“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (Joh 10:16)
Journal,
I’ve enjoyed my semi-pulpit retirement for a while. However, a few weeks ago I had this impression to start preparing for speaking engagements. I’ve come to recognize these impressions as, ‘whispers of the heart.’ (I’ll share more on this a bit later.)
Sure enough, things began to happen. After Nathan went on a retreat, he shared that he felt the Lord wanted me to fill the pulpit of Christian Challenge at least once a month. This would free him up to work on some translation projects. (Our training programs are being translated into Spanish.)
That would be fine. I didn’t mind pitch-hitting for Nathan. But soon after that I received a request to hold a three-day revival at Mora House of Prayer. That was last weekend. I could not have chosen a more heart-warming place for a revival.
It’s hard to put into words my feelings. The revival was more like a homecoming, family reunion. My connection with this church goes back many years. I held my first revival there, forty-two years ago. Then some thirty-seven years ago it was my honor to pastor the same church for a time.
The Mora House of Prayer (formerly known as Red Top Pentecostal Church) was our launching pad for the founding of Christian Challenge International in 1976.
Actually the revival was like…
Stepping Back in Time
This was the strange side of the revival. It was almost like I had stepped back in time. Brother Earl and Sandra Hillman were the pastors there at my first revival. Brother Earl has since gone to be with the Lord. It was my honor to speak at his funeral. But now a full circle has been made and Sister Hillman has the pastorate. That of itself was heart stirring. The whole Hillman family are sweethearts.
But then, most of the old timers that I had grown to love through the years, have already made their journey home. There were still a few old-timers there along with children and grand-children. I pretty much knew them all.
Here is the strange part – As I looked over the congregation it was as though I could see in my heart, the many precious believers who had already made their journey home. It gave me pause for what the apostolic writer said about God’s eternal church and our surrounding witnesses.
Listen —
Perhaps this picture says it all.
Then we have this —
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, …
“…and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Heb 12:22-24)
No, I don’t believe we are to have interchanges with those who have made their journey home – but who is to say that those already in heaven don’t know what is happening on earth. Just a thought.
I’ll leave that with your own thoughts. But that brings me to…
Whispers of the Heart
The Lord gave me three messages for the revival – Friday evening I ministered on the subject, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’ Saturday evening it was, ‘The Saga of the Lilies.’ And Sunday morning, ‘What it Means to Be Free in Christ.’
Each ministry was a preparation for the next. Wish I had time to share from all the ministries, but let me simply draw a bit on the subject, ‘Whispers of the Heart.’
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying —
“On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa 29:18-19)
God’s voice is heard in the Scriptures
The expression, ‘on that day’, has regard to the Messiah and the new covenant. When Jesus opened the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, and began reading, the people were astonished at the wisdom that flowed from Jesus.
It is easy to miss on what was happening. The book of Isaiah was one of the primary books that were read in the synagogues. They had often heard what Jesus was reading.
So, what made the reading this time so different from any other time? It all had to do with Who was doing the reading.
It was the voice of God that they were hearing from the reading of Isaiah. And in the new covenant, this is what gives life to the Bible. It is when Jesus is speaking to our hearts from the sacred writings, that we truly hear the words of a book.
There is a key to all this. We often refer to the Bible as the Word of God, and that certainly is a truism. The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation has the breath of God in it. This is what Paul meant by the Scriptures being ‘inspired.’ (The Greek term has to do with breath or Spirit.)
But there is the deeper understanding to be had. While the Bible is the book of God, it only becomes the Word of God when we are able to hear God speak from the book. The Word of God is Jesus Christ Himself and when He speaks to our hearts from the sacred writings, it then becomes to us, ‘the Word of God.’
It is important to understand this distinction.
This brings us to what Jesus meant when He said…
My Sheep Hear My Voice
The new covenant is a life covenant and the life of the new covenant is Jesus Himself.
This brings us to the qualifier about who is a true Christian and who is not a true Christian. Jesus makes emphatic statements —
“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A 
stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (Joh 10:4-5)
And again —
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Joh 10:26-29)
And one more —
“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (Joh 10:16)
Do you see the common denominator in all these verses? Everything centers on who is speaking into your life.
The question might be, ‘Does the Lord speak to us outside of the Bible?
The answer is simple – ‘Yes, indeed. God can speak to us through nature, through others, and especially in preaching and teaching the gospel. But it is through the Bible that our spirits are trained to know and distinguish the voice of our Shepherd.”
This is why it disheartens me to hear any believer denigrate the sacred writings. We are instructed by the apostle to never exceed what has been written in the Scriptures.
When Jesus taught the people, He always had the Scriptures in the background of His teachings. The reason for this is that the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is spiritually encoded with all that belongs to God and His kingdom. The Bible is the story of redemption
But I’ll leave that where it is.
What else is left? Perhaps I can return to where I begin with this entry –
Now that I’ve heard the whisper in my heart to to start preparing for speaking engagements, I can simply say to the Lord, ‘Here I am Lord. What are my instructions?’
Of course I realize that the revival at Mora and the ministries that I will do at Christian Challenge may have been what the whisper was about.
After all I’m not that thirty year old evangelist anymore. My years are now in the seventies.
But who knows. In any event, I’ve dusted off my …
Twelve-Stringed Instrument
Yep, of all the instruments that I have, including a banjo, a banjitar, a mandoline, harmonicas, and several guitars, all my attention is now fixed on my twelve-string guitar. It will always be my favorite.
Indeed, I love what the Psalmist said —
“Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with harp and lyre.
“Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! (Psa 150:1-6)
Don’t you just love the Lord!
In Christ always,
Buddy
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