LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD (Part V)

LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD (Part V)

In the final segment of this devotional series, we remind you that It is extremely urgent for every believer to be totally ‘tuned-in’ and ‘turned-on’ by THE VOICE [THE NOW WORD] OF GOD.  In fact, our success and survival depend upon our ability to hear an accurate, anointed and life-changing Word from the Lord.

Did you notice that when GOD speaks, it is never a debate.  Technically speaking, it really isn’t a dialogue.  God is sovereign.  Therefore, we must hearken (immediately and completely) to the voice of God.  When the Holy Spirit transmits a warning to us, “Do not go through that door,” and we do so anyway, we are opening ourselves (and those around us) to the presence and power of destructive forces.

Here is an important question: “HOW DOES ONE KNOW THAT S/HE IS LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD?”

Such knowledge is imparted at the intersection of FAITH and THE WORD.  Indeed, “FAITH comes by hearing, and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD.” (Romans 10:17)  Whenever we take the limits off God, i.e. whenever we willingly remove our human preconceptions about who GOD is and WHAT GOD WILL DO, we open our mortal senses to immortal and immutable truth.  In connection with this, the Apostle Paul prayed diligently for the Church of Ephesus and, by extension, for us:

Ephesians 1:17-21 (NKJV)

¹⁷ That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Sisters and brothers, TAKE GOD OUT THE BOX in which you have unwisely and unwittingly placed Him.  Why is this so vitally important?  Because GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK!  In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Now unto HIM WHO IS ABLE to do exceedingly abundantly above ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

And I love the scriptural witness of the Apostle Peter:

II Peter 1:3-4 (NKJV)

³ His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.

No wonder Paul declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV)  WOW!

In light of these powerful revelations, it is of paramount importance that we examine ourselves, i.e., that we do REGULAR FAITH-CHECKS TO ALIGN OURSELVES WITH CHRIST AND HIS WORD.  Because in the absence of true trust in God, there is an EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL Restlessness, an INWARD ANXIETY that systematically attacks and erodes the faith and confidence of believers.  This is due to one thing, and one thing only.  DOUBT means we are not allowing GOD to exercise His perfect will in our lives because we are operating under the influence of satanic suggestions and deceptions.  SISTERS AND BROTHERS, WE MUST LIVE BY THE VOICE OF GOD – not our own.  Bottom-line: CHRIST IS ALL! 

There is a GOD-SIZED HOLE in the human heart that ONLY GOD can fill.  Neither pleasure, prestige, power, nor positions are sufficient to fill it.  ONLY CHRIST can both save and satisfy!  One of the early church fathers who was actually a black man, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, lived an incredibly lurid life during his pre-conversion years.  You name it – Augustine did it!  But on the day of his dramatic conversion, Augustine came to the end of himself and realized this: “Lord, you have made us for Yourself – and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.”

Now hear this!  The only way we can walk in peace and productivity is to make up our minds that we must (and shall) always be LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD.

In closing, allow me to share the saga of the eagle.  Over the passage of time, this phenomenal bird experiences a life-threatening problem.  Its beak become overgrown and the eagle is unable to eat and provide essential nourishment for his life.  However, the eagle does not surrender to the status quo; he does something entirely unexpected.  Somewhere deep inside, He hears a voice.  Some call it instinct; I call it the VOICE OF GOD.  It calls to him and causes him to rise in flight to a higher place.  And with brutal force, the eagle thrusts his beak against a rocky crag again and again, until it is completely broken.  Now hear this!  IN ORDER TO HEAR THE WORD AND LIVE BY THE WORD, WE MUST BECOME BROKEN!

Incidentally, it takes quite a while for the eagle’s beak to be fully restored.  AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, GROWTH AND MATURATION TAKE TIME!  In the interim, having no beak, the eagle looks extremely odd to others and his weight is dramatically diminished; BUT he patiently waits.  In due time, he again realizes and regains his created power – and the eagle takes off in flight, to be nurtured again!

The prophet Isaiah must have known about this process.  He wrote,

Isaiah 40:28-31 (KJV)

²⁸ Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.

²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

It does not matter where you have been, or what you have been through, or the present-day circumstances of your life.  According to the Word of God, there is hope for you.  There is a future.  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV)

BE ENCOURAGED.  RIGHT NOW, You are ALIVE IN HIM…and you are LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING.  Maranatha!