Part 4 (2/2)

One of the most meaningful exhortations in the New Testament comes from 1 John 3:18. It says, ”My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in G.o.d's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For G.o.d is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves” (MSG).

The goal of the Christ-following life is to grow to the point that we live in G.o.d's reality-that we love like he loves, serve like he serves, give like he gives, show compa.s.sion like he shows it. And that's a way of life we'll only maintain consistently by hearing from heaven on a regular basis. Take to heart the stories you've just read. Tell G.o.d you too want to live wide open to his whispers of a.s.surance, his words of admonition and his promptings to take kingdom-building action in your world. I promise he will deliver on his commitment to guide your steps.

I should mention that the dominant emotion I experienced as I read through these hundreds of emails was pure joy-joy regarding how often G.o.d is speaking, and joy over how gutsy so many believers are becoming, in taking action when he speaks. But there was one message that made my heart sink. A physician named Charles who has been part of our congregation for quite some time wrote, ”I am now in my eighth decade of life, and despite my lengthy time as a believer, I'm still waiting for G.o.d to speak. I've tried to remain open to such things, but so far, no luck. I truly envy those who a.s.sert that they've had conversations with G.o.d. Honestly, I'm starting to feel left out. I continue to muddle along, trying to do the right things...suffice it to say I'll be interested in learning what others report on this matter.”

If you're reading along, Charles, don't bail on me now. The next two chapters were written with people just like you in mind.

CHAPTER 4.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN.

YOU'RE HEARING FROM G.o.d

SO, BY NOW YOU MAY HAVE A NAGGING QUESTION: CAN divine direction be misunderstood or lost in translation as it makes its way from heaven down to earth? Put more forthrightly, can human beings make it up or mess it up once it arrives?

The honest answer is yes. Hearing from G.o.d is not like receiving a text message or reading an email. We humans can get in the way. Believe me, I am more than capable of hearing what I wish G.o.d were saying rather than what he is actually telling me-and perhaps you are too. Discerning G.o.d's direction is somewhat subjective, but it's not arbitrary. Even though G.o.d's whispers are rarely tangible, there are concrete steps we can take to help us discern if we're hearing from G.o.d or hearing from the bad sus.h.i.+ we ate last night. What we are about to explore in this chapter can significantly lower the likelihood of us hearing a message that is not G.o.d's.

Acts 13 offers a window into how a first-century prompting arrived on the scene and how the leaders of the church processed it. There is something we both can learn from evaluating this episode.

Acts 13:1-3 says, ”Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul [who would become the apostle Paul]. While they were wors.h.i.+ping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Before we jump into the rest of the pa.s.sage, let me provide a little context. Antioch was an incredibly diverse city where the Christian message had recently arrived. People crossing many racial and ethnic lines were receiving Christ and flowing naturally into the church. Saul was a Jew. Barnabas was from Cyprus. Simeon was a black-skinned man from northern Africa. Lucius most likely was also black-skinned, from Cyrene, which is present-day Libya. And Manaen grew up in royalty, living with the family of Herod. It would have been a challenge to find five men more different from one another, but here they are-in the same church-together in heart and mind, leading a dynamic community of faith at Antioch. Then one day, while they were in a spirit of wors.h.i.+p, a whisper from heaven came their way.

We read in Acts 13:2 that the Spirit tells the five leaders of this local church that Saul and Barnabas should be ”set apart.” In other words, these two guys should stop doing what they have been doing in the Antioch church, and they should prepare to be sent out on a new kingdom a.s.signment. Nothing more specific is offered by way of helpful information, but the leaders test the whisper, find it to be authentic, and before you know it Saul and Barnabas are packing their bags.

IN ORDER TO RECEIVE MY DEGREE IN BIBLICAL STUDIES AT Trinity College in Deerfield, IL, I was required to write a senior dissertation on a Scripture pa.s.sage of my choosing, As you might guess if you're familiar with the core theme of my teaching over the years, I selected Acts 2:42-47, the cla.s.sic text about the rapid and radical development of the early church.

At the time, I was leading the youth group I mentioned earlier, believing with all my heart that I was going to give the rest of my life to those kids who had become like family to me. Lynne was pregnant with our first child, Shauna, and we had just purchased a tiny house in Park Ridge, a few blocks away from the church. Our plan was to settle down, dig in and serve the students for a long time. The last thing I was expecting was a life-altering whisper.

My father owned a lakefront condominium in downtown Chicago, which he offered to me as something of a writer's retreat so I could complete my dissertation in peace and quiet. I gathered up my study materials and headed downtown where I planned to hunker down and write for four days straight.

On day three of my writing, the Holy Spirit impressed the following message on me: ”What you are pa.s.sionately writing about-the beauty and power and potential of the local church-is going to become the thrust of your life. I am going to release you from the responsibility of leading this youth group so you can start a church-an Acts 2 church. I will bless that church so that eventually it will become a community of faith that offers the hope of Christ to many people, young and old.”

Although I hadn't heard an audible voice, the refrain of that impression washed over me again and again that day. It seemed clear to me that something big was up.

After I completed my required writing a.s.signment, I packed up my things and drove home to Park Ridge. That night, I invited Lynne out to dinner where I nervously recounted the promptings I felt I had received. I think my closing remark-delivered in my cla.s.sically compa.s.sionate style-was something like, ”Hope you haven't unpacked all the moving boxes yet, honey.”

My wife is truly a saint.

What's more, the whisper I'd received rang true to her spirit too, and she became as excited about the dream of starting a church as I was.

Within a few months, we said goodbye to those thousand students and began looking for a place to launch a church. We walked into our future having no secure job, no support from any organization and no idea if our new plan would strike a responsive chord with anyone. What we did have was the confidence that stems from receiving a clear whisper from G.o.d. We had placed our trembling hands in his strong ones and were confident that it was his lead we were following. It was not lost on me that the entire series of events could be traced back to a few days of solitude, when I was quiet enough to hear G.o.d's voice.

BACK IN ACTS 13:2, WE READ THAT IT WAS WITHIN THE CON-text of wors.h.i.+p and fasting that the Antioch leaders heard their whisper from G.o.d. In this position of surrender before their Lord, they were able to hear him speak.

In the course of ministry life, I meet many people who claim to have never heard the promptings or whispers of G.o.d. Not even once. Sometimes when I probe a little deeper, I discover that their lives are so full of noise that they can't possibly hear the Holy Spirit when he speaks. Cell phone calls during their commute, boisterous restaurant gatherings with friends, a houseful of excitable toddlers or countless hours of reality TV provide a constant roar of distraction that drowns out any whisper that might be sent their way.

Time and again, the Scriptures tell us to be still. ”Be still, and know that I am G.o.d...,”1 Psalm 46:10 encourages. Reduce your speed. Stop mult.i.tasking. Lower the ambient noise of your life-and then listen for G.o.d to speak.

Jesus himself adopted this practice during his ministry here on earth. The biblical record shows that Jesus wove into the fabric of his everyday life the disciplines of prayer, solitude, reflection, fasting and wors.h.i.+p. He had favorite places to be alone with his Father and favorite places to pray in private. When he faced major decisions, his pattern was to withdraw from the crowds around him and to devote time to solitude and prayer. Not surprisingly, the net effect of a lifestyle like that was the increasing likelihood of hearing from his Father.

Before selecting his twelve disciples, Jesus went off alone and spent an entire night in prayer. He needed to hear from his Father regarding the individuals he planned to select and knew he must quiet himself so G.o.d's wisdom could come through. Later, when Jesus was preparing to endure the agony of the cross, he withdrew to the garden of Gethsemane, where he and the twelve disciples had often prayed. There he and his three closest friends prayed; then he prayed alone. His devotion to hearing from G.o.d motivated him to take purposeful, intentional action in order to create a s.p.a.ce where G.o.d's whispers could be heard.

That's the same level of devotion-and action-I recommend for you and me.

There is a G.o.d who loves you and who would gladly whisper to you words of encouragement or direction, wisdom or well-timed warning, if only you would carve out the s.p.a.ce to hear from heaven throughout the course of your day.

I've said those exact words to many people over the years and sometimes I have sensed in their response, ”Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather make my own judgment calls.” In my view, these people are running the risk of missing out on some of life's greatest G.o.d-guided adventures.

G.o.d tends to speak to people who want to hear from him. He tends to offer divine direction to those who are willing to order their daily lives around receiving input from him. So, what does that look like?

I would recommend reading and reflecting on a biblical pa.s.sage and then saying to G.o.d, ”If you have anything to tell me, I am very eager to hear it.” Then, just listen. People whom I most respect spiritually are those who integrate this kind of practice into their lives. In everyday conversation, they talk about their spiritual disciplines with ease because their habits actually back up the claims they make.

For many years I have been fascinated by the specifics surrounding where people tend to quiet themselves in the course of their day. Some have a favorite chair in the living room. Some head to the office an hour early and simply close the door. Some journal and pray on a commuter train as they make their way to work. Some venture into a neighborhood coffee shop and hole away at a corner table. The time and place tends to vary, but for all these people the practice is absolute. And what happens as a result of their consistency is that they consistently hear from G.o.d.

For what it's worth, my own daily practice involves reading a portion of Scripture, mentally chewing on it for a few minutes, then writing down my observations and reflections on what I've read. After that I close my time in prayer.

To that last point, it works better for me to write out my prayers. Especially on work days, I've noticed that when I get down on my knees and try to pray silently to G.o.d, my mind focuses more on upcoming meetings than on the divine communication at hand. The solution for me is to write things down. Once I jot down a page or so of pet.i.tions and points of thanksgiving, I then read my entry to G.o.d. Afterward I always say ”G.o.d, I am going to be listening for you all day long, but knowing me, I'll be moving pretty fast today, so I might miss a prompting or two. While I'm in my current unrushed state, if there's anything you'd like to say to me, I'm all ears.” Truth be told, some days I sense a message coming from him-an impression, a word of encouragement, a nudge to say or do something specific that day-and some days I don't. Either way, I close out my quiet time with G.o.d and then do my best to listen for his voice throughout the rest of the day.

On some occasions the promptings I think I have received from G.o.d make perfect sense, but on other occasions they leave me totally confused. This is where discernment with whispers comes into play. Christ-followers must carefully test every impression they receive to be sure it is from G.o.d and aligned with his purposes. But how does one do that?

Let's revisit our text. Remember, the church leaders were wors.h.i.+ping and fasting when the Holy Spirit told them to set apart for him Barnabas and Saul for the work to which he had called them. Most scholars agree that Acts 13:3 suggests that after the leaders received that initial message, they did a second round of fasting and prayer, then ”they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

I think there is a lesson here for us to learn.

Before these leaders rushed to action, they slowed down to be sure they correctly understood what the Spirit was asking them to do. They turned again to the disciplines of fasting and prayer. They double-checked the prompting they were about to act on. And then they obeyed without delay.

OVER THE YEARS I HAVE COMPILED A SHORT LIST OF FIVE filters that help me ”test every whisper” I receive. If a whisper fails to make it through one of these five, I question whether the whisper is really from G.o.d. At the very least, I move slowly to confirm the whisper's validity. At other times, a whisper makes it through these filters with no problem. In this case, no matter how confusing, challenging or unsettling a prompting may be, I attempt to obey it.

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