John 10:27(NKJV) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.The Great Shepherd is a good shepherd who protects His sheep from the predators. He leads us to green pastures and still waters. There are too many voices clamouring for our attention including well meaning suggestions from colleagues, friends, and different medias, but unless we listen to the voice of Jesus, we will tend to stray, go on our own ways and leave the sheepfold. There is no protection when we are away from the Shepherd and it opens us to the evil one, so what we want to do is to tune in to that one voice—the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.
It is only when we tune into His voice that we will follow Him. There is protection in the presence of the Good Shepherd who will lay down His life for us, and we have to learn to trust the Good Shepherd who will not harm us but have our best interest at heart.
The thoughts from our mind is analytical, whereas God’s voice comes as intuitions in our hearts, spontaneous thoughts that are dropped into our hearts or spirits. It literally lights up our mind from the heart when He directly impresses His thoughts and ideas upon it.
It will help if we have a fixed time and place to be with the Heavenly Father. Some people like to have the cross as a visual aid to help them focus on God when they enter into this room, while instrumental worship music played in the background can also act as a preparation for us to be still before the presence of God.
Psalm 46:10 (NKJV) Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
The experience of being silent before God is more about His presence besides hearing His voice. We can soak in His love just like a child in the presence of a loving Father, and it is during the period of silence that warm communication takes place. It is not a vocal, busy, or sometimes manipulative or over achievement-oriented prayer.
It is in the stillness that we reflect upon God, His omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience. Listening to God is so natural when we are in the presence of God because we come as a child of God—we have left behind the role of a husband, wife, employee, parent, child of our parents, business owner….and just be in the presence of God as a child of the living God.
Sermon Series: From the Closet to the Board Room (Part 1) – Listening to God
在神的同在里
约翰福音10:27我的羊听我的声音，我也认识他们，他们也跟着我。
那位大牧者是一个好牧羊人，祂保护祂的羊不受掠食者的伤害。祂领我们到青草地和可安歇的水边。有太多的声音吸引我们的注意，包括来自同事、朋友、不同媒体的善意的建议，但如果我们不听从耶稣的声音，我们就会误入歧途，偏行己路，离开羊圈。一旦我们离开牧人，就不会有任何保护，我们就将自己暴露于恶人之前，所以我们要做的是收听那一个声音——圣灵那安静微小的声音。
只有当我们收听祂的声音，我们才能跟随祂。在好牧人的同在中我们有保障，祂愿意为我们舍命。我们要学会信靠好牧人，祂不会伤害我们，却将我们最大的益处放在心上。
我们的思想是分析性的，而神的声音则是我们内心的直觉，是进入我们内心或灵里的自发的想法。当祂直接把祂的想法和旨意印在我们的头脑中时，它真的就从内心光照我们的思想。
如果我们有一个固定的时间和地点与天父相交，那将会很有帮助。有些人在进入这个房间的时候，喜欢用十字架作为视觉的辅助，来帮助他们专注于神，而做背景的敬拜音乐也可以预备我们于上帝的同在之前静默下来。
诗篇46:10 你们要安静，要知道我是神;我要在列国中被尊崇，在遍地上也被尊崇。
在神面前静默的经历，除了听见祂的声音外，更重要的是祂的同在。我们可以沉浸在祂的爱中，就像孩子在慈爱的父亲面前一样，正是在静默期间，温暖的相交就发生了。它不是一种出声的、占线的、好支使人的、或以成就为导向的祷告。
在静默中，我们思想神，祂的无所不能，无所不在和无所不知。当我们在神的同在之中，聆听祂的声音是如此自然，因为我们是以神儿女的身份来到祂面前——我们已经将丈夫、妻子、雇员、父母、父母的孩子、企业主的角色抛在脑后……作为永活真神的孩子，只求祂的同在。
讲章系列: 从内室进到会议室（第一部分）- 聆听上帝的声音