St.   Aidan’s Sermons

Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, April 18, 2010

Third Sunday of Easter: 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion

Hearing the Word of God #1:

“How We Hear God Speak to Us”

Acts 9:1-20; John 21:1-19

Opening Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you spoke words of challenge and comfort to your apostle Peter; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, to grasp afresh how you speak to us today, that we might receive your word in our hearts and minds and live it out in our lives and deeds to the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

Introduction

This past Wednesday an amazing story unfolded in the media:[1]

Rescuer says ‘the Lord’ told him where to find missing girl

The story of how a lone volunteer working on his own found a lost girl in the Florida swamps was so extraordinary, law enforcement officials at first weren’t sure whether they should believe it…James King set off at dawn on Tuesday because, he said, that’s what God told him to do. And he went pretty much straight to Nadia Bloom, who had been lost for five days while scores of organized professionals and volunteers systematically scoured the subtropical wilderness for any sign of her…King said, “The Lord told me to follow where the sunrise was, so I went directly east — as much as you can go direct in a swamp.  I would call, ‘Nadia?!’ and then I’d be praying and talking to the Lord, and the Lord would be directing me.  And then one time I said, ‘Nadia?’ and I heard, ‘What?’”… “There she was, sitting on a log, looking up at me expectantly like, ‘OK, you’re finally here,’” King said with a smile.

Here is a very recent example of the fact that God speaks to us today in specific ways.  It raises all sorts of questions and the biggest is “How do we hear God speak to us today?”

This is the focus of our sermon this morning which is the first in a series of four on the theme: “Hearing the Word of God.”  This is a follow-up to our prophetic weekend with Isabel and Ivan Allum last Fall.  That event was pivotal for many individuals and for us as a congregation.  It opened up many opportunities and raised many questions.  What we want to do in these sermons is to clarify and develop those opportunities to us as individuals and as a parish and to set forth guidelines that need to be in place in order for us to correctly hear what God is saying to us and then to act upon it.   Next week, we will look at “Acting on What We Hear” followed by “The Purpose of the Prophetic Gift” and end up with “Using the Prophetic Gift.” We begin today with “How We Hear God Speak to Us” and will be asking three questions: What is God’s word?  Then, How does God speak to us Today?  And finally, How can we be sure what we hear is genuine?

What is God’s Word?

When we talk about hearing God speak to us, we are assuming that God wants to communicate with us and that we are able to hear what he is saying.  This is a big assumption – and we are right.  The God of the Bible and the God of Jesus Christ is a God who wants to communicate with us.  Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4).  The Bible begins with, “And God said, let there be…” (Genesis 1:3) and ends with “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20).  God is a God who speaks and wants to communicate with us and the shorthand way of expressing that is the term “God’s Word.”

But having said that, there are many ways in which the term “God’s Word” is used; I can see five:

1. God’s power and creativity – The first is to express God’s power and creativity: “And God said, let there be light and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).  When God speaks, it is not just letters strung together in words and phrases but a communication that brings about what he imagines.  This is well-summarized in Isaiah: “My word that goes out from my mouth…will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).  One of those purposes is to convict and cleanse us: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12); “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).  Another purpose is to breathe life and health into us: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63).  God’s word achieves his creative and curative purposes.

1. God’s law and will – The second way “God’s Word” is used is to express his law and his will for our lives.   “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, ‘Everything the Lord has said we will do’” (Exodus 24:3).  The psalmist expresses his response to this communication from God in very positive terms:  “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word…May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous” (Psalm 119:16, 172).  Paul summarizes this function of God’s word very well:  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  God’s word communicates his will and direction for our lives.

1. God’s character and love = Jesus – The third way we use the term “God’s Word” is to express the personal demonstration of his character and love by his becoming one of us: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2).  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only [Son], who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Jesus Christ is the Word of God – God expressed as a human being: God communicating himself to us by living amongst us, dying for us and rising again.  Now certainly Jesus’ words were important but the communication was more than words – it was a life lived.  Our friendships are the same – we use words to communicate who we are but they are part of the wider picture of a life lived.  This is how God has spoken most clearly to us – in Jesus Christ, the living Word of God.

1. God’s word written = Holy Scripture – However, Jesus is no longer physically present with us – but he has left us the Holy Spirit: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).  This teaching and witness we have enshrined in the New Testament.  When we put this together with the first two expressions of “God’s Word” we end up with the Bible and this is clearly expressed by Paul:  “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).  We now have God’s word written, through which the Holy Spirit brings us into an encounter with Jesus and the power and mind of the Father.  The Bible is God’s Word written – the fourth way we use the term, “God’s Word.”

1. God’s guidance today – well this is all fine and good, but is that it – we hear God’s Word today through the Scriptures?  Yes, but there is more.  God continues to speak today – primarily through and in accordance with the Scriptures, of course – but also by speaking into specific contemporary situations.   Jesus talks of listening to God’s voice: “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:2-4).  We will now look at ways in which we can hear God’s voice today in addition to the Scriptures.

How Does God Speak to us Today?

When the Florida rescuer James King said, “The Lord told me” what did he mean?  How did God speak to him?  How does God speak to us today?  It is helpful to look back to the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 which we heard read earlier.  I can see there at least five ways in which God speaks.  First, there is the actual appearance of Jesus himself.  “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  (Acts 9:3-4).  Now was this a vision of Jesus?  Paul later (1 Corinthians 15:8) refers to this as an encounter with the resurrected Jesus – which was no vision but an appearance in the flesh where he could be touched and ate food.  However we describe it there was a visual dimension (the light) and an audible voice.  The next communication is through a physical sign – Paul ‘s blindness (verses 8-9) – and this is part of God’s getting the message across to him.

Then we have the vision and audible word given to Ananias.  “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” (verse 10).  In verse 15, there is a word of prophecy, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”  Finally, we read of Paul that after the encounter with Ananias, “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (verse 20).  God’s word was communicated through preaching.

Now we have some of those elements in our service today.  In addition to hearing the written word of God being read we have this preaching of the word and then God’s word communicated to us through signs – the bread and the wine of communion.  In our prayer time we may also be given a more specific word through an individual who hears a word from God to communicate to us.

How might that word be heard or perceived?  In Acts 2, Peter quotes the prophet Joel and says “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17).  The Spirit, whose job it is to enable communication between us and the Father and the Son (that is one meaning of “The fellowship of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 13:14), can choose to do it in any of the following ways:

• Personal conviction: in the midst of worship or prayer an individual might receive a Bible verse, strong impression, engaging picture, significant feeling or strong desire to speak a word into a situation.  In Acts 13:3, it says of the Church in Antioch that “While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”  These inner convictions are at the level of being open to the Spirit moving in your heart and mind as you are in communion with the Lord.  They are what I would call “less dramatic” versions of the more spectacular ways God chooses to communicate which follow.
• Prophetic word: Agabus in Acts (Acts 11:27, 28; 21:10-11) is an example of a prophet in New Testament times and we will be looking more specifically at this means of communication in our last two sermons.
• Visions: we have already seen these at work in Paul’s conversion story and they reoccur throughout Acts (e.g. Acts 16:10).  At the beginning of the 20^th century, the famous Indian Christian Sadhu Sundar Singh was converted through a vision of Jesus.
• Dreams: Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, is spoken to through dreams (Mathew 1:20; 2:12, 13, 22).  I have heard that in some places of the Moslem world today, dreams of Jesus are a very common means of communication and drawing people to himself.
• Angels: these beings figure prominently in the lives of many Biblical figures such as Abraham, Mary, and Peter (Gen 18; Matt 2:19; Acts 12:7) and they are still active today.
• Audible voice: the boy Samuel heard God speak in an audible voice (1 Samuel 3:4-14) and this is still continuing today.

All these are more “exotic” ways of hearing God’s word.  God also speaks to us very much through more “regular” means such as other people, circumstances and common sense.  Above all, of course, we place the Scriptures as our primary source of revelation and benchmark for testing all other revelation.  To this we will now turn.

How Can We Be Sure What We Hear Is Genuine?

How can we be sure what we hear is from God?  John the apostle tells us “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).  When we hear or receive a prophetic word or vision or dream, we need to test it to see if it is genuine.  Here are four general areas of testing to see if a word is from God or not.  I want to acknowledge my debt to John Dean for some of these points.

1. Scripture: Is the word in line with scripture, especially the teaching of Jesus (in the gospels) and the apostles (rest of the New Testament)?  No utterance inspired by the Holy Spirit will contradict either the letter or the spirit of the Word of God.  Isabel and Ivan Allum state, “A rule of thumb is that prophecy never, ever, contradicts the word of God now matter how anointed the word is, or what manifestations take place…It is dangerous to want to minister if you are not filling yourself with the word of God.”[2]

1. The Church: Is the church body built up, strengthened, encouraged, comforted (consoled) as a result of the word(s)?  (1 Corinthians 14:3, 4, 5, 12, 17, 26, 31).   How do those God has placed in leadership view the word?  We are called to walk in the light with one another, so being open about all prophetic words is important, seeking input from others, especially church leaders and mature Christians.

1. My own heart: Even if challenging or convicting, does the word bring peace, joy and hope to my heart?  Anything that causes confusion or a sense of oppression is not from the Lord.  Does the word confirm thoughts and meditations (in scripture, or about a possible course of action) I have already had?  Totally foreign ideas and directions should be treated with healthy scepticism.  As a result of hearing the prophecy or vision, am I inspired to seek and know the Lord more and obey Him in service?  Has the word inspired me to spend more time in prayer, and in scripture reading and study?   Am I growing in the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, as a result of this word?  (1 Corinthians13: 2-3).

1. Fulfillment: If there is a predictive element in the prophecy, does it come to pass?  However, this may be some time in the future.  “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. No one should be alarmed” (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Conclusion

Hearing God’s word in unusual ways, especially the prophetic, can be unsettling and disturbing.  Does this mean we “play it safe” and avoid all of this together?  I don’t think so.  As we will see in the coming weeks, the Bible expects us to hear from God in many ways and we must not limit him to those we feel are “safe.”  David Pytches, in his book, Prophecy in the Local Church,[3] has a helpful analogy.  Electricity is a very powerful force and can be very dangerous if misused.  However, with the correct safeguards in place, we take full advantage of all the benefits of electricity because it is so useful.  It is the same with prophecy and other means of hearing from God.  Take to heart Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.  Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  Be open to hearing God speak to you today.

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[1]By Mike Celizic, found on “Today Show” http://today.msnbc.msn.com; headline from http://newstrendstoday.com

[2] Ivan and Isabel Allum, Your Destiny. (Highlands Publishing, 2007)

[3] David Pytches, Prophecy in the Local Church. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1993)