Voices

by Pastor CW Mayberry

In the course of learning a new skill or beginning to follow a new pursuit of any kind, there is one factor that should be considered above all else.

Find a trustworthy source of information or instruction.

I have discovered that you can’t listen to everyone who talks or teaches on any given subject.

If we listen to too many voices, it leads to confusion and the proliferation of mixed and muddled opinions that will have to be sorted out later.

If you are able to find a seasoned, authoritative, and honest voice, follow that voice.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to separate the facts from the fiction. I strive to make sure that what I am receiving is as pure in relation to truth as I am able to find.

The Best Source of Learning is the Word of God Itself

How then are we to determine the good source from the bad?

²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

The first prerequisite for honing our ability to discern between truth and falsehood is to know the word of God for ourselves. It is best that we absorb this knowledge free of anyone’s opinion or doctrine.

Early in my walk I read the Bible continually, I kept one with me at all times. I also kept the Bible on audio cassette playing whenever possible. I wanted a constant flow of the Word of God into my spirit and that was the best way I knew to make that happen.

Now that we have the blessing of digital media, we can keep the Word of God before our eyes and in our ears as much as we wish.

You might ask, can you really learn the word of God by passively listening to it?

The short answer is an emphatic yes!

Throughout Israel’s history, the word of God was primarily communicated verbally.

I can attest to the fact that if you continually expose your spirit to the Word of God you will retain a great deal more than you might imagine.

Then there are the Objections…

“But I don’t understand what I am reading!”

It’s a common objection to reading the Bible, especially King James. Like anything else that has its own language within a language (science mathematics etc.), you will adjust to the vernacular quickly with consistent exposure.

The unique situation with the word of God is that the author is present and willing to put the pieces of the puzzle together for you.

At some point what seemed like strange and unrelated bits of information will begin to correlate. It is the spirit of the living God putting the picture together for us.

The Source of Your Information is Important!

Why is this so important? If you choose to do nothing but ingest the teaching of others, you have no idea of the validity of what is being taught.

It is all too easy to take one verse out of context and give it an entirely different (and erroneous) meaning. It is much more difficult to do so when the verse is presented within the context of chapter and verse.

It is even more difficult when presented to an individual who regularly searches the scriptures.

¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15

You and I will be judged by the things written in the scriptures. Either at the white throne judgment or the Bema seat judgment.

We will all be judged by the scriptures. It is our personal responsibility to make sure we have searched out the path of life for ourselves.

No pastor, preacher, Rabbi, or priest will be there to answer for you or for me. Tradition is not sufficient. Culture will not serve as an excuse.

“That’s not what I was taught” is not going to be an acceptable reason for failing to search the scriptures for yourself.

I personally have gleaned a great deal of knowledge from individuals, but I subject all of them to the word of God. I also took great care to make sure I had a very firm comprehension of the scriptures first.

Search the Scriptures for Yourself

My friend, if you are just beginning this journey, I strongly suggest you make a daily habit of absorbing the word of God daily.

I would also suggest that you limit the number of voices you are listening to.

I would first and foremost make sure that any teaching I open myself up to is very heavy on scriptural content. The greatest instruction we can receive or impart is already written down in the scriptures.

Any teacher who gives you more of their opinion than they do the direct word of God is not to be trusted.

We live in a generation in which it is possible to find a thousand teachers on any given subject at the tips of our fingers. We also live in what I believe to be the generation that needs to be able to communicate truth more than any that has come before it

The fate of your soul rests in your comprehension of and obedience to the word of God.

Do not trust your soul to any man or denomination.

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