By: Peter Larocque – 5/24
Greetings and God Bless every one of you in Jesus Mighty Name! Let us get right into it! There are many voices on Television, Radio, and The Internet, Social Media, and Streaming Platforms like YouTube, Blogs, and Podcast! All having someone expressing, I have got a word from the Lord for you! How am I supposed to know if what I am hearing, is really from the Lord?
Well, let us quiet the noise surrounding us and ask God what is it that He wants us to know about what we are Listening to. The Bible gives us a starting point which we can read in 1 John 4:1-3, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist. You have heard that he is going to come into the world, and he is already here.” NLT.
I learned some time ago that after hearing a Word from an individual who says he or she has heard from God, and states that God told them something to tell me, and when I walk away and all my attention is on the speaker, then I do not put much trust in what they have said. I should always be walking away glorifying the name of Jesus Christ and not the speaker.
Jesus said that after the Spirit of Truth has come, The Holy Spirit would glorify Him as it says in John 16:13-15, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future.14 He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.” NLT.
Before going any further, I will briefly explain the How behind the What. God is Spirit and speaks to what He is, meaning that when God speaks to us, He does not speak to our flesh, our heads, He speaks to the spirit inside us, our born-again spirit. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit as it says in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” NKJV. Once we are born again, we are re-connected. God the Holy Spirit speaks to the New Creation, the Inner man, our born-again spirit by a sense of knowing, (I call it a gut feeling), or Pictures, (the Bible refers to these as visions or dreams), or by Hearing. (Romans 10:17, “Yet faith comes from listening to this message of good news — the Good News about Christ.” NLT.
This brings me back to our original question; how do we know if WHAT we just sensed, seen, or heard is from the Lord? I am in the process of learning, (by no means do I claim to be an expert in this), of asking these three questions upon receiving a word.
#1. Does what you just sensed, seen, or heard lign-up with Scripture and the Nature of God revealed in Scripture? (1Corinthians 13:1-8)
#2. Does what you just sensed, seen, or heard produce the Fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, [patience] kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” NKJV.
#3. Knowing that All Truth has the Ability to set us Free, (John 8:32), does what you just sensed, seen, or heard result in releasing you? Not necessarily from a circumstance or suffering, but releasing you from the power that the circumstance has over you? Release from being controlled by suffering, and being able to maintain who you are in the present face of what is going on. For example, The Apostle Paul being in Prison, was set free sometimes and not at other times. (Read Acts 16:22-28). The Central Activity of Living in Freedom is Hearing from God!
To go along with asking these three questions, I am also learning that there are specific Indicators for hearing God’s Voice. It will bring you a sense of Peace and Assurance. It will Encourage and Strengthen you. It will align with Scripture and bring Glory to God. It will resonate with you (God will always speak to you first!) and motivate you to act. It will result in Transformation. Information changes thoughts, Revelation changes Beliefs! Let us remember, God’s Communication to you and me will have the Sound and Intonation of the most Loving Father we can imagine!
I think each of us should ask ourselves, do we believe that God is still speaking today? If for some reason you answered no, then you are simply being robbed! But if you answered yes, then may I humbly suggest you ask God something like what is written in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” NKJV. Call Him and He will answer you!
Jesus Christ came to reconnect us to The Father! Something that we could not do for ourselves!
So, Call on Him and He will answer, expect it, wait for it, and He will answer you!!! You are SPECIAL to HIM!!! Remember, we are His Children!!!
And, speaking of children,
Peter Larocque
peterlarocque@hotmail.com ◊