Do you know God’s Voice?

“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10:25-30 NKJV

Do you know which voice is God’s voice? If you do not know His voice you may hear another in your prayer time and follow the wrong voice. Yes, the enemy can be present when you pray! And that is when the enemy is the loudest and most obnoxious. That last thing you want is to come out of prayer having marching orders from the wrong voice – and then obeying those. Or maybe you believe the enemy more than you believe the Word of God – therefore you do not believe as Jesus says here.

Dear Heavenly Father – As always, please open eye to see and our ears to hear what you are saying! Lord – open our understanding that we may know you and give us wisdom. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is from the book of Luke, chapters 10-11 and the book of John, chapter 10, verses 22-42 (embedded below the image below for your convenience).  There is A LOT packed into today’s long reading: The Seventy Sent Out (yes, 70 – many people followed Jesus besides the 12), Woe to the Impenitent Cities, The Seventy Return with Joy, Jesus Rejoices in the Spirit, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha Worship and Serve, The Model Prayer and two parables that go with it to further the common point shared by all (A Friend Comes at Midnight & Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking), then A House Divided Cannot Stand, An Unclean Spirit Returns, Keeping the Word, Seeking a Sign, The Lamp of the Body, and Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers. And that is just what we read in Luke! Then in John 10:22-42 we read about: The Shepherd Knows His Sheep, Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus and when Jesus flees we conclude with The Believers Beyond Jordan.

But let us talk more about being in the secret place (from Psalm 91) and closer to God in our relationship and the benefits of knowing His voice. Obviously the benefit is that you will not disobey God thinking you heard from Him. 

God will never tell you to do something that goes against your initial reaction. For example: let us say your company offers getting a micro chip in your hand and your spirit is uneasy. God is NOT going to go against that original urging of the Holy Spirit. (Lets not get caught up on my example – it was just an example and not something I am saying you should or shouldn’t do. I am saying listen to that initial prompting of the Holy Spirit, the still small voice that you question if you even heard. You heard it – follow it.)

I agree, it is not always easy. I was grocery shopping with a friend and my friend did not see my list. I was at a different store than I usually go to. My friend stopped in front of the display of Jewish foods and thought they should point it out to me. But then they decided it was silly to do, because I am not Jewish.  But they did not know I was looking for crackers for communion. I went to the check out without the crackers and said I was going to have to run to another store.  That was when they told me. God was teaching them which is His voice.

Now, if we are in a relationship with God and we press into the secret place – the quiet time alone with God – the walking in the spirit kind of relationship, then it is a little different. As I read, and re-read and pray and decree Psalm 91 – I realize in the spirit world you are under God’s wing and then – when you pray it is hidden from the enemy. THEN – the enemy cannot hear, cannot plot against, is not privy to the conversation, cannot interject or cause doubt, cannot condemn and cannot interfere. See, this is why the enemies’ job are to come at you from every side and prevent you from quality time in the secret place. It is called secret, because it is a secret from the enemy! The angels are set around us and keep the enemy from us. We must ask God to help us not be exposed and to lead us into that place. Then we know His voice. Without doubt. We spend time in the Word (the Bible) and we know His voice doesn’t contradict. And it doesn’t contradict the initial gut response of the Holy Spirit. So when we are in the secret place, we have multiple witnesses – the Spirit and the Word (Jesus is the Word). 

I like to call this the relational place, because secret place seems almost cultish – BUT GOD SAYS IT IS A SECRET and now that I am learning it is a secret from the enemy – I will probably say it more. But this is where you spend the quality time. It’s like a long car ride without the radio and just the two of us talking. It’s like a long quiet dinner for two in a private dining room. Anywhere you can imagine just being alone and having quality conversation with a loved one or friend – this is what it’s like. Except that your friend just happens to be the almighty God. AND has the power to give you life strategy to succeed, can help set up situations for your good and can do all sort of things.  But once you meet Him, once you shed any pretenses and get real, and honest with Him (might as well, He already knows everything), you will forget about the benefits of know in Him and will want to obey His will because you love Him. yes, simply because of LOVE.

I love the middle part of John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” “AND I KNOW THEM” Let’s be honest, if I ran into Jesus at the market and asked, “Hey do you know my friend, (insert your name)?” Would Jesus reply, “Oh yeah I know them! We talk daily.” If not, we might want to change some things!!!

If you are not yet at the place of knowing this secret place daily and really loving God – then it is time to work on it. It is time to know His voice. I would be lying if I didn’t confirm what we all know – the world is getting worse. If “to get a shot or not to get a shot” shook you – or if “to wear a mask or not wear a mask” shook you… then how will you survive the more difficult tasks ahead? If you do not know or obey His voice now – how will you later?

I once said – just wear the mask. That was for that time, when we did not know what this was and there was no reason to not comply – it did not infringe on our religious rights it was just uncomfortable (applied Roman 13).  Now, that we know everything that we know. Now it is time for civil disobedience. Now that the data shows the shot (which isn’t even classified as a vax) doesn’t work as a vax (maybe because it is not made or classified as one?) And now that we know that God in His grace made sure the plague was not that deadly – and statistics never changed and it is still more likely that we will die in a car.

In Romans 13 – they wanted to buck uncomfortable trends. NOW, now we are in Daniel land – where consequences and price of obeying God is high. He gave it all, will you? Only if you love Him like He loved you. And you will only fall that in love if you are spending time in the secret place.

RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

MEMORY WORK: This month we have another great verse to pick up and swing when you need a sword in your hand! These memory verses were selected, last year for this year.  As many of you tell me of the great attacks on your lives – the timing is perfect! But of course it is, it is God!

Deuteronomy 28:7

NKJV – “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”
NAS – “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated by you; they will go out against you one way and will flee at your presence seven ways.”
ESV – “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”
AMP – “The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way, but flee before you seven ways.”
NIV – “The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.”

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Luke 10-11 & John 10:22-42 NKJV

Luke 10-11

The Seventy Sent Out

10 After these things the Lord appointed ^[a]seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. ² Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. ⁴ Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. ⁵ But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. ⁹ And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘The very dust of your city which clings to ^[b]us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ ^12 [c]But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.

Woe to the Impenitent Cities

¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, ^[d]who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. ¹⁶ He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

The Seventy Return with Joy

¹⁷ Then the ^[e]seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

¹⁸ And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but ^[f]rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Spirit

²¹ In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ²² All^[g] things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

²³ Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ And behold, a certain ^[h]lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

²⁷ So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among ^[i]thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day, ^[j]when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Mary and Martha Worship and Serve

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at ^[k]Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

⁴¹ And ^[l]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Model Prayer

11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our^[m] Father ^[n]in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
^[o]Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
³ Give us day by day our daily bread.
⁴ And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
^[p]But deliver us from the evil one.”

A Friend Comes at Midnight

⁵ And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? ⁸ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for ^[q]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

A House Divided Cannot Stand

¹⁴ And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by ^[r]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁶ Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. ¹⁸ If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. ²² But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his ^[s]spoils. ²³ He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

²⁴ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Keeping the Word

²⁷ And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

²⁸ But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Seeking a Sign

²⁹ And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah ^[t]the prophet. ³⁰ For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. ³¹ The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The Lamp of the Body

³³ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ³⁴ The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is ^[u]good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is ^[v]bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Woe to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of ^[w]greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But rather give alms of ^[x]such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.

⁴² “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the ^[y]best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you, ^[z]scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.”

⁴⁵ Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

⁴⁶ And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸ In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.

⁵² “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

^53 [aa]And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, ⁵⁴ lying in wait for Him, ^[ab]and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, ^[ac]that they might accuse Him.

Footnotes

1. Luke 10:1 NU seventy-two others
2. Luke 10:11 NU our feet
3. Luke 10:12 NU, M omit But
4. Luke 10:15 NU will you be exalted to heaven? You will be thrust down to Hades!
5. Luke 10:17 NU seventy-two
6. Luke 10:20 NU, M omit rather
7. Luke 10:22 M And turning to the disciples He said, “All
8. Luke 10:25 expert in the law
9. Luke 10:30 robbers
10. Luke 10:35 NU omits when he departed
11. Luke 10:39 NU the Lord’s
12. Luke 10:41 NU the Lord
13. Luke 11:2 NU omits Our
14. Luke 11:2 NU omits in heaven
15. Luke 11:2 NU omits the rest of v. 2.
16. Luke 11:4 NU omits But deliver us from the evil one
17. Luke 11:11 NU omits bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for
18. Luke 11:15 NU, M Beelzebul
19. Luke 11:22 plunder
20. Luke 11:29 NU omits the prophet
21. Luke 11:34 Clear, or healthy
22. Luke 11:34 Evil, or unhealthy
23. Luke 11:39 Lit. eager grasping or robbery
24. Luke 11:41 Or what is inside
25. Luke 11:43 Or places of honor
26. Luke 11:44 NU omits scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites
27. Luke 11:53 NU And when He left there
28. Luke 11:54 NU omits and seeking
29. Luke 11:54 NU omits that they might accuse Him

John 10:22-42

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²² Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³ And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴ Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in ^[a]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, ^[b]as I said to you. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

³³ The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? ³⁷ If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸ but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and ^[c]believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ³⁹ Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

The Believers Beyond Jordan

⁴⁰ And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁴¹ Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” ⁴² And many believed in Him there.

Footnotes

1. John 10:24 Suspense
2. John 10:26 NU omits as I said to you
3. John 10:38 NU understand