Oddly enough, the
number one, most often-read, on-line message of mine (www.EzineArticles.com) is
entitled "Hearing voices and seeing things." That article has had
1,114 views on that site alone, since I posted it, October 21, 2005. The thing
I marvel at is that, when I Googled the words "Hearing voices," I
found that there were over 2,730,000 additional entries!
Evidently, people
are hearing things.
They want to know
if it's God...or something else.
Recently, on
several occasions, I have been asked the question, "How do we know when
it's God speaking to us and that it's not the devil?" Just last evening,
at a gathering of Christians, one woman told us of a relative of hers who,
after supposedly hearing from God, chose to marry a certain man. Their brief
marriage was a fiasco that ended in a divorce. Another couple related a similar
story.
I believe that
one reason that the Scriptures refer to the Holy Spirit as "holy" is
to distinguish Him from all the UNHOLY spirits that have been unleashed upon
planet Earth, determined to destroy the lives of God's people. "My sheep
listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me," said Jesus in John
10:27.
NOW HEAR THIS!
The first thing
we must wrap our minds around is the fact that God DOES speaks to us.
Generally, He does so through our minds and hearts. He occasionally speaks
audibly to His children when He has placed them in situations that require
great faith or desperate actions. On one occasion in my own life, after
returning home after a hard day of manual labor, the moment I opened my door, I
heard an unmistakable voice speak to me, it seemed, from the corner but at the
same time, it came from everywhere. I don't think I so much heard with my ears
as I heard with my heart. "Go for a walk!" I obeyed immediately,
despite thinking how little sense it made to do so. After all, it was still
VERY hot outside and I was exhausted.
The walk was
uneventful and, as I was headed home, I saw a woman crying in the middle of her
living room, holding her head in her hands. I recognized her but had never met
her. I felt drawn to her door and knocked. Startled, through tear stained,
puffy eyes, she motioned for me to come in. As I entered, I saw her infant son
in his walker, soaked with perspiration as the house was hot as an oven.
I heard "the
voice" again saying, "She's frightened because she was raped and is
afraid that she is pregnant." After I relayed that message, her mouth
dropped and she crumbled to the floor in disbelief, crying even harder now and
choking out the words, "How did you know? Nobody knows..." I replied:
"I guess God told me." We sat on the porch and talked until 3 in the
morning.
The next day, she
pulled her car up next to me as I walked home. After exchanging greetings, with
a look of shame and tears coming to her eyes, she said something like, "I
know you're going through some hard times yourself right now but... if you had
not come along last night...well, I was thinking about killing myself and my
son."
It wasn't long
before her husband, a man who had abandoned her and their child, returned home,
only now as a born-again Christian who was trying hard to live the Christian
life. Last time I saw her, she was pregnant with THEIR second child. She was
not pregnant from the rape and the rapist did go to jail. Incidentally, I had
the privilege of leading the rapist's wife to Christ when she knocked on my
door one night at midnight, her car loaded with her kids and possessions, with
an attitude of desperation, to ask how she could be saved before they left
town.
The point is
this: the miraculous aspect of God's physical voice coming from nowhere allowed
me to be used in a situation that was way beyond me. It proved to be just what
the Doctor ordered! Once again, Obedience and Availability proved to be the
keys.
In John 12:28,
Jesus prayed, "Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from
Heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." There was a
crowd that was there and they heard it. Apparently, some thought it had
thundered. Still others insisted an angel had spoken to Him. Jesus said,
"This voice was for your benefit, not mine."
2 Peter 1:16-19
describes another instance of His disciples hearing God's voice: "We did
not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For
he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from
the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from Heaven when we
were with Him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made
more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining
in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts."
Why did Jesus say
that God's audible voice was for their benefit and not His own? Probably
because He heard God all the time and did only what the Father told Him to do
(John 5:19, 30; 8:28). Apparently, his disciples needed to hear what they heard
in order to increase their faith. Bear in mind that Jesus was facing a certain,
very grim future; absolute rejection by the religious establishment, scorn by
those He came to save, humiliation, and crucifixion. So, God spoke audibly. No
time to waste. God knows what is needed and when.
HOW CAN WE
DISCERN GODS VOICE?
There are many
voices in the wind these days. How can the seeking Christian - an individual
who truly desires to hear the Voice of God - know when it's God and when it's
not? Especially when our major problem is hearing God's "still, small
voice"?
Mat 13:12-17
"Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to
them in parables: [from Isa 6:9-11] 'Though seeing, they do not see; though
hearing, they do not hear or understand.' In them is fulfilled the prophecy of
Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever
seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become callused; they
hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they
might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see,
and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and
righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what
you hear but did not hear it."
God's voice is
still and small (1 Kings 19:11-12). How can we know it's really Him? Like the
parables Jesus told that were only intended to be interpreted by those who
"had ears to hear what the Spirit was saying," God's voice will most
likely be the one that goes against the grain. It will probably make the least
sense but brings the greatest peace.
Once I thought I
was in love with a pretty girl who was loved and accepted by all my friends.
Finally, I introduced her to a wise Christian woman whose words to me were,
"She's a beautiful girl, Mike...do you have peace about the
relationship?" Her words hit me like a lightning bolt! Peace? No, not at
all. I knew what God was telling me to do and, frankly, it was a relief to
obey.
2 Cor 10:3-5
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,
they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
The spiritual
warfare we are engaged in is fought on three fronts: the world, the flesh and
the devil. The battle we fight is a battle for our minds which can be prompted
by God, by our own carnal desires, or by demonic attack. Some people ignore
this, choosing to believe that everything they think or feel is from God. This
tendency can become quite serious when such a person thinks God has told them
to murder their children for instance. Or, in the case of Muslim terrorists,
kill Christians, Jews, Americans and the like. Mass murderer, Charles Manson,
still claims to have heard from God that he was to go and murder.
2 Cor 11:3
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to
Christ."
2 Tim 3:13-17
" ...evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being
deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it... you have known
the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man
of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Rom 7:21-23
"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there
with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at
work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
I believe that,
when we learn to discern God's voice in small things and wind up seeing the fruit
of our obedience, that's when God would more likely prompt us to go heal
somebody or cast out a demon. That's not to say that once we've reached that
point of maturity, those who are familiar with hearing God's voice cannot STILL
fall for the counterfeits. Unfortunately, we remain susceptible as long as we
are confined to these earthsuits.
HOW DOES GOD
SPEAK TO US?
God will use
whatever means are necessary to speak to His Children. He spoke audibly. In one
case, He used Balaam's donkey. He used angels, prophets, signs and symbols,
types and shadows. Jesus used parables and miracles. Today, He uses His written
Word, prophetic utterances, Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom. He still
uses miracles, dreams and visitations. I know two women who claim to have been
visited by a physical manifestation of Jesus Himself and have heard stories of
children describing both Jesus and angels. I've heard a woman say He spoke to
her through the movie "Ground Hog Day" with Bill Murray. Others have
stated that He has spoken to them through sermons, church marquees, billboards,
t-shirts and even my email broadcasts. He even speaks to us through negative
circumstances, believe it or not.
He's simply big
enough to use it all!
Jack Deere, a
former Dallas Theological Seminary professor, Presbyterian pastor, and Vineyard
Pastor says, "God can and does give personal words of direction to
believers today that cannot be found in the Bible. I do not believe that he
gives direction that contradicts the Bible..."
The author of
Hebrews aptly puts it, we must see to it that we do not disregard "Him who
is speaking" (Heb. 12:25). This is regardless, I'm assuming, of HOW He
speaks to us. A message to my children when they were young carried as much
weight by phone as in person. "Come home now!" had only one meaning.
If we deny that God speaks to us in any way apart from the Scriptures, are we
quenching His Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)? Many believe so but I do not. A Texas
friend of mine was a missionary in Africa during the Apartheid days. He and his
guides came upon an old woman sitting on a rock who told them that The Great
Spirit had told her that white men were coming to tell her the Name of her God.
My "white' friend told her "that's us...we're here to tell you His
name is JESUS!"
A former Muslim
testified that he was praying in a mosque when he heard a drop hit the floor in
front of him. He looked up and touched it, finding it was a drop of
rose-scented oil. He instantly thought of Jesus, the Rose of Sharon and
wondered why Allah took Him to Heaven. His search began and he became a
Christian and was forced to divorce his wife and leave his country.
In both these
instances, there wasn't a Holy Bible anywhere in sight.
"Jesus is
Lord" is the principal concept of the Bible. Lord literally means
"owner." Psalm 24:1 declares: "The earth is the LORD'S, and all
it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it." Now, whether an
individual ALLOWS Jesus to be His King, the fact remains that He is THE King.
The Earth is His and He can certainly use it to get His point across.
MAY I HAVE YOUR
ATTENTION PLEASE!
Jer 6:10 "To
whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no
pleasure in it."
Zech 7:11-13
"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and
stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not
listen... So the Lord Almighty was very angry. "When I called, they did
not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the Lord
Almighty."
A desire to hear
from God is one thing. Obedience is quite another. Obedience is the response
that keeps the dialogue going. If we refuse to do what God tells us in the
little things, we risk deafening our spiritual ears.
1 Sam 15:22
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings ...as much as in obeying the
voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice..." (Mat 21:28-31)
One way to, in
effect, "practice" hearing from God is simply DO what we see Jesus teaching
us in Scripture. Perhaps if we get good at doing THAT, He might trust us with
direct orders from headquarters.
James 1:22
"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says."
What we often
forget is that Jesus is the King of this Kingdom. The "letters in
red" that we read within the New Testament are not merely suggestions -
they are the decrees of a King and they MUST be obeyed. They aren't optional.
Yet, time and again, well-meaning Christians override His teaching with man
made doctrines and dogmas and traditions. Jesus said in Matthew 15:6 (AMP),
"So for the sake of your tradition (the rules handed down by your
forefathers), you have set aside the Word of God [depriving it of force and
authority and making it of no effect]."
Our purpose must
be to truly obey the Lord in every area of our lives. If this really is your
purpose, you only need to know the will of God in order to consent to it. His
will is right there, found within the pages of the Bible. Surely, we cannot doubt
God's willingness to make His will known and to guide His children down the
right paths, can we? Let's get good at obeying the WRITTEN Word of God. The
opportunities to obey His spoken words will come if and when your Father sees
the need.
John 10:2-5
"The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman
opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes
on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But
they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because
they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
Every blessing,
