John 10:27 NKJV

[27] My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

John 10:5 NKJV

[5] Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 

When we are one of Jesus’ flock we will know his voice. We will listen to and follow his voice and his alone. We will not follow the voice of strangers because they are not our shepherd. 

We should be so familar with the voice of the Lord that we cannot be deceived by other voices. This will also lead us in more perfect obedience because the more quickly we understand what we are told by Jesus, the more quickly we can obey. 

Like we spoke about last week, the Bible is a written expression of Jesus Christ. It will help us know the voice of our shepherd as we know who he is by reading scripture.

A hinderence to hearing the Lord is continuing in agitated and desperate prayers without quieting ourselves to listen. If we allow our soul to be troubled constantly shouting out prayers but not stopping to listen, the still small voice of our Lord is hard to hear amongst our own noise.

We must listen to Psalm 131:2 where the psalmist says, “Psalms 131:2 NKJV

[2] Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

we must quiet ourselves and be satisfied in the Lord and then we can hear him. We must calm and quiet our soul. 

Just as we spoke about the milk and the meat of scripture last week, notice the psalmist says he has been weaned from milk. This means he is eating solid food of scripture and his soul is now able to be calm and rest on the Lord, listening for his voice. 

Psalms 139:4 NIV

[4] Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

We can have confidence in God that he knows our prayers even before we pray them. It is up to us to take the time and pray them though, as this is us using the authority we have been given in the kingdom  of heaven to move mountains.  

Mark 11:23-24 NIV

[23] “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 

To hear the Lord’s voice well we must abide in him. One way to do this is by worshlip and staying in the Word of God. 

We worship God because we need to connect with God. We give him Glory and honor and enter in to a place of abiding with God. This brings refreshing and strength in the Lord. He does not require our praise to stay on the throne. The throne is his. The earth is his footstool. We worship him because he DESERVES it and it puts our soul in the PROPER ALIGNMENT in the spiritual realm. 

When we come out of the secret place with God we cannot ignore him either. We must stay in contact with the Holy Spirit and the voice of God. We must keep our spirits on submission to Him. 

Smith Wigglesworth once stated, “I rarely spend more than 30 minutes in prayer and I rarely go more than 30 minutes without praying.” 

This shows a life focused and centered in God and listening to his voice. 

Worship is not complete without expression. We must open ourselves and not hold anything back from the Father. We must let his light shine on everything inside of us illuminating even what we might be afraid to share and allowing ourselves to feel the move of his spirit. If we cry we cry. If we look like a tool, we look like a fool, but we must live in full surrender and allow him to put us together the way he wishes to. 

“Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

[19]  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We cannot define ourselves by our culture or traditions. We must allow our identity to be in Christ alone. 

In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

-In Christ Alone

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.