The Voice of Truth

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Enjoy this day and fulfill all of the potential that God has put within in it.
I woke up this morning with "The Voice of Truth" song going through my mind. I began to hum it, and then sing it. As I began to type this blog, I couldn't get away from it. Let me share with you the lyrics to this anointed song:

Oh what I would do to have, The kind of faith it takes, To climb out of this boat I'm in. Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone, Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is. And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name, And they laugh at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The waves they keep on telling me Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant With just a sling and a stone. Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors Shaking in their armor Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name And he laughs at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size To put the giant on the ground. And the waves they don't seem so high From on top of them lookin' down. I will soar with the wings of eagles When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus Singing over me.

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth. The enemy will make sure that we hear LIES, that attempts to breed FEAR, DOUBT, WORRY, ANGER, FRUSTRATION, etc. In the midst of those lies, God is speaking to us, and His voice is the VOICE OF TRUTH.

You see, we really do have a choice who we will listen to. Several weeks ago I posted a blog entitled, "Casting down imaginations." I want to borrow from that blog and share a couple of thoughts again.

What are these lies and where do they come from? They are thoughts contrary to the truth. About this concept Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Let's notice a couple of things about it.

First, what is an imagination? An imagination is something that seems to be real but has no substance to it. Imaginations are in our mind and they are incorrect reasoning's or thoughts. They are against the knowledge of God. Not the knowledge about God but the knowledge that comes from God. Imaginations are the opposite of truth.

This passage goes on to say that these imaginations "exalt itself against the knowledge of God." This means that these lies attempt to become greater than God's Word in our minds. They pretend to be bigger or more powerful than our God. They are lies that are more real to us than the truth.

Let's take a moment and examine what that looks like? Remember when Satan came to tempt Eve. "And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5 NAS).
The lie became more real to Eve than the truth and so she sinned. The same can be true for you and me. Where are we believing a lie that is directly contrary to God' truth? "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (I Peter 5:7 NAS). The truth is that God cares for us. The result of believing the truth is we are not anxious.

A companion verse is found in Philippians.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6 NAS). The truth is that we can go to God about all our concerns. The result of believing this truth is that we are not anxious. What is anxiety? It is the result of not believing the truth. It is what believing the lie looks like. It is the evidence of the lie being bigger or more powerful than God.

Where do these lies come from? "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV). These lies are called "strongholds" They are strongholds in our mind, lies that are more real than the truth. The terminology here is that of spiritual warfare. We are fighting and there are weapons involved.

Concerning this battle Paul wrote, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11 NAS). We are fighting the schemes of the devil. To do this we must remember that Satan is a liar. He lied to himself, convincing himself that he was bigger and greater than God. He lied to Adam and Eve, that they could be gods. And he lies to you and me. Satan doesn't tempt us to commit sins. He tempts us to not believe God, and then the sins automatically follow.

When God says we can trust Him, Satan will tell us we can't. When God tells us to humble ourselves and He will exalt us in due time, Satan says no he won't, we have to promote ourselves now. When God says to forgive, Satan says no, he or she doesn't deserve it.

Where is the battle? The primary battlefield is the mind. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Look at the words "imaginations, knowledge, and thoughts." These all speak of our mind. Our mind is a battlefield. The challenge for believers is to take back our thought life and take it captive to Christ instead. The way to influence behavior is to influence thinking. Who or what controls your mind controls your life.

Satan is so effective in his lies that after a while he has built in us "strongholds" or fortresses of lies that we believe strongly. Think of it as a wall around a city. The wall is built one brick at a time until the wall is thick and high. These are lies that have been reinforced time and time again. The goal of spiritual warfare is to tear down these walls, fortresses of lies. The first step is to DAILY listen to the VOICE OF TRUTH by reading and meditating upon God's Word. You will have a very difficult time discerning the Voice of Truth if you don't habitually spend time in God's Word. Why not start right now! Blessings!

Pastor Rusty