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“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27

I was traveling in India a few years ago and was amazed at the traffic and the horns. I am convinced that if all the horns in India quit at the same time, traffic would come to a standstill. Here, a horn is an invitation to road rage, LOL. But in India, a horn was a means of communication or signaling to other drivers. Even the bicycles had horns of some sort. I asked our driver about it, and he said you just learn what each means or when it is given. A lack of a horn there was an invitation to road rage. Go figure.

It made me think about horns in God’s Word, the Holy Bible. 1 Corinthians 14:8, “For if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?” (NASB) The children of Israel were taught from a very young age to listen to the sound of the trumpet. Even the blowing of the shofar (an ancient musical horn, typically a ram’s horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes). The shofar was blown as a call for attention, a call for worship and even a call for war or battle. Again, you had to learn what each sound meant. You certainly would not want to go to war if the sound was a call to worship.

In this verse out of 1 Corinthians 14:8 (if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle) it was vital to know its sound and meaning. While serving in the U.S. Army, we also had different bugle calls to learn. A call to wake up to, a call to retire for the day, too. The U.S. Calvary had so many distinct bugle calls to learn, both as the bugler and as the soldier. As the bugler, you didn’t want to blow the wrong call, i.e. you certainly did not want to blow taps when it was time to charge. No, you had to take the time to learn what each sound meant.

Jesus said here in our opening verse, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Do you know the Lord’s voice? Can you discern when you read His Bible, what He is saying to you? I know sometimes it is very difficult to know and understand what is in the pages of His blessed Word.

As a young Christian, I did not understand why the Bible would repeat the history of Israel so many times. Then, one day as I was reading, I realized it was being rehearsed in the ears of a whole new generation of children, young men and women who weren’t around when these events were taking place – just like today, when our children learn American history or world history in school. I know, some of you were, but we didn’t live during the Great Depression or WWII or WWI, or even Korea or Vietnam.

Sometimes, it was guerilla warfare, and hand signals were given instead of words or bugles. You had to learn what hand signals meant. We all know a signal finger to the lips means shhhhh or hush, but that is only one signal.

Today, I believe God still speaks to His children – through his written Word, the Bible, through prayer. When you pray, does He answer your prayers? That is God speaking to you. Through worship, through an exhortation or even a voice of prophesy. Yes God still speaks to His children, His people, and we must learn what His voice sounds like, silently or spiritually, through the written Word (Logos) or the spoken Word (Rhema).

I know people believe differently in these two areas, but do you take the time to listen and discern when God speaks to you? So, when you need God to speak to you or are wanting God to speak to you, take the time to hear and understand the sound of the trumpet, the sound of His voice. His sheep do know His voice.