R268 The Voice of God

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a message on the voice of God. At different times in all of our lives, we find it somewhat hard to hear the voice of God.

I don't know about you, but there have been times where I felt my prayers were just bouncing off the ceiling. Well today, we're going to go to the book of John beginning in chapter 12 and talk about how God speaks to us in many, many different ways. We also want you to know that we're here to pray you through what might seem to be a block between you and the Lord, to pray down an opening, literally just to intercede for one another. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. If you'd like to call and pray with someone now, that's 866-899-9673 or keyboard to keyboard at www.tewonline.org.

Now, Dr. Don Wilton. God speaks in many different ways, does He not? Some people feel that if they have not heard a voice, that God has not spoken to them. God can speak without speaking.

God can speak without uttering a sound. God can speak and we can hear Him. Our subject this morning from John's Gospel chapter 12 is the voice of God. The voice of God. I want to invite you to turn there with me in your Bibles to John chapter 12 and I'm going to begin reading at verse 27.

John's Gospel chapter 12 and I'm going to begin reading at verse 27. The voice of God. Jesus said, now my heart is troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.

No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven.

I have glorified it and will glorify it again. The crowd that was there heard it said and heard that it had thundered. Others said an angel had spoken unto him. Jesus said, this voice was for your benefit, not for mine. Now the time is come for judgment on this world.

Now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself. Jesus said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

The crowd spoke up. We have heard from the law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Who is the Son of Man? Then Jesus told them, you are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light before darkness overtakes you.

The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it so that you may become sons of light. When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Now even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed. For this reason, they could not believe because as Isaiah said elsewhere, he has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts so they can neither see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts nor turn and I would heal them. Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

Yet at the same time, many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not confess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue for they love praise from men more than praise from God. Then Jesus cried out, When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent him, who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge them, for I did not come to judge the world but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words. That very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day, for I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life.

So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. Isn't that a remarkable passage of Scripture? May the Lord add his word to our hearts this morning. The voice of God. It seems rather interesting to me and I'm sure to many of you that God speaks at this moment in time in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we were to backtrack a little into verse 27, we notice there that Jesus made a statement. He said, Father, save me from this very hour. And then he goes on and he says, No, it was for this very reason that I came to this moment in time.

You see, we're dealing with probably the most momentous moments of all time in all of history. And it seems that at every step that the Lord Jesus Christ took, that God was there with him all the time. Consider the facts with me, if we take a closer look at the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep your finger in John chapter 12 for a moment and turn back to Matthew chapter 3, the first of the Gospels, Matthew chapter 3 and verse 17.

Here's what the Bible tells us. The Bible says in verse 16 of Matthew chapter 3, As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At the moment, at that moment, heaven was open, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Turn on a few pages to Matthew chapter 17. Matthew chapter 17.

We're going to see how this happened again at the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew chapter 17 and verse 5. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased.

Listen to him. If we were to go on throughout Scripture, we find again in John chapter 12, and here in verse 29, we're going to find again an account of the fact that God seemed to speak audibly and visibly right at critical moments in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Very remarkable, here at his baptism was the commencement of Jesus' ministry. God spoke at the Mount of Transfiguration. Here Jesus, God spoke again, not this time at the commencement of his ministry, but rather at the climax of his ministry. And then here in John chapter 12 and verse 29, right here at the midst of the crisis of his ministry, God speaks again.

Isn't that incredible? God spoke at the commencement of Jesus' ministry. God spoke at the climax of Jesus' ministry.

And God spoke at the crisis point of Jesus' ministry. I couldn't help thinking about myself. I couldn't help thinking about you and about me.

I couldn't help thinking about Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday. I couldn't help thinking about the numerous times at the commencement of our lives, at the crisis of our lives, at the climactic experiences of our lives. When you and I most desperately need to hear the voice of God, God speaks and he speaks within the annals of our own hearts and lives. Here at his baptism, Jesus went down into the waters of Jordan and God spoke to him. Here at the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was about to come down from the mountaintop and God spoke to him. Here at the highway, down the road to the cross, Jesus was preparing himself to go down into the depths and the doom of death itself and God spoke to him at the commencement of his ministry, at the climactic experience of his ministry and right here in the midst of this crisis experience as Jesus began to march down the highway to the cross, God spoke. And so as we begin to analyze all the details of what God is saying to us, it seems to me, my friends, in this context that there are five things that happened here when God spoke. When God speaks, five things happened right here in John chapter 12. Number one, when God speaks, man benefits.

We're going to look at that in just a moment. Number two, when God speaks, judgment is carried out. Number three, when God speaks here in the context of this crisis point of the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan himself is cast out from the presence of Almighty God. Number four, when God speaks, we're going to discover that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is lifted up. And number five, when God speaks, we're going to discover in verse 50, choir, we're going to discover that when God speaks, eternal life is attained for absolutely certain.

Well, let's have a look at that together. Number one, when God speaks, man benefits. Did you notice there in verse 29 and following how the Bible tells us clearly about this, we don't have to guess about it, it's in verse 30. Jesus said, this voice was for your benefit, not for mine. But you know, there is a sense, my friends, in which every time Jesus finds his presence in any circumstance, in any situation, the Lord Jesus Christ looks around about him and he looks way beyond the nosebleed section of the football stadiums of America and he sees the people who are observing the plays from a distance and he says the voice of Almighty God in the midst of this crisis is intended not just for those who are rubbing shoulders with me, but it's intended for even those who don't even think they can see what is going on. It seems remarkable that when Jesus said that the benefit of his voice was for their benefit rather than for his benefit, Jesus Christ was reminding his disciples that as Jesus Christ, he was and he is the Son of God and that the voice of God is the voice of the Son because he and the Father are one and it is no surprise that in verse 50, he says, so whatever the Father tells me to do, I do because I and the Father are one.

I don't need a voice, but you do. This voice the Bible tells us was as a thunder. I looked at that and I wondered why it was thunder. You know, there's several things that thunder does for us. Number one, thunder gets our attention, doesn't it? Oh, yes, sir, it gets our attention.

There's no question about it. You watch people. We could be out on the street and go boom, here comes the thunder man. Everybody begins to take note about what's going on. Maybe God spoke with a voice of thunder because he needed more desperately than any time to get people's attention. But there's a second thing that thunder does. It causes people to look up. If we all rushed out onto Main Street this morning and there was a clap of thunder, I want you to know we would all immediately look up and maybe what Jesus Christ was trying to say to these people who gathered around him on this march down the highway to the cross is number one, you need to pay attention to the voice of God and number two, you need to look up because he is the only one who can tell you what you need to hear. But there's a third quality about thunder.

It causes you to run for cover. Now, I know all about Lee Trevino and getting struck by lightning while playing golf, game of golf, I can just see myself. I'll guarantee you.

Out there at Carolina Country Club or Spartanburg Country Club or wherever it is and go out and play a game of golf, I tell you, I can be standing there, folks, with Big Bertha about to take the swing of my life and I can see the crowds standing around saying, Don, Don, I can see Britt there with his camera just waiting to take a shot of me driving all the way 500 yards down that fairway. But I tell you, if there's lightning, folks, or not, I'm gone. I'm out of there. Oh, I'm gonna run for thunder, you know why? Because it brings me to a fourth commodity of thunder it causes, it causes, listen carefully, it causes people to take note of an impending warning sign. There is something that's going to follow. Something's going to happen and maybe what this is here in verse 28 and 29 is that God by his grace began to speak from the heavens itself with a voice that sounded like thunder and as the people began to scuttle and cower and run for cover and look up to find out what was going on, Jesus turned to them and he said to them, When God speaks, it's for your benefit. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word.

Please don't go away. We'll be back tonight with the rest of today's message, The Voice of God with Dr. Don in just a moment, but Dr. Wilton insists I remind you that we are connecting together, not just during the broadcast to present this gospel to you, this good news, but also to have a conversation about it and how it applies to our life and in this particular case, how we can hear the voice of God and understand, as Dr. Don mentioned a while ago, that when God speaks, it's for our benefit. We want to respond when he speaks. If you'd like to talk with someone or pray with someone right now, you can call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or perhaps you'd rather connect with us on our website. So many are finding that to be a great tool. It's T-E-W online.org. That's T-E-W for The Encouraging Word, then the word online.org.

We'd love to connect with you today. Now let's dive back into this great teaching in the book of John 12. It's called The Voice of God with Dr. Don Wilton.

There's a second dynamic here. When God speaks, judgment is carried out. The Bible tells us that Jesus said it himself in verse 31, Now is the time for judgment on this world.

Now is the time for judgment on this world. Why did this signal the judgment of Almighty God? Perhaps because it was judgment by them on him. Jesus was saying that Jesus was by God's voice letting people know that the judgment of the world was coming upon the Lord Jesus Christ, that they now were bringing to fruition their judgment upon him.

Why? Because he represented a national danger. That's why he was a decisive threat to these people. But in terms of judgment, it represented his judgment on them. This perhaps was the great irony.

This perhaps was the thing that they would never understand in their lifetime. This perhaps was symbolical of the lostness of mankind that judgment would and was being carried out by the voice of God in the cross of Christ Jesus, judgment by them on him, and more importantly, judgment by him on them. But there's a third judgment that's about to take place. And that is the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ on Satan, whose kingdom on earth was put on notice. It was here at this decisive moment that the word of God tells us that when God spoke, Satan was given due warning. When God spoke, Satan began to scuttle for shelter. When God spoke, Satan was advised that his time, his rule upon earth had come to an end.

When God speaks, man benefits, there's no doubt. When God speaks, judgment is carried out. But note in the third place that when God speaks, Satan is cast out. It seems rather ironic, don't you think, that the cross is God's chosen instrument around the eternal death knell of Satan himself, his kingdom, and of his power. It is ironic that Satan himself, by instigating the Jews to pass sentence on the Lord Jesus Christ, was himself setting in motion the flow and the guarantee of the events that would lead to his own destruction. And it seems to me rather significant again that the word that is used here in John's gospel for the word cast out is the word expulsion.

Look at that with me. Right there in verse 13. Now is the time for judgment on this world. Now the prince of this world will be driven out. That word means cast out. It means thrown away from the presence of God. It means to be expelled. It means to be terminated. It means to be alienated. It means to be cut off completely.

It means to be finally dismembered of everything that you hold to yourself. We have precedent in John chapter nine, verse 34 and 35. After the blind man was healed by the Lord Jesus, the religious rulers came and took him and they expelled him from the synagogue. That was the price that he paid for what Jesus Christ had done in his life. In Matthew chapter 21, verse 38 and 39, we find the same word expelled or cast out. In Acts chapter seven, verses 57 and 58, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, the Acts of the Apostles tell us that because of his faith, that the leaders and the people, the angry mob, they came and they took Stephen and they expelled him.

They cast him outside of the city walls. And there it was that they stoned him to death. You see the word expulsion here or to be cast out is the same word that is used right throughout scripture to mean a severing of membership, a termination of one's rights, an end to all one's inheritance. It means the signaling of the beginning of the end.

It meant certain and impending death by stoning. And what God is saying here is his voice thundered from the heavens is that Satan would be cast out, that he was finished, he was over, he was defeated once and for all at the cross of Christ Jesus. What happens when God speaks? We might ask today, the voice of God, when God speaks, man benefits. When God speaks, judgment is carried out. When God speaks, Satan is cast out from the presence of God. But I want you to notice in the fourth place that when God speaks, Jesus Christ is lifted up.

He is lifted up. It's right there in verse 32. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto myself.

Did you know that the word lifted up is used at least 20 times in the Gospel of John? You see what God's word is trying to teach us, my friends, is that when Jesus Christ is lifted up by the voice of God, he becomes the great divide of humanity. On the one side, there is the dying unrepentant thief who dies and goes to an eternal separation from Almighty God. On the other side is the dying repentant thief, who Jesus turns to and says, today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. You see, when Jesus was lifted up, he became the great divide of humanity.

Everyone has to decide on which side they are going to stand. On the one side, there were the howls of the masses who were calling for the blood of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And on the other side, there were the hosannas of the archangels and the choirs who sang in praise and in glory of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And what Jesus said when he said, I will be lifted up, he was saying, because of the cross, you either belong to the howling mob or to the hosanna singing choirs who are going to worship the King with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind. But when God speaks, my friend, there is a fifth and final point out of this passage. When God speaks, eternal life is attained. Of that, there is no doubt, look at verse 50. I know that his command leads to eternal life.

So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me. This despite the fact that there were those who loved the praise of man rather than praise from God, this despite the fact that the unbelievers, this despite the fact that there were those who would have nothing to do with him, what an incredible thing to think about, the voice of God. You see, when God speaks, eternal life is attained, and you can know that today. Our time's gone with our teaching from Dr. Wilton, but as he was talking about that reality of God speaking, I pray that you would hear not just Dr. Wilton today, but that you would know that God is using Dr. Don Wilton to let you know that God loves you. And no matter what you've done, no matter how far you've run, no matter how you've even turned your back on God, God is pursuing you through this broadcast because he loves you and he has a plan to take you to a brand new beginning, even if you've known the Lord before and run from him or turned your back on him. Today is the day for a new beginning. I pray you'd open your heart not just to what you've heard from Dr. Wilton as he's been teaching, but now as he comes into the studio and shares the really big part of his heart. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much, and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin. I confess my sin to you, and I invite you to come into my heart and into my life, I pray. In Jesus' name I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey. Welcome to the family of God. I'm convinced that some of you, as Dr. Don was praying, were opening your hearts to Christ for the very first time.

Welcome. We are excited about what God's going to do in your life next, and we'd be thrilled to be a part of it. It's not necessary, but if you'd like to, we would love to put some resources in your hands if you just gave your life to Jesus Christ or maybe rededicated your life that will help you grow. Dr. Don has prepared it for you, wants you to have it for free, but you need to call and let us know at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or meet us online at TEWOnline.org.

That's TEWOnline.org. While you're there, many friends are asking about the ministry. The history of the ministry, our wonderful association with Dr. Billy Graham, it's Dr. Don with Dr. Graham's pastor for the last 25 years, and perhaps the Lord may be leading you to get involved, either prayerfully or financially, to support us. And to do that, we actually call friends like that encouragers.

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Your investment is changing lives every single day. Know that we stand ready to connect you with more great scripture teaching tomorrow. We'll be headed to John 13. Dr. Dodd's going to be talking about Table Talk with Jesus. I hope you'll not only join us, perhaps you'll bring a friend or encourage someone else to tune in at the same time. Every single day, it's our commitment to bring you great teaching from Dr. Wilton. And between those broadcasts, to connect with you online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org or this phone number 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673.