Did you know that each of us can make a conscious choice to hear God's voice? "and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. For they know not the voice of strangers". "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". Notice the "proceedeth",,,present tense, not past.. "The words that I speak unto you are spirit, and are life".
Each born-again, spirit filled child of God, can and will hear his voice - this is why Satan ensures as many churches as possible deny this by teaching the opposite - "doctrine of devils" and it's also why he ensures the world is filled with such a cacophony of voices that God's voice becomes just one of thousands we encounter as we saunter through life.
Think about it - in our generation especially, the ability to mass communicate has reached a fever pitch. A movie can be released these days and overnight can be seen by literally millions around the world. A video on YouTube can go viral and get a billion views! It's so easy to fill our ears with a multitude of voices, as well as the aforementioned movies and Internet, there's TV, radio, music, books, magazines and our nosy neighbor Edna. Even churches seek to monopolize our ears with the Pastor's voice, or our elder's but in all this - do we ever hear God's voice? The only one who's words are spirit and life? The only one that can save us from daily dangers as well as eternal ones? Is his voice even a priority to you? Do you take time out from your busy life to tune out the world and tune in to God? Do you ever obey God's command to "be still and know that I am God"?
Are you aware that he speaks to us in a "still, small voice"? In other words - a whisper? We cannot hear a whisper unless we draw near to the one who is whispering, and we most certainly cannot hear a whisper while we are speaking. No, to hear a whisper, we must be still, we must draw near and grow quiet and listen with all our hearts. It is those who are intimate with him that will hear his voice.
So intimacy then is our chief passion and goal in this life - intimacy with our most intimate of God's. Whether he speaks to us or not - we should desire to just be near him. John, in his gospel, in 20:2 and 21:7 calls himself, not by his own name, (which, incidentally means "beloved of God") but says "that disciple whom Jesus loved". His very identity had become absorbed by the love of his God to the point where he wanted no attention for himself but only for his beloved Savior. He wants to share with all that he is loved by Jesus! But not only is he loved - he loves in return, for we read this of him in 13:23-25 - "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spoke. He then lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it?" Do you see it? He mentions not once but twice that he is "lying on Jesus' breast" at the supper table. He wanted to be as close to Jesus as he could get, and the other disciples acted as if it's no big deal for John to be leaning on Jesus' breast. So I surmise it was fairly common for him to do so. I want to be "that disciple whom Jesus loves". I want to get as close to him as possible. I want to lie on his breast and be still, content to just be near him. I want to be so close to him I can see everything he's doing and do it too, and hear everything he's saying and repeat it too.
Each born-again, spirit filled child of God, can and will hear his voice - this is why Satan ensures as many churches as possible deny this by teaching the opposite - "doctrine of devils" and it's also why he ensures the world is filled with such a cacophony of voices that God's voice becomes just one of thousands we encounter as we saunter through life.
Think about it - in our generation especially, the ability to mass communicate has reached a fever pitch. A movie can be released these days and overnight can be seen by literally millions around the world. A video on YouTube can go viral and get a billion views! It's so easy to fill our ears with a multitude of voices, as well as the aforementioned movies and Internet, there's TV, radio, music, books, magazines and our nosy neighbor Edna. Even churches seek to monopolize our ears with the Pastor's voice, or our elder's but in all this - do we ever hear God's voice? The only one who's words are spirit and life? The only one that can save us from daily dangers as well as eternal ones? Is his voice even a priority to you? Do you take time out from your busy life to tune out the world and tune in to God? Do you ever obey God's command to "be still and know that I am God"?
Are you aware that he speaks to us in a "still, small voice"? In other words - a whisper? We cannot hear a whisper unless we draw near to the one who is whispering, and we most certainly cannot hear a whisper while we are speaking. No, to hear a whisper, we must be still, we must draw near and grow quiet and listen with all our hearts. It is those who are intimate with him that will hear his voice.
So intimacy then is our chief passion and goal in this life - intimacy with our most intimate of God's. Whether he speaks to us or not - we should desire to just be near him. John, in his gospel, in 20:2 and 21:7 calls himself, not by his own name, (which, incidentally means "beloved of God") but says "that disciple whom Jesus loved". His very identity had become absorbed by the love of his God to the point where he wanted no attention for himself but only for his beloved Savior. He wants to share with all that he is loved by Jesus! But not only is he loved - he loves in return, for we read this of him in 13:23-25 - "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spoke. He then lying on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it?" Do you see it? He mentions not once but twice that he is "lying on Jesus' breast" at the supper table. He wanted to be as close to Jesus as he could get, and the other disciples acted as if it's no big deal for John to be leaning on Jesus' breast. So I surmise it was fairly common for him to do so. I want to be "that disciple whom Jesus loves". I want to get as close to him as possible. I want to lie on his breast and be still, content to just be near him. I want to be so close to him I can see everything he's doing and do it too, and hear everything he's saying and repeat it too.
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