Bible Study - HEARING GOD - Impressions and Inner Voice
Sermon-Based Bible Study – September 11, 2022
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for? What is something you are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Read Isaiah 55:1-12
- What are some of the things vs. 2 and 6-7 of this passage suggest that the children of Israel were doing, or not doing, that kept them from hearing God? Is there anything in your life God may be working to help you overcome so you can hear him better?
- What are some of the blessings or benefits vs. 2-3 and 11-12 suggest we experience when we listen to God? Do you have first-hand experience with any of these benefits? Do you know anyone who desperately needs to hear from God and receive some of these blessings?
- Read 2 Corinthians 8:16. Have you ever heard someone use the phrase “God put it on my heart?” Does it surprise you that that phrase is rooted in scripture? Has God ever “put something on your heart?” Do you think of those kinds of experiences as times when God is speaking to you? Why? Do you think of impressions like that as commands or directives from God? Why?
- Read Ezra 7:27. This passage refers to an occasion where God is influencing or speaking to a “pagan” king. Does that surprise you? Do you think the king had the freedom to ignore this message from God?
- Read Ezekiel 14:1-4. Chris talked about the “inner voice” as being something we hear in our heart or mind, not with our ears. Has God ever spoken to your heart/mind?
- Chris suggested one of the ways we can “test” the inner voice to help us discern if it is from God would be to consider whether it is “out of character” for us. What does that mean? Is suggestion helpful for you in regard to discerning whether the inner voice is God speaking to you?
- Read Romans 8:14-16. What does this passage have to say about whether God speaks to us through an “inner voice?” What does it have to say about how we discern what God wants us to understand and whether it is from Him?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?