posted by Robert Czaplinsky in Christian Lesson, 02 September 2010
As I pay close attention to the world media sources, I can’t help but note that one of the most startling changes that has been occurring is the denial of the existence of God. God…the Creator of all! The United States has God interwoven into our laws, our monetary system, and the very fabric of our spiritual belief system. The Holy Bible was the one book found in everyone’s home, and was the direct source used for what to do, when to do something, and how to go about doing it. This book is the very foundation of how the U.S. grew into the greatest nation in the world.
The stress that the Information Age (that we now live in) has put on the populace of the U.S. has been one of the sources of that has helped to draw people away from attending church and praying. Time has become a very valuable commodity that always seems to slip away, sometimes seemingly traveling at the speed of light. Sleep has become more of a thing to do as recreation, rather than a necessity. Demands are being made on people today that are stretching both finances and mental health to a challenging limit; a limit that has a clear breaking point.
When you look back in time just 40 years ago, the mother in a family stayed home and took care of the children (probably 3 or more) while the father was declared the breadwinner in the family. One job was usually enough to carry the family’s financial burden well enough to make everything function to a large degree. Sure, money was tight, but family time was considered much more important than the possession of material objects. A grandmother and grandfather was also involved in the lives of the family members, often pitching in to help out whenever they could. Children were both supervised and fed properly each and every day. Sleep time was honored and practiced daily.
(4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
From the above scripture we can see that it says we know or we have the potential for knowing the voice of God. It is one thing to hear a voice or voices, and there are many out there, but it is important that we know who the voice belongs to. Jesus said we would know His voice and this makes the difference. Because there are many voices out there we need to be able to distinguish whether or not it is God’s voice we are following. Many people in a desire to hear the voice of God have gone astray because they where looking for a spiritual experience and they jumped at the voice or even their own thoughts they heard and claimed they heard God but actually they where deceived. The idea behind this verse of scripture is to inform us that we can know the voice of God and that His voice leads us.
This topic is not the most original, but I do believe that the pitfall to believe we can get God to give us things we do not require is extremely common. Even more, we can even convince ourself of the good we can do if we had the money from the state lottery, or some source of control or power that would allow us to over-rule choices the world currently makes so we can get Christian beliefs to rule in our society.
Let’s begin here, let’s first consider who is asking; is it you doing the asking? If so, exactly how have you been preparing yourself to daily to handle this new source of power? Even if your intentions are good ones, have you even considered the ramifications of how your life would change? Would you be even remotely capable of fending off the worldly influences that would attempt to corrupt you? Chances are you would be opening up a door to failure rather than success if God honored these types of requests. Consider how much time you spend in reading the Word each day, praising God, and praying to God. I know it is impossible to even begin to understand the the way God’s mind works, but even you and I both know that if we do not have a strong personal relationship with God, we are not going to be successful at implementing such a plan.
(4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Some people may still consider it strange if you tell them God spoke to you. They think there must be something wrong with you. But I think it is strange and odd that to even think that an all powerful God wouldn’t speak to His people especially since He said He would in many examples of the scriptures including the one we have just read (John 10:4-5 ). It’s one thing for an unbeliever to be surprised at someone talking with God, but for someone to claim they are Born Again and not have a relationship with God or expect that God couldn’t talk to them or any other believer when He chose to shows an ignorance and/or a spiritual blindness of scripture and a lack of relationship with the Holy Spirit. The scriptures declare that God has spoken with His people throughout Bible history and that He has promised to continue to speak to His people. The Holy Spirit, the teacher of the church, the One Who leads God’s people, how do you think He does this without some form of communication ?
This is not the way it was designed to be, but the human tongue has taken to be the most versatile of all the body parts. The tongue is so clever, so resourceful, and so quick to react that it challenges the memory of person who tries to keep track of all the things he/she has said, and who he/she has said them to.
The hardest part in dealing with the tongue is that you end up getting caught when you lie so much that you forget what lie you told to which person. This is a most uncomfortable feeling! Not only that, you also lose the respect of people who once thought that you could be trusted. If only we could know the missed opportunities we could have had if we only told the truth instead of trying to impress someone, or simply try to con someone.
I know some people who are so caught up in lying that they would rather lie than to tell the truth, even if the truth is more exciting than the lie. Although this is not the case for all people, hear my words clearly: Every person on this planet lies! These lies are directly responsible for many sins. These sins form a wall between you and God! This wall (and other sins) keeps you from walking with god and having the personal relationship that is so needed!
(4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
We have already discussed that being in the family of God gives us the privilege to hear God’s voice and to distinguish it from all the other voices of the stranger. This is something that we can practice and train ourselves to do if we follow the suggestions in part 1 of this subject. Before we continue, there is a correction I need to make to part 1 of “ Hearing The Voice Of God “ .
In part 1 I said there are six voices that we can hear, three voices inside us and three voices outside of us. The following day after having written this the Lord spoke to me, an internal voice, telling me that there is a fourth voice externally. I stand corrected by God.
Seven Voices – There are three voices that you can hear in yourself. The first is your own thoughts. The second is the voice of the devil or the fiery darts of the wicked. The third voice is the voice of God. You need to distinguish between these three.
There are four voices you can hear outside of yourself. The first is the voices of other people. The second is the voice of the devil or demon. The third voice is the voice of God or Angel of God. The fourth voice is the voice of a person speaking by the anointing of God such as a prophetic word given by the Holy Spirit, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. This can also include a person or minister speaking under the anointing of God and speaking by the leading of the Holy Spirit. These are the seven voices that I am aware of.
(4) And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(5) And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Knowing the reality of God, not just knowing about Him, but experiencing His presence, being in a relationship with God and having the reality of God made manifest to us is such a great experience of being a Christian. This is not just a religion, it is a relationship, a family relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you are not experiencing The manifestation of God’s presence in your life then it’s time to get out of religion and into relationship.
This family relationship is like the relationship between a father and a child, He is our Heavenly Father. This relationship is also like the relationship between a husband and wife, for the church is the bride of Christ. This is a family relationship, not a religion. This is why we know God on a more intimate level because as a family we have fellowship with God and with one another through the Spirit.
(10) And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
(11) And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
There are two things that we need to understand about faith. The first one is pressing in and the other is standing firm. Faith doesn’t wait for change, faith pursues change, change representing what you are believing God for. The next principle of standing firm comes after you have pressed in and you hold your ground or possess the promised land. We find a good example of this concerning the woman with an issue of blood for twelve years and Jairus. The woman with the issue of blood is an example of pressing in and Jairus is an example of standing firm. I also think this is a good example as we see the church today.
