Conflicting Voices
You're driving your vehicle to a destination you've never been to. Your passenger, who has taken the trip a thousand times before, is giving you step-by-step instructions on how to get there. But just in case, you keep your GPS running. You reach a fork in the road and your passenger is telling you to go right. But the voice of the GPS is telling you to go left. What sudden confusion this creates! What do you do in that moment? Which voice will you trust - the one sitting next to you, who has never failed to get you anywhere, or the voice of the GPS who comes across as the expert?
This is similar to the conflicting messages we get between a religious spirit and the Spirit of God. One will tell you one thing while the other tells you something else. What confusion this creates for God's sheep! This is why God warns us about false teaching and the "yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees"! Their teaching will worm their way into our thinking and rob us of our clarity and freedom.
There is only one Voice worth tuning in to and we must keep our ears sensitive to it. The Voice of God often comes in whispers and will always be consistent with His Word. The voice of Religion can be loud, like a GPS volume turned up on high. It is often the voice that is most popular with the general population who do not have a personal relationship with God, Himself, and will sound highly spiritual.
And Beware! Our enemy disguises himself as 'an angel of light' (2 Corinthians 11:14) and will try to deceive even the elect in these last days. He will make the lies seem true and even good! If we are not careful, we will start listening and believing the wrong voice because it 'sounds right'.
But God is faithful to us. If we keep ourselves close to the Shepherd, He will make sure we don't miss His Voice. He will keep us on course and bring clarity, no matter how loud the other voices get.
***
You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.
Matthew 24:24 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.24.24.nlt
This is similar to the conflicting messages we get between a religious spirit and the Spirit of God. One will tell you one thing while the other tells you something else. What confusion this creates for God's sheep! This is why God warns us about false teaching and the "yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees"! Their teaching will worm their way into our thinking and rob us of our clarity and freedom.
There is only one Voice worth tuning in to and we must keep our ears sensitive to it. The Voice of God often comes in whispers and will always be consistent with His Word. The voice of Religion can be loud, like a GPS volume turned up on high. It is often the voice that is most popular with the general population who do not have a personal relationship with God, Himself, and will sound highly spiritual.
And Beware! Our enemy disguises himself as 'an angel of light' (2 Corinthians 11:14) and will try to deceive even the elect in these last days. He will make the lies seem true and even good! If we are not careful, we will start listening and believing the wrong voice because it 'sounds right'.
But God is faithful to us. If we keep ourselves close to the Shepherd, He will make sure we don't miss His Voice. He will keep us on course and bring clarity, no matter how loud the other voices get.
***
You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
Galatians 5:7-10 NLT
http://bible.com/116/gal.5.7-10.nlt
Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 16:5-12 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.16.5-12.nlt
But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 NLT
http://bible.com/116/2co.11.12-15.nlt
For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.
Matthew 24:24 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.24.24.nlt
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger;
they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
"The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
John 10:1-21 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jhn.10.1-21.nlt
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