Hearing Jesus' Voice
1. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27 The Holy Spirit is the voice of Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd. He will not lead you astray. Jesus said He would send us the Holy Spirit as another Paraclete or "One Who Speaks Above." (John 14:16) Jesus also called Him "The Spirit of Truth." He speaks from heaven. We need to hear His voice - and follow. Jesus made it that way, for Jesus said,
But the Helper (Paraclete, or "One Who Speaks Above"), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26
and Jesus said,
... when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into the Truth; for he will not speak on His own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak; and He will tell you things to come.* He will glorify Me, for he will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-14
note: * Telling us things to come is known as prophesy. But it must not contradict God's written Word.
2. I know that God speaks to His people and to His Church. He has a voice and He is not silent. The Holy Spirit speaks to your heart, using God's Word to convince, convict, comfort, correct, guide and direct.
3. Here is another major point: We do not have wisdom. We need to ask for it. There could not be anything more basic. How do you know what God wants you to do? Or where He wants you to go? Or what He wants you to say? Unless you ask Him and get the answer? A man or woman of God needs to know what God wants. Successful ministry depends upon hearing His voice. (In fact, successful living depends upon hearing His voice.) All successful ministers will tell you the same thing.
If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to Him. James 1:5
4. I think sometimes hearing depends on listening. God knows our hearts. He knows if we really want to hear or not. One minister gave me some good advice. He said, "Spend quality time with the Lord each day." That way your heart will be in tune. Read the Bible a lot. Then, when you face a tough situation, the Holy Spirit will remind you of a Bible verse, and you will know what to do.
5. We can hear God's voice. Not only that, but God made us able to recognize His voice. Jesus said,
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. John 10:5
note: Christians can recognize God's voice because it is never contrary to His written Word.
6. This is the comfort Christians have. We can hear God's voice.
P.S. Someone once asked me, "How do I know if it's God or if it's just me?" My best answer so far is that if you think you heard from God you probably did. But you can always ask for confirmation. God will tell you the same thing again through someone else, or in some other way. For important decisions you might want a third confirmation. Better yet, just ask the Holy Spirit of God to show you something in God's Word that will give you the answer. Then you can live with confidence.
P.S.S. If it really is a word from the Lord, it will encourage, exhort, and edify me; and lift me up. It will not confuse me, or cause fear.
P.S.S.S God speaks to us in peace. If someone comes to me with a "word from the Lord" it has to minister peace to me, or I reject it. (I usually reject it anyway, unless it is a Bible verse.) Even if it is correction from God it will still minister peace to me. For whenever God has corrected me, He didn't just tell me what was wrong - He also showed me what was right, and how to fix what was wrong.
I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; Psalm 85:8