March 24, 2013 – Pastor Tim – “The Ax Head Principle” – Click to download
If we know the Lord, we have already heard His voice—it is that inner leading that brought us to Him in the first place. So if you have ever sensed a need to raise your hand or go forward when a Pastor or minister gave the invitation, you have heard from God and still can.
Jesus always checked with His Father. In John 8:26-29 Jesus said, “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” Like Jesus, we should check with the Father; hearing the voice of the heavenly Father is a basic right of every child of God.
- Don’t make guidance complicated. It is actually hard not to hear God if we really want to please and obey Him! If we stay humble, He promises to guide us. Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way,?But the Lord directs his steps.
- Allow God to speak to us in the way He chooses. We can’t try to dictate to Him concerning the guidance methods we prefer. He is Lord—we are His servants. 1 Samuel 3:9, “Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” So listen with a yielded heart; there is a direct link between yieldedness and hearing. He may choose to speak to us: Through His Word: This could come in our daily reading, or He could guide us to a particular verse. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet?And a light to my path.” Through an audible voice, Exodus 3:4, “So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Through dreams, Matthew 1:19-20, “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Through visions, Isaiah 6:1, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”
And the Book of the Revelation is John’s vision from the Lord.
But probably the most common of all means is through the quiet, inner voice. Isaiah 30:21, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,? ‘This is the way, walk in it,’?Whenever you turn to the right hand?Or whenever you turn to the left.”
3. Confess any unforgiven sin—known and unknown. A clean heart is necessary if we want to hear God. Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart,?The Lord will not hear.”
I read this last week about the Axe Head Principle—a term coined from the story in 2 Kings 6:1-7, “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.” So he answered, “Go.”
3 Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.”
And he answered, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
6 So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.” So here’s how the principle goes: if we seem to have lost our way, go back to the last time we knew the sharp, cutting edge of God’s voice. Then obey. As impossible as it is for an iron ax head to float, and or our problems may be…But all things are possible with God. Knowing how to put ourselves in a position to hear and obey God is important. The key question is, Have you and I obeyed the last thing God told us to do. Revelation 2:4, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
Are we still in love with God? Even if we have not understood everything that has happened to us, or we have failed to do what is right? Because He still loves us. Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Return to the place where you last heard God and hear again.
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