There are many voices sounding forth in the church world today. We now have ways to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God that were unimagined when I was a child. Today voices are raised to trumpet the latest "in Word.” One day it is Sonship, another day it may be Word Faith, or Restoration, or Christ in you, or Kingdom with its many variations, or Salvation/Ultimate Reconciliation. Each aspect has facets of truth. Each is a valuable message IF it is what the Spirit of God desires to say at that point in time, and location. We must never fail to heed Paul’s advise to the Ephesian elders, “I have kept back nothing; I have disclosed to you the whole purpose of God.” Acts 20:27 NEB

When the Spirit of God causes a certain aspect of truth to be emphasized, which is still but a part of the whole body of truth, to come forth, it often comes as the blasting of a trumpet with a prophetic anointing. It comes with clarity, and it accomplishes that which God intended. The problem is that no sooner has the Spirit spoken a fresh revelation in our time, which is an unfolding of truth, and the rush is on by some to run with it, even though they have little understanding of what they are attempting to preach/teach. It seems good and because others are teaching it, then it must be what should be preached. But, has that word worked in your heart, or just in your mind?

We need to examine just what exactly is a "voice,” and what is an "echo.” The word voice means, “the faculty or the power of utterance of language.” The word "echo" means, “the repetition of sound, a repetition or imitation of another.” That LOGOS which the Spirit speaks is a life-giving word. The echo of it may be a blessing, but it comes with little else no matter how correct it is. We need the anointing of the Spirit to make it life to us, to make it a living word!

John the Baptist was a "voice" of one crying in the wilderness; "Prepare, ye the way of, the Lord." He had a clear and precise message which he trumpeted aloud under the anointing of the Spirit. John the Revelator heard "a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and the voice went on to say, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This reminds me of what my dad used to do when he was getting in trouble for emphasizing the Spirit too much. He opened his bible to Revelation and read, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” There is a balance that we need.

Now, is what you preach and teach fresh revelation from the Throne? It is what God has made real to and in you, or is it an echo of what you have heard, or read, someone else give? It isn’t implied that what we have hear from various sources is not of God. We all hear much truth proclaimed, and have had opportunity to read the excellent writings of others. It is not suggested that you stop doing this, rather, what is being said is, "Has that particular word worked in you? Has it been sweet in your mouth, and bitter in your belly, as you digest it until it becomes a part of you?” If it has not gone through the planting and death process before you attempt to speak it forth, then you are merely another of the many "echos" in the earth today. Some of the truths that changed my understanding and ministry were planted in my spirit many years before they came to fruition, and I don’t claim to have arrived.

If ever there was a time when we needed to hear a "pure" word, it is in this hour! Our spirits must be clear to discern the between a pure word and that which is mixed with impurities. Even as the water from the throne of God in Revelation 22:1 was living water, “clear as crystal,” so must that be which flows from the throne within our hearts. And, we need to remember that which God has given to us doesn’t make us something special, or more elite than another we have simply been graced with that message or truth. Therefore we must walk humbly before our God and one another as it is ALL of HIM and not of ourselves!