HERE ARE TIMES when we desperately want to hear from God. One such time for me was when my wife’s appendix ruptured in 2008. She underwent emergency surgery to remove her appendix and as much as possible of the infection. A week later, doc- tors drained an enormous abscess that had formed. She was in the hospital on intravenous antibiotics for two weeks. Without modern medicine or God’s intervention, my wife would have died. I desperately wanted God’s assurance that she would recover. The Holy Spirit continually spoke to my heart giv- ing me that encouragement, and she did fully recover. I was able to receive assurance from the Holy Spirit because I had learned both from Scripture and experience how to hear Him. In John 10:3-4, Jesus provided two keys for hearing the Holy Spirit. Jesus said (1) the sheep hear the Good Shepherd’s voice and (2) they recognize that voice as belonging to the Shep- herd. The keys are to hear and to recognize. Let’s look at some scriptures that can help us understand how to hear and recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit.
T Hear the Spirit’s Voice
What does the voice of the Holy Spirit sound like, and how do we listen to Him? We can find answers to those questions in 1 Kings 19:11-13. Elijah had recently killed 400 prophets of Baal, causing Queen Jezebel to threaten to kill him. He fled to Mount Sinai and was hiding in a cave when God spoke to him.
[The Lord] said, “Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earth- quake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (NASB).
God did not speak to Elijah in the powerful or the dramatic. He used strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire to demonstrate that He was still God Almighty. However, God’s prelude to speaking to Elijah was a sound like a gentle breeze. When the Lord actually spoke to Elijah, it was with a tender and loving inner voice.
In the same way that He got Elijah’s attention, the Lord may use a powerful demonstration or a dramatic event to prepare us to listen to Him. However, when He actually speaks to us, it will be with a tender and loving inner voice. To hear Him, we must tune out the noise and distractions around us, perhaps by getting alone in a quiet place. Then we can listen for His gracious words.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to me, it is through an inner voice that is almost like my own thoughts. With my heart I rec- ognize it is the Holy Spirit who is speaking, and with my mind I understand what He is saying to me.
Recognize His Voice
We recognize the writings of our favorite authors because we are familiar with their writing styles, their subject matter, their vocabulary, and the way they express themselves. Similarly, the most reliable way for us to recognize when the Holy Spirit is speaking is by becoming familiar with His book, the Holy Bible. Anything He says to us personally will always align with what He says in the Bible.
Recognizing His voice when He is speaking within us goes a step beyond that. After listening to what we believe the Holy Spirit has said, and before acting upon it, we should submit the message to a testing process. The first two chapters of 1 John describe tests that can help us assess whether what we have heard is of God. Everything the Holy Spirit says will pass those tests because the Holy Spirit inspired John to write them. Communication from the Holy Spirit will . . . • lead us toward the light (1:5) • lead us away from sin (2:1a, 15-17) • lead us to seek forgiveness and cleansing when we have committed sins (1:9; 2:1b-2)
• align with God’s commandments (2:3-5a) • encourage us to respond as Jesus would (2:5b-6) • lead us away from hating and toward loving other people (2:9-11)
• encourage us to know God better (2:13-14) • be the truth (2:20-21) • never deny or diminish who Jesus is or what He has done (2:22-23).
In summarizing his purpose in writing those tests, John said, “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you” (2:26). “Those” who might deceive us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, include other people, our own desires and imagination, and evil spirits. The truth from the Holy Spirit will never conflict with any of John’s tests. That which is purported to be from the Holy Spirit, but is not, will fail one or more of those tests.
In today’s perplexing world, we must know how to hear the inner voice of the Holy Spirit. Then when an urgent need arises, we will be able to hear His message clearly.
Eugene H. Lowe, Ph.D., has three degrees in electrical engineering and a passion for God’s Word. This article is an excerpt from his book, The Holy Spirit at Work in You (
www.theholyspiritatworkinyou.com).
EVANGEL • SEP 2010 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32