8-10 How God speaks — final 3 categories

8. The Body of Christ — the church (1 Cor. 12:27; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:11-13)
God communicates through believers:
• with Wise counsel:
Prov. 1:5 (See also Prov. 12:15 Prov. 24:6)
Expect God to use other believers in your life to give you wise counsel.
• about Spiritual things that pertain to life and eternity:
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)

Apostles “sent ones”: those sent to proclaim the message of the gospel to all the nations/peoplegroups of the earth.
[For study when going through spiritual gifts segments: There are/were only 12 original Apostles (capital A). This is consistent throughout Scripture. But there have been many disciples who have been sent out, as the original apostles were. So in a sense, there have been other “small “a”” apostles, or “sent ones” who communicate God’s message of salvation to the “panta ethne” = all the people groups of the world.]

Prophets (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation)”
of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God's authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers”

Evangelists (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
1) “a bringer of good tidings,
2) the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles”

Pastors (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of the overseers of the Christian assemblies”

Teachers (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of those who in the religious assemblies of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit”

God communicates to us through believers in the church — about all kinds of spiritual things: how to live a godly life; who God is; what salvation is all about; how to know Christ the Son of God; what our future in heaven is like; how to be built up in faith and more like Christ; how to become part of God’s mission in the world; etc.

For further study, see also:
1 Corinthians 12: 8-11, 28; 14:1-4 Certain Holy Spirit gifts God uses to speak to others.
Word of wisdom — by the Holy Spirit
Word of Knowledge — by the Holy Spirit
Prophecy — by the Holy Spirit
Tongues & Interpretation of tongues— by the Holy Spirit
Teaching — by the Holy Spirit
• Acts 1:8 God communicates/proclaims the Gospel through the church, to the world.

Core lesson: God speaks through the “body of Christ” — the church. Whether through a sermon, a word of wisdom, some encouragement, a practical need met, a strong warning, or a Gospel presentation — God will use believers — people like you and me in the church — to speak to others, and for others to speak into our lives.
This is one of the reasons why people who think church is optional to the Christian life are sorely mistaken. To disregard God’s plan for communicating to them and building them up through His body is a sad display of pride.
Some people say things like “I believe in God, but not organized religion” when they communicate their disdain for the church and not wanting to be a part of it. But what they are saying to God is “I don’t care for your plan, or your people — I will conduct my spiritual life as I see fit — I choose to engage in spiritual things the way I want to — I choose to imagine a god that allows me to do what I want.”

Write down one example of how God has spoken through the body of Christ, to you!


9. Spiritual wisdom — you probably don’t think about this one much — you just figure it out and go on thinking it was you that came up with that great idea or solution.

In daily life: how to love your spouse, how to work well with others, how to go about making a decision, how to discipline your child, how to answer people, how to approach a difficult challenge, etc.

• James 1:5-6
• Prov. 2:6,10-11
(See also: Daniel 1:17,20; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 Cor. 2:6-15; Eph. 1:17-18 (We see here that spiritual wisdom is connected to the Spirit!)

Core lesson: God speaks to us through wisdom that is sent from God. We can ask for it. We probably won’t often recognize it as, “Wow! This is from God!” But sometimes we will. As we ask God about certain decisions we need to make, or go about life, He will drop wisdom from heaven into our minds that we may have His mind and heart on how to approach things.

Write down something you could use God’s wisdom in__________________________


10. Through unconventional and even bizarre ways (i.e. Don’t put God in a box!)
Ex. Creation/nature: Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 10:16-18
Ex. A donkey: Numbers 22:21-31
Ex. A finger writing on a wall: Daniel 5:1-6, 11-12, 24-28
Ex. Moses hearing God speak through the burning bush! Exodus 3:1-4

Core lesson: Let’s not put God in a box on how He might speak to us. But test ALL things with the Scriptures.

That’s the end of our series on How God speaks!


6 Ways to effectively hear God
God speaks in various ways, as we have learned, but does automatically mean we will hear and understand what He has communicated?
• If you have ever been in a conversation using two cell phones, you know that sometimes the signals get weak and all you hear is garbled speech — whole words and phrases and sentences drop out and you don’t understand the person on the other line — though you know they are saying something! And just because one person is speaking quite clearly over here, doesn’t mean that person over there is hearing it. How can we get the strongest, clearest communication pathways to and from God?

1. Make time: a resolute decision to set aside regular time to meet with God
• How much time do you spend with God — as much as possible or as little as possible?
• It seems a bit silly to approach God as if we’re trying to fit Him in — like a someone trying to get an interview with your company or something. I mean think of it — the God of the Universe that created you and me — us saying to Him — nah, don’t think I can make time for you today. Imagine if you young child did this to you…

2. Remove distractions: if you can’t find a quiet place, find a quiet time-fame — like early in the morning.

3. Cleanse your vessel: Be a clean, obedient vessel — put your “yes” on the table before the Lord. Confess and repent of all sins. Eph. 4:17-18,30

4. Seek! Seek! Seek!
Prov. 1:28; Prov. 8:9,17; Deut. 4:29; Jer. 29:13-14; Luke 11: 5-10
1 Chron. 28:9

5. Listen: Talk to God then listening, discernment and awareness of the various ways God may speak — God may be speaking, but we may be looking and listening in the wrong places. Cultivate discernment between your voice, the Holy Spirit, Satan’s voice, the flesh.
Be aware of impressions that may be fairly general, or may be even specific words. Make sure you pay attention to them, but test them to see where they originated from.

• Be still (Ps. 145) to hear that still, small voice (1 Kg 19:9-16) If you are still, and you have an immovable reference point, you can actually see the moon move!
• Be open to the various ways God may answer.

6. Journal: to keep a log of what God is doing in your life
— Stones of remembrance in Joshua

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HOW GOD SPEAKS?

Homework:
1. Keep listening — and write down in a journal what you think God is saying.
2. If you have heard from God — share it with someone in the body of Christ.

Where we’ve been in our course thus far:
• Being a disciple
• How God speaks

Next week begins a new series:
• Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods