Your voice

Teaching at DLTC on September 19,2009 by Billie Johnson

We’ve learned from Don 2 about words that we should not speak and last week Don lead us in a prayer of words that are very appropriate for us to speak. So tonight I want to talk about our voice.  Your voice is an instrument, an extension of you; how you let others know what is going on with you or how to know what others are doing. The dictionary says that ‘voice’ is a sound produced by the lungs and larynx (the vocal cords) in humans.  ‘Voice’ in the Greek is phone pronounced fo-na and its meaning is: sound, noise, or to be noised abroad.  So it is something we hear with our ears.  It is interesting that our word telephone is similar. It probably was taken from that Greek word.

 I’ve been struck these last few weeks about how important our voice is in our walk with Christ. You know there are jewels in the milk of the Word.  A jewel is something precious, beautiful to look at.  Milk is nourishment for a young child.  So I see precious beauty in the nourishment that God supplies in His word.  Let’s take a walk through the New Testament where the word ‘voice’ is used. I’ll use many scriptures those jewels in the Word; you don’t have to turn to them all but just listen as I use my voice to proclaim the word.

God expressed his pleasure with Jesus as he grew.  Mat 3:17 "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.""  We have examples of those who had been healed by Jesus who returned and gave God the glory with their voice."And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God." Luke 17:15   We are to tell what God has done for us.  We are to share the healings and great works that Jesus does through us.  I once had the Lord whisper to me after I had thanked him for something he had done, “So you are one of the ten that returned to thank me?”  I said humbly, “Yes, Lord.”

We know the disciples praised and rejoiced with a loud voice because of the mighty works they had seen Jesus do. Luke 19:37 "Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen," - This is the picture of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on the donkey.  How wonderful it was that people praised and rejoiced because of him.  It is sad to think that only a few short days afterward that they would cry “Crucify him!”

At the Mount of Transfiguration we read that God spoke in an audible voice after Jesus had been speaking with Moses and Elijah. The three apostles who were with him wanted to build a shrine there but God told them to be quiet and to listen to Jesus.   We pick up the story in Luke 9:28-36 “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.^{2 9}As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. ³⁰And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, ³¹who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; [funny that they also had trouble keeping their eyes open in the Garden of Gethsemane!] and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. ³⁵And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" ³⁶When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.” Peter, James and John waited until after Jesus’ resurrection to tell others what they had experienced on the mountain.  

In 2 Peter 1:17 Peter wrote: "For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.""  What a great visitation this was for Peter, James and John.  Can you imagine what they must have felt like?  They actually heard the audible voice of God talking to them!  They saw Jesus illuminated with light and they saw Moses and Elijah – what an experience.  There are many examples in the scripture where the words of God are recorded. Look also at John 12 verse 28 and 30 This is after Jesus was talking about his death:  "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, [saying], "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."" ³⁰"Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake." Jesus already knew that God was there but the disciples needed to hear it from God himself. In Luke 23:46 we read that with his last breath Jesus cried out with a Loud Voice. "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.'" Having said this, He breathed His last."

It is amazing how many times a loud voice is mentioned. This also shows how healthy and strong Jesus was that even at his death he cried with a LOUD voice. We need to be willing to let some loudness come from our voices. The John the Baptist used his voice mightily.  He proclaimed the good news that Jesus would be coming soon in John 1:23 "He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD," ' as the prophet Isaiah said.""   John is using the words of Old Testament scripture here. But again he is using his voice in a quite loud way – mightily.  He may even have shouted as there were many people around him.  And later John the Baptist talking to his disciples said "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled." John 3:29   John is the friend of the bridegroom.  He is full of joy that Jesus has been revealed and at this time he recognizes that Jesus is that great bridegroom of the church. 

 Jesus is the door to the kingdom of Heaven. In John 10:3 He said that his sheep know his voice and that he calls them by name.  "To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."  We can hear the voice of the Almighty.  Sometimes it is a loud voice other times it is a quiet voice in our inner ear.  Our spiritual ears have to be tuned to the voice of the doorkeeper, the shepherd.  We know that we hear our voice in our head but we also hear the voice of the accuser of the brethren as well as the voice of Jesus.  We have to learn to differentiate between the voices.  We learn that content plays a big part in which is which.  We hear conviction from God’s voice but condemnation from the evil one.  Our listening will increase our knowledge of who is talking. 

We have scripture in 2 Corinthians 1:19 that tells us that Jesus is always yes to us. "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us--by me, Silvanus, and Timothy--was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes."  Let’s continue in John 10:4-5 "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."   We need to know His voice and to be able to differentiate the voice of strangers and not listen to them. It is recorded in John that we will hear his voice!  Alleluia.

John 10:16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27   We are those other sheep mentioned here – down through the centuries there have been many that have heard his voice.  We are indeed blessed.  As I was listening the other day the Lord said “Keep an open mind to see more jewels in the milk of the word.  There is where you’ll find truth.  You do well when you don’t allow doubt to surface and take hold.  Let your faith rise and squelch the doubt.”  Amen, Lord.

We use our voice as an instrument to proclaim healing and to raise the dead.  We have Jesus example in John 11:43, "Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"" Here we see Jesus using a LOUD voice when commanding the dead to rise.  So we are right to have a little volume sometimes when commanding healing as well.  Sometimes, especially when we are talking to our own body we need to use that little word “NO” that we learned as a child.  We need to tell our body ‘no’ when we sense disease trying to come on, when there is just a little tickle is in the throat.  We need to say out loud, “NO, I will not receive this.  It is not from God.  Go, in Jesus name!” Maybe you were like me a little timid to have your family hearing you talk to that tickle in your throat.  Get over it!  Satan wants us to keep it quiet but we need to let others know that we believe what scripture says and we will use our voice loudly when it is needed.  Just praying in our mind doesn’t have the strength that using our voice does!  And we don’t need to care who hears us.  Satan certainly hears and he needs to hear, that is part of our warfare, to cast down those imaginations and those things that stand between us and God. 

One time when we don’t need to use our voice is when someone is praying for us.  When we are the recipient of prayer we need to have our mind clear and concentrate only on Jesus.  We don’t need to be praying too.  You can’t receive and give out at the same time.  Keep your physical voice and your mental voice quiet so you can receive the voice of someone else ministering to you.

We have others who accuse us with their voice.  John 18:27 "Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."" Jesus is truth and those who know the truth hear his voice.  Sometimes we just sense that truth in our hearts or spirits but we know it resonates as truth to us.  That is how I felt when I first heard the message of John G. Lake Ministries.

After Pentecost  in Acts 2:14   we read: "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words."  We use our voice to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ; that God wants all men to know him; that God wants to heal and redeem men. The disciples were praying for Peter in Acts 4:24-25 "So when they heard that, (Peter was in prison) they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them."  The disciples were praying for Peter and they all prayed with one voice. 

In the Jewish tradition I believe that prayer is always out loud even when there is a large gathering.  I remember seeing in a movie about Jewish people when they were all praying out loud.  The man who was praying even whistled in his prayer which caused others to stop their prayer and to look at him in surprise.  But regardless the man was praying and if a whistle was needed he did it. So we again we are in line when we all pray out loud together.

Another example is Stephen when he was being stoned he used his voice to forgive those that were killing him.  We find this recorded in Acts 7:60"Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep." 

 It takes some strength sometimes to forgive another but we have to use our voice to do it.  I remember one time when an older friend of ours was ill and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to call him.  This was before we knew how to pray for the sick effectively! I told him I wished him well and that if I had done anything to cause his hurt that I sought his forgiveness.  He was gracious and said he couldn’t think of anything that I needed to be forgiven for but I needed to ask that and to be obedient to what God had said told me to do.  

Look at Acts 9:4 where we have Saul in his Damascus Road experience. "Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?""  Jesus spoke to Saul and told him what would happen to him.   But those who where with him didn’t know what the voice was saying, only Saul.  So others may not understand what Jesus is saying to you alone. It is recorded in Acts 9:7 "And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one."  Further on in Acts 22:9 we have a little different account that the others saw a light but were afraid and they didn’t hear what God said. ""And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me." Sometimes the voice of God causes fear especially to those who do not know him.  But now we can tell fear to go in the name of Jesus!

Peter’s revelation about other people being part of the kingdom of heaven came as he heard the voice of God and saw a vision of the different animals.  Acts 10:13 "And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."" Acts11:9 "But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'" By this vision we know that he learned that God is no respecter of persons but accepts all who come to him regardless of their nationality or culture. We sometimes use our voice but others do not listen!  Look at the Acts 12: 1-17 account of Peter being put in prison. Notice how many times a person’s voice is used. Pick up the narrative in verse 1: “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ²Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.  ⁴So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. ⁵Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. ⁷Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the prison and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!"[Here we have an angel using his voice to talk with Peter.] And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸Then the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals"; and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." ⁹So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people." ¹²So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. ¹³And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵But they said to her, "You are beside yourself!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, "It is his angel." ¹⁶Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren." And he departed and went to another place.”  It took some doing for the disciples to believe the voice of Rhoda!

Peter and John spoke with a LOUD voice when they healed the lame man and proclaimed that he was healed in Acts 14:10  "Peter said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" And he leaped and walked."  Here is another example of a loud command and also telling the person to do what he couldn’t do before his healing.  In Acts 16:28 even in prison Paul used a loud voice to tell the guard that they were all right and that he shouldn’t harm himself. "But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.""  Paul knew that the guard would get into trouble if they were not there.  In fact he was even thinking about killing himself.  This is a setting where the guard was considered an enemy of Paul but Paul’s love crossed over that boundary and was able to help the man. Paul telling others about his conversion Paul told of Ananias story in Acts 22:14  

"Ananias “said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth." Paul later experienced this prophecy and we too can know the will of God and hear the voice of His Mouth!  This is an example of another disciple using his voice in prophecy to Saul who later was called Paul. 

 My experience of hearing the Lord continues as he said to me once: “What I want is children who grow.  Ones who do not stop and linger on the path that is wide.  But those who push on to the narrow way and go thru those things that build them up.  They reach higher for faith that grows better and better.  Their faith is seen in their conduct.  Their lives are letters written in love to Me.”

In I Thessalonians 4:16 we have the prophecy of when the Lord returns.  It tells us "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." In Hebrews 3:7 -- the Holy Spirit is telling us to listen! "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice.”  And again in Hebrews 3:15: "while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.""  

 We are warned not to harden our hearts -- to stop listening but to be attentive to his word. Since this is mentioned twice it would seem that we have a tendency to stop listening and then our hearts begin to get hard.  We have to guard against that.  I’ve had people tell me that they no longer hear the voice of God in their spirit.  Why is that?  Perhaps they have been disobedient, perhaps they need to forgive someone or perhaps they just need to ask God to forgive them.   Or they may need to go back and be obedient and do the last thing that God told them to do so that their ears are open again to hear his voice.

Remember in the Old Testament that God even used the voice of a dumb donkey to speak.  We should be able to speak his word if a dumb animal can do so! Peter reminds us of this in 2 Peter 2:16: "but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.”In the book of Revelation we see many instances of a voice being used to tell what is happening. 

John says in Rev. 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet."  Here he is telling us his vision and he continues with the description of what the resurrected Jesus looked like and he includes the sound of his voice in Rev 1:15  "His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;"  

I think we’ve shared that when we were in Korea at Dr. Cho’s church that when the people were praying in tongues to us it was like the sound of many waters.  It was one of those Holy Ghost bump times!  We were in the English speaking section with ear phones which translated what was being said.  But when the person in charge said to pray in tongues it was quite a different story.  It was awesome as we listened to many, many people praise God in their tongue that the Holy Spirit had given them.  It was like the sound of many waters.   This continued for a time until someone up front stood up and rang a small bell to signify that the corporate prayer time was to end.  It was something I will always remember and I get goose bumps just telling about it! 

Jesus after his resurrection tells us in Rev. 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." This is our invitation – he is always knocking but we have to listen to his voice and open the door. 

Our heart must be open to what he is telling us.  Our eyes must remain open to new revelations of truth in His word.  We are to not shrink from the study of it. We have angels, the four living creatures and the 24 elders using their voices in Rev 5:9-14:  “⁹And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, ¹⁰And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ¹³To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" ¹⁴Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.”Further in Revelation 6:10 we have the voices of the souls of those who have died for Jesus: "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"" Rev 7:9-16  gives us a look at what happened in heaven and the voices John heard: “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation [belongs] to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"¹¹All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."¹³Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"¹⁴ And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. ¹⁶ They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  Here we have some of the most beautiful scenes of heaven foretold to us by John. Rev 12:10.  Tells us "then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven: "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." That is a great truth that we need to take to heart – the loud voice said the accuser of the brethren has been cast down – alleluia!John heard many things in his revelation: the voice of thunder and also harpists playing music. 

 Rev 14:2 "And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps." Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people--⁷saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."Some other voices recorded in the book of Revelation are:"After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!" - Rev 19:1   

And in Rev 19:5-6"Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! ⁶And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

One of the last wonderful instances in Revelation where we hear the promise of God is in Rev. 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God." It is good to revisit some of the great pictures of heaven that John saw.  It gives us great joy to know what he saw we will see also.  Some of the precious promises that Paul told us about are also seen.  Glory!

Yes, Lord we will use our voice to proclaim your goodness and your glory and your good news that Jesus reigns in our heart!

“Yes, my children, those who know me know my voice.  Even those who do not yet know me may hear my voice in dreams or visions.  I can use my voice whenever it is needed.  Use your voice as the vessel that is mighty in the proclamation of the Word of salvation. Use your voice to heal and to touch others with love.  Use your voice to reconcile others to each other and to Me.  Use your voice with power as you command the evil one to back off.  Use your voice in all situations where there is a need to know what the will of the Almighty is.  Use your voice where none know me.  Be bold!  Do not hold back.  Let your voice be as thunder and your eyes as lighting to those who need to have a direct connection with God.  Use your voice – it is given to communicate and to direct.  And don’t forget to use your voice to communicate your love to me.  I have great joy when I hear my children praying and praising.  Use your voice to sing and to shout.  Use your voice to rejoice and to cry.  Use your voice to soothe and to comfort.  Use your voice!”  We will, Lord, we will!