the voice of God

Listen

Radio

-turn the dial, what do you hear?

-Different voices as you pick up frequencies and static between channels.

-normally we end up finding one we like to listen too.

We listen to what we like......on the radio and in the spiritual realm.

think about this… just for a minute. what voice are you listening to? I am not talking about my voice, or an external voice, but the internal one that you hear. what channel are you dialed into? which one caught your attention so you stopped turning the dial?

God certainly has a frequency, a voice that speaks very clear, that still, small voice and when we tune in, we hear His voice. are you tuned into it today?

what about this..... do you think your Pastor tunes in.....how about every single second of every day? my family can answer that for you...... i am in the hot seat now! But.......

isn’t it the same for you?

Today, let’s talk about the voice of God,

His guiding voice,

His voice that speaks His power so we can do what He is saying,

and let’s talk about the freedom when we listen to the Voice of truth.

Our scripture reading we read ..... let’s zoom in on 3,4. Jesus said...

John 10:3–4 ESV

To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

the sheep HEAR his voice! He calls His own sheep by name.....and leads them. a picture of how it is meant to be in the kingdom, Jesus and His people. Jesus speaks truth and love and His children listen are receive it. so, they follow Him.

in this chapter we see Jesus describing Himself as the Great Shepherd…and this is in stark contrast to the shepherds or leaders in the OT that were scattering God’s people instead of caring for them....we can see that in , , , .

a note in the faith life study bible states

.

The remedy for the failure of the shepherds in many OT passages is that God Himself takes on the role of the shepherd of Israel (compare ; ; ). At the same time, God promises to raise up another shepherd for Israel who will lead His people properly (). Jesus depicts Himself in that messianic role of the ideal shepherd. He is both the shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep () and the gateway to eternal life (v. 7).

Jesus is speaking of fulfilling the prophecy. 34:1–10 Ezekiel uses the metaphor of a shepherd leading his sheep to condemn Israel’s leaders for misleading God’s people. The shepherd metaphor draws on the ideal of Davidic kingship, alluding to David’s boyhood role as shepherd (see ). The kings should have shepherded Yahweh’s sheep faithfully, but instead they neglected the sheep and provided for themselves.

So, Yahweh takes over the role of Shepherd to rescue His people. listen to this!

Ezekiel 34:11 ESV

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

Ez

wasn’t that the mission of Jesus? it is amazing when we dig into scripture and see how the OT and NT connect.

So, Jesus being the Good shepherd searches and finds His sheep… He speaks to them and they respond. they follow His voice. then walk in His will.

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

such a rich portion of text..... the Father and Son working in concert to equip you to do the will of God. His will is pleasing to Him. We are empowered church.....empowered from the One who is unbeatable, the One who has no equal.....

He is the One empowering you with His Spirit church! what can you do? like Paul states, I can do all things in Christ Jesus!

What do you have to fear Christian? if God is for you who can be against you?

We as a church need to get this. we need to fully believe in the power of God. and when we do, we will see victory like never before. we will walk with boldness in this world because we are children of the Creator and we are walking in His will.

when walking in His will, we are unstoppable. not that we can’t get hurt but that God has a purpose in every step that we walk in His will.

Church, do we hear? do we know? is God stronger than any other? Is His Spirit within you? if so, the trial should not be something strange to us but actually welcomed in as a reward. it is a refining fire for you.

We can actually get to a place in our walk with God that we rejoice when we are walking in His will and we are suffering.....

Hebrews

1 Peter 4:12 ESV

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

1 Peter 4:13 ESV

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

look at the joining! our suffering as we walk in His will connects with the suffering of our Lord! we can’t think something as foolish as we will not suffer when our Lord suffered so great. we would not be in reality if we thought that. the truth is that we are supposed to suffer when we do His will.

why you ask? this earth is full of darkness! it has a prince of the air that is completely against our Lord. we have an enemy that would destroy us.......if he could.

why can’t he? He does not have the authority. God will only allow the enemy to be used in ways that work in the way of the Lord, so we have suffering that proves us. it shows where we are in respect to Jesus. If we run from suffering, we may be running from the will of God.

now just a disclaimer, I am speaking of suffering when we are in the will of God. there is suffering when we are outside His will. I am not speaking of that.

but remember Jonah, did he run from suffering to the point of running from the will of God?

What about Daniel? when suffering met him at the door, Daniel walked in God’s will and still was thrown into the lions den. He was in God’s will whether he lived or died. God’s will was for Him to live.

let’s do a what if. what if Daniel didn’t pray. what if he cowarded down? the glory of God would not have been revealed to the people.

what if Jonah never went to the Ninevites? their repentance! where would it have been? what about the ship that Jonah was on? sunk....all the people dead. this is all speculation......but it all worked out by them walking in faith, obeying the Father.

it will work out for you and I as well. even though you and I will certainly face trials and suffering in our walk with God........His will shows the world around us who He is and what He can do.

we are left with a choice. His will or our own? the choice we pick reveals our faith.....whether we have it or not.

Christian, do you trust God’s voice? enough to follow it into even if you have to step out of the boat? or fight against a giant?