The Revelation of His Word

In one paragraph

This was week three of a series on hearing God's voice, preached by Brian at the Virginian Saloon during a trial run away from the TMC. He walked through why God speaks in a still small voice rather than in fire or earthquake, and why cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit is essential to understanding what that voice is saying and why it matters. Brian opened by reminding the room that...

Read together

1. Psalm 119:105 quoted as 'truth shining light guides me in my choices and decisions, the revelation of your word makes my path clear' and used as the title text for the sermon
2. 1 Kings 19:11-13 read aloud as the story of Elijah hearing the still small voice after wind, earthquake, and fire
3. John 16:13 quoted as 'when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth and he will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard' to support the role of the Holy Spirit
4. Revelation 22:16-17 quoted to show the spirit and the bride saying come and the invitation to drink freely from the water of life
5. 1 John 2:26-29 quoted as a warning about those who lead astray and the assurance that the Holy Spirit teaches everything you need to know
6. Song of Solomon referenced without specific verse to describe Jesus as a young man leaping over hills like a gazelle knocking on the door of the bride's heart
7. Matthew 18:3 referenced without specific verse when a congregation member said 'unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the kingdom of God' in response to the dream

What was said

• Set aside a few minutes each day to quiet the noise around you and practice listening for that still small voice in your knower rather than straining to hear something dramatic.
• When you feel the Lord may be saying something to you, run it through the question Brian drew from Kate: does this sound consistent with God's nature and character as shown in scripture?
• Open First Kings 19:11-13 and sit with it long enough to notice what Elijah had to do before he could hear God speak.
• If fear or something else has been dogging your heels, don't wait for the end of a service to deal with it, but reach out to a fellow believer this week and ask them to pray with you for that gentle breakthrough.
• Pray for the team serving in Riverton this week, specifically that the Lord's will would be done as they work at the kids' VBS and serve the homeless.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the difference between God being revealed through his Word and being contained by it, and used the C.S. Lewis line that Aslan is not safe but he is good. Where have you experienced God doing something that surprised you or did not fit neatly inside what you expected from Scripture?
2. Several people shared reasons why God might speak in a still small voice rather than in wind, earthquake or fire. One answer was that he wants our attention rather than just to get our attention. What do you think, and what has your own experience been with that?
3. Brian described a walk where he was straining to hear God through his senses and heard nothing until he quieted down, and then something came from his knower rather than his thinker. Have you noticed a difference between those two places, and how do you tell them apart in practice?
4. Brian shared a dream about unknowingly interfering with a military operation and said it made him think we underestimate how powerful and necessary hearing God's voice really is. Do you tend to bring God into the big decisions, the everyday ones, or both, and what shaped that habit?
5. Meg shared that she had not been to church in twenty-eight years and that it was her daughter's questions about God that brought her back. John suggested that childlike faith is part of what makes it possible to hear God at all. What does childlikeness in faith look like practically for someone who has been a believer for a long time?