TL_47_Hear_God’s_Voice_5
HINDRANCES TO HEARING – Part 4
2) God’s Pattern For Your Life.
Our theology (a preconception about God) often comes into conflict with the Spirit’s guidance in our life – and when it does, we face the grave danger of missing the will of God.
When God began to impress me to become an itinerant preacher I resisted with adamant protest. For eleven years I had been starting new churches and pastoring them. Now God was telling me to do something that would mean giving up pastoring local churches.
I argued, “Lord, it isn’t scriptural. Everything You do, or will ever do, You must do through a local church.” That was my theology at the time. I protested to God, “This idea of itinerant preaching isn’t according to the pattern of the Book of Acts. I’m supposed to do all things according to the pattern!” (Hebrews 8:5 was a favorite text of mine).
One Sunday morning as I was walking to a meeting to preach, the Lord spoke tome:
“Why don’t you read the rest of the verse?” I knew what the Lord meant. Read the rest of Hebrews 8:5.
“Lord, why should I read the rest of the verse?” I have read it hundreds of times. I have preached from it scores of times, Lord, I know that verse backwards and forwards. Why should I read the rest of the verse?”
The insistent voice of the Lord inside kept pressing, “Read the rest of the verse,” I opened my Bible and read, “See saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount” (Heb 8:5b). Three words struck me like dynamite: “Showed to thee”.
“Do ALL things according to the pattern showed to thee.”
My theology was based on a pattern showed to Moses, to David, to the early Church – but God was saying:
“You’ve got to do it the way I show you. Noah built the ark because that was My pattern for Noah. Moses built a tabernacle because that was My pattern for Moses. solomon built a temple because I told him to. Peter, Paul, James and John all did what I told them. That was the pattern for their lives.
“You must do what I tell you to do, in the way I tell you to do it. That will be My pattern for your life.”
Finally I understood. I had to hear and obey God’s voice. I couldn’t do things just because “it has always been done this way.” I had to obey God.
And, my friend, that is still the issue, isn’t it? God has a plan for each of us. The ministry He gave Billy Graham is like that of John the Baptist of whom the Scripture testifies: “John didn’t do miracles” (John 10:41). Kenneth Hagin and Oral Roberts are more like Stephen, who
“…..did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8).
All three of these great evangelists are doing what God told them to do – yet each is very different from the other. Each of us must hear and obey God’s voice. That is what will distinguish you from the thousands who will not. Most will not hear and obey God’s voice. You must!
Do not let your traditions keep you from doing what God says. Hear and obey the voice of God. Some will despise, oppose and criticize you. Others will doubt and assail you. Your pride will suffer. But whatever! Do the will of God!
3) Experience On Corn Island.
In 1962 I was part of a two-man effort to evangelize a little island off the east coast of Nicaragua. A convert from meetings I conducted three years previously had preceded us to this island and started a church.
In the traditional way of evangelists, I had preached fervently for several nights – without seeing one person converted to Christ. My co-evangelist and I were so frustrated and desperate, we announced a prayer meeting for four o’clock each morning. In this way, we could pray with the members before they went out on the early morning fishing and fruit gathering expeditions.
We expected ten or twelve church members to come. To our amazement, the little church building was packed with about 100 people (as many as we had seen in any of the evening meetings).
Now everyone knows you do not have evangelistic crusades at 4 a.m. – but this is what the meeting turned into. God was going to shatter my preconceptions about the way He worked and teach me a lesson about hearing and obeying His voice.
We started the prayer time with a little chorus:
Sweep over my soul, sweep over my soul.
Sweet Spirit, sweep over my soul.
My rest is complete, as I sit at His feet.
Sweet Spirit, sweep over my soul.
After struggling through the chorus a time or two, one of the ladies began to prophesy. Her speech was halting. She stammered as if having great difficulty in getting out the words. It was making me nervous but I thought, “Let the poor soul try – it will do no harm.”
Three times she repeated these words, “Take off the shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.” All I heard was a woman for whom I felt sorry, stammering out words that seemed totally inappropriate for this moment of low inspiration.
My partner, dear Brother Heeley, heard something quite different. He heard the voice of the Holy Spirit calling sinners to repentance. (I’m glad he had better spiritual hearing than myself.)
He arose and began to speak quietly. “Now folks, I believe the Lord has just spoken to us and we need to respond. I do not know for sure whether the Lord means for us to literally take off our shoes or not. But just in case – it will do no harm for us to do so.”
Feeling a little foolish, we dutifully began removing our shoes. Brother Heeley continued, “What the Lord probably means is this. We are to put off the old shoes of a sinful life and step out into a pathway of righteous living. We are to abandon the old life of bondage and rebellion and step into a new life of liberty and obedience to Jesus.
“If you want to do that right now – just leave your shoes there behind, step out and come down to the front of the building so we can pray together.”
To my amazement, what all my “super-charged evangelistic sermons” did not produce – Brother Heeley’s sensitive spiritual hearing and response to God’s voice did. People began coming from all over the little building. Then one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed took place.
As they came, it seemed there was an invisible line drawn right in the front. When those who were coming to receive Christ passed that line, they fell flat on their faces as if struck by an invisible angel. These very stoic farmers and fishermen were scattered all over the floor, weeping and sobbing tears of sorrow and repentance for their sins as if their hearts were breaking.
I though when the first half-dozen had fallen, it would frighten everyone else and they would turn and run out of the service.
But they didn’t. They just kept right on coming until almost every sinner in the service had received the gift of repentance and salvation (over fifty came to Christ).
WOW! Who ever heard of winning souls that way? Who ever heard of this “method” of evangelism? But you see, the secret was in “having an ear to hear what the Spirit was saying.”
I shamefully admit I did not hear the Spirit in what was taking place in the service. But – thank God – my partner did! He obeyed the Lord, and a great revival broke out that shook the island from one end to the other.
Oh Lord! Deliver me from my disobedience, preconceptions, traditions and hardness of heart which prevent me from hearing and obeying Your voice. AMEN!