Listening, Unburdening & Worshipping - Part 3 — Zac Poonen

Listening for the Holy Spirit's Guidance

I have so many decisions to take. Even in the ministry, I get a hundred invitations to go here and there and the other place. They're all good. I can go and preach anywhere. I say, Lord, I have a hundred roads in front of me.

Which one shall I take? Isn't it good that the Holy Spirit is there to prompt you in your heart saying, this one. And you take it, and you find this fruit at the end of it. Some of the other roads would end up in frustration and waste of time.

It's not only for ministry, in your own life. If you listen, develop the habit of listening, get familiar with the Bible, so that God's voice is more clear to you, you can identify. You know, the more you hear, it's like, how do you recognize your mother's voice in the midst of a whole lot of ladies talking on the other side of the wall?

How is it you can identify your mother's voice and I can't? Because you've heard your mother's voice so often and I haven't heard it so often. It's the other side of a wall, you can't see a thing. Out of 25 voices, you say, oh, that's my mom.

You know, you can identify God's voice like that. Out of 25 voices in your heart, you can identify saying, that's the voice of Jesus telling me this. What about all those other 24 voices? No, no, no, that's not the Lord.

Those are other voices. It's the most useful habit you can develop in your life. I don't know how many of you will take what I'm saying seriously, at least today. Dear brothers and sisters, read the Bible.

Developing Familiarity With God's Word

Read it. Meditate on it. I started reading it when I was 21 years old, immediately after my baptism. Seriously, I mean, I read it after my conversion two years earlier, but seriously studying it, I used to carry the New Testament in my pocket so that I could read it.

And when I'm standing in a bus, when everybody's just gaping around, looking here and there, I would read the Scriptures. Sitting in a bus or a train, where everybody's just gossiping and talking and looking out of the window, I'd read the Scriptures.

That's where I read the Bible, studied the Bible. There is time. If you want to make time, there is time. You've got to pick up these little fragments of time, here and there. And at the end of life, what a useful life you can live.

Hearing Scripture in Temptation

It's not only to predict you from wrong paths. In Jesus' example we see, when he was tempted, he lived on earth as a man. Don't ever forget this. Don't let the devil fool you to say he didn't live on earth as a man.

He who does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh is the spirit of the Antichrist. He came in the flesh. He was tempted like you and me. And when he was tempted, another voice within him said, No, God has said man shall not live by bread alone, by every word of God.

He speaks that. Another temptation comes. He hears a voice inside saying, No, it is written you shall not tempt the Lord your God. The third temptation, another voice says, No, it says you shall worship only the Lord your God.

See, even Jesus, so he could confess that. How did he know these verses? They are all from Deuteronomy, all those three verses. Because he had read them from childhood. And you know in the moment of temptation, why is it we fall?

Because we don't hear that voice. Why don't you hear that voice in temptation like Jesus heard it? Because we are not familiar with the scriptures. We have not spent our life choosing the one thing needful.

We are dabbling in 101 things. Not evil things. Some people in evil things. But I think most of you are not dabbling in evil things. But a lot of things which are good, but not the most essential thing.

So I hope we will learn one habit today. It will direct us, it will keep us in temptation. And one more thing, a lot of things what God's word does. Let me tell you one more thing. Isaiah chapter 50 says about Jesus that the Lord, the Father would open his ear every morning.

Receiving a Disciplined Tongue to Help Others

Verse 4, the Lord God, you know this is a prophetic reference to Christ. The Lord God, my Father has given me the tongue of a disciple. The Bible says that if you can't control your tongue, your Christianity is worth zero.

James 1 verse 26. How can I get a disciplined tongue? Many of us have a problem with anger. Many Christians, even after many years, they never seem to overcome anger. How to have a disciplined tongue?

Here it is. The Lord has given me a disciplined tongue. And with that disciplined tongue, instead of getting angry and yelling at people, God gives me words to help needy people who come across my path.

Do you know that the world is full of needy people? You got needy people in your office, in your college, in your school, in your hospital, wherever you're working. In your neighborhood, among your relatives, the world is full of needy people who need something that will lift them up.

Imagine that God can give you exactly the right word for those people. I've experienced that numerous times. But how does that come? He awakens me, Isaiah 50 verse 4, morning by morning. He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple.

Listening to God Throughout the Day

When you wake up in the morning, you know, when I wake up, sometimes in the middle of the night, I always feel God has woken me up. When I wake up in the morning, I say, God's woken me up. Start saying that.

Start believing it. And He's woken you up because He wants you to start listening. Speak. Lord, your servant is listening. And listen throughout the day. Not just for a half an hour quiet time in the morning.

Throughout the day, till you go to bed. Then He will speak to you, even in your dreams. I prayed that. I said, Lord, speak to me in my dreams. Also, not just when I'm awake. I want to listen, listen, listen, listen, till my whole life becomes like this.

A habit of listening. This is what Jesus had. All His life He was listening. You won't say the stupid things that you often say, if you're listening. You won't hurt your wife and your husband with the words sometimes that you use.

If you stop to listen from the morning, you'll have a word in season. Every time you have to speak a word to somebody, if you listen. It won't come overnight. You've got to develop a habit. I mean, you go to a barbarian who's never brushed his teeth for 35 years and try to teach him to brush his teeth.

You think he's going to learn it in one day? No, no. It'll take time, but he'll learn it. People like us who have not listened regularly every day in our life, now we're going to start listening from the morning onwards.

You're not going to learn it in one day, but maybe in one or two years you'll learn to brush your teeth. I mean, listen to God. That's what I mean. Listen. It'll change your life. That's the way to be a blessing to others.

Mary at Jesus' Feet: Listening and Unburdening

God's word is put on your mouth. It's going to be powerful. Okay. The second thing which Mary did. We read in John's Gospel chapter 11. Again at Jesus' feet. The first thing she did was sit at Jesus' feet to listen.

The second thing we read was to tell her burdens to the Lord in John chapter 11. To unburden herself. So first we listen to the Lord. And then we tell the Lord what's burdening our heart. It's like a telephone conversation.

We listen and we tell. Then we listen and we tell. Don't let your prayer be just a big shopping list. Lord, item number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 25. Amen. Bang. A lot of people pray like that. It's like a phone call where you're given your shopping list.

It's like calling up a shop. Okay, these are the things I want. 1, 2, 3, 4, 25. Put the phone down. Please send it quickly. I tell you, most Christians' prayers are like that. But God's not a shopkeeper.

Prayer as Loving Fellowship With the Father

He's a father. Imagine if you're a college student and you only call up your father when you want money. Like some students. What about telling your dad that you love him? You're thankful for all he did for you from the time you were a child.

Don't you think your dad would appreciate that? He may get a shock initially. What happened? My son suddenly is becoming so thankful. But he'll get over it.