How do you hear God's Voice?

How do you hear God's Voice? How do you know when God is telling you to do something? These are great questions that many people struggle with. I know that many times I hear people say, "I would obey God if I just knew what He wanted me to do." There is some truth to it but the problem doesn't lie with God not communicating to us it is with us listening to Him.

I love taking my students to Look-up Lodge Christian Retreat in SC because the speaker Greg does an amazing job in communicating Who God is to the students. We took our High School students there last week and one of the things he talked about what what is one of the greatest characteristics of God. People mention God's Love, His Grace, His Mercy, His Patience, His Faithfulness and many others. Greg stops and points out that all those are absolutely amazing but he feels that the greatest characteristic is that God is a Great Communicator. How could we know about all those things about God unless He communicated them to us. This is where hearing God's voice comes to play.

I usually tell people that there are several factors in hearing God's voice. The first thing we have to remember is that God is soveriegn enough and cares enough to tell us what we need to know. It would be sort of silly for us to sit back and think that God would want us to know something but would struggle with figuring out how to communicate that to us. So our first step is to realize that God can and does want to show us His Will.

Greg also asked the questions to the students, "Does anyone want to know God's will for their life?" Of course hands went up all over. Greg pointed to someone and said, "Do you really want to know?" He then went on to tell them, "If you really want to know God's will, then your in it. The first step to doing God's will is to want it." (paraphrased) He then continued to say that God's will is simply Him saying, "Follow me!" In order to be in God's will we must want it and be willing to follow Him wherever he takes us.

So now you want God's will, your willing to follow Him you just don't know where, what, how, why and when! This is the part that is so great about God. He desires to communicate Himself to us. He has given us His Word, the Bible, to show us more of Who He is, and guide us in the way we should follow Him. You see the whole word of God is to point us to this Holy and Righteous God. As we seek to know this God and love Him we will find that we remain in His Will (John 15).

But Kevin...what about the specifics of my life? Well great question there reader of this blog! I have in the years of being a Christian realize that Christ Lives in me and His Holy Spirit is in me to guide me. I have to trust that God is powerful enough and cares enough to guide me exactly where He wants me. I know that He asks me to be willing to do whatever He desires, where ever He desires, whenever He desires. I must now trust that He will clearly guide me there. The question you have to ask is when He has shown you specifics of His will for you how did He speak to you? If you can learn to hear how God speaks to you then you can really learn to hear His voice. John 10:4, "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." Do you know How God has spoken to you? Do you know God's voice? If you struggle with this answer then I encourage you to go back and spend time getting to know this God. Take His Word and get out into His creation and pray and ask Him to teach you who He is.

There are many ways that God speaks to people. Most people hear His voice through a small still voice in their heart, through peace, through open doors and closed doors, through His word. Other times God may speak through dreams or visions or miracles in your life. I would say sometimes God speaks through people as well, but be cautious with this one. I have seen many Christians go to people for counsel and only seek the counsel of people who they think will say what they want. Make sure it is God directing them and not just their thoughts on your situation.

Keep Seeking God with Passion. Know Him, I mean really Get to Know Jesus and don't settle for anything less!!

In Christ,

Kevin Deming

Heading to NC

Well, God has been doing a ton in my life and my family and I are moving to North Carolina. It has been a clear call from God and I know that when He speaks we have 1 choice to make: To be obedient. I am excited about the move but will greatly miss the students that I have had the priveledge of mentoring and ministering to. I will take some time and talk about God's Call in our life, Does it Matter if I obey God or not, Making a Transition in Ministry and several other topics over the next few weeks. Please be patient with my blog as I make this transition. Be sure to check back weekly to see what God is doing. Thank you for your prayers. If you have any questions or ideas you would love to hear from me on please email me at kevin@youthministryhelper.com

Thanks!

Kevin Deming

Off on a Mission

Please be in prayer for me as I travel to another country on a mission trip. We are leaving Wed. morning and will be back on April 7th. I know God has some great things planned. I will blog when I get back about all He did!! Thanks!

God size moments in our Lives

I am hanging out in West Virginia on a Youth Pastor's Ski retreat (Thanks CTI Ski). It is such a great time to get with other youth pastors and spend time hearing all that God is doing. Not to mention that it is a blast skiing and refreshing ourselves. I am working through the Book of Ephesians this week and praying that God will continue to reveal more and more of His truth in my life.

Last night in youth I think it was a God moment kind of night. We had our High School youth last night and I saw God show up in a mighty way. We took the focus from our weekend learning about God's word and we spent some time in prayer. It was a call for us to not accept fluff (the no more fluff campaign) in our lives. We should come before God in desperation. You see in order to have a God size moment in our lives we must come face to Face with the truth of Who God is and who we are in relation to our Creator. We must realize that it is in our desperation that we find God. The moments in my life that God shows up always are centered when I am realizing my great need for God in my life. It is when I realize that my life is not about me. It is not about what I can do. It is about God and what He has done and will do. Do we want to see our youth ministries grow in numbers or grow in God's power. I believe in our own strength we can make our ministries look sucessful to the worlds eyes. I also believe that we cannot fake true life transformation. We cannot fake God's power changing lives in a radical way. Is our ministry showing fruit that is lasting or temporary fruit that looks good for a short time but seems to be missing something?

I have talked with youth pastors who say, "Man, our youth ministry on our midweek program is growing like crazy, but there sure is no depth in their lives." After asking them about their ministry I see that they are not calling students to a life of desperation in seeking their God. They are playing games, passing out snacks, have music, and then give a short message that doesn't take students deep. Then they have not connected the students to significant Christians who are willing to take students by the hand and lead them deep in the Word of God.

It is time for us as youth pastors and leaders to find a way to connect our students to God moments in their lives. Connect them to the Word of God. Connect them to Significant Christians. Connect them to a passionate prayer life and ultimately connecting them to our God.

Nothing but the WORD

Another Day at the Clarity Conference and another day seeking deep into the Word of God. God has been burdening my heart for the last year or more to stay strong teaching the importance of the Word of God in our lives. How often do we make crucial decisions about our lives and expect God to bless us but we leave God's word and prayer in the rear view mirror? I wonder if our generation has started getting so concerned with loosing people to other religions and other things that we have neglected staying the course with the Word of God? Have we forgotten that it is God who is in control? Have we forgotten that if we stay true to the His Word and seek His Face then He will do great and mighty things for His Name's Sake?

Every week I teach my students I make sure they are reminded of how important God's Word is to their lives. God's word is more than God's story meeting our story. There is a movement that is trying to invade our churches where we put the focus of the WORD of God on us. We try to make it our story. Man, to be brutally honest - that is wrong! It takes away from what God has done to think that God's Word is "Our Story!" It is God's Story! It is His Glory that is revealed through the pages of His Word. "Our Story" only happens because it is God who desires to show Himself through our lives.

Please don't stop reading and say I said that God doesn't care about us, because He does. He cares more than anyone in this world ever will. He showed more love than anyone can imagine. He gave up more than anyone ever could. But let us not get so ahead of Him that we think it was just about us! You see, God wills and works in our lives to reveal How Great He is. It is not selfish, or arrogant for God to think this way! God is worthy of it! God is the One True God and the only one who is Worthy to be thought of in this way. What makes it selfish for us is when we think that we deserve glory! You see, it was never about us! It never has been about us! It has always been about God and will be about Him - and I am ok with that! :)

I was teaching the other day that oftentimes when a student is having low self-confidence we jump all over them and make them feel like they are wrong for feeling that way. I actually believe that when a student has low self confidence it could be a very good thing (not if they stay there)! You see, what happens when someone has low self-confidence is that we begin to see ourselves as people who are not as good as we think we should be. If we can get students to turn that from depression and self loathing to realzing who they are in relation to a Holy and perfect God. We are not even on the same page. But what we do is change from a problem with self-confidence to a God Confidence. I am confident that God can do anything he wants in and through my life. I am confident that God can do mighty things in my life. This is not because of who I am but because of who He is. It is the students with very high self confidence that loose sight of the desperation for our God that is so needed. When someone is very self-confident they see what they can do not what God is doing. It is in our desperation that God reaches down and reveals His Glory in our lives. It is when we move from independence to dependence!

So when I am looking to see how this One True God can impact my life I see that there is nothign greater than knowing my Lord. Paul prays this often for the people he writes his letters to. Here are some examples:

Ephesians 3:19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 4:13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.Ephesians 4:12-14 (in Context)
Philippians 1:9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,Philippians 1:8-10 (in Context)
Colossians 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.Colossians 1:8-10 (in Context)
Colossians 1:10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,Colossians 1:9-11 (in Context)

The best way for us to know God more is to dive deep into His Word and experience Him. To see God's Story playing out and revealing His truth. Let's not try to make His story our story. Let's just give Praise for His Story.

A Big God who cares about Small Stuff

Today I was walking through our church and a lady who has been praying for her son stopped me to ask for prayer. She mentioned how her son, who lives around 5 hours away, had not answered his phone in the last few days and she was getting concerned. She had tried to call him and someone picked up his cell phone and then hung it up. She was concerened that someone had stolen his cell phone or something bad had happened to him. She told me she had a great peace about it but was still concerened and wanted to know if he was ok. I told her I would pray for her and started to walk away. I turned back around as I was reminded about the power of prayer and the need to pray right then. I asked her if I could pray for her and her son right now. She said yes, and I began praying for her. I prayed for her and I prayed that God would be her son's protector and would burden his heart right then to have him call her. After we were done praying she said thank you and I walked away still with a spirit of prayer for him. About 15 minutes later she saw me in the hall and she said, "you won't believe what happened. About a minute after you prayed my phone rang and it was my son. He had been sick and had not answered his phone."

Isn't it cool to see God answer prayers in such a simple way. God knew the she needed to know how her son was, her son needed to know that God was there for him in his life and answered prayers, and I need a little encouragement as I have been teaching on prayer.

Of course this raises a very interesting question, "Would her son have called at that moment if we had not prayed?" Regardless of what you believe about that, God answered the prayer that seems small and simple but shows how Big He actually is.

Prayers of a Child Part 2

One of the greatest things of being a dad is when you get to see your sons grow in their relationship with Jesus. I had the awesome privilege of baptizing my son in December and it is something that I will cherish forever. The great thing about it is that it was a decision made that I have seen the fruit of the Spirit in his life. Just in the last few months I have noticed his prayers changing from simple prayers of "Thank you Jesus for my family," to spirit filled prayers of, "Lord, you’re such a graceful God and you are creator of everything. Lord you made everything. Because you are creator you are owner of us and boss of us." When I heard my 7 year old praying this, my heart wells up inside knowing that he get's it. Of course in the middle of the prayer he adds, "Thank you for creating the Milky Way galaxy, the world, the oceans, the fish, the animals, the lions, the bears, the crocodiles." He keeps me smiling as I listen to his heart.

Another great thing is I can tell that he is not just praying because he is supposed to. When he gets done doing his nightly ritual of brushing teeth and getting ready for bed he usually heads right into bed. I have caught him several times praying without me because he is so tired. I will get in there and he will already be praying so he can go on and go to sleep. That is so cool. He doesn't want to skip praying so he can go to sleep. Man, the prayers of a child. How often in our own lives do we find that we are too busy to pray, or we are too tired to pray before we fall asleep. I know I always, want to teach my children to pray every night before you fall asleep. Isn't it great to know that the last thoughts on your mind before you fall asleep are ones of praise for God and prayer needs of others? Let's think about our Creator every night before we fall asleep. He is our boss you know!

It was funny last night when my son was praying he said that God is our boss, then he added, "But you don't boss us around." I love how he clarified that he was our boss, our owner, a good boss. He wasn't one who just bosses us around and tells us what to do. He is our owner and He has our best interests in mind. He knows what is best and He wants us to experience that best. That is why He shows us what to do.

I hope that your prayer life is one that is active and refreshing. That your prayer life is one where you see God working in and through your life. Prayer Does Matter. It is important. Prayer does make a difference. What are some things in your life that may be hindering your prayer life? Do you fall asleep before you pray? Do you pray hurriedly or in the Spirit of God? Do have to make time for prayer or is prayer just a reflection of your daily heart's expression?

Prayers of a Child

I have grown amazed at listening to my 5 & 7 year old pray. It is always interesting to listen to children pray. I get to smile alot when I hear my 5 year old son say, "Thank you Jesus for ebrything (everything), Amen!"

I would look at him and say, 'Why don't you Thank Jesus for your family or our home?"

He just looks at me and says, "I did! I thank youed Jesus for EBRYTHING!"

He has now added, several things to the list because I am trying to teach him to be a little more specific. He now prays, "Thank you Jesus for Ebrything, Amen. Oh yeah, and thank you for fish and video games."

This comes from the same child who says, "God must be a stretchy God."

I asked, "Micah, why do you think God is a stretchy God?"

"Because if He is with my cousins (who live in PA) and He is here with me He must be able to stretch really far."

The funny thing is I didn't correct him on his theology, because he understands the most important part, God is with everyone. We don't have to understand everything about How God does what He does, but we do need faith in Who God is. It is the nature of God that determines our perspective of God. Do we really have a right perspective of His nature? My prayer for my boys is that they would grow into Godly men and grow in the grace and knowledge of God's truth. The great thing about this prayer is I see it getting answered!

Don't Skip this Post

Ok, the reason for the title is that so often we see something on what I am about to talk about and we skip over it because we think we have it all figured out. I want to encourage you to read this a little deeper and see if we maybe need a little reminding.

My original title was going to be: Does God use our Prayers to do His Will?

I have the privilege of teaching a high school Bible Class for an elective course and today we were teaching on Acts 12. This is the story of how King Herod killed James, and imprisoned Peter. While Peter was in prison the church (not a building but people) were praying fervently for him. Peter was chained up, in-between 2 guards, and guards were outside of the cell as well.

Then something really cool happens... An angel wakes up Peter, his chains fall off, the cell gate opens up and he walks outside of the prison. He then comes to his senses thinking he was just seeing a vision and it was real. He was outside of the Prison and the guards were clueless to what had just happened. Wow! This is an amazing story of how God's plan cannot be stopped by people. In fact when persecution happens God steps up in bigger ways and does the impossible and more people come to faith in Christ.

Now here is the question on prayer. Would God have still done the miracle, sent His angel to free Peter if the people were not praying?

Now be careful, if you say yes, then you devalue prayer and say that the church's prayers were not necessary.

If you say no, then you devalue the sovereignty of God and saying that God can't do it unless people pray.

After talking with my students I shared my thoughts on this subject. You see prayer is a vital part of our relationship and connection with God. If we fail to emphasize prayer in our ministries and we try to do God size things without prayer we are going to fall short of what God has planned.

There are 2 things I think it important to know about God. 1) His sovereignty should never be questioned when anything happens that we don't believe is the best and 2) God chooses to use people and prayer to accomplish his will and purposes on earth. Can God at anytime do anything He wants? Yes, absolutely. But He, in His perfect Holiness has planned a world where He interacts with us, His creation. God chooses to use the prayers of His people to do His work. I don't know what would happen if the people were not praying. I don't know if they would have been disobedient to the Spirit of God what would have happened. I do believe it was in God's plan to save Peter. In John 21:18, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." This is a foreshadowing of Peter's Death and it refers to him being old. So in God's providence either He knew that the people would pray and God would respond or God was going to burden people's hearts and have someone pray so that Peter would be saved.

I wonder if the people in Mary's house were not praying if another group would have been and they would have received the blessing of what God did.

Regardless, of what God would have done we can focus on what He did do. God did choose to do a miracle through the prayers of His people. It is vital for us to realize that God uses prayers and as the Body of Christ we need to seek to get before the face of God and pray for our people. Don't let Satan keep you from praying. Satan wants you to get distracted during prayer, he wants you to not realize the importance of prayer, he wants you to forget about praying, he wants you to put off praying, he wants you to devalue prayer, he wants you to simply not pray at all! Don't let that happen. If you sense you are loosing a burden to pray or that you are becoming hard to the thought of prayer find someone you trust and just tell them to pray for you to get that burden back. Stop, right where you are and throw up a prayer for compassion of people and a soft heart for prayer. God will answer you!

Kevin Deming

Daniel Fast

I have been praying for some time about doing another fast and I had a youth pastor friend of mine tell me about the Daniel Fast. It is one that causes us to deny ourselves on the physical level in order to focus on the Spiritual. I have prayed and decided to journal what God is teaching me on the blog as an encouragement to others. I noticed when searching the internet for information on the Daniel fast that there are a lot of people that need some encouraement on fasting and also have some questions regarding different fasting. Please be in prayer with me that God would clearly show us vision on what He has in store for us as we seek to minister to those around us.

I will be starting the fast on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007 and continuing until Wed. Evening March 7, 2007.

Fasting Guidelines (Taken from Fellowship Church)

FOCUS The fast, as explained in the weekend service, is a spiritual discipline designed to better connect us with God. As a church, we are fasting in order to deepen our relationship with God and to walk in step with His plan and purpose. The best way to do this is to redirect our food source. This is accomplished through substituting our regular food intake with Bible reading, praying and journaling. The overall goal is to experience a genuine hunger for spending time with God.

TIMELINE

1st Day is a 24-hour Liquid Fast We will drink water, natural fruit juice and herbal caffeine-free tea (lunch will be our last meal and we will resume meals at dinner on Monday).

2nd Day: Begin the “Daniel Fast”At dinner, we will begin to introduce meals with pure foods of fruits and vegetables.

This plan will continue for the next 20 days.

MENU The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, which means that we will eliminate some common things from our daily diet, but will have generous options available. We will focus on eating fruits and vegetables that are pure and simple. We have included a list of foods to eat and foods to avoid.

If you have any condition which would prohibit you from being a part of the Daniel Fast, there are other options. Choose something from your daily routine (i.e. specific foods or beverages, television, other technology, etc.) and fast in that manner for the next 21 days. Remember, the details are not as important as the spirit in which you participate.

*If you have any known medical conditions or suspect such conditions, consult your doctor before beginning the fast.

Foods to Eat

WHOLE GRAINS: Brown Rice, Oats, Barley

LEGUMES: Dried Beans, Pinto Beans, Split Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas

FRUITS: Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cantaloupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Lemons, Limes, Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon

VEGETABLES: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger Root, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Yams, ZucchiniSeeds, Nuts, Sprouts

LIQUIDS: Water (as much as possible), Unsweetened Soy Milk, Herbal (caffeine free) Tea, Natural Fruit Juice (no added sugar)Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (small quantities), Honey

Foods to Avoid

• Meat, Poultry, Fish• White Rice• Fried Foods• Caffeine, Coffee, Tea (including decaf)• Carbonated Beverages• Foods Containing Preservatives or Additives• Refined Sugar or Sugar Substitutes• White Flour• Margarine, Shortening, High Fat Products• All Breads• Dairy (milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.)