The Power of Drawing Close to God with Chrystal Evans Hurst

Do you ever wonder if when you have thoughts or feelings or some kind of knowing in your heart, do you ever wonder, is that me talking or is that God talking? You ever wonder if the still small voice is your own thoughts or if it's the Spirit's thoughts for you? I know it can be confusing to figure out when God is talking to you, and I want to talk a little bit more about that today. My name is Chrystal Hurst. I'm glad you're here. I'm here most weeks because most weeks I'm also live in the Inner Circle on Monday morning. My Inner Circle is a membership group of women who want to support the work that I do and get a little extra from me in exchange. But the videos that we do on the inside are released here every week, the edited, buttoned-up versions. And so I'm glad you're here to watch that on YouTube and/or on Facebook, or that you're listening to this on the podcast. I wanted to talk a little bit more about this concept of learning how to hear God's voice, understanding the power of intuition, this idea of discernment and knowing when God is speaking to you and when he is moving in your life. So I'm going to make an assumption here. I'm going to make an assumption that you know Jesus. I'm going to make an assumption that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that belief in Jesus is the only way to have fellowship with the God of the universe. There are a lot of religions that believe that Jesus existed, that he is a good person, that he's a strong historical figure. They believe it because he's well documented, but they believe he was a prophet or he was just another nice person or that he was a spiritual teacher. I'm not saying that. I'm saying that if you want to live forever, if you want to connect with God, that the only way to have fellowship with God is through his son Jesus. If you believe that, amazing. If you don't believe that, then I want you to go to chrystalhurtz.com/tellmemore, and you will understand a little bit more about what it is that I believe and hopefully get a greater understanding that will help you go into a full understanding and knowledge about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. That said, let me make another assumption that if you are a Christian, if you believe in Jesus, if you have a relationship with Jesus for yourself, if Jehovah Jireh is the Lord of your life, that you have a relationship with him and that you understand that the only way to have a relationship with him is for you to read his word, for you to walk in obedience, for you to walk in righteousness, that you have to know what he wants you to do and do it. Because if you kept messing up in a relationship with someone else, if they said, here's what I need from you, and you constantly ignored their wishes and constantly did things that hurt them, there probably wouldn't be much of a relationship. If you are not only in relationship with Christ, that you have ongoing fellowship with the trio, the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, because you know him. How do you get to know God? You read his word and you pray. Prayer is just communication with God. That's why I have a whole book called The 28-Day Prayer Guide that is designed to encourage you in your communication with God. So if you are a believer and if you also understand this principle of fellowship, that if I want to have good relationship with God that I have to know what he wants. I have to talk to him. I have to read his word. The Bible says in John 1 that in the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God. You want to know God, you got to know the word. So I'm gonna assume you know that too. What we really want to know from God though is, what do you want me to do with my life? What is my purpose? How am I going to make sure that I hear your voice? Can you give me the answer to should I spend this money? Should I marry this person? Should I take this job? Should I move to this place? We want him to tell us what we do with our our lives. But often, y'all, we want the answer to those questions, but we forget about the relationship. Let me tell you how you can know what God is saying to you in your life. When God wants to say something to you— and again, I got a whole video about your intuition and how that gets supercharged with the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. I have a whole video about how to hear the power of God. We'll make sure that those are linked and that they're easy for you to watch in the show notes for this episode. Read the caption to find out how you can get to the show notes for this episode. But I want to liken the voice of God in your life, the direction, the knowledge that something is changing or coming, to hearing the music. And when you hear the music playing in the background, then you start to pay attention because you know this show song. I recently went to New York. I was in Times Square. I went to Times Square every night of the 3 nights that I was in New York. And every night in Times Square, there was somebody doing something. There were people that were there that wanted to take pictures and wanted us to tip them for taking a picture. There were people that were holding up signs to have us get on the bus tour, the night tour, to take us around New York. There were people there that were inviting us to come in their stores by giving us samples from their restaurants. There were people that were in the middle of Times Square breakdancing or singing. But the last night, the last night we were in Times Square, from 500 yards away, I heard my music. I literally said out loud, Y'all, somebody's playing praise and worship music in Times Square because praise and worship music has a ring to it. Worship music, you know it when you hear it. It has a different tonality. It does something different when your ears hear it. That song we sing in church, those songs we sing in church, all that Maverick City, all that Hillsong, all that— we know that sound. And I heard it and I was like, somebody's playing our music, y'all. And then as I move closer to it, the music got louder. And there were people surrounding a college-age band in the middle of Times Square with their hands raised high, singing along with the songs that they know. But before I got to the middle of Times Square, before I ever saw the singers, before I ever, uh, could hear the specific instruments, before I knew what the words were, I heard the tone and it drew me to it. That's what hearing God's voice is like. He has a very specific song that he wants to play in your life, and that song has words. It has instruction. It has something for you to join into, for you not just to hear the music from far away, but for you to be drawn to the music, and then you be engaged in the worship experience. But the first thing he lets you hear is this show song. How does he let you hear it? He repeats himself. And I'm not going to repeat myself with what I've said in those other videos, but here's what you need to know. You don't hear those songs if you're not on the walk to Times Square. If I had been 7 blocks over to the east or 7 blocks over to the west, if I had been 20 blocks up the north or 20 blocks to the south, I wouldn't have heard the music. The only reason I heard the music is because I was close enough to hear it in the first place. The only way that you're going to hear from God is if you're close enough. To even know that there's a song playing for you to draw closer to. How do you stay close to God? You stay in fellowship with God. How do you stay in fellowship with God? You got to read the Bible. I'm amazed at how many people want to know God and want to know his will for their life, but they're not reading their Bible. I'm amazed at how many people want God to come through, but they're not going to him in prayer. Now listen, he can break through now. Now he can break through. If I am 7 blocks over on the east side of town, and if one of my friends is in Times Square and they're hearing the music, they can call me and they can say, girl, what or where are What are you doing? There's an amazing band here. I know you're 7 blocks away, you probably can't hear this. Get over here now. This is amazing. And sometimes that's what God does. He calls you up on the phone. You ain't listening. You're not looking for me. You are nowhere near what I'm doing, but you're going to get over here. That's what happened to Paul on the Damascus Road. Paul wasn't looking for God. He wasn't looking for Jesus. He wasn't looking for God's will. And God said, I'm gonna blind you on this road because I'm gonna stop everything happening in your life because you have got to hear the music. Sometimes Jesus comes in like that, like a flood. Just like the enemy can come in like a flood, God can too. Remember the flood? He can interrupt things when he wants to. But the general rule, the general principle, is you got to be in the vicinity to hear the music. When God wants to talk to you, he will play a song that is familiar to you. The chorus will repeat itself over and over again. It's time for you to quit playing church. It's time for you to quit playing with God. It's time for you to quit living halfway. It's time for you to quit not making time to spend with God in prayer. This is not about legalism. This is not about checking the list. This is about relationship. Are you in full relationship with God? Do you talk to him every day? Do you make sure that you leave room for silence so that he can talk to you? When you read something in the Bible that's convicting do you do what it says? When you realize that you have not been walking in a way that's pleasing to God, do you say you're sorry, and do you change your behavior? We don't have to be perfect. He didn't die thinking that we'd be perfect. He died to say, I love you unconditionally, even if you're not listening to the music. I love you. And I'm inviting you every day, all day, to come for a walk with me. I want you to take up your cross daily, and I want you to be with me so that when there's a song I need you to hear, you'll hear it. Recently, I've run into people that have brought me to tears. I've run into people that have reminded me of why I do what I do and how I do what I do. They've reminded me about about why it's so important that I keep putting out content when I'm tired, when I keep putting out content when I'm wondering. I look at what other people are doing and I'm like, you know, I could do it this way or I could do it that way. He has confirmed for me a million times in the last week what I'm doing, the way I'm doing it, is great. He has also confirmed that there are some changes coming. I don't know what the changes are. I'm waiting, I'm on standby to find out what is he asking for me to do. But you know what I've learned? I don't have to stress about the answer. I, I don't have to fear or have panic or have anxiety about the answer. What I've learned is that he wants me to hear the music. He wants me, and he wants you, to know your will for his life. He wants you to have the answers. He wants you to take the risk when you don't have clarity. He wants you to follow his lead. He wants you to learn what it is to walk the walk of faith. He wants that for you. The walk of faith is the most exciting part of living the Christian life ever. And along the walk of faith, there are so many things you will not know. You just won't. But the only way that you'll know where to place your next step is if you're close enough to him to hear the music. So I would be amiss if I came here every week and gave you tips for living well, and I told you how to be more confident and how to follow your dreams and how to get out of debt. And I believe that that's my calling. Very specific, practical. Chrystal, teach him how to do it. And sometimes I talk about Jesus and sometimes I don't, because these are principles for living. I really admire John Maxwell. His platform is leadership, but every time he has a conference and he teaches about leadership, he always has a Sunday morning service and he says, if you want to know why I know what I know, if you want to know how I know what to do, if you want to know what I got that helped me to build what you see, you need to come on Sunday morning. And on Sunday morning, he talks about Jesus. You don't have to come. You can pay him a million dollars and come to his leadership seminars, and you don't have to come on Sunday. But every time he has a conference, he has a Sunday morning service, and he tells you the secret to how he knows how to move in his life. Well, let's just call this Sunday morning. How did you build this, Chrystal Hurst? Jesus. How do you know what to do next, Chrystal Hurst? Jesus. When you make a mistake and you need to backtrack, Chrystal Hurst, what do you do? Talk to Jesus. When you're not sure, when you're afraid, I go to Jesus. How do you know in the core of your soul that you're doing the right thing? Sometimes I don't. I'm just doing the best I can to follow the music, and if I need to be corrected, Jesus will tell me. That is the secret. Let's call this Sunday morning. I have learned, and I'm still learning every day of my life, to walk the walk of faith, learning and leaning into and listening to Jesus. It's in him that I live and move and have my being. Hey there, it's Chrystal Hurst, and I hope you're having a great day wherever you're sitting. But I am standing next to all of this beautiful grass, beautiful water, a beautiful setting sun. It's amazing. And I was doing something else, hence the hair and the makeup and all that. Don't get excited, I'll be washing it off in a second. But the reality is I pause right here because of how I'm feeling on the inside. I love being in a place where I can hear my own soul and honestly sense God's presence. And while you're not gonna catch me out in the green acres all the time, when I do come out, I'm so glad I did. This is one of the reasons why I'm hosting this year's retreat in California. Beautiful, beautiful scenery and close to water, because I know how important it is to hear your soul, and to make room to hear from God. So I'd love for you to join me. All you have to do to get more information on how to join me is go to thesistercircle.com/retreat. I hope to see you there. Now, here's the problem. The problem is in this world, and this is where some people get mad at me, because listening to Jesus looks and sounds a lot like things that we're afraid of. If you in church, you're afraid of words like energy, You're afraid of words like knowing. You're afraid of words or phrases like listen to your body or to know yourself. You're, you're afraid of being still. You're afraid of meditation. You're afraid of these words. And you want to know why you're afraid of them? You're afraid because the world has taken them. They took Jesus out of them and they made them something else. Let me tell you why I believe that God works powerfully in my life. Because I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to engage with any and everything that is a part of how he works in my life. And I refuse to let the enemy take from me just because the world has put another label on it. I'm not afraid to take back what the enemy took from God's camp and use it. So do I meditate? Yes, I do. Do I sit in silence? Do I meditate on the scriptures? Yes, I do. But do I also sit there in silence and empty my mind? Yes, I do. Why am I doing that? So that I can hear not my thoughts but his thoughts. Am I afraid of words like energy? No, I am not. No, I am not. You want to know why? Because Jesus at the table sat around with those 12 disciples and he knew which one of them was not on his team. Yes, he's God and he's all-knowing, but he knew Jesus said when the woman came and touched the hem of his garment, he felt the power drain out of them. You know what that sounds like to me? A loss of energy. Do you know how I know when I'm not supposed to be around certain people, or I'm supposed to not have certain people operating in my life? The energy. That ain't— that ain't necessarily worldly. I allow how God has built us to not be defined by how the world uses the tool. So how do I hear the music? I'm paying attention to God's word. I'm paying attention to what Jesus says to me in prayer, sometimes when I'm walking down the street. But I also pay attention to my energy. If I'm around somebody and something just ain't right, I assume that God is using my intuition and he's using the shift in my energy to allow the power of the spirit for me to know they not for you. They don't need that information. They don't need to be close to you. Stop being afraid to walk in the full power of God. Moses had a staff in his hand and he wanted to know how he was going to be most powerful. How these people gonna know that I am who I say I am and that you actually sent me to talk to them? God said, throw that down. And it became a snake. And then he told Moses, now pick that back up. I know that everybody else is going to say it's a snake, but you know it's what I gave you. When you know that you are using what God has put in your hand, it don't matter what everybody else call it. It doesn't matter how afraid everyone else is of it. You can throw it down and you can pick it up and it will not bite you. I know how to listen to the music. It's not magic. You read the word, you hide God's word in your heart, you pray, you prioritize. When he calls you into obedience, you prioritize that. You make the shifts in your life. And when you make the shift to come from 7 blocks over from the east, or 8 blocks over from the west, or you come down 20 blocks from the north, or you come up 20 blocks from the south, when you find yourself not even in the middle of Times Square but simply in the vicinity. You could be 500 yards away, you'll hear the music playing, and the music will draw you closer. James 4:8, draw nigh to God, the King James says, and he will draw nigh to you. You just need to be in the vicinity. I want you to hear the music. I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt when God is talking to you. And even if you don't know what the outcome is, I want you to know what it is to walk towards the music. God, you repeated this sermon, you repeated this podcast. I keep experiencing this over and over and over again. You keep impressing upon my heart. I can't shake it. So I don't know how this is going to turn out, and I don't know what's happening in the middle of Times Square, but what I do know is I'm in the vicinity and you're drawing me closer. Show me what's behind the circle. Show me what's in the middle of the crowd. Show me what everybody in New York City isn't going to see, but the people in their circle with their hands raised who are willing to worship in the middle of their life, to stopped their trek down 7th Avenue. I want to be in the midst of those people who are able to hear the music but be close enough to hear the melody and close enough to hear the message. They've got the music, that's general. The melody, that's more specific. And the message, the actual words, so that they can worship along. I want you to bring me in closer so that I hear clearly what the message is that you're saying for me on today. That's what I want for you. I want you to quit living your life 8 blocks over here, 7 blocks over there, 20 blocks north, 20 blocks I want you to be in the vicinity. How do you get in the vicinity? You gotta read the Bible. You gotta be a part of somebody's fellowship in somebody's church. You gotta pray, and you have to be obedient to the best of your ability. Not perfect, but obedient, willing to operate in the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And you know what that will do? It will put you in the vicinity. And then when you're in the vicinity, when he wants you to draw closer, when he wants you to take action, when he wants you to get a message, when you're in the vicinity, you'll hear the music. And you know what happens when you hear the music? Then you'll know how to get closer. Have you ever played that game? Marco Polo, Marco Polo. Somebody has their eyes closed and they're moving through the water in the pool, but when they call out Marco, they need you to call out Polo because they don't know where you are until they hear your voice. They don't know where they're going. They're following the sound of your voice. Listen, God ain't playing games with you, but that is how it operates. Listen, we live in a very dark world. There's a lot of noise out here, but when you call out to him, the Bible says he will answer you and he will deliver you from all your fears. You feel like you're operating in darkness? Listen, he's giving you everything you need to hear, but you got to call out and he will answer. Not only will he answer, that's the message, he will deliver you from all your fears. And then you'll know what thus saith the Lord. Everybody out in these streets wants to know about their calling. Come on, it ain't about your calling. It's never about you. It's always about what he has for you. You want to know what he has for you that's for his glory and for your good? I need you to be in the vicinity. If you're vicinity— if you're in the vicinity, the melody and the music, the message, those things will take care of themselves. People want to know, Chrystal Hurst, how do you do it? How did you build it? How did you know what to do next? What did you try? How did you hire your first person? How did you build your team? How did you know how to— how did you— how did you— how did you— you want to know what? I was hearing the message. I was singing along with the melody. I was following the sound of the music. 2024 is a new year. I don't know what's coming. I don't know what's going to change. Some days I think I know. Some days I think we're going to add this, we're going to add this, and we're going to change this, and we're going to change this. And other days, and my team has heard me say it, we're going to blow the whole thing up. I'm done. It's something in between there. I do know that. What I believe is that women who love God are powerful, and we should learn how to better learn from each other. What I believe is that my job in this world is to speak, encourage, share my message, but more importantly, to amplify the messages of other women. How do I do that? I haven't gotten to that verse yet. And every time I'm singing the song and maybe I end up on a wrong note, I'm like, maybe this isn't my song. The Lord is like, no, honey, this is your song. Keep singing. Just don't worry about it. I'll teach you your part. This is said like a true choir director. I'll teach you your part. But that's the exciting walk of faith. Is that when I need to hear the music, he'll make sure, if I'm in the vicinity, that I don't miss my cue. If you've ever watched the movie Inception, it's a dream and a dream and a dream and a dream, and how the dream would wake up to the dream that would wake up to the dream that would wake up to the dream that would wake up to reality is there was music that was playing in reality, and that music could be heard all the way down to the most in-depth dream. And the music was there to warn you that your kick is coming. You know that kick that when you wake up out of your sleep suddenly, like something happens in your dream, like you're playing and you wake up. Or maybe somebody touches you in your sleep and you, you wake up. That's the kick. And in Inception, they were hearing the music and they were hearing the music and they were hearing the music down to the last dream. And in the last dream, they looked at each other and they said, the music is playing, the kick is coming, the kick is coming. I just want you to be ready for it. And the way that you get ready is to make sure that when the music is playing You're hearing it. I don't want opportunity to come when you're not ready. I don't want a moment in your life to come, the job to come, the man to come. I don't want the moment to come where, where there are things shifting in the universe and you're supposed to move, or you're supposed to change churches, you're supposed to change jobs. I, I don't want that moment to come and you miss your cue, you miss your kick. And you want to know how you will always be ready? Because you hear the music. You're ready to engage. The most important part of living this life of faith is that God is always doing something and he's inviting us to be a part, but we can't be a part in the best way if we're not in fellowship with him. You got to read your word, you got to pray, you got to, you know, not legalistically, but out of relationship, because he's playing the music only because he wants you to wake up, wake up fully to every single thinking thing he wants to do in your life. And when the kick comes, that opportunity, he wants you to know it was coming. You may not have known what it felt like, you may not have known exactly where it would put you, but you would know this is it. This is the message today. Hear the music, because this is your kick. If you've been playing around with God, this is your kick. If you haven't been willing to believe because you're letting your mind get in the way, this is your kick. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. If you've been wondering, how can I be in relationship with God, this is your kick. This is it. You need somebody to tell you? Well, you want to hear it? Here it go. This is it. ChrystalEvansHurst.com/tellmemore if you need more. And if you need more than what I'm giving you today, or what's on that page, you need to find somebody's church. You need to show up. You need to say, listen, I just heard Chrystal Hurst say I need to know Jesus. I have no idea what that means. I didn't grow up in church. My family wasn't churched. You need to go to somebody's church and say, listen, I was raised in church. My life is a mess, and I don't even know where to start with cleaning my stuff up. I don't even know how to start. Studying my Bible, praying. I don't know how to start. You go to somebody's church, you figure that out. You Google. There's so much free stuff on YouTube, it's ridiculous. You can go to Tony Evans, Priscilla Shire. We all— our whole family talks about the word, but they are doling out scripture like nobody's business all the time. I do that sometimes. My job is to keep it real in this world and be transparent. So this is me telling you, go deep.. And if you need to go deeper than what I have, go to them. They're safe. A lot of people on the internet that aren't safe. This is your kick. This is your kick to stop being surfacey and be transparent, be authentic. Tell those women that you know what's really going on in your life. Quit playing church in these small groups. Let them know where you really need prayer. This is your kick. Life is too short for you to be dreaming. Life is too short for you to go all the way to New York and not go to the center of Times Square. And life is too short that if you end up in Times Square and somebody is having a whole worship service, life is too short for you not to sit there, listen, and engage. I hope this has helped you. If it has, I'm glad. Be sure and share it with someone Subscribe to the YouTube channel, follow the Facebook page, make sure you're following me on Instagram, make sure you're on my email list, chrystallevinshurst.com. All those things that all the cool kids say, but you need to know that I'm only here with you because I heard the music. And every single day I live my life, not perfectly, I am not perfect, I listen for the next verse. You got verse 273 today, or whatever episode of the podcast this is going to be, and I hope you enjoyed the melody. I'll see you next week.