Hearing God's "voice"

[Marathoner]

22 hours ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

I often have thoughts that I'm not sure if they are from Jesus or my own thoughts. I'm that case, I test them. I decide, does this thought cause me to sin or will it lead me into possible sin? Will this thought contradict what I know of what Jesus wants me to do? If the answer to both of those is no, then I accept it as the word of Jesus. 

You touch upon something I struggled with in the past: is this of God, or is it myself?

I brought this before the Lord and sought His judgment. The Spirit answered: Is the word good? Does the word stir you to remember Me? If so, then the word is of God. 

I've made it a point to share that the Spirit of the Lord does indeed speak to us, for He is the Lord. I hear His voice --- not with these ears --- and I'm not the only one who does. It's entirely possible for us to go astray with what the Lord gives to us, tainting whatever we hear from the Spirit according to our own expectations. The Lord does not always correct us right away when we do that. 

Our error is the lesson He is pleased to deliver. When I assumed that the Lord meant something according to His word, and I learned that I didn't clearly understand what He said, I learned that I must ask if I don't understand. Part of that lesson is also a timely reminder that I'm a man, and men are prone to error. Humbling. 

[TrueFollowerOfChrist]

22 hours ago, TheBlade said:

May I ask why do you believe no one "hears" the audible voice of God? Well to make that kind of statement you have some reason for believing it. Some will quote the OT and then how were not adding to Scripture any more. To just take one verse OT "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”.  

Did Christ mean something else when He said my sheep hear/listen to my voice? We test it amen and for me never heard audible but He always makes sure its in His word. The last time at the end He said "I am the vine you are the branches".

I will admit I can't prove 100% that God doesn't speak to someone in an audible voice. I base that assumption on the following.

 

#1. Not one of the great men of God I greatly respect, like Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Charles Stanley, and even the great Billy Graham who had the hand of God on his life greater than any other person in nearly 2,000 years have ever said they have heard the audible voice of God. Many men far greater than I could ever hope to be have said they've NEVER heard the voice of God. 

 

#2. Scripture says God has given us the scriptures and the conscience and speak through those. 

 

#3. There's NO REASON for God to speak audibly. A very long time ago God spoke very rarely, not to people but to 1 single person. This person was the prophet and it was his job to communicate God's words to the rest of the nation. They didn't have a Bible to read. These days we have the Bible, 66 books and over 1,000 chapters of God's word. If God was going to speak audibly, them scripture is meaningless. 

 

When Jesus said his sheep hear his voice, I'm convinced that he was talking about his word in the scriptures and the conscience that every person has. I could be wrong, but I have not been convicted that this is a false belief, so I will continue to believe until proven or convicted otherwise. 

[TrueFollowerOfChrist]

3 hours ago, Marathoner said:

You touch upon something I struggled with in the past: is this of God, or is it myself?

I brought this before the Lord and sought His judgment. The Spirit answered: Is the word good? Does the word stir you to remember Me? If so, then the word is of God. 

I've made it a point to share that the Spirit of the Lord does indeed speak to us, for He is the Lord. I hear His voice --- not with these ears --- and I'm not the only one who does. It's entirely possible for us to go astray with what the Lord gives to us, tainting whatever we hear from the Spirit according to our own expectations. The Lord does not always correct us right away when we do that. 

Our error is the lesson He is pleased to deliver. When I assumed that the Lord meant something according to His word, and I learned that I didn't clearly understand what He said, I learned that I must ask if I don't understand. Part of that lesson is also a timely reminder that I'm a man, and men are prone to error. Humbling. 

Generally if we are unsure of a proper course of action, I think any course as long as it doesn't lead to sin or contradict what we know we are supposed to do, is allowable. I think I'm most things in life, there's not only 1 way. People always say " what is God's plan for my life" as if there's ONE specific path he wants us to take. I didn't think God works that way. YES for a rare few, God's will is made very clear like missionaries and pastors, but for the vast majority of us, I think God allows for free will and our own desires to choose our path. After all, we can serve God and spread his message in pretty much any life choices. 

[Your closest friendnt]

5 hours ago, Ghostdog said:

sorry i was in a bit of a hurry when i posted this. so i read this passage as nobody can hear Gods voice and live so he has to use the holy spirit to communicate with us kind of like a buffer.

The scripture you brought up from the Old Covenant described what took place in the Sinai desert by the Sinai mountain, the mountain of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who indeed spoke to them from amidst the smoke and fire and thunder that shook the whole mountain and all the congregation of Israel heard him and got so afraid that the said to Moses that is better that he speaks with you and you tell us what he wants from us. 

This is telling that they heard the voice of God in this specific situation as the scripture in Deuteronomy and lived. 4:33 the answer is yes the whole congregation of Israel heard his voice under those sircumstances and soiled them selves (figuratively speaking) but lived. 

21 hours ago, Ghostdog said:

deut 4:33 amp

Did [any] people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you heard, and [still] live?

Caution this is from the old Covenant. 

The disciple John wrote the chapter one to help everyone  understand that we are not worshiping the God of the Old Testament and no one has the God of the Old Testament after the Cross of Jesus Christ. You heard what happened at the time of the death of Jesus Christ the curtain that protected the people from the presence of the Lord in the Holy place was torn twain, it's finished and this what Jesus said at the specific moment when he died and that's when the curtain was torn twain. 

We worship Jesus Christ who before his birth in Bethlehem was the "Word" in the Gospel of John chapter one. 

Jesus who who died as the Light of the Jews only or the old testament but not in the flesh and who was raised up as the Light of the whole world. As one and only Light for the whole world and in that statement the whole world but the dead were without the Light of the world. Because the Light of the world first shine his light in the underworld that's where Jesus Christ went right after his death on the Cross and then after three days the Light of the world shine for the first time in Jerusalem in the place where he was raised from the dead at the time He was raised from the underworld. 

First the Light of the world shown himself to Abraham and everyone who was their with him.

And then to the rest in the underworld. 

 

Edited March 22 by Your closest friendnt

[JohnD]

On 3/20/2024 at 6:37 AM, Starise said:

How have you heard the "voice" of God?

Do events steer you? Do people steer you? Does an internal leaning steer you ? Presumably the voice of God.

When have you heard His voice the loudest, and  have you maybe wondered at times if he was there at all? 

 

I think there is a reluctance to go into much detail in this subject since it open most up to scrutiny and doubt.

God [speaks] in many ways and through many people and even animals. At least the one donkey (Numbers 22).

Satan does as well (and through at least the one serpent Genesis 3).

Sometimes people are not good judges to distinguish between the two. 

As with all things, we tend to believe in what appeals most to us.

But imagine Abram at the behest of the LORD took Isaac to Mount Moriah to slay (Genesis 22). Or Hosea being told

to marry a prostitute.

Our wits and personal bias and self serving desires kick in and reason "surely not Lord" ← Simon Peterobics {wink}

"Unless I see the prints of the nails... I won't believe." ← Thomasonics

I have heard my name called out audibly when no one was around causing me to pause just long enough to avoid a fatal accident.

I have hear the voice of God in my heart aiding me in an intense debate with a Jewish Rabbi (guiding me to a profound point about Isaiah

53 that the suffering servant is Israel as the Jews claim... but that Israel is none other than the Messiah (Israel is a contraction of three words

he / prince / God yish sarar elohiym and the ultimate Prince of God is... Messiah Jesus). 

I seek the tutelage of the Holy Spirit every time I read scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21 / 1 John 4:1 / Acts 17:11 / Proverbs 25:2 / Deuteronomy 29:29 / Isaiah 28:9-13).

I endeavor not to write or do Bible studies by my own understanding but by what the Holy Spirit gives me at times which flows so consistently I hardly know what is coming next until I've typed it. Often times I am given a word to type that I do not know for sure what it means until I look it up.

The late great Dr Walter Martin (founder of Christian Research Institute and the original Bible Answer Man radio broadcaster) once put it like this... "you have to do your home work... but you also learn by doing... debating cultists and skeptics and atheists and heretics of all varieties, I sometimes find answers to their questions or challenges that are not coming from me because I did not know them before."

God also speaks as in Revelation with a completely audible thunderous voice.

I guess the point in all this is the testing by the scriptures (Acts 17:11 / 1 John 4:1) to determine whatever you hear however you hear it is actually the truth / voice from God or not.

[Starise]

On 3/23/2024 at 1:29 PM, JohnD said:

I think there is a reluctance to go into much detail in this subject since it open most up to scrutiny and doubt.

God [speaks] in many ways and through many people and even animals. At least the one donkey (Numbers 22).

Satan does as well (and through at least the one serpent Genesis 3).

Sometimes people are not good judges to distinguish between the two. 

As with all things, we tend to believe in what appeals most to us.

But imagine Abram at the behest of the LORD took Isaac to Mount Moriah to slay (Genesis 22). Or Hosea being told

to marry a prostitute.

Our wits and personal bias and self serving desires kick in and reason "surely not Lord" ← Simon Peterobics {wink}

"Unless I see the prints of the nails... I won't believe." ← Thomasonics

I have heard my name called out audibly when no one was around causing me to pause just long enough to avoid a fatal accident.

I have hear the voice of God in my heart aiding me in an intense debate with a Jewish Rabbi (guiding me to a profound point about Isaiah

53 that the suffering servant is Israel as the Jews claim... but that Israel is none other than the Messiah (Israel is a contraction of three words

he / prince / God yish sarar elohiym and the ultimate Prince of God is... Messiah Jesus). 

I seek the tutelage of the Holy Spirit every time I read scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21 / 1 John 4:1 / Acts 17:11 / Proverbs 25:2 / Deuteronomy 29:29 / Isaiah 28:9-13).

I endeavor not to write or do Bible studies by my own understanding but by what the Holy Spirit gives me at times which flows so consistently I hardly know what is coming next until I've typed it. Often times I am given a word to type that I do not know for sure what it means until I look it up.

The late great Dr Walter Martin (founder of Christian Research Institute and the original Bible Answer Man radio broadcaster) once put it like this... "you have to do your home work... but you also learn by doing... debating cultists and skeptics and atheists and heretics of all varieties, I sometimes find answers to their questions or challenges that are not coming from me because I did not know them before."

God also speaks as in Revelation with a completely audible thunderous voice.

I guess the point in all this is the testing by the scriptures (Acts 17:11 / 1 John 4:1) to determine whatever you hear however you hear it is actually the truth / voice from God or not.

Yes and I think He still speaks in whatever ways suit him. I realize that when someone claims to “ hear voices” there could be several reasons.

Most people who were assured it came from God may just keep that one a secret.

[Marathoner]

1 hour ago, Starise said:

Yes and I think He still speaks in whatever ways suit him. I realize that when someone claims to “ hear voices” there could be several reasons.

Most people who were assured it came from God may just keep that one a secret.

I don't mind sharing these things, brother. It offers the reader a glimpse of the compassion and mercy of the Lord and how He is not like man who can be harsh and even cruel. Consider how the Spirit ministered to me during those times when there was no hope, and I was afflicted with psychotic depression. 

Understanding what psychotic depression is, is needed to appreciate why hearing His voice was so important. Psychotic depression is marked by delusions pertaining to self-worth; these delusions are accompanied by a specific internal dialogue. What do I mean by that?

Internal dialogue = self-talk and our own thoughts, not to be confused with "voices" associated with psychotic disorders. The internal dialogue of psychotic depression is horrific, a running self-commentary populated by things my mother would say to me during childhood. Indeed, it was as if I internalized my mother's voice and made it my own. 

These delusions were also accompanied by memories of traumatic events --- PTSD --- that were warped by the depressive psychosis. That's what psychotic depression does; it warps everything, changing one's perception of reality and relentlessly battering the one who suffers with successively more nightmarish visions leading into desperation. That desperation is what leaves the one in torment vulnerable to suicidal ideations... desires... and eventually, impulses. 

The latter occurs because nothing can stop the nightmare. When it's impossible to sleep and food makes you ill, it's a warning sign of things to come. There is no treatment for psychotic depression --- nothing at all --- and the prognosis is bleak, my friends. I should point out that circumstances have nothing to do with the relentless cycle of severe depression. It arrives regardless of how relatively happy (or not) you are, and it can literally take everything away... including a life.

In the throes of the nightmare, the One who made Himself known to me spoke. What He said was completely at odds with that delusional narrative and those horrible visions; when all I wanted to do was die, He said that I would not. I told Him that I wasn't fit to live, but He declared that He alone makes me fit to live, I do not. It wasn't in my hands at any time, and no child --- or man --- deserved what I had endured. It wasn't my fault and I did nothing wrong. All I had to do was listen to His voice and I would endure the otherwise unendurable, learning the meaning of courage along the way. 

Courage? Oh yes. The Lord spoke of courage, teaching me that courage is not the lack of fear or terror but rather, the resolve to face both without compromise. I looked upon those nightmare visions which displayed my demise over and over again and I found strength in the encouragement of the Lord, who was always contrary to the psychosis of depression. I lost the fear of death and with that, those nightmare visions never returned again.

There's this notion afoot which naively asserts that the Lord will "take it all away" or simply make whatever it is disappear if we only have faith, but that wasn't His work in me. This was the fiery trial and the means by which I learned how to trust in the Lord and His word, whether He speaks those words with His mouth or they are memorialized in scripture. One and the same to be sure.

I marvel at how the Lord sees fit to work. He spared my life miraculously, but my recovery in the wake of my brush with the grave was accomplished under the guidance of the Spirit one... step... at a time. I didn't realize that the process of my recovery prepared me for what followed afterward. Regardless of what the Lord does, it always serves His purpose and will. Always!

This includes hearing His voice. 

Edited March 26 by Marathoner

[TheBlade]

On 3/22/2024 at 1:37 PM, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

I will admit I can't prove 100% that God doesn't speak to someone in an audible voice. I base that assumption on the following.

 

#1. Not one of the great men of God I greatly respect, like Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, Charles Stanley, and even the great Billy Graham who had the hand of God on his life greater than any other person in nearly 2,000 years have ever said they have heard the audible voice of God. Many men far greater than I could ever hope to be have said they've NEVER heard the voice of God. 

 

#2. Scripture says God has given us the scriptures and the conscience and speak through those. 

 

#3. There's NO REASON for God to speak audibly. A very long time ago God spoke very rarely, not to people but to 1 single person. This person was the prophet and it was his job to communicate God's words to the rest of the nation. They didn't have a Bible to read. These days we have the Bible, 66 books and over 1,000 chapters of God's word. If God was going to speak audibly, them scripture is meaningless. 

 

When Jesus said his sheep hear his voice, I'm convinced that he was talking about his word in the scriptures and the conscience that every person has. I could be wrong, but I have not been convicted that this is a false belief, so I will continue to believe until proven or convicted otherwise. 

I agree. I have and I am sure you have heard some that I believe are of God say they heard His audible voice...a ok sure..  praise God. I believe Christ voice is just that His voice same as in the NT when they said the Holy Spirit said its with in us that so many here talked about. He said "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

So as I sit here thinking about the times He talked to me (within) vs HIs word.. there is no difference. HAHA well that voice that talks to me.. I always make sure "where is that written". He always points to His word. Just thinking about it, its always been somewhere in His word. 

Ha.. well thinking at 63 yeah birthday yesterday.. you know I have never asked for Him to speak audibly. 

[Starise]

2 hours ago, Marathoner said:

In the throes of the nightmare, the One who made Himself known to me spoke. What He said was completely at odds with that delusional narrative and those horrible visions; when all I wanted to do was die, He said that I would not. I told Him that I wasn't fit to live, but He declared that He alone makes me fit to live, I do not. It wasn't in my hands at any time, and no child --- or man --- deserved what I had endured. It wasn't my fault and I did nothing wrong. All I had to do was listen to His voice and I would endure the otherwise unendurable, learning the meaning of courage along the way. 

Isn't it amazing how God always sends what we need when we need it, no matter how bad things get. There have been a few times I felt I was beyond my threshold. This too passed.

2 hours ago, TheBlade said:

So as I sit here thinking about the times He talked to me (within) vs HIs word.. there is no difference. HAHA well that voice that talks to me.. I always make sure "where is that written". He always points to His word. Just thinking about it, its always been somewhere in His word. 

I have thought how wondeful it would be to hear Jesus talking right next to me, but He usually chooses to speak to the inside of me in various ways.

2 hours ago, TheBlade said:

I agree. I have and I am sure you have heard some that I believe are of God say they heard His audible voice...a ok sure..  praise God. I believe Christ voice is just that His voice same as in the NT when they said the Holy Spirit said its with in us that so many here talked about. He said "Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Ha.. well thinking at 63 yeah birthday yesterday.. you know I have never asked for Him to speak audibly. 

Well happy birthday Blade! I had mine on the 16th. We are close. I am wondering if there are instances of the Holy Spirit speaking a message of some kind? To my recollections it's wither God or Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicts. So far as I know, not verbally.

[steve morrow]

PRIDE  AND  ARROGANCY  ---  GOOD  OR  EVIL  

OVERSIGHT  ??  HMM

 

PSALM 7:11  GOD  judgeth the righteous  ---  and  GOD  is angry with the wicked every day 

PSALM 9:16  THE  LORD  is known by the judgment which  HE  executeth  --- the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands 

 

PROVERBS 15:26  the thoughts of the wicked are abomination to  THE  LORD  but the words of the pure are pleasant words 

 

JEREMIAH 4:14  o jerusalem wash thine heart from  wickedness that thou --mayest be saved--  how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee

 

JEREMIAH 6:19  hear o earth behold I will bring evil upon this people  --even the fruit of their thoughts--  because they have not hearkened unto  MY  WORDS  nor to  MY  law but rejected it 

 

2 TIMOTHY 3:16  all   --SCRIPTURE--  is given by inspiration of  GOD  and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness 

 

2 JOHN 1:9  whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of  CHRIST  --  HATH  NOT  GOD  --  he that abideth in the doctrine of  CHRIST  HE  HATH  BOTH  THE  FATHER  AND  THE  SON

 

2 PETER 1:3  according as  --HIS--  divine power --HATH-- given unto us  ---all things that pertain unto life and godliness--- through the knowledge of  --HIM--  that hath called us to glory and virtue 

 

HEBREWS 1:1  GOD  who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in  --TIME  PAST--  unto the fathers by the prophets 

--1:2--  hath in these last days --SPOKEN-- unto us --BY  HIS  SON-- whom  HE  hath appointed heir of all things by whom also  HE  made the worlds 

 

2 CORINTHIANS 13:8  for we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth

 

LOVING  THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST