You Can Hear The Voice of God

At Christian Life Church we believe that God still speaks today.  We are honored to have Steve Sampson as our special guest this weekend.  Steve moves in a prophetic gift that is spoken of in the New Testament.  Steve wrote the popular book, You Can Hear the Voice of God.  I hope you pick up a copy today after the service.  Here is an excerpt from the book from the section, The Voice of the Spirit.


Factually speaking, few individual Christians really know and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit.  God is always willing to speak to His people, but His voice is often undiscerned and unrecognized, because we fail to understand the way of the Spirit.

To learn to hear from God is the greatest ability and Christian can possess.  Well-intentioned Christians make “Kingdom” decisions that are derived from man’s perspective and not God’s.  These decisions are frequently made from information and logic and not based on knowledge given by the Holy Spirit to the believer.

Certainly everyone had seen misuses and abuses by those who claim to have heard God.  But it is normal Christianity to walk in fellowship with God that is intimate enough to enable us to hear from Him on a daily basis.  Jesus didn’t say that His sheep would listen to tapes, read books or memorize Bible verses, although these things are all good.  But He did say, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) 

Adoption - Christian Life Daily Devotional

Are you reading and sharing the Christian Life Daily Devotional?  It is important that you experience God’s Word each day in our lives and share it with others.  If you don’t have a copy or want to share a copy with someone you know, you can get extra copies in the lobby following the service or you can email me and request a devotional and I'll send you one.  The following is an excerpt from a reading this week.


The Bible says, “[We] received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 15-17 NKJV).  Adoptive parents understand what it’s like to have emptiness in their hearts, to search, to set out on a mission, to take responsibility for a child with a troubled past and an uncertain future.  And that’s what God did for you.  Knowing full well the trouble you’d be, and what it would cost, He sought you, found you, paid the price for you, took you home, gave you His name and the right to call Him “Abba,” which means “Daddy,” a term of endearment.  Adoption isn’t something you earn, it’s a gift you receive.  You’d never hear adoptive parents say, “We’d like to adopt little Mary but first we want to know—does she have a house, money for tuition, a ride to school in the morning and clothes to wear every day?”  The adoption agency would say, “Hold on, you’re not adopting her because of what she has, but because of what she needs.  She needs love, hope, a home and a future.”  You don’t earn the Spirit of adoption, you receive it by faith.  That’s important because if you can’t gain it by your stellar efforts, you can’t lose it through your poor performance.  How reassuring!  And it gets better; you’re an “heir” to all your Father owns.  That means you’ll never have a need He cannot or will not meet.  How good is that?

Back to Church Sunday

I recently saw a website that listed 52 Practical/Scientific Reasons To Go To Church from various academic studies. So, in honor of Back to Church Weekend let me list just a few of the reasons to go to church. 

• Reduced blood pressure
• Happier marriages
• More affectionate parents
• Fathers spending more time with children
• Better maternal influence
• Better behaved teenagers
• Healthier behaviors 
• Reduced delinquency 
• Better personal health
• Greater resistance to cancer
• Faster healing
• Greater longevity
• Less alcohol abuse
• Better sex life
• A sense of purpose

While these are all great “benefits,” the bottom line is we aren't meant to be spiritual orphans, we need our local church family. Our second mission at Christian Life is to connect people to people. You aren't meant to be a Christian all alone. You need the family of God surrounding you week in and week out with encouragement, prayer, and accountability.  You need your church family!  There is something powerful when we gather with likeminded believers in the local church to worship God.  Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in your life as we worship God together.

Change

For everything there is a season... 

Ecclesiastes 3:1a

During my walks this week I’ve noticed some of the first leaves starting to change colors.  The kids are back in school, Labor Day is here, it must be time for the fall season to begin.    

Every season brings change. And while I love the fall, I’m not always thrilled with change.  Change can be uncomfortable, sad, difficult.  No one is immune to the effects of change.  

It seems life is full of constant change.  Just when you feel as though everything is working, you’ve got your routine down, something changes.

While everyone’s life is full of change, believers know that God, who never changes, is with us each step of the journey.  Romans 8:29 reminds us that through process of change we are being conformed into the image of Jesus.  And the verse just before that reminds us that even in most difficult change God is at work, making it good in our lives.

God’s plan for our life is good (Jeremiah 29:11).  Therefore, allow that change in your life to produce the growth and maturity God wants to see.  And always remember the God who never changes, who’s love never fails, will be with you even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).  This week meditate on the promise of God, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." (Hebrews 13:5)