THE SEVEN VOICES
OF THE SON OF GOD
Publication #94.73
(Part 2)
THE VOICE OF POWER
Contents:
"The Voice of the Lord is POWERFUL..." (Psa. 29:4).
When a man or woman is called into the service of the Lord, the first thing they hear is His Voice rolling as Thunder across the dark waters of their desolate souls. What a wonderful sound, a sound that causes them to live for the first time since being laid in the graves of their earthen bodies. The Voice of Thunder, as we covered in our previous study, is the Voice of initial Salvation. When we heard Him speak, whether we understood the full scope of His words or not, our eyes were opened to a life that was long forgotten. Our sojourn in the earth had been such an expanse of time that we hardly remembered ever knowing it back before the foundation of the world. Nevertheless, we heard His awakening call, and now we live!
The Voice of Thunder is wonderful, but let us not remain with that sound alone in our ears. Let us continue on, for it is only the beginning of our adventurous journey back to the place from which we came. Paul summed it up this way — All is out of God, all goes through Him, and all returns to Him, to Whom be glory forever (Rom. 11:36). Therefore, let us be mindful, and ever so thankful, for not only the Voice of Thunder that enables us to take our initial step back toward Him, but also for every heavenly sound that pervades our souls. In this progressive walk, let us always be lifting our ears ever higher, and joyfully hear each voice that follows.
The Voice of the Lord is Powerful. This is the second voice we hear. It is the Voice of God that the writer of Hebrews must have known. He wrote: "For the Word that God SPEAKS is full of POWER — making it active, operative, energizing and effective; it is sharper than any twoedged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life [soul] and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [that is the deepest parts of our nature] exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging their very thoughts and purposes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, Amplified). This is the voice that baptizes in the Anointing Power of His Holy Spirit. This is the voice that gives one the power to overcome the things of the flesh. It is Living, and it is Powerful. It opens ears to spiritual understanding. It enables one to gaze upon the unseen and see marvelous mysteries. It instills discernment where it was lacking. Light begins to shine where darkness had reigned. Thoughts and intents of the heart are exposed when this voice is heard.
Oftentimes people rely upon the wit and wisdom of men to distinguish the Holy from the profane. From this premise they will exercise the power of the law to maintain their religious orders. It is also common for people to quote scriptures and apply their doctrines in the face of their enemies, hoping to gain victory, but it is usually without much effect. The fact is, regardless of the seemingly good doctrinal tactics used, if the Voice of Power has not been heard — there is no power. Doctrine alone has no power over the flesh. It can never annul the law of sin and death. In the same manner that Satan cannot cast out Satan, neither can Adam cast out Adam. He does not war against himself. He will do whatever is possible to maintain his lordship, and he will stand firm until the Powerful Voice of Christ is heard.
With such a Sword as Christ's Anointing in our hands, we will slay the dragon in the sea, even the prince of the power of the air, as we nail this carnal man to the tree. The dark abyss of every unsettled soul has its own dragon, and without the Sword of the Spirit, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it will swim freely. This is the same foe that flies through the heavens of men's Traduced minds, foaming bombastic imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.
The Voice of Power frees us from such deception. It renders the serpent helpless, the spirit that energizes the carnal mind. Without power, people will never rise in victory. They will abide in darkness as they are filled with dreams of flying away to glory, dreams that will never come to pass. They will neither see nor hear anything the Spirit is saying to the churches. And they will abide in the realm of carnal thinking, always looking at heaven as a place somewhere that they are not. With their love centered upon things of the world, they will harbor notions that Jesus is away in heaven building a natural city of materials that carnal minded people lust after. They are waiting to become citizens of an imaginary city, not realizing the New Jerusalem is a city made of people and not of buildings. Without the power of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:6-7), they fail to understand the simple truth, that in Christ they can already live in the Heavenly City, the New Jerusalem, the Mother of us all.
When people truly hear His Voice, that overwhelming Voice of Power, there will be a great rejoicing. They may read the letter that kills, but beyond its shell, they will see the flaming sword and live. They will see more than powerless dogma in verses such as these:
"But ye are come (right now) unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh (right now). For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven (right now)" (Heb. 12:22, 25 — parentheses supplied).
When His voice is heard, wonderful things begin to dawn upon the horizons of their understanding. Rather than expecting a city floating down from the star-studded heavens measuring fifteen hundred cubic miles, they will see, right now, that they ARE that heavenly city. They will know that this City is Christ's Body, the city that is called the Bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9-10).
I can tell you one thing — Jesus has no intention of marrying a bunch of buildings with streets of natural gold crisscrossing through it in all directions. His Bride is a bride of people with One Street running straight through the midst of them, which is He Himself who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Rev. 21:21, Jn. 14:6). This is the city that will descend from the heavens within to be manifested to those in the earth. Those who hear His Voice will know that these heavens are the same heavens Jesus was in when He said: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN" — right now (John 3:13).
Please notice, although Jesus was standing upon the earth, He said that He was IN heaven. Think about it. When He prayed to His Father, and His Father spoke to Him, He didn't have to go anywhere. His Father, who dwells in the heavens, was right in the midst of His being. That is where God's Heavens are — in you and in me, dear saints! So let us stop looking up there for Him!
Once we hear the Voice of Power, having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we should come to know our Lord and His dwelling place. We should know Him well enough to drink the New Wine with Him in His Kingdom — right now. Otherwise, we are likely to sway in the wind of the Pharisee's doctrines. But we are hearing, praise God, and we do know Him! We drink the New Wine and see with clarity where He dwells and where we dwell. The words of Jesus in John 14 are no longer a mystery: "In My Father's house are many MANSIONS: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).
It is not necessary to hear the Lord's Voice to understand simple grammar, although it can certainly help. Nevertheless, let us note: the Greek word for mansions is meno, and it is interesting that only here is it translated mansions. Everywhere else it is rendered, abode, abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, etc. The word simply means, according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: to stay in a given place, state of being, or relationship.
If the sound of His Voice is penetrating our minds, we will be encouraged to see that the MANSIONS are the DWELLING PLACES in each of us, and corporately we make up THE HOUSE of His many membered Body. We are each a single dwelling place among the many dwelling places of our Lord's House. He rooms in us, He lives in us, and we live in Him. Collectively, all these rooms make up the house of the Lord. So simple, yet so far away when the Voice of Power has not been heard.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you," He went on to say, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that WHERE I AM (right now), there ye may be also" (John 14:3). Again, although His feet were touching the earth, He was in the heavens of His Father (John 3:13), and so it is with us. The place that He was going to is right in the midst of our own heavens. He now abides in us, and that is where He is preparing this abode. He is making a place fit for His habitation:
"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide (meno, same as 'mansions') with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth...for He dwelleth with you, and shall be IN you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you (at Pentecost). At that day ye shall know that I am IN My Father, and ye IN Me, and I IN you" (John 14:16-18, 20; parenthesis supplied).
Hopefully, it can be seen that wherever the Spirit of Christ is, wherever the Father is, that is where heaven is! It is in you, dear brother! It is in you, dear sister! It is in you and me, saints; and furthermore, it is in all the other heavens of His human creations. Let us look inwardly rather than outwardly and come to know the One who abides herein. For in so doing, we can than be clothed upon with the house not made with hands, a building of God eternal in the heavens.
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved (our physical bodies), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands (our spiritual bodies), eternal in the heavens" (our heavens) (2 Cor. 5:1).
Please know this, brethren; what we are looking into is not a deep word. It is very basic. It consists of elementary things that should have already been laid as part of our foundation. This is essential before advancing onward. Without such a foundation, no house made will stand when the testings come. Truly, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Psa 127:1).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is one of the initial experiences in our walk, but some see it as a finished product, and being void of Spiritual matters, use it to their own demise. They employ the Spirit, or a facsimile of the Spirit, to indulge their flesh. This Holy Promise was not given to send us into uncontrollable, frenzied emotions, as some seem to believe. It was not given to promote programs of hyper-religion, or to endorse names, groups, or men of the hour and their ministries. The Spirit of Christ was given that we might know Him. It was given that we might know it is from Him that all power comes. He gave His Spirit that we might partake of that same power and use it to His glory as we learn to be good soldiers and sojourners in the earth.
Ordinances devised by men are popular tools in the church, but they have no power to deliver people from age-old, nature-born, sins of the flesh. The law may curb sin for a season, but its power will never deliver anyone from any of them. The carnal mind will use all sorts of sweat-generated methods in attempts to be righteous, but none of them does a thing to change the inner man. A large degree of their toil is comprised of religiously following the letter of the scriptures. In their efforts they hope to overcome the powers of the flesh, but always to no avail. True power to overcome the flesh and its lusts comes in various ways and manifestations. No matter how it comes, however, it is always by the Spirit, and Hearing the Powerful Voice of the Lord is one of those ways.
Let me tell you of a time that this power came to be such a reality in my own life, and especially in the life of my younger brother. Unknown by most, he used cocaine. For a time, he was able to keep his business going and his family together, until one fateful day a "friend" introduced him to the syringe. It had such a devastating effect upon him that He might as well have put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. One day he was a living, functioning, caring person, and the next day, for all practical purposes, he was a dead man. He instantly became a man who lived for nothing else but his next injection of cocaine. His life with his wife and children ended. He left them and moved in with his drug dealer so he would have easy access to his new slave-master, cocaine.
Work was out of the question for him, until he ran out of money. He would then go in and generate enough business to support his vice for another couple of days; but even this came to be a burden, so he concocted a way to make large sums of money without working for it. He would contract a year's worth of business to his clients for a reduced price. They paid him for the year, he shot the proceeds into his veins, and he was in their debt for the next twelve months, while having nothing to show for it except a momentary high. The binding power of cocaine is unfathomable, and it was impossible for him to see or rationalize the depth of the pit wherein he was swiftly plunging deeper by the day. He was locked in a prison from which he could not free himself, even if he had wanted to. The only thing that mattered was supplying his body with more cocaine. The future was not an issue to him at all. His only concern was the few minutes of euphoria for which he was selling his life. He was in a vicious, unending, lethal cycle with the clock ticking swiftly to his ultimate end — death.
In desperation, his wife came to Margit and me for help; but to us, the situation looked hopeless. It would have been easier to raise the dead, it seemed, than to reach deep enough to pull him to safety. Nevertheless, we prayed. Praise God, we prayed! While in prayer I heard the Powerful Voice of the Lord! In essence, this is what He said:
"Two thieves have stolen a precious jewel from the treasury of My Kingdom. The jewel is the man you are praying for. The thieves are called cocaine and alcohol, and to him they are 'lord Cocaine' and 'lord Alcohol,' for they have conquered his defenseless soul, and they hold him captive. He is a slave to their every dictate. He has no way of freeing himself from the chains of their cruel power. Nevertheless, know this — Thieves may possess many things, but they own nothing, and when their rightful own reclaims His property, they must relinquish their hold.
"Therefore, stand up, for I am sending you as My emissary. You will take with you a document stating My ownership of this jewel and the demand for his release. It is not a decree printed with ink upon paper, but is My Word spoken to you by My Spirit."
Power surged through my soul at the sound of His Voice, yet there was more. I then saw His words, they were like seals of gold, and they had His irrefutable authority embossed deeply into each syllable. I can still see them blazing through my soul: "Those to whom you deliver this document, the spirit of cocaine and alcohol, WILL submit to it. They have no choice in the matter; and to insure that they obey the words of this document that you speak, I am sending with you the host of My heavens. My army will stand with you and enforce every word that you deliver. Now go to these two thieves, and take from them My property that was stolen. It is time to bring him, one of my many jewels, home."
Without hesitation I embarked upon my mission. I rose with absolute confidence and drove to Tim's hairstyling shop, knowing he would be there. I knew I held the awesome power of the omnipotent God in the words of my mouth. There was no doubt in my mind that this young man would be released from the hell he had stumbled into.
He was alone in his office when I arrived. The Lord's army went ahead of me and cleared the building. I could therefore deliver the document without interruptions.
I sat Time down and began to speak, not to him, but to his two lords — cocaine and alcohol. This was very unsettling for him. It was as if he were sitting on coals of fire, and I suppose he was. The words that I spoke were powerfully hot to those two demons, and as they were kindled by the flames of the Word, so was he. After a short space of time he uttered some trembling words, "What is this?" He said, "An exorcism, or what?" I momentarily turned my attention to him, only long enough to say, "You can call it whatever you want — but I am not talking to you! I am talking to your two lords! Now shut up, and when I finish with them I will talk to you!" He shut his mouth, and I proceeded with delivering the King's mandate to those terrified thieves.
Afterwards I focused on my brother and explained what had just taken place. He replied with a question — "Well, what am I supposed to do now? Give my life to the Lord?"
I wanted to tell him, "Yes! By all means! Confess Jesus as your Lord! And let me tell you how it is done! Let me lead you into salvation!" To the contrary, however, I found myself telling him that until that moment in time, he had been held as a prisoner by those two thieves, and he couldn't escape if he had wanted to. It so happens that he didn't want to escape, for his every desire was to be left alone so he could freely indulge in the enticements of his two lords. Nevertheless, after I had delivered the Lord's decree I let him know he could escape, for he had been released by the power and authority of the King. He had a choice. After explain all this to him, I then asked, "What do you want to do?"
To my disappointment, He said, "I had a rough night. What I want to do is to go to the bar and have a drink. I am really feeling bad."
I was tempted to dissuade him. I wanted to give him all the good reasons for not going to the bar, as well as what the consequences would be if he did. However, none of those "good" words of counsel were contained in the document that the Lord had given me to deliver. The fact is, none of the words He gave to me were for him at all. The entire message was for his two lords of darkness. Rather than giving him "my" opinion of what he should or should not do, the words that came from my mouth left him untouched by my influence. I said, "That is between you and the Lord. Do what you want. Go to the bar or confess Him as your Lord. It is your choice. But for me, I am going home." And that is what I did. I turned and walked away, leaving him alone with the Lord and his thoughts.
When I got home, however, I prayed. I prayer earnestly for the Lord to not leave my brother in hell, but for Him to finish the work. I asked Him to bring him to live with Margit and me in order to finish what was started. Not to my surprise, he called the next morning and asked, "Elwin, can I move in with you and Margit for a little while? I know I need help, and I have no other place to turn." My reply, of course, was, "Yes, absolutely, my friend! Come right over." And he did. He moved his meager belongs into our spare room, and spent the next three days just resting, watching TV, eating, and drinking sodas — while I waited.
I was waiting to hear once again the Voice of the Lord in Power. Without knowing what to do or what to say, and especially without the anointing of Christ's authority, I was helpless. Nevertheless, after three days and nights the Lord spoke. He said, "It is time to talk to your brother. We are going to finish what was started. Just open your mouth and I will fill it."
One of the first things that I said was: "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking... can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 12:3). Without hesitation, and his eyes filling with tears, he said, "JESUS IS LORD!" Startled by such a quick response, I blurted out, "What did you say?" "JESUS IS LORD!" He declared again.
"The only thing I can add to what you have just proclaimed," I told him, "is for you to make it more personal. Tell Him that He is your Lord. Confess with your mouth, to Him, that He is your Lord." And with joy he did, and his new-found life began the instant. Thus — the Voice of the Lord in Power!
I must say, however, Margit and I knew all was not quite right. Tim did not release all to the Lord. There was something he refused to turn completely from, and the door to his soul was left unlocked and slightly ajar. We both expected that he would someday invite his two lords back for one last fling, and that he believed he could control them, rather them controlling him. Ha! No chance at all! Nevertheless, the message of Power I was initially given to deliver had profound effects on his life, and each word accomplished everything it was sent to do. None have returned void. Now we await the final word on his behalf.
TONGUES OF POWER
What do you suppose the cloven Tongues of Fire at Pentecost were? They were, of course, Tongues of Power! — "Ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." (Acts 1:8).
Many men and women have longed for this marvelous gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They have prayed for it, fasted for it, and tarried for it. For many years they have waited, hoping someday to receive it, but so often without success. Why might this be? Was it, as some believe, only for those of the early Church? We know that the King of kings came at Pentecost in the form of the Holy Spirit, but what happened afterwards? Did He then withdraw Himself, to return again someday in the far distant future? Did He stop reigning in His Kingdom, while leaving His followers with no other authority and no other weapons of power except the written text of the Bible? Did He go away into heaven to build mansions for us, leaving with us a history book (the Bible) of who He was? Do people need to pray harder, fast more, and tarry longer, to persuade Him to send His Spirit from heaven to fill them? Or might it be that a gross cloud of thick darkness is covering the church system's eyes?
The truth is, when Jesus came reigning with power at Pentecost and established His Kingdom (Acts 1:6-8, 2:2-4) He never left. He reigned then, He reigns now, and He shall continue to reign with power until the last enemy, death, is put under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25-26). There are many rebellious people in His Kingdom, this is sure, but He shall reign on until they all bow to Him in humble repentance and resounding glory (Phil. 2:9-11).
It has been taught for many years that there is no way possible to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit except by "tarrying" for it. Luke 24:49 is cited as the basis of this belief: "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but TARRY ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued (clothed) with power from on high." That word was applicable at the time, for the Holy Spirit of promise had not yet been given. They had to tarry. They had to wait for it. It was not available at the time they were commanded to tarry — but it is now! It has been available since that day of Pentecost with the 120 in Jerusalem:
"And (Jesus), being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but WAIT for the promise of the Father....And when the day of Pentecost was fully come...suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 1:4 & 2:1-4). From that day forward they turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6); and from that day forward, He, the Holy Spirit, has been with us. He did not leave, and neither did He forsake us, as He said He would never do (Heb. 13:5, Jn. 14:16). Brethren, He is here, and there is no need to tarry for Him!
His Spirit was given, so open your sincere minds and receive Him. From the pattern that was set in the book of Acts, it came by the laying on of hands, and according to the record, those who received the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues. Although this is the most common gift manifested after being filled with this Spirit of Power, we do not see in the written word that this is an absolute must in order to prove it. Some may contend, saying that without the evidence of speaking in tongues, there is no baptism.
I believe tongues is an essential part of one's own spiritual growth and edification, as penned by Paul (1 Cor. 14:4). Nevertheless, this is only one spiritual gift of the nine listed (1 Cor. 12). Whatever gift the Lord gives, let us appreciate it, and exercise it as often as possible. However, to say that tongues will always accompany the baptism may be a bit premature. On the other hand, if there is no spiritual manifestation of life at all, then something is wrong.
There is a certain amount of power in all life, especially in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and life will always manifest itself in some way or another. Whether it is a worm in the ground, a blade of grass in the field, a serpent upon a rock, a maiden in love, a bird in the air, or the Holy Spirit in a man — each will manifest the power of life that is in them. Life comes without forcing it. It comes naturally, and when one receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Life above all other forms of life, there will be a manifestation of that Life.
If the Life and power of the Spirit are not there after anointed hands have been placed upon you, don't tarry for it, but find out what is preventing the evidence. Is your heart and motive right? Have you been washed by the water of the word since you first believed? Do you believe that the Spirit has been given and is here, right now, for you to receive? If you do, then let me say again, open your heart's door and receive it! For without the Anointing of Christ's Spirit, there will never be the power to overcome a gnat — much less the lion, the bear, and the giant when they come. With the anointing, however, your words can be akin to the apostle Paul's: "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT and OF POWER" (1 Cor. 2:4).
Please know this simple truth, dear friends: If I had never heard the Voice of the Lord in Power, if I had never been clothed with the Promise from on High, if I had never received power after the Holy Spirit came upon me, if the Cloven Tongues of Fire had never rested upon me and filled me with the Power of the Holy Ghost — I could have never delivered that young man from cocaine and alcohol. I could have said the same words, or quoted a thousand scriptures, and pleaded buckets of blood, but the power would have been lacking. There is nothing inherent in a man that can do such a tremendous feat, not myself nor anyone else. There will be no effectual power unless a man or woman has received the Power of Christ's Anointing. When the Power of His Voice is heard, however, even a child can slay the dragon, or calm the raging storms of life.
Allow me, please, to now ask — Have you heard His Voice of Power? If not then turn your ear toward it — for He is speaking. Hear Him and receive Him in power. Without this second phase of your progressive walk into the depths of our Lord, victory will remain a foreign word. Without power His Kingdom shall never prevail, not against the gates of hell, not against principalities and powers, not against spiritual wickedness in high places, nor will it prevail against the dark kingdoms of this world. But power shall come to those who hear. Listen carefully — His Voice of Thunder is sounding!
Elwin R. Roach
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