Hear God Loud & Clear: Discerning God’s Voice Through the Word
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one (1 John 5:7, KJV).
As I’ve said before, the word and Spirit always agree.
The Holy Spirit will not prompt your spirit to do one thing and the word of God tell you something else. Psalm 89:34 says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (KJV). God’s word is a covenant promise. It will never pass away (see Mark 13:31; Matthew 24:35; Luke 16:17). It is irrefutable, unchangeable, and undeniable, which makes simple work out of most of our day-to-day decision-making.
If what we’re doing (or want to do) doesn’t line up with the word, God isn’t in it. The only way for us to know that, of course, is to read it. If the Bible stays on our bookshelf or coffee table and never gets opened, how can we know what God requires of us (see Micah 6:8)?
Regardless of whether or not we read His word, as His children we remain responsible for any action that contradicts its principles. We need to have our face in the Book (rather than Facebook) so we can live circumspectly in this life (see Ephesians 5:15-17). We can’t just sit in church and let the pastor force-feed us God’s word. That’s not how we mature (see Hebrews 5:14). Neither can we buy everything coming from a pulpit. That’s how the Jim Joneses of the world convince people to drink the Kool-Aid, sell all their stuff, give him the money, and leave their family to live on a commune in South America. (Google it if you have to.) We have to seek God for ourselves. We have to verify that what we’re hearing actually lines up with the word of God. Otherwise, we’re likely, even from good preachers, to collect a few sticks in our hay.
I live in rural Oklahoma. When the horses on my property are feeding on hay and run across a stick, they spit out the stick and go right back to eating hay. Some believers I know would benefit from this “horse sense.” We need to be diligent in the word of God so that when someone is feeding us with good hay and all of a sudden tosses in a stick, we can recognize it and spit it out—without walking away from the hay pile.
As we’ve already established, God’s word provides the foundation of our confirming witnesses. “For the commandment [both written and spoken] is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23 KJV). God’s word instructs us in the way. It takes the stress out of life and establishes our walk with the Lord. In it are many definitive answers to life’s questions. For example, if the promotion you’re seeking requires that you “cook the books” and you wonder if you should take it, the long and short answer is “No.” That’s not how God does business. If the secretary just seems to understand you and wants to help you deal with your problems at home, grab your Nikes and “Run, Forest! Run!” There’s no need to eat up an inordinate amount of brain power with these types of decisions. Give your synapses a rest and live according to the word. Let God’s word make the decision.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1:1-2 KJV).
Notice that whatever our destination in life, whether to the blessings of God or the seat of the scornful, the journey is always progressive, and it starts with a choice. If we meditate on the word day and night, we will become rooted in the ways of God and experience the blessings of a righteous life. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11 KJV).
Meditating on God’s word—giving time and thought to it—hides it in our hearts. There it cannot be stolen from us or manipulated for us, for the word never changes (see Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 24:35). It doesn’t matter where we live or when we live. It doesn’t matter if we live in ignorance or rebellion to it. It doesn’t matter if others have twisted it or if we have failed in keeping it, the principles of God’s word remain. They are true (see Romans 3:3-4).
Take for instance the law of sowing and reaping. Scripture says we always reap what we sow (see Galatians 6:7-8). And a careful study of nature (which often shadows what we see in God’s Kingdom) shows that we reap later than we sow, and more often than not, we will reap in abundance on whatever seed we’ve sown, whether good or bad. Want a friend? Be friendly (see Proverbs 18:24). Want a bounty of finances? Be generous and sow finances (see Proverbs 11:24-26). Want others to be offended with you and refuse to forgive? Live in unforgiveness and offense. There will be plenty to go around! Whatever seed form is in your heart today will be what harvest is in your life tomorrow.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45 KJV)
Dear ones, the circumstances we face in life all boil down to the choices we (and those around us) make. But one of the most beautiful things about scripture is that instead of only learning from personal mistakes, we can learn from the choices of others—both good and bad. The Bible gives us the raw, uncut, uncensored version of the triumphs and tragedies of God’s people—from Abraham believing that God was able to do what He promised, to David killing Uriah to steal his wife (see Romans 4:20-21; 2 Samuel 11). Yet no matter what these characters did or didn’t do, God remained the same. He was (and is) faithful, merciful, and kind (see Exodus 34:6-7).
Biblical stories drive us to relationship with God. They lead us along the paths of righteousness (see Romans 15:4). There we find the fulfillment of His promises, a refuge from the turmoil of life, and understanding of how to live holy in a wicked and perverse generation.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. …Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me (Psalm 119:130, 133 KJV).
Living according to the word allows us to live in a way that pleases God. It prospers us and protects us from evil. Remember what it was like to be a teenager? You had all the answers—and your parents were idiots. Then, one day, you figured out who the real idiot was. Suddenly you started harvesting on all the bad seeds you’d sown in your life. Thank God, His mercies are new every morning, and His grace got you through (see Lamentations 3:22-23; 2 Corinthians 12:9)! What a blessing to realize early that God is a loving Father. He doesn’t want us to get hurt physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. So He wrote the rules of His world for our benefit and safety. Consider this example: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV). This principle wasn’t written to break your heart and cut you off from someone you think you love. It was written to protect you from the impending pain and heartache associated with entering into what I call a “missionary relationship.” Joining in covenant relationship with an unbeliever is entering, full time, into the mission field. Relationships like that, more often than not, end in disaster. They not only affect you, but they can affect the next generation.
God loves you beyond belief. He wants to guide you into a life of health, happiness, prosperity, and everlasting habitation. Never override the instructions in His word, expecting a positive result. Don’t be deceived into thinking God is leading you one way by His Spirit and another by His word. The spoken word, the Spirit, always lines up with the written word, the Bible. If we want to know what we’re hearing is of God, we simply go back to His word.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV).
The human heart is the most difficult thing to decipher. It is a combination of our soul and spirit. The only thing that can separate it for us, showing us what is emotion and human understanding versus what is God, is the word. God’s word is so powerful, so alive, that it divides the two by discerning what is of the soul and what is of the spirit. The word can tell the difference between lust and love, right and wrong, good and evil. Submitting to God’s word as final authority, recognizing that it is infallible, helps us confirm His leading.
Have you ever thought, “Is this just me or is it God?” God’s word divides what is of our soul versus our spirit. It will help you discern between these are the thoughts of my soul and these are the intents of my spirit. The more you know and submit to scripture, the more you will discern God’s voice from the world or your own mind.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV).
Think about this: For every one hundred miles of highway, there are two hundred miles of ditches. You can fall off on either side. The same is true in the spiritual realm. Staying on the road of God’s best requires focus and attention, without which we end up in the ditch, spinning our wheels mired in religious rhetoric that quenches any move of the Spirit (all “letter,” no “spirit”), or careening out of control living “by the spirit” while our lives fall into chaos and disorder (all “spirit,” no “letter”). God admonishes us to find our spiritual balance. We hear things today like, “all we need is the Holy Spirit” and there is a disregard or disrespect for the word. This is how entire churches get off track believing they are hearing God.
Others say, “all we need is the word” and they quench the move and work of the Spirit resulting in a dead church.
We need the Spirit and the word, which are the two lead witnesses into truth. The Spirit without the word can lead to Goofy world, but the word without the Spirit leads to legalism and bondage (death). The word will keep “Goofy” in Disney where he belongs and the Spirit will keep us out of dead religion, a place none of us belong. “A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1 KJV). Even in creation we see the Spirit and the word working together.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good (Genesis 1:2-4 KJV).
Notice how “the Spirit moved…and God said,” and the result was “good.” Together, the Spirit and the word brought order out of chaos in creation. They will do the same in your life. Once you’re prepared with a foundation of knowledge that comes from a diligent study of scripture, the Spirit that connects your physical mind to the mind of Christ in your inner man has something to “move” upon (see 1 Corinthians 2:16; Ephesians 5:26).
If John the Baptist hadn’t been familiar with God’s redemptive plan through a diligent pursuit of the scriptures and been sensitive to the move of the Spirit in his time, he could have missed the appearance of Christ, just as many of his fellow Israelites did. We can’t afford to miss the destiny God has for us. History can’t afford it, either. So open that Book!
