Faith That Overcomes. Part 2 – Learning His Voice
Introduction
We began this series on Faith that Overcomes by looking at how Abraham the father of faith believed and obeyed God despite difficult natural circumstances. Abraham did not have a Bible as we do today yet the Lord spoke to him clearly. The Lord in the same manner spoke to his son Isaac decades later. On one occasion Isaac had determined to leave the land of promise for Egypt due to famine and God told him not to go to Egypt. See Genesis 26:1-3 and vs 12. Drilling down to our own circumstances in today’s world, the big question in many minds would probably be “how do I know when God is speaking to me? How do we determine and separate between our own inner voice and the Lord’s or His Holy Spirit?
Jesus promised that His Spirit will be with us to teach us, show us things to come, and guide us into all truth. Let us continue to examine the scriptures in order to learn His voice.
Guided Group Discussion
Scripture Readings: John 14:25-26, John 16:5-15
What stood out to you in the 2 scripture texts?
- Discuss your observations as a group about the Holy Spirit’s assignment and anything else that comes to mind from the verses read.
Guided Conversations: 4 ways God speaks to us
God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit as we study and meditate in the Holy Scriptures, through the Inner Witness, Dreams, Visions, and the Audible Voice. He also speaks through Third Parties and Circumstances. God can choose any way to speak on any matter. He is God and “does as He pleases.” Psalm 115:3.
1. The Holy Scriptures
- Read 2 Peter 1:16-21, and Joshua 1:8 and describe the place of God’s word (The Scriptures) in our lives. How important are the scriptures?
- Does anyone have a specific experience to share about hearing God (the Holy Spirit) speak to them directly from the Bible?
- Make Bible reading and meditation a priority in your life.
2. Dreams, Visions, and the Audible voice
Read and discuss the following verses:
- Paul’s vision of a man laying hands on him. Acts 9:10-19
- Paul’s Macedonian Vision. Acts 16:6-10
- Paul’s Angelic Visitation. Acts 27:13-26
- Peter’s Audible Voice experience. Acts 10:9-16
Conclusion/Summary
The Old and New Testament scriptures have examples of God speaking to His people in diverse ways. Most of the references in this study are purposely chosen from the New Testament especially the book of Acts which records what happened after Jesus had returned to heaven. This is because many Christians have been taught that the Lord only speaks through the Scriptures. However, we can conclude reasonably that God is not limited to the scriptures and will use whatever means He chooses to communicate with His people. The scriptures are our guard rails to test what we may be hearing plus the confirming witness of other believers. We hear God’s voice through the scriptures and learn to recognize when His Spirit is speaking to us during the course of our daily lives. This is powerful!!!
Prayer Time
- Any Praise Reports?
- Praise God for the Holy Spirit Who guides us into all truth
- Pray that we learn to recognize the voice of the Father and His Holy Spirit in whatever manner He chooses to speak to us.
- Pray for one another’s needs as needed.
Announcements
- Next Small Groups Wednesday, March 15, Faith That Overcomes Part 3 – Learning His Voice Continued (Inner Witness, Third Party and Circumstantial Confirmations)
- Prayer Summit Saturday, April 1, from 12 pm to 3 pm. Please come fasting