prayer. And whatever place you give Him in your life, the Spirit of God will fill it up for you.

          The best part about hearing God’s voice?

 You won’t just avoid counterfeit voices—you’ll be given access to secrets and knowledge that will make you the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13). In Jeremiah 33:3, He says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” All you have to do is pursue a life in which you hear the voice of God, heed it and walk into a victory you never thought possible.

When you check your receiver, find His frequency, learn to discern His voice, and line up what you hear with His Word—hearing God’s voice won’t be an occasional event, but a lifestyle. And when someone asks you, “What is the Spirit of God telling you today?” you won’t hesitate for a moment. You’ll know exactly what to say.

CONLUSION:

From Pastor Dave Coop’s illustrations:

My uncle at one time was a piano tuner. Even though he has an excellent ear for music he still carried a tuning fork to ensure that what he heard come from the piano was in tune. By comparing what he heard to the pitch of the tuning fork he could tell if the note was on or off. The Bible is like that tuning fork. We hear different voices, but even though we may have been saved for years we still must always compare what we hear to the tuning fork of the Bible to ensure we are not heeding the voice of the stranger. If we will study and meditate on the word of God, we will know it is the Father’s voice, for the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible is the same Holy Spirit that lives within us. Like the two disciples travelling on the road to Emmaus the Lord will reveal Himself through the scriptures. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. Jesus tells us that if we search the scriptures, we will find they testify or support what He says to be true. (John 5:39 says, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”.

 

We hear different voices, but even though we may have been saved for years we still must always compare what we hear to the tuning fork of the Bible to ensure we are not heeding the voice of the stranger. 

 

HAVE YOU NEVER READ?

Matthew 22: 15-46; Matthew 21: 14 - 16 picture taken from Google

MEMORY VERSE Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon Wisdom FB page some lesson points taken from: https://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2005/september-october/how-the-bible-can-help- Introduction:

Have you tried a new-bought machine and tried to assembly it with your own knowledge? It is possible that we have a little knowledge about it, but the full details are needed to be read and executed.

One time our nephew, this was already mentioned by my sister in her lessons, bought a swing from the store to be their gift to their mother as Mothers’ Day gift. At first, we just watched him in a distance but when we saw that he was struggling in assembling, we offered help. He was about to bring the swing to the store and pay for assembling the parts when we approached him. The first thing my sister, Kris, asked was “where’s the manual?” She read the manual and followed the instruction and after few minutes, it was successfully assembled.

We know that the Bible is a manual of life but most of the time we try our own way and knowledge and seldom read the manual which is the best way to do.

The title of our lesson is taken in Matthew 21:15-16 wherein the priests and scribes were displeased when they saw Jesus did wonderful things and heard the children crying and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”

And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

The Lord Jesus Christ quoted the verse in Psalms 8:2

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Jesus was pointing out that they didn’t read what mentioned in God’s written word

In our passage today we have read, Matthew 22: 15-46, there are five situations wherein God answered the people’s questions.:

         a)      Matthew 22:15-22 – Jesus was asked about paying taxes. When people heard His words,             they marvelled.

         b)      Matthew 22:23-30 – Jesus was asked about a wife who had 7 husbands; whose wife shall         she be in the resurrection. Jesus answered in this manner in verse 29, “…Ye do err, not              knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”

         c)      Matthew 22: 31-33 – Jesus answered with these words, “…have ye not read that which          was spoken unto you by God…? He has explained the God of the living and not the dead and the people were astonished to his doctrine.   

          d)      Matthew 22: 34-40 – Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment

         e)      Matthew 22: 41-46 – This time Jesus was the one asking them., “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?

       If you notice to the following situations, there are commonality; those are coming from God’s Word, the scriptures, and the Lord Jesus Christ always says, “HAVE YE NOT READ?” If today at our present time, we have struggles and problems and we feel confuse, our Lord might say, “HAYE YOU NEVER READ?”

Lesson Points:

     1.   HAVE YOU NEVER READ THE WAY TO LIFE BEYOND DEATH? (LUKE        10:25 -28)

The Bible reveals the way to eternal life and salvation. After you die, will you live again? How do you know? Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the young evangelist Timothy: "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:14–15)

.

  Another verses from Luke 10:25-28, we see that a lawyer asked the Lord on how to inherit eternal life

²⁵ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

²⁶ He said unto him, What is written in the law? HOW READEST THOU?

²⁷ And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy

soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

²⁸ And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

In 2 Timothy we can see that Timothy has leaned the scriptures since childhood and it’s a good spiritual idea that the parents as well as the Sunday school teachers need to teach the kids the right way to God’s salvation. And in our next verses, again, we notice that Jesus replied the lawyer with a question, “What is written in the law? How readest thou?”  All things are answered in God’s word but sometimes we are sidetrack, we listen to false views in social media. Another thing, when we are asked about our salvation, we keep silent and what does this imply? We don’t listen to the sermons and we think that our bible is not readable.

         2.     HAVE YOU NEVER READ YOUR LIFE’S REAL MEANING AND             PURPOSE? (JEREMIAH 29:11-14)

Christians know that the world we live in today is temporary and our final destination is in heaven because we have faith and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour but why there are Christians don’t still give time for spiritual matters. What is the purpose of this life? Have we never read in the Bible our purpose?

God had a purpose for Jeremiah. God selected him. He knew him before he was formed. It is one thing to brag about who you know. It is quite another thing to boast about who knows you.

There may be many people you know who don’t claim to know you. God knows you and claims to know you.

Not only did God know Jeremiah, He chose him. Nothing makes a person feel better than to be chosen by someone. Knowing everything about you even before you were conceived, your strengths and flaws, your obedience and disobedience, God chose you. Wow!

Not only did God select Jeremiah, He shaped him in his mother’s womb. In the words of the Psalmist, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). When God made Adam and Eve, He did so with His hands. Handmade items always have a greater value. God wove you while in your mother’s womb. You are a one-of-a-kind creation of God.

God also sanctified the prophet. He was set apart for a special purpose. God has special plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11-14). God has chosen you to do things and say things that will impact all time and eternity.

He sanctioned Jeremiah to carry out that plan.  Jeremiah realized the facts. Notice the absolute words God used. God declared to him that he would go to everyone God sent him to, speak whatever God told him to speak, and not to fear anyone.

Why? God told him he was not alone. God promised to be with him and to deliver him.

     3.      HAVE YOU NEVER READ THE WAY TO HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIPS?

    4.      HAVE YOU NEVER READ ON HOW TO FIND TRUE SUCCESS, FULFILLMENT AND         HAPPINESS?

     5.      HAVE YOU NEVER READ THE FUTURE?