Today is the day to praise Jesus and to live for Him. It's the day the Lord has made and we need to rejoice in Jesus to honor Him to please Him with everything we say and do. It is impossible for those in the world to hear God's voice. They're totally blinded to the voice of God. But they do hear Satan's voice. They know how to follow satan. They know how to jump on board with what the devil's doing. If you look at the news, it's all bad. It's people killing each other, people shooting young kids, all sorts of adultery and all sorts of evil. It'll make you sick watching the news. How perverted it is! Obviously people know satan. You don't have to have much self-control to follow Satan, that's why it's much harder to follow Jesus than it is the devil. All you have to do to follow the devil is follow the lusts of your own flesh, do what you want to do. It doesn't take love or self-control. But to follow Jesus Christ does take self-control. You have to daily be calling on Him. You have to receive his peace and his love in your heart. And when you do, you learn to hear Him and see Him in everything He guides you. The other day someone asked a question and it's a question that I want to address, because it's a good question. And that question is, should all christians hear God? Or should some of us just be christians that just hear the pastor? Or just pray but not really have revelation from God? And then the second part of that question is, if we should all be hearing God, then are those of us that are not real christians? So this question has two parts to answer it simply “yes, all true believers, if we're disciples of Jesus should hear the truth because Jesus said all that hear truth hear his voice. And we read in John chapter 10 about Jesus's sheep they hear his voice they follow Him they're not led by a stranger and if you are a disciple of Jesus you will hear the lord's voice, but you have to learn to hear his voice. You know a lot of people think that hearing Jesus means hearing an audible voice in their ears, that they will wake up in the morning and they will hear God's voice in their ears saying “get up”, that they will go to the store, and then God will tell them don't buy that cereal, but buy this cereal, well, make sure you don't put unleaded gas in your car today, make sure you put premium. They think God's voice is like this audible human type of voice that tells them things to do and micromanages their life. And the voice of God is not like that. In fact Satan uses that kind of voice to manipulate many christians, telling them what they can and can't eat, what they can and can't wear, what they should, basically just micromanaging their life. But if you want to hear the voice of God, you have to learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now as far as if you can't hear God's voice, does that mean you're not his child? Well there are two different kinds of people that can't hear God's voice. There are people that don't want to hear God's voice and they have rejected God's voice for the lie. And many christians have rejected God's voice for the voice of their own opinion, the voice of soothsayers, pastors and teachers that just preach what they want to hear. And God has given them over to their own delusion their own deception. So that is one sort of people. And the other sort of person is the sort of person that doesn't hear God's voice, but they want to. That is probably where you are. If you're listening to this message, because chances are, if you're listening to this message and you're here, it's because you want to hear God's voice and you want to grow in your relationship with Him. That is the kind of person I was. I was a christian that did not really hear from God. I wanted to be his child and I knew something was wrong, because even though I was a pastor, and going to church five days a week, and obviously had a prayer life and was doing everything a christian was supposed to be doing. I knew in my heart that I didn't hear from God, I knew that I was a lost sheep. And so I just prayed and I said, “lord please make me your child. I want to be your son and I want you to be my father.” And I read in the scriptures where it says that if we touch nothing unclean then God will become as our father and we will be coming as his son. And I wanted that I wanted a father in heaven who could guide me and lead me and that I knew was engaging in conversation with me not just a God out there in the universe somewhere like how some scientists believe that there's just a power of nature. I wanted to know a personal God, who personally cares about us. Because if there isn't a God who personally cares about us then we could live however we want and it doesn't matter anyway. But if there is a personal God who created us to love and who designed us for a purpose, then we have purpose, we have meaning. There is a reason for our existence and chances are that's why you're here today as well, you don't just want to pray but you want to hear God's voice and so what I want to tell you is Jesus is certainly alive, He does speak to all his children, and if you don't hear his voice but you want to, you need to just start praying and asking Him to open the ears of your conscience to hear Him and open the eyes of your soul that you can see Him. Because the God we worship and the God we hear, we have to learn to worship Him and hear Him in spirit and in truth. I want to read to you what Jesus said in John chapter 10. 1“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. 2but He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3to Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4and when He brings out his own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know his voice.
we're talking about a personal God, one that knows His sheep and the sheep know His voice. And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them, and the Sheep follow Him for they know His voice
5yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from Him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 7then Jesus said to them again, “most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8all who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9i am the door. If anyone enters by me, He will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11“i am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12but a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13the hireling flees because He is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. Hirelings, guys, are paid pastors, paid ministers of God's word. They are the people you see in all the 501c3 churches across america. They're the money preachers and they don't really care about your soul. They care about warm bodies and pews and in chairs, they care about your money to keep their organization going. But as soon as Satan comes, and they see Him coming, all the sheep are scattered and they don't care to keep Satan away from people. All they care is to keep people deceived and in churches because it's their livelihood. If you are a hireling, you're hired because that's the money you make. And I once was a hireling, controlled by the organization, and as long as I was part of that organization I could really only teach what the people were paying me to preach, and if I deviated from the script of what they wanted me to say, I was in big trouble. I was pulled into the office later and told to stop speaking about those things. I couldn't speak about things like against once saved always saved, I couldn't speak about the dreams Jesus was giving me that church is like a whorehouse like a prostitute. I couldn't speak against immodesty because everyone in church was immodest. A lot of the lusts of the flesh you just can't speak about in church, because those people that are lustful are also giving a lot of money to the church which is building up the brick and mortar. So if you start speaking against those that are feeding you as a hireling, you're either going to be put back in place or you're going to be fired. And Jesus is not like a hireling. He is our good shepherd and if you are one of his sheep you will hear his voice and you won't be led by hirelings. 14i am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and am known by my own. 15as the father knows me, even so I know the father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16and other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Jesus talked is talking about gentiles people, like you and me who were not originally jews, anyone that is in the world of whatever faith we were part of, if we put our faith in Jesus christ, He will forgive us of our sins and bring us into his one fold. he's willing to lead us and guide us, no matter what our nationality, tongue, language. Wherever we're from in the world, He will call us out of the world, and give us life and lead us.
And again Jesus says in John chapter 10 um starting in 26 or 27 27my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. 29my 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. 30i and my father are one.” So Jesus made it very clear that if you are a true believer, if you are one of his disciples, you will hear his voice, if you desire to know the truth. You will have a two-way prayer life, you will be praying prayers up and speaking to your father in heaven, and He will also be speaking down to you, you will be receiving revelation from heaven from God. He will teach you and He will guide you. We also know that the early apostles taught this and knew this and preached this even to the gentiles, that all believers that would come into the faith would receive the Holy Spirit, and have supernatural revelation from God, not just the pastors not just big teachers or prophets, but everyone would hear from God. And you can read that in Acts chapter 2, when peter says to them,“repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the lord our God will call.” So the gift of the Holy Spirit is for you, not just for a select few people who consider themselves to be prophets or elders of a church or deacons or something like that. The gift of the Holy Spirit is to all who call on the name of Jesus Christ and want to be led by Him. It is not something that it's not like a gift that only a few christians receive. Our father in heaven wants a relationship with each and every single one of us. And if we're willing to pray and ask Him to open our spiritual ears to hear and our eyes to see, then He will open our ears that we can hear Him in everything and see Him in everything. So as far as the people that don't hear from God, the two sorts of people are ones that are blinded. Because they don't want to see and they don't want to hear and so God gives them over to a strong delusion. But the other sort of person is the sort of person that doesn't hear yet but wants to and that was me. I didn't hear from God but I wanted to hear Him. And so I started a real prayer life saying, “lord, please speak to me, bring me out of sin. I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I need to repent. I know I need purification I don't know why I can't hear you. It's difficult to hear you, but please give me a heart that beats, give me ears that hear and give me eyes that see.” And as I prayed this prayer, Jesus became real to me. And He started leading me and showing me that He was the God that is capable of revealing Him Himself to me in a way that makes sense.
Especially when you're first starting, guys, God's not going to make any sense to you the way that He leads. It's hard to understand. But if you just pray and say. “Jesus, please guide me and help me understand what you want me to understand, help me to see what you want me to see, help me to hear what you want me to hear. Open these deaf ears.” Then He will manifest to you and help you to see Him in the way that He desires and in the way that makes sense to you. But if you don't take those baby steps, those first steps of faith to be able to get to know your creator, then you'll just stay stagnant.
And many christians are frankly, they're just satisfied with being lukewarm, they're satisfied with not hearing from God, because believing that God is distant just somewhere out in the universe, allows you to kind of have the comfort to believe that God's got your back when you're in trouble, but when you're in the good times to live, however you choose, you don't need God controlling you, you feel like but when God becomes personal to you not that He micromanages your life but when God becomes personal to you, then He changes you, He takes things away from you and molds you to his image. And a lot of people don't want to give up anything for God. They don't want to give up sins. They would rather keep their lustful thoughts, their pornography, their evil music, their evil friends, they're not able or willing to give these things up. And therefore they will never hear from God. It is only the pure in heart who will know God and see God. So if you desire a relationship with Jesus, that is a two-way street that you're hearing from Him, he's hearing from you, then you have to be willing to surrender yourself to Him and say, “lord, have your way with me, purify me from unrighteousness, I'm willing to lay down my crowns, my my talents, my abilities for your purpose. I'm willing to give up what is sinful, I'm willing to give up friendships and whatever I need to give up for you. I want to hear your voice and be guided by you.” So if you're in that place, in your life where you're willing to surrender to God because that you can't do it on your own, you're in a good place. And Jesus will speak to you because He is alive and He is the truth, the way and the life. I hope this encourages you to go before God in prayer to work on your prayer life and to just ask Him to help you see clearly. I hope that you don't just run to strangers, thinking that that's God's voice, running to money preachers and prophets on youtube, but that you may seek after the voice of the Holy Spirit. Because He alone is the one who is worthy to lead you, and to guide you into everlasting life. May the grace of Jesus be with you.
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