Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 194
TRANSCRIPT
Whose voice are you listening to? We can easily get so accustomed to hearing the voice of the enemy that we just accept his voice as the truth. In this podcast, my Pastor Jarod Smith gives a wonderful message on discerning the two voices that we will hear all of our lives. It is powerful.
I’m Lee Whitman from Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom Podcast. In today’s podcast I am sharing a message from my Pastor Jarod Smith of New Tribe Church in Mt Juliet, Tennessee. If you would like to listen to some very good, biblically sound teaching, I recommend going to the New Tribe website at https://newtribe.church and check out the weekly sermons.
Here is the message from Pastor Smith:
“For the rest of your life you will hear two voices, but only one of them is speaking the truth”
I recently had the opportunity to speak to the student ministry at our church. My assignment was to share with the young men what biblical manhood looks like. As I spent time preparing and praying, I narrowed the topic down to a conversation about sonship. Immediately after being baptized, Jesus hears a voice from heaven saying, “this is my Son”. Just moments later Jesus enters the wilderness, and not long after hears another voice saying, “if you are the Son…”. The main point of the message I shared with them is this. For the rest of your life, you will hear two voices, but only one of them is speaking the truth.
“Confessing Christ doesn’t end at a salvation prayer. It opens the path to sonship”
If there is one thing desperately missing in this generation, it is affirmation. Every son longs to hear from his father, “great job, I’m proud of you son”. This is true for every daughter as well. For the purpose of this article, I will assume the reader’s understanding on this to be true, whether male or female. The bottom line is the human condition is hard wired to operate on affirmation. Without it, the system is prone to dysfunction and in a worst case scenario self-destruct. The simple fact that our relationship with God is presented as a child to father bond throughout the New Testament is a profound and unique quality that sets the gospel apart. Confessing Christ doesn’t end at a salvation prayer. It opens the path to sonship, a journey of discovering inheritance and receiving affirmation from the same voice Jesus heard when He came up out of the water.
“But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)
Not only do we get to hear the same voice Jesus heard. We inherit the same right. That is the power of affirmation. The power of affirmation imparts right relationship, right emotions, right understanding, right identity, right privilege. Let’s talk about privilege for a minute. Imagine how mischaracterized this word has been presented to this generation. When you hear the word “privilege” it’s almost synonymous with shame in today’s culture. The political weaponization of calling someone “privileged” is often an attack to silence an individual’s right to speak freely, respond without bias, or contribute real-world solutions to problems. You are censored on the basis of your class, color, or creed. This bypasses the character test and downgrades human dignity by suggesting we can elevate one group by assuming the worst in others. In a political climate that is becoming more polarized by the day, privilege has been given a bad name. Let’s take a step back, take a breath, and redeem it.
“God’s claim on your life in Christ is this: you are now Abba’s child”
John 1:12 reads, “…to those who believed in His [Jesus’] name, He [God] gave the right to become children of God”. The English word here, right, is from the Greek word, ἐξουσία [exousia]. It means authority. If you continue to break this word down eksousía is made of two parts (from ek, “out from,” which intensifies eimí, “to be, being as a right or privilege”). ¹ One way to understand this is what Jesus referred to as rebirth or being born again. When you are saved you are spiritually reborn. You come out of the womb with a new right or privilege, access to an inheritance that you did not have access to before. You’re entitled to it on account of God’s authority. God’s claim on your life in Christ is this: you are now Abba’s child.
…the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:15-17)
Jesus came out of the water and heard the voice of the Father saying, “you are My son”. And we too, who have received Him, who have been born again, are privileged now to hear that same voice saying, “you are My son (or daughter)”. And when we doubt, the Holy Spirit stands as a witness whispering to us that what we are hearing is true. If in this life you never receive the affirmation of your earthly father, mother, or in cases where you actually never knew your birth parents at all, Jesus has opened the path to sonship. Being reborn is more than receiving a checkmark that approves your entrance into heaven. Just as Jesus came out of the water and heard His father’s voice, so it is when you came out of the womb.
“Most of the foolish things a person will do in life are the result of trying to prove something”
Why is it so important to hear and believe the affirmation of your Father’s voice? As I ended my talk with those young men, I drew their attention to an often-overlooked detail. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, by the liar who is Satan, Jesus was tired and hungry. Satan tempted Him saying, “if you are the Son, turn this stone to bread”. Satan essentially said to him, “if you are the Son, prove it”. Most of the foolish things a person will do in life are the result of trying to prove something. You wanted to be impressive. Someone teased you. Someone told a lie about you, and you screamed in frustration, “nah, uh!”. From sibling rivalry to popularity contests, to bullying; in our quest to validate our own identity, proving ourselves to those who question us can produce toxic behaviors with foolish results. This is why it is so important to hear and believe the affirmation of your Father’s voice.
“Affirmation displaces foolish reactions birthed from our pride and imparts true discernment into our lives”
Develop a rhythm of reading His Word and listening to His Word. There’s no substitute for Bible reading and prayer in a believer’s life. As often as possible, it needs to be the first voice you hear in the morning. In one of my favorite devotional books on prayer, Corey Russell says, “When God’s voice is the first voice you hear in the morning, it brings alignment to every other voice you hear throughout your day.” That’s another great way of explaining the power of affirmation. It brings alignment. The other voices in your day will have to “get in line” behind the voice of your Father. Life is much more peaceful living to please God instead of trying to prove something. The devil himself cannot influence a son or daughter who operates in their Father’s affirmation. When your life begins to flow in this daily rhythm, you will begin to recognize almost immediately the lies, the accusations, and the temptation that are pushing you to prove yourself and win the argument. You will be able to distinguish what is God’s voice and what is not. Affirmation displaces foolish reactions birthed from our pride and imparts true discernment into our lives. You are Abba’s child. You will learn to discern His voice from all the others. And He will only ever speak to you what is true.
Thank you Pastor Jarod for letting us use this message on this week’s podcast. If when you heard this message, something in you says, I don’t have that affirmation from Father God and I want it. RTF can help. One part of RTF ministry is breaking lies about your identity. It is difficult to live as a son or daughter of Father God when you are believing lies about yourself. As those lies are broken during RTF ministry, it clears the way for you to be able to hear what Father God says about you. It is life changing. Father God is so extravagant in the way He views His children. He is able to separate our sinful behavior from our identity as Righteous Children of God.
PRAYER
Thank You Father God that we can hear Your voice saying, “This is my beloved Son (or Daughter) in whom I am well pleased.” Help us be sensitive to the voice of the enemy who accuses us by saying, “if you are the son of God” then you must prove it. We stand on your word that says, “to as many as receive Him (Jesus) they become the children of God.” Would you continue to speak words of affirmation to us.
If you need help breaking free from the lies about your identity, please go to our website at restoringthefoundations.org and click on the Get Ministry tab at the top. There you will find a directory of highly trained RTF ministers all over the world, including some in your area. And if you are longing for good Bible-based preaching, which is also entertaining and not boring, I highly recommend going to the New Tribe website at newtribe.church. There you will find a listing of sermons by Pastor Jarod and our other teaching pastors.
