Hearing God

[ferret658]

How do you hear God? How long have you been hearing His voice and how can you tell it's Him?

I hear Him in my head, along with my other thoughts. I've been hearing Him for four years now. We've had some awesome laughs in the classroom and some pretty insane heart shattering moments. I know it's His voice because I know that it's Him because it echoes then solidifies into one strong voice.  

[Karumei]

God speaks to everyone differently. Though it's not always a voice (though always in the written voice through the Bible).

If you "hear" God in your head, and know that it is God, read the Bible and make compare the actions and words of that voice in your head to those of God in the Bible.

Always do this and be wary, because there are false voices.  

[ferret658]

I've been told that numerous times, and I hate hearing that. I know what I have to be cautious with and those things have nothing to do with what I have experienced in my walk with God. He's told me things that he hasn't told anyone else I know. And you're going to instantly think that your suspicions are confirmed, but I know the voice of God.

I'm saying what I'm experiencing. I know that I know that I know. God has given me scripture and told me that He loved me in the most heart wrenching way. I'm sorry, but I get really defensive when someone tells me to be cautious because I take it as, "Your faith is incorrect and you have no idea what you are doing or feeling."  

[Act of Random Kindness]

Sadly, I can't say that I know what his voice is like. I mean, I know his word somewhat, I know what he wants from me and what I want to do for him, but as for him actually talking to me, I've never experienced it.

The closest I've gotten is this very strong, sudden calming feeling I've had a few times in my life. I know that what was him, but that's it.

And as if to add insult to injury, my name supposedly means "Heard of God"..... >_<  

[Vasilius Konstantinos]

diabolical_ferret658

How do you hear God?

Through Theosis.  

[ferret658]

Act of Random Kindness

And as if to add insult to injury, my name supposedly means "Heard of God"..... >_<

What's your name?  

[ferret658]

Vasilius Konstantinos

diabolical_ferret658

How do you hear God?

Through Theosis.

That doesn't make sense to m, but okay....Um, what kinda message are you getting from theosis?  

[Spreading The Word]

I'm not sure if I ever have but that sounds pretty awesome. I'm hoping to grow in my faith and one day hear his voice. I think i hear it at times but def. different then the way you do.  

[Xahmen]

Remember the good old days when god just set stuff on fire and let them do the talking for him?  

[Crimson Raccoon]

God speaks through his word in the Bible. It is his complete revelation to humans. Everything he has to say, he's said in his word: Who he is, what he expects of us, what he's done for us, how he loves us, how we can be in heaven with him... it's all there. Jesus Christ is the complete revelation of God, and there is nothing that can be added to that.

So, we really need to be careful if we want to physically hear his voice speaking to us. What else could he say beyond what's in his word? How could he possibly say it more clearly or eloquently than he already has in the person of Jesus Christ?

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. - Hebrews 1:1-2
In ancient times, God used many different ways to speak to humans: through a voice, visions, dreams, etc. But according to Hebrews, God no longer speaks in all these various ways, because he has been fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. - Revelation 22:18
This is in the closing passage of the last book of the Bible, which says that this completes the Word of God, and nothing should be added to it or taken away. God has nothing more and nothing less to say to us; it is all in his Word.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit... - 1 John 4:1  

[Karumei]

diabolical_ferret658

I'm sorry, but I get really defensive when someone tells me to be cautious because I take it as, "Your faith is incorrect and you have no idea what you are doing or feeling."

I apologize for what I said as coming off that way to you, I know the feeling and I know annoying it is. I am sorry. I was rushing out the door and in my hurried state, I was simply trying to get out a preliminary caution out to you.

What I was getting at was exactly the thing Crimson Raccoon has so succinctly stated in the post previous to mine. (It is my fault for not going into as much depth as he, but what he said is absolutely correct.)  

[Act of Random Kindness]

diabolical_ferret658

Act of Random Kindness

And as if to add insult to injury, my name supposedly means "Heard of God"..... >_<

What's your name?

Ishon. I have no clue how the people went about reasearching this.  

[ferret658]

Crimson Raccoon

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. - Revelation 22:18
This is in the closing passage of the last book of the Bible, which says that this completes the Word of God, and nothing should be added to it or taken away. God has nothing more and nothing less to say to us; it is all in his Word.

What are you trying to say here? Are you saying that God would never talk to human kind now because He's already given us Jesus? Don't you think it a little - pardon the lack of articulation here - dumb that God says He loves us so much and then leave us to fend for ourselves in the world? Why would He just give us Jesus, tell us everything we need to know about salvation and then never speak to us again?

I mean, He gave us the Holy Spirit to reside in us, to make us holy. If the Holy Spirt is sent to reside in us to make us holy, that in and of itself is proof of communication.

If Billy Graham knocked on your door and told you that God sent him to deliver you a message, would you believe him because "God doesn't speak to us because He's already revealed himself through Jesus?"

How can none of you have ever heard God's voice? He speaks to every one of us in different ways. A man in my church hears Him audibly. Another way God speaks to me is by message relay. He tells my youth pastor's mother in law in Trinidad to call up Debbie at four in the morning pur time and tell me on Wednesday night what God wants me to know.  

[ferret658]

And another thing.

Don't ya think that verse in Revelation was more addressed to the idiots and the Pharisees?

The Pharisees had forgotten the spirit of the law and added to it. For example, instead of washing just their hands, the Pharisees had turned it into wash all the way up to your elbows or you're unlcean.

The idiots pulled a Satan - 90 % truth, 10% untruth. They used scripture in a depraved way - they used scripture to justify their evil actions. That's like a lesbian reading the NIV saying that lesbianism is okay because Leviticus says man shall not lay with a man as he lays with a woman. It is detestable. Because it specifically bans male homosexuality.  

[Crimson Raccoon]

diabolical_ferret658

Crimson Raccoon

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. - Revelation 22:18
This is in the closing passage of the last book of the Bible, which says that this completes the Word of God, and nothing should be added to it or taken away. God has nothing more and nothing less to say to us; it is all in his Word.

What are you trying to say here?

I'm trying to say exactly what that Bible verse says - that the Bible is the complete Word of God. If God spoke in an audible message, he would be adding words, which would contradict both this verse in Revelation and the verse I quoted from Hebrews 1. Since I don't believe God would contradict his own Bible, I don't believe he speaks to us in that way.

diabolical_ferret658

Are you saying that God would never talk to human kind now because He's already given us Jesus?

Yes, that is just about what I'm saying - he's fully revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and he has given his complete Word to us in the Bible.

diabolical_ferret658

Don't you think it a little - pardon the lack of articulation here - dumb that God says He loves us so much and then leave us to fend for ourselves in the world?

He doesn't leave us to fend for ourselves; he gave us over 1000 pages of instructions, guidance, and comfort. He also established his church as a means for us to serve him, and for him to bring us grace and help us grow. He also gave us his Holy Spirit, who dwells in us and helps guide us in conjunction with his Word. I'm sure you agree that all that's quite a lot!

diabolical_ferret658

Why would He just give us Jesus, tell us everything we need to know about salvation and then never speak to us again?

Because there's nothing else that needs to be said. How to be saved, and how to serve God, glorifying him and enjoying him, are all we need to know in this life.

Really though, think about what you're saying. Why would he "just" give us Jesus?? What more can he give us than his very self?

diabolical_ferret658

I mean, He gave us the Holy Spirit to reside in us, to make us holy. If the Holy Spirt is sent to reside in us to make us holy, that in and of itself is proof of communication.

God certainly continues to communicate with his people today. The Holy Spirit is indeed a guide for us, and he guides us through the holy Word. Jesus said the Spirit "will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak." (John 16) Meaning, the Spirit doesn't add anything to the Word; but rather he reveals to us it's meaning, he clarifies it for us, he brings it to our memory at the needed time, and he uses it to guide us. The Spirit's guidance is always rooted firmly in the Word and can't be separated from it. All of this happens, not through audible speech, but within ourselves in a very subtle way. Audible speech is another thing altogether.

diabolical_ferret658

If Billy Graham knocked on your door and told you that God sent him to deliver you a message, would you believe him because "God doesn't speak to us because He's already revealed himself through Jesus?"

If the message Billy Graham brought me was the gospel, then I would certainly believe him that God sent him to bring that message. In the Bible, God tells all of us to bring the message of the gospel to people.

But if he brought some kind of personal message, telling me something like, "God told me to tell you not to leave the house tomorrow," or "God told me to tell you this to cheer you up," or "God wants you to go on a missionary journey to Cambodia," then no, I wouldn't believe him; because according to the Bible, that's not how God communicates. If that's all there was to it, then there would be chaos in the church - anyone could say they had a message from God, and there would be no way to know for sure if it was true or not.

Of course, Billy Graham, to my knowledge, has never done things like that. The message he brings is the gospel. As far as I'm aware, he has never claimed to hear God's voice audibly speaking to him. In fact, lots of other well-known Christians have never claimed to hear God's voice in that way. Martin Luther for example. Think of all the work he did - if ever there was a man who needed to hear the voice of God telling him what to do, it would have been him. He stood alone against the world, hundreds of people in the church hated him bitterly, and his life really was in danger for years. But the grace and the Word of God was all he needed, and look how much God accomplished through him. If it's all Luther needed, it's all any of us need. =)

diabolical_ferret658

Don't ya think that verse in Revelation was more addressed to the idiots and the Pharisees?

No, because the verses specifically say its addressed to everyone who hears the words in the book. That includes the Pharisees, but especially it includes all Christians, because that is who the book of Revelation is most of all meant for. If you and I have heard the words from it, it includes you and me.

It is true that the Pharisees, and many people today, do use the Scripture in a depraved way. But it's warning isn't just for those outside of the church; it's also for all of us within the church. It is often a temptation even for Christians to want to ignore certain passages of the Bible, or to want to look for something more. The closing passage of Revelation specifically and strongly warns against that.



Even in the Bible, God speaking to his people directly was a rare experience. It always had a specific and extremely significant purpose, one that affected the entire people of God, not just one individual. Also, when God spoke to them, it usually resulted in them being filled with fear and thinking they were going to die, because they became so acutely aware of how sinful they were while in the presence of a Holy God.

Anyway, I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. But I am wholeheartedly convinced that God speaks to us in his Holy Word, and that it is his complete message to his people. Any means through which God communicates to his people - whether through prayer, or the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or the preaching of a pastor, or the fellowship of a Christian friend - all of it grows out of his Word. The Bible is the foundation of all of these things, and if any of these things move beyond the Word; even if they move without the Word, then they are no longer of God. Nothing is more necessary, more beautiful, or more personal than the revelation that God has given us in Jesus Christ. He couldn't possibly say anything more than what he said in the Word who became flesh.


Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. - Romans 16