How to discern GOD's voice-Part 1
Learning to discern God's voice is the most important skill needed in our Christian journey. So we need to begin with the basics. Don't be discouraged if you miss it a couple of times. We keep learning to discern His voice as we grow spiritually.
To get a clearer picture of the process, we must begin with how we fit into the creation picture God designed.
Who am I?
In the beginning, God created Man to be composed of a Spirit, Soul and Body.
After the fall, Man became only Soul and Body. Why? Because His Spirit died immediately (stopped responding to God) although the soul still lived but died slowly (depreciated in value and degenerated unto perishing)
For example, when you pluck a mango from the tree, it doesn't start spoiling immediately. Although broken from its source, it could still last for a while before it turns rotten and the maggots crawl in.
Now imagine this illustration happening to Man's soul over thousands of years after the fall.
While the Spirit of Man had been detached from God in Adam, there was a slow degeneration of the souls of men. Like Cain and many other sons of God who came from Adam (You can read the book of Genesis as a reference)
The Role of Jesus in Salvation
This is why before Jesus came in the New Testament, there were men in the Old Testament like Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, etc who were walking with God with their Souls.
But Man’s soul kept depreciating because Man had been infected with the virus called Sin. This Sin had killed Man’s spirit and was already eating its way into Man’s soul. -Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 7:8-17
Jesus had to come to the rescue.-Romans 5:6-11
So the moment you got born again, in the blink of an eye, the moment you said Yes to God, God quickened your spirit and sealed that new spirit with the Holy Spirit.
Free of viral infection called Sin.
You now have a new owner and master. You’ve been translated from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light. You’re a new creature! They gave you a new slate and a new guide! Isn’t that awesome? Your acceptance of Jesus has qualified you to be a child of God. Now you’re qualified, over-qualified to discern God's voice.
Don’t fret. You’ve got this!
They also gave you a manual and map in one.-The Bible. Talk about Walking by faith huh?
Now what?
They quickened your spirit. They gave you a new spirit! How? Where? Inside You! This means you are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.
Talk about this Genius God!
I mean whoa! Just like that? Are you sure there aren’t some hidden fees somewhere? This gospel sounds too good to be true! Are you sure I don’t have to do anything to be liked by Jesus? Y’know fast for a hundred days…wash my feet a thousand times, keep the Sabbath day holy? Keep the laws and all that goes with it?
No! Come as you are baby! Romans 10:9,13
So how does this work?
When you got born again, they automatically grafted you into Christ so that when he died, you died with him, and when He rose, you rose together with him. God’s technology is just beyond this world!
Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We therefore were buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-4
For free?
Yes, darling! For free. No charges. God is so good, right? I know!
Is there more?
The moment you accepted Jesus into your life, only the spiritual changed. Nothing physical happened. If you were bald before, then oops, you remain bald. Sorry about that.
Alright, maybe you cried a few tears and ran around singing and sharing the good news with everyone. But that’s just running on your emotions. We need to get to the spiritual basics of this new kingdom and understand how it operates.
Let me tell you a story
So imagine there's a girl called Lily. She has been living in a dump for years, eating from the bin, rolling in the mud, and all kinds of filthy stuff. And then a nice-looking gentleman walks into Lily's life and asks her to marry him. She doesn’t know him, and can’t understand why he’s asking her to marry him but she says yes anyway because duh! he looks cool and he’s got money and that’s all she sees.
Then he takes her away from the dump into his mansion and cleans her up. He tells Lily she’ll become a Queen as his wife because He’s a king. He also has to present her to His Father spotless so Father can bless the Union when He sees she is FIT to be His Son’s bride and is rest assured with her complete allegiance.
So Lily's new husband hands her over to his butler to teach her how to become a Queen and leave her old habits.
Talk about Royalty treatment!
The butler is a gentleman like his Master so he gives some suggestions on how to please her husband.
Lily is a newbie in the kingdom and because she's so used to her old life, she finds herself going back to eat from the bin. Lily still has those traits in her because she grew up in a dump.
We all know old habits die hard.
Lily also has many friends from the dump who keep coaxing her about the life she left. She also misses rolling in the mud with them. On some days, she can't help but be bad because that's the familiar way for her.
Lily misses the vulgar jokes they shared and how she could run around in her rags and mess up without anyone holding her to ransom.
In Reality...
We are Lily.
After the New-birth, although our spirit salvation was immediate, our soul salvation is a process.
buildtobloom
This is why our flesh (soul) lusts against the spirit. Until our souls finally learn to submit to the Spirit's leading completely, we'll find ourselves lusting after the world and acting ungodly some days.
But don't doubt your salvation, the HolySpirit is aware of this and wants to keep saving you, cleansing you, and sanctifying you-Ephesians 5:26-27
Jesus is the guy in the wealthy tuxedo and the Holy Spirit is the butler. The Holy Spirit is so glad to start showing you how to behave in this new kingdom. He's excited because He was born ready!!
He also has an instruction manual (the Bible) and some tutors (pastors/ministers) he has trained in his mansion for this purpose to help you become that Queen the Father desires. -Ephesians 4:10-12
Because even though we are in our husband's house, we are clueless about what it entails.
So the butler has to teach us how things work here. This is where hearing the Holy Spirit comes in. We have to let him guide us so we can become that Queen our Husband/King is expecting at the end of his tutoring (anyone getting a Queen Esther vibe here?) This just goes to show how the New and Old Testaments are connected).
It is in these teachings and training that our old habits begin to fade away as we take on God's habits. It is in our knowledge of the new kingdom and our husband we begin to appreciate what He did for us before and after we got born again and what they need us to do for them after our New birth.
This is why we must be able to discern God's voice.
Trust Him. The Holy Spirit is committed to ensuring you hear him always. He is eager to help us discern God's voice.