House Church Talk - The Voice Said, "THE PLANE IS GOING TO CRASH!"

[Phillip Cohen]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Lately, one of my greatest passions is to be able to hear the voice of
God specifically directing me through my day. I know we need to study our
Bibles so we understand the principles of walking with God. Then we walk
in those principles and we're hearing from God. 

But the Bible makes it plain that God also specifically speaks to us
through an inner voice, or to us through other people, or perhaps through
a billboard we pass on the road.

The problem is, when we hear that inner voice, how do we know it's really
God speaking? In my pursuit of this, I've often thought God was speaking,
but it led to a dead end. For example, the voice may say, "Read 1 John 5.
You'll find the answer to that "thing" you're facing. So I read 1 John 5,
and I get nothing from it. I'll pound my head against the text, feeling
guilty and stupid. But still nothing.

Other times, I've gotten deep insights, releases from strongholds, and
direction through difficult places.

I know people who seem quite confident they're hearing from God. Probably
some of these people are immature, while others truly have learned to
hear the Shepherd's voice.

The article below scratches the surface of this concept. Do you have any
thoughts or testimonies you can share on how to know that you know that
you're hearing from God? I really long for answers. I do spend time
soaking in the Word. I keep a journal. My heart prays to Him all the
time. But there is still something missing, something deeper I want to
latch on to.

Please feel free to write your thoughts, and especially your own
experiences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Voice Said, "THE PLANE IS GOING TO CRASH!"
  In John 10:27 Jesus says, "My sheep know my voice, and I know them and 
they follow me."
  How well do we know the voice of Jesus?

Since I travel a lot, I am frequently in airports and spend a lot of time

waiting for planes and making connections. One day while waiting in an 
airport, I heard this voice in my head say, "Don't get on the plane it is

going to crash." A couple of moments later, I heard it again, "Don't get
on 
the plane it is going to crash."

I Kept Hearing the Voice

I begin looking around the airport because I may need to find someone to 
pray with. This may be a tough decision. Many of us have heard of people 
who felt like a plane was going to crash, and so at the last minute they 
did not board, and were spared from certain death. But I did not see
anyone 
I knew, nor did I sense any Christian near me, but I did hear that voice 
again saying, "Don't get on the plane it is going to crash."

Soon the airline personnel announced the boarding of my plane and I 
continued to hear the phrase over and over. I was literally walking down 
the boarding tunnel with that phrase repeatedly going off in my head.
When 
I sat down in my seat, it seemed like the words got much louder and the 
message changed to "Get Off The Plane, It Is Going To Crash." "GET OFF OF

THE PLANE IT IS GOING TO CRASH."

What to Do when Discernment "Kicks In"

I sat there, startled and wondering what I should do. I had thoughts
about 
checking with the pilot about the safety and maintenance records. I 
wondered if I should talk to the person sitting next to me. I did not
know 
what to do, so I just began to pray quietly, asking God for either a 
confirmation or discernment.

And then I remembered, John 10:27 - "My sheep know my voice.." The 
Discernment of the Lord kicked in and I then made my decision. I knew
what 
I had to do.

Whenever, I tell this story, I ask people to tell me what they think I
did, 
and overwhelmingly, most people think that I got off the plane.

However, in all the years that I have been listening to God, He had never

once shouted at me. The voice I had been hearing was not the voice of
God, 
but rather the voice of the enemy trying to thwart my ministry plans. So
I 
decided to remain on the plane. I will tell you though that I prayed more

during that entire flight most others. It's been said that flying is the 
second greatest thrill known to man. But the first greatest thrill is
landing.

Suggestions to "Fine-Tune" Your Hearing

We all need to practice our listening skills. Hearing from God is one of 
the most frequently requested teachings that I am asked to share when I 
travel. I have heard many people say that they have never heard from God.

Here are some suggestions to fine-tune your hearing.

Set a quiet time to pray. Take your Bible, a pen and some paper with you.

Ask the Lord to direct your thoughts. Ask Him to reveal a Bible passage 
that would be helpful to you to read. As you read the passage, jot down 
some notes of what you are hearing through His Word. Ask God to clarify
how 
the Scripture verses relate to your life. Write down those thoughts too. 
Pray over them some more. Write down any other thoughts. Share them with 
someone who has some discernment. As you practice this, I believe you
will 
begin to move into a more pronounced season of hearing God.

  by Rev. Jay W. West
  Email: pursueHIM at juno.com
  Web Site: www.omaha.inhis.name

  =================
  BIO OF PASTOR JAY W. WEST
  =================

Pastor Jay West has been in the pastoral ministry for over 24 years,
within 
three different denominations. He has worked in Evangelism, Discipleship,

Administration, Associate and Senior Pastor. He has also served on the 
Board of Directors for two Crisis Pregnancy Centers, initiated a Prison 
Ministry as well as a local food pantry and served as a School Principal.

Jay has hosted and participated in several citywide pastoral prayer
groups 
and is actively involved in City Reaching. Pastor West has a four-year 
degree in Christian Education, plus various extra coursework.

Pastor Jay has appeared several times on Christian Television (including 
TBN and Daystar) and has authored numerous articles in Christian 
Periodicals. He writes occasional articles for Glad Tidings email list
and 
he authors a monthly prayer column for the Heartland Gatekeeper Newspaper

and is a member of the Board of Directors for FMI - Faith Missions 
International. He is also actively involved on the Embrace Omaha advisory

board of pastors who oversees and directs a ministry that helps bring
many 
pastors within the city together for city reaching events, bridge
building, 
and to help raise the spiritual water level of the city of Omaha, to help

win the city to Jesus.

Currently Jay travels and conducts seminars, revivals and consultations
for 
churches having ministered at over 250 churches in 33 different 
denominations. He has also ministered several times in African American
and 
Hispanic congregations.

Jay is a strong Bible teacher - not a preacher and not an evangelist. He
is 
very hungry for revival, and often teaches on revival related themes.
Three 
times in the last several months, churches that he has been invited to, 
have experienced some spontaneous revival and seasons of refreshing or 
renewal while he was there. Accompanying signs include words of
knowledge, 
prophecy, many healings, joy and a deeper desire to know Jesus and a
bolder 
witness for the Lord. Many documented healings have greatly increased
since 
July of 2003.

Pastor West lives in the Omaha area with his wife Diane of 24 years and 
their eleven-year-old son Jason. Diane is a teacher at a local Christian 
school. Jay is 46 years old.


  Apostolic Church Training Services - ACTS
  1604 Farrell Drive
  Bellevue, NE 68005
  402-292-4633
  pursueHIM at juno.com
  www.omaha.inhis.name 
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________________________________________________________________
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