What does Tribe teach about how to hear god?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At Tribe, the teaching on how to hear God starts with a single Hebrew word. Joy Abad brought this message while Brian was away, and she built it around the word shema, the root of the famous prayer in Deuteronomy 6. Shema does not separate listening from obeying. They are two sides of the same coin, and the listening comes first. Joy was honest that her instinct as a doer is to find more things to do when she hears the word obedience, but she pointed out that this instinct is exactly the problem. As she put it, "If you don't obey, you haven't listened. And if you're just doing, it is not the same as obedience."
The picture Tribe uses for what hearing God actually looks like comes from 1 Kings 19, where Elijah encounters God not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in a gentle whisper. Joy drew out what a whisper requires: quiet, closeness, and full attention. She pointed to three words from that passage, go out, stand, and be on the mountain, as a practical frame. Leave your normal rhythms, be still, and find genuine solitude where outside inputs are off. That kind of quiet is not a once-a-year retreat. It is a daily practice, and Joy encouraged starting with a ridiculously small amount of time so it would be harder to skip than to do.
The practical shape of that practice is simple. Sit with a pen and paper, take a breath to quiet down, and ask God a specific question: what do you want me to know about this? Write down the first thing that comes to mind. Joy was also honest about the opposite temptation, saying, "I haven't asked because I don't want to know what he has to say. That's a lot of good honesty right there." The teaching at Tribe is that hearing God is less about dramatic moments and more about showing up in small, quiet, consistent ways and being willing to receive what He actually says.
Taught from 1 Kings 19:9-13 · Deuteronomy 6:4-5 · Exodus 19:5-6 · James 1:22-24 · Matthew 7:26-27
“If you don't obey, you haven't listened. And if you're just doing, it is not the same as obedience.”
From Listen Before You Obey
The passage taught · 1 Kings 19:9-13
9 He came to a cave there, and camped there; and behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.” Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- February 5, 2024 Listen Before You Obey Joy Abad teaches Tribe church that true biblical obedience begins with listening, exploring the Hebrew word "shema" and how to quiet yourself to hear God's voice.
- February 4, 2024 The Simplicity of Listening A teaching on the Hebrew word "shema," showing why real obedience to God begins with listening, and how to create the quiet needed to hear His voice.