Voice of God is Within

     It is an interesting concept, the voice of God within you. You shall know God, and He shall be within you. You don't have to go very far. In other words, you don't need mediators to show you where God is. If there is no mediator, the mediator can't charge you to go there. It is a free gift. If God is within you, you don't have to travel anywhere. You don't have to spend any money, you don't have to labor, you don't have to walk, you don't have to run. You just simply sit down and be quiet.^{4 Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!} Listen, because the voice of God is within you.

     It brings up some peculiar problems, though. If God is within you, are you the sole owner of God? Does everybody have to come to you to talk with God? Do you have a monopoly on God because God is within you? "I claim God is within me. I want you to give me everything you have so that you can speak to God." Some men have claimed that. Many churches have claimed that. "You must go to a priest and call him 'father,' and have him become your mediator because he claims that God is within him, or that he and God are one."^{5 Matthew 23:9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven."}

     Now if a man could convince you that God is within him and the only way you can reach God is to go talk with him - and he charges for his services - he has pulled off a pretty neat deal hasn't he? Imagine the power you could amass if you could convince people that God is within you and they must come to you to talk to God. You would be their mediator. And yet Jesus also makes a very similar claim. He says He is the mediator, He is the Way, He is the Light.^{6 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."} And yet the way He approaches it is quite different from what others have done in the world. He doesn't charge us, it is a free gift.^{7 Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.} He says, "Follow My example, listen to what I have to say, practice My teachings, obey My commands."^{8 John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments."} He is our mediator, our only mediator.^{9 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.}

     What can that possibly mean? Where is the voice of God? God is not limited to being in a single place. God is not in a single person. He is not in a single priest who claims to be 'father.' He is not in that church building down the road. God is in many places at the same time. In other words, the voice of God is within me and within you. He is in both places. You don't have to come over to talk to God within me. God is also within you. He is with you. I don't have to say, "Know the Lord," because you know the Lord, and He is within you.^{10 Jeremiah 31:34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."} Now that God is within you and He is within me, there is a dilemma when the God within you says one thing and the God within me says another. If they are in conflict, is God divided?^{11 1 Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided?} That is a difficult situation. Let's see what the world has done with this power.

Is the voice of the people
the voice of God?

     Believe it or not even the world rests upon the premise that God is within you - that you have the voice of God. It is also known as the voice of the people. There have been a number of people who have come together for common cause, they have formed cities, counties, states and nations. These people have come together, in union, and they declare that the voice of the people is the voice of God. In other words, each and every one of the members coming together with the voice of God within each of them, in union, becomes the voice of the people, or the voice of God. Now these people, because there are so many of them, have representatives. One man represents a collection of people, and he represents the voice of God, the voice of the people. And these representatives make and break laws. They set them into place, and they do it in the name of God, in the name of the people.^{12 Preamble - Constitution of the United States of America - We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.}

     As long as everybody agrees that this is the voice of God, there are no problems. They can make lots of laws and declare that these laws came from God. But what happens if you say, "Now wait a minute. My conscience, or the God that is within me, does not match up with the God that is within all the rest of the people." You have a conflict. The law, which is the voice of all these other people, says, "You shall do this, or you shall not do that." Then they have a remedy of punishing you, such as requiring you to pay fines or be imprisoned for your actions. You're up against a system that wants to destroy you because they claim you do not have the voice of God. If you truly had the voice of God, it would be the same as the voice that is within them - since God cannot be divided. God could not possibly put out two messages.

     That is the dilemma we have today. Most of society has bound together and declared God's desires and God's wishes. But if we stop for a moment, we will notice that this society is burdensome. It is heading more and more toward the destruction of the people, rather than the saving of the people. Heavy, heavy burdens.^{13 Matthew 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."} There are a few people, call them prophets, call them people being reborn, who are waking up and saying, "Now wait a minute! Something is not right. We know that the tree is represented by its fruit. Once you see the fruit of the tree, you know the nature of the tree. And if the fruit is bad, then so is the tree."^{14 Matthew 7:18-20 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."}

     These people are saying, "How could God possibly be bad? How could God possibly have rotten fruit, evil fruit?" And they're stepping back and saying, "If God has spoken through all these people, how could all of these people be wrong?" And yet that is our current dilemma.

     We are in a situation where all these people claim the voice of God within them, and they have en masse come together and declared God's voice and implemented God's programs. Therefore, anyone who goes against the systems they have established has gone against God. And yet the few people who come out from them are declaring something is wrong. The voice that is within them says that they must come out, they must be separate and be not partakers.^{15 2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."} They can no longer join in with the voice of the masses.^{16 Exodus 23:2 "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice."} And they are persecuted, punished, and imprisoned because they are responding to a voice within themselves rather than the voice of the masses. What a dilemma.

     Imagine the disciples who were being sent out by Jesus and the Voice. The Holy Spirit was directing their course and that course was against the city authorities, against the masses, and against the Pharisees and Scribes.^{17 Acts 17:6-8 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king; Jesus." And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.} "We must obey God rather than men."^{18 Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men."} Now that's a bold statement. Here are the masses who claim to have come from God in the first place. But the apostles are claiming that the people's voice is that of mere men - not the voice of God. Yet isn't the voice of God within us? What's wrong? This doesn't make sense.

     Jesus declared, "You don't know my Father, for your father is the devil."^{19 John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."} Maybe the people aren't listening to the voice of God. Maybe there is another voice that is inside. Maybe the voice that the people are responding to isn't God's voice!²⁰ John 8:47 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." Maybe there's another voice - the voice of the devil. And the devil deceives and steers them away from sound advice - the voice of God.

     It's easy to do. Haven't we all been ensnared sometime in our lives - been convinced of something that isn't true, something that is false? We acted on things that we thought were true, but in reality were false. And somewhere down the road when the fruit is born, all of a sudden we say, "Oh my goodness, we've been deceived! We've been taken down a road that leads to death. What are we going to do?" Immediately we stop doing whatever it is because we recognize it wasn't the voice of God. Maybe that explains why there are a few prophets. The prophets look at the situation and say, "This is not the voice of God. God is not of destruction, God is of life and of forgiveness - there has to be a problem." When they pull out of the norm - that which the masses have declared is the word of God, they're not truly pulling away from God. That is only what the masses would like them to believe. They are pulling away from Satan. They are pulling away from the deception and the lies, in obedience to God.^{21 Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues."}

     We all have a responsibility to prove all things.^{22 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.} Each and every one of us must prove all things. That is our responsibility. When you find that the people are listening to the voice of Satan, you have an obligation - you stop doing it. You stop participating with the voice of Satan.²³ Acts 2:40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." You don't wait until tomorrow - you start today.²⁴ Hebrews 3:15 "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

     Why is Jesus your mediator? Because He gives you instruction on how to discern the two voices. How can you tell that which is the voice of Satan versus the voice of God? He gives you parables so you will know the truth. He tells you how to enter the Kingdom and what the Kingdom is like. By applying these simple principles, you will be able to discern. You will learn. He's not saying you won't make mistakes again, but at least these principles will make it a little easier, the road will be a little smoother. He declares it is a narrow and straight way. He warns us that even the elect will be deceived.^{25 Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."} You have to remember, Satan's very jealous of the power of God, and he wants it for himself.^{26 Isaiah 14:13-14 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'}

Whose voice is the final authority?

     Let's take another area that deals with the voice of God. Many times the voice of God that is within you is the voice that you should be listening to. But the voice of God in someone else is not yours. It belongs to them and to them alone. God can speak to each and every one of us, and maybe the message that He has is directed for you and you alone. Yet the voice that He has in someone else is directed specifically and only for them. There are situations like that. For example, when I was born upon the earth, my parents gave me a name. They registered it with the world through a birth certificate and people testified, "We gave this baby the name of Paul De Revoire." They did a good job. You can't refute it. It is recorded. And the whole world will testify to that name. "Your name is Paul De Revoire. It is documented. We have witnesses - doctors, parents and friends that will verify - 'Yes, your name is Paul De Revoire.'"

     A number of years ago I heard the voice of God - the voice within me. There were others involved who also confirmed this same voice that said, "You are no longer the name the world gave you. You are now Paul Revere. You are to be a midnight messenger. You are to wake up the people. You are to bring them back to God. Go look for the lost." And the world immediately rejected the name Paul Revere. They said, "No. We have witnesses. We have a birth certificate. It has been recorded." I was rejected by my earthly parents who said, "No! We gave you your name. You are still Paul De Revoire." I said, "No. I've been reborn. God spoke and He said this is my new name." What a conflict. The voice within them affirmed the name they had given from the beginning. But the voice within me said, "No, the name is Paul Revere."^{27 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.} And I have acted upon that name, I have implemented it. Everywhere I go, I announce, "Hi. I'm Paul Revere. I'm an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ.^{28 2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.} He has sent me into the world to recover the lost."

     People who meet me for the first time usually accept my name. Some people say, "That is quite an unusual name, do people give you a bad time about it?" and we laugh and have a good time. But the people who have known me in the past, still have problems. "We'll always know you as Paul De Revoire," they say as if that excused them.^{29 Mark 6:3 "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him."}

     Tell me, "Where is the voice of God? What is my name?" We have a conflict. Is it the name that I was given at the time I was born into the world? Or is it the name I was given when I was reborn into Christ? Where is the final authority? Where is God's voice? I think it's a peculiar situation. My earthly parents are not the final authority on what my name is. Neither is my neighbor who may have known me many years by that old name. Neither is the Department of Motor Vehicles, whom I may have entered into a relationship with at some point in time. They are not the final authority on what my name is. Neither is the court the final authority. In fact I heard one judge declare, "The Department of Motor Vehicles is not the final authority on what one's name is." Then who is the final authority? The voice within you.

Common law name change

     It turns out in this country there is something called a common law name change. It causes the world much grief and trouble, but it is still a recognized procedure for changing one's name. The common law method of name change is simply this: A name comes to you. It comes from within you. You believe it comes from God. You act on it, use it, tell everybody your new name, and by its mere usage it becomes yours. A name is similar to property. As you use this name, it becomes your property. You do not have to go to any court. You do not have to beg permission from anyone to use this new name. It becomes yours because you use it.³⁰ Mark 4:31-32 "It is like a mustard seed, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."

     The courts acknowledge you are the name you say you are. The only thing they require is that in taking your new name, you do not use it as a method of fraud or deceit. If you had established some responsibilities under the previous name, then you are not to change your name to avoid those responsibilities. In other words, meet your obligations. If you had "Yes's," make them "Yes," if you had "No's," make them "No."^{31 Matthew 5:37 "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."}

     The example of acquiring a new name shows the voice of God is within you, not within anybody else. "I am Paul Revere." A single voice told me that - a voice within me. God is within me and He declares that my name is Paul Revere. Now my wife could say, "No, your name is not Paul Revere." My children, the neighbors, my friends, even an entire community could say, "No, that is not your name." But they are not an authority on what my name is. It is out of their realm. It is out of their jurisdiction. I can be hauled to court, but the court cannot rule on whether my name is or is not Paul Revere. A jury of six people, even though they claim to be the voice of God, cannot declare what my name is. It is not theirs to hear. Yes, they are a jury and can render a decision, but not in this area. This one is off limits. A whole city, a whole county, a whole state, a whole nation can say whatever they want, but I'm still Paul Revere. They can't change it. It is unchangeable. The only thing they could do is convince me that my name is not Paul Revere and if I agreed, they would be victorious. But until that day, I am still Paul Revere.

God and you are a majority

     You have all the authority you need. The voice of God is within you. Jesus said, "I AM THAT I AM. I am one with my Father. Before Abraham was, I AM."^{32 John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."} Even in the Old Testament Moses confronted God and said, "God, who should I tell the people you are?" And God started it all. He said, "I AM THAT I AM."^{33 Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"} In other words, no one can challenge Him, no one can challenge God. And so Moses reported to the people that GOD IS. There is no authority greater than that. Now the people could say, "No we don't believe it," but whether they believe it or not, He still is. Jesus declared that He is. I declare that I am. Paul Revere declares that he is Paul Revere, on exactly the same authority.

     The things that we do are because of a single voice, and that single voice is within us. There's an old phrase, "God and I - that's a majority!" In other words, as long as God and you agree, then it is. And it doesn't make any difference what anybody else thinks or says or does. It resides with you and God, and you and God alone.^{34 Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?} I must obey God rather than men. In this situation, it doesn't matter what the God within them says, they are mere men. I am acting solely on what God has instructed me. If God has instructed me to quit persecuting the Christians and become a Christian, then I act on that. And I don't need anybody's permission.^{35 Galatians 1:12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.} I don't have to go to anybody to see if it is all right to be a Christian, or to take on a new name. I don't have to go down to the courts and ask for permission. I don't have to go to a state agency and ask for permission. If God instructed me, He instructed me. I have not done anything worthy of punishment. I have not done anything worthy of being supervised by mere men and being forced to listen to their god.

     Many state Constitutions acknowledge the right to conscience - even though they don't act on it anymore. Their Bill of Rights mention rights to conscience, rights to religion, rights to the God that is within you - to act on that conscience.^{36 Oregon Constitution Article 1,} Section 2. Freedom of worship. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Section 3. Freedom of religious opinion. No law shall in any case whatever control the free exercise, and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience.> And yet they have a dilemma. They have set up scores of agencies and institutions to be your conscience! They want to be your supervisors telling you what you can and can't do, giving no place for your conscience.^{37 1 Corinthians 10:29 "Conscience," I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience?} And they have millions of people in support of these institutions.^{38 1 Peter 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.}