Listening to the Voice of Christ

God is true, and every man is a liar (Rom 3:4). Therefore, it should be every person’s prerogative to listen to God. Has God spoken? Does God actually speak? How do we know we are listening to God and not some impostor?

God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), so we must hear God, by being in the Spirit, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (1 Cor 2:14).”

God, indeed, has spoken, “In these last days (God) has spoken to us in His Son (Jesus), whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (Heb 1:2).” The Word of God, which must be the Word of truth, has come to humanity through the prophets and apostles (Lk 11:49), whose writings have served as the foundation of Christ’s church (Eph 2:20). Without the Word of God, the church would be a social club or an entertainment venue.

There is only one significant voice in the whole world. It is the voice of Christ, heard by those who have the Spirit of Christ indwelling them (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11). The voice of Christ cannot differ from the Word of God. So when the Spirit-filled man of God, preaches the Bible (God’s written Word), the Spirit-filled listener hears the voice of her Savior and Lord (Jn 10:3).

Christ’s sheep are constrained by their Good Shepherd’s love and care (Ps 23; Jn 10; 2 Cor 5:14). They follow the Spirit’s voice, giving application for Christian living, derived from the Word of God (Ezek 36:27).

Discernment, in the child of God, increases as she learns Christ from the knowledge of the truth (2 Pet 3:18). She refuses to follow another shepherd who has brought another gospel, to lure her away from godliness and full devotion to her Master (2 Cor 11:3–4). Spiritual discernment is a gift of the Spirit, who guides His people into all truth (Jn 16:13).

The failure of men to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15), enlists them into the ranks of false teachers and false prophets (Mt 24:11). If a congregation is void of congregants, who know the Scriptures, they are easy prey for unsound doctrine, from which they will never hear the voice of truth (Jer 6:10; Heb 4:2).

If God is to speak truth into the lives of His people, the preacher must first set his heart to know the holy Scriptures (all 66 books), which are his delight (Ezra 7:10; Ps 119:16). The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Eph 6:12), a doubled-edged sword used to cut and separate truth from lies (Ps 149:6; Heb 4:12).

Christians are wise to dispel the musings of those who peddle the Word of God at expensive conferences (Ezek 34; 2 Cor 2:17). They are discerning to leave an apostate church with a woman preacher (1 Tim 2:9–15). They are right to question the psychology and philosophy, masquerading as sound doctrine, from those clever sermons of showmen and therapists (1 Tim 4:6; 6:3; 2 Tim 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1).

The Word of God is profitable for those who listen to it, study it, learn it, believe it, and proclaim it. The Christian needs no apology for her love for the Bible. Her friends may scoff and mock her, but to hear the voice of the invisible God is priceless (Jn 3:29; 5:25; 10:3, 16, 27; 18:37). Men and their words are vain, but God and His Word is relevant for teaching in righteousness.

My friend, thank you for reading my words, today. The purpose for them is to merely point you to a better Source, where the Word is life (Jn 5:24; 6:63, 68; Acts 13:48; Phil 2:16; 1 Jn 1:1). God has made promises in His Word, and He has revealed the most important truth…Himself (Rom 3:4; Jn 14:6; 1 Jn 4:6; 5:6).

Christian, be reminded again that your life is declared by God’s Word. Your salvation is made known to you on the pages of the Bible. God has revealed Himself there, and He Himself is our salvation (2 Sam 22:47; 1 Chron 16:35; Ps 18:2; 27:2; Rev 19:1).

May God richly bless you, by guiding you, to the best place available to sit under the Word preached. May the voice of Christ, the voice of God resound, as the Spirit wields the Word in the place of his grace, the location of his salvation.

God has truly spoken, as a demonstration of the Spirit and power, to accomplish God’s will (1 Cor 2:4). Do not trust anything other than the Word of God, the holy Bible. Here is the light unto your path and the lamp unto your feet (Ps 119:105). This is the way of salvation. Blessed is he who hears, believes, and walks this way in the power of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

January 10, 2022