"Dr. Lovett, I am confused about `voices' and it's hindering my Christian walk. Jesus said His sheep would know His voice. How can I distinguish between Jesus' voice and the devil's words to my mind? I've made some bad decisions because of Satan's voice, even to the point of giving up on serving the Lord. Can you help me?" (Mrs. C.R.-CA)

SHE ALMOST HAD THE ANSWER

That sister had half the answer when she quoted the Lord's words. Going on a bit further in that passage, she would have reached the key to her dilemma. It reads like this:

"...his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger's voice."
                                    (John 10:4b & 5 NIV)

The key words are, "They will never follow a stranger." That's the answer. The safety of the sheep depends upon their knowing the Shepherd's voice. There's a big difference between knowing a Scripture that talks about our Shepherd's voice and knowing that voice so well you recognize it immediately.

THERE IS A VALID VOICE,
                                ISN'T THERE?

Sure. There is that "still small voice" which says... "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isa. 30:21). Ah, but there's another voice that also says `This is the way, walk ye in it," That is Satan's voice. He's a skilled counterfeiter with centuries of practice in duplicating the Spirit's voice. Unless a person quickly recognizes the difference between those voices, he'd better not listen to ANY.

Let's say you'd like to buy a new car, but to do so means going into debt. The devil will whisper, "Other people ride in this car with you. Should you put them at risk with this older car? In fact, buying a new car would be a proper use of your tithe money." The devil has thousands of ways to present such ideas to your mind, one of which will suit your thinking perfectly.

I watched him do this to my dear friend, Ray.

POOR RAY

Satan sold him on the idea of making money before going full time for the Lord. He figured he could serve the Lord better with $100,000 in his pocket. Now Ray was no ordinary man. Brilliant and gifted, he knew the Word inside out. In spite of that, he listened to Satan's money suggestion and it became his primary goal. All along he believed he was following God's counsel to his spirit.

Ray never made the $100,000, so he never went full time into the Lord's service. 30 years later when he was around 55, cancer caught up with him and the Lord took him home. Satan's idea sounded practical, but it put the Lord in second place--and you know how Jesus feels about that (Matt. 6:33). My friend thought he was in God's will, but it was Satan's voice he was heeding.

So-making a mistake about "voices" can be costly.

ONLY ONE THING TO DO

Get familiar with God's voice!  How?  There is only one place where you can hear His voice---The Bible. You can't hear it in the woods, you can't hear it at work, you can't hear it in the marketplace, nor can you hear it on television. You may hear the Word, but you won't hear the VOICE. That takes quiet moments--alone with the Word of God.

In the service, I remember getting radio checks before taxiing our planes for takeoff. 'Tower-this Is P 241. Radio check please." If everything sounded OK the tower would come back..."Loud and clear 241." That's the way it must be with the voice of the Spirit-" loud and clear." Ah, but how does one read the Word so as to achieve such clearness?

DON'T GULP YOUR FOOD

Remember when you were little and your mother would say..."Don't gulp your food down, chew it 27 times?" Of course no one ever chewed it 27 times, but you get the idea. The same is true of Bible food. It has to be chewed. How? Not by gulping passages. Trying to cover so many chapters in a certain amount of  time, won't do. You won't hear God's voice if you do that.

At first, the voice will be faint. You must listen closely. It takes practice. Everything learned well in this world, comes only with practice. No one can be good at the piano without  practice, you know that. It is equally true of hearing God's voice--practice makes perfect.

First, a book God has written called:  The Gospel of John, and one I have written, titled "Longing to be loved." I'll explain how these two work together. The Gospel of John contains a number of Jesus' discourses, in which Jesus presents lengthy statements to His disciples. These statements offer fascinating truths that will break forth upon your understanding if you read them with the eyes of your heart. By that, I mean you go slowly listening for the  "still small voice."  You won't hear it at first, but shortly you will start picking up ideas.

 Gradually some amazing insights will surface in your mind. But don't congratulate yourself on being a profound Bible investigator. It is the Holy Spirit who is making it possible for you to grasp the insights. Your heart may pound a little when you realize what you are uncovering. Yet there is still the other half of this process. That is found  in the second book in the special – Longing to Be Loved.

 Here you will learn how to get so close to Jesus that you and the Lord can extract biblical treasures together. You see He knows where they are and how much you can handle without erupting. So He will bring forth His treasures in doses you can easily digest. But the biggest pleasure comes as you and Jesus do it together. That is easily the most wonderful part of all this, doing it WITH Jesus!

By this the Lord means, " Make ME your desire and your heart will be completely satisfied."  Well, doing this with Jesus will increase your passion for Him. And He in turn will thrill your heart as you both uncover the treasures of the Word. There is no short cut, It has to be you and the Lord together. It is this intimacy, this closeness that makes it possible to hear the voice of the Spirit.

Open your Bible to John 14 and spend a few moments CHEWING on what you read. Take the first 10 verses. Close your eyes. Let your spirit soar and your Imagination will do what It was designed to do. THAT'S WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THE SPIRIT'S VOICE. To me, this is the Ideal way to develop spiritual hearing.  As you chew-the Holy Spirit will Insert Ideas into your thinking. Watch for them. See if you can spot them as He presents them. Now you're listening for God's voice. From this point on, it will be a matter of practice. In time you'll hear God's voice ... loud and clear.

With the last days approaching, Satan knows his time is short. His attacks against God's people are intensifying. The bulk of those attacks are INTERNAL. That means God's people must be able to distinguish between the devil's voice and God's voice. We are already at the emergency stage. So I urge you to start practicing and learn to recognize God's voice as quickly as you can.

 We are suggesting Lovett's Lights on John and Longing to Be Loved this month. I've done my best to warn you and give you what you'll need to defend yourself against the servants of Satan.  Please take me seriously and make this truth part of your spiritual armor. I guarantee that as soon as you're able to do this, no false teacher or false shepherd will be able to deceive you, for...

YOU WILL BE FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT'S VOICE!

This article is Copyright 2002 by Dr. C. S. Lovett and is found on www.cslovettbooks.com