Hearing God's Voice | Holly Furtick

You see, the key to hearing God's voice consistently in your life is having a good understanding of who God is and who he's not. Tonight my husband is not on the front row because you guys obviously calm, you know, whatever take over this place. So he's sitting off to the side where I can't see him very well. But I can tell you that if he were to shout, that's good, Hall. I don't have to look over there to see who said that, because I know him, I have a relationship with him. But learning to hear God's voice is a little bit harder than learning to hear the voice of an actual human. And so many times in my life I want to skip the relationship part with God and just have God tell me what to do, like he's some kind of fortune teller. That's a lot easier if God would just tell me where to go and what to do and what to say, when to say it. I don't even think I would listen anyway even if I could hear him. I came here to tell you tonight that you can't get direction from God if you don't take the time to learn his voice and his character. So the first thing that you need to know about God is that he is a good shepherd. There's two words used here to describe God, good and shepherd. And so anytime I'm trying to discern what God is speaking to me, I have to filter everything through that aspect of God's character. God is a good God. He does not shame me for my past decisions. He does not withhold good things from me to punish me for my mistakes. He's not sitting up in heaven playing games with me. He does not want me to be confused. Hear me say that God is not the author of confusion. The enemy wants to confuse you so that you'll never act on what you think God is telling you to do. God is good, and he has good plans for my life. And that's the starting place when you think God might be speaking something to you is that you remember that he has good intentions for you and he will wants you to hear his voice and follow his directions. Listen to this more than you want to. He wants you to hear his voice because he's good and he's a shepherd. Now, I know you probably don't know that much about sheep. We did have a few sheep here this week. I don't know that much about sheep and shepherding, but I consider myself an expert because I have read one and a half books and I've watched several YouTube videos. So you are in good hands tonight as we talk about God and him being the good shepherd. And there's one thing that I did learn about shepherding, and that's this. A shepherd's primary goal is to protect the sheep. He wants to keep the sheep healthy and safe, as safe as he possibly can, so that they can breed and produce wool and produce milk. And so the shepherd, the sheep are not afraid of the shepherd. He's not gonna. He's not there to sleep, slaughter them. He's there to care for them. So when the shepherd calls, they run to him because they've learned over time that the shepherd represents care and safety and nourishment. When he calls, he has something for them. Even when he's calling them away from something, it's good. It's a good thing, because the shepherd, he represents guidance. God wants to be your guide, not your Uber driver. God longs to have a relationship with you. He has no interest in letting you just hop in the backseat of his car with your AirPods on noise cancellation mode and just wait until he drops you off at the next destination. That's not how God works. So if you're frustrated that maybe you can't hear God, you might need to take your. I've told this story before at Elevation, but several years ago, my husband took me and a few of our staff on a trip to Israel, and we hired this guide, his name was Aryeh, to show us all of the famous sites in the Bible. And I will never forget getting off the plane. I was so tired from the long flight, and I was just ready to get on the bus and get to the hotel. And so I got on the bus, and I have this gift. I can sleep in a moving vehicle really easily. Not a plane, I'm not as good on planes, but something about a car or a bus. So I got on the bus and I kind of, like, settled in, and I leaned my head up against the window and Arie came on over the speaker. He wore this little lapel mic the whole time that we were with him. And he just started teaching. I mean, we are literally in the airport parking lot. And I remember exactly what the man says. He goes, okay, in Israel, we are just beginning the rainy season. And he went on, I'm telling you, like, we're getting on the interstate. And the man is just teaching us. He's teaching us about the feasts and the festivals in the Old Testament and that they always began in the rainy season. We were there for seven days, and every minute we were with Aryeh, he wasn't just driving us to the Garden of Gethsemane or the Mount of Olives and being like, all right, there it is. He was pointing things out all along the way. He was teaching us about the history and the culture of the land. His job as our guide was was to allow us to experience these places, not just see them. We could even ask questions because he was there with us the entire time. Learning to hear God's voice is about having a relationship with him. How many of you have ever asked God to help you make a decision, like whether or not to take a job or change schools or which college to go to? And I wanna say something tonight that might be considered a little bit blasphemous. And I honestly did. Did not talk to Pastor Steven about whether or not I can say this. So here I go. Most of the time, I don't think God cares which one you choose. Can I say that? I don't think he cares. He said, it's okay. God cares way more about the fact that you're seeking him. God cares a mil. Listen to this. Listen to this. God cares a million times more about your character than your college. He wants you to be so in step with him that he can guide you through any situation that you face. He cares more about the friends that you choose than the school colors that you wear. There's a verse in Corinthians that says, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. And learning to hear God's voice means that you are so in step with God that you just keep doing the next right thing, the next right step, and then the next right step. Sometimes they're small, and sometimes a big one comes along. But if you can learn to listen to God in the little things, then the big things don't seem as big of a deal. And then you're taking the next right step. If a door is slammed in your face, then you can trust that your guide knew that there was something behind that door that was not best for you. I know it's hard in the moment when a door gets shut in your face, but when God is your guide, you follow him. Every now and then, somebody will ask me, when did you know that you were called to marry a pastor? And I'm always like, marry a pastor. God never said, holly, go find a pastor. You know what he said to me? Holly, be the right person. While you wait for me to bring you the right person. And you wait for the right person. He told me to wait for a man who loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the one that I found just happened to want to be a pastor. I didn't set out to marry a pastor. I was just trying to stay in step with God, the next right choice, the next right decision. Just trying to be the woman that God had called me to be. He's a good shepherd, and he genuinely cares for you. He's not trying to take things away from you. He has something for you. And if you'll tune your ear to his voice, you'll find that he's a good shepherd. Hey, thanks for watching. I hope that that encouraged you today. Make sure that you subscribe so that you don't miss out on other videos like this, and I'll see you back here next. Sam.