God speaks in the Bible
God speaks today
What is prophetic ministry?
God speaks to the boy Samuel
Methods of revelation
Using God’s gifts wisely
• How to listen responsibly
Hearing God’s Voice
Do not quench the Spirit
Do not treat prophecies with contempt
Test them all
Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
Hearing God’s Voice
How to listen responsibly
4 things kept in balance
Hearing God’s Voice
How to listen responsibly
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“Do not quench the Spirit”
Hearing God’s Voice
By denial
By exaggeration
• not believing or allowing room for Him to speak
• diverting attention to the prophet
“Do not treat prophecies with contempt”
Hearing God’s Voice
By undervaluing the message
By ridiculing the messenger
“Test them all”
Hearing God’s Voice
By allowing Scripture to be the standard
Asking serious questions is not a sin!
“Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil”
Hearing God’s Voice
Hold the gold
“Hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil”
Hearing God’s Voice
Chuck the muck
Hearing God’s Voice
Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.Proverbs 14:4 (New Living Translation )
Hearing and obeying God is a messy business
Mistakes happen, but we don’t stop listening and learning
Hearing God’s Voice
Worship
Church re-ordering
Life groups
Children and young families
Overseas mission
etc, etc, etc
Hearing God’s Voice
If lives are to be transformed and hope restored
we are going to have to live and love like Jesus
and that means learning how to hear God’s voice
and cope with the messes!
Hearing God’s VoiceDo not quench the Do not quench the
SpiritSpirit
Do not treat prophecies with Do not treat prophecies with contemptcontempt
Test them Test them allall
Hold on to Hold on to what is what is
good, reject good, reject every kind of every kind of
evilevil