When I was
young I had quite the imagination.
Still, when the phone would ring and I was told it was for me I would
get nervous because it could be that creepy little voice of nightmares, the
evil Little Green Man. It was real and
not my imagination. And the voice would
start out calling me by name and then telling me some horrible thing he would
do. I don’t remember much more, but I’m
sure it scared me at the time, especially from ever going down any Texas
Rd. where he lived just in case it was his!
Meanwhile, on
the telephone downstairs (back in the days when you could call your own house),
one of my sisters was placing that call to me while they both laughed at my
gullibility. To me, it really was the
voice of the Little Green
Though God
could choose to speak audibly to us His followers, He often speaks through His Spirit
in us. There are three main voices we
hear: our mind, the enemy, and God. Of
course, He often speaks through His Word, but He said we could hear His voice.
But you do not believe for you are not of My sheep,
as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice*, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Jh. 10:26 ,27
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if
you will hear His voice*, Hb. 3:7
the disciples heard God’s voice audibly. 2Pt. 1:17,18
(*voice- G5456- phone- sound, tone, voice/ uttered
sounds, speech)
So how do we know whose voice we are
hearing? Usually our mind will cater to
our flesh and desires, the enemy will tear us down or lift us in pride, and God
will always speak truth, urging us to holiness and humility. One of the ways we get to know His voice is
to spend as much time with Him as possible -draw near Him (Jm. 4:8), seek Him
with all your heart (Jr. 29:13; Dt. 4:29)- not just talking but LISTENING. We must also use discernment. “But solid food
is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by
constant practice to distinguish good
from evil.” (Hb. 5:14) “The simple believes every word, but the wise man watches his step.” (Pr. 14:15)
Test all that we
hear against the Word of God.
-Is it Scriptural, good Christian principles, and agrees
with God’s names, character and nature?
‘God’ tells me to leave my husband. Nope. Not God. Against
the above.
‘God’ tells me to make peace with someone who spoke lies
about me to others. Pray. Probably God. Agrees with the above.
‘God’ tells me to say something mean to my enemy. Nope. Not God. Against the above.
‘God’ tells me to love the person who just hurt me and ask
for forgiveness for my part in it. Pray.
Probably God. Agrees with the above.
For the Word of God is
living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hb. 4:12
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but try the
spirits to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. 1Jh. 4:1
…God, who cannot lie… Titus 1:2 (also Nm. 23:19 )
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves. Jm. 1:22
The following list
from 2Cr. 11:3,4 also helps because it encompasses basically all things not of
God. I list examples to help in
understanding…
We must watch that our thoughts are not deceived and
corrupted by:
another Jesus-
an unforgiving, selfish, vengeful, mean, lazy, uncaring in actions, Jesus was
none of these.
another spirit-
confusion, anger, bitter, covetousness, pride, condemning, money or status
loving
another gospel-
gospel of: self improvement, prosperity, name it claim it, etc
Don’t be afraid to hear God’s voice, just use wisdom and
know God doesn’t lie so He would never go against who He is or His Word.