Revival: Hearing the Voice of the Lord
Lyle Schut shared what the Lord has spoken to him about hearing His voice.
Malachi 4:5-6 - “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” This was a prophecy about John the Baptist coming.
400 years later, in Luke 1 we read about Zechariah being visited by an angel, telling him that the prayers Zechariah and his wife had been praying for a child, has been heard, and this child to come would be the one who goes before the Lord.
In Luke 2, we read about Simeon praying and the Lord spoke that him that he would see the Messiah before he died. How was it that Simeon was able to hear the Lord speak this? He had positioned himself before the Lord.
Then John the Baptist says in John 3:29-30, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”
John the Baptist was a friend to Jesus, the Bridegroom. The Lord speaks to us out of friendship. He loves us, He is a friend. We shouldn't desire obedience out of duty, it is out of friendship. We can ask the Lord to speak to us out of friendship.
John the Baptist also positioned himself to hear. He stands to hear him. It's an intentional act to stand. You break out of a slumber position. He stood to hear His voice, he changed position to hear the Lord. Later in Ephesians 6 when we hear Paul talking about spiritual warfare, he talks about standing: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."
John the Baptist knew who he was as the friend to the Bridegroom and the one who was sent to prepare the way.
What if revival looks different that we thought? If it looks like a crazy guy in the desert yelling "Repent! The Kingdom is at hand!" would you go to listen? Will our hearts be hard, or will we be ready with hearts positioned towards the Lord, listening to what He will do?
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