Hello everyone,
Continuing from yesterday's message, I would like to share with you all something very closely related to listening to the "still small voice" of God: testing the spirits.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3 NKJV)
Believe it or not, there are other spirits out there contending with God and His Truth. We, as Christians, must learn to recognize the voice of our Lord, so that we will not be deceived by the lies these spirits wish to pour into our hearts and minds.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14-15 ESV)
So how do we learn to discern the voice of our Lord? It's pretty simple actually - we get to know Him. We spend time with Him. If we are truly "Jesus' own," having been redeemed by His precious blood and given new life through His sacrifice, the overflowing of gratitude and thankfulness will lead us to spend time with Him. When we spend time with Him through His Word, through prayer, through worship, etc., we over time learn to recognize His voice. The more time we spend with Him, the easier it is for us to tell when we are truly hearing from God.
I'm sure you've all used a telephone - do you know what it's like when you, over time, learn to tell who is on the other line simply by hearing them say, "Hello?" They don't need to state their name, just the very sound of their voice gives them away. Well, this is how it is with God. When we spend time with Him, we learn His voice - and we also learn to discern the spirits. If we are ever called to do something contrary to the revealed Word of God, having spent time with Him through His Word, we can recognize that it is untrue and reject it. But this, too, takes time - the more time we spend with Him and the closer we draw to Him, the better we become at recognizing the voice of our Good Shepherd.
Blessings,
Andrew
