February 26, 2020
John 10:1-5 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful, when the enemy starts shouting things at you, you don’t even notice? But when your shepherd says something, you hear him, and you run to him. A big part of turning aside (our main focus this year) is hearing His voice. People struggle with prayer and turning aside, mainly because they can’t hear His voice. If you had a question or a problem and you knew that if you prayed, you would get the answer, would you pray more often? Have you ever wanted a two-way conversation with God? Well, it is something that you have to develop. God’s voice is not a natural voice. It’s a spiritual voice. He doesn’t speak to your natural ears. Have you ever approached God with a question, and the silence was deafening? That’s because you’re trying to hear with your natural ears. That’s not His primary way of speaking. If you continue to expect an audible voice, you’re setting yourself up for a lot of frustration. God will never lead you on any path but success. If you think that it is not God’s will that you know EXACTLY what He wants from you, you’re wrong. God don’t just have two-way conversations with preachers. He wants that for all His children.
In the day you and I live in, if you’re not hearing Him, you better get around somebody that is. 90% of the people out there who say they are speaking for Him, are not. They’re speaking from the minds of men. In some instances, they are being inspired by seducing spirits. It’s imperative that you learn to hear from God.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
You have a spirit that is alive unto God. Plus, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. The Holy Spirit speaks to you through your spirit. Not through your mind, circumstances, or feelings. We seek the spectacular, and we miss the supernatural. We want to hear a voice or see something, but that’s not the primary way that God leads all of his children. Even preachers. The primary way that He speaks is through the inward witness. You can read this in Romans chapter 8. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit because we are the children of God. Most of the time the problem is not hearing His voice, it’s recognizing His leading. But, once again, this has to be developed. If you want to be led by the spirit, you have to be serious about it. The desire has to be real.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is a spirit. And because you are made in his image and likeness, you are a spirit. You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. Every man is made up that way, whether they are born again or not. Every man is an eternal being. You are born spiritually dead. And If you don’t get born again, you go to where the spiritually dead go. To the regions of the damned. Spiritually alive people go to heaven where God is. A man doesn’t go to hell because he was born on earth and sinned. A man goes to hell because he was born spiritually dead. So, you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body.
God don’t lead you through your soul. He doesn’t lead you through your body. He leads through your spirit. You can be led by your body, just like you can be led by your own mind and imaginations. You must learn to differentiate between God’s voice and those voices. Most of the time people listen to their soul and they think its God. We’ve all fell into that trap. You can be led by your body or your soul, or you can be led by your spirit. They all have a voice. Which one are you giving the most attention to?
You spirit speaks through your conscience.
Your soul speaks through reasoning and imaginations.
Your body speaks through feelings.
Listening to your conscience is huge. Throughout the New Testament, the verses speaking about obeying your conscience is astounding. What makes your conscience so invaluable? It will always lead you down the right path.
Proverbs 20: 27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
God guides you through your spirit! This is how He enlightens you!
Acts 24:16 I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
Paul worked very hard to keep his conscience clear of offence. You can offend God, and you can offend man. You must work hard to keep your spirit and conscience clear of offence. When you disobey your conscience it offends God. When you disobey your conscience, you sear it. And when you sear it, you miss the guidance it provides. Most people don’t have a problem hearing God, they have a problem obeying Him. If you don’t obey your conscience, you aren’t obeying God.
Con - science
With - knowledge
We must become more spirit conscious! How do we do this? We do more spiritual things. If all you do is feed your mind, you’ll be more naturally conscious. When you feed your spirit, you’ll be spirit conscious. Put a priority on spiritual things. Prayer and praise should be a priority. Give them your focus and your spirit will become stronger. It is the same as physically working out, your muscles become stronger. If you work out your spirit, it will also become stronger.
Keep a tender conscience! Work hard at it! God wants us all to have that tender side! Do not become hard and insensitive. You dampen your spirit and conscience with offence and unforgiveness. Stay away from ill-will! Unforgiveness clogs the arteries of compassion. No love or life flows out to others through unforgiveness. None will flow in either. You don’t just cut off other people from getting close, you cut off God from getting close. This is extremely important. Love worketh no ill to its neighbor. Love would never do anything (speech or action) to hurt another person. This is a challenge! But, as His children, we have His love in us. And it’s a lie to think you can’t do it. You can forgive, and you can be forgiven! Just as God has forgiven us. It helps keep your conscience clear toward God and man. You can be free to get divine direction rather than having your spirit dampened and clogged. His direction will only become louder and harder to ignore.