HEARING GOD - The Bible // One Church Podcast, 3rd July 2023

We are one church. We love God, love people, love

his mission and love his church. Welcome to the One Church

Podcast. Hello and welcome to the One

Church Podcast. Today is Monday the 3rd of July

and it's great to have you listening with us today.

Before we dive in, just a quick thought from the Bible for you.

This is from Psalm 34 verse 8. It says taste and see that the

Psalms 34:8

Lord is good. Blessed are those who take

refuge in Him. And isn't it great to know that

we have a God whose goodness is tangible and it's unchanging?

We can know it in our lives, whatever is happening.

So this week, whatever is going on in your life, know that God

is good, that he is with you, and you can take refuge in Him.

Today we are continuing our new teaching series on hearing God,

and this week we're focusing on how we can hear God through the

Bible. This is a brilliant message

recorded at our central site from one of our senior leaders,

Pastor Susan Hind. So let's be ready to be inspired

and encouraged as we open the word together.

Followers of Jesus, the Bible really is like an amazing multi

layered satnav. But it's much, much more than

that. It's so foundational to us.

It's all about relationship. It's all about relationships.

You know, the Bible is an invitation to a relationship.

With God, it's ultimately how we know what we know, and it's how

our lives get shaped, how our lives get changed.

And it's where we start. When we want to hear God, it's

his living word, and we need it more than Our Daily Bread.

So let's start on the road to Emmaus today.

You can read it for yourself. I'm not going to read the whole

passage, just a couple of verses.

But in Luke's Gospel chapter 24, we read of a couple who just

after Jesus has risen from the dead, it's the same day.

But not all his disciples either know that or believe that.

And these two are walking home, the seven mile journey from

Jerusalem to a mayor to their home.

Dejected, they're confused and Jesus comes and he walks along

with them, but they don't recognize him to start with.

And what does he do? He asks them questions and it

says in Luke 2427, beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures

concerning himself. Why didn't Jesus suddenly say,

here I am, guys, You know I, here I am.

I've risen from the dead because it was important for him to lead

this Bible study, If you like to carefully show that the Bible

speaks of him, the Bible speaks of his life, the Bible speaks of

his resurrection, his death, and he shows what he believes about

the Bible just through that one verse.

And remember, the Bible he had right then was what we would

call the Old Testament today. So he shows that the Bible is

his authority. He shows that the Bible is all

about him. And he shows that the Bible has

great power to speak directly and personally into our lives.

No wonder the couple said once they had had their eyes opened

and and saw Jesus for who he was.

We're not our hearts burning within us while we here opened

the scriptures to us. Do you know this is what we

want, isn't it? Today We want our hearts to burn

within us and if we've lost some of that passion.

For reading and understanding the word of God, I'm praying and

I know this is going to be reignited in us today.

All these points can be applied to us.

The Bible is our authority. The Bible is all about Jesus,

and the Bible speaks, and through its pages we hear God

welcoming us, inviting us into this conversation.

Now I'm sure if you are a believer in the room, or even if

you're not, you may have, well, believers certainly.

But all of you could tell stories maybe about the power of

God through the Bible in your life.

Scriptures that led to you asking God for forgiveness.

Romans 323. All of sind and fall short of

the glory of God, but justified freely by his grace.

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever

believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 316 For me, when I was first saved, I was going to

bring you a book today, but I couldn't fit it on my bike.

It was a first song book that I wrote.

So I got a guitar when I first became a Christian and I wrote

songs. Not particularly brilliant

songs, but. Actually quite memorable.

I still remember them today, but the first one I wrote was called

Peace Be with You or something like that.

It was, it was based on John 14. Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.

And right down the side of all these songs I've written as a 15

year old girl, I had found all these verses from the Bible and

they're all written out in different felt pens.

And you know, right from the very beginning the Bible spoke

to me and it speaks to all of us, you know, prophetic words

that have become part of your life.

I hope you keep reigniting those speaking over those, you know,

for me, things like mother of many nations.

Well, that came to a whole new meaning a few years ago, didn't

it? When we joined with a church

called All Nations. Moments like my dad's funeral,

where I knew that deep peace. And you know, he said my peace,

I give to you words to hang on to up our stairs in our house,

we have prophetic posters. So we've made a poster for every

person in our family and it has their name and it has.

The verses that God has spoken to us about those people around

them, it just means you go down the stairs and you can literally

say, Oh yes. So Samuel, you know a lot of his

verses are from one Samuel because when he was born, that

was why we called him Samuel. And it says you prayed for this

child and I gave him to you for his whole life.

It will be dedicated to the Lord.

It says the word of the Lord came to Samuel and all Israel

said he was a prophet. You know, so we keep speaking

those words out over our children, over our

grandchildren. We're about to put a new poster

up there that we've made for fee.

Who's going to come into our family in August when she

marries Samuel? Maybe there's times when you

didn't know what to do. And the the logos word, the

written word, became the Rayma word for you, became the living

active word that spoke to you personally.

I remember delivering some Christmas hampers back in

Nottingham. In the inner city in something

we used to call Operation Rudolph, where we used to

deliver Christmas hampers all over the city to families in

need. And I was on a street in a place

called Snenten, right near the city center with loads of

rubbish blowing down this street.

And I was sort of on my own delivering this hamper to this

particular house. And I just sensed in my in just

in my heart, in my spirit. The verse is from the Bible is

I58. I will call you a repair of

broken walls, a restore of streets with dwellings.

I felt the Lord say to me through that you're going to

work here the next week, I think it was.

Or just even a few weeks later, this job advert came up for a

job in Cent and I I applied for it and I knew.

I just knew I was going to get that job because I thought the

Lord had already spoken to me about it.

And I did. And that led to a few more

things that really prepared me for the journey of coming to

Leicester. You know, these things happen

more and more when we read and know the Bible.

More, I mean. The Holy Spirit could only bring

those verses to my mind because I've actually read them and knew

them. Yes, Jess, our amazing young

niece who was with us last weekend, she would say that the

thing that most shaped her life and her brother and her sister's

life through their whole of their childhood and teenage

years was their family Bible studies.

Every night their family sit and she said they didn't always want

to, I have to say. But the before they went to bed,

and particularly when they were teenagers, they would like make

the kids sit and they would, they would read a bit of the

Bible. But when they were teenagers,

they actually turned that as well into what's going on at

school. What are the questions you've

got? How can the Bible answer those

questions? And they just kept conversing

with their children and bringing the word.

So their lives were based on the word of God and not on the

voices around. And that is really those three

children are doing amazing things for God.

All in other countries, even over this summer, the younger

two are ministering to asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey

this summer. I mean, they're just amazing

kids. So as it like for Jesus, if we

want to hear God through his word, we're going to look at

those three points that we brought out about Jesus and the

Bible. We're going to look at the Bible

as our authority, how the Bible is all about Jesus and how it

speaks to us. So the Bible is our authority.

So As for you, Timothy. Paul says to Timothy, continuing

what you've learned and become convinced of how you've known

the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for

salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

All Scriptures God breathed and is useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting, and training and righteousness so

that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every

good work. So the Bible is our authority.

This Biblia, this, this library of books, all different.

Inspired God breathes. Authors carried along, it says

in the Word by the Holy Spirit, every part God has chosen to be

there. Infallible, Worldwide, the most

successful book of all time. Every year, more than 100

million copies of the Bible are sold or given away.

Why? Not because it's just old and

profound, but because the Bible points to Jesus, and Jesus is

relevant to every time, is relevant to every culture, and

believing what it says changes lives.

So how does the Bible speak or operate in our lives?

We're just going to use some Bible pictures.

And I have to say, I got really inspired by this when I was

preparing. So I've got a bit of a feast for

you here. So get ready.

The word, first of all. And one word the Bible uses

about itself is a shield. So I'm 119, You are my refuge

and my shield. You might want to jot down these

references and and use them in your observations this week and

really get inspired about the Bible, what it is in your life.

I've put my hope in your word. The word is our defense in an

uncertain world. I don't know how many times I

have sheltered behind as it were, the word of God.

You know, coming to my daily journaling and writing down I I

was have a a but well, nearly every day a verse for the day.

And I try and hold on to that verse through the day and keep

remembering it, try and bring it back to my mind.

Because the Word is our defense. The world is uncertain, but the

Word is sure and the Word is our defense.

The enemy has no access point to us.

If we are hiding behind the words of God.

So the Word as well as water. Completely different.

Picture Ephesians 5. Christ loved the church and gave

himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the

washing with water through the Word.

What's water like? Water is limitless.

It refreshes. It satisfies thirst.

The Word is like water. It washes off the effects of

sin. It renews our mind.

It purifies us. It shows us what is right and it

leads us to a place of blessing. You know, when we pray for

people for freedom, we often ask them to stand on.

We're always scriptures. We ask them to stand on the

Bible because it brings cleansing to the mind.

It brings us truth, as it says in the inner parts.

The word is a sword. There's two areas the sword

operates in our life. The sword of the Spirit, the

Word of God. One is against the enemy.

And it's a weapon to fight with and the other is a a knife as it

where that operates on our hearts.

So it operas inside us as well. Ephesians 617.

Take up the sword of the spirit which is the word of God stand

on the word. It's great for example to pray

the word. Think about the difference

between just saying oh Lord bless Lester, well that's a

great prayer to pray. There's nothing wrong with that

prayer but how much more powerful if we can grab hold of

a scripture that we want to pray over Lester for example.

To say something like keep on speaking and do not be silent,

No one is going to attack or harm you.

Because I have many people in this city.

That's that's 18 verse 10. But also the word is a knife for

an operation on us. It's like a knife for

circumcision as in the Old Testament Hebrews 4, verse 12.

Hebrews 4:12

Alive and active. It's sharper than any double

edged sword dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow.

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

I wonder have you ever been cut open?

By the word of God, challenged, deeply changed.

The word is a Plumb line. What's a Plumb line?

If you're a build or in any sort of trade, you would know.

I think it used to be actually a, a string, didn't it?

But it's it's something that keeps the building straight or

keeps what you're doing straight.

And the Bible is that for us, it's our standard.

It's our constant. It shapes our doctrine.

It's living, active truth that keeps us grounded.

It's how we judge everything. It's how we live.

If you look on our website, you'll see there's a link to the

AOG website down at the bottom. And you know we can quote our

beliefs from the AOG statements of faith, as it were.

And what it says there about the Bible is it says we believe that

the Bible is the inspired word of God, the infallible or

sufficient rule for faith and practice for what we believe and

for what we do. If we don't base what we believe

and what we do on the Bible, then what are we basing it on?

And as a church, we choose to base it on the Bible.

It's also how we test the words we hear or receive.

One Thessalonian says. Do not despise prophecies, but

test everything. Hold fast to what is good.

Now there may be some people in the room who have some

reservations from past experience of prophecies, maybe

being misused or things that didn't ever happen, but just

feel safe that we can and we will sift the word.

If you like, sift that Rama word with the written word and for

example, we can read about the fruit of the spirit relations. 5

and we can test a prophetic word.

By that measure, you know, is it bringing love?

Is it, is it full of joy? Is it full of peace?

And so on. If it's not, then it doesn't

come from the spirit. The word is also like yeast.

The Kingdom of God is like yeast, says Luke 13.

When the word enters our lives, it spreads.

It feels everything. It's like perfume filling A

room. And it brings change like yeast

in the dough. If you're a Baker here and you

put yeast in your dough, it spreads.

And there comes that time when it gets proved and it starts to

rise and then it's baked and it's lovely.

And it also spreads to communities.

So the word it says in at 1224, the word of God continues to

increase and spread. Yesterday David and I went to

two church celebrations, so we went to Bible hall in high

fields or both in high fields. Bible Hall in high fields in the

afternoon to welcome their new minister Dariush into his post

there as their new minister. And then also couldn't have been

a more different celebration in the evening, An amazing vibrant

celebration with our friends who are officially now taking on

that building. And it was just such an amazing

celebration. I was just encouraged that the

yeast is in the dough in high fields.

You know, we as a church are not based there anymore.

But the Lord has got His work there and the the see the many

seeds that have been sown in that area by us and by many

other churches are in the ground.

The yeast is in the dough. The Word is in the dough, and

the word will continue to increase and spread Bear fruit.

The Word is medicine. How many references to in the

Bible there are many to the Word restoring us, even our flesh.

It says Proverbs 38. How it's health to your body and

nourishment to your bones. Personally, speaking over

ourselves, we couldn't. We can say things like as my

strength, as my days, so shall my strength be.

I often pray that over David, over myself, over my mum, and so

on. It's a great faith building

prayer to pray from the Bible. You might want to bless your

body with the word of God. You know there's a part of your

body not working very well, then speak over it.

Speak life over it. Say versus like Romans 811.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and

will give life to your mortal body.

I remember my sisterinlaw Janice coming back from Mauritania

where she was a frontline missionary and being very sick

with some disease that no people didn't know what was wrong with

her and actually we believe maybe potentially her life was

in danger. Nobody really knew what was the

issue and David and I went to visit her in hospital, anointed

her with oil. I remember praying over her the

verse from Jeremiah 2911 that the Lord has plans to prosper

you and not to harm you, to give you hope and the future.

And suddenly David and I just had this surge of faith that she

had a future, that that that God had plans for her future.

So the enemy was not going to take her.

We began to pray like quite strongly.

And actually, I don't think we ever found out exactly what was

the issue. But she recovered and she went,

you know, she's doing, she's done amazing things for God

around the world and still today.

So find scriptures, apply them like medicine and like medicine.

Remember, you got to take it every day.

The word is an arrow. It's propelled.

It hits the mark. He sent forth His word.

My word says God out coming out of from my mouth.

It will not return empty, always return full.

It goes out like an arrow. The word is light.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

It's a broad light that shines on our whole life.

But also it's a a lamp that, if you like, that shines on our

feet, that can show us the way just straight in front of our

feet. Some specific guidance sometimes

we can have from the Word because it has layers, and very

often as well, probably more often guiding principles that we

learn from the Word. And then God says, right, I've

given you a brain, so you choose.

Often that happens as well. And the Word is fire.

His Word is in my heart like a fire, says Jeremiah.

It melts hardness, expresses the fiery love of God.

It's like an urgent passion in our being setting us ablaze.

And the Word is seed. The seed is the word of God,

Jesus says when he he shares the parable of the sower.

Good soil is important. The seed is small but carries

the potential of growth and harvest.

The word of God can make us pregnant.

You know that even men here. You can be pregnant with the

promise of God, with the word of God, but you have to receive the

word. Make room for the word.

Watch over it and amazing things will come.

The word is bread mansion, not live on bread alone, but every

word that comes from the mouth of God.

Bread all over the world, all different types isn't there.

We had some last night some of the I feel slightly strange

bread which is wrapped in cling film which is like ugali or you

know that sort of thing from when that we have in Kenya.

I think it tastes like play dough, but people love it,

people love it. So there's different types of

bread all over the world, different tastes, different

people love different types of bread.

But bread is like a staple food. And the and the Bible is our

staple food. It's our everyday food.

And the word lasts forever, it says as I-40.

The grass Withers, the flowers fall.

But the word of the Lord endures forever.

This book is eternal. It will never, ever fail.

And this word is precious. Psalm 19.

Perfect, refreshing the soul. Trustworthy, making wise, the

simple giving joy to the heart. Radiant, giving light to the

eyes. More precious than gold, much

fine gold. Sweeter than honey by them as

your servant worn. And keeping them there is great

reward. That's the commands of the Lord.

When our king was crowned a few months ago, he was given a Bible

by the Church of Scotland. Moderator and he said these

words. He said, we present you with

this book. The most valuable thing that

this world affords here is wisdom.

This is the royal law. These are the lively oracles of

God. What a book.

What a book. Hey.

No wonder. If we want to hear God, we start

here. Second, the Bible is all about

Jesus, so we look for Jesus on every single page.

This is the big story, and it's our story, but it's Jesus

through it all. This is what Jesus said when he

shared with the Pharisees in John Five.

He said the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning

me. You've never heard his voice,

nor seen his form, nor does His word dwell in you.

For you do not believe the one he sent.

You study the scriptures diligently because you think

that in them you have eternal life.

These are the very scriptures that testify about me, yet you

refuse to come to me to have life.

The passion version says you are busy analyzing the scriptures,

pouring over them, hoping to gain eternal life.

Everything you read points to me, yet you still refuse to come

to me so I can give you the life you're looking for, eternal

life. It is possible to read the

Bible. To read the words of God and not

to see Jesus, they missed the point, which is relationship.

They didn't see that in the scriptures Jesus is in creation,

that Jesus is the seed, that Jesus is in the priest that sees

in the sacrifices, the lamb, the Tabernacle, the prophets, the

poetry of the psalms, the wisdom of proverbs.

He's the son of David, He's the king of kings, He's the temple

builder. He's the temple himself.

And that's just the Old Testament, the New Testament,

whole new day, isn't it? They read it, but they didn't

see and they didn't hear and they didn't meet the one it was

all written about. So when he came in person into

the world, they didn't recognize him.

And what Jesus says here, there's an invitation to you and

me if you read between the lines here because he says study the

scriptures, study the scriptures, Yes, read the

scriptures and come to me to have life.

So let's let the scriptures lead us to Jesus and look for him on

every. Page So when Jesus met the pair

on the Emmaus Rd. he showed them that the Bible was his

authority, that it's all about him, and finally that the Bible

has great power to speak directly and personally into our

lives. It is personal because our God

is a relational God. Through the Bible we hear God.

This is what Rowan Williams said.

It was an ex Archbishop of Canterbury.

Christians read the Bible not just as a document from history,

but as a world into which they enter so that God may meet them

there. Jesus said, if you remain in me

and my words remain in you, ask and it will be given you.

This is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit.

If we want to wear fruit in our lives, we remain in Jesus in

relationship. And with His word, we let His

word remain in us. This is power and fruitfulness.

So if we believe that practically, then so we just

apply this. Now, how can we embed this

practice of hearing God through His word every day?

So how often do you expect to hear God?

I hope you're saying every single day.

Often. Yes, our dog even knows my

morning routine. So when she hears the coffee

machine going, she runs into the room where I pray and read the

Bible, and jumps on the sofa there.

A few practical tips. Get hungry.

If you think about the Bible as bread, what happens when you go

to the supermarket and they're pumping out that smell, you

know? And the bread, they they know

what they're doing, don't they? They just, they pump out that

smell of bread and your nose goes and it's like one of those

cartoons where the smell goes up your nostrils and you go, oh,

bread's got to go to the top of my list.

I've got to because the smell of fresh bread.

Man shall not live on bread alone.

But every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Get hungry. No guilt if you're feeling now.

Oh no, I've not done well. You know, I don't read the Bible

as much as I could and. I found it a bit dry recently.

We'll get past the accusing voices because that doesn't do

you any good whatsoever. Just just start again or restart

read every day. I don't make any bones about

that. I don't say just like read once

a week, read the Bible every day as much as you can.

Choose a place, change your pace and have a few moments each day

where you stop and you read. Have a plan.

If you start where to start, Start with the gospels and just

read a bit each day and ask God to speak to you.

Be creative and be yourself, but find ways to engage your heart

as well as your head. Grasp it by faith.

Romans 10/17 says faith comes from hearing and hearing from

the word of God. Here's 5 fingers, well four

fingers in the thumb to to grasp the word with to hear.

Devote yourself to public reading.

Why not listen to an audio Bible?

If you find it hard to read, it can be really good.

Maybe make some notes as you go along or whatever.

Secondly, read. Read regularly, aloud or in

quiet. You can read the Bible aloud.

You know on your own if that helps you write in your Bible.

Scribble in it. Read with your senses, Read with

your imagination. Try and imagine yourself in the

places that you read about. Maybe use an app like the Bible

in One year, if that helps you. Or Lectia 365.

Really good study. Apply yourself to understanding

like the Bereans did in at 17. Memorize it due to only 11.

As you go along it says remember these things and teach them to

your children. Pick verses that mean something

to you, Write them up somewhere, put them on your wall, you know

scribble them out on, put them on your fridge or whatever and

just try and remember them. I talked to a lady the other day

who does this with her children, but she she puts them to music.

I think that's a great idea, if you can do that, because that

helps you remember and meditate day and night, says in San Juan

for more revelation, chew it over.

So I wonder who here is more hungry to hear God in his word

than when we started this morning.

Yeah, we're just going to pray. We're just going to ask Jesus to

do for us what he did for that couple on the Emmaus Rd.

Because his nature hasn't changed.

Lord, I just thank you. We thank you for your word.

And Lord, each of us just want to say to you in our own hearts,

will you draw alongside us as you drew alongside that couple

on the Emmaus Rd. will you open the scriptures to us?

And Lord, I speak over every person here, Lord, that we will

hear you afresh in your word until we also say like them.

Didn't our hearts burn within us as He opened the scriptures to

us? Lord, I pray your word in our

lives will be louder than the voices around us.

It will be louder than unbelief. And we would also have a word on

every occasion to share with those around us.

Lord, that we would take those words that you speak in our life

and we would share them. Lord, like the little boy shared

his pet lunch with the crowd. Lord, we pray that you help us

to share and break the bread of your word wherever we go.

In Jesus name, Amen. Thank you, Susan, for that

brilliant message. Isn't it amazing that God speaks

to us through His words? So as you read the Bible this

week, be ready to hear from him. And why not even be bold and

share a verse with someone else too?

Before we sign off, we just want to let you know about what's

going on in the life of 1 Church.

This is your family news. Our next Newcomers event is

happening on Thursday the 13th of July 7:00 PM at 12 Frog

Island. If you are new to one church and

you're considering making this your home, Newcomers is the

event for you. It's a chance to meet some of

the team, hear the heart and the vision, and find out how you can

get involved in the life of 1 Church.

We'd love to see you there. This coming Saturday, the 8th of

July, we have our next United Kids event.

This is a brilliant event full of fun, worship and teaching for

children aged 7 to 11 from churches all across the city.

It's happening at Holy Trinity from six until 8:00 PM and you

are invited. And finally, we want to let you

know about an event called Run Leicester.

This is a charity run that lots of people get involved with for

all sorts of different causes, and we would love A-Team to Run

in aid of Open Hands this year. So if you're interested in

finding out more about that, there are details on the Open

Hands website. If you'd like more information

about any of those things, or you want to respond to the

message or receive prayer in any way, we are here for you.

Please do get in touch. Thank you so much for tuning in

today. It's been great to have you with

us. Be blessed and have a brilliant

week. The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.