Who’s Voice Is That Anyway?
John 10:25-27 Amplified Bible (AMP)
25Jesus answered them, I have told you so, yet you do not believe Me [you do not trust Me and rely on Me]. The very works that I do by the power of My Father and in My Father's name bear witness concerning Me [they are My credentials and evidence in support of Me]. 26But you do not believe and trust and rely on Me because you do not belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine]. 27The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.
I had some experiences earlier in my Christian Ministry life that if I had not had people that spoke truth into my life I would have fallen to being consumed by people. Often we will find ourselves in the midst of situations where people come to us, saying and doing things in the name of the Lord, or as our Bishop says Prophelying that can hurt, derail, damage or lead us astray because we do not know God’s voice and know Him for Ourselves. I have had people tell me “God was using them to purge things out of me,” and “that God wanted me to going a direction that God had never given me ANY clue that was in my future nor did it bear witness in my spirit.” Thank God for a mother and Grandmother that raised me to know God for myself and a mentor in the person of Prophetess Melinda Richardson that taught me to seek God for everything, even when people in position came to me; she instilled in me that the word given through man should be a confirming word. Her famous or should I say infamous question that she would pose is “Did you pray about it, or what did God say?” Our pastor Bishop Kim Brown, just said on Sunday, that the word He is giving on Sunday should confirm what is in us it should not be a surprise.
We have two dogs in the house Sheba and Fuji; a week ago we had a friend of my son’s staying with us while he was on leave from the Military. The dogs won’t bark at anyone that normally lives in the house. The occupants they know are free to come and go without any incident, but when my son’s friend was here every time he came or went, they barked at him. Sheba and Fuji know us, they know the sounds and the inflection of our voice, they know the sound of our walk, but a stranger they will not submit to, or tolerate just entering and leaving what they consider their sacred territory. It should be the same with us. We should know God’s voice we should know when He is speaking, it should bear witness in us and it should be a voice a tone and inflection that we recognize. Often times we are so hungry for a word we run to and fro seeking a word or it is easy for others to walk up on us and sell us a bill of sale that is not God’s, theirs or ours. Then we find ourselves trying to walkout things, live in things or fill shoes that we have no business trying to do because it is not ours to begin with nor is it from God. When people are giving us their words an alarm should go off in us that reads “Danger, stranger, danger.” But when they open their mouth and the word of God is flowing it will bear witness in us and there should be something that leaps in us as the baby leapt in Elizabeth when Mary entered the room and she heard her voice. When God’s spirit is in us, and God speaks it will cause a leaping in us because that spirit within us is being charged, plugged into a power source.
The importance of knowing God for ourselves is vital to our survival and to staying in the will of God and not in the decisions, ideals and or confusion of people. We need to spend time in the presence of God to know Him and know His voice. Just like my dogs ears are trained to know the sounds and voices of those that are a part of this family and those that abide in this house, our spirit should be trained and attuned to God and to follow after no other. Spending time cultivating the greatest tool and connection we have which is with God, should be a priority! Seek to know God in such a way that NO ONE can make you doubt what He has given you to do, or the vision He has planted in your heart. Make God such a part of your life that you know the pattern of His foot print and the texture of His hand as yours is placed in His. Know Him and trust Him so that nothing can derail His purpose in your life. As the old folks in the church used to say “You need to know Him for yourself.” If you don’t you are subject to follow after more than just His voice!
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