Why Jesus said, “You Can’t Hear God If You Don’t Belong.”

“Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:47 NIV)

When a mother hears her baby cry, in a room full of babies, she knows which one belongs to her. The same is true about children–for the most part. When they hear a parent call them in a crowded situation, they know their parent’s voice. Why? The relationship established between child and parent is a strong bond, one that causes people to become “used” to hearing the voice pattern and tones.

When we have a relationship with God, a strong bond established by knowing His Word, we know when He is speaking and when He’s not, because we know the intent of His Word as it pertains to our lives.

On the other hand, Satan has specific voice patterns and tones, too. He speaks the opposite of what God says and his purpose and intent for our lives is to kill, steal and destroy. He is a master of deception and the father of liars. How do we know? God says so in His Word and if we know His Word, we know who is speaking to us at all times. Let’s listen to the conversation Jesus had with the Jews who disputed the claim of kinship–whose children were whose.

John 8:42-46

v. 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.

v.43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

v.44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

v.45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

v.46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

If we meditate on what Jesus is saying, and think about all we have heard and from whom, we can determine who everyone’s spiritual father is based upon God’s Word. If we belong to God, we hear Him and obey because we know it’s Him speaking to our hearts. If we encourage living in opposition to God’s Word, manipulating God’s Truth to entice people to lie, steal, kill or sin by any other means, we are saying Satan is our father. There are no blurred lines about this truth, no middle ground or gray area. Either we belong to God or we belong to Satan and anyone with a discerning ear, can tell who we are by what we say and do.

Remember when Jesus was baptized by John and spent forty days in the desert? Tired and hungry, He would have been vulnerable to Satan’s attack had He not been who He was. When Satan manipulated The Word trying to deceive Jesus, Jesus simply spoke the Word, by saying, “It is written…” And when we know we are under attack by Satan, our response should be, “It is written” and say what God has already said. If we don’t know what God has said, we cannot say what He says, and the enemy will use our lack of knowledge to manipulate and deceive–just as he is doing right now.

Satan has fooled and deceived many nations to the point where some civilizations no longer exist because people did not hear God, but listened to Satan’s lies.

Know God’s Word for yourself and when the devil raises his ugly head trying to deceive, speak what God said, but the only way that will happen is when you know God and belong to Him.

My Father is God, my Lord and Savior is Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit resides within me, reminding me daily of God’s love and His Word so I won’t sin against God or people. That’s because I belong to Him and my relationship with Him is cemented by His Word. Since He is not a respecter of persons, and I am not an only child, all who have a relationship with Him will hear Him and obey and ignore Satan’s voice of deception because we know– our Father’s voice.

More about what Jesus said and why, next time.

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When The Enemy Attacks, We Say What God Says!

“Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.”(I John 2:22-24 NIV) 

Just as John wrote to the churches, reminding them of who they are in Christ and His promise of eternal life because the enemy was trying to lead them astray (v.26), so too, do I write. My daily writings are reminders to those who Believe and Know God for themselves and understand that our relationship with Him, is supposed to be an intimate, individual relationship that is binds us together by love.

We cannot claim to know and love one–Jesus or The Father–without loving the other since they are One–in purpose and intent–to provide us eternal life with them.

There is only one reason that I can think of that confuses people about the relationship between Jesus and The Father. Very simply put, misunderstanding or no comprehension of John’s relationship with Jesus to know that what He tells us is God’s Truth and not his own. God is a Spirit–and we who worship must worship Him in spirit and truth. He loves us so much He came down from in the likeness of flesh–called Himself Jesus (He told Mary what to name the baby), lived among men and understood temptation as we know it, yet did not sin. He didn’t cave or give into sin and whenever the devil tried to tempt Him, He stood on The Word of The Father by reminding the devil, “It is written…” Now, I want people to note that when Jesus told the devil that it was written (He said what God said), He wasn’t concerned with chapter and verse, but the content of the chapter and verse.

Sometimes people get so caught up with “quoting” chapter and verse they forget the intent of the content for which they’re quoting. If a person has no understanding of the intent of the content, knowing the chapter and verse where it’s found is pointless. The Word–purpose and intent of the content–should be so engrained in Believers that we can say what God says every time the enemy attempts to say anything to us. We are to be living letters–by our conduct and behavior and treatment of others–as to the intent and purpose of who God called us to be. We are His children–children of the Light, not the darkness, and it’s time we acted like it by saying what Our Father says.

If we say what He says, people will be offended and convicted of sin for that is the purpose of The Word, along with encouraging us to live a life that pleases God. We do not have to trade barbs with either the unbelieving or those who claim to believe, but don’t know The Word.

If they want to belittle us or demean us when we say what God says–tell them thanks and move on–shaking the dust from our feet. Some will hear us and some won’t. We are not responsible for whether people receive what we say when we say what God says. They are. We are responsible for telling people what God says. And when we love others as we are told, we want others to know the truth and not be deceived by the enemy’s lies.