God's Voice - Part 3
Scripture Reading - Luke 4:16-19 KJV
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Today’s lesson will build upon knowing the “Voice of God”. In our previous lesson we set a foundation of Jesus, Thee Good Shepherd, being the “Voice of God” or we could say literally the “Voice of the Lord”. We concluded that if you want to know the “Voice of God” you must be familiar with the “Word of God” specifically recorded in the Holy Bible. In another lesson we learned how the Prophet Samuel learned the “Voice of God” with some guidance from his elder. In this lesson we will focus on Jesus speaking the “Voice of God” publically and how it has certain principles that apply to you privately. First notice that Jesus started in the synagogue because that is the ordained (established) public place to hear the Word of God which is the “Voice of God”. It is not only about hearing God’s Word but more importantly understanding what God is saying to His People which includes you and me. Likewise, many people today while seeking to know more about God go to churches, temples, synagogues, etc . . . to learn what is required by God and what they need to do to please God. So as a born-again believer in Christ Jesus please agree with the majority of the family of God and God’s Word to be a part of a local church where you can go to hear the “voice of God” on a regular basis spoken through the voice of men. This leads us to another good practice shown by the Lord. Jesus went to the place in the Word of God where it was already recorded by God what His Will was. Jesus found the scripture that fit His Ministry to establish God’s Will upon the earth at that time. Since the Lord read prophecy it served as a witness to all present that He, as many other prophets of God, boldly proclaim God’s Word revealed to them, typically taking an older scripture that fits the current state of Israel or a particular scripture for one of God’s children individually. What we mean is that, the Lord God believes in prophecy so when He (God) does prophesy about a future event He has no problem revealing when the fulfillment of that event (the prophecy) has come to pass. That way anyone looking for that promise to be fulfilled will gain strength, comfort and encouragement as soon as they hear it has come to pass. In the ministry of Jesus while He was on the earth some people hated Him and wanted Him to be destroyed, while at the very same time others loved Him and wanted Him to stay with them forever. What Jesus did set precedence for all public ministers throughout eternity by establishing a scripture based foundation for others to build upon. Meaning that every (no exceptions) minister should base their sermon, teaching, preaching, prophecy, etc… upon the foundation of God’s Word. The Lord has designed for the speaking forth of His Words in the Spirit of God to be equivalent to hearing the “Voice of God”. Yes, when God’s Word is spoken publically with the Spirit of God’s Love giving it voice it holds the same weight as hearing “God’s Voice”. This example of Jesus starting with the scripture then building upon that scripture for His teaching to the people is divine order. All ministers should start with what they already have seen written in the Holy Bible then expound upon that truth in the witness of similar or exact other scripture references. We mentioned early that the key teachings of God are repeated several times in God’s Word to bring out the fact that it is important to God for His Children to learn them. Yes, starting with the scripture first openly tells the listener that I am not pushing My Own Will but rather the will of God who sent me to speak His Word unto you. Now, we don’t have to read everything we find in the Holy Bible but we should be well acquainted with the verses of scriptures that agrees and gives further insight into the understanding of the scripture we are sharing with others. Jesus also clearly mentioned that the Spirit of God is upon Him. Likewise, every minster of God should rest in the fact that the Spirit of the Lord is upon all ministers that have been ordained by God. The disciples of Jesus go forth with two main components; First 1) they are equipped by the Word of God and secondly 2) they go to the left or right by being led by the Spirit of God. Remember the Word of God and the Spirit of God agree so there is always unity and harmony for the true minister of God. Notice that Jesus read out loud (openly repeated) the will of God being done in the earth through His ministry. All Godly ministries are public displays of the Invisible hand of God at work among the people. Yes, He publically declared that it is God’s Will to anoint preachers, share the Gospel with the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance, recover sight to the blind, liberate the bruised and proclaim to everyone that now is the acceptable year (season, dispensation of Grace, the time of our salvation) of the Lord. Anyone who wanted to know (prove) if Jesus was telling the truth they could easily go seek the same reference verse to validate Jesus’ message. We (ihlcc) do believe that all Christians should be able and willing to digest God’s Holy Word found written in the Holy Bible because again God’s Word spoken in the right spirit is the “Voice of God”. However, many people say that God told them this or that without any scripture reference and if we can’t find any scripture foundation how do we know if God said anything to them? The truth is we don’t know and that could be a problem because the devil will try to act like God leading many people astray. Like we heard an elder say, “You can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say in the Name of God if you take scriptures out of the proper context.” Therefore, we (ihlcc) admonish everyone to keep every scripture in it’s original proper setting to be sure you capture the proper intent from God. Know that God is not the author of confusion but of peace so if the voice is causing confusion, frustration and fear there is a very strong chance (most likely possibility) it is not from God. Remember, you must have multiple witnesses found in the Word of God (The Holy Bible) first, then you must sense the presence of God to confirm what you are hearing and thirdly the motive and purpose behind the words (the Voice of God) must be truth and righteousness in love. So be excited to delight yourself in the holy Word of God expecting for the Holy Spirit of God to be your constant 24/7 counselor of God’s Word. If you practice this in-depth study of God’s Word as a lifestyle you will hear God’s Voice and you will know exactly what “God’s Voice” is speaking to you. The deeper you go in the Word of God the more you know about the depths of God. God’s Voice is gentle, constant, always in line with His Word and full of compassion so be confident that as you grow in Christ Jesus “God’s Voice” will easily grow in your heart through the Grace of God. Please remember He, The Lord, is speaking from within your heart so just take the time necessary to listen to your heart by learning God’s Word unto the Glory of God in Jesus Name. Amen!