What does Tribe teach about hearing god's voice?
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 hearing God's voice starts with a simple reframe: it is a skill anyone can develop, not a gift distributed only to certain people. Brian has pressed this from the beginning of the series, because the moment it becomes a gift, some people conclude they simply do not have it and stop trying. Because it is a skill, every person in the room carries the same capacity to grow in it and the same responsibility to do so. The framework he has built over several weeks gives that growth some traction, a set of overlapping tools he calls hearing aids, drawing from scripture, the guidance and peace of the Holy Spirit, godly counsel, prayer and fasting, dreams and visions, and circumstances. His warning is consistent: pull any one of those out by itself and it becomes a way to lead yourself into a ditch. They only work in concert.
The most recurring theme across the teaching is the connection between obedience and clarity. Brian puts it plainly: "Obedience is the key that unlocks hearing God's voice even in the little things." Joy Abad has reinforced that from a different angle, pointing to the Hebrew word shema, the root of the great prayer in Deuteronomy 6, which holds listening and obeying together as a single action. You cannot claim to have heard if you have not moved. The image both teachers return to is Elijah at the mouth of the cave in 1 Kings 19, where God was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, only in the still small voice that followed. A whisper requires you to get quiet, to remove the noise, to lean in. Brian's takeaway from that passage is not primarily about method but about proximity: God does not need to shout from a distance because he is already close.
The practical shape of all this, as Tribe has taught it, is less about mastering a technique and more about building a history of faithfulness in small things. Brian describes how God has placed the hardware for spirit-to-spirit communication inside every believer, and that after a person comes to faith, that channel opens to everything the Spirit wants to say. Joy adds that your capacity to recognize and receive from the Holy Spirit grows in direct proportion to time actually spent with Jesus. The disciplines, scripture, prayer, solitude, fasting, are not boxes to check. They are how a person learns to isolate and identify that particular voice among all the others competing for attention.
Taught from 1 Kings 19:9-13 · John 10:1-19 · Luke 6:46-49 · Colossians 3:15 · Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“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
The messages that teach on it
- 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.
- July 24, 2023 They Recognize His Voice and Come to Him A Wyoming pastor and his congregation explore how to recognize God's voice, using John 10 as their guide in the final week of a six-week series.
- July 10, 2023 The Key That Unlocks Hearing A Wyoming pastor walks through Luke 6 and James 1 on what it truly means to hear God's voice, come to him personally, and obey what he says.
- July 6, 2023 Hearing Aids Brian Hunter walks through practical tools for hearing God's voice, from Scripture and the Holy Spirit's peace to prayer, dreams, and trusted counsel.
- June 26, 2023 The Revelation of His Word Brian Hunter explores how God speaks through Scripture and the Holy Spirit, drawing on 1 Kings 19 and John 16 to show why that still, small voice matters more than we realize.
- June 12, 2023 Still Small Voice Brian Hunter leads Tribe through an honest conversation about learning to hear God's voice, covering the competing voices that drown it out and how to tell them apart.
Mentioned along the way
- June 15, 2026 Character Before Calling Lissa Hunter walks through Acts 8 and Philip's obedience to show why taking one faithful step matters more than knowing the whole plan God has for your life.
- February 10, 2025 New Wineskins ｜ Joy Abad Joy Bhatt teaches Tribe Church on how time spent with Jesus shapes our ability to recognize and follow where God is moving, even when it looks unconventional.
- May 13, 2024 The Master, the Manager, and the Mover What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? A Wyoming church explores how body, soul, and spirit work together and what it looks like to let God lead.
- October 23, 2023 For Zion's Sake I Will Not Rest Brian Hunter leads Tribe through Isaiah 62, praying for 203 hostages in Gaza, and exploring how God refines and pursues his people with faithful, unwavering love.
- June 25, 2023 Marked by His Word Brian Hunter walks through how God speaks through Scripture, why his promises are guaranteed but not automatic, and how to build the habit of hearing his voice.
- April 17, 2023 TTCA WEEK 7 Wrap Up Brian Hunter walks through Jesus' letters to seven churches in Revelation, asking what it looks like when a congregation finally turns and faces the right direction.