Test and See:
How To Know It Is God’s Voice
#29 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person
with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father
We have been talking
in all these articles about learning to hear God’s voice, sensing his heart,
and having intimate conversations with the Creator of the universe. But not everything we hear or sense may be
from God. It is important to test what
you sense or think you are hearing to make sure it is God’s Spirit you are
listening to.
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do
not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good,
reject every kind of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NIV
“Dear friends, do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize
the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God,
You, dear children, are from God
and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one
who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the
viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and
whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to
us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”
1 John 4:1-2,
4-6 NIV
So here
are some tests:
- Does it
agree with scripture…and not just a single verse but the context it is
taken from as well.
“All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
- Does it
honor Jesus
““When the Advocate comes, whom
I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the
Father—he will testify about me.”
John 15:26 NIV
- Does it
bring peace?
“And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7 NIV
- Does it
bring freedom?
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
“…Jesus said, “If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free.””
John 8:22,
31-32 NIV
- Does it
bring conviction vs condemnation?
(Conviction—a sense that you have done wrong and must and can
change because of God’s grace and mercy—comes from God. Condemnation—a sense that you have done
wrong and there is nothing that can be done to save you; worthlessness;
hopelessness—comes from the evil one.)
“For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
John 3:17-18 NIV
“For we know, brothers and
sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you
not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep
conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.”
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 NIV
- Does it
bring life?
“The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.”
John 10:10 NIV
- Does it
sound like Jesus?
““The gatekeeper opens the gate
for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,
and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never
follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger’s voice.”
“I am the good shepherd; I know
my sheep and my sheep know me—”
John 10:3-5,
14 NIV
If what
you hear or sense violates even one of these tests, it is suspect. God wants to have a passionate, intimate,
love relationship with you, but he will not lie or violate his character to do
it. Listen for his voice. If you are his sheep, you can be assured that
if what you hear passes these tests, you are hearing the voice of the shepherd
who wants to free your mustang heart.
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