It's ironic, isn't it, that this year the academy award for best picture went to "The King's Speech"? It is the true story of King George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II), his accession to the throne and his struggle to overcome a speech impediment that would have paralyzed his influence at the same time Hitler's voice was controlling much of Europe. Lionel Logue, an Australian man living in London, had no formal credentials as a speech therapist, but he had great success helping ordinary folks overcome speech impediments by using unconventional methods. He became the king's first true, lifetime friend even though he was a commoner. One of the king's vocal exercises was to keep saying, "I have a voice." The king found his voice by becoming a normal guy! He eventually became a beloved king and helped inspire England to survive World War II, which became, as Churchill described it, "their finest hour."
This is the day of the voice of "regular person." People have had it with dictatorial oppression. It's hard to "keep 'em down on the farm" when they can see 'Paree' on the Internet! They are asking why does our country have to live in poverty under a ruthless, maniacal dictator while other people are free and prosperous? Operating via the Internet's social networks is increasing the momentum of any cause. At no time in history has it been possible for any individual to be able to influence any person in the world on such a vast scale and with such speed. It's possible to generate a "flash crowd" in minutes. Just "tweet" the location, and you have an instant protest march. Whereas in the past, a person had to pass through the right connections and have enough money to raise his or her voice loud enough to attract listeners, now it is no longer necessary to acquire the permission of the powers that be or to have big money in order to have a voice. Anyone can speak to another person anywhere in the world via the Internet by creating a Facebook profile or a blog.
So now "stars" no longer occupy the exclusive place they once did; and as political stars are falling from the sky, the powers of the earth are shaking. God is causing every mountain and hill to be made low by multiplying the ability to have influence through having a voice. In the words of Oscar Hammerstein, "If everybody's somebody, then no one's anybody." When anyone can do it, it is common and no longer "special." Multiplying the ability which was once afforded to only an elite few levels the playing field. Now a worker can have the same voice as a king.
The ability of anyone to have a voice is affecting the church, too. Hierarchies no longer have the influence they once enjoyed unless they can do so through fear or other forms of manipulation. The voice of the regular person is flattening the hierarchical structures that exist as people no longer need antiquated forms of leadership that quench healthy voices rather than empower them. Now there is a whirlwind of voices clamoring for attention. It's not about "office" or title anymore. Anyone can learn to hear for himself the voice of truth above the cacophony. Yes, there will always be hierarchies and titles that go with them, but now you can get your message out by simply bypassing them.
I want to have a voice worth hearing, don't you? I want it to be encouraging and carry a message that glorifies Jesus Christ. I want my voice to be recognizable because it speaks truth, but also because it speaks it the way my heavenly Father would. The only way to have a voice worth hearing is by listening to His.
Our friend, Joe Gregorian, has found his voice. He has a website where for over a decade, he has influenced people in Iran by sharing the simple gospel of Jesus Christ with them. He doesn't advertise his ministry and is not a speaker at conferences. He is a financial advisor by trade, but he's a missionary from his living room. He and his wife, Anna were born in Iran and are Americans now. He immigrated here before the shah was deposed in the late '70's. In Toronto in 1997 at the renewal meetings at TACF (now known as Catch the Fire), Joe was receiving prayer and resting in God's presence when he saw a vision of Jesus dragging His cross. Then he saw the map of Iran. He heard the Lord say to him, "My compassion."
Reeling under the influence of the Lord's voice, Joe began using contacts he already had to send New Testaments in Farsi to his homeland at his own expense. When their government tried to thwart him by opening the parcels and substituting copies of a gnostic gospel in its place, he pressed on anyway. Now he sends them pdf and no one can stop him. (You cannot edit a pdf file.) Almost every day someone contacts him from Iran, someone who has prayed the "sinner's prayer" and who is hungry for more information about Jesus. Inquiries are increasing as spiritual hunger is hitting Iran. (See the English website: http://www.evangelizeiran.org/ to contact Joe.) Joe's ability to speak to the common people of Iran came as a direct result of hearing His voice and following the Lord's simple instructions. How many others are like Joe, walking through the walls of dictatorial oppression by making their voices heard through the Internet? Exciting, isn't it?
But here is a negative side to this phenomenon. Now that everyone is speaking, exercising your privilege to listen for what is true is more important than ever. The Christian wants to know above all things what the Lord is saying. So with the playing field level, how do I recognize His voice amid all the others?
It is not necessary to have any other mediator other than Jesus Christ, because to hear His voice is the privilege of any believer. It is within you because the eternal Holy Spirit has "wadded Himself up" and lives inside you, and He can talk. You will learn to hear that voice and distinguish it from your own like a child learns to hear and obey His parent. You will learn it gradually, and will probably make errors in discerning it sometimes, but the struggle to hear Him is worth it.
God's voice is recognizable because it is kind and says the truth with wisdom that creates a sometimes irrational peace in your soul. Even in rebuke, His voice brings hope. His voice is not selfish, boastful or rude, off-color or even heard constantly. It's not usually formal and is sometimes downright humorous. To hear his voice is the privilege of any believer who has the Holy Spirit within. You will sometimes hear Him speaking to you through others, and you will hear it because of its familiarity-- it confirms what God has already been speaking to you. And if a Christian has wisdom, he will observe the outcome of the speaker's life before he heeds his voice or imitates his faith.
Jesus died and rose from the dead to give each member of his body a voice. "If any man speaks, let Him speak as the oracles of God..." (I Peter 2:10-11) Perhaps you have heard many voices in and out of the body of Christ claiming to speak for God. Some of those voices sound like a stutterer learning to relax. They say nothing profound, but they are useful mainly to the one learning to exercise his own voice! Other voices carry some of the truth but only briefly. Some of the voices sound selfish and proud and have an irritating clang as though the speaker were saying the right words but hadn't spent enough time being with God before trying to speak in His behalf.
To have a voice like your heavenly Father's, you have to listen long enough to not just hear words, but possess the authority of someone who knows Him well. It's like a son growing up in his father's presence. The son's voice, regardless of his age, is precious to his father; but it will have a different quality when the son is 30 years old than it does when he is six or twelve. Your voice is as distinct as your DNA and is different from any other voice in the world. Doesn't knowing this fact add new meaning to King David's words, "In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice..."? Your voice produces a natural sound, and I'll bet it has a distinct spiritual sound, too, one that your Father longs to hear. He wants you to talk to Him, and He wants to talk to you, too.
Learning to hear and recognize the voice of your father is part of growing up into the image of Jesus Christ, the model Son. It takes years of learning to hear that familiar voice so that your own voice sounds exactly like His. Speaking for God is more than imitating His voice like Cecil B. DeMille in the movie, "The Ten Commandments." It is more than repeating scriptures or relating concepts you've learned. It is learning to speak from the position of being in Him.
Jesus, your Saviour, was and is the voice of His Father. In these last days, He has spoken to us in His Son.( Hebrews 1). He used to speak in many different ways but in these days, He is speaking to us in His son, Jesus Christ. Anything God says will glorify Jesus because He is the superior revelation. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge reside in Him. What the writer of Hebrews meant was that now that the Word has become flesh and accomplished redemption, there is nothing left to say. Jesus Christ is the final word. God the Father can't say enough about Jesus. Other topics don't deserve the same level of attention that He does. That's why the writer of Hebrews goes on to say, "To which of the angels has He ever said, 'Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet..." The Father has given all things to the Son, and human beings do not have the authority to change the subject.
Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me." It wasn't the voice of pride; it was the Father's voice, and what He said is true. On the mount of transfiguration, Peter saw the vision but tried to speak its interpretation before He had anything to say. The Father rebuked Peter. "This is my Son; listen to Him." (Aren't you glad He did? Peter was interpreting the vision as a mandate to build 3 temples and two of them were to Moses and Elijah! That's way too big a building program!) Peter didn't understand that Jesus is the superior revelation, the other figures he saw that day were of lesser importance yet they were widely recognized as the greatest prophets who had ever lived. Moses spoke the word he heard from God which became law to the Jews. Elijah spoke in supernatural demonstrations of God's power. God vindicated them both with signs and wonders and a following of proteges. It is possible that neither Moses and Elijah died naturally but were 'caught up.' However, they were only foreshadows of the Living Word of God, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. God vindicated Him by raising Him from the dead in a body that would never die again.
If you have seen or heard anything in these days, ponder it. Maybe you are like Peter and what God has said to you or shown you is part of some bigger picture; and He's not finished talking to you. The puzzle piece doesn't have the same value as the whole picture. Maybe He's just started talking to you, but He is not ready for you to say it yet. You need the right context. Let what you have seen, read and heard ferment long enough to become good wine. Otherwise, you'll be spreading the cheap stuff around so often that no one will want what you are peddling. If you really trust Him, listen to Him, for years maybe; and He will turn what you've seen and heard into the best wine.
I believe that God is teaching each one of His children to hear from Him and to speak for Him, and He is causing walls against His voice to drop. He is leveling the playing field not so that we may draw attention to ourselves, but so that our voices will draw attention to Jesus. If you have been denied your voice by men, know that they cannot stop God from speaking. Perhaps you feel like you are stuttering right now in order to gain a voice. Don't despair. It is God who will give you a voice. Just listen to Him.
