"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
--Jesus (John 10:27) Many voices in the world are clamoring for our attention--popular opinion, fear, pressures, whims, and deception (1 Timothy 4:1). But when Jesus says, "My sheep know My voice," we ought to be relaxed and encouraged about it. You see, the Scriptures tell us that God has given us a unique guidance system called the Holy Spirit.

When we are saved, the slates of our lives are washed clean and we are different on the inside (1 Corinthians 6:11). Now the Holy Spirit is our Helper to lead us and guide us away from stupidity and into wisdom, away from aimlessness and into our destiny, away from futility and into real impact.
It's encouraging to know that we can grow in our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
When I was a new Christian, I was young and naïve, but as I began to learn from good teaching and I practiced taking action on it, I watched the difference between following the promptings of the Spirit and just doing things in my flesh. I've made decisions when I was exhausted and I didn't pray, but I've made better decisions when I was seeking God and fasting and crying out to the Lord and endeavoring to hear His voice.

The things of life rise and fall on whether or not we're going to follow the loudest voice or follow the leading of the Spirit. So keep on listening to God and leaning on what His Word says (Proverbs 3:5-6). And keep practicing your walk in the Spirit. He will order your steps (Psalm 37:23).

Press on!
Pastor Jeff




© 2007 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.