Quiet Time: Conscience – Responding To God’s Voice

Underneath our actions, thoughts and emotions, there is a voice that continually attempts to guide us towards love and spiritual influence – This is the voice of God speaking to our conscience.  This quiet time will help us restore the volume of God’s voice and revive our responsiveness.

The Whisper of God

God will speak to us in various ways.  Sometimes in an obvious and compelling voice. Other times God will speak in a whisper. We must learn to hear and respond to God’s voice in whatever way he chooses to communicate.

He answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you as well as I could. But the people of Israel have broken their agreement with you, destroyed your altars, and killed your prophets with swords. I am the only prophet left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” The Lord said to Elijah, “Go, stand in front of me on the mountain, and I will pass by you.” Then a very strong wind blew until it caused the mountains to fall apart and large rocks to break in front of 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, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle sound. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.

1Kings 19:10-12

Elijah believed God’s voice would be found in the loud and the obvious, but he learned that God can also speak to us in gentle and subtle ways.

Doing well spiritually involves hearing God’s voice in whatever means he is communicating. This requires constant listening for God’s voice.

We cannot let the busyness, the challenges or the desires of this life drown out the voice of God.

Reviving a Corrupted Conscience

To those who are pure, all things are pure, but to those who are full of sin and do not believe, nothing is pure. Both their minds and their consciences have been ruined. They say they know God, but their actions show they do not accept him. They are hateful people, they refuse to obey, and they are useless for doing anything good.

Titus 1:15-16

Our conscience can become corrupted when we become overly sensitive about what’s important to us, and insensitive to what’s important to God. We no longer are bothered by what is disturbing to God.

Fruitfulness, Honesty, Purity, love, faithfulness and perseverance – are all areas that are very important to God.

Are these areas important to you?

When our conscience becomes corrupt, we are unaware of how our self seeking priorities negatively impact those around us.

Are your priorities and God’s priorities in conflict?

Deliberately Tuning God Out

Sometimes take deliberate actions that damage or destroy our conscience.

Such teachings come from the false words of liars whose consciences are destroyed as if by a hot iron

Titus 1:15-16

Someone with a damaged or destroyed conscience cannot hear the voice of God.

Things that destroy our ability to hear God’s voice:

1. Hypocrisy – Telling others to do things you’re not doing, without acknowledging that you’re not doing them.
2. Lying – Portraying yourself to be someone you’re not by telling ½ truths, leaving out key information, avoiding others or not initiating honesty.

The pathway to reviving our conscience is found through honesty with God and men.

What areas do you need to commit to being honest about over the next 7 days to revive your conscience?

We can revive our conscience when we change our heart and actions.

A Clear Conscience Takes Effort

This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and people.

Acts 24:16

No one keeps a clear conscience naturally, it takes a deliberate focus.

Keeping a clear conscience before God isn’t just confessing sins we commit, it’s also revealing and acknowledging our spiritual condition.

How often do you reveal your spiritual condition.

The Drive Behind a Clear Conscience

The purpose of this command is for people to have love, a love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a true faith.

1Timothy 1:5

Love is the motivation behind a clear conscience.  If you find yourself unmotivated to be honest on a daily basis, you must evaluate how much your goal in life is to become a loving person.  Those who don’t seek love as a goal, don’t need a clear conscience.

Is there distance in a relationship that has been created by lack of honesty regarding your own sins or spiritual condition?

What can you do today, to change those relationships?

Challenge:

1. Conscience List – write a list of things that God has put on your heart to do this week, this month, this year?
2. Conscience Partner – Who can be your partner to hold you accountable to doing the things that God has put on your heart?
3. Memory Scripture – What’s a scripture from this study that you can memorize about the importance of a clear conscience?