Bible Talk with Sister Deb: Guided Voices in Turbulent Skies—Faith and Divine Direction

What would you do if you found yourself piloting a plane without any prior experience? In this gripping episode of Bible Talk, join me, Sister Deb Osborne, as we unravel the incredible story of two lawyers, Jim and Tom, who find themselves in such a life-or-death scenario. With their pilot incapacitated mid-flight to Anchorage, Alaska, they turn to the voice of an air traffic controller for guidance. This harrowing journey not only highlights the essence of faith and trust but also sets the stage for our deeper exploration of divine guidance in our daily lives.

Moving beyond the skies, we delve into the profound concept of hearing and obeying the voice of God. Through the lives of biblical figures like Jeremiah and Samuel, we demonstrate how critical it is to discern God's voice amid the cacophony of daily distractions. Jeremiah's steadfast obedience despite immense personal suffering and Samuel's journey to recognizing God's call serve as powerful reminders that true success is measured by our faithfulness and adherence to divine direction. This discussion underscores the necessity of prioritizing God's voice to navigate through life's challenges.

Finally, we reflect on the cautionary tale of Saul, Israel's first king, to emphasize the dire consequences of ignoring God's guidance. Saul's downfall due to his disobedience illustrates the importance of attuning ourselves to divine instructions. Drawing from personal experiences and biblical teachings, we offer practical advice on how to stay receptive to God's voice through prayer, scripture, and quiet reflection. Remember, God is always speaking to us—it's up to us to listen and follow. Tune in for an episode filled with compelling stories, timeless lessons, and thoughtful insights on living a life attuned to divine guidance.

Chapters

• 0:14 Miraculous Plane Landing Through Guided Voice
• 7:09 Divine Guidance Through Obedience
• 17:10 The Importance of God's Voice
• 27:35 Listen to God's Voice Always

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Hey, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can also find her show on the 421 Podcast on all your major platforms. You can also email Sister Deb at osborneDebraKay at gmailcom. Recordings done at 421 Studio Contact information for all your studio needs is 239-849-1502. You can also email at HOR42121 ministries at gmailcom. Anytime you would like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal. Slash HOR 421 or HOR 421 show dot buzzprout dot com. Now we give you Sister Deb Osborne.

Speaker 2: 1:13

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, today I am going to start out this program of Bible Talk with a story. I'm going to tell you a story and it motivated me for the rest of the story. I'm going to tell you a story, that, and it motivated me for what I'm going to, for the rest of the information. So I was sitting and I was thumbing through some reels the other day and I was watching some reels and stuff and I came across this guy was telling a story. He was a lawyer and him and one of his buddies they were both lawyers and they were in some little old rinky-dink town in Alaska and they went over there for some kind of case. I didn't get the logistics of it, but anyway.

Speaker 2: 1:54

So this gentleman's telling a story and he said you know, him and his lawyer buddy went over there for a case and they won their case, of course, and they were getting ready to get back to Anchorage, alaska, so they could come back home. And so he said they're walking through this little small airport there and they were going to take a plane and this plane was going to take them back to Anchorage and from their home. So he said he's walking through this little airport and he says he meets a man and he tells this gentleman, you know, we're on our way to Anchorage. And the guy's like, well, you know, I've got a little small plane out here. I'd be more than happy to, I'm headed to Anchorage, I'd be more than happy to give you a ride, you know, and you know, and Jim and Tom let's say Jim and Tom was their names, I didn't get names. So Jim and Tom were like, well, you know, we've already bought our tickets.

Speaker 2: 2:41

And the guy's like, well, you know, you, you can, you can save your money and get your tickets back. And and you know, and, uh, and you're more than welcome to ride with me, I'd welcome the company. So they were like, okay, well, you know, we can do that. So, uh, so they go, and they go out to this little hangar and there's a nice little silver, nice looking airplane and they get in it. And so this lawyer, jim, goes on to say well, you know, it was a pretty good takeoff, it was smooth. And once we got up there in the air, it was smooth, pretty much most of it. And he said, well, so next thing, you know, over the radio there came a voice and this voice said I need you to go up so many thousands of feet. Blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 2: 3:24

And so this radio controller, this airplane controller, was telling the pilot I need you to go up so many more thousands of feet. So the pilot's like, okay, we can do that. But Jim noticed that the pilot had a little bit of hesitation in his voice and so the pilot went on up a little ways and he said well, but really you know, he said I hate to tell you all this. He said but and I don't, this is just what the man said. He said the pilot said well, when I get up above the clouds a certain height, I pass out. So this Jim's looking at the pilot like well, you know what? Now you tell us that. So this Jim's looking at the pilot like well, you know what? Now you tell us that. So, with that being said, the pilot, his eyes grow back in his head and he just passes out right there unconscious. So here Jim and the guy's like well, jim grabs a controller and he says you know, I'm trying to hold the plane up. And he says I took the radio thing and threw it back there to my buddy and told him to get on the radio and see if you can't find us some help. I'm going to try to hold us in the air. Now, you know, these are two lawyers. They have no idea about flying no plane, but anyway. So he says Jim, from the back. He says John says wow, we're getting at an hour. He says. He tells his buddy. He said it's not looking too good, you know. So anyway. So anyway, next thing, you know, there's another voice comes over the radio and this voice is like this is so-and-so and I'm going to put you in touch with a controller in Anchorage and he's going to help you guys. And Jim's like well, you know, y'all need to hurry because this pilot has passed totally out on us here.

Speaker 2: 5:07

And so, a few minutes later, this voice, another voice, a deeper voice, comes on the radio and this voice tells him. He says you know, now, sir, I'm going to talk you down, I'm going to tell you what you have to do. He says but you need to listen to everything I say. He says you need to block out everything around you and you need to listen to my voice. He said don't pay attention to no noises, don't pay attention to nothing around you, just listen to my voice. He said I'm telling you. And this is what the voice is telling him. He said if you don't listen to my voice. He said I'm telling you. This is what the voice is telling him. He said if you don't listen to my voice, you will die. He said you just listen to my voice and you do everything I tell you to do.

Speaker 2: 5:56

And he said, over and over and over, the pilot, the guy over the radio that was talking him down, was telling him. He would tell him to do a few things. And he would say again just listen to my voice and do what I tell you to do. It's imperative. He said the guy was just stressing over and over. Just block out everything and listen to my voice. So the story goes. I didn't get the whole thing, but the story. The the lawyer says well, you know, the man talks us down and he's you know, believe it or not. He lands the plane and, um, he says him and his buddy because their nerves were shot. I guess they go get a room and they're in Anchorage and they're settling down for the night and going to try to get home the next day.

Speaker 2: 6:41

And he says you know, they're coming to knock on their hotel door. And he said he opened up the door and there was a gentleman standing there. And he said the gentleman walks in and says I'm the one who helped you. And he said he couldn't be thankful enough for this man and his voice. He said that's a voice he'll never, ever forget for the rest of his life, because if it hadn't have been for that voice, you know, we know where he would have been.

Speaker 2: 7:09

So once I read that, once I heard that story, I got to thinking and I thought you know, that's like listening to the voice of God. You know we hear voices over and over in our heads on a daily basis. We hear at least three. You know we hear voices over and over in our heads on a daily basis. We hear at least three. You know we hear our voice, of course. Of course we hear Satan's voice. He's always trying to tell us to do things that's not right. And then, of course, we hear God's voice. Whether we believe it or not, we hear God's voice every day in our heads. And so, with all of that, I just wanted to go into listening and obeying the voice of God, and there's a few people in the Bible I was wanting to start off talking about that if they hadn't have listened to the voice of God and obeyed the voice of God, a lot of stuff that happened. A lot of things would be probably way different than what it would have been.

Speaker 2: 8:07

And the first one I want to look at is Jeremiah the prophet. You know, in the eyes of the world and the people around him, jeremiah, he was a miserable failure. I mean, you know he served as God's spokesperson for 40-something years to Judah. But the thing about Jeremiah was, when he talked, nobody wanted to listen to him at first. And I think about that and I thought, you know I would say there's probably many pastors feel that way at this day and time many times anyway that you know, no matter how much you get behind the pulpit, no matter how much you get up and you try to talk and speak the Word of God, nobody wants to hear it, nobody wants to listen to you. I've seen that right off in churches that I've been to.

Speaker 2: 8:50

But now see, jeremiah was poor and he was deprived, but he was thrown in prison. He was taken prisoner to Egypt. He had no friends. He was rejected by his community. He was taken prisoner to Egypt. He had no friends, he was rejected by his community and throughout Jeremiah's life, you know, he would stand alone prophesying and weeping over the fate of his country.

Speaker 2: 9:13

In the eyes of the world, jeremiah was a loser, but in the eyes of God, he was one of the most successful people in all history. Why? Because Jeremiah could hear God's voice and when he heard God's voice, he obeyed. See Jeremiah's success. Jeremiah was a success in God's eyes. But see, god don't measure success. God measures success in obedience and in faithfulness. Obedience especially. See Jeremiah. He faithfully proclaimed God's word in every opportunity that he could. He heard the voice of God.

Speaker 2: 9:53

Jeremiah 31 says that the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord was saying Thus speaketh the Lord of Israel saying Write all these words that I have spoken to thee in a book. So see, jeremiah heard the word of God and he was called to prophesy by God, to proclaim Jerusalem's coming destruction. See this, israel had you know. They had got to the point that they had forsaken God by worshiping the idols of Baal. They had got to where they were even burning their children as offerings to the Baal and the idols of Baal. You know, and so you know, this nation had deviated so far from God's laws and they broke the covenant, causing God to withdraw his blessings from them. And Jeremiah, you know, jeremiah was the one God told them to tell Israel. They didn't want to hear it, they didn't want to hear about the destruction, they didn't want to hear that they were getting ready to be whipped for their disobedience. And they blamed it on Jeremiah. They took it out on him, but see, his message aroused great hostility and death threats. Even his own relatives conspired and betrayed him. He was beaten, he was put in prison, in stocks, I mean. They even sank him down in some mud and tried to smother him.

Speaker 2: 11:06

But you know what, out of all of that, jeremiah still, when he heard the voice of God, he obeyed him. He obeyed the message that God had given him. And he even wrote in Jeremiah 20 and 9, he wrote how he tried to resist speaking what God told him, that he tried not to even mention God's name. But he says God's words were like fire in his heart and he said he was unable to hold them in. Well, can you imagine that God told Jeremiah that if he would boldly speak his word and not hold back, that he would give him all the strength he needed to withstand the persecution. God said to Jeremiah Jeremiah 15, 20 and 21,. God said to Jeremiah I will make you, to this people, a fortified bronze wall, he says, and they will fight against you, but they will not prevail. He said because I'm here and you know, because Jeremiah heard and listened to God's word and obeyed the voice. And you know, because Jeremiah heard and listened to God's word and obeyed the voice of God, you know God healed the spiritual wounds of his people, he restored his covenant with them, he built them up again and he restored Israel and Judah to their land. See, that would have happened if Jeremiah hadn't listened to the word of God, if he had not heard God's voice.

Speaker 2: 12:18

And then you know on in, we look in Samuel. You know there's a young man, samuel. He was a servant in the temple under the prophet Eli. You know he heard the voice of God. He didn't know what it was at first. God hollered at him not once, but twice, a few times actually. But you know, when Samuel heard God's voice, it wasn't an impression or a fleeting thought. It was clear and unmistakable Samuel Samuel, I mean God's voice talked to Samuel to where Samuel could understand it. You know God's voice, people, it's not a mystery, it's not a riddle, it's clear and it's understandable.

Speaker 2: 12:55

When God speaks to us, he speaks to us through his word. When God speaks to us, he speaks to us through his word, he speaks through his spirit, he speaks through circumstances and events. He speaks to where we can understand what he's saying. You know, and when Samuel first heard, you know he thought it was the priest Eli hollering at him. And you know, there in Samuel, if you read that, you know, when Eli realized that it was God calling, he told Samuel. He said you go, lay back down. He said, and when God calls you again, he said you say these words. You say speak, lord, for your servant is listening. Samuel goes and lays back down. He hears it, he speaks, he hears the voice of God.

Speaker 2: 13:35

Well, the thing about it is God had told Samuel you know what. I'm about to do a thing in Israel. He says I'm about to make everybody's ears tingle. You know, samuel had to open up his ears and his heart and his mind so that he could hear God's voice. And, my friends, that's exactly what we have to do today. If we want to hear God speak and tell us things and hear his voice, we have to open up our heart and our mind. We have to do the same thing. We cannot resist God's voice. We need to let God's word enter our ears and our hearts and our minds without any hindrance around us. We have to not let nothing around us stop us.

Speaker 2: 14:15

See, god told Samuel about the judgment on priest Eli and his family Because of the sins of their sons. God had warned Eli several different times. You know that. But Eli wasn't able to restrain his sons and so, because of their, they continue to be disregardful to the Lord's work. So God had revealed to Samuel you know that he says the guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned by a sacrifice and offering. So you know God was wanting Samuel to tell Eli. You know he wanted him to tell Eli. You know that it's coming. You know my revenge is getting ready to get down on you.

Speaker 2: 14:55

But God's voice to Samuel and to us as well, people, it's not a suggestion, it's not a proposal, but God's voice to Samuel and to us as well, people, it's not a suggestion, it's not a proposal. It's a command. It's with order. His voice carries power and authority and he demands us to be obedient. If you read in Matthew, he didn't say do you want to go teach all nations? He said no. He said go ye, therefore, and teach all nations. He's telling us to go teach all nations.

Speaker 2: 15:22

See, god's voice's not it for entertainment, it's for information. It's not for information, it's to transform people. God's voices for our growth is to change us. His voice is meant to shape us and and mold us into the people that he wants us to be today and through through prayer and worship, we can hear God's voice. We have to open up our hearts. We need to turn off the TVs. We need to turn off the phones. We need to sit back and listen to the Holy Spirit. We need to listen to the voice of God. Isaiah 30 and 21 said that Thine ears shall heal the world behind thee. This is the way. Walk ye in it. See, we have to listen to the voice of God. You know, he may want to tell us to turn right. He may want to tell us to turn left. We have to be obedient to what he's telling us, because he knows what's good for us. He knows the traps and the dangers ahead. He knows what we need to avoid. He knows how far we can go. See a few other people in the Bible Adam and Eve, you know. See a few other people in the Bible Adam and Eve.

Speaker 2: 16:19

They were accustomed to hearing the voice of God in Genesis 3. It wasn't until they made the decision to disobey God's voice that things turned bad for them. Abraham he so obeyed the voice of God that not only was he blessed, but his descendants also was blessed. The blessings of God we know can be imparted to others through our obedience. When we hear God's voice and we have to obey the word of God, other people can get blessings. Isaac became a beneficiary of Abraham's obedience. There's so many different Moses man. Moses experienced God's voice through a burning bush. Can you imagine that? You know, once God had Moses' attention focused on the burning bush, moses could hear God's voice in a very clear way. That's in Exodus 3, if you want to read it.

Speaker 2: 17:10

Good story Saul, the first king of Israel. The key to his success as the king of Israel was going to be obeying the voice of God. But see, saul didn't listen. He was disobedient to God. He heard and done some of what God said, but there was no total commitment there for him. So in 1 Samuel 15, we read that, you know, god overthrew Saul's kingdom. Saul put the people in front of God. Saul put what the people needed and wanted in front of what God was telling him to do. And so see, that, lets you know right there that disobedience to the voice of God is very costly to Christian believers. And you know, there's a good old story I can tell you about myself of disobeying, and I paid dearly right in Walmart. I'm not going to go all into it right in Walmart, I'm not going to go all into it, but there's just countless of stories in the Bible, people, of the consequences of obeying as well as disobeying the voice of God.

Speaker 2: 18:09

And see, the word of God says throughout, all throughout His word. He says he who hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. And we're listening to God, we're listening to the Spirit, friends. We've heard over the past couple of weeks, lord, me especially. We've heard a whole number of different voices, all telling us what to do, competing for our attention, all wanting something from us, wanting us to go here and do here, say this and do that.

Speaker 2: 18:36

But, my friends, I'm telling you, jesus said in John 10, he said my sheep know my voice. You know Jesus is calling us his sheep and he's our shepherd. He tells us he's our shepherd and you know, if you read on that back in the day, you know when these words were first heard, the shepherds would all gather together their sheep at various times during the day and a bunch of shepherds all gathered with lots and lots of sheep and, let's just say, at a certain watering hole or something, it was probably very noisy and chaotic, but see people. At the end of the day, those shepherds would call for their sheep and you know what. Those sheep knew their shepherd's voice and those sheep would follow their shepherd to a safe place to sleep. You know, in the midst of all the chaos, voice and those sheep would follow those shepherds to a safe place to sleep. You know, in the midst of all the chaos and all the voices, the sheep heard their shepherd's voice and they recognized it and they followed him.

Speaker 2: 19:32

And see people, of all the voices that we've heard this past week, at the end of the day Jesus is saying to us you know what? There's only one voice that can lead you home. There's only one voice that can lead you to safely, there's only one voice that can give you eternal life, and it's the voice of the shepherd, it's the voice of God. People See, listen. Jesus told us in Revelations 3.20,. He says Behold, I stand at the door and knock. He says, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and I will sup with him and he with me. I mean, he's telling us right there that all we got to do is hear His voice. All we got to do is hear His voice. He talks to us through hunches, through dreams and many, many other ways. Our calling is to listen to the voice of God and follow His guidance.

Speaker 2: 20:25

Friends, I'm telling you, god's call to us to serve doesn't necessarily guarantee the perfect life. I mean, I'm sure God's words to Samuel would have been hard to hear and especially even harder to pass on to Eli. But see, god told Samuel to tell Eli his word. And those words, of course they involve judgment against Eli's sons. And see, god's voice sometimes calls us to change human systems like that. He calls us to change things that might be broken, and of course that can lead us down difficult paths.

Speaker 2: 20:56

But you know, we're living in a time right now when many people seem unable to discern the voice of God from the voice of the world. There's so many noises out there around us and people are starving to hear the voice of God, but they don't have the ears to hear. They maybe grew up in religious environments, they go to church every week, they have great knowledge of God. But man people, do they recognize the voice of God? That's the thing, do they? You know, children of God, one of the greatest blessings a true child of God has is to know the voice of God. And it's as possible to hear his voice today as did Abraham and Moses. It's as clearly as did Samuel and David heard it. We can hear it as surely as Peter, paul and the apostles heard it. We can hear the voice of God. We have to tune out the voices and the noises around us.

Speaker 2: 21:55

You know, as followers of God, it's very important to be able to recognize the voice of God, because the enemy always has something to say and it's always bad, of course. But see, when we hear and we recognize God's voice, we let the truth in God's will always speaks what's good and true. When we hear God's voice, we have the power to claim victory over the enemy. When we open up to God's voices, to the voice that he tells us, you know, he gives us power to win the world. You know, and, friends, I'm telling you today if you want to hear the voice of God, spend time reading his word, spend time in prayer, remove all the distractions around you, be quiet in your heart, be quiet in your mind. If you want to hear God, pray to Him, pray with all of your heart, pray reverently and then listen, because God wants to say things to his people. God wants to say things to you while you're listening. Don't be afraid. I mean, his voice is very powerful now and he, I mean, you know, look at Genesis 3, or Genesis 1,. Rather, he merely spoke and the heavens were created, he breathed real heavy and the stars were born. You know, read Genesis 1. You'll get what I'm talking about. And people hearing God's voice. It's not just for the spiritual elite or a select few people. God wants to talk to everyone.

Speaker 2: 23:31

You know, all through the Bible, god spoke through visions, through scriptures, through prophets, his own audible voice. I can't imagine walking down the street and hearing God's voice. I mean he spoke through angels and miracles. He spoke through a Vernon Bush and a donkey. I mean, we see, god has no limit to the way he'll talk to us. We just have to listen. God has no limit to the way he'll talk to us. We just have to listen. We have to open up our minds and our hearts and we have to give God our attention. We have to give God our attention. We need to position yourself through prayer to hear God's voice and he'll give you spiritual direction, spiritual power. He will give you spiritual victory in all your battles.

Speaker 2: 24:23

You know, in the Bible when God spoke, blinded eyes opened, muted tongue spoke, deaf eyes, deaf ears could hear. You know, crippled limbs walked People, the dead rose. When God opened his mouth and spoke, look what all happens. Can you imagine, if you listen to his voice, what he can do for you? You know Hebrews 4 and 7 says Today if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart and see, it's not a matter of him speaking to us Sometimes I think it's more a matter of us actually taking the initiative to hear him. You know, listen to his voice today. You know Luke 11, 28 says Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. People listen to his voice. It could be in a sickness, it could be in the beauty of just a sunrise, or maybe the death of a friend, or a miracle of a baby's birth. You know, sometimes his voice may be quiet like a whisper. Then sometimes he might have to raise the volume to get your attention, because God speaks clearly through his word.

Speaker 2: 25:34

You know, I heard somewhere, I read somewhere if you want to hear the God speak, read your Bible. And I think this is kind of funny. It says if you want to hear the word of God out loud, read your Bible out loud. I heard that. I just wanted to say that. I thought that was kind of funny.

Speaker 2: 25:53

But see, people, the trouble with many people today is you're running a hundred miles a minute. You're trying to get everything the world says that we need. We want to make sure we got everything crossed off the to-do list but see, in doing so we're just not still long enough to hear God's voice. You know, our prayer lives consist of a few thank yous and a couple of bless this one and bless that one. You know a whole list of requests and then we're out the door.

Speaker 2: 26:23

You know people to hear the voice of God, we have to take the time and be still. I promise you. You have to turn down the volume of this world, because everything is shouting for your attention. Stop scrolling, stop clicking, stop giving in to what everybody in the world says, and listen to the voice of God. There's only one voice that matters. That's the voice of God. He cares for us, he sees us, he provides for us and he guides us.

Speaker 2: 26:54

So what about you? What voice are you listening to today? Are you caught up in worry or fear? Are you searching the Internet for the answers? The only voice that you really need to listen to is the voice of God, and we need to tune our hearts and our ears to listen to God's voice. Please, please, listen to His voice and you'll hear Him say I love you, my child. You'll hear Him say just love you, my child. You'll hear him say just trust me. Listen and be silent. You know, if you look at those two words, they're spelled with the same amount of letters, same letters, spelled both words. And if you want to hear God's voice, practice listening silent. You know Samuel's response.

Speaker 2: 27:35

Samuel's response to the Lord was a simple prayer that we can pray as we go to God with our desire in our hearts to hear him. He said speak, lord your Savior is listening. Your servant is listening. I'm sorry, see, god knows there's going to be many times when we might question his voice, but the good news is that he keeps speaking. In the midst of all the uncertainty, he keeps speaking. We just have to remember that you've got to listen to his voice. All other voices lead you astray. And I'm going to close with this people. God is talking to his people today. Are you listening? And in the words of Samuel speak, lord, your servant is listening. Thank you very much for listening and I hope everybody has a blessed day Take care.