“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.”

Jesus has gathered us into His flock, and He speaks to us. He speaks to us through the Bible, through Bible-based preaching, through wise friends, through children, and even through our consciences. He speaks to us so that we will follow Him in the way that we should go.

Individual members of the flock recognize Jesus’ voice because they have been given the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was about to leave this earth, He promised His disciples that they would receive the Holy Spirit to guide them (John 14:16). When Jesus’ voice is revealed to us in any of the above-mentioned ways, it is the Holy Spirit that helps us recognize His voice. Without the Holy Spirit, we would not be able to follow Jesus.

Other voices speak to us as well – strange voices. Satan and his minions speak to us through the various forms of mass media, through foolish leaders, school and workplace acquaintances, and through thoughts that enter our own minds. These strange voices attempt to divert us from the way that we should go, to keep us from doing what Jesus wants us to do.

Christians can recognize that these other voices are not the voice of Jesus because they have the Holy Spirit within them. The Holy Spirit helps us recognize the voice of Jesus and helps us recognize the strange voices, making us wary of what is being said. Without the Holy Spirit, we would be vulnerable to the strange voices.

Remember that there are voices everywhere, and they are always addressing us. Let the Spirit help to discern who they really are.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International