Tracing God

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:28

Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. He wants His children to be trained in hearing and responding to Him. However, we cannot insist that He speaks to us with a Bible verse if He decides to send a new relationship instead. 

Sometimes the Lord speaks:

• through His Word and sometimes directly through His Spirit; 
• through other people and sometimes through circumstances of life; 
• through a person with a gift ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher; 
• through the condition of our soul and sometimes through the condition of our spirit; 
• through the availability of people or resources and sometimes through their absence. 

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11

An Encounter with God:

Father, as I prepare to document the ways You have spoken to me, please lead me into remembrance of those precious moments. Help me recall the people, the verses, the events, and the supernatural supply You have brought to me in times past. I acknowledge my need to hear Your heavenly voice by whatever means You choose. Forgive me for those times when You spoke and I could not hear or would not listen. Today I renew and deepen my commitment to be led by Your Spirit. 

Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.’
Habakkuk 2:2

In becoming an authentic disciple of Jesus, we need to recognize that, at times, He speaks to us directly while at other times He speaks through others.  Or He may speak within our heart or through life circumstances.  Each approach has important qualities that require our attention.   

The Lord may speak through His written word (logos) or His revealed, spoken word (Rhemas). Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”

For some people, one particular Bible verse or passage is so inspirational that it defines their character or their life calling. Do you have such a “life verse?”

In addition, we all experience trials, joys, and crises in life. During these times, other Bible passages may have spoken to your heart. It is wise to memorize and meditate on these verses as well. Sometimes God provides direct revelation to the believer’s spirit, or He delivers a word through others.  This is called revelation.  

Although some people have doubts whether the Lord still speaks to His children in this manner, many people have received such words. Have you ever sensed the Lord speaking directly to you? 

For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:12

In ancient times, the followers closest to their rabbi wanted to have the dust of his sandals on their clothes, meaning they were following that closely behind him.

The counsel of others discusses the importance of relationships with other believers, including various authority figures. God has set us in His body to relate to others.  We are wise to detect the strength and meaning in those relationships and to act accordingly.  Whereas Solomon built an extraordinary temple made of stones and precious metals, Peter writes that we are being assembled as living stones into a new, spiritual temple.

Christ is the cornerstone of this unique “building.”  We are wise to detect the various individuals who we are set with.

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5

But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16

We cannot casually disregard these relationships.

When God decided to reveal Himself as a Father, He sent His Son, Jesus, who, in turn, “fathered” the disciples. Paul referred to Titus and Timothy as his “sons in the faith.”

Around 2004, I was in a men’s prayer group.  One day, one of the gentlemen came up to me and fervently pointed to another man in the group saying to me, “This is your Pastor!  This is your Pastor!” I did not argue with him, but I said to myself, he is not my Pastor, I don’t attend his church. I had no understanding of spiritual relationships at that time.  All I knew was structure and organization.  However, this gentleman eventually said to me, “You need to figure out who your spiritual father is.”   I had never heard the phrase, but I instantly responded, “You are.”  This was a moment of revelation for me.  This man has been my spiritual father for over twenty years.  Paul anticipated conversations like this, encouraging us to detect and build such relationships.

“Though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you have not many fathers.”
1 Corinthians 4:15

_________________________________________________________________________

The Lord also speaks through authority figures.  There are four types that are likely present in your life: family, government, business, and spiritual. We are consistently encouraged (and warned) to acknowledge those who are placed in positions of authority. Jesus Himself said “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except by God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves.
Romans 1:1-2

Furthermore, if you reject authority, you will likely attract rebels into your life and your business.  Do you honor authority, or do you find that difficult?

Other spiritual authorities include those identified by Paul in this verse:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 
Ephesians 4:11-12

These gift ministers are sent to us to supply balance and guidance to the body of Christ.  We are wise to be prepared to receive them.

Clearly each believer needs to have a personal relationship with the Lord. However, the Bible also speaks repeatedly of Christ and His body (of believers). God is highly relational; He wants us to understand that He connects us with others for a reason. Isolation from other believers is inappropriate. Through our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with others, we make our connection to the head (Jesus Christ) and His body.  

1 Corinthians 12:18-27 asserts that we are strategically placed in the Body of Christ and that we need to honor the other functions in the Body. Ephesians 4:15-16 claims that we are all fit together like parts of a body. 1 Peter 2:5 calls us living stones in the new Temple. Each of these passages points to the connection we have with others.

God supplies gift ministries to His body to equip and supply us. These ministers “lay down their lives” (that is, they fully dedicate their time, energy, and resources) so we can enter into our Kingdom responsibilities.

And (God) gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.
Psalm 106:15

The soul of man is where the mind, the will, and the emotions reside. The Bible says our soul is the subject of a tug-of-war between our spirit (where the Holy Spirit resides) and our flesh. Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, “Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” John wrote, “I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2) If our soul is not submitted to the Lord, we run the risk of frustration, depression, and boredom. Continuing that path can lead to harmful behaviors in a vain attempt to offset the pain and loneliness. 

THE SOUL
The human soul is a combination of the mind, the will and the emotions. 

1. THE MIND
One indicator of a distressed soul is boredom: little in life seems intellectually stimulating. On the other hand, curiosity and sound judgment signal a soul that is flourishing. 

2. THE WILL 
Confusion and absent-mindedness indicate where the human will is in distress. Also, an autonomous attitude is deeply offensive to the Lord whereas a submitted, yielded will is a sign that “it is well” with our soul.

3. THE EMOTIONS
A spirit of anger or discouragement indicates an emotionally troubled soul. Emotions that seem flat and unresponsive speak to a need for healing, whereas optimism and a buoyant emotional state can indicate authentic joy.  

Our spirit is another source of internal counsel.  Galatians 5:22-23 describes the Fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, and others.  Are these fruit evident in your life?  In addition, is your character conforming to that of the Lord Jesus?

For whom he foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. 
Romans 8:29

In preparation for our assignment as a kingdom ambassador, the Lord puts various resources at our disposal. However, we are to use those resources when the Lord directs us, not for our personal enjoyment. In John 5:19 Jesus says: “Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”

The Lord has placed the following resources into our trust and oversight that He wants to use to advance His kingdom:

1. Assets – tangible resources, home, car, land
2. Finances – cash, stocks, the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18)
3. Human Capital – skills/ talents/ abilities
4. Knowledge – inventions, strategic insights, systems

_________________________________________________________________________

The Lord wants us to take note of the various forms of “counsel” that He provides to His children.  Those include:

1. The counsel of God
2. The counsel of others
3. The counsel from within
4. The counsel of circumstances

We honor the Lord by taking note of the various ways He expresses Himself to us.  The more we are sensitized to these gateways of communication, the more we will mature as believers.