Know His Voice (Peace - part 2) 
By Mike Rule

In ancient Middle Eastern culture there were many customs and ways of life that are not common knowledge to most of us. While having this knowledge is not essential to understanding scripture, it can open up new depths and affirm what God has been speaking to us about Himself. One example of this has to do with the door (sometimes referred to as a gate) of a city dweller’s home. It was customary for a servant to answer a knock at the door, not by opening it, but by asking who was knocking. The one outside the closed door did not identify himself by name, but simply responded, "It is I." If the person knocking was a friend, his voice would be recognized and the door would be opened.

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Do you recognize the voice of Jesus? Do you know Him so well that you can open the door to Him if all He says is, "It is I?"

Most of us hunger to know Him that well but don’t have a clue how to make it our reality. If you hunger to know Him and know His voice, then He offers you a challenge – will you ask to be intimate with Him? Jesus longs to know you more than you long to know Him. His heart’s desire is to walk with you, to talk with you, and to give you His peace. He will reveal Himself to you if you are willing to let go of everything else and allow Him to define who He is to you. "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:33) This means setting aside all our contributions to our spiritual condition; beliefs, theology, effort, understanding, and doctrine will not bring us one inch closer to Jesus. Only Jesus can reveal Himself to us, and only then do we recognize His voice. He reveals Himself when we let go of our effort to gain His nearness and rely upon His effort to gain our nearness.

The ancient Jews rejected Jesus because they were seeking the nearness of God through their own efforts. However, "the Gentiles have been made right with God by faith, even though they were not seeking him. But the Jews, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law and being good instead of by depending on Him in faith. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when He said, ‘I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that causes people to stumble, and a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’"(Romans 9:30-33)

God speaks clearly when He says to us, "The people I treasure most are the humble, for they depend only on Me and they tremble when I speak." (Isaiah 66:2b) "…My Sheep Know My voice!" (John 10:4b)