My Sheep Hear My Voice

Men’s weekend coming up a week from this coming Thursday! Monies need to be in now, so that we can have an accurate count. It's really hard to prepare food for an unknown number!!

As I started thinking about today’s service and a message for you, there were many, many thoughts that were going through my mind. In light of the presidential election and everything that been taking place over the past few days, I’m sure that many if not most of you could say the same thing; that you’ve had a bunch of thoughts and concerns going through your minds as well, right?

And as I sat yesterday morning, on the back deck, trying to gather my thoughts to prepare for today’s message, a notification popped up on the screen of my tablet that stated that Biden had won the election and that he was to become the next president of the United States.

At that exact moment, a sea of emotions and thoughts and even fears and concerns instantly raced through my mind and I had to just stop and lower my head and pray.

And let me just be really transparent with you guys and say that I had begun to allow fear and doubt to fill my heart and mind, both yesterday, as well as over the past couple of days, in light of the election and all that we have witnessed.

It’s easy for someone like me to stand up here and say that as Christians, we’re not supposed to walk in fear and that we shouldn't allow any of the thoughts of the enemy to have a place in our hearts and in our minds, but it’s another thing all together to walk this out in my own daily life!

I’ve said this before, that I am just like all of you, no better and no worse. And in this human vessel, I’m subject to the same conerns and fears as all of you are.

Being a minister of the gospel does not give me spiritual “diplomatic immunity” within the kingdom!

I wrestle with doubt and fear and anger, just the same as anyone else does, and I am held accountable to God for my actions , just the same as anyone else is!

I’m a citizen of this great nation and I’m also a husband and a father and a grandfather.

And as such, I’m concerned about the direction and the fate of this nation and for my family and about the place that my daughters will raise their children in, just like you all are!

And when the cares and concerns and fears dealing with this life and this world creep into my heart and mind, I must make it a point to do the exact same thing that I teach and declare to all of you all of the time.

I MUST remember what II Corinthians 10:3-6 says, where Paul tells us, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

You see, the war over our souls, your soul and mine, is NOT taking place out here, in the world, like natural wars are fought.

This war, the war over our souls, is a spiritual war that is being fought between two spiritually opposing kingdoms, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. The kingdom of light vs the kingdom of darkness!

And although this war, is taking place all around us all of the time in the spiritual realm, we don’t see it as such.

Inside of our hearts and minds is where you and I sense and feel this spiritual war. And it’s there that the enemy is constanlty trying to take ground inside of us.

As I have shared recently, if you can get people to buy into a lie and produce fear in their hearts and minds, then you can control them and lead them wherever you want them to go!

That’s what the enemy wants. He’s the father of lies and he wants to control our hearts and minds through his lies and through the tactics of fear and deception!

Those are his weapons of warfare, lies and fears and deception, which he uses to control our flesh with.

That is what you are actually, visibly witnessing around you in the natural realm.

All of the violence that you see on the news and all of the sexual sins that you witness being glorified on the mainstream media and all of the political corrruption that we see taking place and that you see going on in the world around you, these things are all the byproducts of people who have bought into the lies of the enemy and are acting out according to those lies and the fears and the deception that the devil has over these people.

And this is seen through the fleshly actions of these men and women!

If the enemy of your soul can get his foot in the spiritual door of your mind and plant seeds of fear and lies and thoughts built upon deception, then he can create strongholds inside of your mind. (Kind of like little LEGAL fortresses inside of our minds where the enemy can operate from! They are like “satan central” inside of our head!)

And once those strongholds, those fortresses, are there in our minds, then the enemy begins to operate through us, and this manifests and is seen in and through the actions of our flesh!

Our actions can become the gauge that indicate how much of a presence the enemy has within our minds and hearts.

Like Jesus said, we will know men by their fruits!

We don’t see and hear the enemy directly, as the enemy is a spirit. What we witness is the work of the enemy as it is manifesting in the flesh through the actions of other people!

And although we see the works of our enemy manifesting in the flesh through other people, those people and their flesh are not what we are warring against! They are not our enemy!

They are casualties of a spiritual war!

It’s NOT the political proclivity of another person, or the religious sway of someone else, or even the sexual or racial sins that we see manifesting, that are our enemies!

But rather, these things are all the byproducts of someone who is under the guise and deception of our true enemy!

We are warring against a spirit, against principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness, who operate through the strongholds inside of people’s minds!

And the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power (EVERYBODY SAY “DIVINE POWER”) to destroy those strongholds!

As Christians, God lives inside of us through His Holy Spirit, and because He dwells within us we can say that, “In him we live and move and have our being”, right?!

And its because of His in dwelling Spirit, that you and I have the DIVINE POWER that is needed to tear down and completely obliterate those fortresses that the enemy tries to build and control within our minds!

And with God and His Word inside of us, which is alive and active and sharper than any two edged sword, we can recognize the lies of the enemy and take those thoughts of fear and doubt captive and to the obedience of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ! Just as II Corinthians 2:11 says, “we will not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes!”

The devil wants to control you and I by setting up shop in our hearts and in our minds, but praise God, how many of you here today can say with me with bold assurance, the devil can’t have my mind, because I am not my own, I have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus!

“For I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

And it’s no longer my natural man, my natural mind that I seek to guide and to direct me, for I am a new spiritual creature through Jesus the Christ and as such I believe all that He and His Word say to me, for I now have the mind of Christ!!!!!!

And so, dear friends, whatever is getting ready to happen, politically and with the leadership in our country, I will say the same thing to you today, that I said 4 years ago when we were going into the elections and waiting to see who would take the helm as the leader of this great nation. We MUST come together as the living body of Christ and pray and seek God and His will and His protection over this nation and over the church!

There is no government, or agency or nation, there is no group or organization of people and powers which can protect us and guide us. There is only God in Heaven and His righteous right arm that we need to seek!

Does the direction of our nation under the leadership of the liberal left disturb me? Absolutely, which is what I was saying at the beginning; it definitely concerns me in the natural. I will NEVER agree to, or align with a body of people who are completely opposed to and against the will of God and who openly, not hidden or behind the scenes, but openly and brazenly, oppose His Word! And much of what that party supports and advocates for, is openly and blatantly rebellion against God and against His Word!

Is this something new? Is this group who are radically and openly taking a stand against God and against His Word a first? NOOOOOOO, absolutely not.

What did the Psalmist David write about people such as this, thousands of yeares ago in Psalm 2:1-4?

Psalm 2:1–4 ESV

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

There have always been people who opposed God and rebelled against Him and His will!

BUT..............that does not mean that I should not love and pray for these people and that myself and other Christians should not try to reach them with the love of Christ! In fact, I should be all othe more diligent in praying for the men and women who are lost and acting as puppets for the god of this world and who are doing his bidding! I don’t have to like what they are doing, or the lifestyles that they live in, or the immoral decisions that they embrace, I just have to love them and pray for them and do my absolute best to present to them the TRUTH of the gospel message, in its entirety, and with the love of Christ!

And in order for me to be able to do this, or any other believer as far as that goes, we must be attentive to God’s Word and and thus, we MUST KNOW His voice, as He is speaking to His body each and every day!

You know, one of the most beautiful and encouraging things that our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ said to everyone, is found in John’s gospel, chapter 10. This is a very familiar passage and it also contains 2 of the amazing “I AM” statements that Jesus made and that are found only in John’s gospel account!

If you have your Bibles open and ready to go, then turn with me real quick to John 10 and we will begin reading together starting with verse 1.

You know, there was a time, when I was boy growing up and we would go to church Sunday morning for Sunday School and then church service and then Sunday evening service and then Wednesday evening service, everybody showed up with their Bibles in hand. Ano if you forgot to bring one, the church had them their for you in the pew right in front of you.

To me, their is something irreplaceable about holding the Word in my hand. Even with advent of the digital age and the apps that people have to where they have the Bible in every translation at their fingertips, NOTHING compares to holding that WORD in my hand and reading from it!

If you do not have a regular Bible that you love to read, then I would like to encourage you to invest in one. My daughter and son in law where over this past Friday and she was telling me that she wanted to get a good study Bible, because she wanted to hold THE WORD and not just use the app on her phone. I got up walked 12 feet across the room, to my little sitting area in the living room, where I had 3 study Bibles sitting there by my chair, along with my journaling pens and highlighters, and I handed her an almost new Bible and said, “Here, take this one. It will be perfect for you!”

Anyway, let’s start reading together in John 10:1-5,

John 10:1–5 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 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. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Then John 10:7-11,

John 10:7–11 ESV

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:26-27,

John 10:26–27 ESV

but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Now quite some time ago, I did a teaching on this passage in which I taught about the voice of the shepherd and the way that the sheep respond to that voice.

In the middle eastern culture and in the day and age of Jesus, this analogy that He gave would have EASILY been understood, because this was a daily, regular occurrence for these people. The shepherds would bring their flocks in for the evenings towards the city, to a fold where they would be kept for the evening.

The fold was a large area encircled with a stone wall and only one entrance into it. If ten shepherds brought in their flocks, say 100 sheep to a flock, and they all put them together, then there would be 1,000 sheep in that large fold. Nine of the ten shepherds would leave and go into the town to get some sleep for the night and one would stay and watch the sheep.

All night this one shepherd would lay in the opening of the wall and serve as a door so that nothing could come in and nothing could go out. This shepherd was known as the “porter”, or the gatekeeper! And his only job for that night, was to guard and protect those sheep from thieves and wild animals.

The next morning, when the other nine shepherds came back to claim their sheep, the porter would recognize them as the legitimate shepherds and he would let them enter, one at a time and allow them to call for their sheep.

Each shepherd would enter and call for his sheep. As the shepherd would begin to call out, in the midst of 1,000 sheep, his and his alone, would hear his voice and come to him and follow him ONLY out of the fold and out to the pasture for another day.

I showed a video at that time of this very thing happening, where some high school aged kids were brought out to a sheep farmer’s lot and allowed to try and call the sheep in from the pasture. The were all shown the call and the unique manner that the shepherd would call for his sheep and they were each allowed to try and call the sheep. NOTHING HAPPENED.

Then, the shepherd walked up in front of all of the teens and he called out and instantly, you saw the sheep raise their heads and run to the shepherd! They only recognized his voice AND they will follow NO ONE ELSE, but the shepherd!

When it comes to us as His sheep, Jesus, is EVERYTHING to us: He and He alone is the “porter” to the fold, that is, He is the DOOR, the GATEKEEPER. Nothing legitimately gets in or out without His permission! He guards and protects His own sheep!

Jesus is also the good SHEPHERD who calls for His sheep and they follow Him in and out for daily feeding and grazing.

He protects, He provides and He leads His sheep!

Even in the midst of all of the other voices and distractions that the sheep have around them and that serve only to occupy their thoughts and attention, when THE SHEPHERD calls, His sheep raise their heads and move, because they “know” and trust that voice!

God has always been clear on the fact that we are to KNOW and follow His voice, His Words, His commandments!

READ exert from Deuteronomy 4 on separate sheet!

I am not a prophet and I do not have a “prophetic” word for you today/

But like the prophets of old, they also served to bring to remembrance the oracles, the teachings of almighty God, and that is what I am wanting to drive home to you today!

We are in a time and place where there is more “noise” in our lives in this digital age, than has EVER existed in the world before!

And the enemy is trying to gain access to your mind and heart so as to cloud out and drowned out the VOICE of TRUTH.

Jesus said that anyone who tried to gain access to you other than through Him, was a thief and that the thief only comes to you, to “steal and kill and destroy!”

Friends you had better know that you know, the voice of God, the VOICE of TRUTH in your life!

And I know that some of you might be feeling, or thinking to yourself, “Well, I have never HEARD God speak before. How do I know His voice?”

God speaks in different ways, to different people.

To Adam and Eve, His voice was a soothing and loving and intimate daily voice that they approached with love and desire!

To Abraham, the voice of God was one of a friend and a faithful and trustworthy guide!

To Moses, God’s voice was awe inspiring and fearfully and reverentially approached.

To Elijah, God’s voice was that of a “still small voice” that grabbed his attention in the midst of all of the nosie and the flashes going on around him!

But let me tell you one thing, the more intimately you grow in your relationship with the Lord, the more you will begin to develop an acuity to the sound of the “GOOD SHEPHERD’S” voice!

And for now, you are still hearing God’s voice and may not even consider it as such.

Look, let me give you an example: (TURN TO JEREMIAH 31:3 and READ)

Did you hear it? Did you recognize His voice?

Here is what I mean. God’s voice and His Word are one and the same!

When you hear His Word being read, or when you read it, you are hearing the voice of God!

II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us this,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

How do you and I speak? What must happen for your voice to be heard?

We must breath out, right?

Well, Paul told Timothy that ALL SCRIPTURE is BREATHED OUT by God!

In other words, when you read from this book, it is His voice, His breathed out words that you are hearing!

You had better begin to read and to KNOW that voice. The voice of the GOOD SHEPHERD!

If you are one of His sheep, then you will FOLLOW Him and His Words!

Jesus said, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God.”

There are many people in this nation today who claim to KNOW Christ and they say they follow Him as their Lord and Savior. They would say that He is their GOOD SHEPHERD and that they know His voice and follow Him. And yet, their actions reveal something completely different! These people say that God has shown them that things that used to be called wrong and sinful in His Word, are now to be accepted and allowed and embraced. Jesus warned us of these people by saying, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.”

Friends, listen to me as I close this message. I do NOT know where things in this nation are heading right now.

I can not say with assurance and 100% accuracy who the next president is going to be, until the Government, not the media, but the government announces the finality of the voting!

But until such a time as that declaration is made, I am going to pray every day and throughout the day and seek and petition my God and ask that the man who is inaugurated as President of the United States, NOT BE a man who who is aligned with the enemy and openly against God and His Word!

No man or woman is perfect, we all get that. But we must stand against those who openly subvert the Word of God and teach others to do the same!

When a city, a state, or a nation openly defies God and no longer listens to His voice and His Word, then judgement comes at some point and in some fashion!

When the Kingdom of Judah stopped listening to the VOICE OF GOD, judgement fell.

The prophet Zephaniah warned the people of Judah of the coming judgement of God, during the reign of the great King Josiah!

During Josiah’s reign, the kingdom of Judah was in great reform and was listening to and following God’s voice, yet they were warned of what would happen, if they stopped listening to the voice of the Lord!

Zephaniah 3:1-2 says,

Zephaniah 3:1–2 ESV

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God.

I want to ask you to join with me in praying and petitioning God on behalf of this nation and that of the next president.

And once the next president is offficially inaugurated and in office, then I will pray for that person at that point!

But for now, I will stand firm on the Word and seek the divine hand of God.

One man, Moses, stood in the gap for an entire nation and turned the judgement of God away from the people.

We can do the same thing now!

Hebrews 2:1 says, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

We have heard the voice of God from the Word of God and His righteous decree and we MUST stand beside that voice and that WORD!