Rick Warren - How To Recognize God's Voice in Your Daily Life

When I get an idea in my mind, how do

I know where that idea came from, that impression, that thought?

How do I know it didn't come from the devil,

or it came from the bad Burrito eight last night,

or it came from my own thoughts. I just bought

it up. I mean, you talk to yourself all the time.

I talk to myself all the time. I am my

own best friend, and you're talking. You have a running

conversation with you throughout the day. How do I look?

How do I feel what's going on? How should I

handle that? Respond to that? And it's very easy to

sometimes be confused on is this God telling me to

do this? Or is this just something I want to do?

Do you know what I'm talking about? Is this really

just my idea? Or did God give me this idea?

Or did it come to the devil? Or is it

some bad tape that I'm playing in the past. It

is extremely important you know how to discern when it's

God talking to you, because if you don't, it can

be fatal. The Bible says this Proverbs chapter fourteen, verse twelve.

What you think is the right road may lead to death.

In other words, it can be fatal. And you know,

you know, a lot of evil gets blamed on God

when people say, well, God told me to do this.

The Bible says in First John, forur to one, don't

believe every message you hear just because someone says it's

a message from God. Test it first to see if

it really is. I want you to learn seven ways

to test an impression from the Bible, because the fact is,

one moment you can get an idea from God, and

the next moment you can get an idea from Satan

in a split second. Let me give you a classic

example of it. One day, Jesus is with it twelve disciples,

and he turns to Peter, one of the twelve, and

he says, Peter, who do you say that I am?

And Peter says, well, Lord, you are the Christ, you

are the Messiah. You are the son of the Living God.

And Jesus looked straight at Peter and he says, brought on, Pete.

He says, you have spoken the truth.

He said, flesh and blood did not reveal this to you.

In other words, Peter, that idea didn't come from you,

That idea came from God.

He said, you're right. You spoke the truth.

I am the son of God, and that idea that

was put in your mind came from God. It wasn't

revealed by flesh and blood. Immediately, Jesus says to Peter, now, Peter,

I've got to go to Jerusalem and I'm going to

be crucified and I'm going to die there. And Peter

imediately says, that's nonsense. Lord, you can't let them do

that to you.

And not five.

Seconds later, Jesus looks at Peter and says, get behind me, Satan,

what's he saying. He said that thought didn't come from God.

That God thought, Peter, that you just spoke came from

the devil. That's how quick you can miss it. One

minute you can be saying you're right, that thought came

from God and upon this rock, this truth, I will

build my church, and the very next second you're saying

something and Jesus looks and says, Peter, you didn't get

that one from God.

That's the devil.

Because the devil did not want Jesus to die, because

die in dying on the cross, he would die for

the sins of mankind and allow our salvation. And he

didn't want that to happen in that way, and knowing

that he said that thought is from the devil. Now

how do you know, Well, he says, test it. Look

at the next verse. Jesus said in John seven seven.

Anyone who wants to do God's will. Now that's the key.

You got to want to be willing to do it

in advance. Anyone who wants to do God's will can

test this teaching and know whether it's from God or

whether I'm making it up. Jesus says, you know what,

You can test what I say and you can then

know for sure that it's from God.

Now how do you do that? Well, that's what we're

going to look at.

We're going to look at seven ways to test and impression. Now,

these seven tests form a filter, and if you get

an idea from God, or you get an idea in

your mind, you're going now, did I just.

Think that up? Or is that from the devil?

Or is that some old tape that my great grandmother

said or something, or is that really from.

The Holy Spirit?

You test it by these seven tests, and if it

passes all seven, then you can know for certain it's

from God. Now you can't pick and che you can't say, well,

in that past test one, three, five, and seven, but

it didn't pass two, four and six. No, No, it's

got to pass all seven. But if an idea that

you have passes all seven tests, then you can know

absolutely certain. And God wants you to know this that

you have heard from God. Now, God put that idea

in your mind, and it is something he wants.

You to do.

All right, let's look at these seven tests from the Bible.

The first test, there's seven questions. The first question is

does it agree with the Bible? Does the idea that

I've got in my mind right now, that thought, that impression,

does it agree with the Bible. Because God's will will

never contradict God's word what he's already said. God doesn't

say one thing and then change his mind and say

another thing. If he said it, it's true and it

will always be true. See, God is consistent. God isn't moody.

God doesn't change his mind. God will never tell you

to violate a principle that he's already given in his word,

the Bible, the Word of God. He won't tell you

to ignore this book. He'll never tell you to disobey

this book. So The first question you ask is does

this line up with what God has already said? And

if what I have in my mind contradicts something God

has already said, then I know I'm wrong that it

didn't come from God. Because truth is eternal. Notice these

verses Luke twenty one thirty three. Jesus says, heaven and

earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

God's word is eternal. The earth is an eternal, the

universe is an eternal, but God's word is eternal because

truth never changes whether you believe it or not, because

God cannot lie. I lie lie, but God cannot lie.

And so God always tells you the truth. And if

he told you in this book to do something, then

He's never going to contradict it. So the first question

to ask is is this idea in harmony with the

word of God. For instance, let me give you some examples.

In the Book of Romans, the Bible tells us pay

your taxes. We are commanded as good citizens to pay

our taxes. And Jesus said, render under Caesar the things

that are Caesar, and unto God the things that are God's. Now,

if all of a sudden you get an idea of

God told me to not pay my taxes this year.

That wasn't God. Okay, that wasn't God, because God has

already said pay your taxes, and he's not going to

contradict it.

If I go over here to the Book of Proverbs.

There's a bunch of principles for how to have a

successful business in the Book of Proverbs. And one of

the principles, as God says, I bless businesses integrity, businesses

that are fair in every business dealing, businesses that are just,

businesses that are honest.

And so if you get an idea that, well, you

know what.

I could make a little bit bigger profit this year

if I just shaved a little I know it wouldn't.

Be quite right.

If I was a little dishonest, my profits could increase.

That idea did not come from God because it contradicts

what God has already said. The Bible says that even

if some angel showed up and came along and said, oh,

by the way, I've got some new revelation, I've got

some stuff to add to this book. Yeah, that's good.

But here's the new stuff. This is the new revised,

and we're gonna update we're gonna give you in one

or two or more other books besides the Bible. God says,

you know that's not right. In fact, here's what the

Bible says. Galatians, Chapter one. Let God's curse fall on anyone.

Including myself.

Paul says, who just any other message, even if an

angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message? Says, No, No,

the Bible's not enough. You got to add this to it.

You gotta add this revelation. You got add this book.

You gotta add this thought. If anybody else adds to it,

he goes, let him be cursed. The Bible says this

again in Revelation. You may not add to what God

has already said.

What am I saying?

The vast majority of God's will for your life is

already here.

It's right here in this book. Now.

The second test is just as important. All seven of

these are important. The second test is when I get

an idea, I ask, does this make me more like Christ?

Does this idea make me more like Christ? Jesus is

the standard by which I evaluate every thought, every idea,

every philosophy, every opinion, every fad, every opinion. I hold

it up against Jesus Christ. Why because God's purpose in

your life is.

To make you like Jesus.

We've talked about this many times. Why doesn't God just

take you to heaven? Why did God put you on

earth for eighty years and then take you to heaven.

Why doesn't just create you and take you to heaven.

Why does He put you here on earth for eighty years?

He ever thought about that? I mean, you could have

just taken you straight to heaven. He puts you here

because life is a test and a trust and a

temporary assignment. He wants you to practice the things you're

going to do in heaven, and he wants you to

become like Jesus Christ in character. That's going to involve

some problems and going through the things Jesus went through. Now,

life is tough. Everybody agree with that life is hard

because nothing works on this planet correctly. Everything is broken.

Every body is broken, every mind is broken, every relationship

is broken.

There is nothing perfect.

There's no perfect marriage, no perfect economy, no perfect church,

no perfect country. The weather is broken all because of sin.

Heaven is going to be the place where we relax

and have fun. Right now, God is more interested in

your character than your comfort, and he wants you to grow.

Up and become like Jesus. Now look at these verses.

The Bible says, in your lives you must think and

act like Jesus Christ. God says, Jesus is the model.

And in the next verse, we take every thought captive.

In other words, we test every thought. We test every

thought so it's obedient to Christ.

So we ask. It means that when I get an idea,

the first thing I ask.

Is, now, would Jesus do this? Would Jesus think this?

Would Jesus feel this way? Would Jesus act this way?

Because he's the standard, he's the second filter. What would

Jesus do is a good question. It's a good question

because I want to be like Christ. Now God gives

us specific checklist because he said, well, what's Jesus like?

Well, he's the fruit of the spirit.

God says, Jesus is love, and he's joy, and he's peace,

and he's patience and kindness and gentleness and goodness and

meekness and self control. But here's another passage I want

us to look at.

James. Chapter three gives.

Us some things that Jesus is and some things that

Jesus isn't. And if you get an idea, this is

a good filter or grid to test the idea.

If you harbor bitter envy.

And selfish ambition, such wisdom, in other words, those thoughts,

those ideas, those impressions, such quote wisdom that's of the devil.

You know where those ideas came from, the wisdom that

comes from God. The idea is the impressions, the thoughts

that come from God. That wisdom is pure, it's peace loving, considerate,

it's submissive and full of mercy, it's impartial and sincere. Now,

notice he says, here's a test. There are two things

you can know and idea is not from God, and

there's seven things you can know. It is an idea

that is from God. He says, Now, if you get

an idea and it's from God.

It's going to be one of these things.

Pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, you know,

impartial and sincere. Now Tom is going to come and

teach us. The third filter.

The third way you test an impression is you ask

does my church family confirm it? Does my church family

confirm it? You ask other mature believers, what do you

think about this idea, my check with God's word, my

check with the other filters. But does my church family

confirm it?

Now?

Why is this one so important? Because you were not

meant to live life all alone. You were meant to

live life in relationship to other people. And so you

go to others, other mature people who are trying to

follow Christ as well well, and you say, what do

you think about this? This is why it's so important

that you have a church family. Listen to what the

Bible says about this in Ephesians three ten. God's intent

is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God

should be made known. Through the Church, God's wisdom is

made known into all eternity and to each one of

us individually. He wants to use other people in your life,

in my life. Now, what does this mean. This means

that if God has genuinely spoken to you, other believers,

other people who are following Christ are going to confirm

it when you talk to them about it. Oh yeah,

that makes sense. Oh yeah, I can see that. This

also means if you get an idea and impression something

from God and you think, maybe I should do this

for this area of my life or for a relationship

or for my business, and you have a resistance to

telling anybody else about it, that should be a huge

red flag. I don't want to tell anybody else. It's

either you know, I look at myself. I like to

think things through and make plans, and if I'm resistant

in telling somebody else, a lot of times it's just

my pride. I just want to feel like I made

it up all by myself. It's either my pride or

it could be in the back of your mind. You

know it's the wrong thing to do, and you know

what they're gonna say when you tell them, so you

just don't want to tell them. You test the impression

with other people because you realize that they're going to

confirm it. If you get some idea, crazy idea that

you can't find any other person who's trying to follow

Christ to confirm it, guess what is wrong. So you

just throw it out, you drop it, and you realize,

I'm going to go on to the next idea. If

mature believe what I'm saying is this. If mature believers

question it, you should question it too. Now, why does

God want us to get advice from other people? Because

he wants to save us from a lot of things.

The wisdom of the righteous can save you. Now, what

can it save you? It can save you a lot

of time, waste of time and doing the wrong thing.

It can save you a lot of pain, pain and

making a mistake. I'd rather learn from somebody else's pain

than have the pain myself. Can you agree with that one,

No doubt about that. It can save you a lot

of embarrassment. It can even save your reputation. Sometimes it

can save your life. That's how important advice from other

people can be in your life. One of the biggest

reasons we mess up our lives is either we have

no godly friends. No one else in our lives that

we can talk to is trying to follow God and

live life the kind of way He's made for us

to live. Or I've got some friends, but I just

won't listen to him. In this case, I just want

to do what I want to.

Do no matter what.

So I got to build godly relationships into my life. Now,

this is why every one of us we need something

in our lives.

You probably know what it is.

We all need a small group. You know this already.

In fact, most of you're in a small group, but

maybe you were in one and you've gotten out of one,

you've never been in one, and it's the time. It's

just the hassle. If you're not in a small group,

you're skating on thin ice and you.

Don't know where the thin ice is.

You need some other people in your life that you

can bounce some things off of. Relationships aren't just every

once in a while I'll try to call you. Got

to build them in on a regular basis. I can't

tell you how many times in our small group someone

has said something and I wasn't even thinking to ask

him about it, but just what they said it caused

me to think in a different direction, in a different way.

That's the power of relationships. What God wants to do

in our lives. You need a small group for feedback

when it comes to hearing from God impressions from God.

Proverbs eleven fourteen says in the multitude of counselors there

is safety. So if you want to make fewer mistakes,

then you get all the godly advice that you can get,

and you follow it with one big disclaimer on that one.

There are some people they've got an idea and they

go ask ten people and they realize it's wrong, so

then they go ask ninety nine people, just looking for

one person who will agree with them. I'm not saying

to do that. What you do is you just find

some people that are trying to follow Christ, trying to

live the kind of life God's given us to live,

and you ask them and you will allow them to

be a part of testing God's impressions in your life.

Now, the fourth test is a test that will save

you an awful lot of money if you'll really listen

to it. I have met so many well meaning Christians

who've gone off and started businesses and then they failed

and they lost a lot of money from it because

they didn't go through this fourth test. And they would say, well,

you know it passed the first three.

I want to start this business. Does agree with the Bible?

Yet it's not unbiblical? Does it make me more like Christ?

Yes?

I can become more like Christ. And starting this business?

Does my small group confirm it? And the church family

and other mature they say, yeah, you'd be.

Good at that.

Try that, But they didn't really look at the fourth test.

And the fourth test is this is it consistent with

how God shaped me? Is this idea that I've got,

this impression, this thought, is it consistent with how God

has shaped me? Now, before you were born, God decided

what he wanted you to do with your life, and then.

He formed you.

He shaped you for that specific task. He doesn't want

you to be somebody you're not. He doesn't want you

to pretend to be a copy of somebody else.

He made you to be you. We've talked about this

often over the years.

It's called your shape, shape, your spiritual gift, your heart,

your abilities, your personality, and your experiences.

These are the five things that make you.

The Bible says this in Ephesians two ten. We are

God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

Did you know that God created you to do good works?

Why are you here on this earth? God created you

to do good works, and they're unique to you. We

are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Before you were even born.

God knew what he wanted you to do, so he

shaped you for that work. The Bible says, we're his workmanship.

That word in Greek is the word poema. It means poem.

We get the word poem from it. You are God's masterpiece.

You are God's poem. You are God's work of art.

There's nobody like you. Quit trying to be somebody else.

You are God's workmanship, He's You are his handicraft, and

he broke the mold when he made you. Shape determines purpose.

You are shaped in a certain way. God has given

you certain abilities and talents. If you have a musical

ability and you're shaped and music, God expects you to

use it. He never gives you a talent. He wants

you to waste. The Bible says this in Romans twelve

to six. God has given each of us the ability

to do certain things well, which implies that there are

certain things.

You don't do well.

Okay, no good at everything. And that's why we need

each other. And that's why we need a small group,

because we help each other out. So in this question,

you want to ask what am I good at? What

do I love to do? But more than what do

I love to do? What am I really good at?

You discover a lot of God's will by something looking

at how God has shaped you. Now, just because you

love to do it doesn't mean you should do it.

And when you're doing what you're good at doing, people go, hey,

you're good at that, okay, And they will tell you

if you get an impression from God that is totally

opposite of what you are shaped to be, it didn't

come from God.

You can know it didn't. That idea did not come

from God.

It may have been something my parents wanted me to do,

and I feel pressure to do it because they wanted

me to do it, or my wife wants me to

do it, or my husband wants me to do it,

but I'm not shape to do it, So don't do it.

Because your shape determines God's will for your life, and

that's where you're going to find fulfillment, not trying to

be somebody that you think you ought to be. God's

leading will not contradict what He's gifted you to do.

Number five the fifth test, does it concern my responsibility?

Does it concern my responsibility? Now? If it's not your.

Responsibility, why should God talk to you about it?

In other words, if.

God wants to talk to somebody else, he can talk

directly to them. Every believer has direct access to God.

He doesn't really need to go through you, and so

stop trying to get God's word for somebody else. Is

it your responsibility? A good example of this again is

going back to Peter. Peter at the end of Jesus'

time on Earth. Jesus looks at Peter and says, Peter,

one day you're going to die for me. You're going

to be martyred. They're going to put you in chains.

And he's telling Peter in advance, you're going to die

a horrible death because you're going to be martyred for me. Now,

Peter isn't happy with that. He immediately looks at his

buddy fellow disciple John and goes, what about him?

Human behavior? Human behavior? What about John?

And Jesus basically says, it's none of your beeswax, It's

none of your business, okay. And Jesus says this here

in John twenty one twenty two. Jesus says, if I

want him, that's John, the other disciple. If I want

him to remain alive till I return, what is that

to you? You must follow me. In other words, don't

worry about what other people. Don't try to figure out there.

You follow me? What is that to you?

And when God speaks to you, He's gonna speak to

you about you in your current situation, about things you

need to change, not somebody else. It's gonna be your responsibility.

It'll be relevant to you. See, it's quite presumptuous to

assume that you can hear God speak for somebody else.

You need to be very very careful about that. Here's

what the Bible says Romans fourteen. Who are you to

judge someone else's servant? In other words, that person isn't

your servant. That person's God's servant to his own master.

That's God. God is his master to his own master.

He stands or falls and he will stand for the

Lord is able to make him stand, So you quit

picking on.

Him or her? Says, who are you to judge to

his own master?

He stands or falls, and he will stand for the

Lord is a to.

Make him stand. Now you've all heard this phrase. God

told me to tell you.

That phrase has done more damage than you could possibly imagine.

God told me to tell you I'd be very careful

in that one. He said, Wait a minute, does God

ever speak to you rick through other people?

Of course he does.

Does God ever speak to other people through you, Rick,

of course he does. But you must be very, very careful.

And there are three guidelines I want you to write down.

You must write these down because otherwise you're going to

get into trouble on this one.

Three guidelines.

If God is going to speak to you about somebody else,

you need to follow these three guidelines. Number one, be

patient and pray. Don't immediately go and just blab it

to that person. When God has given you a word

about somebody else, you wait, You be patient, you pray,

You make sure you heard from God, and you give

God a chance to speak to them directly. First, all

we are saying is give God a chance, give him

a chance to speak directly. In fact, sometimes God will

tell you what he intends to tell somebody else so

that you can pray for them so that they will

be receptive to receiving it. When God tells them directly,

he doesn't have any intention of you saying it anyway,

but he's telling you so you can pray for them,

and God will give you an insight into somebody else's life,

and you can pray for them and say, God, may

they be receptive when you tell them that. Okay, so

you be patient, you pray, you don't be in a hurry.

Second thing, you need to understand God will use you

to confirm what he said to them. Now that happens

all the time. Okay, that happens all the time. Sometimes

God will tell you something and you will say it

to another person and they'll go, you know, I've been

feeling that and I just wasn't sure that it was God,

but I was thinking about that and I felt like

God was telling me to do that. And often God

will use a human being to confirm in another person's

life what he has already said to them directly.

It's yeah, you did hear me correctly.

This happens to me all the time, and I'll say

things to somebody and they go, oh, you know what.

I really felt like God was telling me that, and

that's just a confirmation. That's very, very common. So you

got to be patient and pray. You got to realize

that it's usually going to be for confirmation. Third thing,

God usually uses you without you being conscious of it.

So when God wants to speak through you to another person,

it's usually going to be done in a way that

you don't even know He spoke through you, and that

is so cool.

And that happens all the time.

You're at a small group and somebody will say something

and they don't even realize what they're saying, but it

hits you like an arrow straight to.

Your heart and you go, WHOA, that was meant for me.

And God just spoke to you through the mouth of

somebody in your small group.

I mean, people tell me all the time, Pastor Rick,

when you teach, I feel like you're speaking directly to me.

I feel like you've been reading my mail. I'm not

reading your mail. I'm not even reading your email.

Okay.

All I'm doing is I'm getting up and teaching the

word of God. And one thought will go and hit

somebody here, and another one will hit somebody over here

and somebody and I'm not even aware of it, but

you are aware of it because God wanted it for you,

and he had me say something that he wanted you

to hear, even though I didn't know what it was

that you needed to hear.

Now that happens all the time.

Roman's fourteen says this about concerning my own responsibility. We

will all be judged one day not by each other's standards,

thank God, or even our own standards, but by the

judgment of God. Because God is just right, fair and true,

and nobody's going to say you're not fair. It is

to God alone that we will have to answer for

our actions. Now number six, Tom's gonna come and teach

on these last two filters. Is it convicting rather than condemning?

That's the sixth text. Tom's gonna explain this. Is it

convicting rather than condemning?

If you missed this one, the difference between being convicting

and condemn You're going to find yourself even though it

passes all the other tests, constantly making decisions because you've

thought you've heard God's voice, but really it's this voice

of condemnation. So what's the difference between conviction that the

Bible talks about where God convicts us when we've done

something wrong so we can get right, and this general

feeling of condemnation. Conviction comes from God. He gives it

to us to correct us. So I say something to

one of my kids that I shouldn't have said, or

to my husband and my wife, God says you should

talk like that. That's conviction and He does it to

correct us, because he loves us, because He wants us

to live the right kind of way and enjoy the

kind of lives that He made us to live. He

wants to develop our character. And conviction is something that

God is just saying in my life. This needs to change,

so I know what he needs to change. On the

other hand, condemnation comes from Satan, and it's just to criticize,

it's just to accuse you. It's motivated by Satan's hatred

for you, and it just gives you this overall feeling.

I'm a jerk, I'm worthless. Why did I do that?

If you've ever and I think we've all felt this way,

just felt vaguely guilty, just this cloud, this dark cloud

of guilt hanging over your head, but you couldn't put

your finger on it. You just felt bad all the time.

That is That is condemnation. And when you feel that way,

that's not from God. If you feel I'm worthless, I'm useless,

I'm nothing, I'm not worth a thing. That is not

God's voice. How do I know that Roman's eight one?

There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ, Jesus, God,

does not speak that way. He does not speak with

a voice of condemnation. So anytime you feel that way,

you can know that's not God's voice. And I know

a lot of people to try to get rid of

this general feeling of condemnation, they'll do all kinds of

crazy things, thinking somehow.

You're following God's voice.

It is never his voice. He never attacks your value.

Now will he point out your sin? Oh, yeah, of course,

But he doesn't attack your value. You're his child, You're

the one that he loves. That's not the way that

God speaks Revelation three, verse nineteen. Here's how God speaks

in my life. Here's how God speaks in your life.

Those whom I.

Dearly and tenderly love, I tell their faults, and I

convict and I discipline, So be earnest and repent, changing

your mind and attitude. That's how God speaks. Condemnation is

like this dark cloud of guilt. When God speaks, it's

like a pinpoint of light. He tells you exactly, this

is what's wrong, and this is how you change it.

So now let's change it together. That's how he speaks

in my life. That's how he speaks in your life.

He tells you the solution, and then as soon as

you confess, as soon as you change that feeling of.

Conviction, it goes away.

It doesn't last for the rest of eternity. Condemnation is general,

it's vague, and it never goes away. Conviction it's specific,

it's clear, and it goes away as soon as you

respond to it. Let me give you another picture of this.

It's like the court system. In our court system. You've

seen all these courtroom dramas, or some of you are

in court every day of your life.

In our court.

System, there's really two stages. If you're convicted or condemned.

First you have the first you have the stage where

you have all the sentencing going on and you have

the conviction you are guilty. And then after that does

come the sentencings from the judge and you are condemned

to this certain punishment. That's our court system. God's system

is not the same. God's system doesn't have two parts.

It has three parts. First comes the conviction, the feeling

I've done something wrong. I know I shouldn't have gone

that way. And then secondly, here's the good news. Jesus

takes the condemnation. That's what the Cross is all about.

Jesus died on the cross because he loves us, and

he took our condemnation for us. And so then, third,

when I recognize that I am forgiven, I am set free.

That's Godd's system of justice. It's an awesome system of justice.

It's a good news God.

And so when I'm convicted and I realize I've done

something wrong, how long should that feeling that I have

of conviction last in my life? It should last only.

It should last only as long as it takes me

to repent. If it takes me a month to repent,

I'm gonna feel conviction for a month. If it takes

me a year to repent, I'm gonna feel.

It for a year.

But if immediately, as soon as God says it, I

respond to it, then I know, okay, He's speaking to me.

You just recognize so many times we mistake our low

self esteem for God's voice. The Bible says this about Satan.

Satan is the accuser of believers Revelation twelve, verse ten.

He wants to accuse you. You've got to understand how

Satan works with your sin when it comes to sin.

Before you sin, Satan minimizes it.

Have you noticed this?

And then after you sin he maximizes it. Before you sin,

he says, Oh, it's.

No big deal, nobody's doing it. Don't worry about it.

And then the minute you sin, you hear Satan's voice saying,

how could you do that and call yourself a Christian?

How in the world could you are the worst slime

in the universe that you did that? That's how he speaks.

So what do I do? I realize that is the

voice of Satan and not of God. So I'm going

to look to God and when I feel conviction, I'm

going to immediately respond Is it conviction, convicting, or condemning.

That's one of the tests. And then you come to

the seventh test, and that test is do I feel

do I sense God's peace about it? Do I sense

God's peace about it? If you feel pressured, if you

feel overwhelmed, if you feel confused about a decision that

you're trying to make. It might be about money, it

might be about some ministry in your life, it might

be about your kids, and you're constantly feeling confused. One

of the reasons for that is in yourself, probably, and

not in God's voice. The Bible says this about God.

God is not the author of confusion one Corinthian's fourteen

thirty three. He is not the author of confusion. So

if I'm feeling confused, guess what, it's some other voice.

It's not God's voice speaking in my life.

Those of you that are parents.

Want do you want your kids to feel pressured or

confused when you ask him to do something? No, you

want him to understand what to do and then respond

and do it. And God's the perfect father, so he

wants us to understand what he's asking us to do.

Do I sense God's peace about it in my life now.

The only time pressure could be legitimate is if God's

told me to do something and I keep saying no.

Then the pressure does build, but there's always peace when

I say yes to what He's asked me to do.

Satan wants to drive us compulsively, and God wants to

draw us compassionately. Satan wants to drive you compulsively. I

think we've all got some OCD in us, and Satan

wants to take advantage of our compulsions and use those

to drive our lives. But God instead, he wants to

draw us compassionately. He's like a good father, He's like

a good shepherd. He wants to draw our lives. Do

I sense God's peace about it? I've always loved what

Peter Lord used to say, ninety percent of what God

wants to say.

To you is encouragement.

And if all you ever hear from God is negative messages,

Something's wrong.

The wires have been crossed.

Do I sense God's peace about it as I'm listening

to him. If you're trying to figure out what God

wants you to do, and you feel like God's told

you to do something, and increasing anxiety is happening because

of what you feel He's told you to do, something's

crossed up. Because the Bible says this in Philippians four

six to seven, Here's how God speaks. Don't worry about anything. Instead,

pray about everything, Tell God what you need, and thank

him for all He's done. If you do this, you

will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than

the human mind can understand. Dan His peace will guard

your hearts and your minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

When God speaks, it does not create anxiety and worry.

It creates the exact opposite. And in fact, one of

the great signs that you've heard God's voice is you're

in the midst of a storm and everybody else around

you is worried and running around, and you have this

piece that you cannot explain even as you're walking through

that storm. That's one of the signs I'm listening to him.

I'm hearing from him because I have his peace in

my life.

But notice in that.

Verse it says if you do this, you will have

God's peace. It's not just a matter of hearing from him.

It's also a matter of acting on what you hear.

In fact, I love this next verse. Proverb of twenty two,

Verse seventeen tells us the three things we need to

do as we hear God's voice. Hear God's impressions, Listen

to this wise advice, follow it closely, for it will

do you good, and then you can pass it along

to other people. So it's not just hearing from God.

You do these three things. First, you listen, you hear it,

but then you follow it, you do what it says,

and then you pass it on to other people.

If you could hear God clearly in the past, but

it's not so clear anymore. I mean the transmission has

gotten fuzzy. The lines are messed up and jammed, the

message is muted.

It's not getting through.

What's the problem if you could hear God clearly in

the past, but you can't. Now here's the problem. You

have allowed sin to come between you and God, and

you need to pull out that blockage and then you'll

be able to hear him clear again. It may be

a relationship you need to let go of. It may

be a habit you need to let go of.

It may be a.

Hurt that you've held onto and said I am not

going to let that person off the hook. And that

has created a barrier between you and God.

And God can't.

Hear your prayers and you can't hear him speak to you.

And what you need to do is confess that area,

that block and say, God, that's wrong. And I want

to confess it and I want to change. I want

to turn away from my sin. I want to turn

back to you. I want to be able to hear

from you, and you'll be able to hear him again. Well,

what if I've never ever heard God speak to me

in my life. I've never felt it. Then you need

to get to know Jesus Christ. You need to begin

a relationship. You may have been in church all of

your life. You can have Churchianity without Christianity. You can

have religion without a relationship. You can know all about

God and not really know him. Now we can settle

that one right now. The Bible says this, he who

belongs to God hears what God says. That's the mark

that you belong to God. You can hear him. The

reason you don't hear is that you don't belong to God.

You've never been saved, you've never been born again, you've

never stepped across the line in faith. You've never put

your total life in His hands. And this is the

day to do it. Let's bow our heads. I'm going

to pray a prayer right now. And if you've never

heard God speak to you, you need to begin a

relationship to him today. You can say something like this

in your heart. Just follow me and say me to God,

Dear God, I want to know you, and I want

to hear your voice, and I want to know what

you want me to do with my life. Jesus Christ,

I don't understand it all, but I thank you that

you love me, that you made me, that you shaped

me for a purpose, that you forgive me, and you

take away my condemnation. Show me the things in my

life that are keeping me from hearing you. I want

to confess them, and I want to get rid of them,

and I want to follow you and trust you from

this day forward. I ask you to accept me into

your family and help me to hear your voice and

feel your presence the rest of you. You've already opened

your life to Christ. You join me in this prayer, Say,

Dear God, I want to hear you when you talk

to me this week, and more than that, I want

to do what you tell me to do. I'm choosing

your way in advance, and I want to pass on

what you tell me to others so I can grow.

Help me to use these seven tests this week. As

I listen to you in your name, I pray Amen