2. God’s Words Can Reveal the Mysteries of God’s Management Work

The utterances of God will necessarily be able to reveal the mysteries of His management work. For example, it was prophesied in the Old Testament that Elias would come, but when he did come, no one recognized him. Only when the Lord Jesus unveiled this mystery, saying, “And if you will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14), did people realize that John the Baptist was the prophet Elias. Moreover, the Lord Jesus said: “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:47–50). “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Only when the Lord Jesus unveiled the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven did we come to understand that only those who truly repent and who do the will of the Father in heaven may enter into the heavenly kingdom. The wicked who do not truly repent, on the other hand, will be unable to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Besides this, the Lord Jesus also prophesied that He would return, and that the Son of man would perform the work of judgment in the last days and perfect a group of people into overcomers before the arrival of the disasters. He also prophesied such things as the manifestation of the kingdom of Christ. Why was the Lord Jesus able to tell us of these mysteries? It was because the Lord Jesus was God Himself, and only God knows what kind of people the kingdom of heaven wants, what work God will perform in the last days, and what He shall finally achieve with His salvation of mankind. That is to say, only the utterances of God can reveal the mysteries of God’s management work and no human being can attain to them. This is a trait of the voice of God.

3. God’s Word Is the Truth That Can Resolve Our Real Problems and Show Us the Path of Practice

The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Each and every word God speaks is the truth and God is the spring of living waters that expresses the truth, supplying us with a steady flow of truth according to our needs as corrupt mankind and allowing us a way forward. Toward the end of the Age of Law, for example, people could no longer keep the law or the commandments, and all were in danger of being condemned and put to death by the law. God personally incarnated as the Lord Jesus and appeared and performed His work. Upon the foundation of the law of the Old Testament, He expressed the way of repentance and showed those who followed Him the specific path of practice they needed. In relation to prayer, for example, the Lord Jesus said: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). “But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7). In relation to people getting along with each other, the Lord Jesus said: “For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brothers only, what do you more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:46–48). “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1–2). From the words spoken by the Lord Jesus, we gained a new way that was higher than the law and all our manifold real problems and difficulties were resolved. At the same time, we also found a more accurate path of practice, and when we practice in accordance with the Lord’s teachings, we are then able to enjoy the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and our relationship with God draws closer. It is therefore evident that these words expressed by the Lord Jesus were what people needed in the Age of Grace and, even more importantly, they became our life supply. So what words will God express in the last days to lead us? In order to understand this question, there is a fact we should first be aware of: The Lord Jesus performed the work of redemption and, although we have been forgiven through our belief in the Lord, our sinful nature remains unresolved, and we are therefore still capable of sinning frequently and of being unable to put the Lord’s teachings into practice. The Lord is holy, and unless our sinful nature is cleansed away, then we have no way to obtain the Lord’s praise. That is why the Lord Jesus prophesied that He would return in the last days to speak His words and to perform the work to cleanse and save man. The Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16: 12–13). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12 47–48). In Hebrews 9:28, it says: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin to salvation.” We can see from this that, in the last days, God will use the truth to judge and cleanse man and to save us utterly from the bonds of sin. Those wise virgins who are waiting attentively to hear the Bridegroom’s voice should be somewhat inspired. If they hear someone preaching that the Lord has returned to do His work of judgment, then, they should listen with rapt attention. So long as the words can expose their corruption, show them the path to be cleansed free of sin and supply them with life, then these words will indeed be the voice of God.

4. God Scrutinizes the Innermost Heart of Man and He Can Both See Through to and Expose the Corruption of Mankind

God is the Creator and His Spirit scrutinizes all things. God knows us like the palm of His own hand, and only the words of God can expose the source of our corruption and the essence of our nature. For example, the Lord Jesus was God incarnate, meaning that He was the Spirit of God in heaven actualized as an ordinary flesh. Therefore, the words spoken by the Lord Jesus were able to immediately expose our human essence. As we all know, the Pharisees at that time were people who served God with piety in the eyes of the common Jewish folk. The Lord Jesus, however, scrutinized the innermost heart of man, and He saw through to the essence of the Pharisees’ nature which loved unrighteousness and hated the truth, and He exposed the Pharisees by saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). “You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). God scrutinizes the innermost heart of man and can see through to the sin that lies within our hearts. He knew the Pharisees’ nature to be one that hated the truth and that hated Him, and He knew them to be antichrists who had set themselves against Him. The Lord Jesus therefore exposed the Pharisees’ wicked deeds and He condemned them for their sins. We can therefore see that God is the truth and the word of God is the light, and all darkness and evil must be revealed by His words! In the last days, God expresses the truth to judge all of our unrighteousness and He needs must expose all our satanic corrupt dispositions of which we remain unaware, so that we may come to know our own corruption. Only by being like the wise virgins and having a heart that reveres God and accepts the truth will we be able to receive God’s salvation of the last days.

Here above are the main principles and paths on how we can discern God’s voice. By understanding and grasping these principles, when we hear someone testifying that the Lord has returned and brought to us the utterances which the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches, and when we positively and actively seek it out and listen to these words with our hearts, then we will be able to correctly recognize the voice of God and welcome the return of the Lord. Therefore, if we wish to become wise virgins, then we should relinquish our conceptions and imaginings, focus on listening to God’s voice, discern it to be God’s voice according to the traits of His utterances, and then accept and submit to it, and follow closely the footsteps of the Lamb. Only by doing this will we be able to enjoy the ever-flowing supply of the living water of life and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. If we hear the utterances of the returned Lord and we do not seek them, we do not accept them, but instead are held bound by our own conceptions and imaginings, believing that as long as we read the Bible and pray often and work hard for the Lord then we will be able to welcome the Lord Jesus, and we do not seek or investigate God’s work of the last days, then we will become foolish virgins, and we will have forever missed our chance to obtain God’s salvation of the last days!

Thanks be to the enlightenment and guidance of God. May we all become wise virgins who can welcome the Lord Jesus’ return and attend the feast by His side. Amen! 

Source From: Our Daily Devotionals

You are welcome to use resources on Our Daily Devotionals such as Devotion for Today and Bible Devotions to enrich your spiritual life.