Hearing God's Encouraging Voice (John 10)
This sermon explores the profound impact of God's voice in our lives, guiding listeners to discern between divine affirmation and the enemy's deceit. It's an invitation to cultivate a deep belief in God's goodness and love for us.
God consistently speaks encouraging words that affirm our identity in Christ. We are called to believe His voice by faith, rather than the accusatory voice of the enemy that fosters doubt and unbelief.
Overview
This sermon begins by addressing the common desire to hear God's voice better, asserting that His sheep already hear His voice. The preacher contends that God's primary message to us daily is affirmation of our beloved identity, and that believing this foundational word is key to hearing Him directionally. He emphasizes that miracles happen through the hearing of faith, contrasting this with attempting to earn blessings through works of the law.
The sermon delves into the original sin in the Garden of Eden, identifying unbelief in God's goodness as the 'mother of all sins.' It highlights how the enemy's first strategy was to sow doubt about God's generosity and character, leading to spiritual death. This doubt makes us susceptible to the enemy's voice, which we often believe without faith, in contrast to believing God's voice, which requires faith.
Drawing from John 10, the preacher explains that Jesus came to give abundant life, countering the thief's purpose to steal, kill, and destroy. He uses the analogy of sheep knowing the shepherd's voice, noting that Jesus calls His sheep by name. The core message is that God's voice under the new covenant is always one of edification, exhortation, and comfort, never condemnation.
Finally, the sermon clarifies that true humility is confidence in the Lord, not self-deprecation, and that believing God's encouraging words about our identity as His beloved, righteous children is what pleases Him and allows us to walk in His way. This belief is the precursor to receiving directional guidance, as our 'doing' should flow from our 'being' in Christ.
Key points
- God's sheep already hear His voice; the challenge is believing His constant message of being His beloved.
- The 'mother of all sins' in Eden was unbelief in God's goodness and character.
- Faith is having a good opinion of God and believing what He says about us.
- The enemy seeks to steal God's word by sowing doubt, leading to destruction.
- Jesus came to give abundant life, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
- Under the New Covenant, God's voice always edifies, exhorts, and comforts, never condemns.
- Believing God's affirmations of our identity (e.g., righteous, holy, beloved) by faith is crucial for spiritual growth and pleasing Him.
In Joseph Prince's words
“My sheep hear my voice.”
“Pride is always about your accomplishments without the Lord.”
Outline
- I. The Call to Hear God's Voice
- A. God Constantly Supplies the Spirit and Works Miracles by Hearing of Faith (Galatians 3)
- B. The Sin of Unbelief in the Wilderness (Numbers 13)
- C. Faith: Having a Good Opinion of God (Hebrews 11:6)
- II. The Mother of All Sin: Unbelief in Eden (Genesis 2)
- A. God's First Command to Adam: Freely Eat
- B. The Enemy's Attack: Slandering God's Generosity
- C. The Consequence of Unbelief: Spiritual Death
- D. Our Body as the Temple of God
- III. God's Preparations and Man's Free Choice
- A. God Foresaw the Fall and Prepared Redemption (Isaiah 53)
- B. Faith Produces Moral Excellencies
- IV. The Shepherd's Voice vs. the Stranger's Voice (John 10)
- A. The Thief Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy (John 10:10)
- B. Jesus Comes to Give Abundant Life
- C. Sheep Know and Follow the Shepherd's Personal Voice
- D. The Religious Leaders as "Thieves and Robbers"
- E. God's First Affirmation of Jesus: "You are My Beloved Son"
- V. Believing God's Encouraging Voice
- A. The Enemy Leaves Out the Word "Beloved" to Undermine Identity
- B. We Have a Propensity to Believe Accusations Over Affirmations
- C. The New Covenant Voice of God: Edification, Exhortation, and Comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3)
- D. Discerning and Rejecting Condemning Voices
- E. True Humility is Confidence in the Lord, Not in Self
Scripture references
- Galatians 3
- 1 John 1:7
- Numbers 13
- Hebrews 11:6
- Genesis 2
- John 10:10
- John 10
- Isaiah 53
- 1 Corinthians 14:3
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- Matthew 3:17
- Luke 3:22
- Matthew 4:1-11
- John 10:3-4
- Joshua 14:11
- Daniel 4:30-37
- Psalm 91
1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
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.
1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
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.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Insights
God's voice speaks to us daily, affirming we are His beloved.
Unbelief in God's goodness is the root of all other sins.
Faith is having a good opinion of God's character.
Questions & answers
What is the primary message God speaks to us daily, according to the sermon?
The sermon states that the primary message God speaks to us every day is that we are His beloved, righteous, holy, and unreprovable in His eyes. This is an encouraging and affirming message of our identity in Christ.
Why is faith so important to God, above other things?
God wants faith from us because it means we believe what He says, especially His goodness, wisdom, and love. Faith is essential for salvation, pleasing God, receiving blessings, and winning spiritual warfare.
How did the first temptation in Eden relate to unbelief?
The first temptation involved the enemy slandering God's character by suggesting He was not generous. This sowed doubt in Eve's mind about God's goodness, leading to unbelief, which the sermon identifies as the 'mother of all sins'.
What is the nature of God's voice under the New Covenant?
Under the New Covenant, God's voice is characterized by edification (building up), exhortation (encouragement), and comfort. Any voice that condemns, crushes, or accuses is not from God.
What is the sermon's definition of pride?
Pride is defined as always focusing on one's own accomplishments without acknowledging the Lord. Conversely, humility is putting God in the picture and giving Him credit.
Why does the sermon say we tend to believe the enemy's voice more easily?
The sermon suggests we often believe the enemy's voice, which puts us down, because it sounds like our own thoughts and aligns with our perceived failures. This often stems from upbringing where acceptance was tied to performance rather than unconditional love.
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