Conversations Podcast with Terry Law & Scot La

As Christians, we all have battles that occupy our minds. We may have a stray thought about something relatively unimportant while we’re sitting in a church service. We then instantly feel guilt as a result of the thought because we thought it. During this episode, Terry and Scot will talk about the thought attacks that Satan wages in our mind. Satan has the power of suggestion. He can plant thoughts in our minds, just like the ones that pop up during a church service. Terry and Scot go to scripture to prove this point, but also to point out how we don’t have to accept those thoughts or the guilt that Satan throws at us.

In the previous podcasts, we talked about the initial three ways to hear the voice of God - 1) Read Scripture; 2) Become a doer of the Word; and 3) Pray in the Spirit. All three areas, if practiced daily, will help you cultivate a posture for hearing God’s voice. In this podcast, Terry and Scot touch on the fourth, and final, way on How to hear the voice of God - sensitizing your spirit to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Terry calls it a “hunch”, and some call it a “nudge”, but it is essentially keeping your spiritual antennae up. Pay attention to not only the sublime, but also the absurd. God will bring people and instances across your path, and you must be ready to receive it when it comes. God is often speaking to you through His Holy Spirit. Are you daily quieting yourself to hear what it is that He has to say?

We all want to hear God’s voice. This is especially true when we need to hear from him about things that are important to us.   In the previous episode, Terry and Scot discussed how important it is to mediate on scripture to hear God’s voice. In this podcast, they talk about a subject that is not very often discussed today: praying in our prayer language, or praying in tongues.   What does it mean to pray in tongues? Praying in tongues is when a person prays in a language that is unknown to the one praying, and led by the Holy Spirit. A prayer language is a gift given to believers by the Holy Spirit that anyone can receive but not everyone does.   Have you received the gift of speaking in tongues? If so, when was the last time you dedicated yourself to praying in your prayer language? When Terry was a young Christian, he spent hours praying in the Spirit and often received very clear direction from God. Today, Christians often don’t have the patience or discipline to linger in the presence of God long enough to really hear from him. The Holy Spirit is asking for our time and willingness to wait on him. If we are willing to give him our time, he is willing to reveal the secret things of God and to perform miracles.   We challenge you to pray in your prayer language, if we have received it. Listen to what God is saying to your spirit, and don’t be shy about sharing what he says with people in your life. May you experience breakthroughs as you commit to linger with God in prayer.

What scriptures are you meditating on today?\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nIn this episode, Terry and Scot discuss two spiritual disciplines that help us hear the voice of God: 1) Meditating on scripture and 2) Doing what the scriptures say to do. Chewing on scripture like a cow chews his cud is key to sensitizing our spirits to hear from the Lord.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nHere are three key verses from today’s talk to meditate on:\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nJoshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nPsalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nMatthew 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”\r\n

Remember the duck! (What does that mean? Listen to find out).\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nGod’s love keeps no records of wrongs! I Corinthians 13:5\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nThis is the third and final podcast with Terry’s best friend, Ray Bevan of Wales. In this episode, Ray dives deeper into the subject of grace.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nHow many Christians are forgiven but they still live enslaved to guilt, as Satan whispers past sins in their ears 24/7? God keeps no records of wrongs, but Satan does. Satan knows he can’t steal our salvation, so he tries to steal the joy of our salvation. His goal is to keep us from living the abundant life Christ has given us.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nWe hope this episode blesses your life. If so, please share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. We have more episodes still to come. Follow us on Podbean and Apple Podcasts. God bless you.\r\n

Today is a good day to remind ourselves of this truth: “There is therefore (right) NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1. The only qualification for receiving the grace of God is that we are IN Christ Jesus.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nRay Bevan of Wales joins Terry and Scot for a second episode to share his journey to receiving the grace of God. Ray says, “If you can explain the Grace of God with words, you’ve never really experienced it because it’s beyond words. Grace is a revelation in the heart.”\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nIn the US, the Protestant work ethic has infiltrated our churches. The idea that “the harder you work, the more you\'ll receive/achieve” somehow applies to our faith has kept the Body of Christ from fully walking in the grace of God. There is nothing we can do to earn grace.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\n“The harder you work, the more you\'ll receive/achieve” does not apply to the grace of God. The Kingdom of God is grace plus nothing else. “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9. At the end of the day, Ray says it best that, “it is not what we do. It’s what He (Jesus) has done.” This is the true message of grace.\r\n

Do you have that one friend you can always count on to make you laugh? For Terry, Ray Bevan was that friend. Not a conversation passed between the two when they didn’t have a good hearty laugh together. Terry and Ray were friends for nearly 40’s years, and supported each other through many life challenges.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nIn this episode, Terry and Scot talk with Pastor Ray Bevan of Wales. Ray shares his testimony of how the Lord saved him as a young vocalist in a rock and roll band, and called him into the ministry. Ray’s outlook on life, the church, God’s grace, and his passion to win souls for Christ, will not only make you laugh but also bless your soul. We hope you will take a few minutes of your day to listen.\r\n

America, it’s time to hope in God!\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nRomans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nIf a stranger were to walk up to you today and ask you how you’re doing, what would you say? Terry’s response would have been, “I’m full of hope.” Romans 15:13 was one of his favorite verses in the Bible.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nGod wants to fill us with an abundance of hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we abound in hope, it bubbles over and blesses everyone in our life. It is our greatest source of motivation, energy, and creativity.\r\n\n\n \r\n\n\nBelieve that you can abound in hope today!\r\n

“You know what? I think it’s time for us to say a prayer. He knelt down by my bed, prayed a prayer, and invited Jesus into his heart. That totally befuddled the Communists. They had sent this guy to find out what was motivating us, and he became a Christian and follower of Jesus. That shook the church everywhere throughout Poland. We had crowds of 20,000 people and couldn’t fit them all into the cathedrals. We filled the streets and ended up doing a concert in Poland with 300,000 people. Pope John Paul II was there. The grace of God opened a tremendous door in the heart of the communist world.”     In this podcast, Terry and Scot take a trip down memory lane to 1972 behind the Iron Curtain in Krakow, Poland. Terry and a group of musicians from Oral Roberts University had formed a music ministry called Living Sound. Under the impression Living Sound was a rock and roll band from the US, the Communist Youth Party of Poland invited the group to sing in their nightclub. Living Sound boldly stepped through the open door and shared the Gospel in song and testimonials. One special soloist that night was Terry’s wife and Scot’s mother, Jan, singing “He’s My Rock, My Sword, My Shield.” Her voice lifted the name of Jesus and brought the power of the Holy Spirit to the unsuspecting crowd. That significant night was the beginning of a revival in Poland that spread like wildfire through the region and is credited for the eventual fall of communism.   

God’s not done! After receiving a call from God and spending months raising money to take the Gospel to South Africa, Living Sound left the United States with high hopes and expectations. Upon landing in South Africa, due to political circumstances outside their control, customs officials deported the group back to the US, leaving them with crushed hopes and dreams. During that time, God sent an encourager to the discouraged young people who prophesied: “God’s not done with you yet. He still has a plan for you. You’ll be back in Africa in a week’s time.” There are times when God is silent on purpose. If He gave an answer for every question, how would people ever learn to trust Him? If you have given up on a dream, perhaps doubting whether God even spoke to you in the first place, this episode will remind you to revisit those dreams. God’s not done with you yet!

Throwback – story of Terry Law’s call to full time ministry    “I realized the grace of God…that God had called me, much like he did Paul on the road to Damascus. God called me, anointed me, and he wanted me involved in full-time ministry.”    In this episode, Terry Law shares how God called him into full time ministry as a missionary. May Terry’s story inspire someone listening to respond to the nudge of the Holy Spirit into full time ministry, especially to the mission field. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are still too few. 

Before Terry died, he and Scot spent many days together pre-recording their Conversations Podcast. It has not been easy to edit these episodes, hearing Terry’s voice and missing the wisdom he so easily shared from scripture. Terry very much wanted to encourage people in their spiritual walks, especially in the matter of grace. So, we are thankful to have these treasured episodes to share.   In this episode Terry says, “Instead of only wanting to grow in faith, love or hope, the passion of our hearts needs to be to grow in grace.” Grace and favor are interchangeable terms in scripture, and both are critical to our spiritual walks. Old Testament Bible figures, such as Joseph, Esther and Daniel walked in the favor or grace of God. Jesus himself grew in wisdom, stature and in favor. Great grace was upon the early church, drawing multitudes of lost souls into the Kingdom of God.   May this episode inspire you to study and grow in grace.

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God.” Romans 10:17    When was the last time you told your body or mind to shut up because God has something important to say? In this conversations podcast, Terry and Scot dive deeper into the topic of hearing the voice of God. They challenge us to intentionally silence distractions (technology, work, news, hunger) so our spirits can hear and receive God’s voice.    There are two Greek words in the Bible for the “word of God” – logos and rhema. Logos is the complete revelation of God, Genesis to Revelation. Rhema is the breath of God, the word ever proceeding or coming from the mouth of God to our spirits. Our faith comes when we hear the logos, and faith is what gets us ready to hear God’s voice. We cannot hear God’s voice (his rhema) without faith.     In Matthew 4:4, Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Just as we need daily bread to keep our bodies alive, we equally need the rhema of God to keep our spirits alive. Our spirits crave hearing God’s voice. However, our bodies (taste, sight, smell, touch, hearing) and souls (mind, will and emotions) consume our energy and push our spirits aside to survive on leftovers. Our spirits will not hear God’s voice until we tell our bodies to wait and our souls to be quiet.     You will hear God’s voice when you give your spirit an opportunity to listen.

Terry Law went home to be with the Lord on August 31, 2020. Before his death, Terry and Scot spent many, many hours together discussing deep spiritual truths from scripture and recording this Conversations podcast. Although Terry is no longer with us, he has left us a profound inheritance - how to hear the voice of God. We will, in honor of the greatest man we have ever known and had the privilege of calling “Dad” continue to allow Terry to speak. In this episode, Terry unpacks how to hear the voice of God.   The following is an outline of this Conversations podcast to follow along and to study.   If there’s ever a time we need to hear from God, it’s now.   Luke 4:1-14 reads: Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spiritinto the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.   When Jesus followed the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, he went FULL of the Holy Spirit. When he came out of the wilderness, he began his earthly ministry “EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit led both Jesus and Satan into the desert for 40 days. Jesus fasted and overcame all of Satan’s temptations by speaking these words: “IT IS WRITTEN.” The 40 days of temptation and overcoming sin by speaking the word of God, empowered Jesus, and put Satan in his proper place. Many Christians will say they are filled with the Holy Spirit, but lack his power. There is a deeper place we need to go in our walks with God. It is not enough to only be filled with the Holy Spirit. We also need to speak the word of God when temptations and thought attacks come. The spoken word of God empowers us. We are to live full of the Holy Spirit AND empowered to do good works, just as Jesus did. Romans 8:14-16 says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,Father.”  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. This is how we know we are born again, and that we are children of God. If we are born again, we have heard the voice of God. Many people confuse God’s voice. We think it should be an audible voice that we hear with our ears. That isn’t usually how it happens. We hear God through the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirits. God’s voice is a still, small voice heard by our spirits. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says,  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Paul, who wrote this verse, explains how God created humans with 1) a body, 2) a soul and 3) a spirit.    The body is what makes us conscious of the world around us. The body has five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The body is first in line to develop as we grow from babies to adults.   The soul is what makes us self-conscious or aware of ourselves. The soul has three parts: the mind, emotion and will. The will is what prompts us to act. We will not be judged for our thinking or how we felt. We will be judged by our actions prompted by the will. God will judge what we have done with our wills, our actions.   The spirit is the hidden part of us that makes us God-conscious (as opposed to only self-conscious). This is where we apprehend and comprehend God. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. We hear God’s voice in our spirits.   Naturally speaking, our bodies develop and decline as we age. In our early years our souls unconsciously dominate our behavior - our minds come alive to the world around us through our senses, and our emotions and wills drive our responses. This is why we must be born again of the Spirit. Our spirits awaken and come alive to God so we begin to hear from him. His voice - his breath or rhema - empowers and strengthens our spirits to act according to his will.   Philipians 2:13 says, For it is God who works in you (communicating through his Spirit to our spirits) both to will and to do for His good pleasure.   Matthew 4:4 says,  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”   The Greek word here for “every word” is “every rhema.” Logos is the Greek word used to express the total written revelation of God to man, in other words, the entirety of the Bible. Rhema is God’s breath which is currently and continually proceeding from His mouth.   The Holy Spirit grabs the rhema of God and speaks it to our spirits. This is the key to hearing the voice of God. God’s rhema is always coming to us through the logos. The job of our spirits is to pick up what the Holy Spirit brings to us as we read the Bible. That is the key to how we hear the voice of God. We have to read our Bibles. When we do so, the Holy Spirit speaks God’s rhema to our spirits and bears witness that we are, indeed, hearing from God.

How often have you read your Bible and stumbled across a passage that seemed completely new to you, as if it were your first time to ever read it? “I have never seen that scripture before!” Or, have you ever heard God speak to your heart what seemed like words of scripture and later when searching, found them in the Bible?     There are two Greek terms that describe the word of God: logos and rhema. Logos is the entire 66 books of the Bible. It is the entire word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, penned by men, and forever settled in heaven. “Rhema” is a sliver of the logos spoken to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is a word spoken to us by God at just the right moment. Rhema leads us in our decision-making. Rhema teaches us as we grow in Christ. Rhema is how we hear the voice of God.

80% of what we hear from God comes through scripture—God’s written, Holy Spirit-inspired word. Hearing from God through scripture requires faith and the help of the Holy Spirit.     In this episode, Terry and Scot discuss how it takes faith to hear God’s voice. Much of what God wants to say to us comes through scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Under the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, just as the ancient writers of the scriptures, we learn to hear whatever it is that God wants to tell us.     Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “Pay attention to what I say. Turn your ears to my word. They are life and health to your body.”     When we meditate on the scriptures every day like a cow chews its cud, we will certainly hear God’s voice. Incline your ear, humble yourself and allow the authority of God’s word to speak to you through the help of the Holy Spirit today.  

As we learn to hear the voice of God, it goes without saying that we must read the Bible. 80% of what God says to us, He communicates through his word, the scriptures. The origin of the Bible is God, who inspired men through the Holy Spirit to write the eternal words. When we read the word of God, we know for certain we have heard His voice.     2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful or teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”    Scripture is eternal, inspired, and guides us in our daily lives of faith. If you want to know what the Lord is saying today, read your Bible. Hearing God’s voice really is that simple.   

Terry and Scot continue their talk today on the subject of eagles and hearing the voice of the Spirit of God. In previous episodes the men discuss the nesting patterns of mother eagles, how they intentionally build their nests so one day their eaglets will leave the nest and soar on the wind.     Deuteronomy 32:11-12 says, “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” In today’s episode, Terry and Scot share how God leads us through the voice of his Spirit. The Spirit’s voice is likened to the wind that lifts eagles and causes them to soar. The Lord alone teaches us to soar with him. The Lord alone leads us.    Listening to the voice or wind of the Spirit is so important for our spiritual growth. We must quiet ourselves to hear. We also have to learn to wait on God for his timing. This takes patience but God’s timing is perfect. Terry shares a few personal stories of learning to wait on God in prayer, hearing the wind of the Spirit blowing, and then soaring with God.  You’ll will certainly be blessed by this episode.  Please share.

Mother eagle, in the process of preparing her eaglets to fly, will remove all the things that make her nest comfortable. She does this with great care and purpose. She teaches her young to listen to the wind to understand when the conditions are just right to soar.     Mother eagles are wonderful examples of how God teaches us to hear his voice, to listen to the wind of His Spirit, and to step out in faith. God will often allow us to experience discomforts in order to prepare us to soar. He wants to teach us how to fly by hearing his voice.     Just as a mother eagle teaches her eaglets how to listen to the wind, we must also learn to listen to the wind of the Holy Spirit. The Bible calls the Holy Spirit a “still small voice”. It’s very hard to hear what God is saying when we don’t still ourselves. The removal of distractions is one way God teaches us to hear.

Have you ever seen an eagle’s nest? In Alaska, Terry once saw an eagle’s nest that stretched nine feet wide, 13 feet deep, and discovered on the side of a cliff some 10,000 feet up. What a wonder of design built by incredible creatures! Scripture often references the habits of eagles as pictures that teach us spiritual truths. For example, Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” In this podcast, Terry teaches how mother eagles build their nests for their young. The nest is a powerful structure with three layers: 1) scaffolding for stability; 2) prickly briars and thorns for when the eaglets need subtle encouragement to leave the nest; 3) and a third layer of cushion for comfort like moss, rabbit skins, ferns, feathers, etc.   There comes a time in every eaglet’s life when it must leave the nest. Deuteronomy 32:11-12 says, “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” Mother eagles know when it’s time for her eaglets to fly, but the little ones don’t always have confidence or even the desire to leave the comforts of home. So, momma eagle will intentionally and purposefully remove the comforts of her nest, revealing the second layer—prickly briars and thorns. Eaglets eventually grow so uncomfortable, they seek the sky. The spiritual picture we believe God wants to teach us is through the habits of eagles is how He often does the same for us. God is more interested in our character than in our comfort. In the process of learning to fly, to hear his voice, God will intentionally and purposefully remove our comforts so we learn to hear His voice and to depend on him. Like momma eagle, the Lord will lead you by stirring up your nest. Don’t equate everything bad or uncomfortable that happens in your life with the devil.  God wants us to have confidence leaving our comfortable nests so we  hear his voice.  Discomfort doesn’t always mean something is wrong. It could mean that we’re being prodded out of the nest so we hear God’s voice. Followers of Jesus must be able to hear God’s voice. Take inventory of your life. God is for you, not against you. He has good things for you, and will take away comfort so you better hear his voice.