John chapter 1. Let's go down to verse 19. Let's read through verse 23. We've been talking about John, John the Baptist, written about by John the disciple, the apostle, the revelator. He's known by all these names. And this is the record of John, John the Baptist. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And the last time we were in John 1, a couple of weeks ago, this is what we preached about, and he said, I'm not the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, he had short answers for them, didn't he? Then said they unto him, who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us? And that's a whole other message. Who was it that sent them? And what did they need to know for? What did they want to know for? What did they care about it for? What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." All right. So, Father, pray you'd help us now. Bless the Word of God. Pray you'd give unction to the Word of God. Pray it'd be that would have power this morning as we listen, help us to hear, and apply to our own lives, each one of us, what the lesson is here for us this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, first, we find the high religious authorities seeking information from a man who is not one of them. Yet, in a way, he was. His father was a priest. He was a Levite, but he wasn't participating in their form of religion, evidently. He was doing something outside of their religious system without their oversight or guidance, and that's what they were inquiring about. You know, that's been the common theme among all the prophets of God. Now, not a single one of them run the same trails, was involved the same way with the established religion. They weren't there to overthrow it. They weren't rebels. None of the prophets were rebels against authority. They weren't bucking the system. They weren't out to just turn everything upside down. They weren't trying to carve out their own religion and trying to persuade others to follow them. They weren't separatists and cultists and they wasn't trying to draw out. They was just a voice. Every prophet was just a voice. Neither was John of that stripe. What he was doing was not in rebellion, and a lot of times we kind of want to think that, that he just went against everything of the day. No, he didn't. That wasn't what he was about at all. He was there to introduce and announce the Christ, the Savior. Introduce him to the world. He wasn't in rebellion concerning you know to the to the religious authority and The order of worship and service that God himself had established and we need to not forget that You know, it was God who established the Levitical priesthood. It was God who established moral law written down for man so no prophet and that includes John was ever in It was ever sent to turn that upside down wipe that out start it all over The law don't ever not one jot or one tittle passes from the law never and so John's mission and purpose was not to destroy or pull down the the reigning religious hierarchy if you will they weren't his enemies and Now, he didn't speak kindly to them when they came wanting him to baptize them. He called them vipers. That's what they were. They were just men. And they were religious men. Even Jesus said, they sit in Moses' seat. Whatsoever therefore they bid you do, do it. But don't do like they do. Because they're hypocrites. And they tell people, they bind heavy burdens on people and they won't do a thing. They don't live what they preach. Don't do that. But just because they don't live what they preach, don't mean you got an out to not live what's right and according to the law. So it was the same with all the prophets. When pressed about who he was, we just read it here, when it got down to it, and he was pressed about, who are you then? You're not Elias, you're not that prophet, you're not the Christ, who are you then? He said, I'm a voice, that's all I am. What I am is just a voice crying in the wilderness. That's how he identified himself and described himself and stated his whole purpose of being there. That's what he was. And this was the same with all the prophets. They had a message for the people from God and they were bound to speak it, to sound it out, to lift up their voice like a trumpet. Cry aloud and spare not. That's what their job was. That's what their purpose was. That's what God put them there to do. And they didn't have, and they had something to say. They didn't have a bunch of fantasy to preach. They had the real deal. They had a message to deliver. And they couldn't do anything else. Jeremiah was a voice. Very disturbing voice, by the way. Isaiah was a voice. Ezekiel was a voice. They all were a voice. And John said, that's what I am. I'm a voice. And they said, was John a prophet? And Jesus said, yes, a prophet, and much more than a prophet. He was a voice. He was a prophet, but he was more than a prophet because he was sent to introduce the world to the Savior in person. Man, just think about that. The Bible talks about Jesus said that older, you know, men of the past, greater men, have desired to look into these things and understand what you're hearing right here today. And John got to introduce the Savior. Behold, the Lamb of God. Don't you know Isaiah would have liked to have done that? Jeremiah would have liked to have done that? It was the sound of John's voice. that was heard when he said, Behold the Lamb of God. I know you're not going to get that, but I mean John's voice said that. And I'm getting ahead of myself, but I've never heard John's voice, but I have heard John's voice. You understand that? A voice, what is it? Well, I did a lot of thinking and meditating on this because I said something first and then I said that can't be right, that's not accurate. A voice is the communication of words. Listen to me closely here and try to stay with me so you can understand what I'm trying to get across because it's not easy to communicate this. A voice. A voice is utterance and the articulation of words. It's the communication of words and it's the utterance of words. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God. And you remember talking about all that, the Word. The Word. It's the thought uttered. Well, the voice is the utterance of the Word, of the thought. That's why the Word of God is much more than just a book. It's much more than just a thought. It is God speaking. It's the voice with it. It has to have a voice. If the Word doesn't have a voice, it's just a thought in the mind of God or in somebody else's mind. So a voice is communication of words, and the voice is utterance and articulation of words. John said, I am the voice. I am the voice. Now, a voice can be audible to our ears. And that's our first thought. We think, well, if it's not audible, it's not a voice. Not true. People hear voices in their minds all the time, and you do too. Ain't a person in here ain't hearing voices as I speak in your mind, besides mine. That you're hearing with your ears, you're hearing other voices. There's that constant, what'd you call it, Seth? Inner dialogue going on all the time right up there. It's going on right now in your mind as you're listening to me. There's some, there's another voice talking to you or other voices talking to you in your mind. Suggesting, accusing, disputing, agreeing. If it's the Holy Ghost, if I'm speaking right, the Holy Ghost will, you'll hear that voice in your mind. That's right. If I say something that's not, and you're right with God, you'll hear that voice saying, ah, ah, ah, ah. But let me warn you, there's always gonna be the voices that are saying, that ain't right, that ain't right, that ain't right. You sure that's God's voice? That's where your dilemma's at. That's where all of our dilemma is at, is discerning the voices. Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they be of God. Because you're hearing voices all the time. that are not audible in your ears. So a voice can be audible to our ears, but there are voices that are only heard in our mind. We all hear voices all the time that speak to our mind without coming through our ears. We talk about music and how it excites, creates emotion without going through our mind. Well, voices can communicate things to your mind without going through your ears. Beware, that's the spiritual battle that we've talked about so much for the last two years plus here. Now, the Spirit of God speaks and guides and comforts those in whom he dwells. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Yeah. But the voice of a stranger, they will not hear. It means they will not listen to you. If there's a voice, it doesn't mean they can't hear it or can't perceive it in their mind. There's a voice, but they ain't going to listen to it because they know of what spirit it is. Now the Spirit of God guides and speaks and comforts those in whom He dwells, but spirits of devils also try to communicate to our minds, questioning truth and trying to deceive us through our feelings and pride and selfish lusts. You need to think about that for a while. That's what they appeal to every time. You can identify a devil when he's speaking to your mind because it's something about your pride, it's something about your selfishness, your lust, or it's just something that he's lying to you about about somebody else. Your feelings. Something hurts your feelings because you think that was aimed at me. That ain't the Spirit of God speaking to you. I promise you, I guarantee you before God, it's not the Spirit of God saying to you, He's after you. He's aiming at you. He meant that for you. Be wise, not foolish about this. We can't hear John the Baptist's voice this morning with our ears, but we most certainly can hear his voice. And we can hear the voices of loved ones who've gone on, but only in our minds. You know, people talk to the dead all the time, which is not, that's forbidden in the Bible. Do you realize that's high wickedness in the Bible? When I sit here and I tell you I can hear my mom's voice, I can, in my mind. I mean, it's as identifiable in my mind as your voice is, speaking audibly, because I just... We identify one another with our voices. I've told you before about being in the bank down here and the girl I went to school with from the first grade and I hadn't seen her in decades. When she spoke, I recognized her voice. I didn't recognize her face, but I recognized her voice. See? We identify. That's as much a part of our identification as our face, our voice. I could, you know, I've told you before that I spent so much time with my grandpa that I know what he would tell me if I asked him about something now. And I can hear his voice. Not with my ears. It's not a literal thing. I don't have to get some witch to call him back from the dead, which can't be done. That's all evil, spiritual evil. That's familiar spirits and they have voices. But I know his voice. And I can hear his voice in my mind. Now that's not evil. There's nothing wrong with that. That's memory. That's things God gave us. for good reasons. It's like imagination, all Seth talked about in Sunday school, but became vain in their imagination. And every thought of man's heart was only evil continually. Every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And then in Romans they became vain in their imaginations. It's what we talked about in all of this process too, you know, imagination is part of what God created us with, but he created it, he put it in us for creativity and benefit. We couldn't build our building without some imagination and thinking about it, but it has a purpose. It's not just for fantasy and lust and foolishness and escape from reality. And we've got to recognize that in ourselves and in our children when it gets out of bounds. It's out of bounds. Need to bring it back in here. Cut that off. Quit acting like a... You know, did you ever have any friends when you were kids that were out of bounds with their imaginations? Well, I do. I remember, I can name you names. They were crazy. I thought they was crazy then. I mean, let's play cowboys and Indians, but that's one thing. You can't do that anymore, I don't guess. Little boys can't play cowboys and Indians. It's unbelievable. But some of them would carry it too far and they'd get too involved in it and they'd lose touch with reality. It was just play to me. I just never thought about it any deeper than that. Anyway, let's get back to our thing here. We can hear the voices in our minds, but they cannot literally speak to us audibly from where they are now. Abel's blood spoke from the ground. I looked up voice in the Bible, and you know, the first time it's mentioned, it's God. In fact, the first two or three times it's mentioned, it's God. Then the next time it's mentioned, God said to Adam, because thou hast listened, hearken to the voice of thy wife. That's what got him in trouble, her voice. And then it goes all the way through the Bible. Most of the time it's negative. You know, Abram listened, he hearkened to the voice of Sarai, his wife. Big trouble, followed. Better be careful of those voices you listen to. Because they can be good or they can be really bad. John the Baptist, a voice means there's a message or something to communicate. That's what a voice means. He wasn't there to holler and hoop. I thought about it there just a minute ago, Seth, when you was talking. I don't know why it came to my mind, but I thought of this. Why would God use tongues to edify the church when he used it to destroy the Tower of Babel? I mean, if that was the effect blabbering tongues had on that effort, what do you think it's going to have on the church? If you can't understand what one another is saying, you're dead in the water. Animals make sounds. A voice has a message. A voice. People say the animals have voices. Not really. They make sounds. They growl and screech and whistle and moan and bark and howl and chirp and a lot of other sounds they make. But they're without a message, at least to people and other animals. You say, Crows, you know, the animals make their noises and they have a little communication in there but they're not communicating thoughts. Their sounds are in response to some thing that affected them, you know. I walk out and the crow goes, and then I hear something running away in the woods, you know, the squirrels run and hide. That don't mean that they're talking to us. That we've got generations now that have grown up with Disney and they really think that animals can talk and communicate and really they're just like us in their minds and everything. They're just trapped in that animal body and they can't say words like they need to. To me that is so far out fantasy. It's unbelievable. That's why they try to hug grizzly bears and get ate. or pet on buffalo, you know, out in Yellowstone Park and everywhere and get, you know, bullhorned right out into the woods. You ever see that happen? I've seen that happen. What's the matter with people? Well, they're fantasy. But anyway, the voice, their voice only makes known their presence, animals, and only sometimes precedes or makes known what they're about to do. Did you ever hear that a barking dog will not bite? You better watch them dogs that don't bark. They just slip up on you and they got you. That's the truth. I look at a dog, if he's wagging his tail, chances are he's going to be okay. If he's looking at you, baring his teeth, he ain't okay. You better not take your eyes off of him and you better not turn your back to him because he's going to bite you. I hate biting dogs. Of all the things that I can't hold my temper, it's a dog that wants to bite me. I mean, I get blood in my eyes real quick. I'm sorry, this don't like a dog biting me or threatening to bite me or somebody else. Oh well, I can communicate to him with a stick better than words, because he won't listen, see. I can holler, but my voice has no effect on him, except to inflame him more. A voice, like John's referring to here, is that which communicates thoughts and reasons and facts. Who are you, John? Who are you? We've got to know who you are. I'm a voice. I'm not a voice, I'm the voice, crying in the wilderness. A voice. It does say a voice. A voice crying demands our immediate attention. It can't be ignored without a great effort to do so. You listening to me? That's why you're sitting in church this morning. That's why I'm preaching. That's the way God set it up to be. Faith cometh by hearing, not reading. Hearing. You can read and read and read, and that's wonderful, but it's got to be preached. How are they going to believe? How are they going to hear without a preacher? Somebody's got to say it. There has to be the voice behind it, not just the written word. There has to be the spoken word. Why not just ignore John the Baptist? Just forget about him, let Jesus announce himself. No, because he had this testimony. The testimony of John. That's what he was there for. That's what God put him there for. A voice crying. Not just a voice talking. We talked about this here a while back. You know, where's the cry in the testimony? Where's the cry in your testimony? There's a cry in there. There's a plead in there. There's something with some feeling, some depth to it in your testimony, not just blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Dead words. Cry. Jesus cried and said, Lazarus, come forth. He didn't just say, to prove that it could be done with a whisper. No, he cried. There was more into it than just words. You can say the same words that have no effect. Put the cry in it. It has an effect. A boy's crying in the wilderness is much harder to ignore. We all, I was thinking about it this morning, all of us pretty much live out in the boonies. You live by the road, the highway there, but not in town. There's more noise at your place than there is at ours. A lot of times I can just shut the mill off and all I can hear are the birds singing and the wind blowing. I don't hear a motor, a sound, nothing. Now if I did that and I heard somebody crying, you know, help, would I just say, I wonder what that is? No, it would be alarming, wouldn't it? It would get my attention. It would stop everything else because I hear a voice. It's somebody crying for help. There's some need, there's some message. What if it was somebody saying, your house is on fire? That's a message. Would they say, would they stay down at my house and me, you know, five, six hundred feet away and say, your house is on fire? No, they would cry. They'd say it loud and with some urgency. I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness. I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness. A voice you can't ignore. A voice that ought to grab your attention and get you to thinking about what you need to be thinking about right now. The Lord has come. He's about to make his appearance. That's what I'm doing here. God sent John to be a voice, a literal, audible voice of a man to announce and introduce the Savior of mankind to the world. Everything is established in the mouth of how many witnesses? Two or three witnesses. John said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. A voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. So that scene that day gave the two witnesses, see. Why was John there? To be a witness. He was sent as a witness. This is him. How'd John know? Because God showed John supernaturally who Jesus was. He was full of the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. His purpose for being born to that old couple, past the age of childbearing, the miracle of John's birth happened so that he could announce and witness the Lord, His appearance, His incarnation. He did it because people need to hear the Word, not just hear somebody say it. They need to hear the word. Did you get me there? They need to hear the word. The word has a lot more force when it's spoken. Don't you think that's plain and simple truth? I can sit here and wish you would do something else completely all day long. But until I say, hey, why don't you stop that and do this? How's it going to affect you? It ain't going to affect you. There's another way of illustrating that. Anybody can be in the presence of a Bible or own a dozen of them and have them lying on a shelf or out in the open and be completely unaffected by what it says because it has no voice of its own. This doesn't have a voice, an audible voice. It doesn't speak to you until you read it. Amen. So somebody needs to speak it. It's mighty important. But when somebody opens this book and reads it aloud and puts a voice to it, it can't be ignored. Psalm 68 and verse 11, I've heard this. This is the verse for all printing ministries. They've always, you know, they print Bibles and tracts. Here's their verse. The Lord gave the word and great was the company of those that published it. Well, we think publish means like to publish a book. We print it and then we put it out there. For everybody to read, that's not what publish means at all. To publish means to announce. It means the messenger. Publisher is a messenger. It means to preach, publish, show forth, tell. You see the voice? Publish is the voice. In Webster's dictionary it says that publish means to announce. It means to make known to the community, divulged, promulgated, proclaimed. So that's what publish means. I can't help it, I come in here and I know you all probably got Bibles at home and all of that, but I come in here and there's Bibles laying everywhere all week long. And so I know that Bible hasn't said a thing to you. Now maybe you're reading one at home. That's fine. I ain't scolding you because you leave a Bible here. I'm just saying to you this is a fact. If it never is read, then it doesn't speak to us. And the only way that most people ever know anything the Bible says is because they come to church and listen to what the preacher says the Bible says. It's different. So who was John the Baptist? Well, he was a voice crying in the wilderness. What was he crying? Well, he said there what he was crying. Make straight the way of the Lord. That's really the verse that we got the name of our church from. Make straight the way of the Lord. Because there's a lot of folks that make it awful crooked. He does not consider himself, John, to be anything but a voice representing God to people who were in darkness. John would not take any honor or any credit to himself. We talked about that. I'm not to Christ. He's not to Christ. I'm not him. Well, who are you? Prophet? Nope. Not the prophet you're looking for. Because they were looking for the literal prophet Elijah to appear again because he went to heaven in a fiery chariot and they figured he's over there in the mountains somewhere and he was going to come back from where he went. John said, I'm not that. I know what you mean when you say that, and I am not him. And Jesus said, Elijah's already come. You missed him. John was Elijah. He came in the spirit of Elijah, not Elijah literally. Boy, people are so easily mistaken about things. I've been thinking a lot about how it was when Jesus came the first time and what they were looking for and expecting. And here we are in the last days and I'm looking at what everybody's looking for and expecting. We're in for the same deal all over again. What we're looking for and expecting is not going to be Most people are going to miss it because the same reason. They're looking for Jesus to come like Elijah, like they were looking for Elijah to come. He said, are you that prophet? He said, no, no, I'm not. Not me. I'm nobody. Who are you? I'm a voice crying in the wilderness. That's all I am. I must decrease. He must increase. He's the bridegroom. I'm just a friend. That's why I baptize with water. I'm baptizing with water. He'll baptize you with fire and the Holy Ghost. You ain't seen nothing yet. You think I'm nothing? You think my voice excites anything? Wait till you see what's coming. John did no miracle. John did no miracle. He wasn't anything to... Let me say what else I've got to say here. We'll be done here in a minute. But he said, make straight the way of the Lord. He didn't consider himself to be anything but a voice representing God to the people. This was the manner of all the prophets that came before him. That's why we can be sure that he was a prophet. That's why Jesus said he was a prophet, because that's what he was. They were not revolutionaries or seditionists, but were simply calling men to repentance and faith in the true God of heaven. Isn't that what all the prophets did? They cried against the immorality, the idolatry, the covetousness, the wickedness of their day among the religious people who's supposed to know better, and they had left off repentance and sin. The prophet came and called them to account for it. That's what he was. That's what a prophet did. That's what he was about. And so they had abandoned, that was what set them apart from the contemporary mainline religion of their day, that had abandoned the true way of the Lord and ceased to cry out against sin and demanded no repentance. John's message was make straight the way of the Lord. Let's get this right. Let's get back to God. Truth. The Word of God. Instead of all this other tradition and stuff you've added with it. And Jesus said you made void the Law of God with your tradition. The Pharisees in sending the priest and the Levites to John. I want you to see this. They had the same motive as Herod's wicked mistress. to silence the voice. That's what they wanted to do. That's what she wanted to do. Why did she want to silence his voice? Same reason. Because he said to Herod, it is not lawful for you to have her. Made her murderous heart very angry. Pharisees, same way. Same way. What do they want? Know what John, who he is and all that. So they can shut him up. They don't want the people hearing what he's saying. The same wickedness that we find today in sinners who live after their lusts or proud religious people who are guarding their religious cloak for their sin, that is to silence the voice that's telling them they're wrong and they must repent or they're going to perish. Same deal. Same deal. Always the same. What are they trying to do? Silence the voice! Works pretty good for them too. A little bit of money, a little bit of trickery and other things, you can silence the voice. That's why it's so hard to get people to come to church and listen to the Word of God preached or to get them to hear in the workplace or the street. You ought to see what people do in the street. When you preach on the street, you ought to see what they do. You all know what they do? Flee. They flee. They got to get away from that voice. You don't even have to speak. Just hold the Bible up to them and watch them. If you don't believe me, you ought to go out there and try it sometime. They, they're just like, it's just like shining a light on the cockroaches or the mice. And they run for cover as fast as they can. They can't stand the sound of the voice. Because even at the sight of the Bible to them, they hear something. It's not that black book that scares them, it's what it says. It's what they know it says. You remember Kenny talking about that sign on the road that he would never go down? Because that's that scripture sign on the road. We got a lot of them around here still. Old Brother Norms, he's not able to do it anymore. I wish somebody would do it because that's the most, that's the most important thing that could be done, really, in my opinion. Put the Word of God right in front of them so that they must hear it. do more good than anything else we've ever done, I'll tell you that. John's voice was very effective because it was animated by the Spirit of God. I believe that. I don't believe John was out there just speaking from his education, his experience, his own heart. John wasn't out there to do it. He represented God. He was there to be a witness for Christ. What are we doing here? What are we here for? Same thing. So our voice ought to be animated by the Spirit of God. You understand what I'm saying? It ought to be controlled, governed, guided. Fed, I mean the energy in our tongue ought to come from the Spirit of God, not from our own heart, and our own experience, and our own earthly wisdom. That's why, you know, God, it was very effective. Now let us always be the same as John when we open our mouths, and our voice is heard. Vain jangling, vain words, If we're going to give account for every idle word that we speak, does that cause you to even tremble or stop in your boots for a minute and think about all you say? The older I get, the more I take that seriously. Make sure that our tongue is governed and filled with the Spirit of God, so that it is hard for sinners to flee from it." They came to John to hear him. See, that's the difference. They came to John. The only ones that went away were the Pharisees. When He told them, He rejected them in their present state. They weren't coming repenting. They were rejecting His voice. That's why He did not receive them. They were rejecting what He was saying. So let's make it hard for sinners to flee from it, but easy for them to come to it. Colossians chapter four and verse six, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Well, there's a good guide for us. If we're gonna be the voice, then it better be seasoned with grace. And don't forget the salt either. Always with grace, seasoned with salt. Always with grace in our speech, in our communication of the Word to other people. Are you thinking? We can talk about history and John, but it doesn't do us any good if we don't learn how to apply it to us right now. Do you ever feel like a voice crying in the wilderness? You think, well, nobody's hearing. Great multitudes went out to hear. All of Judea and Jerusalem went out to hear John. All of them, it seems. There must have been something about him that we've not really considered, you know. God didn't send all those people out there. I mean, they heard about him and they went out there. I wonder what his first sermon, I wonder how many people were there for it. I reckon he sent out flyers and, you know, did the, what do they call it, the SWAT team effect and hit every street and every house in the city. Yeah, canvassed the whole city and the whole state and got everybody to come out to hear, Well, he's this great preacher. I mean, John the Baptist. You never heard of him? Well, he ain't never preached. I ain't never heard of him. I mean, I wonder how many had the first congregation he preached to out there on the Jordan River. Jesus talked to one woman at the well, and then the whole town came out. That's how it works. That's how it works. It would work that way today. If we get our hearts right and get some understanding and really be right, you'd be amazed what God would do in this dark hour, what God could do. Are we co-laborers with Him or are we working against Him? If we'd ever get in our minds how to work with God instead of against God, I think we'd be a lot more accomplished. A lot of it's done in pride and a desire to make a name for ourselves and all of that. What did the woman at the well tell the men in the city? Come hear a man. It told me all things whatsoever that I did. Well, you know what kind of woman she was? What was the motive of those men to get out there and find out who this guy is? Well, they had some skeletons in their closet, see? Because she told them. I mean, it was her testimony. We get that story all messed up, too, see? Scared the daylights out of them. They better get out there and see. And what'd they go out there, most of them, maybe, to do? If he's telling this everywhere, I mean, he's telling that about me everywhere, we've got to get him shut up. But when they went and heard him, things turned out all together different, see. John was the voice of one crying in the wilderness. And why didn't he cry in the streets of Jerusalem where everything was at, where everybody was at? Why didn't he do it there? I've had people, man, me and one guy got totally cross ways here several years ago, and he just wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, he just, he was a very rude guy. Come to visit one time, and he even set in to convince me that the city is the place to be. You need to live in the city. That's where the people are. If you're going to preach to them, that's where Well, John Baptist is in the wilderness. I said, whoa unto them that lay house to house. That's what the Bible says. Well, that really didn't sit well with him at all. He probably still hates me to this day. God's ways are not man's ways. That's the city of Samaria. Jesus didn't go down into the town. It was outside of the town, one woman at a well. That's how He won the town. We're going to march in, boy, full armor and everything, and we're going to take the place! Yes, sir! We're soldiers! Not the right way to think. It's the voice. It's just the voice. I'm going to stop now, but it ain't even 5 out of 12. I just want to throw this in there. How many times has somebody said something to you in your life? Just a few little words that affected your whole life. You've never forgotten what they said. What is that? Well, that was a voice. Learn to hear His voice. Don't be crazy, spooky, like superstitious nonsense. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Learn to hear the voice of God and discern the voices. And listen up when God speaks. And shut it off when you know it's the devil. When you know it's not God, don't listen to those suggestions in your mind. The devil ain't never going to speak to you audibly. That's a clue. That's one of the clues right there. He'll do it in secret. The devil came to Eve, not Adam and Eve. He came to Eve. Doesn't say nothing about Adam. He came to her. Adam may have been standing right there by her. But He came to her. He communicated to her the voice of the serpent in her mind. All right, bow with me and let's have a word of prayer. We'll take this and go home and think about it, I hope. Lord, thank you for the Word of God. Thank you for all the truth that's here that we're just barely scraping the surface of. Thank you for opening our understanding about things. Thank you for speaking to us. All through life, so many times that are special and particular that I remember that I know you just spoke directly to my heart. I know everybody else here feels the same way. I hope they discern between the voices. And Lord, we thank you for that means that we have here to be a witness for you. our voice, our tongue. Help us, Lord, to use it wisely and holily before men that it might be effective to draw them to you, to point them in that direction, to get them to listening for your voice. Please help us now to keep this in our hearts and minds. In Jesus' name, amen.