Men of Faith Breakfast
2 May, 2015
The Voice Of The Lord

Men … let’s talk about Voices … whose voice gets your attention?
The voice of your Mom or Dad, the voice of your wife, the voice of your kids, the voice of your boss
What voice scares you, what voice excites you, what voice makes you smile, fearful, sad …

So … the VOICE of the Lord …

Psalm 29:3–9 (NIV84)
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

David … is showing himself a mature songwriter … He is painting a picture of a STORM rising … it’s gathering in the west it is rolling across the Mediterranean Sea, the waves are crashing on the shore, rolling eastward toward Jerusalem. The storm is gathering strength as it climbs upward to Jerusalem … David, perhaps laying in his bed, hearing the storm in the distance, the first pit pat of rain turns into a blast of lightning, a ROAR of Thunder and the STORM blows in … and it is the VOICE of the LORD …

Gentlemen, I’m here to tell you something … there are lots of voices we like, other voices we must live with, but there is only one voice that we desperately NEED and that is the Voice of the Lord … We need it, we cannot live without it …

I want to spend an HOUR or so here, but let me try and just spend a few minutes …
What am I talking about …?

1. What IS the VOICE of the Lord?

David most likely “hearing” God through a storm recognizes the importance, the power, the vitality of the voice of the Lord.

What am I talking about? What Is the Voice of the Lord?

A. It is Creative
… the Voice of the Lord said “LET there Be … and there was Light, let there be and there was land and see, let there be, and fish and flying things, let there be and there were heavenly bodies, let there be and there were plants and trees, let there be and there were animals of every kind, and the VOICE of the Lord said “let us make someone in our image and he reached down and did what he degreed … The VOICE of the Lord

B. It is Prophetic
… Prophesy is not just about FORETELLING but the Voice of the Lord certainly tells us what is yet to come, but more Importantly Prophesy is FORTH Telling. The Voice of the Lord is TRUTH Spoken into our lives … we need the Voice of the Lord

C. It is Revelation
… As the Voice of the speaks truth to us … it reveals to us God, his Purposes and his Ways … Moses said “who will I tell them has sent me?” and God said “I AM who I AM” … God is revealing himself every time he speaks to us

D. It is an Invitation
… as we learned God never speaks simply for information, he is inviting us to join him

E. It is Frightening
… if we really hear it, if we really understand who is speaking to us it ought to scare us … and that’s ok because the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom … you aren’t ready to learn anything until you have a healthy dose of Fear instilled by the Voice of the Lord

Lastly … it is
F. Necessary
… Gentlemen if you tell me this morning, I’m not hearing the Voice of God, it would tell you, ask for it, beg for it, plead for it. Shut off every other competing voice, because you NEED the Voice of the Lord …

What does David teach us about the Voice of the Lord?

2. What Does the Voice of the Lord Do?

It is …
A. Over the Waters
Remember David is in a Thunderstorm … the Lord is over the Rainclouds and the Showers, the destructive storms and the showers of blessing. But also this makes us mindful of the Creative Voice of God … Remember Genesis 1:2 the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters … if things are formless and void, that is a prime place for God to work … Listen to the Voice of the Lord

B. Awesome v4

It is powerful – the word means strength, might, power, ability … The Voice of the Lord IS the Power we seek, we need
It is Majestic – the word means, an adornment, ornament, splendor

C. Breaks Cedars
The Cedars of Lebanon were in the Mountains where the source of all life for Israel began.
The Cedars provided for building, fortifying the country …
HE breaks our high places, the Voice of the Lord Shakes the Mountains and Shatters our Greatest strengths

D. Flames of Fire, Lightning v7

Fire, Lightning, Thunder in the scripture refers to cleansing, judging, the removal of sin
The Voice of the Lord, in Revelation, in Prophesy, brings judgment but when we respond it brings cleansing and removal of sin

E. Shakes the Desert / Wilderness

Shakes the desert of Kadesh … Kadesh Barnea was the place where Israel had a chance to follow God into the Promised Land, but instead they looked with their eyes instead of with their heart. They went by their perception instead of by the Voice of the Lord. Their unbelief, sent them into the desert of correction.
But the Voice of the Lord removes our unbelief, removes our fear, removes the potential consequences by inspiring obedience and an adventurous spirit that says “this doesn’t make fit my sensibility, but it inspires my faith, yes Lord …

F. Inspires New Birth v9
Some translations say “deer give birth” others say “twists the oaks” … then it says “strips the forests bare” … either way, the stripping and twisting of the Voice of the Lord, makes room for New Birth to come forth …

The Voice of the Lord
The Sound of God … can you hear it?

Alright then Pastor, So, How do I hear the Voice of the Lord?
3. How Do I Hear the Voice of the Lord?

Let’s get practical …

A. Read His Word
Are you reading the Word of God? This is the Voice of the Lord. We have many things that compete for our ear. People ask me all the time, “how do I know if what I think I hear God saying in my Spirit IS Really the Voice of God?
We have the Voice of God in print. All scripture, that means OLD AND NEW, Law, History, Poetry, Prophesy, Parables, Epistles, it is ALL God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17)

If you are not building into your schedule time to read God’s word every day, you cannot trust that what you think you hear is truly the Voice of the Lord. God’s Voice in Prayer, in Our Spirit, will NEVER Contradict His Written Word …
How do I start? Take 10 Minutes to P-R-A-Y
1. P-ray – Lord Speak to me from your Word (2 Minutes)
2. R-ead – start with the gospel of John if you don’t know where … read 10 verses or read a proverb a day (3 Minutes)
3. A-pply – what did God show you? What is he saying to you? write it down (3 Minutes)
4. Y-es – Say Yes … Lord I hear you, I will do it … (2 Minutes)

B. Listen
If you are reading his word, and know his word then you should be spending time LISTENING to God … I didn’t just say “Pray” because most of the time our “prayers” are just list-giving to God … but we need to build into our prayer time LISTENING … that means SILENCE … can’t do that, don’t like to do that? Start small … 5 minutes … “Lord Speak” … Have a Pad and write down what you think God is saying to you

C. Sit Under the Proclamation of the Word
When you come on Sunday do you come intentionally and prepared? That is do you come because you want to hear from God and ready to do something with what you hear …
How do you do that?
Come in on Sunday believing that what you are going to hear is FROM God, not just from the Preacher
Let it Wash Over You …
Meditate on what you have heard, that means to dive in, best way to do that is to spend some time during the week studying what God has given you on Sunday.
Stand Under the Water Fall and let it wash over you.
Don’t just run through the Sprinkler, Go to the pool.
Don’t just dip your feet in the edge of the pool … Dive In.
Some of us come to the pool but we just sunbathe, we never get in the pool.
Spend the time
Meditate …

D. Believe It
All of it is true
All he says is for me

Last two things …

4. WHY Don’t We Hear It More?

It is NOT for a lack of his voice, a lack of his Written Word, a Lack of Preachers …
Look at vv1-2
Psalm 29:1–2 (NIV84)
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

We don’t hear the Voice of the Lord Because we don’t ASCRIBE … that means to GIVE and it is in the IMPERATIVE … I MUST …
Ascribe to the Lord the GLORY DUE … Glory is the Word kabod – it means heaviness, weight … Due shem – name
GIVE … you MUST … the weight, that his NAME deserves …

Do you worship him with your ATTENTION? We give attention to so many things, most of them important but most of them are TEMPORAL … God is Eternal … is he worthy of our ATTENTION? Ascribe to the Lord

It is Imperative

5. Why MUST I?
Psalm 29:10–11 (NIV84)
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. 11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.
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The Lord sits ENTHRONED over this STORM …
I can see David laying in his bed overlooking the Kidron Valley. The Kidron Valley was dry most of the time, but when the rain fell and the floods came it washed through the Valley and David said The Lord is God of the showers of blessings but also through the Storms as life as well
Why?
The Lord sits ENTHRONED as the Universe’s King FOREVER as well
So as Lord of the storm, and Lord of the Universe, I MUST Have His Voice, I Must Listen
Why Must I Have the Voice?
The Lord Gives Strength … I Need Strength
The Lord Blesses … I need blessing
The Lord gives PEACE … I Need Peace

The Voice of the Lord
The Voice of the Lord
Can you Hear it?
Will You Hear it?
Do you know how desperately we NEED It

Speak Lord
Speak Lord
I will Sit Right Here, I will Listen, Speak Lord