WALKING IN THE SPIRIT: HEARING GOD'S VOICE, by Brad McClendon

When God created mankind, He designed us for a very specific purpose. Every individual has a unique calling and destiny, and we have all been gifted and given certain talents to help us fulfill these. Some are called to the business world, others are gifted in the area of athletics, some are naturally good writers, and others are called to serve the Lord in an occupational ministry position. Regardless of our individual areas of gifting and purpose, we are all called to inherently the same thing: hearing God's voice and walking in the Spirit.

When the Lord first spoke the universe into existence, He intended that hearing His voice would be a fundamental part of each person's life. It is through hearing the Lord's voice that we grow in love, become more like Him, and are equipped and prepared to fulfill our individual destinies.

Let There be Light

The Bible tells us that when the Lord created the world, He actually spoke it into existence. Genesis 1: 1-3 says:

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep;
• and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
• Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

After this the Lord continued to create by simply speaking forth a word and creating life where there was nothing. He created all of the animals, the trees, the stars, and the entire universe with just a few words. Creative power resonates through the Lord's voice. Psalm 29: 3-9 says:

• The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
• the glory of God thunders, the Lord is over many waters.
• The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic.
• The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
• yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
• And He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
• The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.
• The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
• the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
• The voice of the Lord makes the deer calve, and strips the forest bare, and in His temple everything says, "Glory!"

These verses tell us that the Lord's voice has the power to break bondages, bring forth joy, and spread new life. When the Lord birthed all of creation with the sound of His voice, there was more than just sound coming forth from Him. As He spoke His nature was actually emanating and all that was created in some way reflected that nature.

The Nature of the Lord

As we read earlier, before the Lord created the world, the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and that the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (see Genesis 1:2). Situations that are formless and void actually attract the Spirit of the Lord. Where there seems to be nothing but confusion and chaos, the Holy Spirit is able to bring forth the life of the Lord. Isaiah 9: 2 says:

• The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

Lives that are consumed by darkness are prime candidates to receive the life and light of the Lord. Without His light, our lives are formless and void just like the earth was, but as His voice disrupts the darkness, we are exposed to His nature. This is the life that we are called to experience. After the Lord created the earth and filled it with life, He formed His prize creation: man. The Bible tells us that God made man in His very image (see Genesis 1:27).

Becoming What We Behold

As we hear the voice of the Lord and behold His nature, we become like Him and His nature begins to replace ours. This is true of whatever or whomever we behold. We will begin to reflect the characteristics and nature of the thing or person to which we devote our focus and attention. It is easy to tell the people with whom a person spends his time because he will begin to use some of the same words and even display similar mannerisms. When we look at the Lord, we will become like Him. We will begin to look and sound like Him. II Corinthians 3:18 says:

• But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

This verse tells us that we will be transformed into the image of the Lord as we behold Him with an unveiled face. This is how we become like Him. However, the opposite is also true: if we behold the Lord with a veiled face, the veils will distort His image to us, and we will begin to become like the distorted image we are beholding.

The enemy understands this, so he has made it he goal to distort the image of God to us. This has been his plan from the very beginning, and it is still one of his primary schemes today. The first time he ever spoke to Adam and Eve, he was twisting the words of the Lord to present a false image of the Lord. This false image led them to make a decision that released death in the world.

Prior to this the only sounds that had been heard in the earth were the sounds of life that had come from the Lord or from those in relationship with Him. All that was released in creation at that time was goodness, peace, and light. When the enemy spoke, for the first time, confusion, unrest, sensuality, and self preservation were released in the earth.

Now, thousands of years later, the enemy still uses these things to cause us to behold an image of the Lord that is not Who He really is. As we behold this false image, we will begin to become like it. One of the Lord's first instructions to creation was to be fruitful and multiply (see Genesis 1:22). Life in the spirit is basically a life of bearing fruit. In all that we do in our lives, we will reproduce and bring forth fruit. If we behold a false image of the Lord, our lives will be lived on the natural plain and we will bring forth the fruit of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 says:

• Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Voice of God

All of these deeds of the flesh are the results of living our lives apart from the Spirit of God. When we walk in our own strength and live according to the natural wisdom of this world, our lives will manifest the fruit of the world that we are beholding. But when we walk according to the Spirit and live in obedience to the voice of the Lord, we will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says:

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

These things are the result of walking in the Spirit and allowing Him to remove the veils that the enemy has intended to distort our image of God. It is only as we truly see the Lord for who He is that we are able to rise above what is natural and walk in the supernatural realm. How do we do this? How do we recognize the Lord's true voice and live our lives in obedience to it?

The voice of God can be distinguished from every other voice because of what His voice produces. We have already seen that the entire universe was created by the words of the Lord. His words always do this: they create. Jeremiah 29:11 says:

• "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

His voice always imparts hope and life. The Bible is a book full of examples of the Lord seeking after people to save them and give them life, even though these people did not deserve it. No matter what a person's condition, the voice of the Lord to them will impart hope and life, and bring a solution to their current circumstances.

His voice will never leave us feeling alone or uncomforted. The last words Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 28:20 were:

• I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us:

• And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed.

Joshua 1:9 says:

• Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Following His Voice

In John 10:11 Jesus told His disciples:

• I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Recently I spent quite a bit of time studying shepherds. In many cases a shepherd leads his flock by singing. His voice is one of his primary features that distinguishes him from other shepherds. Often times more than one shepherd will take his sheep to feed or rest at the same place. There might be several different flocks all mingled together in the same pasture, so when on shepherd is ready to leave, he will begin to walk away and sing as he walks. Out of the large group of sheep, his sheep will begin to follow him because they know his voice. The other sheep will not follow him because they will only respond to the voice of their shepherd.

In John 10:27-28 Jesus said:

• My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. Just as it is with shepherds in the natural, the Lord's voice is one of the main distinguishing factors that helps us recognize Him. We have seen that when He speaks to us, the fruit of His voice is life, light, and blessing. This world is full of voices, but we can always tell the voice of our Shepherd by what it produces in our lives. Learning to hear His voice, growing in our ability to obey His voice, and becoming like Him in the process is the pathway to walking in the Spirit. He is our Good Shepherd, and we are His precious sheep. Psalm 23 is a very common passage that tells us about our Good Shepherd. As you read this, pay special attention to what these verses say His voice does for us, and let us determine to follow no other voice:

• The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
• He makes me lie down in green pastures;
• He leads me beside quiet waters.
• He restores my soul;
• He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
• Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil;
• for Thou are with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
• Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
• Thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.
• Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
• And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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