HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD OR AN ECHOBy Kenneth B Greatorex
Revelation 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.There are many sounds, many voices sounding forth in the world today. Now, we have ways that were undreamed of when I was a child to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Many raise their voices to trumpet the latest "in Word." One day it is Sonship, another day, it is Faith, or Restoration, or Christ in you, or Kingdom, or the Salvation/Reconciliation of All, or some other facets of truth. Each is a valuable message IF it is what the Spirit of God is desiring to say through that particular ministry, at that point in time, and location.When the Spirit of God causes an emphasis of a certain aspect of truth to come forth, it comes forth as a trumpet, and with clarity, and it accomplishes that which God intended. However, no sooner has the Spirit spoken a word - a fresh revelation, and the rush is on by some to run with it, even though they have little understanding of what they are saying. To such, it sounds good, as "so and so" is teaching it, so it must be what should be preached. Why, it might even increase MY ministry.We need to examine just what exactly is a "voice," and what is an "echo." The word voice means, "the faculty or the power of utterance of language." The word "echo" means, "the repetition of sound, a repetition or imitation of another." That LOGOS which the Spirit speaks is a life-giving word. The echo of it may be a blessing, but that is all.John the Baptist was a "voice" of one crying in the wilderness; "Prepare, ye the way of, the Lord." He had a clear and precise message which he trumpeted aloud under the anointing of the Spirit. John the Revelator heard "a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and the voice went on to say, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."Is what you preach and teach fresh revelation from the Throne? It is what God has made real to and in you, or is it an echo of what you have heard, or read, another give? It isn't implied that what we have hear from various sources is not of God. We all hear much truth proclaimed, and have had opportunity to read the excellent writings of others. It is not suggested that you stop doing this. Rather, what is being said is, "Has that particular word worked in you? Has it been sweet in your mouth, and bitter in your belly, as you digest it until it becomes a part of you?" If it has not gone through the planting and death process before you attempt to speak it forth, then you are merely another of the many "echos" in the earth today. Some of the truths that changed my understanding and ministry were planted in my spirit many years before they came to fruition, and I don't claim to have arrived.If ever there was a time when we needed to hear a "pure" word, it is in this hour! Our spirits must be clear to discern the between pure word and that which is mixed with impurities. Even as the water from the throne of God in Revelation 22:1 was living water, "clear as crystal," so must that be which flows from the throne within our hearts. And, we need to remember that which God has given to us doesn't make us something special, or more elite than another. So, therefore we walk humbly before our God and one another.