REVIVALTALK

Developing the Discipline of Listening Part Three – Discerning the Voice of God In the previous lessons we studied the discipline of listening to God.  We learned from Hebrews 3:7 that the Lord is speaking to those who are in covenant relationship with Him. Verse 7 reads,  “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit saith: Today, if you will hear His voice.”   As believers one of our most important priorities is to spend time in prayer receiving inspiration and direction for our lives.  Fifteen times the Word of God directs us to “hear what the Spirit is saying.”   With all the voices and noises competing for our attention today how do we discern the voice of God?  How do we know that God is speaking to our hearts?  There are a number of ways that God will speak to us.  In this study I want to focus on three: First, the voice of the Lord will be corrective.  You can be assured that voices from our own flesh will prove ...

Developing the Discipline of Listening Part Two – Discerning the Voice of God We live in a noisy society.  There are a number of voices that compete for our attention every day.  Our meals are interrupted by phone calls on our cell phones. We have hundreds of channels available on our television sets.  Have you noticed that the commercials have greater volume than the shows or movies we watch?   With the technology we use it has become very difficult to disconnect.  We receive hundreds of emails and text messages every day on our smart phones.  Our houses are wired to the Internet.  Our lives have become so busy that we need to  rediscover the discipline of listening.         Too often prayer becomes a monologue.  We download our needs, desires, and wants to God.  I believe that we must make our petitions known to our Father, but we must also take time to listen for His directi...

The Discipline of Listening James 1:19 – “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”             Paul Tillich writes, “The first duty of love is to listen.” [i]   One of the primary responsibilities of the believer is to learn to listen to the voice of the Lord.  Fifteen times in the New Testament, more than any other command, the believer is commanded, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.” [ii] If we are going to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then we need to learn the joy of hearing His voice.  Listening requires discipline.  We must become good listeners. There are times in our lives that we need to still ourselves, stop talking, stop praying, and learn to wait in His presence and hear what the Spirit is saying to you.  You might ask, “How do I know that God...

An Invitation, Instruction, and Inheritance Part Three of Three – Inheritance Colossians 3:1-4 In the first four verses of Colossians there is an invitation to enter into new life in Christ.  We are instructed to seek those things, which are above and not beneath.  And then we learn that we have an inheritance through the Lord Jesus Christ. What is our inheritance?  Colossians 3:4 reads, "When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." The inheritance that is promised in this verse is two-fold:  1.      Christ is our life - Which means that we can have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 2.      We shall appear with Him in glory!  What a comfort to know that we have eternal life through our Lord. John the beloved disciple wrote these words concerning eternal life in I John 4:11 – 12 - "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal...

An Invitation, Instruction, and Inheritance Part Two of Three – Instruction Colossians 3:1-4 The first four verses of Colossians chapter three are very powerful Scriptures.  They teach us valuable lessons about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to live an overcoming life.  In these four verses there is an invitation, an instruction, and a promise of an inheritance for the believer in Christ.             In verse 1 the Apostle Paul gives an invitation to the believer.  We are invited to share in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The invitation is to enter into new life through Christ. Verse 1 reads, “ “ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”               The Apostle gives two instructions in the first two verses of chapter three....

An Invitation, Instruction, and Inheritance Part One of Three – An Invitation Colossians 3:1- “ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” (NKJV)                The Epistle of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul with the theme of the supremacy of Christ.   The Apostle wrote this letter for two different reasons: 1) To combat the dangerous false teachings at Colosse that replaced the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ in creation, revelation, redemption, and the church. 2) To stress the true nature of new life in Christ and its requirements upon the believer.                The Apostle Paul’s writings are both doctrinal and practical for the believer.   The first part of His writings usually deal with doctrinal issues, while the...

The Camels Are Coming Genesis 24:10 – “T hen the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.” The Twenty Fourth chapter of Genesis is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Old Testament. It is filled with beautiful types, and pictures of the Father’s love for His Son, and His concern with finding Him a bride.    It is an Old Testament picture of what takes place today.   We are the bride that Father God is seeking for His beloved Son.    In Genesis 24 Abraham, commissioned his servant Eliezar to go and find a bride for His son.   He loaded ten camels with provisions and sent his most trusted servant on a mission to secure a bride for his son, Isaac.   We learn in verse 10 that Eliezar took ten camels loaded with gifts to be a dowry and journeyed to the city of Nahor.   Nahor is located in Mesopotamia, which ...