Devotions With Deanna

Listening to the Voice of God

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

What are the criteria for knowing for sure you are hearing God’s voice? Here are four things I want you to remember to ask yourself.

1. Does it go according to God’s Word?

2. Does it glorify Jesus and bring you closer to Him?

3. Does it ‘witness’ to your spirit?

4. Does it ‘witness’ to others who are in right relationship with God?

John 10:3-4, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

What ways does God speaks to you?

What hindrances do you face in hearing God’s voice?

What are some conditions for listening to God?

Questions to ask and begin to journal what you hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you:

1. Lord Jesus, what do You think or feel about me?

2. What are Your plans and purposes for my life?

Welcome to Part 2 of a three-week teaching on our promise, the Person and the purpose of Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. Part 3 will be on Listening to the voice of God, our Paraclete, our Comforter, the one who comes alongside us, the Holy Spirit.

Who is and What Can We Expect from Paraclete, Our Comforter?

Paraclete is a name that refers to the Helper or Holy Spirit. Paraclete comes from the Greek word “Parakleton” – Para = alongside of or beside; Kleton = Greek, verb, to call. Paraclete is “One who comes alongside of to help” or as Jesus explained: “For He dwells with you and will be in you.” Father God gave us the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) as our Helper, Advocate, Counselor, Comforter, Encourager, and Friend who will come alongside us to help us in our daily Christian walk.

Promise of a Helper

Person of this Helper

Purpose of this Helper

Jesus Christ is present in our lives through the Holy Spirit. Have you ever thought about what the Holy Spirit, our Paraclete accomplishes for you and through you each day? This next week, take time to journal your thoughts and the things the Holy Spirit is doing in your life.

1. Read the Word of God — the Bible.

2. Allow the Spirit of truth to use the Word of God and reveal truth to you.

3. Adjust your life to the truth of God.

4. Obey Him.

5. Allow God to work in and through you to accomplish His purposes.

Closing Prayer

Augustine prayed this prayer:

"Breathe in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy;

Act in me O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy;

Draw my heart O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy;

Strengthen me O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy;

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen."

Part 1 - Introduction and Personal Testimony and Prayer

Paraclete (Par-a-klete) – Comforter. A name that refers to the Helper or Holy Spirit. Paraclete comes from the Greek word “Parakleton” – Para = alongside of; Kleton = Greek, verb, to call. Paraclete is “One who comes alongside of to help” or as Jesus explained: “For He dwells with you and will be in you.” Father God gave us the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) as our Helper, Advocate, Encourager, and Friend who will come alongside us to help us. He helps us when we are worried, or in pain either physically or emotionally. He helps us when we are grieving.

Today, we are going to study Jehovah-M’Kaddesh – The Lord Who Sanctifies or “The Lord who sets you apart or makes Holy”. M’Kaddesh is a Hebrew word meaning sanctify, holy, or dedicate. Sanctification is to make holy or to purify or free from sin. Jehovah-M’Kaddesh occurs two times in the Old Testament, first in Exodus 31:13 and again in Leviticus 20:8.

1.  God's Call to Holiness

2.  God's Provision for Holiness

- Restore

- Redemption - By His Word and By His Loving Discipline

3.  Our Practice of Holiness - Represent and Remove

God will not command you to be holy without first enabling you to obey that command.

Quote by Leonard Ravenhill: “The greatest miracle that God can do today is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world and make that man holy and put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it.”

Need to see a miracle in your life? Allow and trust Jehovah M’Kaddesh to enable you to become holy, sanctified and set apart from this world. We as Christians are called to be in this world sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and not of this world.

Today, we are going to study Sur or Petra – Rock. Easton’s Bible Dictionary – The Hebrew word for rock is “tsur”, meaning employed as a symbol of God in the Old and New Testament. In Daniel 2:45, the Chaldaic form of the Hebrew word is translated “mountain.” The “rock” from which the stone is cut there signifies the divine origin of Christ.

Psalm 61

Life Application

Play Selah's beautiful version of You Are My Hiding Place (2004), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUx2WcC9JKo

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you, Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from your law.”

Mediate on the variegated picture of Christ that you glean from the metaphors in:

2 Samuel 22:1-3 “Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in Him I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.”

End your time of faith strengthening worship by using these great Names of God in a prayer of praise to the Rock of your Salvation.

God as Father

The name of God – “Father” is used in the Old Testament only 15 times and 245 times in the New Testament. The name Father signifies one that exhibits loving care, provision, and discipline. Jesus Christ taught his disciples and followers a way to address God in prayer in Matthew 6:5-15.

God as Abba Father

Abba is an Aramaic word which was used in the everyday language of families as a term addressing one's father. Children, as well as adult sons and daughters, used Abba when speaking to their fathers. And so Abba conveys a warm, intimate sense just as with our expression "Dear father." Abba emphasizes the warm, intimate and very personal relationship which exists between the believer and God. In this very personal relationship, a Christian can find intimacy, tenderness, dependence, security and confidence in the Father’s loving care.

The name of God – “Abba Father” is found referenced in the Bible three separate times, all in the New Testament spoken only by Jesus and the apostle Paul. Each scripture is in the form of a prayer, each time as a cry, each cry is enabled by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and each is followed by the Greek word for Father (pater). Let’s look at these three scriptures:

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Mark 14:36 “And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Author: Jesus

1. Just as Jesus called God, “Abba” like a loving child, can you and will you?

2. Jesus is teaching us here that prayer centers on finding God’s will, to seek it and then do it. My challenge to you this week is, can you carve out a time this week to pray to your Abba Father to seek His will?

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Author: Paul

1. Does the Holy Spirit help you share intimate feelings and concerns with the Father? V.14-16

2. Does the Holy Spirit take away your fears?

3. Does the Holy Spirit give you confidence to call God “Abba, Father?”

Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

Author: Paul

When we address God as our Abba Father, this is an indication of our spiritual health and the mark of the authenticity of our faith.  “That God is our Abba-Father is a truth we must cultivate for the sake of our soul’s health”.-R Kent Hughes

1. Have you allowed the Spirit to pray for you?

2. The Spirit will give you intimacy with Abba Father. Are you willing to receive and experience that intimacy?

Today, we are going to study Jehovah-Rohi – The Lord my Shepherd. We have learned that Jehovah is translated as “The Exsiting One” or “Lord,” also representing a God who reveals Himself unceasingly. Rohi means shepherd. We define shepherd as one feeds or leads his flock to pasture. When the two words are combined, Jehovah-Rohi, The Lord, my Shepherd or sometimes referred to as my friend or companion, we see the intimacy that God desires between Himself and His people. Jehovah-Rohi, The Lord my Shepherd is used in Psalm 23.

Psalm 23 is one of the most well known and most often quoted passages in all of scripture. David’s analogy of the “shepherd” was easily understood by Kings and leaders of his day. Perhaps these Kings and leaders saw themselves as shepherds, leading the people. David’s description of God as a shepherd continues to speak directly and powerfully to those who read and hear this great passage. Why is that? It brings comfort to those who are suffering and peace to lives in turmoil.

Life Application

God wants a love relationship with you forever. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Shepherd, and do you know His voice?

1. Has God been a shepherd to you and how?

2. Do you experience God’s leadership day by day and how?

3. What has God protected you from?

if you have specific prayer requests you would like me to pray for, you can send me an email at [email protected].

Today, we are going to study Jehovah-Jireh (yeh-ho-vaw’ yir-eh’) – The Lord Will Provide. Jehovah-Jireh is found only once in the Old Testament, Genesis 22:14. Jehovah-Jireh is a symbolic name given to Mount Moriah by Abraham to memorialize the intercession of God in the sacrifice of Isaac by providing a substitute (a ram in the thicket) for the imminent sacrifice of his son. It means “the LORD will foresee and provide.”

Genesis 22:1-14

Life Application

1. Do you obey without reservation when God tests you or allows you to be tested? OR Do you hesitate, negotiate, argue or resist and in so doing avoid obeying immediately?

2. What is your “Isaac” that you dearly love and you would rather God not ask you to release to Him?

3. What in your life are you clinging to for your own sense of security?

Today, I want to focus on God’s Name Jehovah-Shalom which is found only once in the Old Testament. Judges 6:23-24 “Then the Lord said to him, Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-Lord-Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

Are you anxious, worried, troubled, distressed, afraid? This next week, set aside a time to cry out to Jehovah Shalom, the God who is Peace. Pursue the peace that comes only from God. Get away from all distractions. Put down the phone, pray, meditate on God’s Word, run after God’s peace, the peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Today, I am going to do something a little different. I want to focus in on one person in the bible that had an encounter with Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is Peace. This man is listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the Heroes of the Faith and I believe the Lord wants us to show us something through the life of Gideon. Next week, I will focus more on just the Name of God, Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is Peace.

Gideon's Circumstances

Gideon's Commission

Gideon's Confusion

Gideon's Confirmation

Today's Challenge:  Stop making excuses about why you can’t do what the Lord wants you to do, and just get about doing it.