How to Recognize God's Voice - The Second Test

How to Recognize God's Voice - The Second Test

Wednesday March 16 2011 12:00 AM

Posted by Rick Warren

“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5 (NCV)

God’s number one purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus. He is the standard for your life in how you think, act, feel and speak. That’s why the second test to determining whether an impression is from God or not is to ask this question: “Does it make me more like Christ?”
God is never going to tell you something in your mind that would cause you to do something that’s un-Christlike. If it is not like Jesus, believe me, you didn’t get the idea from God.
What is Jesus like? James 3:14-17 gives us some specifics that are a good measure for testing an idea: “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition … such ‘wisdom’ is of the devil. The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere” (NIV).
First of all, this passage tells us two things God’s wisdom is not. It will not be motivated by bitter envy or selfish ambition.
These verses instead give seven things to test if an idea that comes into your mind is from God:

• Is it pure? If any thought is impure, God didn’t give it to you.
• Is it peace-loving? If the idea is from God, it will promote harmony and reconciliation, not conflict.
• Is it considerate? Any idea that would hurt or harm someone, even though it may benefit you, is not from God because he cares about the effect it might have on others.
• Is it submissive? If you get an idea from God, you must be open to having it tested by other people, asking them what they think about it. If you are hesitant and don’t feel like letting other people test the idea, then it didn’t come from God because it isn’t leading you to submit to others’ feedback.
• Is it full of mercy? An impression from God will make you more gracious and forgiving. It won’t make you judgmental or critical.
• Is it impartial and sincere? When you get an idea that’s from God, you don’t use it to manipulate people to get your own way.

Any idea that encourages these seven qualities in your life is an idea that will make you more like Christ.

Tennessee

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg , TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he doesn't come over here.' But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.

'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.
' Oklahoma ,' they answered.
'Great to have you here in Tennessee ,' the stranger said.. 'What do you do for a living?'
'I teach at a seminary,' he replied.

'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great .. Just what I need ....another preacher story!'

The man started, 'See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'

He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.

Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'

The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'

'This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy.. 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.'
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'

'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them , 'I'm a Child of God..''

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, 'Isn't that a great story?'
The professor responded that it really was a great story!

As the man turned to leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!' And he walked away..

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, 'Do you know who that man was -- the one who just left that was sitting at our table?'

The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's governor of Tennessee !'

God Knows More than WE Do!!!

After all he experienced, Job learned to know God better than he had before.  This is why we go thru the things we do.  To gain a better understanding and knowing of God.  To learn of his faithfullness and love.  So when you ask, "Why me?", it's because God is wanting you to know him.

Job 42

Job's Repentance and Restoration

 ¹ Then Job answered the LORD and said:
 ² “I know that You can do everything,
      And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
 ³ You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
      Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
      Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
 ⁴ Listen, please, and let me speak;
      You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
 ⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
      But now my eye sees You.

 ⁶ Therefore I abhor myself,
      And repent in dust and ashes.”

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon: Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money. One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount. Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.

 

How to Recognize God's Voice - The First Test

How to Recognize God's Voice - The First Test Tuesday March 15 2011 12:00 AM
Posted by Rick Warren

“Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is!” 1 John 4:1 (LB)

"God's truth is consistent. He is not going to tell you one thing in the Bible and then tell you something different in an impression."
When I get an idea in my mind, how do I know if it’s from God? How do I know it’s not my own desire or even a lie from Satan? The answer is clear in 1 John 4:1 – I must test it to find out.
This week I want to share with you the seven biblical ways to test an impression and find out whether it is from God or not. These seven tests form a filter and you need to make sure that the idea you are testing passes all seven of them. When it does, you can have absolute confidence that the idea is from God.
The first test is to ask the question, “Does it agree with the Bible?”
God will never contradict his written word. Luke 21:33 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (NIV). God’s truth is consistent. He is not going to tell you one thing in the Bible and then tell you something different in an impression.
And as Proverbs 12:19 says, “Truth stands the test of time.” How does this apply as a filter? For example, the Bible tells us to pay our taxes when it says “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21 NIV). So if you feel God telling you not to pay your taxes this year, that thought isn’t from God. It would be a contradiction of his Word.
There are also many verses in Proverbs that say God will bless your business if you have integrity and if you are honest and fair in all your business dealings. So if you get an idea that you could make more money and increase your profits by being dishonest, that idea is not from God.
The vast majority of God’s will for your life is in God’s Word. So if anyone ever comes up to you and says you need the Bible plus another book to find truth, they are wrong. Galatians 1:8 says, “Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed” (NLT).
That may sound harsh, but God’s truth does not change. If you want to know God’s voice, the only book you need to read is the Bible. You need to memorize it, study it, and meditate on it.
When you know God’s Word you will not be fooled by lies. But you will always get into trouble when you doubt the Bible.

Shifty!! by Chuck Yeager

If you have never seen the mini-series, "Band Of Brothers", rent or buy it.  You'll be glad you did. 

  

   One hero paying homage to another!!

---

"Shifty" By Chuck Yeager 

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy  

Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st  

Airborne Infantry.  If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the  

History Channel, you know Shifty.  His character appears in all 10  

episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.   


I met Shifty in the  Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't  

know who he was at the time.  I just saw an elderly gentleman having  

trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was  

at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of  

the 101st Airborne, on his hat.   

Making conversation, I asked him if he d been in the 101st Airborne  

or if his son was serving.  He said quietly that he had been in the  

101st.  I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served,  

and how many jumps he made.   

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so,  

and was in until sometime in 1945 ... " at which point my heart  

skipped. 


At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training  

jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into  Normandy . . .  do you know  

where  Normandy is?"  At this point my heart stopped. 

I told him "yes, I know exactly where  Normandy is, and I know what  

D-Day was."  At that point he said "I also made a second jump into  

Holland , into  Arnhem ."  I was standing with a genuine war hero ...   

and then I realized that it was June,  just after the anniversary of  

D-Day.   

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from  France , and he said  

"Yes...  And it ' s real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are  

left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip."  My heart  

was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. 



I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in  

Coach while I was in First Class.  I sent the flight attendant back to  

get him and said that I wanted to switch seats.  When Shifty came  

forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have  

it, that I'd take his in coach. 


He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat.  Just knowing that there are  

still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to  

make an old man very happy."  His eyes were filling up as he said it.  

And mine are brimming up now as I write this. 



Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer. 


There was no parade. 

No big event in  Staples  Center . 

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. 

No weeping fans on television. 

And that's not right!! 


Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. 

Please forward this email to everyone you know.  Especially to the veterans.   

Rest in peace, Shifty.   

Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.] 


P.S.  I think that it is amazing how the "media" chooses our "heroes" these days...

Michael Jackson & the like!