Stephen continued looking at the armour of God which is necessary for us in our prayer kitbag, focussing on the breastplate of righteousness. (Eph 6:14)

A breastplate aids our defensive position, covering the upper torso, protecting our bodies. Righteousness is a state of being acceptable to God which is possible through Jesus Christ. Rom 13:14 urges us to clothe ourselves with righteousness and Gal 3:27 reminds us that all who have been baptised into Christ have clothed themselves with Him. Christ is our defender, our defence, the One who intercedes for us (Heb 7:25), the one who needs to be in the centre of our lives. Is 59:1-17 reminds us that man’s righteousness will never be enough to bring salvation; God ‘put on righteousness as His breastplate and the helmet of salvation on His head’ in order to be able to work salvation for us. 1 Pet 2:24 reminds us that Christ died for us ‘so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.’ When we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we have nothing to fear.

The imagery of armour may seem remote to us, but each one of us is called into God’s army and we need to ensure that the breastplate of righteousness is in place, with Christ having the central place in our lives. If He is not there, we are vulnerable and are not protected from the enemy’s attacks, but if He dwells within us, we are protected from every onslaught he may make.

What happens when we hear God’s voice? How does it change us and our community?

God’s voice is the real catalyst for change that we desperately need. In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected. God is the real catalyst who precipitates events or changes. He is the One who whispers ideas to us, who gives us inspiration, who nudges us to do things which may not seem particularly earth-shattering in many ways but which gradually cause a shift in the way things are done.

Think of William and Catherine Booth serving tirelessly among the homeless in London, ultimately founding the Salvation Army because they heard God’s concern for the poor and needy in their personal times with God.

Think of Elizabeth Fry, driven by divine compassion into the hellhole of Newgate prison and the force behind prison reform, motivated by the love of God to make a difference to her society.

Think of William Wilberforce and others, labouring to see the slave trade abolished because they listened to God’s heart of freedom for all.

Or what about George Washington Carver who used to pray regularly to ‘Mr Creator.’ One night he walked out into the woods and prayed ‘Mr Creator, why did you make the universe?’ He listened and felt God answer ‘Little man, that question is too big for you. Try another!’ So the next night, he walked into the woods again and prayed ‘Mr Creator, why did you create people?’ Again, he felt the answer was ‘Little man, that question is too big for you. Try another!’ So on the third night, he asked ‘Mr Creator, why did you create the peanut?’ And he felt God say ‘Little man, that question is just your size. You listen and I will teach you.’ And apparently he went on to invent 300 ways to use the peanut, including 105 food recipes using peanuts and about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin.

We might never be famous like any of the above, but when we hear God’s voice speaking to us, we never know what that will do or where that will lead. The prophet Jeremiah said, ‘This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jer 33:2-3) He gave this word whilst he was kept confined in the courtyard of the guard, effectively under house arrest. We might feel our circumstances aren’t good; our situations are not what we want them to be; we might feel we ourselves are not where we want to be or who we want to be… but nothing is a barrier to God speaking. Let’s call and listen for His voice and be prepared to hear great and unsearchable things we do not know, to be changed forever by the things that God will say.

If we want to hear God’s voice, we have to ask the question ‘what does God’s voice sound like?’ Dallas Willard, in his book ‘Hearing God’, says ‘Certain factors distinguish the voice of God, just as any human voice can be distinguished from another’ and says these factors involve the quality of the voice of God, the spirit of the voice of God and the content of the voice of God.

The Quality of God’s Voice

Stanley Jones says, ‘The inner voice of God does not argue, does not try to convince you. It just speaks and is self-authenticating.’ (‘A Song Of Ascents’, P 190) In the creation narrative in Genesis 1, we read ‘God said, “Let there be light” and there was light.’ (Gen 1:3) God speaks and creation happens. God speaks and things happen. God speaks and we cannot deny He has spoken. We are not always sure how we know this, but there is a weight, an impact, an authority to His voice which every other voice lacks. God speaks and something happens. Just as He created our entire universe through the power of His word and just as He sustains the universe through His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3), when He speaks to us, there is an authority which makes things happen.

The Spirit of God’s Voice

There are many voices in the world which seek to dominate our thinking. One of the chief characteristics of God’s voice is that it builds up and does not tear down. Other voices may be critical and belittle us, but God’s voice, even when it chastises us, does not leave us guilt-ridden or dejected. It’s like the ‘sting’ we get when we put an antiseptic cream on a wound; we gasp initially as the pain hits us, but then the cream does its work and we can feel the wound being healed. God’s voice will never leave us wounded beyond repair. It will always cleanse us, heal us, restore us and set us right again.

The Content of God’s Voice

Dallas Willard says ‘the content of a word that is truly from God will always conform to and be consistent with the truths about God’s nature and kingdom that are made clear in the Bible.’ (quoted in Richard Foster’s ‘Sanctuary of the Soul’ P 81-82) God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and so what He says to us will always be consistent with His revelation of Himself. We need to be soaked in Scripture so that we know as much of God’s character as we possibly can (see 1 John 4:1, Acts 17:11) False teachers, misguided enthusiasts, bigoted opinions abound and it’s very easy to be taken in by persuasive speech, powerful rhetoric and manipulative marketing, so it is imperative that we learn to recognise the content of God’s voice.

Prayer is a tw0-way conversation with God, but more often than not it is easier to focus on the ‘speaking’ part of prayer than on the ‘listening’ part. Since James tell us we should be ‘quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry’ (James 1:19), it’s important that we learn to listen to God’s voice. Jesus told us that He is the good Shepherd and we are His sheep (John 10:11, Psalm 100:3) and says ‘I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.’ (John 10:14-16) If we want to know God’s guidance throughout 2015 and beyond, we need to learn to listen.

This is not always easy, for distractions abound. We need to practise the discipline of silence if we are to hear God speak and shun the distractions (see how Martha and Mary dealt with this in Luke 10:38-42). God may well roar like a lion (Amos 1:2, Amos 3:4, 8, Jer 25:30, see Chris Tomlin’s ‘The Roar‘) and thunder louder than mighty waters (Ps 29:3, Rev 1:15), but He also speaks in gentle whispers (1 Kings 19:12) and if we are to hear these whispers, we need to be still and know that He is God (Ps 46:10, see also Ps 131:2). We have to ‘crucify the spirit of distraction’ (Richard Foster, ‘Sanctuary of the Soul’ P 106)  and pursue prayer diligently and passionately (see Lam 3:26-31, The Message). Setting time aside and learning to quieten our impatient souls is the first step to listening to God.

Between 24th January and2nd February 2015 the global Worship Central team will be holding 100 gatherings of worship leaders and worshippers in 100 different locations held in anywhere from living rooms to cafes to churches. These gatherings will be hosted by coordinators and friends of Worship Central from all over the world.

Our nearest venue is Sheffield on Monday 2nd February at St Thomas Crookes church, Nairn Street, Sheffield, S10 1UL, starting at 8 p.m. and a group of us from church will be going along to this event. See Julie or Garry for further details. There is no need to register beforehand, just turn up at the venue in good time!

This is an opportunity to join with other Christians to worship and pray and to see the worship of Jesus Christ made central in society again. It’s an opportunity to broaden our horizons and realise that God is far bigger than one area or one local church. Come along and connect with others passionate about worship in your local area. For further details, see the Worship Central website.

Dave’s sermon on Sunday evening alluded to the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites and how they were led by God during those 40 years before they actually reached the River Jordan. Following God for them meant following the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, God’s presence made visible for them to follow. Chris Tomlin takes this theme in his song ‘I Will Follow’:

‘Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow…

All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my sight
High above my life
I will trust in you alone (trust in you alone)

Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for You alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in You alone, in You alone

In You there’s life everlasting
In You there’s freedom for my soul
In You there’s joy, unending joy
And I will follow.’ (Chris Tomlin, ‘I Will Follow’)

Jeremy Camp’s new album (released next month) has the same title: ‘I Will Follow’

”Though the desert be before me
And there’s no relief in sight,
Though the enemy is breathing
All the lies into my mind,
You will always carry me
Until my dying day.
What you have for me is worth it
‘Cause I’ll see you face to face

I will follow,
Follow you wherever you go
And I will listen
To the very promises I know.
You are with me
Always with me
Keeper of my soul
I will follow
Follow you wherever you go.

And the day is coming quickly when
You break open the sky
And the armies all around you
Will be conquering the night
You gather all the children
That are calling out your name
When the troubles are the here and now
I know it’s not in vain.’ (Jeremy Camp, ‘I Will Follow’)