Hearing God’s Voice
Faith comes from hearing God’s words through His Holy Spirit. Faith is accomplished by actions of obedience with patience and perseverance.
Every true Christian has heard God’s voice. It was God’s voice that called you to Him; it was His Holy Spirit that drew you with chords of love to receive His salvation message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You heard God’s voice say in your heart “I have chosen you, and ordained you, come unto Me”. Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). So then your Christian walk began with faith, and you received that faith from God through His Holy Spirit communicating with you.
Faith is a gift from God; it is a part of God’s grace that is at work in your life. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). True faith, true hope, and true love, all come from God and not from your self they are gifts from God. The Bible says, “God has given a measure of faith” to each Christian, (Rom 12:3). Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, (Heb 12:2).
God imparts faith to people through the hearing of His words. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word rhema of God, (Rom 10:17). In the New Testament when the word of God is mentioned there are two main words for the word, word; they are rhema and logos. They both have a similar definition that is “spoken words”. But in studying the Bible I noticed an important difference, rhema has to do with hearing the voice and sensing the spirit by which the words are spoken. Logos are recorded words, which have been spoken.
Jesus the Christ is also called The Logos, the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word logos, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) The Words that the Father spoke through Jesus created the universe and all life. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. (Psa 33:6) The Bible is logos, the recorded words of God. 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)
I love the Holy Bible and I accept without doubt that it contains the infallible words of God from Genesis to Revelation. But faith does not come from the Bible; faith comes from God through the Holy Spirit. Rhema is the word of God that is associated with faith; faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God. So unless a person hears God’s voice and senses His Spirit when receiving the words from God, there is no rhema, there is no faith, there is no life, and there will be no good fruit produced. In fact when people quote scriptures with out being led by the Holy Spirit they produce death not life. Remember even Satan can quote scriptures, Mat. 4:6. People in the New Age movement quote scriptures, Muslims accept some scriptures, and many cults will use some scriptures from the Bible, but there is no true faith produced when they quote the Bible.
Because of the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross He made available to us a new covenant between God and man, a new relationship. Everything about the new covenant has to do with the Spirit, not the law. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! (2 Cor 3:6-9)
Because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross God is able to give us His spirit in us, and not just with us. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
So now we have a new nature in us that is God’s laws written on our hearts, God’s Holy Spirit in us. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. (Heb 8:10-11) We know God and have intimate fellowship with Him through the Holy Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
The Pharisees and Sadducees used the scriptures to bring death, as do some religious leaders today, but when Jesus quoted scriptures it brought life. Jesus says “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) Too many pastors and Bible teachers are bringing death to people instead of life by speaking un-anointed words, that is words that the Holy Spirit has not led them to speak.
Too many people are teaching the written word without teaching the Spirit, which is how to hear God’s voice in you, the Holy Spirit. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. (Mat 12:35-36) Idle words are dead words that do not carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which means that they do not carry God’s voice and His spirit to penetrate the heart of the hearer bringing life and faith.
Pastor, if the Lord has not given you a word to speak then stand behind the pulpit and keep silent, waiting on God until He does. One anointed word from God spoken through your mouth can bring a revival in your church that will touch the world. But great swelling words of emptiness produce death; don’t be a cloud without water that passes over the desert; see 2nd Peter chapter 2.
Too many Christians do not know how to witness to others because they are trying to follow a formula taught by man instead of being led by God’s Holy Spirit in them. Even in your Bible reading you need to be led by the Holy Spirit otherwise it can be dry and boring, but when the Holy Spirit leads you to a passage it brings life and joy because you hear the voice of God and sense His Spirit while you are reading it. You then know that those words were written for you even though they were written thousands of years before. In praying you need to also be led by the Holy Sprit so that you can speak God’s words from your mouth and bring God’s will upon earth.
Everything about our relationship with God has to do with the Holy Spirit. He is our bond and unity with God, and He is our source of communion and communication with God. Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all 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.” (John 16:13) It is the Holy Spirit that guides us into all truth, the Bible contains truth but only when the Holy Spirit guides us do we know how to apply Bible truth. The Holy Spirit tells us how to do God’s will, God’s way, and in God’s timing.
There are seven influences that the Holy Spirit has upon the believer found in Isaiah chapter 11. The first is that He is to rest and remain with you forever, He will be with you your whole life, He will be with you through death, and He will be with you in the next life also, forever. The Holy Spirit is the One who is called along side of us; He is our Helper, our Comforter, and our Counselor. There are times when the Holy Spirit’s communication with us is beyond words that we can understand, but we will sense the divine message anyway.
The Holy Spirit will communicate to you wisdom, understanding (discernment), counsel, power (faith), knowledge, and the fear of the LORD. He will cause you to delight in the fear of the LORD walking in obedience and righteousness because the joy of a clean heart will be yours. The Holy Spirit is such a great treasure in the true Christian, what a privilege that God has given us who are of the new covenant. But how often have we neglected, ignored, and allowed ourselves to become distracted from His influence in our lives.
Jesus says, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”, (Mat 4:4). The Bible does not contain all the words of God, but we are to live by all the words of God, that can only happen by living a life led by the Holy Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom 8:14) God’s children that have His Spirit also hear His voice. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) The people that hear God’s voice are the people that He knows.
There are many people who call themselves Christians and they may even do great things in Jesus name but they are not being led by God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Mat 7:22-23). These people made two fatal mistakes; first they took credit for, and trusted that the works would get them into heaven instead of God’s grace given through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The second fatal mistake was not being led by God’s Holy Spirit, which is practicing lawlessness and disobedience.
The just shall live by faith, faith is hearing and obeying, so the righteous people live by hearing and obeying God’s words given to them through the Holy Spirit. Whatever is not of faith is sin. The Christian’s spiritual journey begins with faith and continues with faith. Your faith increases as you become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, hearing God’s words spoken in your heart, and then through obedience and perseverance see the great results of walking in faith. When you are sensitive and obedient to God’s words there will be evidence of your faith. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)
When you receive a word from God there are four possible reactions that you can have to the Word of Truth that God speaks to you through the Holy Spirit.
1. A hard heart does not receive the word and then the devil can easily steal it.
2. A shallow heart receives the word with joy and it begins to grow, but when persecution comes it withers because it does not have deep roots in a persons heart.
3. A heart that has other priorities receives the word but it is chocked out by the cares and distractions of this world.
4. A good and humble heart receives the word, and holds on to it, and thereby produces much spiritual fruit through perseverance and obedience to God.
(Luke 8:11-15 NIV) “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. {12} Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. {13} Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. {14} The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. {15} But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
When you first receive a word from God you feel the joy of receiving God’s word in your heart because you are hearing His voice and you sense His Spirit while you receiving the word. That is a rhema word from God. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16) But after receiving a word from God it is no longer rhema, it becomes logos, a received word from God.
You may not continue to feel the joy and sense God’s Spirit from the word that has been received; this is why perseverance is required to produce fruit from a word received from God. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; (Isaiah 55:12) Even if you do not have the joy you can hold on to the word received and be led by God’s peace. At discouraging times when you turn your attention back to God the Holy Spirit will remind you of the promise and you will be able to hang on to it, and sense God’s peace and comfort.
It is possible to receive a word from God and then not go on to see it fulfilled in the physical realm. Many people get discouraged when circumstances make it look like it is impossible, some will let go of the word and go no further. There will be a time of testing after you receive a word from God, you may even question if you really heard from God, thinking that it could have just been your emotions or imagination. But if you hold on to the promise and persevere you will see it fulfilled and it will produce fruit that glorifies God. For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. {36} For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: {37} “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. {38} Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
(Hebrews 10:35-38)
Lord You Rain On Us Your Glory 