How do I know it is God? How do I know it is God speaking to me, speaking through you? The ability to hear and discern the voice of God and his leading in our lives and ministry is crucial if we are to fulfill his will. The famous apologist Ravi Zacharias said that there are no mass movements in church history. It only seems that way. At the centre of every movement is a man or woman who knows his or her God and where God is going. I fully agree. The great revival movements are simply occasioned when God works his purposes through a surrendered servant who is able to discern his voice and leading. As Henry Blackby wrote, we experience God when we work where he is working. We don't determine the agenda, he does.
How then do we hear the voice of God? Consider the words of Jesus in John 10:1-5:
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
"The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep." The first thing these verses tell us is that God does not play hide and seek with us. He does not come by the back door or is surreptitious in his communication. When he approaches us, it is direct and honest. Often, we are unable to hear his voice not because he does not speak clearly. But it is our human passions and selfish will that screams to drown out his voice. If we were simply to quieten our hearts before Him with the willingness to obey his voice at whatever cost, we will know the witnesses of the Spirit in our hearts.
This brings me to the second point. "...the sheep listen to his voice". The willingness to obey is a crucial criteria to hearing his voice. If we have already decided in our hearts a course of action, let us not deceive ourselves into trying to ask of his will. Strong preference in the area of decision making makes us resistant to hearing his voice simply because we are already closed to any other alternative. We must therefore be willing to listen, to obey, even if obedience brings us into a course that is difficult, or unpopular or painful. For that is the essense of faith, the faith surrender.
"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." The third point is that the voice of God to us is always deeply personal. God speaks to us in a way that we are able to hear. He knows what we require for faith and his communication is designed for us and us alone. For this matter, God may speak to one in one way and another in another. But more crucially, his voice is always a loving communication in the context of an intimate and close relationship with him. He does not play games and require us to figure him out. He is intensely personal, his presence very close by, as he leads us into his path of righteousness.
"His sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." This brings me to my final point on this matter. It is out of close personal relationship with our Lord that we are able to recognise his voice. The more time we spend in his presence in prayer and worship, the more we will learn to know him. Discernment can only be built out of familiarity. Thus when someone speaks a word that purports to be of God, the child who knows his father will be able to discern whether it is truly from God. For the inner witness of the Spirit will rage within us to cause discomfort and unease when false prophesy is proffered.
We are at a transation point in church history. As the one who holds the seven stars in his hand speaks to his end-time church, he who has ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to his church. Lead us O lord, for we your sheep are listening.