Shepherding and the Voice of God

While studying I started on a fascinating chain of thought that I need to put down in writing so here's another 'welcome to my thought process' blog. Good luck reading it!!!

Ok. In John 10 (which we covered in leaders lifegroup for those playing at home)Jesus says the following (New Revised Standard Version):

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Having pondered these verses a lot both in pastoral care study and in lifegroup recently they were fresh in my mind. Then I read John 8:47 today:

"Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”
Or, in the New Living Translation:
"Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don't, it proves that you aren't God's children."

So we have Jesus first saying that one of the ways we may know whether or not someone is from God, or is one of His children, is by whether they hear from God / listen for God's words gladly. Then Jesus states that He is the good shepherd and that the sheep follow Him and KNOW HIS VOICE - indeed they will run from the voice of a stranger.

Now hearing the voice of God and knowing that one has heard Him is a very touchy topic amongst Christians today. Some people claim He does not speak having said all He needs to through the bible, others claim He speaks through coincidence and scriptures only, still more claim the bible is irrelevant as God speaks to them continuously. Yet here in scripture it states quite clearly that to be considered a child of God we must be listening to - not just for but to - God's voice, and that we will accordingly run from strangers.

I started pondering what it's like to be a Christian and yet to not know God's voice - I won't say not hear God because I firmly believe God speaks continuously to all people Christian and non-Christian. Without being able to recognise the Shepherd life must be very confusing. I think we resort to following the general consensus around us - watching what the other sheep do and following their lead. Because we are unaware of the Shepherd calling our name and the direction and guidance He is providing we place far more value on our friendships and mentors and their advice and suggestions. So much so that we follow their lead even when we aren't completely comfortable and can no longer SEE the Shepherd or FEEL the effects of His presence. We follow other shepherds (i.e. other religions and leaders such as Buddhism and Islam) and get caught up in their flocks because we don't know what our Shepherd sounds like. They tend to look similar as they wear the same clothes and give similar instructions, but they lead us in the wrong direction and their promises of Heaven and our destinies are confusing and costly.

Knowing our Shepherd's voice and understanding some of what He is saying to us protects us and gives us a much more reliable connection with Him than simply seeing and feeling the effects of His presence. Listening to Him builds relationship.

I'm sure I could extend this and extend this but I'd actually love to hear your questions and comments on this topic. Do you know God's voice and if so how did you come to recognise it and can you describe it to others? Do you think it's important to hear God / listen to God? Is this an issue today? Do you feel comfortable talking about this? Could you help a friend come to recognise God's voice? Got any queries on or around this topic you'd like me to ponder and blog on?

I believe this topic is incredibly important and relevant to all of us today and I can't wait to see what you think!!!