Sound of God-Part 2-Learning to Obey

Part ONE HERE-

One of the ways we, as Standers can be pulled into a place that brings us harm is not a new way, it happened in the garden with Eve, and it still happens today. When God tells us something, and we disobey and listen to our feelings and emotions and the voice of someone that is in darkness. We get robbed of the blessings God has for us because of our disobedience, the problem is we don’t even realize we are doing this.

We are going to explore how important it is for us, as God’s children to know what God and the enemy sound like so that we can be sure to follow God. We are also going to touch on why we allow ourselves to follow the sound of the enemy.

~LEARNING TO OBEY~

God gave Adam clear direction and rules about the trees in the garden, it might not have been too in-depth and left a lot of room to be expounded on. BUT coming from the Source, it was information that needed to be obeyed and trusted, EVEN if it was handed down and conveyed to someone else. 

KEY: if it’s God, you obey. It’s not up for debate, and you don’t take it lightly. You just do as you are told!

When Eve was created, this rule had already been established and being obeyed by Adam. She clearly KNEW the rules as she repeated them back to the enemy exactly as they had been spoken. She didn’t say “Adam said” she, “GOD said”, so she was acknowledging this command came straight from God. 

The enemy’s FIRST temptation came to get people to disobey God. To come in and get them tempted by what needs are hidden inside, desire to have what we are told not to have. To seek more than what we are being given by God. We don’t like to have things hidden from us. We want to know EVERYTHING. And because of that desire, because of our need to know, we open the door to disobedience and deception.

The answers we need are from God’s voice, His Word, His character, and nature. That can come from God through Him, His Word, people, and any means that God wants to use to speak to you.

When we keep seeking the answers we are looking for from anyone but God Himself, we are sitting ducks for the enemy to come in and tempt us away through lies promising that what he offers will satisfy our needs and make us full of the info we crave.

KEY: If God says NO, and you keep looking anyway, the enemy WILL come in with a yes somewhere!

Each time you question your spouse, listen to what they say, you are putting them into a place where they get to mislead you, bring you into the darkness with them. 

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?

What we NEED to know is not always what God NEEDS us to know. So we must learn to submit that need directly to God. 

Unless God desires us to know more, then we have to be ok with accepting what the Word tells us about the state our spouses are in right now. They are lost, in God’s hands, and until they are repentant and submitted to God, they are not trustworthy as a source to get truth, insight, or direction from.   God tells us not to lean on our own understanding, He certainly doesn’t ask us to lean on the lost’s understanding either!

God is always for us, that is why He is adamant that we learn to hear Him, trust in Him, and OBEY Him.  He knows how easily we get misled, how vulnerable and gullible we can become. We must learn to not lean on people who are in the dark, broken, and lost as our source of hope, truth, or wisdom! 

Our lost spouses are going to say a lot of things through words and actions. You won’t be able to control that. BUT you will be able to control how you discern and what you decide to do with the information. When they tell you they don’t love you anymore,  it was your fault they were unfaithful, blame you for the marriage breaking, what you do with this info will show you the condition of your own heart and your relationship with God. 

KEY: God asks for obedience to keep you SAFE. His requests are for your good!

Let’s explore God’s Word and what He thinks about us hearing and obeying His voice.   In Exodus 23 the Lord speaks of an angel He is sending to guide the people.

I broke down a few of the key words here to help us better understand what God was saying. 

pay attention-be on guard, keep watch, hedge up your way with thorns. Protect what you hear.
Listen-hear intelligently. Don’t just listen and hear, hear with wisdom, being smart.
Voice-sound, a specified impression.

I want to really emphasize that God’s voice, no matter where it comes from makes a distinct SOUND. A sound conveys a specified impression when heard. When you HEAR the voice, the sound of God coming from a person, it conveys certain feelings. The same thing happens when you hear things that sound like it’s coming from the enemy, you will feel a certain way. 

you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you Deuteronomy 6:3

Jesus talked about His sheep hearing, listening, and knowing Him, following Him. 
The word listen/hear is “to hear God’s voice which prompts Him to birth faith within/” It’s rooted in the word acoustics which is sound! 

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. John 5:25

Since we are born 3 in one, flesh, soul, spirit, and since the Word says that when we are born again we become ONE in spirit with God, then our spirits will know the sound of God’s voice, His direction, and rebel against anything that is not of Him. God’s children will know good from evil, even if we desire evil, we still know it’s wrong, so it’s not enough that we learn the sound/voice of God, we must hear and OBEY, and we are going to talk about some ways and reasons why we don’t obey in part 3.

Standing with you,
Sheila Hollinger