Be a steward of God's voice: Lessons from the Life of Jesus

Fully God and fully man, Jesus’s life was lived in constant pursuit of the Father’s voice. He understood the importance of relying on the Father’s voice for every decision, every desire, and every goal, this enabled him to walk perfectly in God’s ordered steps.

The only way to follow in the steps God predestined for us is by being in tune with His voice. God speaks His heart, he speaks what is right, and what will transpire in our lives, He speaks the true nature of things, what they really are even when they have not yet been seen by the physical eye.

The Bible says we were predestined to be conformed to the Image of Christ, everything that Christ is so are we in the world. Predestination means the outcome of an event, that has been determined in advance by divine will. The reason I mention this is that when we look at the life of Jesus, we find exactly who we were created to be. The reality is that God created the world and had already established what will be(Isaiah 46:10). By tuning in on His voice we allow ourselves to walk in that truth. When the Bible commends the women and men of faith, out of all the things that they did on the earth, the true mark of their lives was that they served the purposes of God in their generation (Acts 13:36) the Bible also speaks of a man named Enoch, that much of what he was known for is that he walked with God (Gen 5:24), and what is fascinating is that when they had completed their purpose, the bible says they fell asleep. This speaks that the true meaning of life is to walk in the steps God has ordered, that is to walk side by side with him as we journey through life.

But how can we do that unless we first become stewards of His voice? The most important question we need to ask ourselves is; what does God have to say? about who I am, my friends, my family, my career, and my relationships? God wants to speak to you concerning everything in your life, He wants to establish your steps upon what is true, what is eternal, and what will outlast everything that can be physically seen. We must spend our lives pursuing God's heart on anything that concerns us. Jesus did just that. When he came into the world He said "A body you have prepared for me, I have come to do your will, O God", Hebrews 10:5-7. What if we are truly living in borrowed time, borrowed bodies, to do God's will on the earth, certainly so we are truly God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the goods things he planned for us long ago, Eph 2:10.

Jesus understood that as fully man, his sight is restricted to mainly what he sees physically so in His humanity he learned to be fully surrendered to the Spirit, He understood that the Spirit only gives life, human effort or the flesh accomplishes nothing, John 6:63.

For example, Jesus was led by the Fathers’ voice in choosing whom His disciples would be and the company He would keep, he did not rely upon or judge by appearance, status, or social class. There were many people that could have been Jesus’s closest friends, for example, the 72 mentioned in Luke 10 but they were not aligned with the purpose God intended for Him, it was by constantly spending time with the Father through prayer, being in the temple, and reading the scriptures that Jesus learned the voice of God so that the people closest to Him can discern who he truly is and speak to what God knows about Him. So it is important that we pursue God's voice in our lives.

How can we then be stewards of God’s voice? A steward is someone who oversees and manages. Being stewards of God’s voice is that we first recognize that we need God’s voice in our lives, you cannot appreciate something you do not see its necessary value, when you value something, you guard it, pursue it, and nurture it. The fear (awe-filled reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we understand that God’s voice is authoritative, it is true and it is final, and we truly cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from God's mouth, it must be the cry of our hearts to see God’s word speak over every area of our lives.

Practical ways to steward God’s voice.

· Repentance, there is a need to turn away from anything that is a hindrance in the pursuit of God. Most of the time we usually feel if we give everything to Jesus we are losing, but the reality is that you actually gain more than what you felt like you lost, you gain your life. Therefore when we live a life of constant turning away from what doesn't glorify God and turning toward the truth, it means we treasure the voice of God in our lives.

· Make time for God. The reason, I can hear my mom’s voice when I’m in a place I didn’t even know she would be there is because I’ve spent immeasurable time in her presence, at times I can even discern her by her laughter. It is so with God, we will hear Him speak even when we least expect Him, when we diligently spend time with Him, through prayer, studying the scriptures, and fellowship.

· The closer we listen, the more God speaks, (Mark 4:24) and the more understanding will be given. Listening with the intention to act on what has said is the true mark of someone who is a good steward. Listening and Hearing are two different things. Hearing is perceiving the sound that comes through your ear, it is the awareness that someone is speaking. Listening on the other hand is intentional hearing, a listener ponders, meditates, and has the intention of responding to the words spoken. The Bible says to the one who listens to my teaching more understanding will be given and they will have an abundance of knowledge, Matt 13:12

If Jesus, who was fully God could find it important to seek after the voice of God for everything he came to do on the earth, it should be the cry of our hearts too.

Prayer.

Father, I pray in Jesus’ name that you would enable my spiritual eyes to be awakened to your Spirit, that I may be able to hear what you are saying right now. I believe that you want to speak to me, I pray for every hindrance that has caused me to be passive in my pursuit of your voice, that you would expose and grant me the ability to turn towards you. I pray for the desire to hear your voice, and that I would have the desire and willingness to do that which is your will. I want to hear your voice in every area of my life. In Jesus’ name Amen