Elation Church

Not every voice you hear is God's voice. How can you know which one to follow?

In the eighth and final episode of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we discover why recognizing God's voice is just as important as hearing Him. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” But He also said His sheep will not follow a stranger because they don't recognize the stranger's voice.

Every day, competing voices influence our thoughts, decisions, desires, and direction. Some come from our own reasoning and emotions. Others may be deceptive influences that sound convincing, appealing, or even spiritual. The question isn't simply whether we're hearing something—it's whether we recognize the voice of our Shepherd.

Through the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, we discover that even Scripture can be twisted to make deception sound like truth. The Holy Spirit will never lead us in a direction that contradicts God's Word. The more familiar we become with God's Word, His character, and His ways, the better equipped we are to recognize what doesn't sound like Him.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but He came so that we could experience abundant life. The voice we choose to follow matters because every voice is leading us somewhere.

We also learn from the Bereans in Acts 17, who eagerly received Paul's message but searched the Scriptures daily to determine whether what they were hearing was true. Their example reminds us that spiritual maturity requires more than simply listening—it requires discernment.

As we conclude this eight-week series, discover three practical ways to test what you're hearing:

The Word Test: Does it agree with Scripture?

The Character Test: Does it reflect God's nature and His ways?

The Fruit Test: What will following this voice produce?

God wants you to recognize His voice, distinguish truth from deception, and experience the abundant life that comes from following Him.

“The goal isn't just learning to hear. It's knowing the Shepherd well enough to follow Him whenever He speaks.”

Scriptures to Study: Romans 8:14; John 10:1–10, 27; John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 4:1–11; Acts 17:10–12; 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22.

YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 8: Following the Right Voice

#YouCanHearGod #HearingGod #HolySpirit #GodsVoice #SpiritualDiscernment #ElationChurch

Life Group is a verse-be-verse Bible study through the New Testament letters to the churches.

In Episode 7 of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we discover how the Holy Spirit can communicate through our thought life—bringing things to our remembrance, directing our attention, and placing people, Scriptures, and purposes on our hearts.

Sometimes hearing God doesn't sound like an audible voice. Sometimes it sounds like remembering something at exactly the right moment. A person suddenly comes to mind. A Scripture you haven't thought about in years becomes clear. A burden to do something keeps returning to your heart. What if these moments are opportunities to recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit?

Romans 12:2 teaches that God transforms us by changing the way we think. As our minds are renewed by God's Word, we become better equipped to recognize His voice and cooperate with His leading. Through the examples of Nehemiah and Elijah, we learn that God's direction doesn't always come through the loudest or most dramatic experience. Fear can be loud. Worry can be loud. Anger can be loud. But the loudest thought isn't always the most important thought.

Of course, not every thought comes from God. That's why 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 teaches us to take every thought captive. We must learn to recognize which thoughts to receive, which to pray about, and which to reject.

God wants to lead you, and your thought life plays an important role in recognizing His voice. Don't dismiss every thought. Don't believe every thought. Learn to recognize the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him.

Scriptures: Romans 8:14, 16; John 10:1–5; Romans 12:2; John 14:26; Nehemiah 2:12; 1 Kings 19:11–13; 2 Corinthians 10:4–5. YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 7: Is That God or Just a Thought? #YouCanHearGod #HearingGod #HolySpirit #RenewYourMind #ElationChurch

Prayer isn't just where God hears you, prayer is where you hear God.

In Episode 6 of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we discover that prayer was never meant to be a one-way monologue. Prayer is fellowship with God—an open line of communication with the One who knows what we don't know, sees what we can't see, and promises to lead us in the path we should take.

Romans 8 tells us there will be times when we simply don't know what to pray. But we aren't left on our own. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and brings our prayers into harmony with God's will. We may enter prayer with our own thoughts, desires, assumptions, emotions, and understanding, but through fellowship with the Holy Spirit, our thinking can change, our desires can change, our perspective can change—and even what we're praying can change.

Habakkuk brought his questions and complaints before God, but then he did something many of us forget to do: he waited for God to answer. He expected God to speak. Expectation changes prayer from a speech into a conversation.

God already knows the blueprint for your life. Prayer isn't where you present your plans to God and ask Him to bless them. Prayer is where you learn to recognize His plans, His direction, and His voice.

So before you finish praying and say “Amen,” ask—and then listen:

“God, is there anything You want to show me?” “What do You want me to pray about?” “Is there anything I need to change?”

Stay on the line. Stay connected. The God you've been talking to has something to say to you.

What do you do when you need God's direction, but you don't hear any words?

In Episode 5 of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we explore one of the most practical ways the Holy Spirit leads us: the inward witness. Romans 8 tells us that the Spirit of God joins with our spirit and that God's children are led by His Spirit. Sometimes that leading isn't an audible voice or even words—it can be an inward peace that says go or an uneasiness that says stop.

Through Paul's journey in Acts 16, we see that even good plans and good intentions aren't necessarily God's direction. Paul wanted to preach the Gospel in Asia, but the Holy Spirit stopped him. He tried another direction, and the Spirit stopped him again. Eventually, God directed him toward Macedonia. Sometimes God's leading gives us direction without giving us a full explanation. You don't have to understand the “why” to obey the “what.”

Colossians 3:15 tells us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Like an umpire making the call, God's peace can help us recognize when to move forward and when to stop. But peace doesn't necessarily mean the easiest or most comfortable path. Sometimes our thoughts, emotions, and desires are conflicted while something deeper within us knows, this is the direction God is leading me.

God sees what you can't see. He knows what you don't know. He knows what's around the next corner, what an opportunity will become, the consequences connected to a decision, and even what He's protecting you from. Your responsibility isn't to understand everything the Shepherd knows. Your responsibility is to know His voice well enough to follow Him. Let peace be the umpire.

YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 5: The Inward Witness

God wants you to do more than simply read His Word—He wants you to hear Him through it.

In Episode 4 of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we discover how words written thousands of years ago can become God's living, personal Word to us today. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is alive and powerful, and Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach us, remind us of what He has said, and guide us into truth.

On the road to Emmaus, two disciples knew the Scriptures, but when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, they said their hearts burned within them. The information they already possessed became revelation. In the same way, the Holy Spirit can illuminate Scripture and reveal who God is, what He has said, His ways, His will, and how His Word applies to our lives right now.

The goal of Bible reading isn't simply to finish another chapter or complete a reading plan. The goal is to hear the Author while you're reading His words.

So the next time you open your Bible, don't just read—listen. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you, guide you, reveal God to you, and show you what He wants you to do with what you're reading.

Don't read the Bible just to finish the chapter. Read the Bible to hear the Author.

Life Group is a verse-by-verse Bible study through the New Testament letters to the churches.

God may be speaking more than you think. Do you recognize His voice when He does?

In Episode 3 of YOU CAN HEAR GOD, we discover that hearing God isn't limited to hearing an audible voice. Throughout Scripture, God communicated with people in many different ways. He spoke through His Word, conviction, people, angels, desires, dreams, visions, and by His Spirit bearing witness within. The method wasn't always the same, but the source was. The goal is to become so familiar with the Shepherd that when He speaks, something within you says, “I know that voice.”

Receive. Recognize. Respond.

YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 3: God Speaks in Many Ways

Scriptures: Romans 8:14, 16; John 10:1–5, 27; Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1; John 16:8–9; 2 Timothy 3:16; John 14:26; John 16:14; Acts 9:10–17; Philippians 2:13; Acts 2:17; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Proverbs 20:27; Romans 9:1

God is speaking—but are we positioned to hear Him?

In Luke 10, Jesus was in Martha’s house and His words were filling the room, yet distraction, worry, and trouble became louder than the voice she needed most. Mary made a different choice. She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened. Jesus said she had chosen the one thing that was necessary.

In Episode 2 of You Can Hear God, Pastor Dean Forrest explores the difference between simply being around the things of God and intentionally positioning ourselves to hear Him. Discover why hearing God requires more than religious activity, how distraction and worry can compete for our attention, and why God’s voice can bring peace, clarity, direction, wisdom, and revelation into the situations we face.

God is speaking. The question is whether we will turn down the other voices, make time with Him a priority, and listen.

📖 Scriptures: Romans 8:14; Romans 10:17; John 10:1–5; Luke 10:38–42

YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 2 Position Yourself to Hear

Elation Church | Davenport, Florida

You can hear God. Hearing God isn’t reserved for pastors, prophets, or a select group of unusually spiritual people. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice… and they follow Me.” If you belong to Him, hearing His voice is meant to be a normal part of your relationship with God.

In this first episode of You Can Hear God, Pastor Dean Forrest explores how God speaks, how His Word becomes personal and alive to us, and why hearing Him is essential to a life of faith. You’ll discover that if you’re a Christian, you’ve already heard God—you may just not have recognized it was Him. Faith comes by hearing. God is still speaking.

Scriptures: John 10:1–5; Romans 8:14; Romans 10:8–17; Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 6:23; 2 Timothy 3:16

YOU CAN HEAR GOD — Episode 1 You’ve Heard Him Before

Elation Church | Davenport, Florida www.elation.church