All right. Hey everybody, welcome to Valley Creek. You all just took that big deep breath in and it just brought you down, right? I'm so glad that you're here with us today. Whatever campus you're at – Denton, Flower Mound, Gainesville, Lewisville, online somewhere in the world – can we just welcome each other together for a moment? We are one church that meets at multiple campuses, carrying the hope of Jesus to thousands of locations. Hope is here. Everyone is welcome. Jesus changes everything. We are a movement of hope for the city and beyond – a Jesus-focused, Spirit-filled, Life-giving church. And we want to help you discover who you are, who God is, what you were created to do, and act as if it were so. And so whether this is your first time with us, maybe you haven't been in a while, maybe you've left and recently come back, or maybe you're here every single week, it really doesn't matter. We're so glad that you're here. And I believe this fall Jesus is here to meet with you. I believe this fall Jesus wants to do some great things in your life.

You see, this room is full of seekers, skeptics, servants, and saints. All across this room, there are seekers, skeptics, servants, and saints. Some of you are here – you're a seeker. You're, you're, you're like trying to figure it out. You're hungry. You're thirsty. You've gone everywhere the world has to offer, and nothing has delivered on what its promise has been made to you. And so you're trying to figure out is Jesus real? Is He good? Does He know what He is talking about? Well, I just believe this semester like the prodigal son, the Father is going to bring you back home.

Some of you are here and you're skeptics. You're full of doubt and unbelief. You're, you're frustrated. You've been hurt. You've been disappointed. Life hasn't worked out the way that you thought it was going to work out. And so you've got all this stuff going on inside of here and inside of here. Well, just like the father with the demon-possessed boy who says, "I do believe, but help me in my unbelief.” I believe this semester Jesus is going to be the author and perfector of your faith and restore your soul.

Some of you are servants and you're here. You're following Jesus. You're disciples. You're trying to become like Him. Well, I believe this semester God's going to do something great in you as He does something great through you.

And some of you are saints. You are literally becoming people of love. I believe this semester Jesus is going to continue to form you deeper into His image and His likeness.

You see, before we start this fall, I just want to be straight up with you and just tell you what we do and what we talk about in this church. We talk about Jesus and His kingdom and that's it. There is no other name other than the name of Jesus. There is nothing else to talk about other than Jesus and His kingdom. There is nothing else that is as relevant in your life, in my life, and in this universe than Jesus and His kingdom. Jesus and His kingdom is all we've got because it's all there is. So, it's all we talk about because is the only thing worth turning our attention to. You see, self-help doesn't really help, does it? Because you can't help yourself anyways, can you? And we're not going to talk a lot about consuming and convenience. Why? Because no matter how much you consume and no matter how convenient it is, it still leaves you wanting and hungry and thirsty. And we're not going to talk about religion because religion is oppressive and it will just make you judgmental and condemning to yourself. So we will talk about Jesus and His kingdom because only He knows what is good and true and right and He knows what is important and what is significant and He will show us the way.

And so we're going to start a new series today called Prophetic Reset – Aligning Your Life With What God is Saying. And I think this is a really important season for all of us where we sit together – prophetic reset. I think we need a prophetic reset. We need to hear God's voice and we need to align our lives with what He is saying specifically and uniquely to us as individuals. You see, years ago, we did a series called Reset. And we talked about how sometimes our life can get scrambled and out of order and unaligned and disheveled and stressed and being overwhelmed and all this stuff coming at us. And there's so much that we don't know what to do. And it's kind of like technology. Sometimes your favorite piece of technology, it can buffer, it can get slow, it can get glitchy. And the best button there is is the reset button that takes everything back to factory settings and allows you to start over.

Well, in Jesus' name, no matter how glitchy or chaotic or overwhelmed your life may be, there is always a reset button in His name. And people loved that series and it was super helpful to them. And as I was praying for us this summer, I felt like the Lord said, "We need a reset, but not a reset that takes us back to factory settings." No, we need a prophetic reset that's more like an update that launches us into the future that has that He has in store for us. It's not going back to what was. It's moving forward into what is supposed to be. In fact, I would just define prophetic to you. Okay, let me define prophetic. A prophetic word is a specific word from God that empowers you to create the future with Him. A prophetic word is a specific word from God that empowers you to create the future with Him. It's a specific word. It's not general. It's not subjective. It's not just kind of out there. No, it's very specific and very intentional – designed for your life and your situation and your circumstances and your relationships. And it's from God, the all-powerful, all-knowing, wise, eternal, everlasting creator, sustainer, and Redeemer of all things. And that word empowers you. It strengthens you. It's like a word of grace that gives you this supernatural empowerment for this, this sense of boldness and courage and faith and hope to create the future with Him to move into the future that He has for you.

And if you look all throughout Scripture, you will find prophetic words all throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. God sends His words in a variety of different ways to align people back to His heart and His purposes. Sometimes you see the people of God and they've rebelled and they've drifted and they've gone way off course and they need a word to realign their life back with God. Other times you see the people of God and they're doing great. They're moving mountains. They're fighting giants. They're walking on water. And God will send a specific word to bring them clarity and encouragement and direction on how to keep moving forward. Sometimes the word is a rebuke. Sometimes it's revelation. Sometimes it's a correction. Sometimes it's a command. Sometimes it's a promise. Sometimes it's a provision. But prophetic words are a part of the way that God speaks to us – specific words from God that empower us to create the future with Him. And I think as we start this fall, we need a prophetic reset.

You see, this is really heavy on my heart because one of the things that I noticed at the end of the spring before the summer started was when I just listened to people, right? Like part of my job is just pay attention and call attention to what God is doing. And when I just listened to people talk in our church, I was hearing so many people say things like this, like, “I think, I feel, I want, I've decided, they say, the experts have told me, I saw it on social media, AI said I should.” I wasn't hearing a lot of, “God told me, God is saying, I've been waiting on a word from God, God's given me this promise and I'm holding on to it, I'm wrestling with God and I'm not going to let go until He speaks." And if I look out at our lives, I see a lot of people discouraged, defeated, in despair, disappointed, wrestling through a lot of stuff. Well, I believe in Jesus' name, we simply need a prophetic reset. We need to hear a specific word from God that empowers us to create the future with Him.

If we're followers of Jesus, then our entire life should be lived based on what He says to us. If I'm a follower of self, then my entire life should be based on what I say to myself. If I'm a follower of the world, my entire life should be based on what the world says to me. But if I'm a follower of Jesus, then don't I have to hear His voice and do what He says to actually be able to follow Him? So in Jesus' name, I declare a prophetic reset over your life. That you will have an anticipation and an expectation that God is here to speak to me about my life in Jesus’ name. You with me on all this?

So I want to start with a story that we actually used in the spring. It's the story of Elijah calling down fire from heaven – 1 Kings 18 and 19. You can read it on your own later. The Israelites – the people of God – have wandered away from God. They've got a rebellious heart. They're worshiping uh Baal and Asher – all these foreign gods. And because of that, their heart turned away from God. There's great consequence. It hasn't rained in years. There is a great drought. And then God sends a word to the prophet Elijah. He says, "Go confront my people." And so Elijah – with faith and boldness because he has a specific word from God that empowered him to create the future with Him – goes and he confronts the people and he says, "Let's settle this once and for all. You get all of your prophets and I'll be over here and we'll each build a sacrifice and whichever one of us can call down fire from heaven, that shows who the true God is." People say, “Great idea.” So they get all their prophets together and all these prophets sit there and they start all day long building their sacrifice, worshiping, calling out, cutting themselves, but nothing happens. Elijah says, "Okay, my turn." And he takes his sacrifice, he builds it. He looks up to heaven and he says, "Oh God, would You show Yourself strong and mighty and turn these people's hearts back to You?" Fire falls down from heaven, consumes the entire sacrifice. People hit the ground, they're cut to the heart, and they realize God is God. They kill all these foreign and false prophets. The heavens break open. It begins to rain. It's like revival and repentance breaks out.

And the very next thing that happens to Elijah is Jezebel, the evil queen who is ruling over the nations, says, says, "By this time tomorrow, Elijah, I will make your life like one of my prophets who you just had killed." And it says Elijah was afraid and he ran. He was afraid and he ran from one word from one evil woman. And he goes into the desert by himself. He sits down and he wants to die. Oh God, just take my life. I've had enough. And God in His graciousness knows Elijah needs a little bit of time. So he just lets him have, have a snack and take a nap. And after Elijah has rested and is now well fed, he goes up onto this mountain and God comes. He says, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Says, "Go out on the mountain cuz I'm about to pass by." Elijah goes out onto the mountain and a big earthquake rips through the mountain, but God wasn't in the earthquake. Then a big wind blows through the mountain and rips everything open, but God wasn't in the wind. Then a big fire burned down the entire mountain, but God wasn't in the fire. Then came a gentle whisper. And Elijah pulled the cloak over his face, went out on the mountain, leaned in, and he heard the voice of God. And God speaks to him and says, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And Elijah says, "I've been zealous for You, and I'm the only one left, and the people don't care, and now they're trying to kill me, too." And God speaks to Elijah, tells him to go back the way he came, gives him a specific word of things he needs to do. It strengthens and empowers Elijah. And he goes – a prophetic reset that aligned his life with the voice of God.

Okay, so walk through this with me. Elijah calls down fire from heaven because he had a word from God. In one moment with a word from God, he is full of faith and he is calling down fire. And in the very next moment, he is afraid and he is running for his life. What I want you to always remember about your spiritual journey with Jesus is that on the other side of mountaintop moments are often valleys. If you've ever climbed a mountain, you don't get to live on the mountaintop. You actually have to go down and you usually have to go down into a valley. So when you have a mountaintop, don't be surprised if a valley is on the other side. This is part of our journey with Jesus. In fact, if you were here in the spring, we had a mountaintop as a church. We fueled the fire. The fire of God fell. It was one of the greatest moves of God we have seen as a people together. And, and, and if I'm honest with you, I went into the summer on this mountaintop and very quickly found myself in that same valley. Personally, very quickly, I was very discouraged at the beginning of the summer. Is it working? Does it matter? God, where are You? What are we doing? And, and like Elijah, I had to kind of go through that valley to come back up and move on. So he calls down fire from heaven and then he gets this word from Jezebel. She sent this message to Elijah. You killed my prophets and now I swear by the gods that I'm going to kill you by this time tomorrow night. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.

Okay, see if you can catch some of this with me. This evil demonic ruler speaks to Elijah and he allows that voice to determine his emotions and his actions. He was afraid – emotion, feeling – and he ran for his life – action. Whichever voice you're listening to determines who you're aligned with. And we get the choice to listen and align ourselves with our flesh – with the world, with the demonic – or with God. And I want you to understand and make no mistake about it, that just like there are prophetic words in the kingdom of God, there are prophetic words and voices in the kingdom of darkness. If God sends specific words from Him that empower us to create the future with Him, make no mistake about it that darkness sends generic words of darkness that will enslave you and steal, kill, and destroy your future. Darkness has prophets that speak on behalf of their inferior gods. And they want to use generic words of darkness that will enslave you, that will prevent you from stepping into the future or having your future stolen, killed, and destroyed. And you know this is true because you hear those voices all the time – the ideas, the images, the impressions that are constantly sent your way – social media, the news, AI, AI, AI, other people in your life that say what your itching ears want to hear. They are words of darkness that create your emotions and your actions.

And if we ever want to be people that hear the voice of God, then like Elijah, we actually have to kill the demonic prophetic voices in our life. You say, "How do you do that?" It means you kill the subscription. You shut down the device. You turn it off. You end that relationship. You remove yourself from that environment. Why? Because in that environment, I am constantly getting ideas, images, and impressions that are creating emotions and actions in my life that are leading me out of alignment with God and into alignment with darkness. Is this making sense to you? And when a demonic prophet – a demonic voice – and you're like, "Oh, but it looks so good. It's this social media influencer.” When those voices speak into your life, understand that they will comfort your, comfort your flesh, but they offer you a fireless life. Demonic prophets will comfort your flesh, but they offer you a fireless life. They can't call down fire because they don't have any.

But a prophetic word from God will invite you to crucify your flesh, but it will offer you the consuming fire of God. It will offer you to deny yourself, pick up your cross, follow Him, but it will consume you with fire. So you walk away with a radiant face, a burning heart, and a holy and powerful life. And the problem is is when we listen to the wrong voices like Elijah, we become afraid and we run – emotion and action. We become overwhelmed so we quit. We become stressed so we get chaotic. We become angry so we get controlling. We become insecure so we compromise. We become lonely so we try to fit in. We feel insignificant so we try to perform. Are you with me on this?

So you have to ask yourself what voice in your life tells you what is good and true and right? What voice in your life defines what is important? What is significant? What matters? And in this moment, Elijah listened to the wrong voice. So, he was afraid. So, he ran. He goes into the desert. He's all by himself. He's alone and he wants to die. And what I love is how gracious God is in that moment. He doesn't speak to Elijah there. He knows Elijah's not ready. He knows he needs to have a snack and take a nap. Like, God will wait until you're ready for His voice. He will wait until you're rested. He will wait until you're fully broken. He will wait until you've got to the end of yourself. He will wait until you call out and actually say, "Okay, God, I'm ready." He will not force you to hear His voice if you don't want to, nor if you're not ready for it. So, in His graciousness, He waits for Elijah. Elijah goes up on the mountain and then God says to him – and I just love this – and the word of the Lord came to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Like what are you doing here? Like what are you doing here? What are you doing here? What are you doing here? Like who told you to be here? Cuz I didn't. Who told you to feel like this? Cuz I didn't. Who told you to think like this? Cuz I didn't. What are you doing here? Why are you putting that in your body? Did you ask me about it or is it just cuz everyone else is doing it? Why did you buy that thing? Did you even consider me in the process or did you just go and do it? Why did you change jobs without asking me if you should? Why did you move and not invite me into the process? Why did you start that business without even asking me if that's the calling I have on your life? Why did you start that team? Why did you quit that thing? Why are you in relationship with that person? And why did you end relationship with this person over here? What are you doing here, Elijah? What voice are you listening to?

I mean, do you remember in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned and they, they realize they're naked and ashamed, so they're afraid, so they hide. God comes looking for them, and God says, "Where are you?" And Adam says, "We're naked. We're afraid, so we're hiding." And what does God say to them? Who, who told you that? Who, who told you that? Because I've never told you that. And I've never told you to do that. And I never asked you to go there. And I never asked you to align your life with that. I've never told you that that's the place where you're supposed to be. That's the thing that you're supposed to do. That that's the standard you're supposed to align your life with. That what everyone else is doing is what you're supposed to – who, who told, who told you that? Who told you that? And in gracious kindness, He tries to bring that to our attention.

And Elijah, like we do, has all the reasons and all the excuses. I've been zealous for you. I'm the only one left. The, all the prophets are dead. They're trying to kill me, too. And God says, "What? Come out of the cave. Come out of the cave." And comes the wind, the earthquake, and the fire – but God's voice wasn't in the spectacular. Then came whisper. When Elijah heard the whisper, he pulled the cloak over his face, went out and stood at the mouth of the cave, and a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" God most often speaks in a whisper. Why? Because a whisper requires you to lean in. And a prophetic word is never about getting a word. It is about getting closer to the one who speaks. We want a word so we can go do what we want to do. No, you need a word so that you can get closer to the one who speaks.

What are you doing here, Elijah? And he goes through his whole thing again. And God very graciously tells him, the Lord said to him – God's voice, a word from God – go back the way you came. So Elijah went. He tells him to go back. He tells him what to do, aligns him, encourages him, strengthens him, a specific word from God for Elijah for his situation, for a circumstance that would allow him to create the future with God. And Elijah went. That, my friends, is a prophetic reset. Elijah went from being alone in the desert wanting to die to getting a word from God that realigned his life and created the future for the good of others and the glory of God. Some of you are here and you're here and you are alone in the desert and you want to die. If God could realign Elijah, He can realign you in Jesus’ name.

The question is not: is God speaking? The question is: are we listening? God is speaking. It's it's are we listening? In fact, Jesus says man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus says God is speaking. He hasn't spoke once in the past and He's not going to speak once in the future. No, He is speaking – present tense, constantly, all the time. That there is a lot in God's heart that wants to come out of His mouth for your life. And Jesus reminds us that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. We don't live on the visible, tangible, inferior. We live on the invisible, the superior, the intangible. He literally says, "God's voice is your life. The words I speak to you are Spirit and life.” So if I don't listen to the voice of God, I'm dead even though I'm alive. And just like every day your body needs bread, every day your soul needs the voice of God. And He's speaking. He's speaking.

Jesus says the mouth speaks of the overflow of the heart. You know what that means? Whatever is in your heart will come out of your mouth. So what does God's voice sound like? Exactly like what's in His heart. And what's in His heart? Goodness and love and compassion and patience and kindness and power and beauty and glory. And you have to ask yourself this question: how big is God's heart? You know, some people don't have a lot to say because they have a small heart. So, there's not a lot in there. You know any of those people like you got anything in there? How big is God's heart? I don't know. But I know it's higher than the heavens and deeper than the seas and wider than the east is from the west. That's how big His heart is. That's how much He has to say to you. Are you listening? Are you listening? And Jesus makes it so so clear for us. My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me.

Here's the question: is Jesus your shepherd? Are you His sheep? Then you hear His voice. If Jesus is your shepherd and you're His sheep, then you hear His voice. Just like when you were born into this world as a baby, you didn't have to grow ears. You had ears and you could hear. You just had to learn to tune in to the voice of your father. Well, when you're born again into the kingdom of God, you don't have to grow spiritual ears. You already have them. You just have to learn to tune in to the voice of your Father. Your desire to hear God's voice is far superior than your ability to hear God's voice. And you already have the ability. The question is is: do you have desire?

See, maturity isn't the ability to hear God's voice. Maturity is the desire to discern God's voice and the willingness to obey. I’ll say that one again. Maturity is not the ability to hear God's voice. You already have it. Maturity is the desire to discern God's voice and the willingness to obey whatever He says to you. The question is is do you have that kind of maturity? I mean look at look at this. This is from a student. This is a teenager. Samuel, he's a teenager. He's not yet the prophet that he becomes. He's a young man. And here's his heart, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” Hey students, you want to have a great life? Let this be the anthem cry of your heart. Hey young man, hey young woman, you want to walk a different way than than the world of darkness? Do you not want to find yourself alone in the desert wanting to die? Then let this be the anthem of your heart. Speak. Speak. God. I believe that You speak and I have the faith to listen and I know that, that You have a lot to say. So speak, Lord. You're Lord. You're King. You're Master. You're ruler. You're the authority. You're my teacher. You're my rabbi. I am a student. You are Lord. And so I've put You into that place before You've said a single word for Your servant. And I'm a servant. I have submitted and surrendered. I trust You. I follow You. I obey You. Whatever You ask me to do, that's what I'm going to do. However You want this life that You've redeemed, that You created, that You sustained, to be aligned, that's what I have already decided to do. And I'm listening. I am not passive. I am actively waiting on a word from You about my life, about that which You want to speak to me. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Is that your heart posture?

I mean, this is why Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." In other words, Jesus says, "Whoever wants to hear God will." That's just what that says. Whoever wants to hear God will. And whoever doesn't – here's what He's saying – doesn't have to. Jesus has empowered your will to such a degree that He has actually given you the ability to say, "I don't want to hear your voice." And He will say, "Okay." He is not a constant nag. He is not a dripping faucet. He is not a constant siren ripping through your life. If you don't have ears to hear, you won't. If you don't have a heart for His voice, you don't have to be worried about God sending you to Africa as a missionary because He won't speak to you about your daily commute because you've already told Him, "I'm not interested. I've got this going pretty well.”

The problem is is you're listening to some voice. Do you like where that voice is going to take you? That's a good question, isn't it? Do I, do I, do I want to go where Claude is going to take my soul? There's humor to it, but, but there is a frightening reality to it. When I start asking Claude and Chat how I should live my life, not how to solve a math problem or to make an Excel sheet, we've got bigger problems. We have become the prophets then of Baal and Asher – the prophets of Claude and Chat – taking Claude and Chat's message and telling everyone else about it. Realize a prophet doesn't try to conform or force you into anything. They just listen to the voice of their god and then turn around and tell it to people. Isn't that what social media is? All these people listening to the voices of their gods – lowercase G – and turning around and posting it. Now, nine out of 10 times it looks good. It looks appealing. It looks sexy. It's attractive. It's like, "Oh, I'd like some of that." Yeah, your flesh would love all of that cuz those gods are smart enough to know if we make it look good, your flesh will want it. So, let's put it in this wrapper.

But when I hear a voice of God speak to me, it frees me. It, it, it allows me to see the deception and the deceit and the darkness. And I don't even have to judge it or condemn it. I can just be like in Jesus’ name, that's not from the kingdom of heaven. So that's not for me. I don't need to run into the desert, become alone, and die because why? Because I've got a vision from God because I got a word from God. So I got something specific that's empowered me to go create a future that doesn't exist because God has spoke to me. In fact, look at this. This is, this is a wild verse. And though the Lord has sent all His servants – the prophets – to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. They said, "Turn now, each one of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, but you did not listen to me." That verse really bothers me because I think about how many times in my life has the Lord sent me a word about one specific area and I just didn't listen. How many times has God tried to talk to you about this thing or that person or this situation or this attitude or this reality and circumstance, whatever it is in your life, but you just keep deciding not to listen? What is that costing you? If you think nothing, then you think He really doesn't know the way – because He either knows the way about any and everything in your life or He doesn't know the way about anything in your life. When was the last time God spoke to you and you heard His voice and you did what He asked you to do? Some of you right now that's like an arrow that's piercing your heart because you realize God's asked me to do the same thing for about five years and I just haven't done it. So that my life is out of alignment. What do I need? Not a reset. I need a prophetic reset because there is a word from God. Am I aligning my life with it?

I mean, do you remember the, the parable of the sower – the parable of the sower Jesus talks about? This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. A farmer goes out, sows his seed. Some falls on the hard soil, doesn't – it gets snatched away. Some falls on the rocky soil, springs up, has no roots, quickly withers and dies. Some falls on the, the, the soil with thorns and thistles, it gets choked out. Some falls on the good soil and produces a return. And the disciples are confused. They're like, "Jesus, what does that mean?" And He says, "The farmer sows the Word." In other words, the seed is the voice of God. And some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. These are people with hard heart. They've decided, "I don't want to hear God's voice." They've already become resistant to it before it's even sown in their life. These people don't hear because they don't want to hear. So Jesus won't make them. But others, like seed sown on rocky places, they hear the word and at once receive it with joy. I heard God. Here's what He said. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. In other words, they hear God's voice, but the moment it requires alignment, I'm out. I heard God. He's just asking me to align my life to something I don't want to do. So what happens? That word quickly shrivels up and dies.

Then you get to the third soil. Still others like seed sown among thorns hear the word. They hear God's voice in their life. But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word out, making it unfruitful. This is the one I'm always the most concerned about for us. I have a heart for God's voice. I want to hear God's word. I want to move forward with God, but I have so many distractions, so much deceit, so much desire in my life that I am like this untended field. And God's voice, it lands in there and it begins to grow. But because there's so many other things, all those distractions, they literally choke it out because I haven't valued His voice above all things. This is the life that says, "I will seek first everything else and then trust that His word will be added unto me.” As opposed to, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and then everything else will be added unto me." The question is is do you have room in your life for His word, for His voice? And you say, "Yes, I, I, I want God to speak." Right? But when He speaks and it requires something of you, do you have the space for that thing to grow? Or is there no room left for it?

And then the last soil – like seeds sown on good soil – hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop 30, 60, even 100 times what was sown. The good soil hears and aligns. What makes soil good? What makes soil good is it's been broken and fertilized. Are you broken and fertilized? Do you have a humility that's been broken and surrendered, tilled up before the Lord? And have you been fertilized? Have you had a whole bunch of junk thrown into your life to break down and decompose things so that you are fully prepared for that which He wants to say and do? Are you with me on this? So here's the question: is your life aligned with what God has been saying? When was the last time God spoke? And you just did it. You just aligned it. You aligned your life because He spoke. He, He – the creator, sustainer, Redeemer of all things – speaks to me. If He actually is that, I probably should listen. If He's not that, “Claude, what do you think?” Fair.

And you say, "Well, how do I know if it's God's voice?" I mean, have you ever been convicted of something inside of your soul? Have you ever had a sense that you shouldn't do this thing? Have you ever seen something good that, that you had this impression like, "I should go do that. I should go help this person." Have you ever been sitting here and you felt like literally like, "I was hanging out in your house last week and I know exactly what you need to hear." Have you ever been reading the Bible and a verse jumps off the page, smashes you in the face? That's the voice of God.

And you say, "Well, what does it sound like? And how do I know?” Here's how you know it's God. You ask these five questions: Does it align with Scripture? Does godly counsel confirm it? Is there a sacred echo? Does it require faith? And will it lead me to Jesus? You want to know if it's God's voice or the voice of something else?

Here's first: does it align with Scripture? If God is speaking to you, it will align with Scripture. God writes like He speaks and He speaks like He writes. A word of God once spoken continues to be spoken. God says that His word will not return void but will accomplish the purposes for which He sent it. He is a God of unity and order. So He will not contradict Himself. So if you're hearing something that you're convinced is God, but it violates Scripture, it's not God. It might be your flesh. It might be the demonic. It might be the world. I don't know. But I know this. It's not God. The Bible is not a book. It's a voice. And if it's a voice, it's speaking and it will not contradict itself.

The second thing is: does godly counsel confirm it? If you hear the voice of God, you submit it and surrender it to godly counsel – the spiritual authority in your life, your godly relationships – do they confirm it? Do they confirm it? Victory is found in the counsel of many. Scripture tells us while we were worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to us in the book of Acts, God only has one thing to say about any area of life. So, He will not tell you and me something different that creates conflict and disorder. He's the God of unity and alignment. So, if we're hearing different things, one of us or both of us is hearing wrong, and we need to slow down and keep seeking God until we find unity. So, if God told you to marry that person, but your parents and all the godly relationships in your life say, "We don't think that's the Lord or slow down or wait," then you didn't hear God. And if you're so convinced it was God, don't you have the confidence then to let Him speak that into your parents and your authority and your other relationships? If godly counsel doesn't confirm it, you have to acknowledge that they have the same Spirit inside of you that's hearing the voice of God. So do not pass go. Do not collect $200. You will find yourself in jail.

Is there a sacred echo? Are you hearing it more than one time? God wants you to hear His voice more than you want to hear it. So He doesn't say it once in a fleeting way to be like, "Let's see if they caught it." That doesn't sound like the heart of God, does it? He'll say it to you over and over and over again in dreams and visions and signs and wonders and godly counsel and relationships and open and close doors. Open your eyes. Look around. Seek the Lord and you will find confirmation.

If it was Him, does it require faith? Without faith, it's impossible to please God. For anyone who comes to Him must believe he exists, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Faith is being sure of what I hope for, certain of what I do not see. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So, if it's God's voice, I'm not going to be able to walk it out by sight. I'm going to have to walk it out by faith. Then I know it's God's voice.

And the last thing is: will it lead you to Jesus? Jesus says to the Pharisees, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” In other words, Jesus says, "The Word – God's voice – is literally like the footprints that lead you to me." So, if you think it's God's voice speaking to you and it's going to take you away from Jesus, it's not God's voice. God's voice is always meant to lead you closer to Him. It's not about the word. It's about getting close to the one who speaks. So, if it's causing you to withdraw and pull away, then it's probably not God. Does this make sense to you?

See, if you really want to hear God's voice, fill your life with the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God, and you'll hear God. If you want to hear God, fill your life with the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God, because that's the primary way God speaks. Fill your life with the Word of God. Read it, memorize it, meditate on it, talk about it, fill your home with it, play it in the background. All Scripture is God-breathed – His voice – and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness so that the man of God or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In other words, I've got some specific words from Me that will empower you to create the future with Me. Fill your life with God's Word.

Fill your life with the Spirit of God because Jesus says the Holy Spirit is the counselor, comforter, teacher, and guide. He will counsel you – that means He has to speak. He will comfort you – that means He has to speak. He will teach you – that means He has to speak. And He will guide you. He will show you the way you do not know how to go. He will speak and then fill your life with the people of God because He says, "I have poured out my Spirit on my servants and your sons and daughters will prophesy." In other words, God will speak to you through these people in this room if you will fill your life with the Word of God, Spirit of God, and the people of God.

So, let me just be real clear on this. A prophetic church is not a church with a bunch of little prophets running around telling everybody, "Thus saith the Lord." A prophetic church is a church that fills itself with the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God, and has an anticipation and expectation that God is speaking to us through all three of those things all the time. So we say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening.”

Last Scripture: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days [today] He has spoken to us by His Son.” Everything God wants to say to you, He has said it through the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is one of the many reasons all we do is talk about Jesus because Jesus is the Living Word. Jesus is the image of the invisible God and Jesus is the face of God. So when I look at Jesus and I focus on Jesus and I fix my thoughts on Jesus and I meditate on Jesus and I fill my mind with Jesus and all I want to do is is be consumed by Jesus, what am I doing? The Living Word is speaking to me and I am seeing exactly what God is like and I'm looking into His face. And if I ever want to hear anyone in my life speak, I look at their face. So if I really want to hear God speak, just look at Jesus. Everything God wants to say to you, He is saying to you through Jesus. This is why He is the only message we have and the only thing worth talking about and the only relevant one because He has so much to say about every area of your life through Jesus who He is and what He has done.

So, it's time for a prophetic reset. It's time to get back to a place where you as an individual and us as a people anticipate and expect and believe that God is speaking. So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to close your eyes and I want to acknowledge that one of the mistakes I've made in this last year and a half run as we've added new elements of liturgy in our service is we've gone too close to the end of our time to not give the space to say, "Holy Spirit, what are You speaking to me?" So Jesus, I confess and repent that to You and to this church because Your voice is the only voice that matters. And You can take any service and any worship songs and any speaker and say exactly what You want to say to us exactly where we are in our lives. So, can you just quiet yourself for a moment and say, "Holy Spirit, what do You want to say to me?” What does He want to say about your life, situation, your season? Maybe there's a prophetic reset that He's putting on your heart? For some of you, He's just telling you, "I'm so glad you're looking at Me today." The voice of God is loving, is gracious, and it is kind. Holy Spirit, we give You free rein to speak. Holy Spirit, we present ourselves before You say You are God and we are not. And there are a lot of emotions and actions in our life that are being caused by other voices. So today and over these next few days and weeks, we choose to have a prophetic reset as a people. Would You give us the grace to align our lives with what You're saying? The word of the Lord came to Elijah. May the word of the Lord come to you and may you align your life with it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.