Hear God's Voice and Live By Faith

Romans 14:23 says,
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

WHATEVER is not from faith is sin!

What if EVERYTHING we did in this life was from faith? What would that look like?

When I do choose to live by faith or from faith, awesome things happen! God shows up. God blesses people. Lives are changed for the better. My life is changed for the better.

What would it look like if I lived this way CONSISTENTLY?!

Jesus did live this way, and look at what He was able to accomplish in those three short years! He redeemed the time He had. I don't believe Jesus ever wasted His time.

If we are wasting our time, then we are wasting our life. If we are wasting our life, then we are wasting our purpose.

If we choose to live a life full of faith, then we will be able to do the same and even greater things than Jesus did! (John 14:12) Those are His words, not mine.

Jesus loved people. Jesus had compassion for people. He healed the sick. He delivered people from demons. He raised the dead. He was a servant, and He was willing to die in order to accomplish God's will for His life.

How far would I go to accomplish God's will for my life? What price am I willing to pay?

Jesus only did what the Father showed Him to do and only said what the Father told Him to say. We are capable and called to live in a similar manner. Jesus is our example. We are to live like He did.

That's crazy! That is the radical way of living we are ALL called to as Christians.

We have to be intimately connected to the Lord at all times in order to live this way. This is what abiding in the Lord looks like. This is what following His commandments looks like.

In the book Beautiful Outlaw John Eldredge says,
"If you do not experience Jesus intimately, daily, ...if you do not know the comfort of his actual presence, do not hear his voice speaking to you personally- you have been robbed.
If you do not know the power of his indwelling life in you, shaping your personality, healing your brokenness, enabling you to live as he did- you have been plundered."

We can experience intimate times with the Lord every single day.

We are called to walk and live by faith! (Hebrews 10:38, 2 Corinthians 5:7) Walking and living by faith won't be the easiest job we've ever done, but it will be the most rewarding.

Faith glorifies God and pleases God. (Romans 4:20, Hebrews 11:6) If what we are doing isn't of faith, then it can't glorify or please God. In fact, if what we do and say isn't of faith, then it displeases God and it will bring someone else glory.

It might glorify or please us, but that's not the goal. We need to ask ourselves, "Is this going to glorify and please Jesus, or are my intentions less honorable? Am I doing this for my glory and my own pleasing or for His?"

It always comes down to our heart. That's why we are supposed to guard our hearts. (Proverbs 4:23) Am I doing this for the right reasons? Do I have the right motivation?

We should only be concerned with what our Father thinks and says of us. If we know who we are in Him, then we won't care what anyone else thinks or says about us.

There are many external acts and works we may do that are good, but they're still not God. We might even receive accolades and praise from those around us for the service we have done... but that doesn't necessarily mean God is pleased with our service.

Did God show us and tell us to do these things? Were they from faith, or were they from our own self righteous acts and human wisdom? Were they God's good or man's good?

Romans 10:17 says,
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The written AND spoken Word of God.

Photo credit: www.freeimages.com/profile/djeyewater

God spoke to His followers all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. If He talked to them, then why wouldn't He still talk to us?! We are part of a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6), so surely being able to hear from God would be part of our relationship and covenant with the Lord!

John 10:27 says,
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

We can and should hear from the Lord. If we aren't hearing, then we either aren't listening or we don't know how to listen.

Hearing from God should not only be limited to a pinnacle experience in our faith that happened at a conference or a camp meeting. Hearing from God should be a daily, moment by moment, experience where we receive faith and direction from Him. Talking with and hearing from the Lord shouldn't be a once in a lifetime experience, it can be (and should be) a lifestyle.

We are supposed to pray without ceasing, or without intermission. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Prayer at the root form is talking WITH God, not merely talking AT God. We need to give the Lord a chance to speak back to us when we are praying.

In the book, Pursuit Of God, A.W. Tozer wrote,

"He tries to think of God as mute everywhere else and vocal only in a book. I believe that much of our religious unbelief is due to a wrong conception of and a wrong feeling for the Scriptures of Truth. A silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever. Now we read the book as the record of what God said when He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. With notions like that in our heads how can we believe? The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God's continuous speech."

God is never silent. He is always speaking. Are my ears in tune with His voice? With His Word?

Larry Low, a minister friend of mine who is currently on staff with Teen Challenge in Iowa, once said, "How much more faith can you have than to diligently speak with a God who is invisible?"

Our lives shouldn't make sense to unbelievers. If they do, then maybe we aren't living the way God intended us to live.

We are called to live a life full of faith which comes from hearing the Word of God. Living in such a way will please Him and bring Him glory. And it will not only bless us, but we will also be a blessing to others. The Lord will be able to use us in a similar fashion as He used Jesus.

Challenge:
Get in a quiet place, tell your mind to be quiet, and ask God a question. Wait and listen to what He has been wanting to talk to you about.
Ask God if there is anything you are currently doing or involved in that is not from faith.
Ask God if there is anything you are currently doing or involved in that is man's good and not God's good.
If you are having a hard time hearing from God, then feel free to contact me. I'd be more than happy to help!
Or if you want some awesome material, then check out Larry Low's teaching. (click here) He has CDs, DVDs, and books available for purchase. His stuff will wreck you... in a good way. The truths I learned and applied from his teaching have changed my life and I've seen it change the lives of many others as well!

The time is now, shake the earth!
- Joel