God Speaks In A Variety Of Ways

 In this post, I will use material from the Convergence conference sponsored by Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. Sam Storms was the pastor in 2018 at the time of this conference. Dr. Storms's teaching is similar to Dr. Jack Deere's, Dr. Wayne Grudem's, and Dr. R.T. Kendall's. Storms, Deere, Kendall, Grudem, and Dr. Craig Keener are my 'go-to guys' - when I study spiritual gifts. Some may view the ways God spoke to people in Scripture as something he no longer does. Those who God chose to write Scripture indeed had a high level of gifting. That being the case, God still desires to communicate with his children through personal guidance. As I stated in a previous article - this guidance we receive from the Holy Spirit is not on the same level as sacred Scripture.

Below is an abbreviated list of ways God speaks from, The Convergence: Equip Workbook.

 

The Variety of Ways in which God speaks to His Children The God of the Bible is a speaking, communicative, ever-revealing God.

 1. Scripture – We hear God’s voice preeminently in and through the written Word of the Bible. On occasion we discover the Spirit speaking directly to our circumstances by alerting us to a text in which a biblical character was facing a similar challenge or decision. At other times the Spirit speaks more indirectly. That is, he alerts us to a principle or ethical truth that informs our decision-making process. 

2. Audible voice – Among those who heard the audible voice of God are Abraham (Gen. 22:1-2,10- 12), Moses (Exod. 3:3-6), the nation Israel (Deut. 5:22-24), Samuel (1 Sam. 3:1-10), Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13), John the Baptist (Matt. 3:16-17), Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:5-6; cf. 2 Pet. 1:17-18), the general public (John 12:27-30), Paul (Acts 9:3-7; 23:11), Peter (Acts 10:9-16), and John (Rev. 1:9-12). 

3. Internal Audible Voice – In such cases we genuinely “hear” a sound in our head, a voice that is decidedly not our own. But in this instance no one else would be able to hear it with their physical ears. 

4. Angelic messengers – God also speaks to us through angelic messengers, as he did to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15), Samson's parents (Judg. 13), Isaiah (Isa. 6:6-13), Daniel (Dan. 9:20-27), Zacharias (Luke 1), Mary (Luke 1), Philip (Acts 8:26), Peter (Acts 5:19-20), and others (see esp. Heb. 13:1). 

5. Dreams – God also communicates through dreams (Gen. 20:3; 37; Dan. 2,4,7; Matt. 1,2; Acts 2,10). Consider especially the overwhelming evidence that many Muslims are coming to faith in Christ by means of his appearance to them in dreams.

6. Visions – See Num. 12:6; Dan. 10:1-9; Acts 2:17; 9:10-12; 10:1-6; 10:9-16; 16:9-10; 18:9-10; 22:17- 18. 

7. Creation – See Ps. 19 and 104 and especially Rom. 1:18ff. 

8. Spiritual Impressions – These are “gracious incursions into our souls” (Willard, In Search of Guidance, 19). God often puts words, phrases, sentences, images and the like into our minds, stamped with the indelible print of his voice. Although undeniably subjective and occasionally slippery, “impressions” are a valid means of divine communication in our heart.  

In spite of the inescapable “subjectivity” of impressions, I believe we may justifiably expect that when God wants to tell us something, he will not be unduly obtuse. His purpose isn’t to mislead or confuse but to guide us clearly and carefully. Whether through thoughts or perceptions that we intuitively recognize could only come from him, he makes his heart known. When God communicates he does so with specific information, often times in propositional utterances.

People in biblical times were not left to wonder about “hunches” or “impulses” or “feelings”. If God’s voice is occasionally “vague” it is to awaken us from slumber or perhaps alert us to our presumptuous attitude, or perhaps challenge us to press into his heart ever more intensely. I agree with Willard who said, “It is to be expected . . . that if there is something He would have us know, He will be both able and willing and will in fact plainly communicate it to us, if we are but open and prepared by our experience to hear and obey” (219). Even in the case of visions, dreams, and trances, there is verbal communication.

 9. Providence – God may also communicate to us through providential guidance or by means of events that clearly reveal his will. 

10. Sympathetic physical pains or sensations – On occasion, God will communicate his desire to heal someone by stirring in your body a pain or sensation that corresponds to the affliction that another is experiencing. 

11. Other, unidentifiable modes of communication in which the Spirit (or an angel) simply “speaks” by some means not otherwise specified. There are numerous texts in Acts where God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or an angel is described as speaking to or saying something to someone – Acts 8:26, 29; 9:10; 10:7; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2; 16:6-7; 18:9; 20:23; 22:21; 27:24. 12. 

The directives of the Holy Spirit are practical, suggesting what to do, where to go, and with whom to speak. They are not ethical principles. The rules and regulations that bind our conscience and carry absolute and universal moral authority for the Christian are provided only in Scripture. 

Whereas the Spirit will often lead us in the daily application of biblical principles or how to wisely navigate the confusing waters of human relationships, he will not dictate new laws of right and wrong. Rather they are words that concern the “here and now” of people and their actions; often divine directives concerning ways in which God’s people are to fulfill the mandate to preach the gospel to all nations (what might be called "divine appointments”

Source: Convergence: Guidebook, page 5.

The Gift Of Prophecy

 

"But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams;

 even on my male servants and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." - Acts 2:16-19 ESV

 

The gift of prophecy, unlike the gift of teaching, is revelatory. God gives the gift of teaching to explain the Bible. It is a spiritual gift that requires knowledge of the Scripture and illumination by the Holy Spirit to understand the text. 

Certain Bible teachers understand the gift of prophecy to be preaching. Preaching can be prophetic (the Gospel itself is prophetic). God can give warnings and revelations about situations and people during a sermon. In this post, we are discussing personal prophecy. 

The New Testament gift of prophecy does not challenge the sufficiency of Scripture as some teach. 

These teachers, for the most part, are cessationists. They believe that prophecy, tongues, and the gifts of healing ceased after the completion of the New Testament canon (The Bible) - this is a poor interpretation of the Biblical text.

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." - (1 Corinthians 14:1  ESV)

"Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." -   (1 Thessalonians 5: 20 - 21 ESV)

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. - (1 Corinthians 14:29 ESV)

Why would the Apostle Paul command believers to weigh or judge prophetic words? Surely he would not tell us to evaluate the accuracy of  Scripture? Personal prophecy is not equal to Scripture. "...for we know in part and we prophesy in part" - (1 Corinthians 13:9 KJV) " ... the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort." - (1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV) - not to add to Scripture. It does not have the same authority.  

Personal prophecy (like other spiritual gifts) can be misused and abused. Well-meaning people can think they are hearing from the Lord, but are not.

I agree with Dr. Wayne Grudem's definition of New Testament prophecy. "Prophecy occurs when a revelation from God is reported in the prophet's own (merely human) words." (1)

Hermeneutics is the method used to interpret the Scriptures. Western scholars around the time of the Enlightenment began to view the Scripture through anti-supernatural lenses. 

Some theologians do not believe that women should preach or teach men (I'm not dealing with that here.) The problem is that according to Joel's prophecy that Peter quotes in Acts chapter 2,  both men and women will prophesy in the last days. Scholars call this the democratization of the Spirit. Unlike the Old Testament, any New Testament believer can prophesy. 

As Jack Deere says, "In the Old Testament, prophetic ministry belonged to the men. But when the Holy Spirit moved into his new temple, the human heart, he no longer enabled observed gender or age distinctions. He enabled men, women, and children to prophesy." (2)

New Testament prophecy is not to establish new doctrines - it is for guidance. 

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." - Romans 15:4 ESV

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence..." (2 Peter 1:3 ESV)

To believe and obey Scripture is the path to live a godly life. All the doctrine (teaching) in the Bible is for our instruction. 

The fact that the Bible commands us to pursue the gift of prophecy is the reason we should.

God never speaks to us in a way that contradicts his written revelation (the Bible).  Jesus said, "his sheep hear his voice," and they do. We hear Him in Scripture and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

If you are a pastor that does not believe God speaks today - how do you know God called you to preach? You know by revelation. 

People who hear God's voice most clearly are grounded in the Word of God. To be a biblical people, we must believe in revelatory gifts. And the authority of Scripture. 

(1) Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem, page 1057.

(2) Why I'm Am Still Suprised By The Voice Of God, Jack Deere, page 17.

How To Hear The Holy Spirit Accurately by Dr. Craig Keener

 

(Dr. Craig Keener is one of the top New Testament scholars in the world. He is a theologian that practices spiritual gifts. He's a good example of what I call "A Word and Spirit" person.) www.craigkeener.com  

The Holy Spirit passes on Jesus’ words as clearly as Jesus passed on the Father’s. We should be able to hear Jesus’ voice as clearly today as his disciples did two thousand years ago and­— since we see things in light of the resurrection— understand his message better. Of course, Christians have often abused the promise of hearing God’s voice, hearing instead only what they wanted or expected to hear. What objective guidelines can help us learn sensitivity to the Spirit and enable us to hear God’s direction accurately?

 

First of all, the Spirit does not come to testify about himself; He comes to testify about Jesus (John 15:26; 16:14).  He brings to our remembrance and explains what Jesus has already said (14:2 6). What the Spirit teaches us is therefore consistent with the character of the biblical Jesus, the Jesus who came in the flesh (1 John 4:2). The more we know about Jesus from the Bible, the more prepared we are to recognize the voice of his Spirit when he speaks to us. Knowing God well enough to recognize what he would say on a given topic can often inform us what God is saying, because God is always true to his character. But be warned: those who take Scripture out of context thereby render themselves susceptible to hearing God’s voice quite wrongly.

Second,  the Spirit does not come merely to show us details such as where to find someone’s lost property, although the Spirit is surely capable of doing such things and sometimes does them (1 Sam. 9:6-20). Nor does the Spirit come just to teach us which sweater to put on (especially when it is obvious which one matches) or which dessert to take in the cafeteria line. The Spirit does, however, guide us in evangelism or in encouraging one another (for example, Acts 8:29; 10:19; 11:12.)  The  Spirit also comes to reveal God’s heart to us,  and  God’s heart is defined in this context as love  (John 13:34-35; 15:9-14, 17). To walk in Christian love is to know God’s heart (1 John 4:7-8; see also Jer. 22:16).

Third, it helps if we have fellowship with others who also are seeking to obey God’s Spirit. In the Old Testament, older prophets mentored younger prophets (1 Sam. 19:20; 2 Kings 2:3-8). And among first-generation prophets in the early church, Paul instructed the prophets to evaluate each others’ prophecies, to keep themselves and the church on target (1 Cor. 14:29). Spiritual mentors or peers who are mature in their relationship with God and whose present walk with  God we can trust can seek God with us and provide us a “safety net” of sorts.

If we feel that the Spirit is leading us to do something, but recognize that much is at stake if we are wrong, we may do well to talk the matter over with other mature Christians. Proverbs advised rulers that wisdom rests in a multitude of counselors, and that advice remains valid for us as well. In the end, we may not always settle on the counsel others have given us— like us, they too are fallible— but if they are diligent students of the Scriptures and persons of prayer, we should humbly consider their counsel. God sometimes shows us things for the church that others may not yet see; at the same time, God may well have shown some of our brothers and sisters things we have not yet seen.  I have a few spiritual mentors and peers whose counsel I especially treasure and whose wisdom time has consistently (though not always) vindicated.

Many of us as young Christians were intrigued by the frequent experience of supernatural guidance from the Holy Spirit. While most of us who have learned to hear the Spirit in that way still experience such guidance regularly today, after a number of years, sensitivity to the Spirit’s guidance in that form becomes almost second nature and thus becomes less of a focus than it once was. Nor is this guidance, exciting as it may be to one discovering it for the first time, always the most important form of guidance God’s Spirit gives us.

By this method of hearing the Spirit, we might help someone in need, because the Spirit specifically directed us to do so. But many of us have also learned to hear God’s Spirit exegetically, as the Spirit has spoken in the Scriptures.  By hearing the Spirit’s voice in Scripture, we might help that same person in need simply because Scripture commands us to do so.  But perhaps the deepest sensitivity to the  Spirit comes when we learn to bear the Spirit’s fruit in our  lives­ when our hearts become so full of God’s heart that we help that person in need because God’s love within us leaves us no alter­ native. All three forms of guidance derive from the Spirit and from Scripture. Yet where needs clearly exist, God’s character that we have discovered by means of Scripture and the Spirit is sufficient to guide us even when we have no other specific leading of the  Spirit or scriptural mandate, provided neither the Spirit nor the  Bible argues against it. It is when the Spirit has written the Bible’s teaching in our heart that we become most truly people of the Spirit.

(Adapted from Three Crucial Questions About the Holy Spirit, published by Baker Books.)

Guidance: A Note From R.T. Kendall

 

( I posted this several years ago on my old blog. I still think it’s good advice. )

Several months ago I was praying about an important decision I had to make. I was praying for direction in my life so I emailed R.T.Kendall, and he sent this message back to me. I believe this will help someone else who needs guidance.

Do what gives you peace. Here is an acrostic I have preached all over the world:

P – is it providential – does a door open or do you have to break it down?

E – enemy – ask your self ‘what would the devil want me to do?’ – then do the opposite

A – authority – is it biblical?

C – confidence – does it increase or diminish; when I am wholly in God’s will I have a lot of confidence

E – ease – in your heart of hearts what do you feel. To thine owen self be true. God will not lead you to violate your conscience.

For this acrostic to work you must have ALL FIVE cohering; if so, it is fairly safe to proceed; if not, be careful.

Biblical basis for this: Romans 14:19.

God bless you.

RTK