Drawing Close to the Heart of God – Hearing God’s Voice
This post is the substance of a talk I recently gave about drawing close to God’s heart; it was part of a lecture series on the Holy Spirit. Some of this post has been presented in previous posts on repentance, but this is also about entering more deeply into the heart of God.
I began the talk with this question: Is there any command that Jesus gave His followers that does not apply to us today? The audience said, “No”. And that is the basis of this post – all that Jesus commanded 2100 years ago is as relevant to us today as it was back then.
I have pulled individual verses out of Scripture to ‘tell a story’. Over the years I have written about many of these verses in a more complete way – trying to put them into the context of Jesus’ and Paul’s purposes, place, time, and audience. But for this post, I felt the individual verses convey their essential meaning and taken together they deliver a powerful message. Do you want to draw close to the heart of God? Then obey His commands and repent.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth . . . But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6: 19 20)
“But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2: 5, 6).
“Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God . . . because God is love” (1 John 4: 7, 8).
The Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8).
The disciples did not go to the ends of the earth. That is our job. This power is also available to us today.
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2: 4, 5).
“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4: 20).
The power that Scripture refers to in these three verses is ‘Dunamis’ in Greek. Dunamis is the root word for dynamite. It is Holy Spirit power, miraculous power, mighty deed-worker-of-miracles power. When we follow Jesus, when we are ‘in Christ’, we walk with Dunamis power.
“Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9: 35 NKJV).
“When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying hands on each one, He healed them . . . I must preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent” (Luke 4: 40, 43).
Did you catch that? Jesus preached “the gospel of the Kingdom of God”. What is the gospel? The gospel is the Kingdom of God, or “the Kingdom of God is here. You now have an alternative. You no longer have to live as a slave in the kingdom of the world”.
Our Purpose
Each of us has a purpose; we exist for a reason. Our purpose is to do what Jesus did and to do what Jesus commanded the disciples (and us) to do.
Jesus had a manifesto – a vision statement. He told anyone who would listen why He was sent to earth by His Father and what He was going to do in His ministry while on earth in the flesh:
“He has anointed me to preach the gospel (“the good tidings of God’s Kingdom” from Strong’s) to the poor, He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach (or proclaim) deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised” (Luke 4: 18 KJV).
Do you want a vision statement for you or your church? I don’t think anyone can do better than what Jesus said. It might be something like this: “My church (or ‘I’) will heal the broken hearted and proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven”.
“He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10: 1).
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9: 1, 2).
“These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying . . . And as you go, preach, saying, “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” (Matthew 10: 7, 8 NKJV).
This is one of many commands Jesus gave His disciples, and if you believe His commands are for us today, then we are required to “Heal the sick and cast out demons”. OK, also “raise the dead”. (“Cleanse the lepers” has largely been accomplished by antibiotics. Thank you, Jesus).
And if healing and setting captives free are not your cup of tea; well, maybe they should be. Apparently, healing the sick and casting out demons in the name of Jesus are two of the most important ways Jesus believes His Kingdom will be released and advanced. And by ‘healing’ I believe Jesus means emotional healing as well as physical healing. Of course, “casting out demons” is spiritual deliverance.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing” (John 14: 12).
While “heal the sick and cast out demons” is not Jesus’ only command, judging from His ministry it is one of His most important ones. Do you want to grow close to God? Obey His commands. And “love God and one another” are Jesus’ most frequent commands.
Obey His Commands
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth” (John 14: 15 – 17).
“We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him” but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2: 3 – 6).
“And this is His command: to believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: we know it by the Spirit He gave us” (1 John 3: 23, 24).
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28: 19, 20).
“Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” refers not only to the commands to love God and others, but includes the commands about healing the sick and casting out demons. Of course, we can do none of that apart from the Holy Spirit. And if we obey His commands? He will be with us always! If we don’t obey His commands, but believe we know Him? Then we are a liar, the truth is not in us (who is the Truth?), and we are not in Him. Then it is difficult to draw close to God’s heart.
And the most important command:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all our soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12: 30, 31).
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friend if you do what I command” (John 15: 12 – 14).
“I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love; that we walk in obedience to His commands” (2 John 6).
How do we draw close to God’s heart? We obey His commands – the sign of our love for Jesus and the mark of the Holy Spirit in us.
The Holy Spirit Gives Us Gifts – Including the Gift of Himself In Us
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3: 16).
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6: 19).
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit . . . To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge . . . to another faith . . . to another gifts of healing . . . to another miraculous powers . . . to another prophecy . . . to another distinguishing between spirits . . . to another speaking in different kinds of tongues . . . to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 11).
See also Romans 12: 6 – 8. “We have different gifts according to the grace given us”. These gifts include: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the feeding of others, leadership, mercy.
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature . . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 16; 5: 22, 23).
“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8: 9).
Does the Holy Spirit live in you? Then you have Spiritual gifts and fruit. Are you using your gifts for the Kingdom? If not, ask God how He wants you to release the Kingdom of God into the world. Really, just ask Him!
How Do You Know If the Holy Spirit Dwells Within You?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father . . . Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me you evildoers!” (Matthew 7: 21 – 23).
This passage puzzles me. Apparently, some were exercising what looked like spiritual gifts. They called Jesus, “Lord, Lord”; they cast out demons in His name. But they did not have a relationship with Jesus. He never knew them (how is it possible to operate in the gifts and not know Jesus? I don’t know. Perhaps they were using some ‘other’ power?). Bottom line – not everyone who is healing the sick and casting out demons has the Holy Spirit. Beware of false prophets!
One other thought. I believe it is also possible to be practicing Spiritual disciplines and not know or be known by Jesus. How many pray and read Scripture just because they are told these practices will bring them closer to God, but pray and read without the indwelling Holy Spirit? How many recite the Lord’s Prayer as just so many words without thinking about the words or even trying to understand what they mean? Or the Apostle’s Creed or the Doxology? If you are unwilling to obey Jesus’ commands and repent, I believe Spiritual disciplines will not do you much good. Perhaps some good, but not much.
So how can we tell if we have the indwelling Holy Spirit? Jesus tells us:
“By their fruit you will recognize them . . . a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7: 16, 17).
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the steam. He does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and it never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17: 7, 8).
This passage speaks about the man who gives up the right to himself, who dies to self; who repents – “and never fails to bear fruit”.
A Spirit-filled person will bear fruit – fruit of the Spirit. Not perfectly and maybe not all at one time. But there is good fruit in a Spirit-filled person manifesting in the fruit-filled life, a good tree. And that fruit grows with time. Perhaps slowly – but still grows. A Spirit-filled person will operate in one or more Spiritual gifts – but the first mark of a Spirit-filled person is the fruit exhibited in their life.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13: 1, 2).
I would add. If I can cast out demons and heal the sick but have not love, I am nothing.
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14: 1).
The heart of God is love! The Holy Spirit dwells within your heart if you are growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
So, how else do we draw close to the heart of God?
Repent and Be Repentant
“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of you sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38).
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3: 8).
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads to repentance” (Romans 2: 4).
“Godly sorrow (conviction) brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (1 Corinthians 7: 10)
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4: 17).
“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1: 14, 15).
How do I draw close to God’s heart? One way is to obey God. The other is to repent – ‘obey’ and ‘repent’ require the Holy Spirit.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4: 7 – 10).
James is describing the process of repentance. Repentance begins when we acknowledge the difference between the creature and the creator – we must submit to God. He is God, we are not. “Grieve”, “mourn”, and “wail” are expressions of Godly sorrow, essentially the manifestations of renouncing our sins, especially our pride – they are signs of our desperation. And then humble ourselves before the Lord by saying, “Lord, I have sinned. Please remove this sin from me”. If we do these things, He will lift us up – that is true repentance!
When we repent and are repentant we receive all that He has for us (or more of what He has for us) – His indwelling Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, power and authority; more love, joy, peace, and faith of the Father, more life and freedom, His presence, and hearing His voice.
What Is Repentance and How Do I Repent?
Repentance is turning away from evil, which is renunciation; and turning toward Jesus, which is faith.
The first step on the journey of faith is being born again, which involves repentance. When we are born again our heart is circumcised by the Spirit as Paul describes in Colossians 2: 9 – 12 (see my post on Circumcision of the Heart). When the Spirit circumcises our heart, He cuts away our pride – pride is the enemy of faith. Where there is a breath of pride, faith cannot exist. And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11: 6).
When Jesus circumcises our heart and cuts away our pride, it is the same thing as taking the ax to the root of the tree: “The ax is already at the root of the trees, because every tree that does not produce good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3: 9). This is because pride is the satanic root of all evil and an evil heart does not produce good fruit.
We must have faith to draw close to God’s heart. Faith cannot form in an atmosphere of pride. Pride is cut away by the Spirit when we repent and are repentant. As I have written before, we cannot submit and surrender to Jesus if our pride has not been cut away by the circumcision of our heart by the Spirit. And if we do not submit and surrender to Him, on ‘the Day’, we will hear, “Away from me you evil doer, I never knew you”. That is the very definition of being far from God’s heart.
“Whenever, though, they turn (repent) to face God . . . God removes the veil and there they are – face to face . . . Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him” (2 Corinthians 3: 15 – 18 MSG).
In other words, as we draw closer to the heart of God through repentance!
See my post, “Be Not Unrepentant: Part 2 – How Do I Repent?” for a discussion on repentance and how to repent; and my post, “Be Not Unrepentant: Part 3 – the Veil The Prevents Us From Seeing Jesus’ Face and Hearing His Voice” for more about the veil around our heart.
Conclusion
How do we draw closer to the heart of God? As I see it, there are two primary and related things that we must do – repent and obey. And to do both of these things we need the Holy Spirit. We can do a lot of things to draw closer to God, but I believe these two are foundational – they are the ‘sine qua non’ (without which there is none) of a relationship with Jesus.
What does it mean to obey? We obey the commands of Jesus in Scripture and we do our best to obey the promptings, leadings, and commands that Jesus speaks to us each day. Can I hear His voice? Yes –draw close to God and He will draw close to you. We must surrender and submit to Jesus; our hearts must be circumcised. And the sign of a surrendered heart? Obedience.
What about those times when I fail to obey His commands? Hallelujah, I have the gift of repentance.
Apart from obedience and repentance, there can be no real relationship with Jesus. We can fool ourselves by thinking that God didn’t really mean that, or times have changed, or I have a better way; or really, it is no big deal, everyone is doing it. But in the end those roads are dead-ends; they are paved with self-deception and lead to destruction. And on ‘the day’, if we are still walking on those roads, as good as they seem to us and to the culture around us, Jesus will say about our good works, prayers, teaching, Bible study, and even healing the sick and casting out demons, “I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers”.
Living in His grace,
John