Knowing Him

How do you hear from God? We've already had a couple of messages considering this question. And if you've missed any of them or if you want to study them further, I'd urge you to go to our website and listen again.

In the first message, we saw how God wants to talk to us, to connect with us, to have an intimate relationship with us.

We know this because he has given us his written Word, the Bible...because he sent his Son, Jesus...because he gives us his Spirit, to guide us into all truth...because he reveals himself in creation, as the heavens declare the glory of God...because he tells us to listen—he who has ears, let him hear.

Last week we saw how God guides us in our lives, how he shows us his will—in several ways: through the teachings and commands of the Bible, in answers to prayer, by circumstances (like open or shut doors), through the advice of godly people, with various clues (miraculous or subtle—visions, dreams, or a still small voice, the inner witness of the Spirit)—and he reinforces his direction by confirming it in more than one way.

Today I want to talk about one of the most critical components of being led by God. In my opinion, this is a necessity for hearing from God—a foundational principle. Without this in our lives, hearing God's voice will always remain a guessing game.

We live in a day when the truth is being compromised at every turn. When people are rewriting the definitions of words. When tolerance for alternative lifestyles has become a higher virtue than truth. When Miss California can lose a beauty pageant because she wasn't "politically correct" when she expressed her personal views. She later said, "I'd rather be biblically correct than politically correct."

We live in a day when historical standards, meanings, and values are set aside in an attempt to be "open-minded." As someone has said, we have to be careful we don't become so "open-minded" that our brains fall out!

I think the matter boils down to a single word: discernment. Do you have discernment? How well do you "discern"—recognize, distinguish, discriminate, differentiate—right from wrong, true from false, good from bad, Spirit from flesh, eternal from temporal?

How well do you know the voice of God? Can you recognize his voice? Jesus said: My sheep know my voice. Can you tell the difference between God's voice and someone else?

Sometimes people call the church and they can't tell which of the pastors answered the phone: Is this Fred? Is this Rich? Is this Jeff? I guess we sound similar over the phone. (Scary thought!)

But consider another scenario. It's not a phone call; it's a thought that pops into your head. Maybe you're in the video store renting a movie, and the voice in your head says something like, "This movie won seven Oscars. It received rave reviews from all the critics. It's a movie you should see—especially if you want to connect with your unchurched friends." Now, you have to discern: is that voice in your head from God? Or from somewhere else?

Discernment is the God-given ability to recognize differences between what is right and what is wrong.

1 Cor 2:14

Discernment is a gift God gives by his Spirit. In the chapter listing many of the spiritual gifts, we read...

1 Cor 12:10
(NKJV) ...to another discerning of spirits...
(NLT) He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking.

But discernment can also be learned! In fact, we can learn to be discerning by studying God's Word, by doing what it says, and by growing mature in Christ.

Heb 5:14 (NASB)
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Discernment—recognizing God's voice—boils down to this: How well do you know the Lord? How close are you to him? Do you have an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus? If you only know him casually, from a distance, then you'll have difficulty recognizing his voice. If you only know about him, then you'll have trouble discerning his voice.

We're all human, and we all have had difficulty at times discerning what it is, precisely, that God is saying to us. Sometimes we have to wait for clarification—because we can't quite make it out. We don't know for sure whether it is God speaking to us or just our own strong desires echoing inside our heads and hearts.

One of the saddest stories I've heard recently is the story of Megan McAllister.
Megan thought she knew Philip. She was set to marry him in August. The rings had been bought. A romantic honeymoon had been planned. But then, the unthinkable happened. The person she thought she knew, Philip Markoff, a Boston University medical student, was accused last month of murdering an erotic masseuse and robbing a hooker.
At first, based on what she thought she knew, Megan defended him. "Someone else did this," she said. "He was set up." She said he was, "a beautiful person, inside and out. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He is a kind man. An intelligent, articulate man."
Less than two weeks ago, she said, "What has been portrayed and leaked to the media is not the Philip Markoff that I know. To me and my family, he is a loving and caring person and in the eyes of the law and constitution, he is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
But as more and more information came out about her fiancé's hidden secrets, Megan became physically ill. Eventually, the stress became so great that she left Boston and moved back to her home in New Jersey. Now the wedding is called off.

I think most of us have been fooled by someone. We don't always get it right. But the closer you are to someone, the less likely you'll be fooled. The more intimately you know someone, the more likely you'll discern if something is wrong.

And that's the message I want you to get today: The better you know the Lord—the closer you are to God—the better you'll be able to recognize his voice. Jesus said: My sheep know my voice. And he gives us help in discerning the bad from the good, in distinguishing the thief from the shepherd...

John 10:1-5,14

Questions to ask yourself: 1. How does he come? Does he use the gate or sneak in over the back wall?

What Jesus was describing was a community sheep pen—which families shared together. At night they would put all their flocks together in one safe enclosure, mingling the herds together. In the morning, different shepherds would come to the gate to take their sheep out. The one assigned to guard the sheep for the night would let each shepherd call his sheep to come out of the pen.

Jesus said that someone who doesn't use the gate is a thief and a robber (v 1). He's up to no good. He's sneaking in because he wants to be unnoticed so he can steal the sheep without being caught. Watch how he comes. Watch for suspicious behavior!

It's the one who comes openly and boldly through the main gate who is the shepherd (v 2). They are his sheep! Because they belong to him, he's going to take care of them. He's not going to harm them. He is the opposite of the thief and robber.

2. How does he know me? Does he know my name?

"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out" (v 3). Each one—indicating a personal relationship with them. He knew each one intimately—their color, their size, their habits, their quirky behavior—that he could name them: Blacky, Spot, Curly, Fat-Tail, Whitey, Bounce, Sleepy, Perky. If I was watching 200 sheep, I doubt I'd be able to tell one from the other, let alone name them. But the shepherd knew them.

In Bible times, names didn't just identify you, they described you. They described something about you—your character or your circumstance or what was expected of you.

"Jacob" got his name because when he was born, he was grasping the heel of his twin brother. And because he was "pulling his leg," Jacob became known as a deceiver. But years later when he wrestled with God all night, his name was changed to "Israel," because he wouldn't let go of God.

"Simon" was impulsive and spontaneous—easily swayed by the circumstances. He'd promise something but not follow through. He'd leap out of the boat, but then sink when he looked at the waves. He'd grab a sword to fight, but then run away. He'd vow to be faithful but then deny his Lord when challenged by a young servant girl. Jesus, however, gave this impulsive, wishy-washy man a new name: "Cephas" or "Peter" which meant "Rock." Simon wasn't changed immediately into a Rock, but Jesus saw potential in him—and gave him a new name with a new character. "Rock": solid, stable, immovable.

The Good Shepherd calls his own sheep by name. He gives you a new name!

Isaiah 62:2 

Romans 4:17

Jesus doesn't describe what you were or are—but what he plans for you to be! Maybe you were: Discouraged. Fearful. Worried. He gives you a new name: Confident. Brave. Courageous. Maybe you were: Lost. Shifting. Aimless. Wandering. The Good Shepherd names you: Found. Follower. Focused. He turns Sinners into Saints. He transforms the Hopeless into the Hopeful.

All because he knows you so intimately. He knows your deepest needs. He knows your hidden secrets and flaws. And he knows what can happen when you open yourself to receive his love and grace. So the Good Shepherd gives you a new name. He names you according to what he wants you to be—and then gives you the power to live up to that name.

Having this close relationship with the shepherd teaches the sheep to listen for his voice—and no one else. "The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice" (v 3). His voice reassures the sheep. When they know their shepherd is with them, they are confident and comforted.

Why? Because they know he will care for them—he will take them to green pastures, lead them beside still waters, and guide them on the right paths. They know his shepherd's staff will protect them from wild animals and rescue them when they wander. His voice represents his promise to care for them. His voice represents his love—his goodness and mercy to them.

"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out" (v 3).

3. How does he lead them? Does he invite them to follow without pushing or driving them, without forcing them, without coercion or manipulation?

The shepherd goes ahead of the sheep (v 4)—he's leading them, not pushing them. The shepherd doesn't chase them out of the pen. And he doesn't send them on ahead down the road on their own. He leads them, so they can follow. He gives them a choice—they choose to follow because they know him and trust him.

If a sheep never learned to recognize the shepherd's voice, it could be tricked and could follow anyone. All these other shepherds came to the sheepfold, so they had to learn to distinguish their shepherd's voice from all the other shepherds. They needed discernment.

In Bible days shepherds leading their sheep around the countryside would meet each other along the trail or at the watering place where they would stop and talk. While the shepherds were talking, their flocks would mingle together, milling around the shepherds. After a while when the shepherds move on down the trail, how are they going to figure out which sheep belong to which shepherd? How are they going to separate the co-mingled flocks into the original flocks? Easy. As each shepherd walked away, he would call to his sheep, and the sheep would separate themselves as they followed the distinctive voice of their own shepherd. Some shepherds used a distinct call or whistle, or a small flute, which the sheep recognize and follow. (Bailey 1993:10; cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:168). [IVP NT Commentary]

Sheep will not follow a stranger's voice (v 5). In fact, they will run away from a stranger because they are afraid of his unfamiliar voice—it meant something dangerous to them.

A while back I was driving in the dark to church early one Sunday morning. On Carlton Avenue, about 8 blocks from our house, I saw a cat that looked exactly like our cat, Bailey. "Is that our cat?" I asked myself. "What's he doing so far from home?" And I stopped the car, backed up, and got out to take a closer look. He was black, just like our cat. Big and puffy with long hair, just like our cat. He crouched low and waved his tail, just like our cat. So I walked a little closer, calling his name. "Bailey. Come here, Bailey." But instead of coming, he turned and ran the other way. Do you know why? Because it wasn't our cat. It was a case of mistaken identity. And this cat didn't take kindly to strangers invading his space.

The sheep will run away because they do not recognize a stranger's voice! At least that's the way it's supposed to work. Unfortunately, there are some sheep who hear the stranger's voice, and instead of hearing "danger," they hear "adventure" or "excitement" in that voice. And so they wander off, ignoring the voice of the Good Shepherd.

How are you going to make sure that you don't get fooled by a stranger's voice? That you don't go chasing off in the wrong direction? How are going to make sure that you have the discernment you need to recognize what is right and what is wrong? What is safe and what is dangerous? What is truth and what is error?

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (v 14). We need a personal relationship with Jesus so we will know his voice. The closer you are to the Lord, the better you know him, the less likely you'll go the wrong way. The more time you spend in fellowship with Jesus, the more you spend time in his Word, the less likely you'll be misled.

When I was 18 I took my little 5-year-old brother to the county fair to go on the rides. With $21 in my pocket, I felt like the model big brother. Through the gate into the fairgrounds we went, past the farm implements, the livestock barns, the hot dog and popcorn stands, the craft buildings with jams and quilts. We had one thing on our minds—the rides. The towering Ferris wheel marked our destination.
Unfortunately, we didn't make it. I was distracted. We'd just come through the gaming area when I heard someone call me. I spun around to see who it was, and a man in a booth beckoned me over.
Suffice it to say that within five minutes he had most of my money, and I was still five points away from winning the stuffed panda. That's when I came to my senses. I was angry at the hawker, but mostly I was angry with myself. I'd lost $17 and several rides for my brother. But I learned a lesson: Don't follow just anyone or anything. Make sure you know who is calling.