Tuning into God’s Voice

An excerpt from the talk “Tuning into God’s Voice”

How will God communicate to you?

Hebrews 1:1-3

Long ago God spoke to our early fathers in many different ways. He spoke through the early preachers. 2 But in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. God gave His Son everything. It was by His Son that God made the world. 3 The Son shines with the shining-greatness of the Father. The Son is as God is in every way.

God's language is sonship. He speaks through his Son.

If you want to hear God, then discover God’s Son because God does not speak to humanity as strangers or enemies but as ones reconciled to his love.

God has chosen to speak to humanity in his beloved Son. It is his chosen way to speak to us. As a Dad it would be very sad and strange if I spoke to my children as if they weren’t my children. Even if I would be polite or even warm to them, it would fall so short of the potential loving, joy filled relationship of a parent-child. It is a tragic sight to behold a child not loved by their parent.

God makes this exclusive relationship with humanity - he makes us sons and daughters. That is the way he has chosen to speak to us. Any religion or belief system that doesn’t take into account that we are adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters will inevitably tune out of God’s voice - because he is a loving father. We can not change God, He is love.

Even our sins cannot change the reality of God’s love toward us. There is no separation between the divine Father-Son and likewise there is no separation, no silent treatment between God and humanity. We have been grafted into the eternal bond of the Father - Son relationship by the Spirit. It is a gift, it’s pure grace we now sit at this table of fellowship.

God has no less desire to speak to his adopted children than His son Jesus. It would be ridiculous to think God loves his adopted, created children less than his only begotten natural Son.

There is no separation between the divine Son and humanity, they have been joined together in the Word becoming flesh. Human flesh is now forever joined to divine life through Christ.

There’s no problem hearing God in that union.

If we don’t see ourselves as sons and daughters we will “hear” from a different source and pick up a different tone. It might even be good or positive spin on life, but it won’t be the God of love revealed in Father, Son and Spirit.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

God cleanses humanity of its sins through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. All the barriers to hearing God and tuning into Him have been removed. The old has gone, the new has come.

We’re gifted a new heart and spirit to relate to him. God does not forgive our sins derived from our old broken hearts only to reboot the old to be perpetually stuck anticipating our condemnation. We are made to now follow God’s heart and hear his voice. This is the basis of grace we hear God.

Tuning into God’s voice means recognising the frequency is being a new creation. We are a new humanity when we’re clothed with Christ’s forgiveness. God will speak to you on the basis of being a daughter or son of God not according to any negative self-image you have but his perfect Son.

He speaks to you as holy, pure and blameless. He is addressing who you are becoming and your potential in Christ. If the voice we “hear” from God is accusation, condemnation or reinforcing your old ways then it’s probably your imagination. God is working on and speaking to the new you because the old one died with Christ on the cross.

Questions:

What would it be like to imagine your relationship and ability to hear God was based on the Son’s connection with the Father?

Take a moment to ask Holy Spirit to reveal how you can hear God.