350th Episode Celebration - How to Hear God's Voice

As we celebrate who God is and the hearts that He has touched through the jesus loves : the world podcasts we will revisit one of the most asked questions, how to know and hear God’s voice. As you listen be blessed, empowered and transformed in Jesus name.

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Transcript

00:00 Intro music and voice over.

Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name! 

00:21 Speaker

As we celebrate who God is and the hearts that He has touched through the jesus loves : the world podcasts we will revisit one of the most asked questions, how to know and hear God’s voice.

There are so many voices in this world that are trying to get our attention. There is the voice of God, the voice of the evil one, the voice of self, the voice of families and the voices of this world. To discern the difference between the voices let us go right back to the beginning when time began.

The very first to speak was the Eternal One, the LORD God Almighty. His words were full of light and life, love and care, power and authority. He created the heavens and the earth and all this things good through the words He spoke. His words brought order into the chaos, life into the void and light into the darkness. 

Through His words out of the ground He made everything grow. He made every tree pleasant to the eye and good for food. In the middle of His creation, amongst all the other trees were two trees. The tree of life was there of which they could eat freely. There was also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

The LORD God intimately and personally interacted with His creation. He breathed His breath into the first man and again He spoke.

 Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Of every beautiful tree of the garden, including the tree of life, the first man and woman could freely eat. The LORD God Almighty had created everything for them. Out of His love and care for them, He made a home for them. So that they could be with Him for all eternity. He honoured them and gave everything to them. He did it all because He is love and so loves. 

It is because of His selfless unconditional love that God gave free choice. Free choice to choose to receive His word, love and honour. Or choose to receive the word of the evil one and become one with both good and evil. Choosing a pathway of destruction, blame and shame.

God’s words were clear. He said they were not to partake of the knowledge of good and evil. If they did, they would give over their own power and authority to that of evil and their selfish desires. As a result they will activate evil and death into God’s perfect eternal world and everything will surely die. 

At this point in the narrative, the evil one had no power or authority of his own. His only method of destruction was through lies and deceptions. If humanity chose to believe the lies then those lies were given power. 

The first words the evil one spoke when on the earth that are recorded, is in a dialogue with the first woman. 

Genesis 3:1-8 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

So the evil one, represented as the serpent in the narrative, speaks confusion, lies, deceptions and destruction to the first woman. This is the complete opposite to the words of order, truth, wisdom and empowerment from the LORD God who created.

The evil one’s desire to be god and receive worship is evident in every lie and deception that he speaks. The very first words spoken by the evil one attempt to usurp God’s authority. They bring doubt and confusion. 

The evil one questions, Has God indeed said… Then the evil one contradicts God’s words trying to deceive the first woman that he has knowledge above the knowledge of God. 

The evil one concludes with a blatant lie against God. All in an attempt to contradict God and usurp God’s authority to reign. The evil one states to the woman if she partakes of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 

‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’

These words from the evil one are subtle false accusations against God. As the evil one is full of only evil, every word is filled with lies and deception. In this instance giving a false perception of God. 

In complete contrast the LORD God, who created heaven and earth and all things good, speaks truth, goodness and wisdom. For He is full of only good and there is no evil in Him. 

As God is love and so loves He gives free choice. The first man and woman have a choice. Which narrative are they going to choose to believe and receive?

So at the words of the evil one the first woman’s eyes turn to her self and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Humanity reasons, it will feel good therefore it must be good. That’s is what is referred to as the lust of the flesh. Humanity also reasons, it looks good therefore it must be good, that is the lust of the eye. Then there is the pride of life which humanity reasons, I will be as God, better than everyone else including God. 

When Jesus stepped down into His own creation and experienced the full human condition, the evil one spoke the same three words of temptation to entice Jesus. They are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. 

However Jesus, unlike the first man and woman, disarmed the lies with His truth. Jesus exposed the darkness and deceptions of the evil one with His glorious light. He came down to us and represented humanity and take back the destructive powers of evil, death and selfish desires. Jesus defeated the three temptations of humanity so that all who choose to believe and receive His narrative can be truly free. 

The three temptations were recorded in two of the four gospels. The gospel according to Matthew and Luke. 

Let us read Luke’s account. 

Luke 4:1-12 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ”

So the evil one speaks lies and deceptions against God. Attempts to bribe and corrupt, confuse and destroy, so that he will be worshipped. The evil one deceives with trickery and attempts to feed the lust of humanity and the corruption of this world. 

Jesus not only defeated all three temptations but exposes the lies and deceptions of the evil one and humanity’s selfish desires. 

The Apostle John also exposes the futility of the adhering to the voice of this world and any voice opposed to the living God.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Once again the voice of God is full of love, truth and empowerment. God never tempts anyone. He never interferes with free choice, nor does He take back what He has given. He gives freely because He so loves. He blesses the righteous and the unrighteous. God never controls or manipulates as that is the way of evil and humanity’s selfish desires. 

In His love, truth and power God reveals the deceptions and lies of the voice of this world damaged by evil. In fact the voice of this world without God is aligned with the voice of the evil one and speaks to humanity’s selfish desires. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life can never be satisfied. They are temporary and destructive to self and others. 

The love of the world that the Apostle John talks about is not a temporary desire. It is a continual state of mind that reuses to change. Remaining to give allegiance and even worship to evil instead of God. It is a love of evil and its destructive forces.

In compete contrast when we choose to give our allegiance to God and worship only Him, we are aligning ourselves with good. For only God is good.

For all who have received Jesus, received God, it is the daily journey of surrender of self will, to that of our Father’s will. Each day being empowered by Him to know and experience the reality of His love, truth and power. 

The love of the Father is different to the love for the world. In this context to love the world is a selfish love that’s has it’s root in evil. It is a love that attaches itself to self gratification and self glorification. 

In complete contrast, the love of the Father is a pure selfless love that He pours out for all to receive. A love that dwells within everyone who says yes to Jesus, yes to the Father, yes to God. For He is pure, selfless love who desires to set humanity free. 

Everything that is against God will pass away. There is no life or light in evil. The voices of this world, the voices of  humanity’s selfish desires and the voices of evil all feed each other. They are totally opposed to God and bring destruction and shame.

The voice of God is the voice of love. A pure selfless love. Full of grace and truth. Everything God does He does because He is love and so loves. 

It is God’s perfect will and good pleasure that no one should perish. That each one throughout the ages will know the truth. The truth about Him, the truth about self and the truth about the evil one. Yet because He so loves He gives each free choice. 

The choice is set before each individual throughout the ages. The creator of heaven and earth and all things good urges, choose to believe and receive Him.

19:40 Outro music and voice over. 

For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!