“and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:4 &5
Many of you have asked me from time to time questions concerning the ability to distinguish the voice of God from your own thoughts and from the noise of the enemy.
As the end of time as we know it draws nigh, we have to maintain an alertness that will not permit the advancements of modern technology to further null or desensitize our natural abilities. When we look in retrospect at those who have lived in previous generations – we will observe that they possessed the ability to be much wiser than we are today. Our ancestors may not have had all of the “gadgets” that we now have, but they had the ability to use their natural senses in ways that are not common to us.
Just to side track for a minute. We must be aware of the attack that has come against the verbal communication skills of our younger generation. One of the end time strategies of our adversary is to get them to become so dependent on their devices that their brains lose their desire to communicate verbally. Therefore, now we have a generation who can sit for hours – in the same room – and not verbally say a single word to each other! But….will text each other instead of verbally talking. Can you see the strategy? If they don’t value their ability to verbally communicate with one another, how can they comfortably verbally communicate with God?
However, to be able to recognize the voice of God we must learn more about Him, and build a relationship with Him. This is accomplished by spending valuable time in His presence and studying His word to the point that we will know exactly who He is. When you were a child, no doubt there were times when your parents may not have been present. However, because you had spent time in their presence and had come to know them, you know whether you could or could not adhere to certain behavior patterns. You knew your limits because you knew your parents.
How can a bank teller know an authentic bill from a counterfeit? Because they have studied the appearance and texture of real thing to the degree that they “know it”. So, how can we know the voice of God? By studying the real thing until we “know it”! When we truly know God, then we will know His voice. When we truly know God, we will know what behavior patterns are in accord with who He is. When we truly know God, our thoughts, nor the noise of the enemy will sound the same in our ears, nor feel the same in our spirits. When we truly know God, we will know what He desires, what He agrees with and what He want us to accomplish.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me….” Matthew 10:29a
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