We all need to live a life that glorifies God, because one day we will all be before Jesus and we will have to give an account of how we’ve lived and used our time, our gifts and talents.
How many of you believe that God has plans and purposes for you and that it is up to you to fulfil them?
How many of you want to obey God’s plan and don’t want to miss out on God’s calling and purpose for you?
So this word is for you! Today you will learn how to not deviate in your calling, how to live a happy life on this earth and be received by the Lord as a good and faithful servant at the end of it all.
How many of you would like to know the will of God for your life? Read the Word! Read the Bible,
Reading the word – you will then know all basic commandments. We all know the basic ones when we read the scripture.
These commandments are : God wills that we pray, that we pray faithfully. That we read the Word with devotion, that we live holy lives , that we worship Him with everything that we are. That we live in harmony, in unity with fellow believers. That we passionately preach his word to the lost.
Another command the Bible is very clear about is that we have to serve in the local church where we got baptised; that we are all members of the same body and it is our duty to use our spiritual gifts and not neglect church services, prayer meetings and meetings.
We all know these common, basic commands but the frustration comes when we don’t know what God wants from us specifically.
So we know we should live holy lives, we should pray, we should read the word, we should live in unity with our brothers and sisters, we should worship , we should evangelise.
But what does God want from me specifically? What is the will of God for my life?
I’m living a holy life , I have a prayer life, I worship , I preach his word, I love people , I go to church , I serve , but now what does God want me to do specifically?
That’s really where most believers feel like they’ve hit a wall.
Being faithful in the little and being faithful in the small things are requirements before God can give you specific guidance and direction for specific things in your life.
In order to be instructed you must be active and you must be faithful in the small things that is given you. In order to receive specific guidance you must be on the go.
Why would God reveal the third step to you if you haven’t even taken the first step yet?
How does a kid go to high school if he’s not doing primary school?
So we know what the will of God for us is: to save the lost, live holy lives, to have self-control, to be faithful in our tithes and offerings, to obey our leaders, worship the Lord, serve in a church, not neglect meeting and be there for your fellow believers.
Now, what is the specific will of God for your life? It’s simple! The specific will of God for your life is that you would take your own abilities, resources and energy and invest them into God’s overall command to bring the kingdom of God on earth.
So the will of God for your life is simple : you’re called to use your specific gifts and abilities to fulfil God’s plan. You’re called to use your specific gifts and abilities to fulfil God’s plans.
God has given you something, something with which you can do good. Something with which you can accomplish God’s will in the earth.
So ask yourself today: What has the Lord given me? What are my abilities? What is my personality? What are my resources? What are my connections?
Sometimes we are a little harsh with ourselves and we may say: Well , God has not really given me much.. But He has given you breath. He has given you a mouth, He has given you eyes to see, ears to hear. He has given you connections around you, family, friends. He gave you a lot.
God has given each and every one of us something that we can use for His Glory.
God has invested something in each and every one of us that can be used to bring the kingdom of God to earth.
If you don’t know what to do, then do what you already know.
If you don’t know what to do, then do what already know how to do.
While you are waiting for God to confirm “the specifics”, do the basics.
If you are waiting on God to show you what kind of ministry you should take on? Then serve where you find yourself right now.
If you are waiting on God to confirm where you should live, them serve Him in the small things wherever you are right now.
Are you waiting for God to confirm what job you should take? What school should you attend?
Then do something for God in the meantime. Evangelise, pray, live holy, reach out to fellow believers and encourage them. Do something in this waiting period and as you go God will guide you and show you the specific.
The Holy Spirit that lives in you will guide you towards the specific directions for your life.
Do not believe the lie that is difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. You can begin to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit with confidence and perfect clarity.
I want to give you some biblical keys that you can apply immediately to begin hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
When I say hear the voice of the Holy Spirit I mean to recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Hearing God is not a skill, it’s a sense you must develop!
When you were born you were born with your hearing, you were born with your sight, smell and sense of touch. Likewise when you were born again, you were given spiritual senses, the ability to hear and receive things from the heavenly realm.
You cannot be taught to hear! You cannot be taught to see !
When a baby is born you don’t have to teach it how to hear. When a baby is born you don’t have to teach it to see, but you do have to train the child to listen and observe, to sharpen those skills, to use these senses properly.
This is in fact the most powerful truth I can give you concerning the voice of the Holy Spirit and it’s that you are already hearing the Holy Spirit.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27 NLT
My sheep hear my voice! In other words, if you belong to Him you already hear Him. If you belong to the Lord He is speaking to you. You hear His voice, He knows you and you follow Him.
The key again is recognising the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s see a biblical example do this. 1 Samuel 3:1-10
You know the story here of how Samuel was called as a prophet. He heard the voice of God speaking to him and he thought that it was his master Eli.
He could hear God but he didn’t recognise that it was in fact God speaking to him.
So again, it’s not a matter of hearing God’s voice but of recognising God’s voice.
When it comes to recognising God’s voice, all you have to do is silence the other voices that are not His. Once in the quiet, the voice that will emerge will be the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Again, you’re already hearing Him, He’s already speaking to you.
These are the 3 categories of voices that will speak in your life.
The satanic
The World (secular)
The Holy Spirit
Any bit of information that you will ever receive, anything that you will hear will fall under one of these categories. Satanic, World (secular) or the Spirit.
The satanic directly contradicts the Word of God. The World often contradicts the nature of God but the Spirit always speaks in harmony with both: the Word and the nature of God.
The sense to listen the Holy Spirit was something that you were given when you were born again.
First point: The Word (Bible)
The first key to recognising the voice of the Holy Spirit and silencing those other voices is the Word !
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 14:26 NLT
If you’re serious about hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit then you will be serious about receiving the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit reminds and He reveals. What does He remind you of? What does He reveal to you?
He reminds you of the Word. He reveals the Word, the Truth!
How is He supposed to remind you of a truth that you never received from the scriptures?
How is He supposed to partner with you in remembering what God has spoken in His Word if you yourself are not taking in the Word?
Knowing the Word makes it easier for you to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Second point: Silence and stillness
Silence is the practical side. Silence is the easier thing to do. Silence is the putting away of outer distraction.
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:6 NLT
Here is an example of Jesus talking about creating an atmosphere and moving distractions aside.
Silence comes from removing outer distractions, like, turning off your phone, telling your loved ones that you’re not to be disturbed for your time of prayer, and turning off the television. It’s to make sure your mind is focused on what God wants to say to you.
The second part of this second point is: Stillness
““Be still, and know that I am God!””
Psalms 46:10 NLT
It is interesting how stillness precedes revelation. In the presence of God we are told to be still.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently”
Psalms 37:7 NLT
On these points: Silence and stillness, the easier part is silence, as that is a matter of discipline. Where silence is the shutting off outer distractions, stillness is the silencing of the soul.
That’s the difficult part. The internal chaos , the internal guilt concerning your past, your mistakes, the worry about your future, the sense of hurt that you might be feeling because of damaged relationships or harsh words that someone spoke to you, maybe a sense of your confusion about God , your confusion about decisions you have to make, or even prayer that haven’t been answered; thoughts in your mind about your work, school and relationships, schedule and finances, it goes on and on and on, our minds get filled with these things and our emotions get stirred in all directions.
How can you silence your soul? How can you bring to stillness that internal chaos?
In fact, it’s in the stillness that the flesh begins to die. That’s why you can sometimes read the Word, you participate in church ministries, you can enjoy worship services, you can even watch YouTube video like this in your free time.
But the moment you go to pray, suddenly your flesh start to squirm, why? Because it’s in the stillness that the flesh is destroyed.
How do you silence the soul?
First: The Word – If the Word is in you, you have the Word to meditate on and when you meditate on it you receive revelation and revelation always inspire Worship.
Do you want to bring stillness to your soul? Worship Jesus!
Turn your focus from the things of this world and place them on Him. In doing so you will see that Scriptures are true!
How do you silence your soul?
First is through the Word.
Second: Silence (putting away all distraction) and Stillness (the quieting of the soul)
Silence is practiced by discipline that is setting the atmosphere.
Stillness comes when you worship and meditate on the Word.
Third: Obedience – this is the third key to recognising or hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
Psalms 37:23 NLT
The godly are the ones who are blessed by the direction of the Lord.
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:6 NKJV
Now at this point some might say: But I still don’t know what the Holy Spirit wants from me. This is where it’s important to understand that the will of the Holy Spirit is really clearly spelled out in the scripture.
Live holy, live a lifestyle of prayer, be in the Word, take part on the meetings of your church , love one another , forgive one another , evangelise, so forth.
The life of a believer is described in the scripture and God gives us clear instructions for us to follow in His Word.
So, when you don’t know what to do with those specific things in your life, like: where you should work, where you should go to school, where you should build your life, whom you should marry….
Then turn back to the basics. If you live the basics, that positions you in a place where you can hear the specifics from God.
There are people who want to go to secondary school without going to primary school.
Obey the written Word of God and the spoken Word of God will become clearer.
Obey His instruction because disobedience makes it very difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Some people want God to speak to them when they haven’t yet done what God has already told them to do.
God will speak and not speak again until you have obeyed what He has already asked.
Why would God guide you on to step four if you have not yet taken step number one and two?
Obedience brings clarity of mind, obedience brings peace, obedience brings wisdom, obedience invites the guiding hand of God, obedience helps you to recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit.
How to hear the Holy Spirit? How to recognise His voice?
First: The Word
Second: Silence and Stillness
Third: Obedience
Many Christians have made wrong decisions in their lives by confusing the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Being faithful in the little and being faithful in the small things are requirements before God can give you specific guidance and direction for specific things in your life.
If you live the basics, that positions you in a place where you can hear the specifics from God.
May the Lord bless and help you to hear His voice!