Engaging the Voice of God

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

When you think about the voice of God, what is the first thought that comes to mind? Is it intimacy?, the prophetic? Or do you think about being on the receiving end of a message sent by God? if none of these answers, is the answer that you thought of, don’t worry. This line of questioning was just to lead you to consider a foundational truth about the voice of God, which reveals to you the intention of his words, which is that the voice of God is God’s primary mode of self-expression.

Psalm 29:3-9

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,

The Lord is over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful,

The voice of the Lord is majestic.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

And Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

When God speaks, he is personally revealing himself to us.

Take the Genesis account for instance, in chapter 1: verse 3, God spoke and the revelation of his thoughts, his will and his emotions for creation became evident.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1: 3-4).

God’s voice is the instrument he uses to express himself and to make himself visible or tangible to humanity.

Genesis 3:10 KJV And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

“You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives” (Deuteronomy 5:24).

Sometimes as believers in Christ, we fail to engage the revelatory authority of God’s voice. For example: Consider how disheartening it is to see God’s voice in the midst of his people and his people cannot discern him. They cannot see that their sovereign Lord is in the midst of them. They are unable to distinguish between the voice of God , their flesh or Satan in their day to day interactions. All because they do not have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. They have built a life apart from the word of God. They do not trust God with their time, their attention, their life.

John 10:27 says “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” How can you follow someone you do not have an intimate relationship with? Why would you listen to someone if you do not know the purpose of your relationship with them? One of the reasons why a believer struggles to discern the voice of God is because they don’t know that God is speaking to them and they don’t know why he is speaking to them. Which is why as believers in Christ we need to return to the purity of the truth of why God speaks. We must ask ourselves, what is God trying to communicate to us?

Scripture tells us that the voice of God reveals:

• The upholding power and nature of God’s word ( John 1:1-3)
• The revelation of his person. His voice is distinct from every other voice (John 10:1-5 , Psalm 29: 3-9)
• The reality of his presence ( Genesis 3:8)
• The creative power of his Spirit ( Genesis 1)
• The thoughts of his heart ( Mark 9:7)
• His divine will ( Genesis 1:26-27)
• The activeness of his speech. We must remember that in the life of Jesus Christ, God is continually speaking and revealing himself to us ( John 1: 1-14)
• His Glory ( Psalm 29)
• The light of his eternal existence (John 1: 4)
• His desire for koinonia( Fellowship)
• God calling us into Sonship in the life of Jesus Christ his Son

God speaks because he wants to express himself to and through his creation. He wants you to recognise and engage an eternal spiritual reality that is already in existence. He wants you to know eternal life.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3

Responding to the Voice of God.

Now that we are aware of some of the reasons why God’s speaks. The next action we should take is knowing how to respond to his voice through the channels he speaks to us through.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:8-10

Are you like Adam, who heard the voice of God, but hid because of sin?

Have you ever thought that the entire 66 chapters of the bible, is not only about God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, but, it is also about God calling you to humbly submit to his will in his holy commands? When God spoke his desire for his eternal life to be expressed to, in and through the life of man, what he did was communicate his desire for koinonia (fellowship) with his creation (Genesis 1:26-27). God wants us to commune with him. He wants us to respond to his word, with submissive obedience, reverence and worship. There must be an understanding of the fact that his word is from everlasting to everlasting. His word is settled in heaven. Which is why, if you want to see the fruition of Genesis 1: 26-27 in your life, then allow God to speak to you through the following communicative channels:

• The Word of Christ. John chapter 1, tells us that the eternal life of God comes to us through the Word of Christ, which becomes impressed in our minds and hearts as we meditate upon the word day and night. He will speak through revelation, inspiration and illumination.
• Prayer – Be like Jesus and dialogue with your heavenly father (Luke 6:12) . Have a relationship with him and develop intimate trust. Jesus understood the importance of withdrawing to solitude places to pray.
• Fellowship – Encourages both personal and corporate communion with the Lord ( Acts 2:42). Ephesians 4: 12-16, tells us that each member of the body speaks the truth in love. The speaking of God’s truth is needful for maturation in Christ.
• His Holy Spirit: John 16:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit of God will speak and will tell us things to come and lead us into all truth.
• Your Circumstances: Romans 8: 28, tells us that no matter what we ( believers ) do in life all things work together for the good. God will and can speak clearly to us no matter what the circumstances.

Finally:

God is continuously speaking to you. He wants your attention. He wants your wholehearted submission. Therefore, make the choice today to honour God’s voice by having a heart ready to listen and follow him.