Anthony Delgado has a wonderful wife and three children. Anthony directs Youth Ministry at Worship is a response to God. If we are going to be able to worship, we are first going to have to hear God speak to us so that we can respond to Him. God speaks to us in three ways; through what He says, through what He does and through what we feel.
HIS WORD
Most of us have been raised with the understanding that the Bible is God’s word. And that is true, but God’s word is not limited to the Bible. God speaks to us in all sorts of ways. Often it comes through teachers and counselors or through words of encouragement from our friends and family. God’s word is anything that God is telling you through whatever means he chooses to do it.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3.16).
The Bible is the most exhaustive resource we have for listening to God. Paul writes that scripture is useful for teaching. This is teaching all about God and His standards as well as His ways.
It also is good for rebuking. To rebuke is to be challenged in sin. Often as we read God’s word, we clearly see our sin and are challenged to repentance. I think of passages like Colossians 3.5, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” This is a direct call to remove sin from your life.
It is also useful for correcting. Correction takes place when we utilize the wisdom of the Bible in order to get right or to help someone else get right. I think of Mark 9:47, “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell” This is a practical method for removing sin in your life—that is, remove anything that causes you to sin.
The Bible is also useful for training in righteousness. This is far more than the revelation of sin and correction. The Bible trains us to be actively aware of our circumstances so as to avoid sin and temptation so that we can live as righteous.
Teachers and Counselors
“The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools” (Ecclesiastes 9.17).
There is this idea that goes around the churches that you ‘glean’ from a sermon or a lesson what is true. To a great extent there are teachers, preachers and evangelists who are not teaching the sound doctrine of the Bible, so I understand where this idea comes from. But, I would challenge you to look at who is giving the lesson. Is this man dedicated to God’s word and to sound doctrine? If so, he is wise and his words should be heeded. I think of the incredible experience in God’s word that our elder board has. How prideful am I to think that I have a greater grasp on God’s word than them. Truly, I can learn phenomenal truths from them. The preachers who are not wise and not teaching sound doctrine must be categorized with the fools. Find out who the wise man is and do not neglect his teaching.
WHAT HE DOES
Open and closed doors, etc.
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143.8).
What an incredible thing to pray; that God would show you what to do. If we have a clear view of our calling, how easy is it to do what is right? I would challenge you to pray daily to see God’s word come alive in your life that you might see the way you should go and what God has for you to do.
On a greater scale, as you seek God’s direction for life decisions like college, the military, ministry, etc. make sure that you are watching for open and closed doors. There is a saying, “Where God guides, God provides.” If doors are not opening to you, it is likely that God is calling you in a different direction. Let’s not make our own plan for life. Let’s let God do that.
WHAT WE FEEL
The prompting of the Spirit.
We have to be careful about our emotions. They can deceive. The Apostle John writes, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The way to test the Spirits is against God’s word. What are you being prompted to do? If it contains any sinful or deceitful elements then it is by some other Spirit, but if it lines up with God’s plan and His standards, then it is the Spirit of God. When we can accurately discern by what Spirit we are being drawn by, through our emotions, we gain incredible insight into God’s calling. Let’s look at some of those.
“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36.27).
The prophet Ezekiel was moved by the Spirit of God in order to follow Him. This ‘move’ is not puppetry, but it is God instilling in Ezekiel a supernatural desire for righteousness.
“He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things” (1 Chronicles 28.12).
This is a very direct application. God literally put the plan for the temple into David’s mind. He gave David the thought that he could then execute in the construction of the temple.
DISCUSSION
How has God spoken to you?
Do you sense a call to righteousness when you hear or read God’s word?
Have you seen God open and close doors in your life or others?
Have you felt the Spirit prompt you to do something?
How did you know it was God’s Spirit and not some other Spirit?
What is God calling you to do today?
(If you want to do a big group discussion instead of teaching, I think this lesson is conducive to that.)
(Don’t forget to download the Worship Lesson 2 Worksheet.)