Last month, I went down to Burbank to record the audio version of Bring It Out, which releases two weeks from Tuesday. It was a really cool experience and I’m so grateful that I got to read my own book, something that didn’t seem likely when I signed the publishing contract. When I walked into the studio, I had no idea what the setup was going to be. However, I quickly learned that I was going to be in a soundproof room all by myself. The audio engineer was in the room next to me.

I had an iPad that was preloaded with my manuscript. I had a chair to sit in, a professional microphone, and headphones. That was about all I had with me in this room. It made sense. Everything needed to be quiet around me. We didn’t need any distractions or extra noise as we sought to record. The audio engineer could hear me and speak to me. I could speak to him and hear him. Our phones were obviously on silent. We had to tune out every other sound input to focus in on what we were trying to accomplish.

Can you imagine what it would have been like if we went out and tried to record the audio book in the middle of the most crowded area in LA? It would have sounded choppy and kept the audience from actually understanding what I was saying. It might even have made it impossible for me and the audio engineer to hear one another.

Let’s assume for a moment that there is a God and that this God is consistently speaking to us.

Is your life conducive to hearing what God might be saying to you?

Or is your life so full of noise and distraction and other voices that would drown out the voice of God, even if He was speaking to you often? Today we’re continuing our series, The Good Shepherd. I’m calling this message, “The Good Shepherd Speaks”. Before we get into our main Scripture for today, I want to genuinely ask you this question:

If it is true that God is speaking to you, wouldn’t you want to set your life up so that you could hear His voice?

John 10:1-6 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

I know that the Shepherd/sheep metaphor is so common for those of us living here in San Francisco. I’m sure it’s no surprise, but I have zero first-hand experience with this…so I’ll tell you what I’ve come to learn. There would be lots of sheep in a pen, but they belonged to multiple shepherds. This realization helps us understand a couple of things Jesus is pointing out in this teaching. A gatekeeper to the sheep pen would know which shepherds had legitimate business being in the sheep pen. They would not allow thieves and robbers in…which mean thieves and robbers would try to climb over the wall of the pen rather than go through the gate.

Also, the sheep in the pen would only respond to and follow the voice of their individual shepherd. Jesus is helping us understand the kind of familiarity and intimacy He intends to have with us.

Jesus intends for your relationship with Him to be one of familiarity and intimacy. Is this your intention for the relationship?

The sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd. They listen to His voice.

What do you personally think God’s voice sounds like?

Two common ones we tend to assume – anger and disappointment. Maybe you think God’s voice is one of indifference or apathy. What would you need to become convinced of to start assuming the voice of God was loving, gentle, and encouraging?

The Good Shepherd calls His own sheep by name. Though there is a crowd of sheep, he gives each of the sheep personal attention, proven by the fact that he gives each one of them a name.

Jesus has used His voice to give you your identity.

Child of God. Loved. Chosen. Forgiven. And maybe the best thing He says about you? “You are mine.”

Who are you letting name you and tell you who you are?

Jesus says that the Good Shepherd leads his sheep out. The Good Shepherd goes on ahead of the sheep and the sheep follow Him. One of the most consistent messages Jesus speaks is this one – “Follow Me.” We feel so much pressure to make sure we know what we’re supposed to be doing a year from now, 5 years from now, and for the rest of our lives. I get it. But what if we follow Jesus today…and then wake up tomorrow and follow Him…and we get into the habit of doing that for the next 5 years. Guess where we’ll end up if we do that? Right behind Jesus – and that will lead to the best future!

What voice are you following most closely?

Culture? Flesh or your feelings? Who are you letting influence you most?

“You will eventually be shaped in the image of the loudest voice in your life – the voice you listen to most.” -Mark Batterson, Whisper

Jesus says that his sheep will NEVER follow a stranger’s voice. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not RECOGNIZE his voice.

What voice do you want to be the most familiar voice in your life?

Jesus has all authority. Jesus speaks with all truth. Jesus speaks with the most love. Jesus offers the most life.

What voices in your life do you need to start running away from?

Who is Jesus talking about when he talks about a stranger’s voice? He could mean the Pharisees. He could mean the devil. I like how one commentator put it:

The stranger is ANYONE other than the Good Shepherd.

I see so many people get pulled away by the voice of a stranger. Social media is a huge source for the stranger’s voice. Much of the communication in politics, regardless of who you align with, is a stranger’s voice. YouTube can be a great source to understand more of Jesus…but it can also give you access to so many voices of strangers. There are false teachers who claim to be teaching the way of Jesus, when in reality they’re teaching the opposite. You have friends who will try to influence you to follow the voice of a stranger. And some of you have entered into dating relationships without realizing this man or woman will lead you to a different path than the one your Good Shepherd has for you.

How can we know and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd?

1. Familiarize yourself with His voice by immersing yourself in Scripture each day. AI is booming right now and much of this is coming out of companies right here in San Francisco. AI depends on Large Language Models or just say LLM’s if you want to impress people. Large Language Models use a type of machine learning called deep learning. Deep learning models can essentially train themselves to recognize distinctions. Machine learning specifically focuses on pattern recognition. The more you read, memorize, and meditate on Scripture – the more you’ll recognize the pattern of the voice of Jesus.

“More of God’s speaking to me has come in conjunction with study and teaching of the Bible than with anything else.” -Dallas Willard, Hearing God

2. The more your mind is governed by the Holy Spirit, the more you’ll be able to hear Him when He speaks to you.

3. Compare the “convincing” voices in your life to the voice of your Good Shepherd.

4. Pay attention to what you’re saying and how you’re speaking to other people.

I once heard this at a conference and think it’s so true:

The voice that you listen to most will become the voice that you speak with most.

The Good Shepherd is willing to take full responsibility for the sheep who follow Him. Do you know the Good Shepherd? If not, here’s a question for this moment: Will you respond to the Good Shepherd as He calls your name? Others – what voices? Noise?

Who are you following? More familiarity and intimacy?