Tag: hearing-god

HOW JESUS USED THE WORD OF GOD

(An excerpt from my book Hearing God’s Voice Every Day!)

We are going to take a peek at how Jesus used the Word of God in His daily life. Here is one example that we have. Now remember Jesus was alone, all by Himself when these events happened. So how do we know about them? He told His disciples and had them record it. It must have been important for Him to specifically recall it, and have the to do so. We see the interchnage in Luke 4:1-13

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

Jesus is our example of how we should live our lives and how we should do things. Jesus heard from God, and He used the word of God when He dealt with the tempter – the devil. Jesus is our example. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, a deserted place. Jesus was alone. All by Himself. No other human person was with Him.

2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil. Let me say that again. Jesus was tempted by the devil. Not by God. The devil is the tempter. We have the account of only three occurrences here, but it clearly says He was tempted for 40 days. He was also fasting for 40 days and afterward he was hungry. Then comes the tempter again. Are you seeing the picture here? Medical science tells us that around day 40 of not eating starvation begins and people usually start to die. He was literally starving when tempted to turn the stone into bread. He was HUNGRY.

3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

The tempter tempts us when and where we are weak. He tempts us where we have a NEED. He challenges our status and authority, as well as our natural desire to survive and live.

4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”  (Deut. 8:3)

Jesus used the Word of God to fight off the temptation. No doubt Jesus was hungry it tells us so – but that He was tempted means He thought about doing it. Sometimes we think that since Jesus was God and He always was constantly thinking God’s thoughts. But it clearly says that Jesus was tempted. He thought about doing it. James 1:13-14 tells us clearly that God does not ever tempt anyone but instead, each of us is tempted by our own desires. What kept Him in check? What helped Him in the midst of this temptation to stay strong? It was the written Word of God. Jesus is That Mana. He IS the Word of God and the Bread of Life, and even He used the established written Word of God in His battle.

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

Again, the tempter attacks Jesus in an area where He has a NEED. A desire (James 1:14) Jesus came into the world for this purpose. He came to take back the authority that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden. And Jesus thought about it. Maybe just a millisecond, but He did think about it. If Jesus never thought about doing it, then it would not have been a temptation.

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “  (Deut. 6:13)

I love how Jesus rebukes that old slimeball. Get behind Me satan. It means do not tempt me, I reject you, your statements, your beliefs, and your quotes. It means you did not do what you attempted or tried. We have some more modern ways of saying that. Get lost, Get out of my way, Take a hike, Beat it, Kick rocks, Take a long walk off a short pier, and Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. You choose which one fits your style, but they all have the same inference.

9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10  For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ 11  “and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ “

 (Psalm 91:11-12)

This part I think is the most enlightening. The enemy used the scripture to try and trick Jesus. Jesus had been using scripture the whole time. So, the enemy tries to use something that Jesus is familiar with and is a source of strength for Him, to cause Him to let down His guard. This tells us that it is not only important for us to know what the words in the word of God are, but we must also know what they mean and how to apply them.

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ “

 (Deut 6:16)

If Jesus the Son of God in the flesh… needed to learn, know, and use the scriptures… my friends we need to as well, and even more so. Jesus whipped the devil with three verses all from the book of Deuteronomy (see citations). We have 66 books of the Bible, and we can use them all. Get behind me, devil!

13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Just because you have one victory over the enemy doesn’t mean you will never have another opportunity. The devil will keep looking for an opportune time to try and get at you. Just like he did with Jesus. This is why we need to stay tuned into God and His word. There will be another time. We need to be prepared and ready. 

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, has deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:13-16

Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), 2 Timothy 3:16 (Amplified Version)

The word of God is our “reed”.  It’s a standard that we use to judge all things against. Let God be true and every man a Liar. (Romans 3:4).

  • His Word is forever settled in Heaven (Psalm 119:89)
  • He has exalted His Word above His Name (Psalm 138:2)
  • His Name is Called the Word of God (Revelation 19:13)
  • Jesus is the Word (John 1:1-14)
  • God works with and confirms His Word (Mark 16:20)

God’s Word keeps us safe and secure. We can trust His word implicitly. As we continue in His word, we are His disciples (sheep) and then we will know the Truth and that Truth will make us free.

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32

This may seem like a simple point, and straightforward, but I cannot emphasize it enough. As we continue in God’s word, the more we read, learn, and know, the more we will learn and know. This then makes it easier to hear God’s voice. Because we start to know God’s nature. What He likes and doesn’t like; what pleases Him; what His will is in given situations, (His Word is His will), then we can more easily know when He is speaking to us. Because we know God will never violate His word. He will speak in conjunction with what He has previously said in the past. “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. Jesus said, “to him that more will be given” Mark 4:25. And when Jesus said this, He was talking about having ears to hear. He said to watch what you hear and how you hear. And the degree of hearing is in proportion to the degree of importance you give to hearing.  (Mark 4:22-25)

(An excerpt from my book Hearing God’s Voice Every Day!)

GOD’S HEARING AIDES

(An excerpt from my book Hearing God’s Voice Every Day!)

God has placed safeguards for us. These safeguards serve more than one purpose. They help us stay safe “so we are not lead astray by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14),  they help us stay strong against the enemy, they help us “rightly dividing His Word” (2 Timothy 2:15), they help us hear Him better (Hebrews 5:14), they help us develop our own fruit (John 15:5) (fruit of the spirit and spiritual fruit – two different things – but that’s another lesson), they help us to “tune in” to His frequency.

HIS FREQUENCY

The description of a radio is a great example of how this works. Think of a radio station. It is always broadcasting. If I am unable to hear station 99.1 on my radio, I have to do some troubleshooting to figure out why. Do I have a proper radio that will pick up the frequency? Do I have an antenna? And is the antenna the right kind? Am I connected to a power source either electric current or battery-operated? Do I have the radio turned on? Is the radio tuned to the correct channel and band (AM or FM)?  Once I have the signal, is it fine-tuned to pick it up clearly? Do I have the volume set to the right level? Each one of these things can cause me to not be able to hear the broadcast coming from the station. Or to not hear it clearly. I do not think anyone would automatically assume the station was not broadcasting if they couldn’t hear the station. It is the same way with God. He is always broadcasting – He is always speaking to us. If we are not able to hear Him, then we need to first check our “equipment” to make sure it’s not broken and it’s working properly and make sure that it is plugged into the power source and tuned to the correct channel.

In this analogy, our equipment or radio is our born-again conscience, the Word of God, and praying in the spirit. Our equipment is also a safeguard for us to keep us on the correct path and make sure we do not tune into a different channel or be misled or deceived in any way.

SAFEGUARDS

Let us talk about some of these safeguards. There are many safeguards God has set in order, to help and guide us. The list below is by no means exhaustive, but merely a few examples to help us think about things differently. When we begin to think from a kingdom mindset then we demonstrate the true repentance that both John the Baptist and Jesus preached. For the Kingdom of Heaven is surely “at hand”.

  • His Word
  • Our Born-Again Conscience
  • Praying in the Spirit
  • Holy Spirit
  • Meditating
  • Worship
  • Peace
  • Spiritual Mentors (Discipleship – not TV/ Radio ministers) – Relationship is involved.

For this lesson, we will address His Word and our born-again conscience. In the next chapter, we will cover praying in the spirit.

HIS WORD

Although to some it may seem self-evident that God’s word would be a basic safety net when wanting to hear from God, even though it may seem this way, many people do not connect the dots and do not understand this concept.

Having a basic understanding of God’s word helps us to know when God is speaking to us. We have a measurement tool to use and verify if the content is from the same source. We take what we hear or perceive and hold it up next to God’s word and see if they say the same or similar thing.

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22 Amplified

As we incline our ears to His Word and give priority to His word, His word will be life and health to our flesh.

I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. Psalm 119:101

This says that we must restrain ourselves from evil so that we can keep His word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

His word sheds light on our path which means He leads us and directs and guides us. A lamp to our feet means we will not stub our toe or stumble because the light is on our feet where we walk. This shows us that not only does God give us broad big picture direction, but He will also give us the small details and make sure that where we go is lit up. Of course, we have to listen to and obey His word to see this result.

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.John 15:3

His word makes us clean and pure. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We are clean and pure before God when we hear His word. This gives us confidence that we can come before Him with boldness.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35

His word will never pass away. It says that Heaven and earth will pass away. We know from Revelation 21:1 that at the end of the age, heaven and earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But His word will remain. He is the Word.

These verses above outline for us some of the ways that doing this protects us and keeps us safe. God’s words bring us life and health, they keep us from evil, and they shed light on our path so we will know God’s will for our lives. They keep us clean, and pure in our minds and souls. And they can be counted on and relied upon until the end of time – forever.

God and His word are One. Jesus is the Word of God. (John 1:1) The Word of God is God. I am not referring to the ink, paper, and binding of a book, but the words contained on the pages. The Spirit of those words. Imagine the more you know God’s word, the more you know God. I would like to add a caveat to that statement. What does it mean to know God’s word? I do not mean just being able to read, memorize and recite words. The word must get inside of you, it must be real and come alive. The word is a light that “shines in the darkness” of your heart and mind (John 1:5) “until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your heart” (2 Peter 1:19). When this happens, it brings a spiritual understanding and establishes what you have heard. This is also called a revelation. Paul refers to this as having the eyes of your understanding enlightened so that you may know His will. (Ephesians 1:18)

Have you ever heard the phrase “it just dawned on me”? This verse in 2 Peter is where that phrase comes from. And when someone uses that phrase, they are referring to something that just became aware to them in their mind. Something they were not previously thinking about or may not have understood. Then suddenly a light bulb goes off on the inside and a fresh new perspective arises inside. That is the day dawning in your heart. That is revelation straight from God.

(An excerpt from my book Hearing God’s Voice Every Day!)