This morning we continue our series entitled, “Power of Fellowship.” Yesterday I shared a testimony of God’s goodness. Honestly, I only shared a portion. I don’t have time to tell the entire story, but believe me, it’s a good one. Isabella and I are very thankful for what God is doing in our lives and through our ministry. But as I think about the goodness of God towards us, and I think about this series, I see a clear connection. While it is true that God made plans for us before the world began, and it is true that Isabella and I are seemingly walking those plans out (in our marriage, our ministry, during Missions trips, in business, and etc.), it is also true that it could have easily been a different story. Isabella and I could have been CLOSED to God. We have missed God more times than we want to acknowledge and if we had missed God on the things I talked about yesterday, then we would not have that testimony. This is how critical walking with God is. If we learn to walk with God, to hear His voice, and to remain OPEN to whatever He wants to do, then God can do what He planned to do in, with and through our lives, while we are in the earth. Simply put, God’s plans are better than our plans, and if we are OPEN to His plans, and we are willing to launch out, IN FAITH, to attempt what He is leading us to do, even when it makes no sense at all, we can live the life we were born to live.
So what does this mean to you today? I will share a few thoughts around getting to know God.
1. You get to know God through his Word.
a) People are always seemingly struggling to know the will of God. However, these same people fail to read the Word of God. The Word of God is the will of God documented.
b) The Word of God contains the character, attributes and nature of God Himself. The more you know the Word of God, the better you will know the God of the Word.
c) Once you fill your heart and mind with God’s Word, and you have a general sense of who God is, you are in position to hear His voice. You read what He SAID (back then) so you can hear what He is SAYING to you today.
2. You get to know God through His Spirit.
a) The Holy Spirit is no less God than any member of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is God Himself and if you are Born-Again, He lives INSIDE of you. Wouldn’t it be crazy to walk around with God on the inside of you for years without you ever talking to Him? Unfortunately, this is what many Christians do.
b) The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not an “IT”, a “THING” or a “SOMETHING TOLD ME”. He is a person. If you talk to Him, He will talk to you. If you are Born-Again, you are walking around with the Holy Spirit INSIDE of you. You might as well get to know Him. If you do, your life will never be the same.
c) God is a Spirit. He does not have a physical body. He does not relate to you or this world through physical senses. This makes Him spiritual, not sensual. So while you use your physical body, and its physical senses, to relate to this world, your body does not help you at all in communicating with God. God is a Spirit. You must communicate with Him Spirit-to-Spirit. This is why God gave you His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is your Spirit-to-Spirit connection to the Father and His Son.
3. You get to know God by experiences — it takes PRACTICE!
a) Once you become OPEN to what the Holy Spirit is saying, He will reveal what to do, where to go and what to say when you get there. This is the way we are supposed to live. But you won’t be perfect at it. You are going to hear some things you thought was God and later you will find out it wasn’t. That’s okay. That’s part of the process. You will never get better until you start trying.
b) It seems like Christians forget that practice is required to perfect any skill. Hearing from God is no different. It will take practice. You will make mistakes. You will swing-and-miss, and you have to be okay with it. But if you keep practicing, you will get better at hearing God’s voice and your life will produce fruit as a result.
c) Even when you believe you are hearing God’s voice, remember that God won’t tell you everything up front. You won’t have all the answers. This is why God requires faith of you. If you are willing to LAUNCH OUT to attempt what you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to do, you will [eventually] become the Spirit-led believer God has called you to be. Just know up front that this will take practice. You will make mistakes. You will miss God from time to time. You have to be okay with that. You cannot be afraid of failure. You will never walk on water if you are afraid of getting out of the boat.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for making plans for me before the world began. I can never be a success outside of Your plans. Therefore, hearing from You is absolutely critical to my success on this planet. I declare that I hear Your voice. To do so I build up my understanding of who You are by reading Your Word. I get to know You and Your will through Your Word. I also get to know You by Your Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who lives inside of me, is my Spirit-to-Spirit connection to You. The more I fill my heart with Your Word, and the more I spend time with the Holy Spirit, the better equipped I am to hear Your voice and to do what You are leading me to do. I know it will take practice. I know I will make mistakes along the way. But I am not afraid of failure. I know I can’t ever hit a homerun if I don’t take a swing. I know I can never walk on water if I am afraid of getting out of the boat. So from this day forward I am OPEN to You and Your Spirit, and even if I fail, I am willing to PRACTICE being led of You every day. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
