Recap:

Last week, we celebrated 60 years as a church. Sixty years of God’s faithfulness. Sixty years of stories, families, salvations, prayers, miracles, struggles, and moments where God met people right here in this place. And I’ve been here for almost 50 of those years. That’s a long time. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen beautiful things. I’ve seen generations of my own family impacted by this church. My aunt got saved, my grandparents came, my parents came, my wife and I came, and our kids came. I can honestly say I do not know where I would be without Cross Points Church.

But I’ve also seen hard things. I’ve seen painful things. I’ve seen ugly things. Because the church is made up of people, and people are complicated. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of people come, and I’ve seen a lot of people go. And listen, I understand that. This church is not for everyone. Sometimes people leave and find another church, and we bless them. We thank God for the time they were here, and we pray they continue to follow Jesus. But the hardest thing is when people don’t just leave a church. They leave disappointed with God. They drift. They slip out the back door. Months later, or years later, you find out they’re not really walking with Jesus anymore. Maybe they still believe there is a God somewhere out there, but they’ve stopped believing that they can really know Him. And that breaks my heart.

Because I have this deep conviction: you can know God. You do not have to be a pastor. You do not have to be a “church person.” You do not have to have a special gift, talent, or spiritual personality. You do not have to be the kind of person who has everything figured out. Anyone can know God. And the way we know God is by learning to hear God.

Jesus teaches this in John 10. He says the sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice. He calls His own sheep by name, and they follow Him because they know His voice. Then Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.” That is the invitation of Jesus. He knows you by name. He calls you by name. And He wants you to know His voice.

Now when we talk about hearing God’s voice, a lot of us immediately think of an audible voice. And for most of us, that is not how we experience it. I’ve never heard the audible voice of God. But that does not mean God has not spoken. Sometimes the voice of God sounds like a loud thought in a quiet moment. Sometimes it is an idea that rises up in your spirit and you know it did not come from you. Sometimes God speaks through another person, through a sermon, through a song, through creation, through a moment, through something you did not expect. But one of the most common ways God speaks to us is through Scripture.

The Bible is not just a book we read to get information. It is the Word of God. And if we are willing to slow down, open our hearts, and listen, God will speak through His Word. That is why I want to teach you a simple practice called Lectio Divina. It means “divine reading.” It is an ancient way of praying through Scripture. It has been practiced for hundreds and hundreds of years, and it teaches us not just to read the Bible, but to listen to God through the Bible.

So often, especially in our world, we read Scripture to master it. We want to understand every word, break it down, study it, explain it, and know exactly what it means. And that is good. We should study Scripture. We should love the details. We should care about what the text means. But Lectio Divina invites us to do something different. Instead of only trying to master the Scripture, we open ourselves up and allow Scripture to master us. We allow the Word of God to search us, shape us, speak to us, and form us into the image of Jesus.

The practice is simple. First, we read. We slowly listen to the passage and notice what word, phrase, or image stands out. Then we meditate. We sit with that word or phrase and ask God why it is standing out to us. Then we pray. We respond to God honestly from whatever has risen up in us. And finally, we contemplate. We rest in God’s presence and simply receive what He has spoken. Some have added two more steps: begin with silence, so your heart is ready to receive, and end with journaling, so you can remember what God spoke.

So we practiced this together through John 6:14-21. Jesus has just fed the 5,000. The people are amazed. They want to force Him to become king. But Jesus slips away into the hills by Himself. Then the disciples go down to the shore to wait for Him. But as darkness falls and Jesus still has not come, they get into the boat and head across the lake. And then the storm comes. The wind rises. The sea grows rough. They are three or four miles out, rowing in the dark, fighting the wind, struggling to move forward. Suddenly they see Jesus walking on the water toward them. They are terrified. But Jesus calls out, “Don’t be afraid. I am here.” Then they are eager to let Him into the boat, and immediately they arrive at their destination.

There is so much in this passage, but the first thing that stood out to me was this: why didn’t the disciples wait for Jesus? They went down to the shore to wait for Him. But when darkness fell and Jesus had not come, they left without Him. And I wonder how many times I have done the same thing. In fear, anxiety, restlessness, impatience, or frustration, how many times have I moved forward without Jesus? How many times have I made decisions in the dark because I was tired of waiting? How many times have I gotten into the boat and started rowing simply because I felt like I had to do something?

The disciples found themselves in darkness, but darkness in John’s Gospel is never just physical. Darkness is spiritual. Darkness is the condition we find ourselves in when we move without the light of Christ. And when we are in the dark, we often make poor decisions. Then the disciples double down. The wind is against them. The sea is rough. They are rowing hard. They are only halfway across the lake. But instead of turning back, instead of waiting for Jesus, they keep trying to make it on their own. And we are not that different. We row harder. We push more. We exhaust ourselves. We keep fighting against the wind, trying to force our way forward. And all the while, Jesus is coming toward us.

That is the good news. Jesus always brings light into the darkness. He does not wait on the shore and shame them for leaving Him behind. He does not yell from a distance, “You should have waited.” He walks toward them in the middle of the storm. And when He comes, He brings a word: “Don’t be afraid. I am here.”

That is the word for every person in the storm. That is the word for every person fighting anxiety. That is the word for every person worried about their family, their future, their finances, their job, their home, the world, the political climate, the wars, and everything they cannot control. Jesus walks toward you and says, “Don’t be afraid. I am here.”

And when Jesus gets into the boat, things become as they should be. The text says they immediately arrived at their destination. I do not know exactly what happened in that moment. I do not know if the boat was miraculously brought to shore or if the rest of the journey suddenly felt like nothing compared to His presence. But I know this: when Jesus came, things were set right. That is shalom. Things as they ought to be. It does not always mean every circumstance changes immediately. It does not mean every problem disappears. It does not mean the storm was never real. But it does mean Jesus is present. And when Jesus is present, fear no longer gets the final word.

This is why hearing God matters. Because when we hear God, we know God. And when we know God, we are transformed. You can hear God. You can know His voice. You can learn to recognize when He is speaking. Maybe today, as we practiced listening to Scripture, a word or phrase stood out to you. Maybe you wondered, “Was that really God?” I want to encourage you: God may have been speaking to you.

And maybe what He spoke was not only for you. Maybe it was for someone beside you. Maybe it will be for someone you meet this week. Maybe God is placing a word in you so that you can bring encouragement to someone else. But the beginning of knowing God is knowing Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep. He calls them by name. And today, He may be calling your name.

If you want to know God, begin with Jesus. Trust Him. Come to Him. Let Him forgive you, lead you, shepherd you, and teach you to hear His voice. And this week, practice listening. Open the Scripture. Slow down. Be quiet. Read. Meditate. Pray. Contemplate. Journal what you hear. Because Jesus is still speaking. He is still walking toward people in the dark. And He is still saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am here.”

Group Questions:

Icebreakers

  1. What is one voice you can recognize immediately, even if you cannot see the person?
  2. Are you more of a “sit quietly and reflect” person or a “talk it out with someone” person?
  3. What is one place or moment where you tend to slow down and feel more aware of God?

Opening Discussion

  1. The message began with the idea that some people drift from church or faith because they feel like they cannot really know God. Have you ever felt that way, or known someone who has?
  2. Pastor David said, “You can know God.” What makes that statement encouraging? What makes it difficult to believe sometimes?
  3. Jesus says in John 10 that His sheep know His voice. When you hear the phrase “hearing God’s voice,” what do you usually think of?

Scripture Discussion: John 10 and John 6

  1. Read John 10:2-4, 14-15. What stands out to you about the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep?
  2. What does it mean to you that Jesus “calls His own sheep by name”?
  3. In John 6:14-21, the disciples waited for Jesus, but when darkness came and Jesus had not returned, they got into the boat without Him. Why do you think they left?
  4. Pastor David asked, “How many times have I moved forward without Jesus?” What are some situations where we are tempted to move ahead without waiting on Him?
  5. The disciples were rowing in the dark, fighting the wind, and trying to move forward on their own. Where do you see people doing that today? Where do you see that in your own life?

Personal Reflection

  1. The sermon described darkness not just as a physical condition, but as a spiritual condition. What does spiritual darkness look or feel like?
  2. Jesus walks toward the disciples in the storm and says, “Don’t be afraid. I am here.” Which part of that phrase do you need most right now: “Don’t be afraid” or “I am here”?
  3. What is one fear, pressure, or uncertainty you need to bring into the presence of Jesus this week?
  4. Pastor David said, “When we hear God, we know God. When we know God, we are transformed.” How have you seen God transform you through His Word, His presence, or His voice?

Practice: Hearing God Through Scripture

  1. The sermon introduced Lectio Divina as a way of slowing down with Scripture. Have you ever practiced reading Scripture slowly like this before? What was that experience like?
  2. Which part of the practice feels most natural to you: read, meditate, pray, contemplate, or journal?
  3. Which part feels most difficult?
  4. Why do you think silence can be hard for us when we are trying to hear God?
  5. What is the difference between reading Scripture for information and reading Scripture as a way to listen to God?

Application

  1. What would it look like for you to practice hearing God’s voice this week?
  2. Is there a passage of Scripture you feel drawn to sit with slowly this week?
  3. What is one step you can take to stop “rowing in the dark” and invite Jesus into the boat?