John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 16:4 “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. … 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

1 John 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. … 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Experiencing God Means:
1. Recognizing God’s work in and around you.
2. Hearing and responding to God’s invitation to join his work.
3. Adjusting beliefs, character, and behavior to align with God and his ways.

Today’s Big Idea: We must learn to hear God’s invitation.
God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, wants to speak with us.
It takes time and effort to learn to hear God’s voice.
God speaks to us through the Bible, circumstances, other Christians, and our thoughts.
The goal is a mature, conversational friendship.

What prevents us from hearing God’s voice?
Our relationship with God is broken.
Our life is too full of noise.
We aren’t interested in what God wants to talk about.
We do all the talking.
We don’t expect God to speak.
We don’t know what his voice sounds like.

How can we develop a mature, conversational friendship with God?
1. Make it a priority.
2. Actively “listen.”