How To Hear God's Voice || Victory Church [Book of John #26]

Morning, everybody. Hey, on the calendar, believe it or not, literally today, August 16th, 2026, is the six-year anniversary to the day of Summer and I becoming senior pastors here at Victory. It's pretty awesome, it's pretty cool. Like, to the day, to the day. And what a ride it has been. If you rewind back six years ago to August 16th of 2020, you don't even wanna think about the things that were, come on, that's COVID, that's messy, it's messy. But it has been a ride, and I know we're just, we're talking about launching Victory to Kula, but it also kinda causes me to look back. And Summer and I, we came on staff over 20 years ago now, and got the pleasure to lead our young adults for about five or six years. And then we went up to Hamilton Mill, and we launched that campus in August this month of 2010, and did that for 10 years. And actually, a few years into launching Hamilton Mill, I was in prayer, and this is like 2000, maybe 12, and I call it prayer, I don't know if you can resonate, I call it prayer, I was really just complaining at God. Not to God, like at God, I was complaining, and we just called that prayer. And what I was complaining about was that where we lived, you know, Atlanta's weird, we're like all spread out, and so your traffic patterns carry you certain places, but not other places.

And so where we lived in Lawrenceville, nobody even knew what Hamilton Mill was back then. And so it was really difficult to invite our neighbors and our friends to the church, and I'm just kind of complaining to God, like it feels like we're not gaining ground here. And I'm getting frustrated, and God had the audacity to interrupt my prayer time. And he said four words, he said, you need to move. You need to move. And I remember like, move over so you can sit down? No, like, you need to move. And I knew what he was saying, that we needed to sell our house, and we needed to move closer up there to that campus. And in all of my pastorly faith, you know what I said? No, I'm not gonna do that, not gonna happen. But if you've ever had this experience with God, it takes about five seconds, and he wears you down, and then you're like, your way is better, okay, yes, sir. But here's what I said, I said, I'm okay with it, but that wife that thou hast given me, Lord, she will never go for it. And you know, she prayed to get us into this, she's like the one who praised in the family back then, you know, like, she prayed to get us into this house, she prayed to get the kids in the right school, like, we love our neighbors here, like, all that sort of stuff. She, like, I'm okay with it, but she'll never go for it.

And this is how I ended that prayer. And just so I know that it's you, she's gotta be the one who brings it up, which I knew would never happen, because in seven years of living in that house, not even a whisper of the idea of this movie. And so I say amen, and I'm like, well, done with that, gotcha, all right, gotcha, God. And literally that week, Summer goes out to Dallas for like a quick trip, and right when she's about to come back, a friend of hers says, hey, can I pray for you? And in the middle of the prayer, I kid you not, the friend stops, looks at Summer, and says, I think God's saying you need to move. Oh my gosh. Literally, you need, and so Summer comes back, is explaining this to me, like, what do you think that means? And I'm like, dang it, God, like, I didn't think you'd actually do it. And so at that point, we're like, well, now we'd just be rebellious if we didn't do it. So we began the process, and we learned very quickly, again, different economy back then, but we learned very quickly that what we were told we could get for the house wouldn't be enough. You know what I'm saying? Like, we were upside down in that regards. And so we're like, well, God, if you're in it,

you're just gonna have to do it, right? Like, here's what I've learned in life, it's our job to obey, it's God's job to make a way, right? So you just do what God tells you to do, and the results are on Him. Your obedience is what you can control. You can't control the results. And so I call Summer the house whisperer. Like, she just, she hears from God about these things. And so she's like, okay, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna list the house for $40,000 above what they say we can get for it. Which again, different economy back then. Like, nobody can buy houses now. Like, this was a different economy. And it's $40,000. I'm like, well, let's just list it for a million dollars more, like, because that's how likely we are to get that, you know? Man of faith back then. And in one week, we had 19 showings and three offers. We got more than we asked for. The house appraised for more than we asked for. We had a list of repairs. They didn't ask for any of them. Come on, Jesus. We closed a few weeks later. We moved into the new house up by the church there at Hamilton Mill. And in one week, we had met more friends

and had more conversations about. Jesus with more people who had now come to the church and our kids had more friends in one week than we had in seven years at the old house. So who does that? Come on. Who, who speaks to my heart? Has someone else tell him my wife arranges the circumstances and then blesses us in a way that we weren't even asking for or expecting. Come on. Like God didn't just change our address. He changed our lives and we weren't even looking for that. Like who does that? A good shepherd does that. A good shepherd who loves to speak to his sheep. And in our year long journey through the book of John today, we are in John 10. If you brought your Bibles, put your finger in John 10 over there or click over to that. Um, and here's where we were. We learned one of the ways that I think Jesus, I love this way that Jesus defines himself. It's in verse two. We'll begin. He says the one who, these are red letters. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listened to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name. Pause on that. We're not going to go too much deeper in that direction, but do you know that Jesus knows your name? You're not, you're not a barcode. You're not a heavenly social security number. Come on. He knows your name. He knows your story. He knows your life. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them because that's what a shepherd does. He goes first and his sheep follow him because they know his voice, but they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

And he goes on. He says, all who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief, John 10, 10, very famous. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Yet Jesus, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Why? I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. That's good. And you're about to realize how good it is in just a second. I don't know if you see it right there. Shepherd, sheep, voice, listen, follow like keywords right there. Shepherd, sheep. Now here's the honest truth. Here's the honest truth. Okay. I know that's a very Christian thing to say. Like, like we are the sheep, right? Everybody heard that. If you grew up in church. Um, now that's true. It's red letters. Jesus calls a sheep. Now let me, let me, let me just help us a little bit. That's not necessarily the compliment that we think that it is. Okay. Because sheep dumb, like sheep fools, sheep, sheep, uh, don't know how to find pasture. Sheep cannot protect themselves. There are no warrior sheep. Okay. Sheep are made of lamb chops. You know what I'm saying? Like they're made of that, right? They are food. They are food. Um, um, sheep, uh, like they don't have good eyesight. They're there on the list of things. Sheep don't have going for them. It's this long. There is one thing. There is one thing that a sheep has going for them. They can hear really well, really well. And that's what saves their life. In fact, just yesterday, you can find that there, these videos are all over YouTube. Um, there was literally a shepherd, um, somewhere in, I think North Carolina somewhere. And he was walking through his pasture just on a video,

literally recording himself, uh, talking about John Tintin, holding his camera like this. And as he's talking, he's just walking through a shepherd just by himself. I'm walking through his field just by himself. And then slowly you start seeing sheep out there and they go, and he doesn't have to call him. He's just talking. And all of a sudden by, I'm telling you by the end of the video, there's about 200 sheep just in a line right behind him. And he's like, guys, this is how it works because sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Now here's the deal. God calls you and I sheep. It just is what it is, right? Like we're not the smartest. That's not an insult. You ever read Job? This is where God asked Job like, Hey, where are you? Where were you when I threw the stars out? I don't know. Yeah. Like compared to God, like his ways are higher. You know what I'm saying? Like we're not the smartest. Like we can't at the end of the day really provide for ourself that well. Like we can't control a whole lot of stuff. We really can't protect ourselves at the end of the day from, from the real dangers of life. But there is one thing that God has given us an extraordinary ability to do. And that is to hear the voice of the good shepherd. And here's the promise. If we will hear and we will follow, we will have life and life to the. Now, here's the deal. Some of you, I know this just by the room and being online, some of you are new to faith. Some of you are new to church or maybe back to church and you're just kind of giving God another shot. Maybe some of y'all have even been Christians for a while,

but you've never really embraced this really simple truth is that we have a God who speaks. We have a God who speaks. God is not defined by his absence or his silence. In the very beginning, verse three, God says, let there be light and he never stops speaking and he's still speaking today. And Brother Lawrence said this, he was a man of prayer. Brother Lawrence said this, he said, there is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it, who practice it and experience it. In other words, if you're kind of like mocking today or say that's not possible, it's because you're not comprehending it, practicing, experiencing it. But those who have this sort of continual conversation with God know that you wouldn't trade anything in your life for this. You wouldn't trade any amount of wealth. You wouldn't trade any amount of wisdom. You wouldn't trade any relationship for this. So let me just be really clear right now. Today is not a sermon about how to get what you want from God. God is not the genie in the bottle. God is not this universal energy pool where you can manifest your desires.

What this is, this is a few minutes just about how to hear his voice and have continual conversation with him and the big things and the small things. Sometimes the small things are the best things of life. But here's what I know. There are some of us today who are in a place where we desperately need to hear the voice of God. And I know that because you stop me every week in the lobby and some of y'all already have a plan to stop me in the lobby today and say, pastor, should I go to this school or should I go to that school? Should I marry this person or should I marry that person? Should I take that job or stay at this shop? Should I move or should I stay or should I go? Whatever that is. My parents are getting older. How can I help them in these stages of life? Pastor, my life is a mess. I blew it up. How do I put it back together again? And if I can just help you with this, I don't believe that our good shepherd wants us to live a life of perpetually putting positives in one column and negatives in the other column and then just kind of doing like this thing, winging it, right, making mistake after mistake after mistake. Come on, how many of y'all are tired of mistake

after mistake and some of them are bigger mistakes and here's the problem with the mistakes. They cost you two things, time and pain. Time and pain. Time and pain. And I'm gonna tell you this today, guys. The good shepherd doesn't want your life to be defined by time and pain. And I'm gonna tell you this. It's the same thing I've told hundreds of people before. Okay, maybe if you're in this place today, okay, you need to hear this. Friend, you need a word. You need a word. You need to go to God and get a word from God. That's what you need today. And here is my deep belief that will help this whole thing happen. I believe that God is speaking way more than we're listening. I don't believe that God has a speaking problem. I believe we have a listening problem. We don't have a shepherd problem. We have a sheep problem. Come on, somebody. Good shepherd, bad sheep. That's the problem. That's the problem, all right? But there is a way to attune our ears better to hear the voice of our good shepherd.

And out of all the wonderful things in my life, out of all the wonderful blessings that God has given me, and again, many of you resonate with this today, I think probably one of the greatest lessons I've learned in life is how to attune my spirit to hear the shepherd's voice better. I have not arrived, but I'm telling you, compared to, like, God, I'm not gonna sell the house to, like, where I am today, there's movement. There's progression. Like, I've learned how to hear his voice better. Because you can't lead something. Like, how are you gonna navigate life just based on your own wisdom without it being defined by time and pain, right? And so here's what I know. Romans 8, 14 says this, is that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. And so here's what I'm saying. If you're a child of God today, through faith in Jesus Christ, then your father, the good shepherd, is leading you, is speaking to you. Paul says later, stay in step with the Spirit. It's God's desire that we would almost be in, like, a three-legged race with the Holy Spirit. Like, could we actually follow him like that? But if we're gonna do that, we have to know what his voice sounds like, okay?

So here's the question that's gonna guide us over the next few minutes. How do we hear God's voice? Here's the first thought for this. You have to go to his voice. You have to go to the good shepherd himself. All right, here's what I mean by this. I am here today to remind us all is that Jesus's voice is the one voice. you can trust he's the one book there are a million other voices in this world that are gonna lead you in the wrong direction Jesus will never lead you in the wrong direction and I don't know if you believe that I don't know if you're in the place where you trust that fully but this is why Jesus says this in John 10 we're gonna just read it again in verse 9 he says I am the what I'm the gate we're gonna circle back to that whoever enters through me will be saved they will come in and go out and find pasture John 10 10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I have come that they may have life and have it to the full I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep okay here's the thing that's a little confusing because I don't know how many shepherds there are in the room today but there is a picture that makes it make sense there it is and that is what is called a sheepfold all right a sheepfold is this okay so obviously we're not in like city context right here we're out on the pastures route on the hillsides okay so what do you do at night when the wolves are everywhere here's the problem again sheep wear a shirt that says I'm dinner okay so what what do you do when the sheep are most at risk you put them in there and they're small ones of these there's giant ones of these you can put a few sheep in you can put a thousand sheep in depending on what it is so notice the wolves can't come over the sides or anything you put your sheep in here at night now if you're very observant you're asking one big question what about the hole seems like they left out

a strategic part of this plan right you know like the sheep can just go right there so how do you block the hole well that's where the Shepherd sleeps and as the Shepherd sleeps there what does he become the gate he becomes the door to the sheep pen so if you want to get to the sheep you have to go through the Shepherd and anybody who tries to go over the side without going through the Shepherd is a thief and so when the predators would attack a hireling a bad Shepherd would run and leave the sheep exposed or even take a small Shepherd small sheep and throw it out but what is the good Shepherd do he doesn't throw the sheep out he throws himself out and so that's what Jesus did at the cross he said take me instead this is why when Jesus says I am the door whoever comes in through me enters into safety and then I will lead them out of there into pastures this is the mental picture forever there is safety on the other side of Jesus Jesus will protect you from the enemy here's what I'm saying today guys is that sheep don't wake up in the morning worried about where the food is come on can you put this on your life sheep don't wake up in the morning wondering how they're gonna stay safe sheep don't wake up in the morning wondering where they're at in their life plan what sheep wake up worrying about in the morning is where's my Shepherd because if I can just hear the voice of my Shepherd and I can follow my Shepherd I'll be okay I'll be okay guys what would happen if we woke up in the morning not freaking out like everybody else what if we woke up in the morning I ran oh my god the bombers oh my god what's gonna happen the politics oh my god Trump's oh oh my god what's gonna happen oh my god the race stuff oh my god oh my 401k where am I out of my five-year plan oh my god what's gonna happen tomorrow I'm going in the wrong what if we actually just woke up in the morning so where's my good Shepherd I'm gonna follow his voice today I'm gonna go his direction today because I know he will never lead me into danger and whatever he says for me to do is the safest and the best and the brightest and the most fulfilling thing that I could ever do with my life and so the real question is this do I know the Shepherd's voice well enough to recognize it in the crowd right I think

about it like this like if when we dismiss in a few minutes we're out in there in the lobby and a thousand people in the lobby and summer says hey Johnson right I'm not gonna be like Lord was that my wife oh we've been together for 30 years I better know her voice by now come on parents you can be at the mall and if your kid calls your name there's a thousand other little snots right but there you're one you're one's not right calls out your name and you're good why cuz cuz time experience conversations give familiarity give recognizability give the ability to to discern that one voice in the midst of many other voices here's our problem if I can be really honest we've never many of us I would and say, maybe most of us have never done the work to attune our voice to the shepherd because here's what we do. Whenever we come to a crossroads, whenever we come to a big decision, here's what we do. Man, if I could just talk to a pastor, if I could just talk to my dad, just if my mom was here, oh, if I could just talk to this, oh, if I could just get 30 minutes with Pastor Johnson, why won't Pastor Johnson meet with me? I have a big life decision and I need him to solve my problems. Okay, let me pause right there. We do need godly counsel. Okay, there are way too many people saying God told me and just doing the wildest stuff. Okay, anybody blown your life up because God told you and you're like, maybe he didn't in hindsight, right? Okay, Proverbs 15, 22, it's super clear.

It says, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed in the abundance and multitude of counselors, there's wisdom, all that sort of stuff, okay? But here's the distinction. There's a difference between seeking counsel versus outsourcing your relationship with God. There's a difference between running some thoughts by a trusted friend and saying, hey, I need you to hear God for me. Because that means your ears are underdeveloped and your ability to hear the voice of your good shepherd because you're always expecting somebody else to hear them for you. Now, here's what I know. We're a super diverse church, come from a lot of different backgrounds, denominations, everything. And some of you came from that type of church. Some of you came from a really toxic, abusive, controlling environment where the man of God heard the word of God for your life. And if I can just like get with that guy, then the word of God, like don't take a vacation without talking to the man of God. Don't, come on, don't, you better not get married without talking to the man because you don't know what the man of God, right? Come on. And here's what I'm here today.

Let me just kind of reset this real quick. I need to remind you that yes, I am a shepherd, lowercase s, very lowercase, like very, very lowercase s shepherd, okay? I am a shepherd, okay? But before I'm a shepherd, I'm a sheep too. And I need to hear the voice of my good shepherd too. So please, never allow a pastor to replace the good shepherd. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And I wanna say this with humility and kindness, okay? My job as your pastor isn't to hear God for you, it's to help you learn to recognize his voice for yourself. How much better is that? Because I promise you, there's only a handful of pastors in this church who only have a handful of time. Listen, but there's a Jesus who's always available for you. There's a good shepherd who's always available for you. Right. So allow godly counsel to be the confirmation, but don't rely on it to be the origination. Does that make sense? Like, go to God here,

and then you can take what you thought you heard and then bring it back. But don't just be with a blank sheet of paper and you never actually spend any time on it and be like, hey, what's God saying to me? Now, here's the deal. I know that's just hearing this. Some of you are like, well, how do I do that then? Like, you're telling me I need to go to the shepherd, but how do you hear the shepherd? Let me just kind of walk you through a few ways that I hear the shepherd. Here's the first one, when I'm praying. Okay, obvious. But here's what I'm saying. We talk about this sometimes. Don't overcomplicate it. Prayer is conversation with God. And what is a conversation? Okay, anybody ever had a conversation with somebody? A few of us. Okay, what is a conversation? It's not just you talking. If it is, you're a narcissist, okay? So, you talk and then you, yeah, that's prayer. That's prayer. Prayer is not just talking. Talking, talking, talking, amen, then you leave. God's like, oh, okay, I guess you didn't wanna hear me talk today, right?

No, but prayer is pouring out your heart to God, talking to Him about how much you want to sin. But God, help me, because I don't want to sin. But my flesh does. Talk to me. I was talking to somebody last night who had a miscarriage and she's like, I'm concerned of what's gonna happen when I get pregnant again. I said, talk to God about that. Share your fresh, if you're here today, we had a family two weeks ago who lost a two-year-old. Talk to God about that. God can handle your frustration. Have you read the Psalms? David is just whining and complaining and yelling at God for like 150 chapters, right? Like the whole thing is just, David. Oh, like, actually, here's what I'm saying. The most dangerous thing you can do is hide those emotions and stop talking to God, right? Because God can take your punches. God can take the bruises. God can take, again, the Psalms are like, David's like, God, you're the best. I love you so much, you're amazing. Then the next chapter, he's like, why have you forsaken me, God? Why do the wicked prosper, God, right? God's not like, who do you think? No, he's like, come on, bring it to me.

Bring it to me. I remember, again, one time, this is years ago, like 2003, probably, and driving home from work and this pre-victory, and just complaining to God that Summer and I weren't getting pregnant, and just complained to God, and didn't even say amen. Basically parked the car in my driveway and just got out and be like, I'm done. Closed the door, took one step, and then I heard in the silence, their names will be Jeremiah and Isaac. Fast forward 20 plus years later, we have Jeremiah and Isaac. What I'm saying is, prayer in the speaking and in the listening is where the voice of the good shepherd can enter in. How do I hear God when I'm praying? Second thing, when I'm worshiping, I can't tell you how many times, just in corporate worship, private worship, like, God will speak. And it's not, for me, it's not like the megaphone stuff. Like, honestly, just a few minutes ago, I was down here, and I just paused in the middle of that, and God said, my delight is on you. Y'all can make fun of that. That's my daily bread. I'm good. I don't need you to tell me anything today, because I already heard it from him right down there.

That's it. That's how I live every single day. I want that. I need that. I need that every single day. I hear God when I'm with people. This is honestly probably God's people, not like the club, okay? It's a really important distinction. This is probably the way that I hear God the most, just personally, is, honestly, this is why I don't wanna miss church, not because of just church, but being with you, hearing the sermon. You ever been in a room like this, and it's like God's talking just to you? You're like, I don't know if anybody else got anything out of it. I think God was, literally, the sermon was just, like, that's, I need to be in those environments, too. Date nights, when Summer and I are hanging out, doing coffees with the campus pastors, like, talking to my boys, like, God somehow, through their speech, will begin stirring things in my soul. Like, he'll almost, like, piggyback on their words, and enter in, and then start talking to me about that. Like, that's how I hear from God. I also hear from God when I'm dreaming. You've heard me talk about this before.

I don't really dream. I dream once every three years. Summer dreams three times a night. Like, we have a very dichotomous sort of relationship like that. But years ago, again, years ago, Summer and I, when we were pastoring young adults, we were convinced, we're gonna do it, we're gonna be the gray hair couple, pastoring the 20-somethings. You're gonna have to just bring me in like a walker, you know, and I'll do service, I'll preach it. You know, like, I'm riding this whole thing out. And one night, probably 2009, I had a dream. And I was on a cruise ship, long, short cruise ship, and I heard a boom, like a cannon boom. And I got up on the top deck, went to the front of the ship. Pastor Dennis was on the front of the ship, founding pastor of this church. And he looked at me and said, hey, did you hear the shots? I'm like, yeah, I heard the shots. And I look out in front, and there's this naval battle. And Summer and I take a rope, and we lower ourself off of the cruise ship to a rubber raft and push off. And I woke up, and literally, the first thought in my mind was, well, I guess I'm done with young adults. Right, which led to the conversations

to plant Hamilton Mill, which then leads to us being here today. Here's what I'm saying. What no human being could have done in 50 years, God did in a three-minute dream. Because he spoke to me, and he changed my heart. Okay, God speaks in a multitude of ways. But here's what I think is the most prevalent way that we have to pay attention to when I'm reading the scriptures. This, this is how God speaks. This is the most important one. This is the primary way that God speaks. And I need to say this very loudly, very clearly in TikTok heretic land. Nothing God says to you in prayer, nothing God says to you in a dream, nothing God says to you in worship, nothing God says to you through a prophet will ever contradict what he's already said in the Bible. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, amen. If how I hear him speaking contradicts what he's already spoken, it's not God. He's either the pizza, or he's the devil. Okay, like I talk to people, I have so many conversations like, oh, yeah, man, bro, God's telling me to divorce my wife and marry the girl I'm hooking up with? No, no, he's not, I promise you. How do you know?

You're listening to the thief, bro. Because God has already said. Malachi 2 that to divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty and it is written. Whenever the devil tried to get Jesus to do something what did he reply with? It is written. Where is it written? Right here. Right here is where it's written. Every word is God breathed. And here's the here's the affirmation guys today God is not going to say one thing in the Bible and then say a different thing to you. He's not like hey that applies to every other person on earth except for you. Okay and think about it what is the Bible called? The Word of God. The Word of God is the will of God. So do not ever come up to me and tell me that God is not speaking to you if you're not reading the Bible. Because he's already spoken. And sometimes the verse is his voice for your exact situation that you're going through. And if you know what I'm talking about you know what I'm talking about. Because you just be reading mind in your own business for the day and all of a sudden BOOM! Punches you in the face. You're like I was I was just drinking some coffee and reading the Bible. And all of a sudden the Logos becomes Rhema. It jumps off the page and what he spokes right here he actually starts speaking to you and applying it to the situation in your life that you've been seeking an answer for. And all of a sudden you find it here and it's a living word. That's what I'm saying. It's living. It's living. I know it was written a long time ago but it's still alive. And it can still cut you. It can still sharpen you. It can still change you. It can still build you up and rescue you from death. That's what I'm saying. And F.B. Myers said this. He said the written Word is the wire along which the voice of God will certainly come to you if the heart is hushed and the intention is fixed. It's the wire. The Word of God is the wire that God will speak through this to you. Now here's the thought. What does he sound like? Okay here's what I'm saying. I've never heard God with my ears. Maybe you have. Okay but a lot of people are like I just don't hear God. I think what some people are waiting for is that you're driving down the interstate and God's like take this exit. Like I don't think it works

like that. Maybe it does. If that's you I'd love to hear your story in the lobby. Okay what I'm saying is it's an undeniable inward voice. An inward witness. It is a sometimes it's an emotion. Sometimes it's a word. Sometimes it's a phrase. Sometimes there's a picture. Sometimes it's a it's a it's a deep peace that shouldn't be there. Sometimes it's a deep disturbance that shouldn't be there right. Like it's God speaking, leading in a multitude of ways. And again this is the thing where over time in practice and intimacy in relationship you learn to discern that from the pizza and from the devil. You learn to discern that through practice and through relationship. And then when you get that you bounce out off the friends. You do all this sort of stuff okay. But you begin by going to the Good Shepherd. Begin by going to the Good Shepherd. After you go to the Good Shepherd here's the second thing. Then you just got to get rid of the noise. Get rid of the noise. Now here's the deal. Some of you just heard everything I just said and you're like yeah I do all that and I still don't hear God. Okay well here's the question. How loud is your life? Because everybody and everyone is clamoring for your attention right now. And I think here's the challenge okay. Maybe God isn't as silent as you think. Maybe your life is just louder than you realize. All right so I want to challenge you. If you're up for the challenge take 15 seconds right here in the middle of the service. Pull out your phone. Here's the challenge okay. Just really pull up your phone. If you got an iPhone go to your settings. All right if you got an Android. I got to look it up. I had to write it down. It's called yeah it's called your digital well-being. Digital well-being. Okay on iPhone pull it up. Settings. And scroll down to this little little button called screen time. Okay click screen time. And it's gonna tell you how long you've been on your phone today. You can also see how long you were on your phone yesterday. What your average is per week. What your average is per month. What your average was last year. Okay then you can have a conversation with me about how you don't have time to read the Bible and to hear God's voice when you look at four hours, six hours, eight hours, ten hours. And what are we doing? Honestly half of mine is

sitting in traffic looking at ways. You know I'm saying the GPS program. But like what we're doing with the other time is we're doom-scrolling. Come on we're living on TikTok. We're watching Insta. We're binge-watching Netflix series. Whatever it is we're sharing, clicking, swiping. And here's what I say guys. All those things in their own way are lowercase t thieves. What are they stealing? They're stealing your time. They're stealing your energy. They're stealing your attention. They're stealing your creativity. Come on. Some of them are stealing your self-confidence. Because these voices, when you're on the other side of them, you usually leave with, man, you're not as beautiful as that girl. You're not as accomplished as that guy. And this is the warning, guys. Never compare your real life with somebody else's filtered life. Because you'll leave with something stolen from you. And you'll find yourself saying, well, I'm just not called by God. Well, I guess this is popular opinion. I should just do what everybody else is doing, whatever that is. And what I remember is when God stepped into the garden after Adam and Eve had believed the lie, God's first question was this. Who told you that? Who told you that? Who told you you were an orphan? Who told you you were abandoned? Who told you you were unloved? Who told you you were not called? Who told you that I don't rejoice over you? Who told you that you weren't worth it all? Who told you that you're hopeless? Who told you you're rejected? I'll tell you who told you. The devil. Because he has a sheet of paper for his job description, and there's one line on it. Here it is. John 10, 10. The thief comes only. It's not like he's got five job descriptions. He has one. To steal, kill, and destroy. Everything beautiful, and everything godly, and everything that's wonderful about your life. He comes only to steal it, kill it, destroy it, squash it down, try and remove you from the love of God, try and remove the love of God from you. Everything he's trying to do is to steal and kill and destroy your life. And what is the number one thing that we teach our kids when they're little?

Don't talk to strangers. And that's what our Good Shepherd says. He says, guys, if you learn how to listen to my voice, you won't follow the stranger. You won't follow the wolf. And here's what I'm saying today. We've got to cut some of the noise out of our life. Because some of us keep accusing God of being silent when we just haven't been quiet long enough to listen. Because there's so many other voices. And I say this a lot. It's an old saying, right? There's a reason why God gave you two ears and one... We need to listen twice as much as we're talking. So here's the question. When was the last time you just turned it all off, put your phone in do not disturb, closed the door, and say laud? Remember say laud if you're reading the Psalms? There'd be certain verse that don't say say laud. And it's something like this. God is our strong fortress. He's our strong tower that we can run to in times of distress. Say laud. In other words, stop and think on that. I can run to God when life is in trouble. You'll never get that on the run. When was the last time you were still and knew that he was God? And think about this. If you're in a place where you don't have good clarity on your cell phone, strong bars, what do you do? You gotta move, right? I'd say it like this.

There are places that I have to reposition so I can get better reception. And some of us need to reposition our prayer lives. We need to reposition how we're trying to hear from God. Because a lot of us, I'm just gonna be honest, a lot of us kind of fall into this rhythm where we wake up five minutes before we gotta leave, right? And we're just throwing clothes on and jump in the car and drive down. We're listening to whatever podcast or news thing. And we're like, God just doesn't talk to me. Or maybe your schedule just has no place for reception. So where in your prayer is listening? Where in your life is the silence to hear God speak? And what noise do I need to cut out so I can position myself to hear him speak? Because I and we desperately need to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. Here's the last thought. Is once you hear him, you gotta do what he says. Now what does that have to do with hearing God's voice? Okay, no, no, here's the simplest way I can say it. If you want God to keep talking, keep obeying. Because God speaks to the people who do what he says to do. And I'm gonna say, here's our problem. Here's our problem right here. Is that the problem is less that we don't hear God and more that we don't like what he said. Here's what I mean. We're like, God, speak to me. Forgive that person. I don't know. I don't know if I, God, you're, God, you're a little, I don't know. God, speak to me. Stay at your job and make less money.

Get, get thee behind me, Satan. I don't know. Come on. Come on. I like following that stuff. I like following the fun stuff. God, speak to me. Stop having sex with your boyfriend. I'm gonna need confirmation on that. That doesn't sound like the Lord, you know? Let's go Old Testament just for a second. Micah 3, then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time, he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. In other words, can I say it like this? Don't sin on Saturday night blatantly and then wonder why God isn't speaking to you clearly on Sunday morning, right? God has a principle, if I can say it like this. Do the now thing, and then he'll tell you the next thing. Do the now thing, and this is the snowball of hearing from God. Do the now thing, and then he'll give you the next thing. Our problem is this, we don't like the now thing, so we wanna leapfrog it and ask for the next thing. And God's like, no, no, no, no, it doesn't work like that. Do the now thing, and they'll tell you the next thing. And we're like, no, I'm not gonna do that. And he's like, well, listen, I got more time than you do.

If we just wanna stare at each other for a while, I guess we can do that. Some people stare at God for 50 years and then they die. And they're wondering, why doesn't God speak to me? Well, he did, you just didn't do the last thing he told you to do, so he didn't tell you the next thing because you didn't do the now thing. We want 201 before we do 101. 101 always comes before 201. Maybe God told you to move or to not move or to take the job or do whatever it is, right? And we're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, that's not very important though. Tell me where I'm going ultimately in my life. He's like, it doesn't work like that. Do the now thing, and you'll gain momentum in the direction that I'm trying to lead you in your life. Do the now thing, and then I'll tell you the next thing. Do the now thing, and then I'll tell you the next thing. Everybody say it, do the now thing, and I'll tell you the next thing. God's saying this, why would he tell you something else when you didn't do the last thing he told you to do? Come on, this happens in my life a lot, if you're like me and you're trying to drive in Atlanta, is you'll make a wrong direction because every street is called Peach something, right? You know, and you'll make a wrong turn. And then what does your GPS say? U-turn, U-turn, U-turn.

You can't look at it and be like, I don't like that. Tell me where the next place I'm supposed to go. It's like, all I got for you is to get back on that road right there. U-turn, U-turn, and here's, okay. What, eventually, as you just keep driving, what happens to your GPS? It stops talking to you. Because it's like, listen, you made your bed, you won't sleep in it, you know what I'm saying? You're just going up. But you look down at the screen, what does it say? U-turn. It stops speaking, but the instruction is still there. And basically, GPS is like, bro, we can do this all day. And you're never gonna actually arrive at where you're supposed to go until you turn around. And what does that lead to? Exit after exit that you skip, two things, time and pain. And all you're doing is hurting yourself and the other people in the car with you. Here's what I'm saying today, guys. In all pastoral kindness, we have some Jonas in this church. God told you to go east, and you went west. Listen, we're gonna preach Jonah someday, we gotta finish John, be patient, come on. No, no, like, I don't know if you really know the story of Jonah, because like, he got in the boat, right? We know that one, he got in the boat,

he ended up in the whale, like, no, no, no. Okay, I think a lot of people think, like, well, Jonah just went this way, he's supposed to go, no, no, no, no, no, no. Nineveh was a land route. No boat was needed, is what I'm saying. Nineveh is a land route that way, Jonah got in a boat going that way. It wasn't like a five degree, it was a 180. God's like, hey, go to the people who hate you, and you hate, and Jonah's like, no, I'm gonna, Tarshish was the land of, like, monkeys and extravagance and unicorns and rainbows, right? Like, I don't wanna go the way that's hard, I wanna go the way of unicorns and rainbows, right? And so he gets in the boat, goes the opposite direction, and where does he end up? The belly of a whale. You turn, you turn, you turn. Bro, you just gonna sit here? There is no path that direct, you turn. Can I be honest, some of us are in the belly of the whale today, blaming God that he's not speaking. And he's like, I already told you what to do, bro, I can wait you out. There is no 201 before you do the 101. So here's our question. What's the last thing God told you to do that you didn't do? Go back and do that thing, and I promise you

that it'll be like the plug comes out of the dam and you actually start hearing God speak again. Because you're like, God, I've been waiting on you. He's like, I've been waiting on you. I already told you what to do. I already told you what to do. Go back and do that thing. Some of you need to break up with the person. Some of you need to tell the other person about Jesus. Some of you, what I'm saying, just go back and do the last thing he told you to do. Because listen, I feel like some of us are in this place. And I want to give you the final thing that I think may help you today is is I have some sort of word I have some sort of I don't I don't know exactly what I need to do But I feel like I have some sort of word from God or clarity from God or he's saying something Here's just personally. Here's the matrix. I can say if I'd say like that that I run a decision through here it is I'm just gonna run you through it real quick is do I have the Word of God? Okay, in other words for the thing that I feel like God may be calling me to do. Can I find it in here? Okay, here's what I'm saying. There are some things that are not complex Don't make it harder than it is. Okay, I feel like I need to tell that person about Jesus, but I'm not sure if it's God Okay The devil doesn't try and trick you into being like Jesus Like I feel like I should talk to that person about Jesus, but I'm not sure if that's the devil or not It's God. I promise you. I promise you. I promise it's not difficult. Is it like it right in here? Should I date a non-christian? Oh, bro. That's easy. It's right here. Don't be unequally yoked Should I forgive that person? Yeah. Yeah, 70 times 7. It's right here. Okay, there's some things that we overcomplicate We have the Word of God. Okay, if you don't have the explicit Word of God, then here's the second thing Do you have a word from God? Okay, here's what I mean. Should I move to that place? I'm probably not gonna find a chapter and verse that says Samantha moved to Seattle like you're probably not gonna find that Okay, but do I have some clarity around something that God has said?

Okay, and here's kind of a life principle that I've adopted is cling very tightly To what God has said. Cling very loosely to your interpretation of what God has said God will not mess it up but many times we mess up because we add little barnacles to what he said and then I've seen girls who Spend 30 years waiting for that guy Like and it started back here. It's like no God said and now I'm waiting for him to get a divorce So we can get married like these are conversations I get and then I want to be like Did God really say? Right or is it what was your interpretation of what God said? Okay, and here's the lesson. Do I have the peace of God? Okay, I found in my life many times God operates with Shalom. Here's what I mean If there's two options out here What I will kind of do in my heart is I will forecast out six months a year the rest of my life Whatever it is and then I asked God which decision does your peace rest on? Here's what I mean God will surprise you with that because sometimes the job that makes less money is the one he wants you to go for Sometimes the more chaotic situation is actually the one that God's peace actually rest on Okay, because if the Holy Spirit's and you listen if the Good Shepherd is leading you It doesn't matter if there's World War three going on in that direction That is actually the safest place to be is following the Good Shepherd. Okay, not what's the easiest not what's the most comfortable? Where's my Good Shepherd going? So here's the invitation. Here's the invitation Go to the Good Shepherd Cut out the noise and then do what he says Listen, it's your job to obey. It's his job to make a way That's what it is the results are in his hands And I believe if today that we would follow the Good Shepherd he would lead us to green pastures It's still waters and restore our soul Come on, come on guys. We don't need a water wander. We don't we don't need to live with time and pain Come on, we can actually follow the Good Shepherd. Let's bow our heads today. Let's talk to him Father I thank you that you are the God who speaks I

Thank you that you call yourself the Good Shepherd And that's on purpose God you have given us the ability to discern the voice of God in a multitude of other voices and I pray God that we would live a life of learning to hear To follow To obey Our Good Shepherd and wherever we get off one degree five degrees ten degrees that we would be quick to you turn And get back in line and follow you Here's one of the things that I love about how Jesus talks about himself is the Good Shepherd he says this a Good Shepherd is the one who leaves the 99 and goes looking for the one and Every single one of us in this room online Who have come into a saving faith with Jesus. Here's the beautiful thing every single one of us has been the one at some point That the Good Shepherd left everybody else and he came and found us Here's the reality for today Some of us in the room are that one You're the one sheep that got lost you strayed away. You chose your own path Maybe you listen to the voice of a liar and a thief and you just went off and you're just lost in a foreign pasture where there is no safety, full of time and pain. And today, the Good Shepherd is calling you home. And so if that's you today, I wanna pray with you as you come back home, as the Good Shepherd is leading you back home. Maybe you're actually beginning to hear His voice and be like, I haven't felt that sort of emotion before. I haven't heard that sort of speaking before. And it's actually reaching you, that's Him speaking to you. And so I wanna pray with you.

I want the family of God, the other sheep in the room to pray with you as you give your life to Christ. And maybe it sounds like this. Let's pray together, say Jesus. You're the Good Shepherd. I confess, I have listened to other voices. They are thieves and robbers. I see it now. So I repent of my sin, my path, my way, and I turn to Jesus. You are the Good Shepherd and you are my Good Shepherd. Today, I confess Christ is King and Lord of my life because you went to the cross and gave your life for me. I am forgiven and I am free. And because you took your life back up again, I'm alive too, forevermore. You are my shepherd. I am your sheep. I will follow you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's just stay right here, stay right here. I want us to pray this prayer together. I call it the sheep prayer. Can we pray the sheep prayer together? I'm gonna put it up here on the screen. I wanna invite you to pray this with me, not like after me, but with me. Let's pray this together. Say God, you called me a sheep. Sheep don't have much going for them, but they can hear.

So I ask that you would give me ears to hear what the Good Shepherd is saying to me today. Lead me and I will follow. Close doors that need to be closed. Open doors that need to be opened for your glory and for my good. Give me wisdom to discern what is you and what is the thief. Help me to cut out the noise to hear you more clearly and give me the courage to obey no matter what you say. Your ways are best. I am your sheep. You are my shepherd. I trust you. Amen. Hey. Yeah. Here's what we're gonna do right before we dismiss. We're gonna take 60 seconds and practice that. 60 seconds is what it is. 60 seconds to be in silence and say God, give me ears to hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying. Some of you already know what he's saying because you didn't do the last thing he told you to do. Just talk to him about that, okay? Or maybe say, God, I haven't heard you in a while. Is there something you told me to do that I need to go back and do because I overlooked it? Whatever that is, we're gonna take 60 seconds right now. Let's bow our heads.

God, give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying. You are a shepherd. We are your sheep. Speak and we will follow. And we trust that you will lead us to life and life to the fullest. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Thanks for being a part of Victory Church on the Pando app. We hope this content was a blessing to you. But we want you to know that we are not just here to give you a blessing. We are here to help you. But we want you to know that you're not done yet because we want to hear from you. So send us a letter and tell us things like what God is doing in your life, how we can pray for you, or even content that you would like to see us create in the future. We just want you to know that we see you, you're important to us, and we'd love to continue to create some things in the future that will bless you. So send us a letter and we hope to hear from you soon.