This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:3-5.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
My desire is that you all know Me from the least to the greatest, from the youngest to the oldest, and that you all know My voice. My children know My voice, a stranger’s voice they will not heed. The most important factor in overcoming the devil, in fact, not just in overcoming him but making him nothing in your life, that is, absolutely under your feet, is knowing Me. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3.
Speaking of the New Covenant, I told you, “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11.
When you truly know Me, I mean My Nature and who I am, Satan will become a nonissue in your life, for he will not be able to even get your attention, let alone touch your life. He will be under your feet.
“We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from idols.” 1 John 5:18-21.
And that is today’s Life Lesson in what to do when Satan attacks: “Know Whose Voice you are Listening To.”
To live days of Heaven upon the earth you need direction, correction, and protection and there is only one way you will get all these and more, and that is by a secure connection with Me. You must learn to know Me and to know My voice. You only recognize someone’s voice the moment they greet you before you turn to see the person who is talking behind you is if you have a relationship with them whereby you have learned the sound of their voice.
“He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, “Be gone!” Isaiah 30:20-22.
I directed My people to keep My Word constantly before they eyes, in their hearts, and in their mouths. To write them on their doorposts, Deuteronomy 11:20, and write them on the tablets of their hearts. Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:3. Bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light. Proverbs 6:21-23.
My sheep know My voice and a stranger’s voice they will not follow. How do you know My voice?
In three principal ways: By its tone, by its impact, and by its honor.
First, by its tone: My voice is gentle and kind. When Elijah ran from Jezebel’s threats he had allowed a spirit of fear to send him off in panic, he needed correction but he also needed encouragement. I called Elijah aside to speak with him on Mt. Horeb and when he got there I came to speak with Him as I had promised. And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before Me, but I was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but I was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but I was not in the fire; and after the fire a still (calm) small voice. When Elijah heard it, he recognized My voice and he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And I spoke to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Not scolding but probing to help him out of darkness to light. It was time to reevaluate. And we did it together. And he went back to continue with his assignment that he had veered away from. 1 Kings 19:11-18.
My servant David knew My voice and by revelation of the Holy Spirit, he sang, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who revere Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who revere Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” Psalm 103:8-14.
If the voice you are hearing is harsh and condemning, it is not My voice. I am compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. “His mouth is all sweetness, and He is altogether lovely, this is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” Song of Songs 5:16. I correct, direct and exhort but I do not beat you down or drive you. I lead you and guide you by My Spirit.
Second, its impact: My voice impacts your heart. It engages your heart and lifts you up. It reveals answers and gives clarity to questions that are turning round and round in your mind. It cuts through confusion and makes what looks very complicated so very simple. It will bring healing tears to your eyes—tears of comfort and joy. My voice edifies, exhorts, and encourages. It gives grace to you and imparts knowledge. Its impact is always good.
Third, My voice honors you. I never demean, shame, or cause you to feel divided from Me. I let you know I am caring for you and tell you not to fear. I show you respect and call you by name. And I call you a champion, a hero, a person of excellence, as I did Gideon, Daniel, and so many others. I call you to be what I created you to be, not where you necessarily are. Gideon was acting like anything but a hero with the strength of an army in one man, but that is how I greeted him and that is what he became after learning to recognize and obey My voice. I encouraged him and led him into his destiny. And he enjoyed it though he had started out in a very negative mindset.
It is those who spend time with Me, and value that time, that become strong in Me. Knowing Me should be your primary goal to live days of Heaven on the earth. For knowing Me is eternal life. And it is also the best way to stay clear of deception and knowing My voice protects you from giving credence to the devil’s lies.
Do you recall that the prophet Elisha, who focused his whole life on hearing Me, would know all the plans and moves of the enemy without even having personal contact with him? He would warn the king of Israel of all the moves of his enemies. The king of Aram became enraged thinking he had a traitor in his army since the king of Israel would continually avoid his traps and outsmart him. But one of his servants explained to him, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 2 Kings 6:12. Elisha came to know Me so well that the gifts of the Spirit operated in his life and he received words of wisdom and words of knowledge frequently. He knew the moves of the enemy and revealed them so he could be checked every time. I want to do this for you to as concerns the strategies of the devil to take all the pieces of your life. I do not want you to be unaware. My Spirit tells you of the things to come and guides you to all truth. You can be more skilled in it than Elisha for the Holy Spirit is in you and not just on you as it was on Elisha.
And when the king of Aram came to silence Elisha and take him out of the game by sending his armies to capture him, Elisha was not even worried and certainly had no fear. Why? I showed him the truth in the spirit realm and he saw the mountain covered with the angelic host and their fiery chariots to defend and protect him. And he just smiled, for his army outnumbered the one that came against him. And that is true for you too, I command My angels to watch over you and guard you in all your ways.
And Elisha’s fellowship with Me was very close. He was amazed when the Shunammite woman came to get him when her son died that I had not told him that happened. And he went and took care of business and raised the boy from the dead in partnership with Me. And I could go on, he gave words of wisdom to the widow of the prophet who died in debt and turned her into a sole proprietor rather than a broke failure. He multiplied loaves, predicted twenty-four hour miracles of lack to abundance, turned bitter water sweet, recovered a lost axe head out of a river, and took poison out of a pot. I used him to heal Naaman and then let him know of Ghazi’s greed and deception.
How did he get to know Me so well that he never had any fear and made the impossible manifest? He obeyed Me and humbly served my prophet Elijah, saw him go up when I took him without death, got a double portion of his anointing, that is the Spirit upon Elijah, and never lost his focus on Me.
But you have the same. You humbly serve Jesus, saw Him ascend back to Heaven, received a double portion of His anointing (He told you that you would do the works he did and greater), and the enemy could not get away with anything with Elisha and he should not be able to get any with anything with you. And he won’t if you know Me, the one true God and the one I sent, Jesus Christ your Lord.
And take this advice which I tell you many times in My Word: go forward and do not look back. A farmer cannot put his hand to the plow and keep looking back and expect to make straight furrows. Just keep walking with Me and never let go of My hand. If you are not quick to obey My voice, if you long to do so in your heart, but through weakness or just are not sure, do not get after yourself and slow down, repent and trust Me to give you another opportunity to obey. And I will. Each morning My mercies are new.
“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24.
Stay in My presence and Satan will not be a problem. And how do you stay in My presence? “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give constant thanks, this is My Will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. The rest will follow. I lead you with shouts and songs of joy. Psalm 105:43.
Desire the gifts of the Spirit earnestly. These will save you from every attack and trap of the devil and save others who you minister to as well.
I love you. Get to really know Me and the devil will not even be an issue. He will never be able to win his game of chess for he will never be able to checkmate you.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8.