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 Hearing the Voice of God and Fulfilling God's Purpose for Your Life (book by Eric Gondwe)
Hearing the Voice of God and Fulfilling God's Purpose for Your Life
Book by Eric Gondwe (BMC, MBA, D.D.) INTRODUCTION This book shows:
1) the reality of God’s voice in our lives,
2) how we can be receptive enough to listen or to discern his voice among the many voices that our hearts hear,
3) why it is important to hear his voice in our lives in relation to: a) our level of fulfillment of his will for our lives, b) our level of protection from living a trial and error lifestyle, and c) our level of protection from deceptive doctrines. The Scriptures are packed with examples of people who had a close relationship with God. The Bible illustrates how God leads us on an individual level and on a corporate level. The people spoke to him and heard him speak to them in words and ways they understood it was him speaking. The presence of God was what characterized people that submitted their lives to him. For instance, Paul was full of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit in his innerperson. He was able to see the hand of God with him even in circumstances we would normally think God is absent. In one situation he said, “Compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,” (Acts 20:22). A prophet named Agubus told him what the Holy Spirit said would happen to him. “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt (Paul),’ ” (Acts 21:11). Having heard this, his colleagues pleaded that he should not go. He responded, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus,” (verse 13). Paul lived as a mere instrument under the use of God. He was totally possessed by the Holy Spirit and submitted to the authority of the Holy Spirit in his life. We too can be led by the Spirit of God to effectively live as his instruments. In fact, God has made the presence of the Holy Spirit in a greater measure in the end times we’re living in. “In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people,’ ” (Acts 2:17). All people refers to all believers as God’s word testifies. Our Lord Jesus said that only his followers, that is, those born of the Spirit, can receive the Spirit of God. The rest cannot receive him. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you,” (John 14: 16-17). All believers therefore, have a privilege to personally ‘hear’ God through his Spirit and to be led by him in their lives. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,” (Romans 8:14). As we increasingly learn to hear God’s voice, we also become increasingly tuned to his program of our lives. Instead of trial and error, we are able to precisely know or be confident of where, why, who with and what he wants to do with us. We thus, are able to avoid unnecessary burdens and tragedies in our lives and the lives of those entrusted to us. It is a great mystery that God lives inside every one of us that are born again. “Don’t you know that you yourself are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3: 16). “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Hearing the ‘voice’ of the Holy Spirit and knowing it is him who has spoken is determined by our closeness to God. It is like any other relationship - the more time the partners spend with each other, the more they are able to know each other. The relationship grows on close acquaintance. God through his Spirit speaks to us in many ways. “God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night... he may speak in the ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit... Oh a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones...” (Job 33: 14-18). Our Lord frequently emphasized the importance of having ears to hear. “He who has ears, let him hear,” (Matthew 11: 15; 13: 9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35). The same emphasis is made in the book of Revelation several times: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The issue therefore is not on trying to find out whether or not God is speaking to us through his Spirit. He is always saying something to each of us. The main issue is: do we have ears to hear what he is saying? Physical ears are not necessary for hearing from the spiritual realm. It is the spiritual ears that matter. If we cannot hear what his Spirit is saying to us on matters in our lives then we’re labeled as spiritually deaf and blind. “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? …You have seen many things, but have paid no attention… This is a people plundered and looted…they have become plunder with no one to rescue them,” (Isaiah 42: 18-22). We must allow our spiritual ears to be attentive to what God’s Spirit is saying on matters in our lives and the people entrusted to us Book on hearing from God: Hearing the Voice of God and Fulfilling God's Purpose for Your Life © 2008 Eric Gondwe | 
