Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
March 27, 2016 - W1613

Happy Easter everyone. Thank you for coming out. This is one of the most special days of the year, so I want to say welcome to those who call New Hope their home church, and I also want to welcome first timers, visitors, and husbands who were forced to come by their wives. Wives have a strange way of influencing men – don’t they?

I have a funny story of a man who was minding his own business, reading the newspaper. His wife comes up to him, and all of a sudden hits him on his forehead with a fly swatter, leaving a red imprint. He then says, “Why did you do that?” She replies, “Because I found a piece of paper in your pocket with the name Mary Ann on it.” He says, “Oh, that’s a horse I was betting on at the local track.” She says, “Oh, I’m sorry”, and disappears into the kitchen. Two days later, while reading the newspaper, his wife nails him on his forehead with a frying pan. He collapses to the floor and a red lump quickly arises. He says, “What did you do that for?” She says, “Because your horse just called.”

When some people want to get your attention, they use a fly swatter, and others may use a skillet; however, God sometimes whispers because He wants your heart – not just your attention.

Scripture says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

I have found that the most significant things in my life happened when God whispered to me, I listened, and I followed.

1. WHEN GOD WHISPERED.

2. I LISTENED.

3. I FOLLOWED.

The Bible says, “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” (Mathew 10:27)

I think the most classic example of God whispering is found in the Old Testament in 1^st Kings, chapter 19. Elijah was a great prophet who had just fought and defeated on Mount Carmel 800 false prophets of Baal and Asherah. After he defeated them, Queen Jezebel was so mad she sent her servants to Elijah with the message that he is a dead man. Depleted and exhausted, Elijah hid in a cave and cried out to God to speak to him.

Have you ever felt exhausted and depleted when situations or events did not go as planned, when you faced an overwhelming opposition, when a deal was not working out, when you got a bad medical diagnosis, or when you were unsure about tomorrow, and needed a word from God?

I want you to read with me as God speaks, but I want you to “watch”, “how” He speaks.

“And the Lord said, ‘Go and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)

Now God is going to instruct Elijah in a whisper, one low volume word. From these three anointings, three generations are changed. “The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus, and when you get there anoint Hazael, king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.’” (1 Kings 19:15-16)

One whisper from God is more powerful than an earthquake, a fire storm, or a tsunami. One whisper from God is more powerful than all of the forces of nature. Sometimes, God does not directly and loudly tell us what we need to know, because He wants your attention through your faith. God is interested in doing something in you before He does something through you.

Let me explain this through a story about a young man who was discouraged by the lack of purpose in his life. He approached an old and seasoned pastor and said, “Pastor I pray and pray, but why doesn’t God answer?”   The pastor answered him in a low and hushed voice. The young man replied, “Sorry, I did not hear you.” So the pastor repeated himself. The young man again said, “Sorry, I did not hear you.   The seasoned pastor waved to him to come close, and with heads bent together, the preacher spoke and said, “God sometimes whispers, so we will move closer to Him.”

I believe God customizes his whispers to all of us. It is audible enough, but you have to “lean in” to catch what He is saying. That reminds me of a story about a Portagee guy who was at this mental institution. He had his ear on the wall and was listening intently. After the second day, the orderly came by and saw him doing this again and so asked, “What are you listening to?” The Portagee guy said, “Shhh.” Interested, the orderly put his ear to the wall. After 20 minutes he said, “Eh, I didn’t hear anything.” So the Portagee guy said, “Yah, it’s been like this for two days.”

If you are not hearing something, then something is wrong! This Bible verse has always guided me. “… your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘this is the way, walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21)

In 1972, I was three weeks old as a Christian, and I had spent all of my money to attend a crusade with my friends in Dallas, Texas that Billy Graham was speaking at. I remembered the rain pouring down, and Billy Graham paused during his message and said, “God is calling some of you to give your life to full time ministry. I don’t know who you are, but in a moment I am going to ask you to stand up.” Then I heard a whisper, “That’s you.” I argued in my heart, “Oh, no…no…no…no.” You see, I was planning on going into business, the field I had been studying in college. While Billy Graham kept talking, I kept hearing, “That’s you.” It was not a loud voice, or a neon sign speaking to me. When Billy Graham said, “I want you to stand if God is calling you into full time ministry”, I was moved to stand, and I began to weep and weep and weep. It was at that point that I began to find purpose in my life, and my future began to unfold. I can trace this back to a whisper.

Fast forward to 1984 when I was a thirty year old pastor. My denomination had sent me to Hilo to close a small, debt-ridden church of 23 people. I remembered God speaking to me as I wrestled with doing this. God said, “Not only will you close this church down, you will also come and pastor it.” Three months later, my wife and I packed our bags and headed to Hilo, the beginning of New Hope.   Eleven years later, God whispered to me and said, “I want you to start all over again.” So I handed the baton to my assistant pastor and headed to Oahu. Now we stand here 32 years later on Easter. The most significant events that happened in my life started with a whisper.

Someone here is in the middle of an earthquake, and you cannot hear God because He is not in the earthquake. Some of you are in a storm, but you cannot hear God because He is not in the storm. The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10)

If you hear that whisper, listen, and follow. Your whole life will change, and future generations will benefit. Probably the most significant points in your life came from a whisper. If you tilt your ear towards His heart, and you connect with God, your future opens up.

What do you do when God whispers?

1. Hear His whisper.

2. Listen to His voice.

3. Follow

That is why this scripture says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)

When I was in Bible college and in a music group, we traveled all over to sing, while pulling our little cargo of music instruments in our van. One day we were at Baldwin Park in Los Angeles and were lost trying to get to this certain auditorium to set up our equipment. We pulled into a gas station and inquired of the attendant how to get there. He said, “Si Senor. You go down this way, turn left, then turn right, then go over an overpass, then under an underpass. Then go straight two more blocks, turn left, turn right and you will be there.” I thought …oh, man. So I went to the next gas station to try to get clearer instructions, and the attendant gave us a similar plethora of confusing directions. Just then, this guy in a motor home pulls up, and from listening to our dilemma, he said, “I’m going to that same neighborhood, why don’t you just follow me.” I burst out and said, “Hallelujah!” All I had to do was keep my eyeball peeled on his license plate.

The same thing happens today as it had happened 2000 years ago when Jesus called His disciples and said, “You may be in a world of confusion, but why don’t you just follow Me?” When His disciples followed Him, they were able to navigate through all of the fire storms, all of the earthquakes, and all of the confused mess of this world.

There are times that you may be tired and depressed, and you may want to cash it in with all of the bad things that are happening; but God says, “Just follow Me.” It is that simple.

That is was it means to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and your savior. You simply say, “I will”. I can follow with my own mind. I can follow the public or the majority, or I can follow God. God is a gentleman. He will never force truth down your throat, but he will clearly make it available, and audible enough for you to hear it. You will hear truth, if you open your heart to hear it and make that choice. Jesus made his choice for you 2000 years ago when He died on the cross and rose again. The next choice is yours, whether you will receive Him as your Lord and Savior. It may be right now that God is giving you a word, a whisper. Your future hinges on hearing that and following Him.

Questions:

• What is God’s whisper? Reflect on how His whisper significantly changed your life, or how it could have, had you followed it.

• How can we hear His whisper?

• What should we do when God whispers?