WBS.014
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
HEARING THE VOICE OF
IAUE - I
John 10:1 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep
hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he
goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
If, after reading the last two
postings, you have come to understand that there IS an inspiration “behind” the
translations of the Scriptures that we each have in our own native languages;
then we can respect the precious value of the words contained in them; for they
are vehicles to transport us into dialogue with the author who exhaled and
spoke the original words. If we read our
bibles and process and learn only what is written on the page, and we do not
enter into a discussion with the Holy Spirit, we will arrive only at an
academic understanding of the Scriptures, an accumulation of facts and
doctrines that lack the power to change men’s lives.
In the Christian church, today, such
accumulation of knowledge is used to climb the ladder of spiritual hierarchy. A person with a seminary degree is regarded
as more learned, more advanced spiritually, than someone who has not undergone
such training and book learning. A
person with a Doctorate of Divinity (a higher theological degree) is considered
the superior to a mere seminary graduate (a Master of Divinity). Many congregations would never consider
hiring or submitting to a pastor who has not graduated from seminary. Still others require a doctorate degree to be
qualified to be their church’s pastor.
All this tells us is that these congregations seek the stamp of approval
of men and not of IAUE. Flee from such
congregations for they do not share the Master’s values.
For the past 40 years, I have been
accumulating knowledge of the Scriptures well beyond that of my peers…beyond
that of seminary graduates. I have spent
more time in a year studying the Scriptures than most believers do in a
lifetime; still, the person who bows his/her knee to Messiah this morning, has
every bit as much right to speak into my life as someone who has walked in the
Spirit for decades. Why is this? It is because, if the Holy Spirit says
something to a newborn believer that He has not said to me; I need to be open
to receiving that word, even from an infant in the faith. There is no age limit or experience limit in
the New Creation that qualifies one to hear the voice of the Spirit more than
any other. Experience can make someone
more adept at recognizing His voice; but He speaks to whom He will speak; and
everyone in the faith must acknowledge that any disciple can and should hear
His voice. Anyone who has heard the
voice of the Spirit speaking has something worthy to say. My wife is a fairly young believer; yet she
has provided me with many insights that I had not seen or heard. How is this possible? It is quite simple. She hears the voice of the Spirit speaking to
her and she shares with me what she has heard. Anything the Holy Spirit speaks
is worth hearing no matter who is sharing it; no matter how long they have been
a believer, no matter how much they have studied the Scriptures.
To try to maintain a distinction
between the “clergy” and the “laity” is to participate in something IAUE hates;
for the Scripture says that He hates the doctrine of the Nicolaitans
(Revelation 2:6, 15). This doctrine made
a separation between the church leadership and the congregation; asserting the
clergy had greater access to spiritual truth than the congregation; making the
congregation subservient to their pastors for spiritual insight and
wisdom. If IAUE hated it then; He hates
it now…and there is far too much of this in present day Christianity.
I remember in my days in the military,
when I was stationed in Germany; there was a chaplain with whom I spoke, who
represented a particular denomination.
He told me that he did not believe a word of what he was preaching; but
it was a good job; and he had a good income with great benefits in the
military. This man was seminary trained
and he knew how to prepare and deliver a sermon to the satisfaction of his
congregation. He was approved by his
denomination to represent the denomination in the United States armed forces;
and yet, by his own admission, he was not even a believer.
Paul told us (2 Corinthians 3:6) that
the letter (the academic knowledge alone) kills; but the spirit (the revelation
that exceeds the academic understanding) gives life. This brings us to the singular problem. How do we move from the written words to
enter into discussion with the Spirit in order to receive revelation? How do we move from a purely doctrinal
understanding of the Scriptures to receive the life of the Spirit behind the
words on the page? In other words, how
do go from the letter (the translation), to the spirit (the life) and find the
inspiration? The answer is, we must
become experienced in hearing and understanding the voice of the Spirit.
More than 40 years ago, as a young
believer I sought out an elder who was well regarded for his spiritual
maturity. I told him that I was very
hungry to learn the Scriptures, but I didn’t know where to start studying. I asked him, “Where do you begin?” His reply was three words. He said, “Just ask Jesus,” then he turned and
walked away. As I watched him walking
away, I thought, “Well, that’s just great.
I’m no better off now, than I was before asking him.”
My obvious problem was, I knew I could
ask Messiah where to begin; but I had no clue how to hear Him answer. That is
why I was seeking a wise person to tell me the answer. His answer only exposed my ignorance and
limitations. Unfortunately, it was true
not only of me; but it is true of most believers that they have absolutely no
clue what it means to hear the voice of the Spirit. I have spoken to many believers through the
years that have confessed that they have never heard the voice of the
Spirit. Still others say (and this is a
doctrinal belief of some denominations) that the Spirit speaks to us today
through the Scriptures…through the words on the page. They believe the bible to be the revelation
of IAUE that gives us all the answers we will ever need; that the bible is His
voice to us, today. They believe the
Father is speaking nothing new, as He need not speak any more, for they believe
the bible is the complete revelation of His will to man. Such believers also consider it heresy for
any to say, today, that the Holy Spirit told them something that was not from
the bible.
Unfortunately, the bible does not tell
us which car to buy, which job to take, which spouse to marry, what to do at
3:00 P.M., today; and it doesn’t tell us the revelation knowledge of IAUE. Neither are the Scriptures intended to be an
“open and point” source of guidance (i.e., pray for direction, then open the
bible randomly and point at a passage; then read the passage and try to apply
it to your need).
John 10:3 “…the sheep hear his voice…”
4 “…he putteth forth his own sheep…for they
know his voice.”
27 “…My sheep hear my voice…”
John 18:37 “…Every one that is of
the truth heareth my voice…”
It is the Master’s expectation that
absolutely every single disciple should be well acquainted with hearing his
voice; else how can he be our shepherd? How can he lead his sheep? How can a
disciple be a disciple if he cannot hear his Master’s voice? Anyone can sit in a room and read the bible;
but without hearing and understanding the voice of the Spirit, he might as well
be sitting in a dark room. Yes, it is an
absolute necessity for each disciple to become acquainted with the Master’s
voice.
There are ways we can enhance our
ability to hear the voice of the Spirit.
There also are things that we can do that interfere with our ability to
hear the voice of the Spirit. Most
importantly, for the novice, there is a simple way to learn how to recognize
His voice, especially for those who think they have never heard Him speak to
them. We will cover all of these in the
next few postings. Until then, I would
encourage you to revisit “The Lists” that I discuss in the June 2, 2013 post,
titled “The First Lesson in Discipleship-III.” The believer who is not able to
honestly deal with “The Lists” does not deserve to hear the voice of the
Spirit; and will never be able to be confident in what he thinks he has
heard.
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