How To Differentiate Your VOICE and God's VOICE

[Music] you know there's a lot of times when we wish we can hear God's voice directly so we can be more confident in what we're doing but hearing God's voice can be confusing sometimes because we run the risk of confusing God's voice with our voice so while Discerning between the two voices can be tough here's three tips to help you out tip number one tie thoughts to scripture Psalm 119 verse 105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path in this passage the psalmist writes that God's word acts as

a lamp and the light to the path that they walk in life so when it comes to Discerning whether or not the voice in your head is coming from God or yourself we have to think of the possibilities of where these voices are potentially coming from either the thoughts came from your mind or maybe they came from a place of heightened emotions or maybe God actually is trying to lead you in a certain direction so the first step to take when you're trying to figure out if a thought is from God is to remember that

it's God's word that will shed light to your path so you need to tie these thoughts you're having to a scripture in the Bible because if you don't you're more prone to hear your emotions talking as opposed to God remember God's word can act as a light that exposes darkness in our life it can be a sword that can be used to combat Temptation and it can act as bread and water that nourishes our souls and refreshes our spirit but while God's word can be incredibly beneficial for us we actually need to be in God's

word so we can access it and in my experience I found that the more someone knows God's word the more they'll give God the opportunity to talk to them sometimes if I get a random thought in my head I'll talk to God and our conversation will sound something like this God I'm thinking this thought is this from you and then I'll wait a moment and then I'll ask him is there a passage that this thought can be rooted in for example let's say as you're talking to God you think I should probably clean my room

seems like a random thought and there's no passage in the Bible that gives the direct command to clean your room but if you still live with your parents under their roof this thought can be rooted in Exodus chapter 20 verse 12 where it says to honor your father and mother so by cleaning your room you'd be honoring their house look I can't cover all the possibilities of how to navigate certain thoughts especially when there's an endless list of them but one of the best things that I can tell you is to connect any thought that

you think came from God to a passage that supports that thought and before we move on I need to say this God will never tell you to do anything that's contrary to his word tip number two be filled with the spirit Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 to 8 do not be deceived God is Not mocked for whatever a man sows that he will also reap for He Who sows to a splash will of the flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life In this passage Paul is

explaining to the galatian church that there are consequences to certain actions bad actions or sowing seeds of the Flesh and sin will lead to corruption whereas good actions or sowing seeds of the spirit will result in everlasting life John the Baptist says this perfectly in John chapter 3 verse 30 he the Christ must increase but I must decrease you see John the Baptist was someone who understood that he needed more of God in his life and less of himself so one thing that would help you discern between God's voice and your voice is to add

more of God into your life maybe you read the Bible more or you take your prayer time more seriously or maybe you spend more time with your Christian friends or you fast either way there are benefits to sowing seeds of the spirit and I found that God's voice tends to be more clear when I am regularly reading consistently praying and I'm surrounded by people who also love God and tip number three pray over time first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 pray without ceasing In this passage Paul gives the commands of the Church of thessalonica to

keep on praying and to not stop so one of the best tips that I can give to people when they're trying to figure out if a voice is God's is to see if those thoughts can stand the test of time for example in my past there were times when I found certain women attractive but I wasn't sure if God was okay with me going out with them and in many cases I'd pray for a period of time and I'd pray God I like so and so what do you think can I go out with them

should I go out with them and in those times of prayer as the days went on many times I would either realize that I wasn't really interested or my feelings came from an unhealthy place and there's another case about seven years ago when I felt called to move to Japan and help out the church and as years passed and I can't continued praying for Japan my heart and my passion grew and now I'm here in Japan helping the church and I know for certain that God wants me to be here so one tip that I

give to people who are trying to hear God's voice is to let some time pass and to pray without ceasing you see emotions will go up and down so time is a tool that you can use if you need to figure out if you're just being emotional and for situations that require a more immediate answer I would recommend fasting getting counsel from at least three wise and spiritually mature individuals and dedicating some time to unplug from the world to hear from God through prayer and his word all right so when the time comes when you

need to figure out if the thoughts in your head are God's voice or your own please remember these three tips tip number one five thoughts descriptor tip number two be filled with the spirit and tip number three pray over time if hearing God's voice is something difficult for you please meditate on the promise Bound in James chapter 4 verse 8 draw near to God and He will draw near to you know that God does want to communicate with you so if his voice is unclear continue to draw near to him and he'll draw near to

you and if right now you're not sure what he's saying he could know this for sure Jesus loves you [Music]