“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27)
As the Jews were looking for a way to kill Jesus because He told them that God was His Father (making Himself equal with God), He said something of which we need to take special note. He told them that He was not able to act independently of His own accord, but only as He was taught by God, that is, as He received His orders from God. (John 5:30) He said, “As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision. As I hear, I judge.” He said, “I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose, but only the will and pleasure of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30 Amp). Jesus was not trying to make a name for Himself, nor was He influenced by the applause of man. (John 5:31, 34)
The question we all should be asking ourselves is, “are we hearing instruction directly from the voice of our King, or are we hearing information from other voices?”
God speaks in many ways and forms. To Jeremiah He spoke “visually” in saying, “What do you see?” To others He speaks in words, as it is recorded, “The Word of the Lord came to…” Solomon, Jehu, Elijah, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Micah, and others.
The Gospel says, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Our question should be, “How do we hear Him, and where do we go in order to hear Him speak?”
As we understand how God designed us, we will better understand how to hear His voice. We must always follow His basics. In an earthly example, we have learned that the military must never lose sight of its basics. A general has decades of training and service in order to effectively lead. Most of the men in the field affected by his orders are privates who have been freshly taught in what is called Basic Training. This training allows them to hear and understand their superior’s orders and proficiently carry out that order, in other words, they learn to OBEY. It is good for us to continuously review the basics and learn how to OBEY.
We are spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are eternal and allow us to approach God and fellowship with Him. “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Our soul represents our mind, will, and emotions. Remember God speaks to our spirit. He is not speaking to our soul. Our souls must be transformed by renewal through God’s Word. Our bodies are the vessel that house our spirit and soul. Our bodies are trained into obedience by a strong, Word-trained spirit. Everything from God has to start in the spirit and then be transmitted to our soul.
THREE VOICES
There are three different voices in our lives. Our own heart (mind, will, emotion) has a voice, Satan has a voice and God has a voice. Because our own heart has a voice of its own, we must continually renew our minds by the study of the Word of God in order to discipline our minds to be obedient to Him.
The enemy is continually speaking, so we must recognize his voice immediately and reject it. In going before the LORD in prayer, we must learn to bind (disallow) the voice of the enemy. The enemy often tries to outwit us by counterfeiting the voice of the LORD. Through constant study of His Word and time taken to fellowship with Him, we learn to trust that when God speaks to us, the anointing on His voice propels us into the action necessary to carry out His instructions. We are not fooled by the lying voice of the enemy.
Idols’ Influence On Our Hearts
God is always speaking. We can hear Him if we will quiet ourselves and sit with Him. Our model is Jesus who constantly communicated with the Father and did only what He heard the Father say.
What happens to us if there is an idol influencing our heart? “Therefore, speak unto them and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that come ACCORDING TO THE MULTITUDE OF HIS IDOLS” (Ez. 14:4) (KJV).
What is this Scripture saying? Anything in our lives that we have put above or before God is an idol. The LORD is saying that if that is the case, He will allow what that idol represents (our own fleshly desires) to speak to us. In effect, the idol drowns out the voice of the LORD. Sadly, we then often reap what our flesh has desired.
My heart’s desire for those that I may influence is from the Words of Jesus recorded in John 5:44.
“How is it possible for you to believe [how can you learn to believe], you who [are content to seek and] receive praise and honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and glory which come from Him Who alone is God?” (John 5:44) (Amp).
Lord, now and all of 2023 may we esteem the praise and honor and glory that comes only from You. May we only hear (obey) Your voice and not the voice of a stranger.
