We are talking about hearing the voice of Jesus.

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John 10:1-5 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 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."

Here is how Jesus describes His personal relationship with you. He describes Himself as your shepherd. You are His sheep. This imagery is fascinating. On our first trip to England as a family, we were in the countryside and got to watch a world champion dog with the trainer move the sheep around on a large piece of land. The trainer could stop the sheep when he wanted them to stop. He could have them go around barriers and separate them into smaller groups. Seeing sheep in real life being directed by a shepherd helps to understand how powerful this imagery is of Jesus as our shepherd.

The sheep hear Jesus’ voice. You can hear Jesus’ voice if you are one of His sheep. This is where I used to struggle when I was younger. Secretly, I was having a hard time figuring out which thoughts were from Jesus. Some churches would teach that you can’t hear Jesus’ voice. They’d say just stick to reading the Bible and learning good principles about Jesus. Seven years after college, I went through a jealousy phase. I knew that Moses would meet in the tent of meeting and God would come down in a cloud and talk with him. I was so jealous. God, why can’t I talk to you that way? In my mind I immediately heard a thought, “You can meet with Me like Moses.” It was so clear, that it humbled me. Then I heard another thought, “You don’t have to go out to a tent to meet with Me like Moses did. It’s easier for you because you are the tent. I live inside you and meet with you. You can meet with Me whenever you want, as often as you want.” I felt like I was an inch tall. I wasn’t scared, just humbled. I knew that was Jesus whispering thoughts into my mind.

Jesus calls you by name. If your name is included in the sentence, then you know it is directed only at you and no one else. I want Jesus to give me personal instructions. I want to know what He wants me to do. “Bob, go to California.” My mom cried when I told her I was leaving Seattle. I told her, “Mom, I’m going to college in California because Jesus told me to go. I just know in my heart somehow that this is what He wants me to do.” Very few thoughts from Jesus were clear to me at that time in high school, but this one was very clear. I was getting used to hearing phrases from Jesus every once in a while. I thought that was as good as it would get, but years later when I met my prayer warrior wife in Costa Rica, everything changed.

Jesus leads you out. When Jesus takes you somewhere, you can see Him ahead of you and all you have to do is follow His voice. It’s pretty simple. Moses said he wouldn’t go on alone without God leading Israel. You should do the same. Don’t go anywhere without Jesus leading you. Jesus will mostly speak in your mind. He puts thoughts in your mind. Not all of your thoughts are just yours. Some of them are from Jesus.

Don’t listen to strangers. Some of your thoughts are from strangers. It says in John 13:2 that before the last supper with Jesus, the devil had already put the thought in Judas’ mind to betray Jesus. Judas listened to a stranger. He then took action and followed the devil when he betrayed Jesus. Evil thoughts should be rejected immediately. Don’t feel guilty. They are usually not your own thoughts. It’s only when you agree with them that they become yours.

Prayer coaching: “Jesus, go ahead of me and lead me out each day with Your unique voice of truth. Show me where You want me to go. Give me discernment to know what thoughts are from You. Jesus, show me which thoughts are from strangers. Help me to reject the thoughts that are not from You. Lead me in my thought life.”