Priscilla Shirer and Jentezen Franklin sit down with Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN’s Praise to talk about discerning God’s voice in our lives, and surrounding ourselves with people who will encourage us and strengthen our faith. This video was brought to you by TBN Networks®. SUBSCRIBE here and never miss an upload! https://www.youtube.com/c/PraiseTBN/?… WATCH full Praise episodes for free on the TBN app: https://watch.tbn.org/praise NEED PRAYER? TBN’s Prayer Partners would love to pray with you and are available 24/7: 714-731-1000 (U.S. and Canada) and +1-714-731-1000 (International). On the air since 1973, TBN’s flagship ministry and talk show Praise is one of the most recognizable — and most watched — Christian programs in the world. Taped before a live audience and hosted by TBN’s own Matt and Laurie Crouch along with other popular personalities, Praise features the best in contemporary Christian music and worship, fresh and impacting ministry voices, engaging interviews from a wide variety of guests, and a fast-moving hour of relevant talk you won’t want to miss! #tbn #priscillashirer #jentezenfranklin 00:00 Intro 00:26 How God Speaks 01:55 God’s Voice in Scripture 03:52 The More You Know God 05:14 Hungering for His Presence 06:25 Dissatisfied with the Mundane 08:18 Confirming God’s Voice 09:03 Spiritual Mentors 09:59 The Right People 13:45 Supernatural Guidance 16:43 Discerning the Voice of God
Discerning the voice of God is never
something you’re going to arrive at it
is never something you’re going to be
successful at it is going to be a
journey with God as you walk in The
rhythms of Grace if you will be open
this is a year of Supernatural guidance
for your life thank you Lord and when
the right people enter your life
you learn you learn through two ways
mistakes and mentors
does God Speak audibly
does he only speak through his word does
he speak how how what are the different
ways that you certainly know of that God
speaks to you
um I’ve never heard the audible voice of
God babe have you gonna miss something I
have not no no not yet but I think there
is something internal yeah in you that
you that you feel the presence of God
and it lines up with scripture which
confirms okay this is what I’m hearing
that’s right so the holy spirit of God
illumines Scripture the book is alive
and he causes the the old presets of
scripture to have a now-ness and a
newness that applies and intersects with
our personal experience so as Jerry
mentioned the holy spirit in US confirms
and corroborates and connects with the
the word of God and causes it to
intersect with our experience so that
that verse that has something to do with
David and Goliath all of a sudden it’s
not about David and Goliath it actually
applies to what you’re facing right then
in your life and you understand it as a
directive straight straight from God and
then there’s the conviction you know the
conviction of the holy spirit that that
green light of ease and peace that says
go that that yellow light of warning and
uneasiness that says hold up a minute
till you get clarity and then that red
light that is a straight up no there’s
no peace there’s confusion there’s
dissension that’s the holy spirit’s way
of telling you no don’t go there there’s
a better yes for you if you’ll just wait
and be patient have you ever heard the
still small voice of the Lord in a
phrase and an impression what describes
some of what is in Discerning the voice
of God how how the Lord speaks or how
this conversation unfolds with you yes
well most of the time most
to me through his word it is exactly
what I described it is reading through a
portion of scripture and on that day
it’s like the Holy Spirit has taken out
a highlighter and has highlighted this
verse you have seen a million times
before but on that day it leaps up off
the page and it grips you that’s the
only way I can really describe it is
that it grips you in the depths of your
soul and causes you to pause for a
moment because it seems to be literally
speaking to something that’s happening
in your life most of the time that is
the voice of God we have discounted I
think the power of scripture because if
we say we want to hear from God and we
never actually read the love letter that
he wrote to us we don’t want to really
hear from God and we rarely will because
the Canon of scripture is not only it
not only provides the boundary into
which everything God says to us will
fall because he’ll never say anything
that manipulates the scriptures or his
character as revealed in the scriptures
so it not only gives us the boundary but
it also provides for us the number one
mechanism through which we have the
privilege to hear him in the first place
beautiful the reality is that sometimes
you do not know until hindsight that
what you heard was the voice of God
there you go and the reality is that
there is grace and mercy to cover our
missteps and that the Lord in his
graciousness toward us his knowledge of
our Frailty and our Humanity for the
Willing heart who desires to do his will
even when we make mistakes he allows
them to become our greatest teachers for
hearing him correctly in the future he
does not hold it against us because
we’ve misstepped along the way so
um just Grace for those of us yes who
have ever heard God wrong
and wish we could get it get it right
one of the people I sort of interviewed
when I was first writing that book many
you know over a decade ago now I
interviewed Henry blackaby who wrote
experience in God yes and I you know had
my notebook out my pen I was going to
take a seminary class from Henry
blackody you know and I said how do you
know when you’re hearing God and he gave
me lots of incredible answers to that
question but really he summed it up this
way he said The more you know God the
more clearly you can hear God
there was really nothing for me to write
down because it boiled down to Priscilla
it’s simple he said The more you know
him the more clearly you can hear him so
the reason why we go to the scriptures
the reason why we have quiet time the
reason why we fellowship with other
believers who are going to help us
remain encouraged in our faith is
because we’re just trying to get to know
God when you know his character when you
know the nuances of what he does say and
what he wouldn’t say because how he
spoke to our forefathers because of how
he handled circumstances previously with
people in the scriptures who were going
through some of the same scenarios we’re
going through now when you see his
personality and his character then you
know when you hear the voice of fear
uh-uh that don’t sound like my god when
you hear the voice of your ego Pride
jealousy divisiveness stepping in all of
that stuff that in our flesh is also
trying to get a word in edgewise we can
quickly quickly pinpoint the voice of a
stranger because if we know God the more
clearly we can discern and divide his
voice from a stranger you know what it
does yeah it ruins you for church as
usual oh hey
yeah that regular Old Mundane Christian
readiversity to keep the devil away sit
in church go because my mama went my
grandmother went this is what we do all
of that goes away okay because you’re
hungering for what you know you’ve
experienced before actually sensing the
voice of God his presence near you
listen sometimes hearing God is less
about having a specific word and more
about just a Nearness of his presence
just knowing that he’s near I’m talking
about where your physical body responds
to the presence of God there are times
when you know he’s near because he’s
omnipresent there are times where it he
manifests himself in a way where the the
hair on the back of your neck stands out
kind of fail Goosebumps yes and in those
moments once you start sensing The
Nearness of God in that way you’re
ruined for all just doing stuff because
it’s what you’re supposed to be doing
and you want more of that and I think
what a lot of people need to understand
and he also speaks through his silence
very much so you know I’m not saying
anything
you know think about the years in the
world where you know from the old to New
Testament he was just silent yeah
and his silence means stay still don’t
move I got you yeah this is on the heart
of God right now this is the people
being dissatisfied with the mundane yeah
we are wanting to hear God’s voice
wanting to know you know I don’t I mean
you know not what to to eat today yeah
necessarily but needing to know to help
their kids yeah to their jobs their you
know in every area of your life I
believe God is speaking or wants to
speak or wants to have a say yes and you
know I want to say too that just that
sense of dissatisfaction that that
someone may be feeling that we all feel
when we’re going to be launched into the
next level in our relationship with God
sometimes that dissatisfaction makes us
so upset and so frustrated because we
just want to know the answer we want to
get to the answer but the
dissatisfaction itself is a sign of
God’s spirit working with it absolutely
and the satisfaction the journey that it
is going to lead you on the lessons that
are meant to be learned they’re going to
be learned because the dissatisfaction
sent you on a journey the journey itself
is not a waste of time Discerning the
voice of God is never something you’re
going to arrive at it is never something
you’re going to be successful at it is
going to be a journey with God as you
walk in The rhythms of Grace you will be
on your deathbed still wanting to know
whether or not you have clearly heard
the voice of God because we are human
he’s mysterious he is God and aren’t we
glad that he’s not just a big version of
us I don’t want God to just be a big me
I want God to be so far beyond my
imagination that I can never arrive at
the knowledge of him that I have to
constantly and consistently be growing
well because it takes faith it takes
Faith to say okay you know what that
that’s why I always say if we step out
in faith kind of no matter what it is
but if we walk in faith how can we ever
fail in that that’s right that’s right
if we’re believing that we’re doing what
God’s called us and we could have been
in our yeah yeah even when we’re when
we’re unsure and we’re unsteady
in in the book I list several of these
but I’ll tell you just a couple of them
I believe that he allows us to have the
mercy of confirmation I call them the
five M’s of hearing God when you sense
that God is imparting something upon you
um impressing conviction
um uh just a a push towards something or
away from something ask him for the
mercy of confirmation he knows you’re
just a human he knows that you need to
make sure that his fingerprints are on
this assignment before you move forward
I believe that he honors the sincere
request of his children when they say
Lord would you just do something to
confirm not not because it’s the primary
way you speak I think you’re speaking
would you confirm that by some external
means to point me in the right direction
and then one of the other M’s is the
ministry of Eli do you remember the
little boy Samuel he had an older wiser
guy in his life named Eli who was the
one who pointed out to him that the
voice you’re hearing is the voice of God
you need to have a wiser more mature
believer in your life who you admire not
the car they drive the house they live
on live the success that they’ve
achieved but the ongoing conversational
relationship they have with God the
victory you’ve seen them experience in
your life you go to them and you say
here’s what I think the Lord is saying
would you pray through this with me
listen I’ve got those people in my life
the majority of the things that we have
done in ministry as a couple we have not
done I’m talking about big things that
would have marked our lives and our
children’s lives we have not done before
we have called people that we are
submitted to their Authority ask them
would they pray through and give us
their wise counsel before we took a step
so we’ve submitted ourselves to the
ministry of Eli we’ve got Eli’s in our
life when you understand that God really
does speak that God really does lead
that God really is concerned about the
details of your life and you learn to
listen to him he will begin to bring the
right people let’s talk about that for
just a moment the right people into your
life so so when the enemy wants to mess
you up he’ll send a person and when God
wants to bless you he God’s not writing
checks God’s not selling cars God’s dog
he doesn’t have a car business out here
he doesn’t have a bank he doesn’t have
an employment agency he’s going to use
somebody wow he’s going to use a person
and when you begin to discern the right
people in your life I think about when I
sit here and I look at YouTube I think
about some right people that came into
my life at the right place at the right
time can I talk about it absolutely I
think about
a phone call that I got when I was just
starting out in Ministry had a tiny
Church of about 300 people we’d build it
up to 300 people
and I got a phone call from Dallas Texas
TBN
Miss Jan Crouch has seen you on some TV
show Playing your saxophone she would
like for you to come to Dallas tomorrow
that’s how it happened yeah tomorrow she
would like for you to come tomorrow and
and her and and Paul Crouch are hosting
the show and we would love for you to be
the musical guests well I’m I’m from
Georgia I’m a country I’m as country as
cornbread I’m I mean that you know I was
I was I was terrified and yet humbled
and yet wow next thing I know I’m flying
out on Delta
and I’ll never forget it I walked into
that studio in Dallas
and I just played my horn and it was a
kingdom connection I don’t know any
other way to describe it the next thing
I know she she I got back to the hotel
room and a girl and I don’t know if
she’s still with you Laura Massey yeah
called my I remember these details thing
that touched me Laura was was I had read
the verse and that had that had drove me
to my knees before and when we talk
about the right people the right place
the right plan listen to this I’d read a
scripture that week
from The Book of Psalms that said that
he will exalt your horn oh my God the
horn will be anointed and it will be
exalted and I got that phone call you
know I’m a preacher basically but it
wasn’t the preaching that got my foot in
the door it was my horn my saxophone and
and so I go and I play that night I get
back to the hotel room and I felt like
it went good you know we they were so
kind to me your dad I’ll never forget
how your dad made me feel like a million
bucks I was nobody I steal nobody but he
came over and talked to me and so you
Pastor in Georgia and Jan’s dad used to
Pastor in Augusta and they started or
some where was it Columbus yeah yeah in
Decatur and so make a long story short
they called back and say they would like
for you to stay over tomorrow they’re
going to tape another show and uh the
guest that night by the way was a guy
named TD Jakes who had never been on
there and he preached one on that down
that show go back and look at your years
I was there we rode over in the car
together and I didn’t know him from
anybody and he didn’t know me from
anybody I’m telling you God can get you
from anywhere you are to anywhere he
wants you to be in one day in one day
the right people thank you Lord Paul
Crouch Jan Crouch we’re the right I
don’t know why she liked me I don’t know
why she cared about me but something
happened yeah she opened doors to me all
over the world yeah
and I just really feel this this is more
than a TV taping wow this is a year
of if you will be open this is a year of
Supernatural guidance for your life
thank you Lord and when the right people
enter your life
you learn you learn through two ways
mistakes and mentors pain or people
you’re going to learn one way or the
other I’d rather learn from somebody
else’s pain yeah I’d rather learn from
somebody else’s mistakes and one of the
greatest days of your life is when God
brings into your life
people that are anointed to speak into
your life to Mentor you
sometimes a mentor becomes a tour mentor
because they’re like a coach they’re
trying to bring the best out of you
don’t run from them
and God has these kinds of people I call
them Kingdom connections
that that he will bring into your life
that are bridges to your destiny that
are bridges to your purpose and your
calling and had they not poured into me
at different seasons in my life I don’t
believe I’d be sitting here and I don’t
believe I would be nowhere near as as as
blessed as I am today to preach the
gospel in areas that I never dreamed I
would get to go but they became those
those people you know when Paul was
discouraged and I take great joy in that
listen somebody needs to hear this that
the great Apostle Paul became so he said
he’s put it like this he said I had I
had fears
within and I had problems without you
ever had a day like that you had trouble
on the outside and doubting your own
self on the inside wow
and he said in my lowest hour God sent
Titus
you know what Titus name mean means you
can make it oh my goodness God sent her
you can Joel won’t stay right oh my God
sent a Joel oxting a Titus you can make
it don’t you quit now there are 28
seasons in in Ecclesiastes chapter three
time to week time to cry time to dance
time to gather time to scatter the One
season you’ll never see is the season to
quit
and sometimes you need a Titus in your
life that’s a kingdom connection that’s
the right people see there’s flesh
people and there’s they’re Spirit people
flesh people feed your fear Spirit
people feed your faith flesh people feed
your they cause you to abort your your
spiritual dream
but Spirit people like when Mary got
around Elizabeth the Bible said the baby
inside of her began to LEAP the dream
the call the purpose the plan of God
when you start getting around the right
voices in your life they’ll make what’s
in you come alive beautiful I’m doing
that right now I’m the right person for
somebody right now you’re not going to
waste another year of your life thank
you Lord amen it’s time Discerning the
voice of God give us a kind of a a
little bit of a lesson in in how that
works and how it works right and wrong
and you know how do you how do you
discover that too
one of my favorite things that we talk
about is in the book of Hosea chapter 5
God said to Ephraim one of the tribes he
said I will come to you
as a moth it’s the only time in
scripture where God says
Compares himself to a mouth you know
what a moth is it’s just a little insect
it’s just a little little flutter
something how do you describe them all
it’s just it’s so tiny it’s so little
you just kind of do like that and it
goes away
but then in the next verse he says I’ll
come to you as an eagle
lion and then a lion wow wow and you
know I tell people if you open the
closet and you saw a moth in there it
would be no big deal but if you come
back the next day day and you open the
closet and there’s a big old eagle with
sharp claws and a beak that could rip
your flesh to Pieces you’d get your
attention sure but if you on the third
day open that closet and there was a
vicious lion
looking at you it would really get your
attention so the point is this
notice the pattern God says
it’s a powerful thing to to be sensitive
to the voice of God that he you can just
have the gentle flutters of the Holy
Spirit he doesn’t have to scream God
seldom screams almost never he whispers
still Small Voice he wants us not to
have to have the lion not to have to
have the life just being torn all to
pieces in the eagle tearing our lives up
those things will come because whom the
Lord loves he chastens and if he has to
do those things to get you on the right
path he’s got Lions he can release trust
me wow
but his greatest desire this is this is
the tenderness of God that his greatest
desire is just to flutter wow just to
make us sensitive that oh I don’t have
to have some mighty thing I’m reading
the word I’m praying I’m in touch with
his voice and just the flutter is a
strangest thing I was preaching for
um Craig Rochelle not too long ago and
his he had asked me to to come and
preach some sermons and and take them
and then stay over and do his staff
thing and he has like 1200 people that
that had gathered and I had prepared my
messages ahead you know the best I could
and all of that and I was prepared and
just before I walked up that last
service
I I don’t know how to describe except
that flutter it wasn’t like you know
just overwhelming thus saith the Lord in
Reverb it was just the flutter somebody
said something on the stage that mess
there was another message that I tucked
in my Bible and it and it just came
alive everything in it and I had that
one but it just it didn’t and the
flutter was over there I don’t know how
to describe it
and I walked up and I preached that
message this isn’t about me but I
preached that message and and and I’m
just telling you the it was it was
strong what God did I almost I could
have missed it I could have gone with
just an old program message that that
you know that but I I had that
sensitivity and to be gently impressed
to be tender enough to just have those
gentle impressions of the Holy Spirit
man that’s when you start walking and
Christianity in its greatest form is and
he walks with me and he talks with me
and he and he tells me I am his own
Wow I’m so blessed by this, this is what I have been looking for, please help me grow stronger in my christians faith, there is a fire in me for the kingdom of God that i don’t want to die, though i always look for scholarships to continue my education but the kingdom or the kingdom, lord provid me spiritual father nation wide, the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom come,
I don’t know why the devil don’t want me to yield up to the call of God but he’s a bustard and A liar