If I’ve Told You Once, I’ve Told You Four Times

God did not save us to leave us where we were; or are. His work of conforming us into the image of Christ is an on-going work which will continue all the way to “the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).

In order to perform this work God will use at least four voices to get our attention and bring us to full maturity. His desire is to teach us by the easiest means possible; but, if we choose to make our own lives more difficult than necessary, He does have at least Four Voices, of increasing magnitude, with which He will speak to us.

Voice one: We hear from Him.

Everyone who has accepted Jesus is God’s child. There are no step-children, or grand-children, in God’s Kingdom, and, as any good parent does, God desires to have a first-person relationship with each of His children. For that reason, God’s first voice is to speak directly to each of us in matters which need repentance.

Listen to His invitation: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb 3:15).

This clearly states that God’s direct, and individual communication invites us to a response. One of the ways He speaks to us, directly, is through the work of the Holy Spirit. Notice one of the ministries Jesus said the Holy Spirit would perform in our lives: “. . . He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8).”

Friends, when you experience conviction concerning a sin in your life, you are having a one-on-one conversation with the Holy Spirit Himself. Wow! The God of all creation loves us so much He speaks directly to us. That is amazing! And His goal in conviction is always to move us along the path of His purpose, which is, Christlikeness in our lives (Romans 8:29). The promise of God’s Word is that, when we hold to a practice, belief or conclusion which is not in line with His Likeness, He will speak to us concerning it.

As followers of Christ we do not desire to displease the Father. But, no matter how long we may have been walking with Jesus, there are still blind spots which He desires to speak with us about. This is the essence of what Paul is talking about when he said, “. . . if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you” (Phil 3:15).

God desires to speak to each one of us personally and privately. When we do not, or will not, hear Him, He has other methods of getting our attention, but His first desire is, always, When He speaks will we, as the “. . . people of His pasture and sheep of His hand. . ., not harden our hearts. . . as in the wilderness” (Ps 95:7)?

There are other voices through whom God will speak, but His first voice is always the voice of personal relationship through the Holy Spirit.

We have all seen the TV preacher with the bulging vein and the bloated neck overflowing the bounds of a cinched collar screaming, “REPENT!!” into the close-up camera shot.

We have seen cartoons of the street preacher thundering, “REPENT!!” to a passing crowd more distracted by the urgent than the imminent.

When repentance is presented as a caricature rather than a gift, it is easy to view it as a bad thing. Too often repentance is perceived as something God is beating us with rather than something He is offering to us.

Back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth I heard a sermon from T. D. Hall in which he presented repentance as a gift offered rather than a baseball bat swung. More as an invitation extended, than a humiliation required.

Certainly repentance requires contrition and a confession evidenced in a turning from sin and a turning toward God; but, more than a cudgel used to herd and intimidate, God offers us repentance as a pathway back into His presence.

Repentance is absolutely required to have a restored relationship with the Father; period, end of statement, exclamation point! But repentance is not waiting on our best effort at appeasing the anger of God so He will, finally, quit being mad at me! The full wrath of God has already been dealt with and expunged on the cross. In Christ, there is no more wrath for us to endure. Jesus became the very embodiment of God’s wrath concerning our sin, and opened a pathway by which we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

The pathway to that righteousness is called, “repentance.”

Repentance is not a weapon, it is an offer of peace.

Repentance is not a bludgeon, it is a blessing.

Repentance is not punishment, it is a gift.

Every punishment our sin requires has already been endured on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ. And now, all that remains, is an enormous signpost directing us to the presence of the Father by a boulevard named “Repentance Way.”

Repentance is an offer extended to anyone tired of the “hard way” their transgressions demand (Pro. 13:15). Repentance is the gift of God to allow us, through the sacrifice of Jesus, into His Holy presence.

As God speaks to us through any of these Four Voices, He is offering us a clear, unobstructed pathway back into His presence; and it is the pathway of repentance.

Repentance does not require “penance,” but it does require:

Confession. “Father, I have broken your law.”

Sorrow. “I am genuinely sorry for my self-will.”

Turning from “I renounce this sin you have so graciously convicted me of.”

Turning toward “I confess Jesus as Lord in this area of my life.”

As we consider these four voices of God’s conviction, let’s be very careful to hear, and respond quickly to, the Voice offering us the gift of repentance.

With Voice one: We hear from Him. If we choose to ignore the direct voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives, God will amp things up a bit and speak to us through:

Voice two: We hear from a friend.

Galatians 6:1 states: Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Have you ever felt like God was addressing you concerning an issue and then a friend showed up and spoke with you about the same thing? Don’t you just hate that?

Really we shouldn’t because the voice of that friend could easily be the confirmation God is sending to let us know we actually have been hearing from Him.

However, if we have been ignoring His voice, that friend could very well be the second voice God uses to get our attention.

I think back on times in my life when I should have listened to that “still small voice,” but didn’t. How much easier life would have been had I, with greater intentionality, pressed into what God was trying to communicate to me personally. Jesus wants to speak to us in the quiet of our own relationship, but if we do not, or will not, hear directly from Him, He will, in His loving care for us and His absolute commitment to work righteousness in our lives, talk to us through the trusted voice of a friend.

This is why we are told, Faithful are the wounds of a friend (Prov 27:6). That word, “Faithful” means, “to be trusted; intended for the purposes of building up; to attend to as a nurse.”

There are, certainly, wounds which debilitate or destroy and can only be inflicted by a friend. Someone at a gas station may call me “fat, dumb and ugly,” and it will not phase me in the least. But if Donna says the same thing to me; well, we will be having a discussion of a completely different nature. This is the significance of the wounds of Jesus when we read, “And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends’” (Zech 13:6).

Someone said, “The greatest pain is not the knife in my back. It is turning to see whose hand has placed it there.”

We have all known the pain of betrayal, but that is not the “. . . wounds of a friend” Proverbs 27:6 is referring to. God desires to teach us the easiest ways possible: but if we miss His gentle voice, He can move to the voice of a friend in order to get our attention.

Your friends presentation of the truth may smell like it just came from the local horse stables, but buried in all that muck is a gold brick worth finding, no matter what you have to crawl through to find it. And, if it hits you on the head while the truck is being unloaded on you, it is still a brick of gold!! Put some salve on your bruised noggin and be thankful God made sure you found the gold so quickly! That dump truck just might be the “Holy Spirit Gold Brick Delivery Service” in action!

Let me give you two examples of God transitioning from “Voice One” to “Voice Two” in my life.

Example #1: We were living in Mississippi and I noticed the license on my truck had expired. I was not trying to be delinquent, and I was thankful to notice it had expired as I walked past, but when I noticed the problem I felt an inner voice say, “you need to get that taken care of today.”

I had time. I could have done it. It was not a complicated process. Drive through a building where they pretend to do an inspection (I never took the vehicle out of drive) and they slap a sticker in your window. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

But I was tired; I wanted to go home; and, even though the inspection station was just a few blocks off my route, I decided to take care of it the next afternoon.

And, sure enough, I did take care of it the next afternoon. However!!! The next morning I was driving north on I-55 and MHIPs pulled in behind me, saw my expired tag, and decided we needed to have a chat.

What was I supposed to say? “Ya know, the Holy Spirit told me just last night I should get that taken care of, but I was pooped and I knew He would understand!!”

MHIPs did not “understand.”

Had I listened to the Holy Spirit speaking directly to me I would have avoided the visit from MHIPs and the fine that visit cost me.

But, since I chose not to hear directly from Jesus Himself, He arranged a meeting to “nurse me to the DMV.”

Example #2: I was 16 years old and traveling with the Continental Singers. I had been placed in charge of loading one of the storage bins under the bus and mine happened to house “the coffin,” the 600 pound crate which stored mic stands, speaker stands, piles of cords, and a dead whale. When “the coffin” was packed and ready to be loaded on the bus, four or six of us would gather round and pray against hernias.

While staying on Thetis Island off the west coast of Canada my bunk mate was Judd Crane who, as we were staring at the stars through our sky-lights, said he wanted to talk with me about something.

He brought up the coffin, how much it weighed, how many it took to carry it, and, while everyone who helped was fully aware of how heavy it was, I was the only one who ever complained about it. It made things awkward for the others who were carrying the same load.

I had no clue. I was a dumb 16 year old with almost zero social skills and probably even less “Emotional Intelligence.” But Judd cared and made his care for me known by talking with me about a difficult topic.

I appreciated it then, and I have appreciated it all the years since, when I have tried to be more aware of solo complaining about group discomfort.

Can we listen to the voice of a friend as being the possible mouthpiece of God Himself, to help us look more like Christ?

Voice one: We hear from Him.

Voice two: We hear from a friend.

Voice three: We hear from a jackass (BIBLICALLY SPEAKING!!).

I am not referring to what you call the person who cut you off in traffic on the way home from church, I am talking about the four-legged beast of burden in Numbers 22.

The Children of Israel were still wandering in the desert and set up camp in a region called “Moab.” The king of Moab was a guy named Balak and he did not appreciate those Israelites taking up too many sites at the local KOM (Kampgrounds of Moab), so we contacted a late night, cable TV snake oil salesman named “Balaam” to come lay a curse on them. (Balaam had his own line of tunic fragments he would curse and send to you, for a modest donation to his ministry).

Balaam was revered as a prophet in touch with the gods, so Balak sent a delegation to hire Balaam as his “national curser.”

There was some finagling and negotiating that went on, and it took a few trips and persuasion, but Balaam, eventually, saddled his donkey (trying not to offend delicate sensibilities here) and headed for Balak’s Moab. But twice along the journey the angel of the Lord blocked the path of the donkey. The first time the donkey responded by wandering into a field, and the second time it pressed Balaam’s leg against a stone wall. But then came a third encounter.

The angel, with drawn sword, stood in a narrow passage which allowed no way of escape and, rather than charge the angel, the donkey laid down and refused to move. This angered Balaam and he started beating the donkey.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

And then we have, what I consider to be, some of the funniest words in the entire Bible: “And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. . .

First of all, that Balaam actually spoke back to the donkey, as if this is a normal thing to do, is comedy.

Secondly, that Balaam accused the DONKEY of making a fool of HIM. . .. Balaam was doing a pretty good job of that, all by himself! You just can’t make this stuff up!

And then, the donkey spoke again: “And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No” (Num 22:28-30).

Balaam had no clue that donkey was actually trying to save his life. That donkey saw something Balaam was walking into that would destroy them both, until: Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam,. . . (Num 22:31). The donkey had been trying to save Balaam’s life all along!

Don’t you hate it when the jackass is right?!?

We have all had “Balaam’s jackass” in our lives. I define this person as being:

1) Beneath you in society.

The story is told of a truck driver who drove his delivery truck under a low clearance bridge near Clinton, MS and got it wedged under the bridge. The experienced, tough, “I can take care of myself” truck driver got out of the truck to survey the situation and was flummoxed as to how to extricate himself from this self-imposed captivity. Others gathered around offering opinions, and knowing how they would never have done something so foolish, but no one seemed to know what to do.

And then a small boy rode up on his bicycle, surveyed the situation and said, “Let the air out of the tires.”

That is probably one of those stories that every town has a bridge where the exact same thing happened with the same kid giving the same obvious solution: but wouldn’t it be easy to be W. C. Field and say, “Go away Kid, ya bother me?”

Who is the kid on a bicycle to tell the all-knowing (“some-knowing?”) truck driver how to get out of the situation?!?

Oh yeah. The kid is the one who was right.

2) Easiest to beat on.

Balaam whaled on the donkey because, since he had no opposing digit with which to hold a club, there was really nothing the donkey could do to strike back.

Who is that person in your life who, when they offer you correction, you are quick to remind them of all their own failings? All their own weaknesses? All their own sins?

That might very well be the donkey God is using to keep you from walking into a death-trap.

Just because you can point out their inadequacies does not mean they are wrong.

Do you want the truth, or do you not want to be embarrassed by the bearer of truth.

3) Least likely to actually be hearing something from Jesus.

Don’t you hate it when the one no one would ever suspect of being the messenger of God, actually is the messenger of God?!?

Like a clarion call from a clear blue sky we hear truth from the strangest places, and God is the One who orchestrated that encounter so we do not fall into judgment.

If you have to look at the bearer of truth and admit, “I never saw it coming from them,” they might very well be God’s messenger of protection for you.

“Balaam’s jackass” can take many forms in our lives: an obnoxious spouse, an over-bearing parent, a perpetually displeased mother-in-law, a loud-mouthed co-worker, a critical boss, or a passing kid on a bicycle.

If you can look at someone who is beneath you in society, easy to beat on, and the least likely to ever be a messenger of truth, you can criticize and ridicule them for being a jackass, . . . OR. . . you could consider the possibility that you might be Balaam who has, thus far, refused to listen to the clear direction of the Lord.

Turn quickly and obey the direction of the Lord!

Voice one: We hear from Him.

Voice two: We hear from a friend.

Voice three: We hear from a jackass, (BIBLICALLY SPEAKING).

Voice four: We hear from the judge and the jailer.

Matthew 5:25-26 instructs us: Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

There is a debt of sin which will be paid.

The voices of God’s correction get progressively stronger until we reach a point where God binds us to the consequences of our sins.

It is easy to see this with things as obvious as cirrhosis of the liver after a lifestyle of alcoholism, Lung cancer after years of smoking, or diabetes after the abuse of sugar. These things are obvious: but what about the more subtle forms of captivity such as anger, fear, lust and greed?

Is it possible that small sin, that secret sin, that “victimless” sin can have long-term captivating effect in our lives?

“Oh, it’s no big deal! I have complete victory over this!” Then why do we continue to partake in it?

Romans 1 deals with three stages of God’s “giving them up” to sin.

In Romans 1:24 “God gave them up” to hidden sin, secret sin, that sin only they knew about, when He gave them up to, “lusts of their hearts to impurity.” They might walk around all day long with completely wretched thoughts and no one ever know, but, as flame leads to heat, thought leads to action, and “God gave them up to dishonorable passions” (Rom 1:26).

When uncontrolled thoughts lead to uncontrolled actions it is possible we have already passed the judge, been handed to the officer and are on our way to prison when, “God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Rom 1:28).

Some argue this level of being “given over” puts us in a place where we are no longer even capable of forming a right or godly thought. We have been given over, completely, to the outworking of the sin we thought we could hide. And there is no release until every manifestation of the evil we have chosen is given expression in our lives.

What a terrible and tragic end to endure because we did not, at the beginning, listen to that voice which desired to address privately those things which were out of line in our lives.

What is in your life which God has already told you needs to be addressed? Have you responded properly? Have you repented quickly, or has He sent a friend to talk with you? How has that gone? Did you receive or have you been brayed upon by “Balaam’s jackass” in your life? Listen and turn because this last voice can have long-term, negative effect in our lives.

So these are (some of) the voices God speaks to us through:

Voice one: We hear from Him.

Voice two: We hear from a friend.

Voice three: We hear from a jackass, (BIBLICALLY SPEAKING).

Voice four: We hear from the judge and the jailer.

I can think of two internationally known movement leaders who found themselves hearing from “Voice Four.”

There had been signs, there had been warnings, there had been attempts to humiliate and expose, until, finally, the whole world knew their dirtiest secrets and their effectiveness was either greatly diminished, or completely destroyed, as a result.

Both men followed similar paths.

They both experienced childhood temptation, and gave into it. Both pursued a secret lifestyle contrary to what they knew was best.

They both had close friends who were leaders with them who confronted them about their hidden conduct, which was becoming less “hidden” every day. And both men said, nearly, the exact same thing:

“I have struggled with this and tried to get victory over this since I was 5 years old, and I am tired of trying. I am not going to fight it any longer and will still try to lead this movement well.”

Frankly, I can understand the fatigue and frustration. Battling the same temptation over and over, in the agony of seclusion, is its own form of torture. The pleasures of sin “. . . may last for a season” (Heb 11:25), but sin pays a wage, and that wage always brings death. The tragedy of that jail cell is that, truly, “. . . you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.”

Friends, sin is not worth the payout it is due.

The Count of Monte Cristo may have escaped the Chateau D’If physically, but it wasn’t until he saw the dungeon of torment in his own soul that he began to address the issue of his bitterness and unforgiveness.

The prison our un-repented sin consigns us to, is a prison we carry with us until every expression of our captor, every payment it demands, is paid in full.

But there is a Liberator. He is Jesus. He paid the price of our sin. He offers us a path to freedom. And it is the path of surrender to His Lordship.

Lordship means, He is in charge. I do what He tells me to do. I surrender everything I am to everything He is, and He walks the path to freedom and victory with us.

The greatest freedom we will ever know is that freedom attached to the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2), the freedom of the yoke of Lordship, because, when the Son has set you free, you are absolutely free, indeed (John 8:36).

~ By Robert Marshall, for Streams In the Wasteland Christian Ministries