CCF International Church

YOKED TO CHRIST – YOKED TO THE VOICE OF GOD

Perspective –  Pastora Claudia Amancio

The voice of God is not merely an audible sound, but it is composed of His entire will, His entire character, and His entire truth.

John 10:27  “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Since Eden, sin has created separation between God and man. The voice of God, which was once heard at the turn of the day in face-to-face communion,became distant and even terrifying to fallen man.

Genesis 3:8 “That evening they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid among the trees.”

At Sinai, the people asked Moses to be their mediator because the voice of God made them tremble and fear.

Exodus 20:19 “The Israelites said to Moses, ‘You should speak to us. We will listen to you.'” “It is better that God does not speak directly to us lest we die.”

However, God’s plan has always been to restore intimacy and relationship.

Now, “united with Christ,” the channel of communication has been restored. This is not mysticism, but a forensic position and a reactivated relational experience.

THE BASIS OF OUR UNION WITH CHRIST

To hear God’s voice, we first need to understand where we are spiritually. Being in Christ is the backbone of the Christian faith. Christ is the foundation of our faith.

His death and resurrection brought us identification.

Romans 6:5 “For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

The Greek word for “united” here is symphytos, which means “planted together,” “to grow together.” It is an agricultural term. A grafted branch is not merely attached to the tree; it comes to share the same sap, the same life. This means that the The voice of God is not an external signal that we perceive, but an inner life that we can share.

Now we are one Spirit with Him, in 1 Corinthians 6:17 it goes even deeper:

1 Corinthians 6:17 “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

Union is not just a covenant, it is a spiritual fusion. If we are one spirit with Christ, the Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets now dwells in us, and His voice springs from within, from our recreated spirit.

THE VOICE THAT EMANATES FROM UNION

If union is now the reality, the voice is the natural consequence. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, establishes a clear dynamic in John 10. You can read more about it later after the study.

The Divine Order is that we need to know before we hear.

John 10:27 “I know them, and they follow me.”

We think: “I need to hear to know.” God reverses it: “You “It is known to me, therefore you can hear it.”

The voice of God is not a secret code. It is the natural conversation of the Shepherd with the sheep that already belongs to Him. Spiritual hearing will come through relationship, not a mystical ability. We understand the voice of God because we have a relationship with Him and with His teaching man (established man). Through his teachings we are able to understand the voice of God accurately.

Having “The Mind of Christ” will lead us to perfectly understand the voice and will of the Father.

1 Corinthians 2:16  “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who could teach him anything or give him advice?” But we truly possess the mind of Christ.

Being united with Him, we have access to His way of thinking, discerning, and evaluating reality. The Holy Spirit renews our minds.

Romans 12:2  “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” “And so you will learn, through your own experience, the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

So that the voice of God may be filtered through a mental structure aligned with the written Word (Logos). The voice (Rhema) never contradicts the Word (Logos).

HOW THE VOICE MANIFESTS ITSELF IN PRACTICE

Yoked to Christ, the voice of God is not, and never will be, monotonous.

Hebrews 1:1 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets in many different ways.” God spoke “many times and in many ways.” Let’s look at the main ways in which this union manifests itself audibly or perceptually:

Through the Written Word (The Logos that becomes Rhema)

The Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, “illuminates” His Word. Suddenly, a verse brings the exact answer to your prayer. This is the Author (God) through the Holy Spirit speaking to the reader (us) who is united to He.

The Whisper of the Spirit

It becomes still and gentle.

1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

It is not audible to physical ears, but it is an unmistakable perception in the spirit.

It often manifests as a thought that is not our own—wiser, purer, deeper. “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'”(Isaiah)

Psalm 30:21 “If you turn aside from the path, going to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the right way; walk in it!'”

Our union with Christ will cause us to hear God’s voice through Sovereign Peace.

Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ always be present in your hearts and lives, for this is the responsibility and privilege you have as members of his body. And be always thankful.”

Through the Body of Christ (Godly Counsel)

As members of the same body, God often uses other mature brothers and sisters to confirm a direction.

Proverbs 11:14 “A nation where there is no wise man falls, but where there are prudent counselors, the people live in safety.”

The Invitation to Intimacy

“Yoked to Christ, Yoked to the voice of God” is not a theory, it is the reality of the new creation in Christ Jesus. Jesus did not leave us trying to guess His will. His will is explicit through His Word. But we will only be able to know it if we know His culture, His doctrine, and this is contained in His Word…

Christ grafted us into Himself so that His life might flow in us, including His constant guidance.

The challenge is not to make God speak louder. It is to quiet ourselves enough and believe that, because we are one with Christ, we already have the capacity to discern His voice. Like Samuel, who at first did not recognize the voice of the Lord, but through the teaching and instruction of Eli, was enabled to discern the voice of God.

1 Samuel 3:10 “And the Lord called again as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel answered, ‘SPEAK, FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING!'”

May today’s perspectives be not only informative, but transformative. As we understand what it means to be “in Christ,” may our ears be opened to the ongoing relationship that the Father desires to have with us always, today, tomorrow, and forever.

Love and respect!  Shalom!

Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Being joined to Him in intimacy implies clarity of the voice of God. The voice of God is key to rest.

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. 20 And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. 21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. 22 You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, “Get away!”

His voice is activated by your cry. Your teacher today is the Holy Spirit. When you are yoked to Christ, there is clarity of the voice and will of God. God speaks today through dreams, visions, impromptu thought, signs and wonders, impressions and unctions, his servants and messengers, angels and the Word of God. 

God speaks often through His Word. His voice today is His Word. 

Revelation 1:15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters

Psalms 29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters.

A single Word from the Lord can sort out your distress.

Psalms 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

“Word” is derived from the Hebrew word “dabar (H1697)”, and is a masculine noun meaning : word, speech, matter. This frequent word has a wide range of meanings associated with it. It was used to convey divine communication.  (CWSB Dictionary)

The Word in this context is called the spoken word, often a scripture that stands out to convict and reform. The written word becomes the spoken word in our context. We called this the Rhema (Greek) or Dabar (Hebrew).

A Gentile who received a visitation from an angel with an instruction that would connect him to the Apostle Paul

The voice of the Lord is your way out in a conflict. The voice of God prevails in your circumstances. The voice declares peace in the storm. It is the sound of many waters. Jesus said “My sheep hear My voice”.

The Voice brings rest – Saul on the Damascus Road

Acts 9:1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Saul was a Jewish fanatic – a Pharisee of Pharisees, a custodian of the Law. The new way of Christ threatened his way of life. It was a great offence to his customs and upbringing. He did not know that he was attacking Christ. The goad is used to provoke a beast to move. By kicking against the goad, the beast would hurt itself. God was saying that Saul was going to suffer serious injury by fighting what God was doing. He could not hope to succeed against God. 

The voice of God stopped the “kicking against the pricks” and brought rest to Saul, the Christian antagonist. 

The voice of God resolved conflict in apostolic journeys.

Acts 16:7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The instruction of Christ was that the disciples must go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). But at Mysia they were forbidden by the Spirit to go into Bithynia. This was clearly conflicting with the initial demand of Christ. We know that the Spirit and the Word must agree. The apostle was certain it was the voice of the Spirit of God doing the forbidding. God has instructed us to go but the Spirit determines the timing. The vision that appeared to Paul was the voice of God, bring clarity to apostolic movements. The clear voice of God through the vision concludes the matter of entry into Macedonia in God’s timing.

YOKED TO CHRIST – YOKED TO THE VOICE OF GOD

PERSPECTIVE  –  ROY PILLAY

When we speak about the voice of God, we are entering the realm of the supernatural.

There are various ways that the Lord communicates with individuals.

We know that God speaks through dreams, visions, signs and wonders, thoughts, His Servants, His Messengers, His Prophets; however, the most consistent, trustworthy and immutable foundation of our faith through which the voice of God would be heard is the Word of God. 

It is important to note that God not only speaks to believers; He also communicates with unbelievers, for example ….

Cornelius 

King Nebuchadnezzar  The king had a Divine encounter with “a holy watcher coming down from heaven” in a dream which only Daniel was able to interpret.

Daniel 4:13 “I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He cried aloud and said thus: Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, And the birds from its branches. 15 Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth, Bound with a band of iron and bronze, In the tender grass of the field.Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, And let him graze with the beasts On the grass of the earth. 16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, And let seven times pass over him. 17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’ 18 “This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”

Balaam  God speaks to a pagan Diviner instructing him not to curse a “blessed” people

Numbers 22:9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ” 12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

THE VOICE OF THE LORD CAME REGULARLY TO THE APOSTLE PAUL 

Firstly, when He encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus. 

Acts 9:3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Paul presents himself as a “bondservant of the Lord” to the Romans

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

The ministry of Paul reveals him being “yoked to Christ” with great clarity and perfection, having changed from being a Pharisee of Pharisees being “yoked to the Law” to being “yoked to Christ” 

Galatians 219 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

THIS IS THE REASON PAUL SET A CONDITION FOR BELIEVERS WHO WOULD DESIRE TO IMITATE HIM 

The condition was that his yoke with Christ Jesus must always be clearly visible. 

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ (King James Version)

THE VOICE OF THE LORD WARNS PAUL TO LEAVE JERUSALEM BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE PERSECUTION 

Acts 22:17 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

THE VOICE OF THE LORD INSTRUCTS PAUL NOT TO BE SILENT. THE LORD PROMISES DIVINE PROTECTION

Acts 18:9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

THE LORD ASSURES PAUL OF THE ALL SUFFICIENCY OF HIS GRACE TO HELP HIM WITH THE THORN IN HIS FLESH

2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Believers who are able to hear the voice of the Lord do not need to be embarrassed or apologise for this spiritual gift.

WHEN BELIEVERS ARE YOKED TO JESUS, THEY ARE ABLE TO HEAR HIS VOICE FROM ALL THE OTHER VOICES

John 10:26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

THE LORD ALSO USES THE PREACHER AS HIS INSTRUMENT TO MAKE HIS WORD AND HIS VOICE  HEARD

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?