John 10:22-30

There is a satirical story about a minister who got into difficulty and decided to pray about it. He had always said his prayers with diligent regularity.

He believed that prayer was a good exercise that purified the soul that was to be no more neglected than brushing his teeth. However, he had never asked God for anything beyond the routine. But now he was desperate so he fell on his knees and folded his hands. He began, “O God,” and paused. Then he heard a clear, powerful voice say, “Yes, what is it?” He fainted immediately and did not come to until someone found him on his back at the altar of the church.

Would you faint if you heard God answer you in a clear, powerful voice that said, “Yes, what is it?” We all probably would. But we do not expect God to speak to us like that. One time in a sermon I said, “God spoke to me and said…” On the next Sunday, a men’s Sunday School class spent the entire hour talking about that statement. They invited me to come the following Sunday and discuss it with their class. We had a delightful time talking about how God speaks to us.

David, writing in Psalm 29 says, “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.”

Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd…My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” (John 10:27). Also he said, “…the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

I. HOW DOES GOD SPEAK TO US?

First, God speaks to us through nature. This is the first kind of revelation that we usually have. It is a general revelation of God to all people everywhere. In Psalm 19 we read, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

So, God has spoken to every human being through nature. Who can look at the splendor of creation and proclaim that there is no creator? To do so is not to listen to God!

God also speaks through history. History is really his story. Charles Beard, a professor of history, was asked, “What have you learned from a lifetime of studying history?” He replied, “I have learned four things: first, whom the gods would destroy they make mad with power; second, the mills of God grind slowly; the bee fertilizes the flower it robs; fourth, when it is dark enough you see the stars.” He is saying that through nature and the events of the past God speaks. But are we listening?

God speaks through the Bible. It is a perfect treasure of god’s revelation of himself to us. Every time you read it God can speak to you if you are listening. A Christian ought to read the bible daily because through it you can hear from God and He can guide your life into his perfect will.

God also speaks to us through other people. Sometimes, what others say to us is like the voice of God. In First Samuel 3:1-21, is the story of God speaking to the young boy, Samuel. As he lay on his bed he heard a voice saying, “Samuel, Samuel.” He got up and went to Eli three times and said, “You called me, here I am.” “Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, God and lie down, and if he calls you say, Speak, Lord for your servant is listening.” There are times when another person can say something to us that is directly from God.

God also speaks to us through the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. One of the most exciting times of my week is when I say to the Lord, “I want to be a voice through which you can speak to the church. What do you want me to say?” Usually, there is a clear picture of a title and a text that will form in my mind and I am sure that it is a word from the Lord. Then I can prepare the message under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and proclaim it to you with a sense of “Thus saith the Lord.” The same is true about many of the decisions that we have to make although the answers do not come with such regularity as they do with the sermons that have to be produced each week. God speaks to all Christians through the Holy Spirit about what he wants to do in their lives. The secret of getting his message is learning to listen.

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord’s voice. The young man couldn’t help but wonder, “Does God still speak to people?”
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o’clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, “God.. If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey.”

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, “God is that you?” He didn’t get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn’t recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. “Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk.” It didn’t seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.

He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh street, he again felt the urge, “Turn down that street.” This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection.

Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half -jokingly, he said out loud, “Okay, God, I will”. He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop.

He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi-commercial area of town. It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.

Again, they sensed something, “Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street.” The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep.

He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. “Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid.”

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, “Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don’t answer right away, I am out of here.”

He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man’s voice yelled out, Who is it? What do you want?” Then the door opened before the young man could get away.
The man was standing there in his jeans and t-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn’t seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. “What is it?” The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, “Here, I brought this to you.”
The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, “We Were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn’t have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.”

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, “I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?” The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man’s hand.
He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers. (Derrick Jordan)

II. HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT GOD IS SPEAKING TO ME?

There is only one way to know. You have to know his voice. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice.” If Jesus lives in your heart then you are getting familiar with his voice. You can learn to distinguish his voice from all of the other voices that you hear. This happens as you grow in your love relationship to him. You will go through many cycles of hearing his voice and obeying and discovering that what he bids you to do is for his glory and your best interest. Then you will come to the point that when you hear his voice you will know that it is the Lord speaking to you.

We have difficulty hearing when we go for long periods of time when we do not listen. When we are insisting on our own way and are not submissive to his way we do not hear from him. His voice is stilled in our spirit. It is like a shepherd calling his sheep and they just stand there and do not follow him. You only learn to hear his voice when you do the things that he has revealed to you.

Some do not hear his voice because they do not belong to him. The unbeliever does not hear his voice of daily guidance and blessing. But the unbeliever can hear his voice calling him or her to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. If you heed that call, then you can hear his voice in practical everyday matters.
The relationship of the sheep to the shepherd is an intimate one. It is because, “I lay down my life for the sheep. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and take it up again. This command I received from my father.” (John 10:18).

Jesus is speaking to us today through the cross. He is calling you to leave your sin and follow him. He is calling you to leave your fears and half-hearted discipleship and walk with him. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

His voice is life giving to our souls. PRAISE BE TO HIS NAME!