Hearing God requires that you listen to him

The Main Points:

• You may not be hearing God because you’re not truly listening!

• You may be ignoring what God’s already told you.

  • Perhaps because you’re afraid, or, like Jonah, you don’t like what he’s said to do.

  • Or maybe you think it’s not God talking to you. Perhaps because you don’t think he still speaks (he does: Ephesians 1:17, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Galatians 2:1-2…he gives his people revelations!) or because you don’t understand how he speaks.

• You may not be leaving God room to speak.

• How you can start to truly listen for God’s voice:

  • Read Scripture slowly and with an eye to be changed.

  • Treat prayer like a conversation. Ask questions and listen for answers.

  • Use a journal to record your prayers and what God is saying and doing.

  • Be open to what God may be saying.

  • Test everything against Scripture, because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

  • Do what God says!

• Action Step: Having given thanks for God’s past faithfulness, and having confessed and turned from your sin, set aside no less than a 1/2 hour every day to spend reading your Bible, praying, and listening for what God wants to say to you.

Watch or Listen:

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What to do when you can't hear God

Text to Read: Psalm 22 NIV

Watch the whole message (audio begins about 20 seconds in):

The Main Point:

• In your soul’s darkest hour, the past illuminates the way forward.

Action Step:

• Begin a journal to keep a record of God’s faithfulness (even in the smallest ways) that you can refer back to in the dark night of the soul.

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What does it look like to leave a legacy?

Text to Read: 2 Samuel 23:24, 39 NLT

Watch the whole message:

Main Points to Ponder:

• The key to dreaming big is thinking long, even beyond your lifetime.

• When you act based on a short-term outlook, you’re going to mess up.

• Jesus came despite your mistakes and overcame them at the cross.

• Action Step:

  • Dream big, dream long: put everything in the scope of eternity as you go out and chase lions.

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What will I have to give up to pursue my dream?

Text to read: 2 Samuel 23:13-17 NLT

Main Points:

• Following Jesus often calls for personal sacrifice.

  • Hebrews 11:33-40 NLT

• From your human perspective, sacrifice is the enemy.

• Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross stripped death of its power and opened the way for you to find an eternal purpose.

• In the grand scheme of God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will, eternal gain infinitely offsets earthly pain.

  • Revelation 21:1-4 NLT

• Action Step:

  • Put eternal reward above earthly comforts: ask the Holy Spirit if there is something you need to sacrifice that is holding you back from Christ’s eternal purpose for you.

Prefer to listen? Search for “Abundant Springs Sermons” in your favourite podcatcher or listen below: