Yesterday I was joyful to share that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows our name. We as sheep, know him by His voice. Anything else that speaks to us through the spirit, is a stranger and we should run and scatter from that voice. As Christians, we need to get very familiar with the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Does the Holy Spirit have a voice?
2 As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to me. Ezekiel 2:2
19 But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, 20 because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you. Matthew 10:19-20
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. John 16:13
Jesus said He was leaving to return to His Father in Heaven, BUT he was sending us another!
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
Jesus, as a man, could not be everywhere all at once. He sent the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of God to dwell in us forever. Those who have received Christ’s gift of salvation have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Jesus told us, the world can not hear Him because they are not His. Just like the sheep, example He used. Only we can hear the Holy Spirit speaking.
still. quiet. voice.
Let us look at the word of God to see how the Holy Spirit is described to speak. One of the most notable encounters with God was when Elijah encountered God. We find this account in first Kings.
Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.” 11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. 1 Kings 19:10-12
The CSB uses a voice, a soft whisper.
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12 KJV
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12 NIV
God speaks to us, not on a bull horn, but in a quiet voice. A gentle whisper.
Why?
Well Elijah gives us a good example of why. Back up to Chapter 18 of 1 Kings. God worked through ELijah to do some pretty astounding supernatural things. He destroyed the false prophets and gods of King Ahab and Jezebel. It is quite the show to read. Well these two characters are, in my opinion, the worst, most evil wicked rulers over Israel. Rome at least let Israel keep with their customs, traditions and religion. God used Elijah to make a mockery of both of them. This infuriated Jezebel and she promised Elijah, when she got her hands on him, he was going to be a head shorter. (1 Kings 19)
So Elijah takes off into the wilderness. He runs, and runs, and runs, and runs. Exhausted, he finally tells God, just kill me. When we run, do things our own way, get busy, ignore our time with God, our ears get further and further away from hearing God. So far away, we can not hear Him speak to us, because he speaks in a quiet whisper.
God wants a personal one-on-one relationship with us. This requires us stopping what we are doing. Sitting down in stillness, and straining our ears to hear him.
3 Pay attention and come to me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make a permanent covenant with you
on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.
Isaiah 55:3
The KJV says it like this: Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live;….
When we are busy and not interested in the things of God, we are not tuned into listening to Him.
false doctrine that the Holy Spirit does not Speak
Most everything in God comes down to hearing His voice and this is why the doctrine that says God does not speak today is very dangerous. It attacks the very walk with God. If God does not speak, the faith, which requires specific obedience, and God’s direct involvement in our lives falls apart. God’s Word specifically says our faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
The word for “word” in Romans 10:17 indicates a spoken personal type of communication. It is a person-to-person communication. A word form the heart of God to the heart of man. A word that can on be heard with the heart – a heart that is tuned to hearing.
Hearing with the Heart
It is not hearing of the mind. It is not hearing of intellect. This is does not come from from the speaking of someone else. It comes directly from Christ Himself. He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Yes, it can come from reading the Word of God, because that is Christ himself speaking. Someone can be speaking the Word of God, but it is not them that you hear, it is the small quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.
Hear is more of an art. It must be valued and practiced. God is a living Person and not an inanimate force. He can be wooed and He can be grieved. He can be received and He can be shunned. He can be valued and he can be rejected. He looks at it all. You need to listen to Him before you pull-out in life.
test all spirits
The devil, sinister minister is the grand master manipulator and imitator. He will try to imitate the voice of the Holy Spirit. We can learn how he speaks to us by examining how he uses people to be false preachers, teachers, and prophets. They are one in the same.
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
How to test the Spirit:
The fruit they produce:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:15-16
Evil walks this earth looking for people to do its bidding. They come in the form of false prophets, teachers, and preachers. Some may even profess the name of Christ, but their fruit will find them out. Jesus said, recognize them by the fruit they produce.
Test their fruit according to Galatians 5:19-23. Paul contrasts the fruit of the flesh and fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Conforming to Scripture
2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1
False prophets will take the holy precious Word of God and twist it and use it to manipulate people into doing what they want, or evil will use it get people to turn away from God. Heresy is a doctrine that is contrary to what the Scripture teaches. Sometimes heresy is obvious, but other times it can be very subtle and have the ring of truth to it.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is given to us by inspiration from God. And, since God does not lie (Titus 1:2), we can depend on the Bible to always be a reliable guide to truth. This is why it is important to get into the Word of God and study it.
For this test to be effective, we need to have a good understanding of what the Bible teaches. This means knowing more than just a few favorite verses or passages. The false prophet will frequently sprinkle passages into their message that seem to support their position. Those selected verses are frequently taken out of context or are interpreted in ways that are contrary to the bulk of the Scripture.
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Acts 17:11
Paul’s preaching was examined to see if what he spoke was true. It is not wrong to examine what we are being taught. In fact, not doing so would be contrary to what we ought to be doing. This is not a difference in opinion. This is a deliberate misuse of the Word of God for the purpose outside of God.
Glorifying God
Is what is being spoken bring glory and honor to God? The Holy Spirit leads us to glorify God in all that we do. False profits, in contrast give lip service to God, but have no real desire or interest in serving or glorifying God. They expend their energy elsewhere. If they promote more of THEIR ministry that the Lord’s work, or promote themselves rather than the God of the Bible, it should serve a warning sign, that it is false.
Building up the Body of Christ
A false profit will not seek to build up a healthy body of Christ. If it does not serve their own interest they will not support the growth and health of other believers. They will manipulate the situation to cause divisions and stumblings among other believers. It would be unprofitable for them to preach in truth because satan knows that once a believer can hear the Holy Spirit, they will be found out. The Holy Spirit leads us into service and serving one another. He will never lead you into self serving.
The greatest encouragement I can give any fellow believer is to tune your ears to hearing. You will know it when you hear it. I cannot really explain how it works or what it “sounds” like, but you will know. The “voice” that knocked on your heart and spoke your name, called you to turn away from this world and follow Him. To trust Him, receive Him, that is the voice to tune into.
It Starts Small 
Leave a comment