Sermon 22 June 2014 By Bruce McCallum

1. “Of course God is alive,
we just talked”
How to’s of hearing

2. 1. Cry of God’s heart
Jeremiah 7:21-23 (NIV)
21 "'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to
your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!
22 For when I brought your forefathers out of
Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them
commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23
but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I
will be your God and you will be my people. Walk
in all the ways I command you, that it may go well
with you.

3. Jeremiah 7:21-23 (AMP)
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat
the flesh [if you will. It will avail you nothing]. 22
For in the day that I brought them out of the land
of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or
command them concerning burnt offerings or
sacrifices. 23 But this thing I did command them:
Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your
God and you will be My people; and walk in the
whole way that I command you, that it may be
well with you.

4. Exodus 6:7 (NIV)
7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be
your God. …

5. 2. From Old Covenant to New Covenant– we
get to hear God ourselves.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through
the prophets at many times and in various ways,2
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his
Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the universe.

6. 3. Jesus kept it simple ---
so keep it simple!
John 5:19-20 (NIV)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the
truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can
do only what he sees his Father doing, because
whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For
the Father loves the Son and shows him all he
does.

7. John 6:38 (NIV)
38 For I have come down from heaven not to do
my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
John 12:50 (NIV)
50 I know that his command leads to eternal life.
So whatever I say is just what the Father has told
me to say."

8. 4. You can hear God's voice
John 8:47 (NIV)
47 He who belongs to God hears what God says.
The reason you do not hear is that you do not
belong to God."
John 10:4-5 (NIV)
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on
ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because
they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him
because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.“

9. John 16:13-15 (NIV)
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will
guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his
own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will
tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory
to me by taking from what is mine and making it
known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is
mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from
what is mine and make it known to you.

10. 5. How to hear God # 1:
Listening to LOGOS
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
John 5:24 (NIV)
24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word
(LOGOS – Written word) and believes him who
sent me has eternal life and will not be
condemned; he has crossed over from death to
life.

11. 6. How to hear God # 2:
Listening to RHEMA
• dreams and visions,
• inner impressions,
• angels,
• tongues & interpretation,
• words of wisdom,
• words of knowledge,
• discernment of Spirit,
• preaching and teaching,
• prophesying,
• circumstances
• and even personal appearances. eg Philip in Acts 8

12. Luke 3:21; Acts 2: 1f, Acts 9: 1f, 10; Acts 13:1f,
Matt 9:18f, Acts 9:26, Mark 5:25f, Acts 2,
Matthew 7:26, Matthew 16:9, 1 Samuel 3:1-21,
John 16, Is. 30:21, Psalm 1; Psalm 119; Luke 24:13-
35, Revelation 1; Acts 9, Acts 5:19-20; Acts 8:26;
Acts 10:3-6, Deuteronomy 4:9-14, Exodus 3:1,
John 12:28-32, Acts 9:4-6, Isaiah 8:1, Matthew
22:18; Mark 2:8; John 6:15, Neh. 7:5 Acts 14:9,
Rom. 1:19-20, Proverbs 6:6-11, Joel 2:25-27,
Judges 6:36-40, Acts 1:26; Luke 8:45-46, Job
33:13-18; Numbers 12:6; Acts 22:17-18; Acts
10:10

13. 7. Fascinating references on
hearing God speak to you
Proverbs 8:34 (NIV)
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching
daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 (NIV)
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of
God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the
sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do
wrong.

14. Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left,
your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
"This is the way; walk in it.“

15. Luke 8:15 (NIV)
15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with
a noble and good heart, who hear the word,
retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

16. Jeremiah 23:29 (NIV)
29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord,
"and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

17. Isaiah 50:4 (NIV)
4 The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed
tongue, to know the word that sustains the
weary. He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
Isaiah 50:4 (MSG)
4 The Master, God, has given me a well-taught
tongue, So I know how to encourage tired people.
He wakes me up in the morning, Wakes me up,
opens my ears to listen as one ready to take
orders.

18. 8. Some not so fascinating
passages on not listening
Ezekiel 33:32 (NIV)
32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one
who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and
plays an instrument well, for they hear your
words but do not put them into practice.

19. Jeremiah 6:10 (NIV)
10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who
will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they
cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to
them; they find no pleasure in it.

20. James 1:23-24 (NIV)
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do
what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a
mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away
and immediately forgets what he looks like.

21. Amos 8:12 (NIV)
12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander
from north to east, searching for the word of the
Lord, but they will not find it.