In today’s post, I want to discuss the thorny issue
of hearing the voice of Jesus.
First, I grew up in a movement where it was common
for people to say, “The Lord told me this,” and “God showed me that.” They said
it so confidently, with such assurance, projecting the image that God talked to
them as unmistakably as when a solicitor calls you on the phone.
Interestingly, whenever I’ve said to such people, “We
really need a practical book that shows people how to practically
recognize the Lord’s voice,” they became animated saying something like, “Oh, I
really want to read a book like that!”
The only conclusion I can draw from this reaction
is that these same people aren’t absolutely sure they are hearing from God
(despite their confident claim that God speaks to them every time they blink).
Second, ever since I began following the Lord at age
16, I’ve found the whole issue of hearing the Lord clouded in mystery. Mostly
because when I’ve heard people announce that God told them such and such (with
absolute confidence), they made it sound like His voice is so different from
their own thoughts that there’s no way they could mistake His for theirs.
Third, while there’s still a very small percentage
of Christians roaming Planet Earth who’ve swallowed the unbiblical idea that
God no longer speaks to His people today, the overwhelming majority of Jesus-followers
are convinced that the Lord still speaks to His people today. And the New
Testament stands with them.
Fourth, all told, there’s a tremendous hunger among
God’s people to hear directly from their Lord. This is why the book Jesus
Calling has sold over 10 million copies. Whatever you may think about that
book, its success in sales sends one unmistakable message: God’s people are
hungry to hear their Lord speak to them.
So let me press a few questions:
* What if the whole process of hearing the voice of
Jesus could be demystified in a way that any believer could learn to recognize
His voice? Not just pastors and Charismatics?
* What if you could have your own “Jesus calling”
experience if someone simply showed you how? This, opposed to having to read
someone’s book where Jesus allegedly spoke to them?
* What would happen if God’s people – even a small
percentage of them – starting hearing the Lord’s voice regularly and began
responding to what He was telling them? What sort of effect would this have on
their own personal lives, on the body of Christ, and on the world?
Consider those questions for a moment.
Let me end this update with seven points that I’ve
come to conclude over many years of experimenting, exploring, studying, and
learning about the way the Lord speaks to us today:
1. Jesus is alive and well. No has put duct tape
around His mouth; He’s not mute. He still speaks to His people today. And not
just when they read their Bibles.
2. What Jesus says to His people will never contradict
what He’s said previously (in the Scriptures).
3. When Jesus spoke to people in the New Testament
after His ascension, it was usually internal, not audible.
4. The Lord’s voice comes to us mostly through our own
thoughts, feelings, desires, and impressions.
5. Scriptures gives us some very definite clues as to
how to recognize the Lord’s voice from our own.
6. You can sharpen your spiritual senses to hear His
voice. You simply need some practical help on how to do so.
7. Up until the 1800s, the vast majority of people
were illiterate. Even today, 15% of the world still cannot read. While the
ability to read is wonderful, it’s not a requirement to hear the Lord speak.
In Part 2, I’ll share a few practical handles I’ve
discovered that will help you to recognize the Lord’s voice in your own life.
- Frank Viola
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