Question for ya... is it possible for a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, to actually hear the voice of Jesus Christ in our day? Don't be scared to answer. That questions might sound kind of spooky to you—I sure hope it doesn't. Please take it at face value. I'm not into tricks.
You know, when I ask that, my mind automatically thinks about all the false teacher kinda TV ministers and other manipulative kind of ministers who would "stop the music and show" so to speak, just to allegedly gain special inaudible messages directly before they proceed on into pressuring the crowd for a dig-deeper type of offering, or to go smack down ..on the forehead with coat or palm of hand.. more people filled with hope among his sickly devotees onto his platform so they can get back up and get smacked down again.
I think about the many cynical, jaded, and uber-skeptical people that I have run into who have seen one too many mocking Hollywood movies about some twisted greedy preacher, or even heard one too many crude late night comedians who was also perverse and cynical regarding the things and people of God.
I sincerely pray for those I meet who feel they've been let down by God or His folks and don't understand why so much went south so fast only to leave their hands full of ashes. Have your dreams been crushed? Have you ever run into people who once believed that God could talk with and guide them, but who no longer believe that, but have become disillusioned with all talk of "hearing from God" or of the church or of any type of so called ministry? My heart goes out to em.
It would appear that the landscape has become full of hurting and lonely people looking to become "spiritual" apart from establishing any relationship with the Bible Christ. It's wrong. In our land, as in other lands, the true ministers of God seem to have become so obfuscated ..hidden from plain view and the sight of common people.. due to all the posers who are posing in Jesus Name claiming they can hear from God for you.
But can you and I actually hear the voice of Christ? The truth of the matter is that no matter how many times you've been let down by man or religion or church people or an organization, there is indeed a God who loves you dearly, who understands you, and who can speak to you in a way that you can understand. A child could understand.
Yes, you can hear from the God who created you. And it is important that you do hear and respond in faith… yes, for the sake of avoiding a real place called hell and gaining entrance to that place called heaven through Jesus Christ. "Come on, Kurt, talk of hell is so passe and not positive dude!"
Well, think about it.. not going there is way positive.
Are you among the minority of people on this planet who still desire to hear from the Lord of lords? That might sound religious, but it's a good question. You ought not be afraid to hear from Him. You don't have to turn into some whacko who listens to all kinds of voices just because you hear God's voice..and you really don't need to go around telling everyone that you hear His voice.
I personally still want to hear from Jesus, my really Good Shepherd, who has never once let me down. And to me yesterday's experience with Him for me only has value to me as far as what was biblically gained in the past is transferable into my present day relationship with God. Forgetting those things which are behind, I press on. I'm concerned about my current walk with Christ and yours as well. Decisions made today will be important for your future. I want you to hear from Him so that you will know what to do and won't have to guess about it. I want you safe in His will.
God the Father really wants you and I, and all of His disciples, to hear from His Son.. "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Lk. 9:35, nkjv). Christ prays for His Children and He wants to make each of us the kind of friends who will earnestly pray for others.
So rich is the person who has a praying friend who biblically hears from and obeys God. And rich is the one who has himself or herself also learned how to talk to and hear from God. This world needs more who will joyfully obey the Word.
God's mouth still works. It communicates truth—He doesn't ever change. He compassionately speaks to His people today and His Word brings joy and blessing when properly acted upon.
I personally view every Word in the Bible as the voice of Christ and you should too. They weren't given to us in vain.
We know this by both: 1.) By inference and also by 2.) By personal experience.
Of course we don't walk by sight, or by our changing feelings, or even determine what's true by all our experiences. You know that. Some of what you experience could come from bad pizza, but we walk by faith in God's Word. He directs us. Think about it.
First, we know this by inference.
We trust that, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
It is true that, "whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise" (Jn. 5:19). Remember when Jesus told Philip that, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (Jn. 14:9b). Who else can say that who seeks to represent the Father to people? I sure can't for I am a saved sinner. Jesus rep-ed the Father perfectly. He clearly showed us what God is like and what God would say—He is God and totally united with the Father.
When God the Father, by God the Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21), was literally overshadowing and directing the logging down of the Scriptures for us, the will, heart, and pure mind of the Son was in flawless, harmonious, and beautiful concert with what was happening and being communicated.
A man of God named John Piper who has inspired and challenged me a whole lot once said,
Not only were all things made by the Father, with the Spirit (Gen. 1:2), through the Son (Jn. 1:3), but all things are absolutely through the Son: There is "one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things" (1 Cor. 8:6). The inspiration of the Bible was through the Son. Therefore the Bible is the word of Jesus. When the Spirit guides the New Testament writers, he is taking the heart and mind of Jesus and rendering them in Scripture as the words of Jesus: "All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that the Spirit will take what is mine and declare it to you" (Jn. 16:15). Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and the writer to the Hebrews write the words of Jesus. When the Gospel writers say, "Jesus said," it is Jesus saying, "I said." When they write "Jesus did," it is Jesus saying, "I did." When they write about Jesus, Jesus is speaking about Jesus. When they quote Jesus, Jesus is quoting Jesus.
This is so SO true; in the holy Scriptures we can hear the voice of Jesus talking about Jesus. We can learn how He responded in different circumstances and carefully apply that to how we respond to the same type of circumstance we face. What Jesus did, is what Jesus would do—He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We just need to be careful to follow the same Spirit that He did in how we apply God's Word. We want to be biblical as He was and is. And this is why I strongly encourage everyone I meet and is open to truth to become born of the Spirit of God, so that God will come live inside them and guide them. Have you been born of God's Spirit according to John 3 yet?
Second, we know this by experience.
You know that not all experiences are bad. When we are born again, we have a new experience that is right and good. We gain new ears and new eyes in a sense. We are given a new vision of sorts, new desires, new thoughts, new concerns, new insight, new wisdom and a resurrected human spirit inside—yes, newness of life! It's so exciting.
We don't need new revelations—we have the old Revelation that God can easily quicken to us today.. and He has been so faithful to give us illumination in His Word as we simply humble ourselves before Him. Confession, repentance and trusting Christ are needed to clear those important lines of communication.
God talks to and illumines us our inner spirit and that's so that our soul and body will submit to His good Word and will. Our new ears and eyes and senses if you will, are tuned-in to the frequency of the voice of Jesus Christ—I mean to this Bible Jesus (there are sadly so many different kinds of Jesus being preached out there).
The Bible clearly says, "The sheep follow Him [Jesus], for they know His voice. A stranger they will not follow, for they do not know the voice of strangers.. My sheep hear My voice.. and they follow Me [Jesus]" (Jn. 10: 4–5, 27, emphasis mine). Yes, the Bible is the voice of Jesus. When we prayerfully read and hear it—we basically hear Christ's voice.
"Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian." ~ Andrew Murray
"God does not delay to hear our prayers because He has no mind to give; but that, by enlarging our desires, He may give us the more largely." ~ Anselm of Canterbury
"Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God." ~ Andrew Murray
The Scriptures say, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion…" (Ps. 95:6-8).
I'm so glad that I can talk to God the Father and to Jesus any day, at any time and in any posture.. and He so graciously opts to listen even to me. And you can too because He loves you just the same. He could audibly speak out of heaven to any of us as He has done before, but why should I demand that of Him for He has given me His living Word. Why should I demand anything or try to instruct Him how to answer—I am His servant, not He mine. I used to foolishly tell Him how to answer my prayers, but soon discovered that any such coaching from me was not necessary or appropriate.
You know how the Bible addresses so many topics that we need to be well versed in. It indeed addresses all the needs of people. There are promises in there that you need to claim by faith today. God knows your needs before you even call out to Him.
The Bible doesn't contain all the truths that exist in God's mind, but it does give us all the truths that God knows we will need down here on earth—yes, that God wants us to know for our own experience with Him. We all need His Word and His Spirit to glorify Him.
Of course I read other decent books about science and history (History is really His story for He isn't half sovereign, and all true science remains in harmony with the Bible), but I certainly don't need any other magazine or book such as the erroneous book of Mormon to accompany my Bible. Cultists will disagree with this, but the way that the true God means for each of us to live is to be so familiar with His voice from His Word that we can quickly sense His will where His audible voice might remain silent. Cultic teaching and full-blown cults will sadly continue to come and go, but God wants each of us to become so familiar with His Bible truth today, that when even one counterfeit looms on the horizon as so many do, we will instantly be able to recognize and reject it ..as well as help others see it for what it is.
Pray that God will give you His discernment so that you can clearly hear His voice when He want you to hear. What beats that? Nothin'! facebook.com/shareJesus
