Hear: Practice Listening to God [Part 1]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher Alan Wright who did not spare the giving of his own son to come and die for you, how much more so could you trust your every other thing you ever wonder where God whether he wants to do. Just remember, he's already given the greatest gift imaginable. How much more so, does he wanted to go well for you so you could hear him to help you out little light use that will help you see your life in a whole new light.

Except for you to hear the teaching today. In the series.

We called saver as presented with an old church in North Carolina are unable to stay with us throughout the entire Pro ramp make sure you know how to get our special resource right now and audio album called saver can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries either a CD album or digital download of these audio messages so as you listen to today's messages go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org that's Pastor Alan.O RG or call 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 moral all of this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright you are the sheep of God's pasture and you can recognize the voice of the good Shepherd.

When Sears called saver it's about becoming mindful of God's presence and his blessing in the moment about becoming more aware in this crazy busy world of all that God's doing here and now and maybe this is the most port and moment of all that is to consider just what a privilege it is part of our inheritance as children of God that we can recognize and follow the voice of the Lord. Three passages this morning that all reflect this. The first is one instance of a phrase that Jesus said over and over.

This is from Mark chapter 4 verse nine he said he who has ears to hear, let them hear and then in John 10 passage about how much he is like a shepherd. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out and we brought out all of his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

A stranger they will not follow.

But they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. And then in Deuteronomy 6.

In verse four. What is famously amongst the Hebrew people called the Shema based on the first word in Hebrew here is Shema hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. Here, if you've had this happen where you are in a room. The TV is is playing in the background you're talking to people then then something happens on the TV that everybody stop the meal he pays attention to it. This is the thing advertisers are just desperately trying to figure out how to stop and get your attention, your and after the Super Bowl.

It happened to me.

I was in the room talking about the people and some the commercials reply normally, try to watch the Super Bowl commercials because there's usually interesting, but the it was a run of them. That was one that interesting.

We were talking amongst one another and all of a sudden my attention everybody else attention was suddenly frozen and we we directed our attention to the TV for all of a sudden and the commercial came the familiar cadence of the preaching of Martin Luther King Jr. and I love the sound of his preaching and just stopped and course as a preacher as like we met somebody is preaching in a commercial during the Super Bowl and so you decide just riveted you don't have before, which is all the sudden you just it catches your attention, but can you imagine what would catch your attention.

Maybe more than anything is if you are in a room TV playing in the background.

You're just talking to people and then all of a sudden you heard the voice of somebody in your own immediate family. Maybe a parent may be a sibling or child. Also, you heard it, the TV screen. You can imagine you to stop white vessels when interestingly this happened to me regularly.

As a kid, my dad was a TV news man and so I just be oftentimes the room and all of a sudden there be a little blurb would come on maybe is an advertisement for that night. Stevie's new spotter would be something you note a commercial or something like that else I'm just talking to you. Also I hear my own father's voice and it is you can help yourself to stop the TV. That's my father's talk to you about today in the crazy noise of the world which is full of maybe more clamor than any other time in our lives. Your father speaking and I believe that you can spiritually cultivate this capacity to have ears to hear that in the middle of the white noise you hear your father speaking and it turns your attention towards God, and you can hear what is he saying and what you'll discover is that as you grow in your walk with the Lord that this wonderful privilege of hearing from God is something that never grows old and in fact becomes not only a greater delight, but something that you become more and more adept at doing hearing the voice of God and savoring his every word.

Start with this you can imagine, if you hear from God is going to be so powerful to direct your life in the right direction because your father and he loves you so much he wants it to go well for you. He wants to go well for you and here's the way that Scripture looks at it. He who did not spare the giving of his own son to come and die for you, how much more so could you trust the to give you every other good thing if you ever wonder where God whether he wants to go well for you. You just remember, he's already given the greatest gift imaginable. How much more so, does he want to go well for you so you could hear him to help you are our son Bennett and this is wife Amy were home a couple weekends ago sit on the back deck are back deck has steep steps that go down and our daughter-in-law Amy had positioned her chair is close those steps as possible because the sun was at an angle and as you try to catch a little bit of that warm sunshine still shining on that part of the DAC and just while they're just talking. Also, my wife had a great impression and turned into just sort of unknowing that I need to say something to Amy about being cautious of being too close those tears over there and it grew in sort of the essence of final say something she's not fall down the stairs, which was an odd thing to just sitting there.

So finally Anders interrupted the conversation to be obedient that she learned she learns this is one way Lord speaks to her and just opposite Amy. I just think you need to be mindful of his stepfather and writer. She said that a gust of wind blew and we have 6 foot artificial tree we keep on that bag thing. What has pretty lights on it at Christmas. It becomes a Christmas tree. It'll be an Easter egg tree here in a little while and it is in this gust of wind came right is and was sent mindful of those steps rather Amy so she sat up and was looking with caution and was kind of brace and right at that moment that very moment, a gust of wind came and blew that tree over right on top of her and later were just reflecting the massacres was injured anything but. But if she had not been already sitting up, always thinking about this when she had been startled and perhaps it been just enough there was going to result in her tumble down those steps. We think so just go a little moment like that that happens. My brother David many years ago. His son Coble was little. Just was driving on a Saturday morning to go to McDonald's and pick up some biscuits or something with his little boy and he pulled into the parking place and McDonald's got ready to get out and go in and he just felt a deep impression that scene from the Lord to him just came over him don't go in there driveway was odd thing, but he was obedient to it and he drove out and as he was driving out of the McDonald's parking lot.

They heard gunshots shooting inside an acknowledgment that very moment, something that he cares so much about us. Of course you would want to lead us and guide us and be speaking to us about such things. Sometimes what God wants to do is just encourage you so I was beautiful ministries of the Holy Spirit, who is the encourager the helper, the one who comes alongside and wants you to have strength for the journey. I want you to have clarity so that you can see God in the midst even of the difficult times. What prompted about an hour talk about the sermon she brought out an email from years ago that somehow came to remind you you collects these things in the book and it is a dear pastor, I want to write this more I tell you how your sermon yesterday touch me again God the opportunity to reach me these last six months or so been hard for me.

I've heard about people talking about being in a desert but I didn't understand what they meant and now I do is when on talk about having kids cells different ages going through so many daily tasks and Jo grateful to have her life in the Christian husband but she said I feel like I'm walking on a hamster wheel running, it would be too fast. I think I'm just walking through sludge not making any progress you identify with that and she said she said that churches arrows where in an exclusive ring that her daughter and she each chapter is about. I don't wear my very much you know what the fish is a symbol for Christ because the letters of exclusion Greek and she said something never done.

I noticed during the sermon I noticed my fish were pointing downstream and switch them so they be going upstream. I know I mean I don't recommend fiddling with your jewelry during the middle of the sermon by this time and no little all of the sermon.

It was for you and but she said this in a couple of minutes just a couple minutes later. In the sermon you mentioned salmon swimming upstream and that it is an easy to be easier to swim downstream, but they swim upstream because that's where they need to go. She said God spoke to me in that moment very helpful to hear and reframe how the look of my days. I'm not walking on a hamster wheel I'm swimming upstream is not easy but is where I need to go and it's refreshing to know that I am making progress and not just staying in one place special just sometimes in the middle of the most ordinary tasks that my wife loves this old book by Annabelle Gillam, the confident woman, particularly because of this, and chapter 2 were Annabelle tells about how God spoke to her. They had a profoundly mentally challenged son named Mason she wrote about and she said Mace could sing one song with great gusto just one. Jesus loves me, and throw his head back and hold on that first yes in the course. Just as long as he could and then you get tickled almost fall out of his chair.

Mr. he'll still hear him giggle when I think back on those days. She writes I never doubted for a moment that Jesus love that profoundly retarded little boy. It didn't matter that he would never sit with the kids in the back of the church on a certain special I want done I'll take the pastor by the hand and invite Jesus into his heart was entirely irrelevant that he could not quote a single verse of Scripture that he would never go to high school with a never be a dad. I knew Jesus love Mason when I could not comprehend what I could not accept was that Jesus could love Mason's mother, Annabelle. See, I believe that in order for a person to accept me to love me. I had to perform for my standard forgetting what was performer performed constantly perfectly. She said I carried this belief in the my relationship with God always live in a performance-based mentality was so hard for her to ever truly believe God loved her, but she's a one night she was washing the dishes and Mason was sitting in his chair. Just watching me, looking at me. You said it, she stopped washing. This is got down on her knees in front. Mace took his dirty little hands in hers and said Mason I love you I love you all, you could understand how much I love you just stared. He couldn't understand he didn't comprehend places and I stood up and started doing the dishes again and then I had to work return and Neil again I say my dear Masons of all you could say I love you mother. I need that maze but nothing happened. Just I stood up to the sink again more dishes, more washing, more crime falls far in my way of thinking began filtering into my conscious awareness.

I believe God spoke to me that day and this is what he said Annabelle you don't look at your son and turn away in disgust because he sitting there with saliva drooling out of his mouth. You don't shake your head repulse because he is dinner all over his shirt.

Annabelle you don't reject Mason because all the dreams you had for him to been destroyed. You don't reject him because he doesn't perform for you, you love him.

Annabelle just because he is yours Mason doesn't willfully reject your love but you willfully reject mine. I love you Annabelle.

Not because you're neat or attractive not because you do things well because you perform for me just because you're my change your life right will have more teaching moment. Today's important series so much worry about yesterday's four years cemetery getting ready for tomorrow is hard to focus on the matters most. Wearing seasoned coaches calling nine psychological program in Eastern religion. Mindfulness living in the present life messages with your digital partnership making gift textures and levers of God's grace. Each moment moment every day of your life is shared when you get right ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are in our final days of offering the special product. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at work. Today's teaching here once again is when you hear God's voice. It changes everything to him who has ears to hear, Jesus says it over and over we come to the book of Revelation, it becomes a theme Revelation 27 he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches is an ironic statement because to say to him was ears to hear that I'm here is to say, on the one hand, anybody can hear because he is speaking to people who have ears is assuming that is not speaking to the hearing-impaired easy speaking naturally to those all have ears who can hear natural sounds, but he saying not everybody you can hear can hear matter, but you can hear my words, going into their ears can actually hear what it is that I'm saying that there is something about the natural person that cannot cannot receive that which is spiritual and so he saying there.

There are those who have their their spiritual ears.

They are opened up, and Summit seem to have deaf spiritual ears. But if you have ears to hear, then he saying I am not going to cram this truth down you force it upon you. I'm going to proclaim it to you and if you can hear it here. This, in the middle of all the other voices, including your own voice. That is to align with old sin nature that tends to turn inward and condemn yourself. All the other voices that are competing in the midst of it. He is saying God's voice sounds different had a great privilege of many of been flying privately with a pilot who would take me to conferences only would all this ministry and saw a small small plane you put on headphones and we can talk to each other but of course he's gotta is got take off and talk to air traffic control in Atlanta playing top controller just so you don't be talking while he's talked to somebody about what else duties was to be where he's course heading his but I have yet required during those times. But what I learned is that once we get up in the air were all course, then we could just talk to each other and we lost love. Talk about the Lord talk about things and but every now and then, even though your own course in your newsletter might be that air chart needs to talk to you about something they wanted to change her heading slightly is another smothered trafficker. You might want change, altitude, and so you have to always be aware of you listening for them when they call you and they call you by the by the letters the numbers and letters of your plane. The tale letters that of letters and numbers and they'll always call with the words that represent each of those letters B is bravo J Juliet Bravo Juliet in the numbers of all.

But I can't see how many times we just be sitting there talking in the middle of a fly just talking talking talking talking and you can hear chatter on the radio behind you all the time janitor to resist chatter back to the radio behind you hear all the different conversations of a pilot talk air traffic control were to talk to each other in so many times what is talking to one another else in his hand goes up and I know what that means is to be quiet now I got older truck control and what he heard that I didn't hear was Bravo Juliet increase altitude to 7000 I did inherent because he is trained to hear that sound in the midst of all the other samples I think God is teaching us and wants us to grow as Christians.

So we're like were talking as my father speaking and was ears, let him hear.

It is a sound of the gospel that resonates with our spirit.

I love talking to a man who came to worship with us and he said after the first time he he said he never heard anything like this.

A grown up in a very legalistic religious tradition when he came in he heard the sound of the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus. He said because he likes to hunt in any you get a faithful dog and he said my dog when there's the sound that he can hear that I can't hear ears like this. Looks like this in your job Alan Wright in today's teaching on hearing practice listening to God is from the Siri saver and Alan joins us here in the studio here in just a moment with our parting good news thought for the day. So much worry about yesterday's failures cemetery getting ready for tomorrow is hard to focus on matters most. Wearing seasoned coaches calling psychological program.

Eastern religion mindfulness living in the present life messages with your digital partnership making gift textures and levers of God's grace. Each moment moment every day of your life gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries.

This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright Ministries.

We are in our final days of offering the special product, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at work here in the studio with Alan your parting good news thought for the day on this teaching here practice listening to God. The phrase train your ear comes to mind hear you agree yeah and I think let's start with this day no one is keep emphasizing this every Christian can hear from God is not just a certain few special people, not just the prophetic type people. It's it's every Christian because Jesus said that his sheep recognize his voice and we're your Christian year one of his sheep. And he's the shepherd and so there's something about just recognizing God's voice that is part of just knowing I can because I'm a Christian now. That said, I was will be learning more about. There are ways that we can train her ear to say hey this is the way God speaks we know it from his word in this the way God never speaks, and it'll help you to discern the promptings in the beautiful sounds and whispers of God's voice to you in a neat way so more to learn about this, but every Christian can hear from God. And that's good only called today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free.

Find out more about these and other resources@pastor.org that's pastor out.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries