Communicating with God The CCP Discipleship School Jacksonville, FL

 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Matthew 7:22  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:23  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: Matthew 7:24

Four “Milk” Classes 1. Know Jesus, Know your Church 2. Prayer 3. Communicating with God 4. Led by the Spirit Revelation and Recognition Response Repentance, Remission and Receiving

1.Communication is a partnership  “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual…”  “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.” 2.God targets our heart with His communication  “…Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.”  “…written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.” 3.His sheep know His voice  “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”

 According to Wikipedia, communication is:  “the activity of conveying information through…”  “It is the meaningful exchange of information between two or more living creatures.” The exchange of: Thoughts Messages Information As by: Speech Visuals Signals Written Behavior

 Communicating with others involves three primary steps: 1) Thought First, information exists in the mind of the sender. (concept, idea, information, feeling) 2) Encoding Next, a message is sent to a receiver in words or other symbols 3) Decoding Lastly, the receiver translates the words or symbols into a concept or information that a person can understand.

 Prayer is the communication of our faith  “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Philemon 1:6  And communication is a partnership  “If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.” Philemon 1:17  Therefore, prayer is partnership with God  A partner is “a sharer, associate, companion”  An extension of the other partner (i.e. marriage)

Prayer Praise & Worship Thanksgiving Repentance & Forgiveness Submission & Obedience  The motive and the approach matter the most in ANYTHING with God  The heart of our motive and our approach is our _________ Submission & Obedience heart

 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart ; and they defile the man. Matthew 15:18 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: Mark 7:21-22 WHO CAN KNOW IT? And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart… Luke 9:47

The Word John 1:1 2 Timothy 3:15-16 Revelation 19:13 Parables Ezekiel 24:3 Matthew 13 Mark 4 Luke 8 Physical Manifest- ation Genesis 18:1 Exodus 3:2-3:4 Numbers 12:5 John 1:14 Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers Ephesians 4:11-12 Speaks Directly Numbers 12:8 1 Samuel 3 1 Kings 19 Acts 9:4-7 Visions Ezekiel 11:24 Acts 9:10-16 Acts 10:3 Revelation Dreams Genesis 37 Genesis 40:5-8 Matthew 2:12-22 Acts 10:10-17 Send His Angels Genesis 16: Kings 19:5-7 Daniel 8:16, 9:21 Luke 1 Gifts of the Spirit 1 Corinthians 12

 Whatever method God chooses to communicate a particular message to you, remember to really be from God… IT MUST BE CONFIRMED GOD WILL NEVER CONTRADICT HIS WORD

1) God has a message for us He has determined the time is right for us to receive it 2) Encoding God encodes that message through MORE THAN ONE of the methods in the previous slide 3) Decoding When we receive the message, we have ensure that it is really from God PRAY (AND WAIT) FOR CONFIRMATION

 Three kinds of voices in our head 1. Our own 2. God 3. The devil

 1 Kings 19:1-15  Was God in the…  Wind?  Earthquake?  Fire?  God spoke to Elijah with a still small voice No

 You decide looking at 1 Kings 19:12:  The Hebrew translates as “After|vibration, bounding, uproar|fire|no|fire|Jehovah|after|fire|voice|quiet|small” King James Version (KJV) Contemporary English Version (CEV) English Standard Version (ESV) International Standard Version (ISV) New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. Then there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. Finally, there was a gentle breeze, And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. After the earthquake there came fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

 God is looking for servants who will be willing partners in His work  Our hearts are wicked and His communication is directed at purifying our hearts  God has many methods to communicate with us  He will NEVER contradict Himself  We have to learn what to listen for

 Love leads to obedience  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15  “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3  “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” 2 John 1:6