1) To hear God's voice, we must belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ and study the Bible, which is God's primary means of speaking to us today. 2) God may also guide us through circumstances and our conscience, shaped by studying His word. 3) While God spoke audibly in the Bible, this was rare; His normal means of speaking is through Scripture. Claims of direct, audible speech today should be carefully examined against the Bible.

1. The voice of God– 27th
February 2017
“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness.”(2 Timothy 2:19).
How can I hearthe voice of God isthe question thathas beenaskedbycountlesspeople throughoutthe
ages. Oldtestamentteachesusthat Samuel heardthe voice of God, butdidnot recognize ituntil he was
instructedbyEli as we can read from 1 Samuel 3:8–10, “A third time the LORD called,“Samuel!” And
Samuel got up andwent to Eli andsaid,“Here I am; youcalled me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD
was callingthe boy. 9
So Eli toldSamuel,“Goandlie down,and if he callsyou,say, ‘Speak, LORD, for
your servant islistening.’” SoSamuel went and lay downin hisplace. 10
The LORD came andstood
there, callingasat the other times,“Samuel!Samuel!” ThenSamuel said,“Speak,for your servant is
listening.”
Whenwe are listeningforGod’svoice,how canwe know that He is the one speaking?Firstof all,we
have somethingthatSamuel didnot.We have the complete Bible,the inspiredWordof God,to read,
study,andmeditate on. We can learnfrom 2 Timothy 3:16–17, “All Scripture is God-breathedandis
useful for teaching,rebuking,correcting andtrainingin righteousness,sothat the man of Godmay be
thoroughlyequippedforevery goodwork.” Therefore,whenwe have aquestionaboutacertaintopic
or decisioninourlives,we should seekwhatGodtellsuswhichwe canget by readingwhat the Bible has
to say aboutit. Because we must knowthatGod will neverleaduscontraryto whatHe has taughtin His
Word as we learnfrom Titus 1:1-2, “Paul,a servantof Godand an apostleof JesusChrist to further the
faithof God’s elect and their knowledgeof the truth that leads to godliness— 2
inthehope of eternal
life,which God,whodoes not lie,promisedbefore the beginningoftime…”.
To hear God's voice we mustbelongtoGod. We can learnwhen Jesussaid, “Mysheep listen to my
voice; I know them, andthey followme” (John10:27). Those whohear God’svoice are those who
belongtoHim—those whohave beensavedbyHisgrace throughfaithinthe Lord Jesus. These are the
sheepthatJesusreferredtoasthose whohear andrecognize Hisvoice,because theyknow Himastheir
Shepherd.If we are to recognize God’svoice, firstwe mustbelongtoHim. To belongtoHim we needto
steadfastlyseektobecome HisChildren.We needtolearntohave absolute faithandbelieve inGodand
His provisionsforus.
Thisbelief doesnothappenautomatically. Ittakestime andpersonal effort.We needtohave faithin
JesusChristas one’ssaviour,repentforoursinsand seeksalvationthatbeginstochange ourlives…to
becominganewentityorin otherworda new you!Our focusbecomesJesusChristandHisteachings
and therefore alwayswe mustattempttodoas he requiresfromus.We cannot live asinful life getting
more and more distanced away fromGod and hope to hearHis voice. We hearHis voice whenwe spend
time inBible studyandquietcontemplationof HisWord.The more time we spendintimatelywithGod
and HisWord, the easieritisto recognize Hisvoice andHis leadinginourlives.Employeesata bankare
trainedtorecognize counterfeitsbystudyinggenuine moneysocloselythatitiseasyto spot a fake.We
shouldbe sofamiliarwithGod’sWordthat whensomeone speaks Godswordin errorto us,it is
becomes clearthatit isnot of God butsomeone else whoiswrongfullyusingGod’sname!We canlearn
from2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless,God’ssolid foundationstandsfirm,sealedwiththis inscription:
“The Lord knows those whoare his,” and,“Everyonewho confessesthe nameof the Lord mustturn
away fromwickedness.”

2. Whenwe hear that God could speakaudiblyto some people today, asChristianswe canlearnthatHe
speaksprimarilythroughHiswrittenWord.SometimesGod’sleadingcancome throughthe HolySpirit,
throughour consciences,throughcircumstances,andthroughthe exhortationsof otherpeople. Butby
comparingwhatwe hear to the truth of Scripture,we can learnto recognize God’svoice…whathe want
us to know.We can learnthat the Bible alsorecordsGod speakingaudiblytopeople manytimes
(Exodus3:14; Joshua1:1; Judges6:18; 1 Samuel 3:11; 2 Samuel 2:1;Job 40:1; Isaiah7:3; Jeremiah 1:7
;Acts 8:26; 9:15— and thisisjusta small sampling. There isnobiblical reasonwhyGodcouldnotspeak
to a personaudiblytoday.Withthe hundredsof timesthe Bible recordsGodspeaking,we have to
rememberthattheyoccur overthe course of 4,000 years of humanhistory. Therefore, Godspeaking
audiblyisthe exception,notthe rule.Eveninthe biblicallyrecordedinstancesof Godspeaking,itisnot
alwaysclearwhetheritwasan audible voice,aninnervoice,oramental impression.
But as Christianswe mustknowthat God doesspeakto us.First,God speaksto usthroughHis Word as
we can learnfrom 2 Timothy 3:16–17,“All Scripture is God-breathedandisuseful for teaching,
rebuking,correcting andtrainingin righteousness,sothat the man of Godmay be thoroughly
equippedfor every goodwork.” We mustknow that God has a purpose ineverything.We canlearn
fromIsaiah55:11, “Sois my word that goes out frommy mouth: it will not return to me empty,but
will accomplishwhatI desire and achieve the purposefor which I sent it.” The Bible isGod’sWord, and
therefore everythingwe needtoknowinordertobe savedandlive the Christianlife isall there.
Therefore asChristianswe canlearnthat: “His divinepower has givenus everything we need for life
and godlinessthroughourknowledgeof Him who calledus by hisown gloryand goodness.”(2Peter
1:3).
God can also“speak” tous throughevents—i.e.,He canguide usthrough arrangingour circumstances.
AndGod helpsusto discern rightfromwrong throughour consciences aswe learnfrom 1 Timothy 1:5;
“The goal of thiscommandis love,which comesfrom a pure heart anda goodconscience anda
sincere faith.” We can also learnfrom 1 Peter3:16 that we are requiredthatwe are: “…keepinga clear
conscience,so that those who speakmaliciouslyagainstyourgoodbehaviorin Christmay be ashamed
of their slander.” Fromthiswe can understandthat God continuouslyisinthe processin conforming
our mindstothinkHis thoughts…learntobe like Him!.We canread where we are advised: “Donot
conformto the pattern ofthis world,but be transformed by the renewing ofyour mind.Then you will
be able to test andapprove whatGod’swill is—hisgood,pleasingandperfect will.”(Romans12:2).
As Christianswe mustbearinmindthat God allowsevents –sometimesgoodandattimeswhatwe
considerinourmindas bad to occur in our lives.He usesthemto directus,change us, andhelpus to
grow spiritually.IncarryingoutGod’srequirements,we mayface manytrialsandproblemsandthat we
needtoface suchsituation.We can readthisfrom 1 Peter 1:6–7, “In thisyou greatly rejoice, though
now for a littlewhile youmay have hadto suffergrief inall kindsof trials.These have come so that
your faith—ofgreaterworth than gold,whichperishes even thoughrefined by fire—maybe proved
genuineand may result inpraise, gloryand honorwhen Jesus Christis revealed.”
God may sometimesspeakaudiblytopeople.Itishighlydoubtful,though,thatthisoccursas oftenas
some people claimitdoes.Again,eveninthe Bible,Godspeakingaudiblyisthe exception,notthe
ordinary.If anyone claimsthatGod has spokentohimor her,alwayscompare what issaid withwhat
the Bible says. If God were tospeaktoday,His wordswouldbe infull agreementwithwhatHe hassaid
inthe Bible because GoddoesnotcontradictHimself. “All Scriptureis God-breathedandisuseful for

3. teaching,rebuking,correcting and trainingin righteousness, 17
sothat the servant of God[a]
may be
thoroughlyequippedforevery goodwork.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).