The Voice of Truth

Intro:

Good morning and welcome to church. This morning we are embarking on a brand new series. PG: Parental Guidance. I believe over the course of the next few weeks we are going to be equipped and empowered. Last week I shared the word God has given us as church for 2020. That word is to be intentional. As individuals and as a church let’s be intentional. Over the next few weeks the Lord is going to intentionally empower and equip us.

Jeremiah 7:23 ESV

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

I read an article awhile back. It was quite disturbing. It happened in Houston. One evening to girl had gone to a party in the suburbs. They called their mom and dad and said they were on their way home. On their way home they decided to take a short cut through the woods. It happened that this gang called the black and white gang had just finished an initiation. There were 6 young men. And they said lets get them. Four days later the bodies of the girls were found in the woods. The details are too graphic to share, but what I can tell you is that they had been raped and beaten to death. You may say Ryan this happens all the time. The interesting detail to this story was a few days before the leader of the black and white gang was interviewed and he was quoted saying “Human life means nothing.” All 6 of the young men ages 14-18 were indicted. And one of them upon being indicted said “Hey great we finally made it to the big time. My point of the story is not that murder occured or rape occured. Thats happened for centuries.My point is there is no remorse, theres no thought that this wrong or right. My point is you’re going to see those exact words Life is meaningless, human life is nothing.

Whatever happened to right and wrong? Whatever happened to morals? Whatever happened to remorse? What is truth, is there absolute truth?

How did we get here? It happened slowly over almost a century. Last week I told you that change isn’t seen right away. We were discussing going to the gym, I had discussed that you wouldn’t see results immediately, it would happen after consistent workouts over 3 or 4 weeks before you seen noticeable change. The same has happened with truth. Over the last century truth in our culture and even in part of the church truth has become relative and we are seeing some of the greatest consequences of relative truth now in the world, in the U.S., in our community, and even among our families and friends. Relative truth is dangerous.

What happens when truth becomes relative, when people say there is no right and no wrong? I have done some research: Every 24 hours 1,000 unwed teens become pregnant, 500 adolestants will begin using drugs, 135,000 kids will kill someone or take a weapon to school, and 6 youths will commit suicide. Thats not in a decade, thats not in a year, thats everyday. This time tomorrow another 6 of our teens will commit suicide. This is what happens when truth becomes relative and human life is seen as meaningless.

Relative truth isn’t just happening outside the church its happening inside the church. Please do not raise your hand, but have you ever listened to a sermon and said that might be true for the pastor and leadership of the church but thats not true for me? Look I’m not trying to bring condemnation on anyone, I’m trying to get our attention that relative truth can slip in undetected rather easily. And over time can destroy us, individually, and corporately.

Think back with me to a time when you were young, before you were an adolescent and questioned everything. Think back to a time when you trusted your mom and dad or whoever held that position of authority in your life. Do you remember trusting them. I remember when I was young and I went down to the store with a friend, it was just a few blocks away and as we went he said that we should take some candy from the store, he was talking about stealing. As an upstanding citizen and generally a good kid I said no. There was some debate, but in the end he asked why I wouldn’t and I said because my mom said so. I was operating under Parental Guidance. Even as adults we need Parental Guidance. I also know that as I grew older and thought I knew everything that I didn’t need Parental Guidance anymore, but when trouble came, and when I called for help, I recognized the voice on the other end of the phone, even though I was in a mess, I was comforted by that voice.

We need Parental Guidance.

God wants to be our Parental Guidance. This morning I want to explore the importance of recognizing His voice.

Hearing His Voice

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in church all your life or church and a relationship with Jesus that is something very new in your life, hearing God’s voice is imperative. The Bible, God’s Word, has much to say about the importance of hearing God’s voice.

There was a time Jesus was was speaking to some Pharisees and Jews. They were challenging Him because of who He claimed to be.

John 8:39–47 ESV

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

John 8:39-

Hearing God’s voice confirms our salvation.

John 10:27 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

It’s important that we hear God’s voice because hearing His voice confirms our salvation.

If you haven’t made Jesus your Lord and Savior, that doesn’t mean you can’t hear His voice.

Reval

Revelation 3:20 ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

If you haven’t made Jesus your Lord and Savior, then today is your day. Don’t fight it any longer, don’t put the decision off any longer. Tomorrow is not promised to us. You may say I’m not sure if I believe all this, I don’t know if Heaven is real or Hell is real. If your right then by coming to church and obeying what the Bible says then you would be decent person according to most people. However if I’m right, and Hell is a real place, and you don’t decide to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, then Hell would be your final destination. That’s why I’m speaking now, Hell is a real place, Jesus did die on a cross so you and I could have eternal fellowship with our Heavenly Father and Creator. Making Jesus your Lord and Savior is the best decision you will ever make.

Ok Pastor Ryan I’ve made Jesus my Lord and Savior but I’m not sure what His voice sounds like.

The Sound of His Voice

1 Kings 19:11–12 ESV

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

The original Hebrew word for the sound of a low whisper or still small voice literally means a voice of gentle silence. You see this passage in was not long after Elijah had a showdown with 850 false prophets to prove who the real God was. Elijah had just witnessed the absolute realness and power of God. Yet God still didn’t have the attention of Elijah’s heart. Elijah like many people had gotten caught up in mighty works. See there is a time when God uses signs, wonders, and miracles to get our attention, but there is also a time when we need to ago deeper and give God our heart.

God may speak audibly, he certainly can if He chooses, however it is rare to hear His voice audibly. God most often speaks to our hearts, in a gentle voice of silence.

Conclusion

The most important decision you can make today is a decision for Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord. Making Jesus our Lord should mean we obey His voice. God is our Heavenly Father, I encourage you to allow Him to be your Parental Guidance. Learning how to hear and recognize His voice is vital to how we live here on earth. tells us that if we obey God’s voice he will be our God and if we walk accordingly to his voice it will be well with us. If things don’t seem well for you right now I would encourage to spend some quality time with Lord. That’s going to require you to make some changes. You will need to intentionally carve out time in your schedule to meet with the Lord. And if you truly want to hear is voice you’re going to need a quiet place. I promise you that if you seek Him you will find Him and you will hear Him. Let’s be a church that seeks and obeys God’s voice. If you need prayer there's people here that would love to pray with you, I would love to pray with you.