Sometimes a person’s insecurities and fears speak so loudly they can’t hear anything or anyone. People who do not understand their value have destroyed more good than the world will ever know. Lack of self-worth has held people back and buried their potential. How do we rise above the ‘noise within’? God wants you to know you have choices about voices.

Inside Stuff and the Fine Art of Communication

• Have you ever been watching TV with the volume turned up really loud?
• Have you ever had someone try to start a conversation with you while in you are so engaged?
• How does it work when you have two conversations going at the same time, one from the TV and the other from the person in the other room?

ILLUSTRATION: Personal Example
Sharon and I have this type of thing going on all the time. I am, by nature, an inside person. I talk to myself all the time. Anyone willing to confess here? I have something going on inside me all the time. I am preaching to myself. I am meditating on things and situations. I am working things out, all the time. Some of it is spiritual, some of it isn’t. There is constantly a happening inside. Sharon is a sanguine, an outside person. She has a lot inside of her too, but she is always letting it out. She talks to everybody. At times because of our make-up, we will have conversations which go something like this. Sharon will say, “Honey I mentioned that to you; I said that to you; we talked about that; don’t you remember?” And I will say, “No, you didn’t say that to me; I don’t remember you saying that to me; you never said that to me; and there is nothing wrong with my memory.” What’s going on here? We are both telling the exact truth. She did say it and I never heard it. Why? She was trying to talk to me when I had inside stuff going on and I never heard her. I did not hear her because of the noise within.

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• There are many people who are not hearing the truth about themselves because they have too much of the wrong kind of noise going on in them.
• This is what this post is about: rising up above the negative, doubting, cross-wise to the Word of God noise, that people deal with all the time.
• Now, have you seen pictures where a demon sits on one shoulder and an angel sits on the other shoulder?
• Both of them speaking.  Both of them are trying to get that person to turn in their direction.
• This often a picture or illustration of doing good versus doing evil.
• The point is you are going to act according to which ear you turn to.
• Now, it’s a choice which ear you hear.
• Let’s so let’s talk about choices about voices.
• Here is a ‘live’, fresh example of a person dealing with a lot of voices and trying to get help from the internet community.

ILLUSTRATION: Community Example
“Intellectually, I’ve accepted Christianity. I believe in a God who created the universe, and I believe He sent His only son to die for us. However, I feel like a phony saying it. I want to tell people I’ll pray for them after they have a hardship. I want to think of God before I make a serious decision. I just feel like a faker doing it. Who am I to claim to have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe? Furthermore, I cringe inside when I hear people talk about Jesus, or the Gospel, or how people need to put God first. Maybe it’s my secular upbringing. I don’t know how to overcome it. How can I be a follower of Christ when I don’t even like to hear others talk about it? Finally, I feel like a phony when I’m praying. I can’t seem to get past the formula of “Hey God, thanks for the roof over my head and my family and friends and food and nice things don’t take them away and make tomorrow this good okay thanks amen.” I mean I seriously say that in some form every day. It starts to lose its meaning after a while, and eventually I just stop praying because what’s the point? Simultaneously, I feel like if I’m not grateful for these things, they’ll be taken away from me somehow. Not exactly logical, but it’s how I feel. Sorry for the rant, I just really need help and this community is always great.”

• What did this person say?
  • “I feel like a phony” because my prayer life is not developed.”
• Is this true? Are you phony because an area of your spiritual life is undeveloped?
• This person also said.
  • This person also said“I feel like a faker” because God is not in all his thoughts.
• He wants to think of Him before making serious decisions but he was not sure of his spiritual relationship with Him.
• What else did this person say?
  • “I cringe when Jesus or putting God first is mentioned.”
• Why? He is dealing with condemnation.
• Finally this person saiD.
  • “I feel like a phony when I’m praying. I can’t seem to get past the formula of ‘Hey God, thanks for the roof over my head and my family and friends and food and nice things don’t take them away and make tomorrow this good okay thanks amen.’”
• He was feeling insecure because he has having trouble verbally expressing himself to God.
• So, there is a lot of ‘stuff’ going on inside this person.
• Inside noise dominates this person’s life. This inside noise, these ‘thoughts and feelings’ are more typical than you realize.
• People struggle with ‘inside voices’.
• But you have ‘choices about the voices’, you seem to hear.

1 Corinthians 14:10 (KJV)
10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.

• There are many voices in the world the Bible states.
• There are voices which are constantly trying to define who you are and what you are and what you should be doing or not doing.
• Something or someone is always talking to you.
• In the physical realm, the media is constantly pumping you with junk.
• In the soul-ish realm there are devils and demons who try to define your life.
• In the spirit realm, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and angels are yet speaking.

Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

• How can you cut through all the wrong voices so we can hear the right voice?

John 16:13 (KJV)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

• We want this operation of God to be in full force in our lives.
• We want the Spirit of God, the anointing within, guiding us into the truth concerning ourselves.
• Mark this down, the Bible contains the pinnacle of wisdom and understanding.
• All the libraries of the world do not comprise the extent of knowledge of how to live life successfully which the Bible has within its pages.
  • If we could just see it.
  • If we could just know it.
  • If we could just grasp it.
  • If we could just walk in the light of it.
• How different life would be for us.
• How is the Spirit of God going to get us this information?
• He will do it by illuminating, by shedding light on this Word in our hearts.
  • This is why you should read it.
  • This is why you should meditate on it.
  • This is why you should study it.
• This ‘illuminating’ operation of God is what will cut through the noise.

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Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

• Notice, God’s Word is able to divide or separate the soul and the spirit.
• So, if soul and spirit can be divided or separated, then they cannot be the same!
• Where does the negative noise talk place, in the spirit or in the soul?
• The answer is in the soul.
• The Word is able to divide between the negative hurtful feelings of your soul, and the life giving truth which comes from the Holy Spirit in your spirit.
• Now, we looked at this person on the internet who had problems with inside noise, now let’s look at a Bible character with the same problem.

Voices and the Story of Gideon

• The story of Gideon is found in the book of Judges.
• If you desire to understand the book of Judges read the very last verse of the very last chapter.

Judg 21:25 (KJV)
25    In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

• What is the outcome of this type of life, a life where everyone does what is right in their own eyes?
• The outcome of this type of life is always negative.
• You cannot continually do only what is right in your eyes because you may have some dirt in your eyes.
• Your vision may be clouded by wrong thoughts.
• Your vision may be obscured by inside voices.
• It is not what’s right in your eyes it is what’s right in Jesus eyes.
• It’s what’s right according to the truth that is in the Word of God.
• Does God’s Word support what you are doing?
• Israel did what was right in their own eyes.
• Where did they get them?
• What is the end of that?
• Israel ‘doing what was right in their eyes’ led them into idolatry.
• It led them into worshipping demons.
• Demons can get involved with wrong choices.
• This is what idol worship is.

1 Cor 10:20 (KJV)
20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

• The end result of doing only what is right in your own eyes may seem harmless.
• In Israel’s case it led them to sacrifice their children to these idols.
• Israel sacrificed their future in the fires of Molech.
• You will always have problems in your life if you choose to hook up with devils, knowingly or unknowingly.
• You will always have problems if you hook up with the lies they tell you.
• Israel experienced these problems.
• Natural enemies came because of their choices, because of their doing what was right in their eyes.
• These enemies invaded Israel time and time again.
• These enemies oppressed Israel time and time again.
• Their choices opened the door to these enemies.
• They made life extremely hard for them.
• What did Israel do when life became hard?
• They would cry unto the Lord and the Lord in His mercy would send a deliverer to save them.
• Gideon was one of these deliverers.
• We will look at his story in next week’s post.

Call to Action:

You have the choice about which voices you hear and answer to. God wants you to know you are an eagle and not a chicken. Eagles dominate chickens, they take no stuff from them. Rise up against any voice which tries to pull you down from your high and lofty position in Christ Jesus.

Question: What labeling voice have you overcome and how did rising above it change your everyday life? Would you please leave your remarks in the comments section below?