SHOULDERS #66 -- 4/19/99
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #66 ---- 4/19/99
TITLE: "Have You A Word From God? (part 10) ---- Can I Really Hear God?"
(John 10:27)
My Dear Comrade in the Conflict:
How blessed it is to know that we who are in the battle have the
wonderful privilege of fighting "From" victory rather than fighting "For"
victory. Jesus already did the latter; we, therefore, need only do the
former. When you know the battle has already been won and all you're
doing is staking claim to territory He already secured, you suddenly find
your entire motive and modus operandi changing.
No longer do you have to take ground; you simply claim ground already
taken.
No longer do you have to persuade people; you simply share the truth and
leave the results to God.
No longer do you have to explain, defend, or justify your actions; you
simply focus on obeying Him.
No longer do you need to come up with some gimmick or attention-getter;
you simply respond to the promptings of the Holy Sprit, trusting Him to
draw the people to where they need to be.
No longer do you have to exercise your authority; you simply act in
obedience that is resting on His.
It really does take a lot of the work out of serving Him and ministering
to others.
Thanks, Lord ---- for winning the battle!
INTERIM WITH A PURPOSE:
For the past month I have been preaching in a church near us ---- a
church with a history of struggles and battles; a church with a history
of short pastorates, most of which were terminated under less than
acceptable conditions.
Now, the last thing in the world I need to do is pastor another church; I
have enough on my plate already.
However, some time ago God gave us a "process" (I refuse to call it a
"program") through which we can lead such a church into a new position of
joy, restoration, vision, and hope for the future. It is called "Interim
With A Purpose".
Yesterday I began such a ministry with this congregation. In the five
Sundays that we have been there, Jo Ann and I have found, by and large,
some very gracious and kind, but exhausted and beat up people who just
need to be loved, encouraged, taught, and led through a process of
healing some wounds, binding up some bruises, removing some particles
from their eyes, and preparing for a new shepherd.
It is taking an extraordinary amount of energy and concentration to do
this. It requires assembling some materials tailored just for them; it
requires preaching precise messages directed exclusively to their
particular needs and conditions.
So ---- please pray for us. It is an enormous task which we gladly
embrace. But, we need a sense of clear direction from the Lord as we
work on a dual-track approach ---- the public preaching and teaching
ministry, and a "consulting" ministry with the various areas of church
leadership (staff, council, deacons, etc.)
THE FINAL "RHEMA":
Even though I've received more responses during this "series" of
"Shoulders" letters than any other I can remember, I feel prompted to
draw this series to a conclusion ---- at least for the time being. I
don't want to overdo a good thing.
I want to conclude, therefore, by addressing the question as to whether
or not we can really "hear" God in the first place through "Rhema's" from
His Word.
Not everyone believes we can. There is a part of us that truly wants to
believe we can, but there is another part of us that often proves to be
skeptical.
Add to that mix the fact that Satan certainly (1) wants to deny us
access to such revelation, (2) wants to create confusion to such
assurances from God, or, (3) at the very least wants to create doubt
about such words from God, and you can see just how uncertain we can be
about something God so deeply wants us to know with confident assurance.
Think about it ---- If I cannot be sure I have a "Rhema" from God during
those crucial times of my life, what do I really have in terms of
specifics to help me make right choices, give me courage to step out into
the unknown in obedience, and create perseverance and consistency as I do
so?
I think this is what Jesus was dealing with in the tenth chapter of John
when He made that incredible statement ---- "My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me." (10:27)
For that reason, I want to address some practical questions about this
very issue ---- "Can I really hear God for myself? Can I know beyond
doubt that it is really Him? Just how important is it that I Do hear
Him? What if I hear Him wrongly? Do I really need to hear Him in the
first place?"
In trying to answer those questions, I want to address four basic
statements, rooted deeply in Jesus' statements found in John chapter ten:
1. You were Divinely created to Hear God ---- based on Redemption,
Reality, and Relationship.
2. There are significant contrasts between the Voice of the Shepherd and
the voices of others.
3. Most people Don't hear God in this way very often ---- for seven
simple reasons.
4. You Can Hear God, however ---- and here's how.
When I was very young, my paternal grandfather and my uncle both raised
sheep. Even as I write I see images in the mental gallery of my child
hood that remind me of some of these truths to follow.
I. CREATED TO HEAR GOD
Jesus is quite clear about this. If there is any doubt, it is on our
part, and not on His. Here's what He says ---- unequivocally.
1. His sheep do one thing that comes naturally ---- they hear His voice
(10:3).
My grandfather would simply go to the gate into the field, bang his stick
on the side of the feed bucket, and shout, "C'mon, blabbers! C'mon,
blabbers!" ---- and here they would come! Bleating, running, responding
to the voice of their shepherd.
Sheep have an instinctive capacity to quickly recognize just who the
shepherd is, lock in on the sound of his voice, and remember it
thereafter. So it is with followers of Jesus.
Just as a new baby immediately recognizes the voice of its mother, even
at birth, so a new Christian can sense the voice of the Sanious ---- the
Shepherd. Above the din and drone of the world, the voice of the
shepherd can be heard.
The only times this does not hold true is if the sheep is too far away to
hear, has been injured and is losing strength, or is pre-occupied with
self-centered pursuits ---- such as fresh grass on the other side of the
fence, curiosity with a fluttering Killdeer, or other distractions.
So, no matter what others may say, my friend, remember this ---- You were
created ---- and Called ---- to hear the voice of The Shepherd. It is
already within you to have both the desire to hear and the capacity to
hear. Don't let any other voice tell you otherwise. You Can and Should
hear the voice of your Shepherd.
2. As He speaks, the Shepherd also calls You ---- By Name! (10:3). And
---- everybody recognizes his own name, after all. I can be sitting in a
busy crowded restaurant, recognizing no one, and as soon as someone calls
out, ---- "Bob!", I instantaneously respond. Now, I may not be the right
"Bob", but that's my name, and I recognize it, regardless of who says it,
and I instinctively respond to it ----- even if I'm embarrassed when I
discover they were calling another "Bob".
Your Shepherd calls you ---- by name. And ---- you are programmed to
recognize both the Name and the voice of the one saying it.
3. The Shepherd's sheep Know His voice (10:4). When someone calls out
the name, "Bob!" and it is an unfamiliar voice, I immediately identify it
as a "new" voice ---- one I don't recognize. In my case, I still often
react. However, it doesn't take long for that "strange" voice to become
"familiar" if I hang around it long enough and learn the texture,
tonations, and mannerisms connected to that new voice. It eventually
becomes no longer new. That's when it can become dangerous.
The word for "know" transcends mere knowledge that it is the voice. It
takes a deeper step; it identifies with the voice. Again, like a new
born baby ---- from the mother's womb her voice has been "mapped" in the
baby's brain. When it is born, it immediately recognizes the voice of
its mother.
The same with sheep ---- the sheep "Know" the voice ---- they identify
with it; they embrace it; they respond to it; they live it; they own it.
It has become a part of them.
4. The sheep Don't know the voices of strangers ---- unless! Unless
they surround themselves so thoroughly with a multitude of unfamiliar
voices that they begin losing touch with the familiarity of the voice of
their shepherd.
I remember an occasion with my grand father's sheep when I was only four
years of age. I watched my grandfather go to the gate, beat on that
bucket, and call out, "C'mon, blabbers!" so many times that I thought I
could do it.
One day I grabbed the bucket and the stick, headed for the gate, climbed
up to the very top, and began beating on that bucket, calling out at the
top of my voice, "C'mon, blabbers! C'mon, blabbers!"
The sheep did nothing. They just kept grazing.
I tried all the harder ---- "C'mon, blabbers! C'mon, blabbers!"
One or two younger sheep just raised their heads up from grazing, turned
and looked me as if I had interrupted them, and went back to the grass.
That both made me mad, and also gave me a measure of encouragement ----
so I kept at it.
Finally, after three or four hours of periodically going back to the gate
with the bucket and stick, the sheep finally paid attention, and began to
come with halting gait.
Then, either worn down by my continuous beating and jabbering, or
deceived, or just willing to accommodate a little child, they began to
come.
Even as they came, the thought ran through my little mind ---- "they know
I'm really not Grandpa."
Even in their ignorance and compromise, they still know the voice of the
Shepherd, and they don't recognize the voice of strangers.
5. Other voices sometimes enter the fold and try to imitate the voice of
the Shepherd (10:8-10).
1) Strangers ---- those who have no basis of identify or ownership
with the sheep at all. Just strangers ---- with no personal interest in
or investment in the sheep.
2) Hirelings ---- those who work like, look like, act like, and talk
like shepherds ---- but who do it for personal gain only. Their only
motivation is found in what they can get out of it personally. Sometimes
sheep mistake those voices for that of the shepherd ---- until feeding
time and caring time come around and the hireling has gone home for the
day.
3) Thieves ---- those whose sole intent is to steal, kill, and
destroy. You have to watch out for thieves, because they come in the
darkness of night or when nobody is around.
They don't speak, because they don't want to be detected. But their
sounds are there ---- the squeak of a drawer, the creak of an opening
door, the crash of a breaking window. So ---- even though they don't
speak, their voices have still been heard. Attentive sheep will be alert
to the thief and his wicked intentions.
4) Robbers ---- like the thieves, their sole intent is the same ----
steal, kill, and destroy. The only difference is that they don't wait
until darkness. They come on broad daylight, brashly, brazenly,
callously, stick a gun in your face, and ravage your person hood through
the insult of face-to-face confrontation, demanding all you have ---- or
else!
However it may be that they come into the fold, their intentions are
always evil, their methods are ruthless and deceptive, and their voices
could and should be easily detected by the ears of a sheep who has
focused on the voice of the Shepherd.
6. The Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep (14-18). That display
of love and care immediately impacts the awareness of the sheep that this
is Someone worthy of being followed, listened to, and obeyed.
He walks ahead of them to guide them. He fights to protect them. He
speaks to instruct them. He sings to comfort them. He ministers to heal
them. He cleans and combs them to shear them ---- to make them fruitful.
He seeks to rescue them ---- that's why He carries both a rod of
correction and defense, and a staff of rescue, security, and safety.
7. The fact that the Shepherd speaks to His sheep proves He knows the
sheep ---- "My sheep hear My voice, and I Know them." (10:27).
8. The familiarity of His voice causes the sheep to follow the Shepherd
(10:27).
9. Every need they have is found in the Shepherd, and those provisions
are made known through His voice. All they have to do is stay near,
listen, hear, exercise confidence, follow, and obey. A very simple life
it is to live as a sheep ---- knowing you can hear the voice of the
Shepherd.
So, my friend ---- regardless of what others may say, I declare to you
that you Can hear the voice of Your Shepherd.
II. CONTRASTING THE VOICES:
To put it simply, the way God speaks to us is very different from the way
all others speak. Let me quickly, without belaboring the point, list
some practical contrasts that will hopefully aid you in determining just
who is speaking to you in those times when you need a special "Rhema".
1. God always speaks directly and simply; other voices will often speak
indirectly, abstractly, and with complexity that makes it hard to
understand.
2. God gets to the point; other voices will beat around the bush.
3. God speaks specifically; other voices speak in generalities that
cannot be pinned down.
4. God speaks to bring conviction or confidence; others speak to accuse
and create confusion.
5. God speaks to build up; others speak to condemn.
6. God speaks constructively; others speak destructively.
7. God always speaks in harmony with His Word, the Bible; others speak
in ways that either deny, distort, defame, or distract from the Bible.
III. CAUSES FOR NOT HEARING GOD:
Again, to be brief, I think of seven things that hinder our hearing the
"Rhema" voice of God.
1. Carnal appetites. Butting heads with other sheep, wandering from the
fold or the field, fleeing in terror from the sounds of the wolves,
exploring deep into the bog and swamp of self-centeredness, becoming
victim to the "mites" that settle into and irritate the ears, going where
our hooves and wool will pick up the cockle burs and "stick tights" ----
all these keep us from hearing God.
2. Worldly-mindedness and materialistic attentions. When we want the
thistles and weeds of the world over the alfalfa and clover of God's
grace, we tend to wander and stray. Those carnal appetites lead us
further and further away from the sound of His voice.
3. Disbelief and Unbelief. I intentionally use two words. Unbelief is
the inability to hear the voice of the Shepherd. Disbelief is the
unwillingness to hear the voice of the Shepherd. Unbelief is the absence
of faith; Disbelief is the rejection of faith. Either one will destroy
your capacity to hear.
Are you finding it hard to believe Him? Are you refusing to believe Him
---- because you know it will require some personal changes? Either way,
you're a "gonner".
4. Deterioration of Spirit Development. You can learn about God in your
Soul ---- through your intellect. You can desire to know and hear God in
your Soul ---- through your emotions and feelings. You can even choose
to obey God in your Soul ---- through your will, your capacity to choose.
However, you Hear God in your spirit. Therefore, the development of your
spirit is essential to hearing God. If you aren't consistently hearing
God, it may be because you are not taking the disciplines needed to
develop your spirit being. I'll give some suggestions in the final
section.
5. Debilitation of Unconfessed Sin: Psalm 66:16-18 tells us that if we
have sin in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. If that is true, then
just imagine the effect such a condition has on our own capacity to hear
God, so much more limited than His capacity.
6. Deafness of spirit ---- spiritual deafness: Deafness of spirit is
something like a callous on the ear drum. Things like an unforgiving
spirit (Mat 18;21-25), which is a self-inflicted wound on our souls, or
bitterness, or unbroken pride, fear and terror ---- all these "callouses"
cause a deafness in our spirits where we cannot hear the voice of the
Shepherd.
7. Disregard of the Best, settling for the Good (Hebrews 2:3). So often
we settle for far less than the Father intended for us. When we settle
for less than the best, it is no longer necessary to try to hear the
voice of the Shepherd; we just go on in our own understanding and settle
for whatever comes next.
Such is the case with Mary and Martha ---- both of them had the
opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him. Martha chose
a "good" thing of hospitality while Mary chose the "best" thing of
fellowship and hearing. While Martha may have "overheard" some of the
conversation, she never really heard ---- she was to busy settling for
the good, and missing the best.
IV. CURES FOR HEARING GOD:
1. Establish a place and some specific times to spend simply listening
---- no reading, no speaking ---- just listening.
2. Learn to worship. Nothing does more to prepare yourself to hear God
than to worship Him. He likes to be worshipped, and He'll often respond
to your worship by giving you a "Rhema" to pertains either to His own
nature and character, His plans, or your specific situation.
3. Get into the Word ---- not for Bible study, sermon preparation, or
the like, but just to read. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to the
passage you need to read, and then read the Word like a hungry child,
trusting God to "spotlight" anything specific that needs your attention.
Then, after setting the stage and preparing your heart, . . . .
1. Be Still. "Be still and know that I am God." Interestingly the
Hebrew word here is not talking about talking, but rather, about motion
---- busy-ness. When you're busy for God, you're not listening ----
you're not hearing.
2. Be Silent. Stop talking and start listening. Simply ask, "Lord,
what do You have to say to me today?" And then keep your mouth shut, and
just take time to listen.
3. Be Submissive. Doing so puts you in the position to receive from God
what He wants you to hear. If we are not submissive, God has no reason
to speak.
FINALLY:
I know, my friend, that there is so very much more to hearing God than
what I've covered here. These are simply my thoughts ---- perhaps too
many thoughts.
All I know is that God, in His great mercy, has promised that He will
speak to us in our times of need, whatever, wherever, and whenever those
needs come. And, since He is no respecter of persons, we can conclude
that His willingness to speak so you can hear includes you and me.
It is a given ---- The Shepherd Speaks. And ---- The Sheep Can Hear.
Praise His Name!
If you need to hear Him speak, tell Him so. He doesn't mind.
And, in due season, He will speak ---- just the right thing for you.
And you'll know it.
In Christ's Great Bond of Mercy,
Bob
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright April, 1999. All rights reserved.
If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.
If you would like a list of past issues which you could receive upon
request, just let us know.
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{ (O) (O) }
------oOOOo--------U-------oOOOo------
Hang in there! I'm with you!
-------.ooooO--------------- Ooooo--------
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TO SUBSCRIBE, send any message to <[email protected]>.
Bob Tolliver ---- Rom 1:11-12
Life Unlimited Ministries
E-mail: [email protected]
Ph: 417-275-4854 Fax: 417-275-4855
Do You Receive "Shoulder To Shoulder"?
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