Hearing His Voice

Thanks for being a blessing to many! Jesus said my sheep hear my voice. So this statement implies that only God’s people hear His voice. I have been trying to seek His direction in life and I’m eager to hear Him speak. However, so far I haven’t gotten any response. Does it mean I am not His sheep? Does it even mean that I do not have salvation ?
 

A. You’re referring to John 10:27. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
The Lord’s “voice” in our life is the guidance provided by the Holy Spirit, who the Father sent to us in the name of the Son (John 14:26). He is an “inner voice” who gives us advice on what to do.

We have to learn how to listen for His voice because it involves waiting quietly, something most of us don’t do naturally. But by learning to listen, we gain valuable insight into the Lord’s will for our life (Romans 12:2).

In all this we have to remember that we’re responsible for the choices we make. The Holy Spirit is a counselor who will only advise us. We have to choose to yield our will to His in order to follow Him.

When we disregard His guidance and go ahead on our own, He will stand aside and let us. If our actions cause us to sin, He will convict us and prompt us to seek God’s forgiveness.
Once in a great while we may actually hear the audible voice of the Lord. If that happens, it it’s wise to pay attention because it means the Lord is giving us very important instruction.
Jesus said, “If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He was talking about learning to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Sheep Hear the Shepherd

Is the Bible true?

By Tiffany Wismer




Is the Bible True: The Series:
An Introduction to The Question
The Sheep Hear the Shepherd
Coming soon: Is the God of the Bible the one true God?


If the Bible could be proven by apologetics, by intellectual arguments and Westernized thinking, wouldn't that be in itself a sort of counter-proof of its truth? Is being able to understand philosophy and science and theology a prerequisite for a relationship with God? When we think of Jesus, does this idea make any sense at all? Jesus was not a persuader. He did not give people answers. He just said "follow me" and they did, or they didn't, based on what they saw Him do and what they thought of His claims. They were either sheep, following the voice of their Shepherd, or they weren't. The same is true for believers today.

The supernatural view of the Bible, and the idea that it contains a divine voice which speaks to the heart of man, is appealing because of its universality. God is not biased — His wisdom is for everyone who wants it (James 1:4-5). Whether a man is educated or not, rich or poor, from east or from west, makes no difference. God speaks and man's heart hears. Some will ask, what about those people who never hear? What if they don't have access to a Bible, or they live on a desert island somewhere and have never had the chance to hear God's voice? It's a valid question, and it has a surprisingly easy answer if we can set aside the idea that God is limited to apologetics and empirical arguments.

This desert island question labors under the false assumption that if the Bible is not accessible, the voice of God is unheard. But we are forgetting Abraham, who heard God's voice before the Law of Moses even existed. God can speak to the person on the desert island just as he spoke to Abraham before there was a law or anything written regarding God. Abraham heard God's voice and trusted Him. That was the first relationship of faith, and that is why Abraham is the father of all those who have faith (Romans 4:16). And if the person on the desert island ever returns to society and picks up a Bible, he will recognize the voice in the Scripture as the voice that spoke the words of eternal life to him while he was all alone. God is fully able to do this for any person who we might consider "unreached" and there is much evidence that he is doing that very thing today in closed nations, through dreams and visions.

Of course, this now leads to a second, very important question. Muslims and Mormons, among others, claim to hear God's voice in their own holy books, just as Christians do. If God's voice can be heard and trusted by human hearts, has he spoken to us through only the Bible, or is his voice heard through other religions as well?