The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond - Hardcover

Hybels, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310320747 ISBN 13: 9780310320746

Publisher: Zondervan, 2010

Synopsis

“Without a hint of exaggeration,” says Bill Hybels, “the ability to discern divine direction has saved me from a life of sure boredom and self-destruction. God’s well-timed words have redirected my path, rescued me from temptation and re-energized me during some of my deepest moments of despair.” In The Power of a Whisper, vision is cast for what life can look like when God’s followers choose to hear from heaven as they navigate life on earth. Whispers that arbitrate key decisions, nudges that rescue from dark nights of the soul, promptings that spur on growth, urgings that come by way of another person, inspiration that opens once-glazed-over eyes to the terrible plight people face in this world―through firsthand accounts spanning fifty-seven years of life, more than thirty of which have been spent in the trenches of ministry, Hybels promotes passion in Christ-followers' hearts for being wide open to hearing from God, and for getting gutsier about doing exactly what he says to do. For more information go to: www.thewhisperwall.com.

About this title

About the Author

Bill Hybels is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association. The bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Leadership Axioms, Holy Discontent, Just Walk Across the Room, The Volunteer Revolution, and Courageous Leadership, and classics such as Too Busy Not to Pray and Becoming a Contagious Christian, Hybels is known worldwide as an expert in training Christian leaders to transform individuals and their communities through the local church. He and his wife, Lynne, have two adult children and two grandsons, Henry and Mac.

From the Back Cover

In the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims that His sheep know His voice and He heeds them. What does this interactivity between the human and the divine sound like? Bestselling author and Pastor Bill Hybels shares many personal examples of hearing God whisper - through his second grade teacher and at summer camp when he was 17 years old - through adulthood when he turned from following his father's footsteps and instead followed the Father's footsteps. In the early ministry years in a movie theatre to the existing campus in Barrington, Hybels shares that whispers matter - especially God whispers. Hybels shares the importance in recognizing those God whispers, and how to discern whether or not it is God who is speaking to our inner hearts. Hybels challenges readers to be attentive in this process and to walk in obedience, knowing without a doubt that God's whispers are always worth listening to.

Reviews

Hybels, founding pastor of the globally influential Willow Creek Community Church, writes about learning to hear the "communicating God." Describing his life as a 50-year whisper-fueled odyssey, he says he waited nearly four decades to write this book because of controversy surrounding claims of hearing divine messages. In contrast to those who are certain they have heard God speak, Hybels points readers to the Holy Spirit's subtle "Wind Words," saying the problem is not God's silence but whether Christians have ears to hear. Hybels weaves personal stories, biblical principles, and global stories of others, saying no goal is more critical than keeping a "pliable heart before God." He writes that his suburban Chicago megachurch and its worldwide associated network of churches exist today because at low points in Hybels's life, God "graciously whispered to me."
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Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310320747
• ISBN 13: 9780310320746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288