In the midst of so many voices today, it is important for us to discern God’s voice. God impressed this upon me in the early dawn moments on Friday to begin to examine what the Bible says about the Voice of God. What I am sharing with you today is the results of that search as I asked “God, teach me about Your Voice.” There are 506 references to God’s Voice in the Bible and in all periods. It is the nature of God to speak, to communicate His thoughts to others as we learn from His first interaction with the first humans in the Garden and throughout the history of mankind. We must conclude that God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation. The whole Bible supports this idea from Genesis through Revelation as God is speaking. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is, by His nature, continuously speaking. He fills the world with His speaking voice. Psalm 33: 6 and 9 says: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth…For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”
In the first Chapter of Genesis we read over and over with each work of His creative order: “God said...and it was so.” The why of natural law is the living voice of God immanent in His creation. Among the resources God brought me to in this study was to some of the profound insights of A.W. Tozer written in his book “The Pursuit of God” in 1948 that has helped to deepen and broaden my understanding of the vastness of the Voice of God. The Voice of God is the most powerful force in nature, for all energy is here only because the power-filled Word is being spoken. The Voice of God is not limited to the pages of a written book but is alive and free as the sovereign God is free—the life is in the speaking words. God’s word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God’s word in the universe. The Word of God is quick, powerful and alive (Hebrews 4:12). In the beginning He spoke to nothing, and it became something. Chaos heard it and became order; darkness heard it and became light. Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible.”
God is here today and He is speaking. God did not write a book and send it by a messenger to be read at a distance. He spoke a Book and lives in His spoken words, constantly speaking His words and causing the power of them to persist across the years. 2 Timothy: 3: 16-17 confirms that: “All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for restoration, and for training in righteousness, so that the person belonging to God may be capable, fully equipped for every good deed.” John in his Gospel further connects the dots of understanding 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Notice that this brings out the Genesis parallels very well. John is not contradicting Genesis, he is expanding upon it. It was God's spoken words that were used to create the world, and it is "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" which gives life and light to humanity (Mt. 4:4). The word (the message) of God became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, an individual who fully embodied God's message to humanity. John is drawing out the concept of the powerful utterances of God which formed the world, which guide humanity, and which have now formed into a human individual through whom God utters His complete revelation. Jesus, John says, is God's most complete utterance. John is addressing the role, power, and importance of Jesus; God's words were powerful when He spoke the worlds into existence, now God has spoken, and that speech is Jesus. Neglecting Jesus is neglecting God's Voice. John starts off reminding his readers of Genesis, and how God spoke in the beginning. The words went out from God, BUT (John interjects) the words WERE God. God's words are simply extensions of Himself. They convey His thought, His mind. When God speaks, it is as if He is sending out His very Spirit. The words of God are life and light to mankind. And though God has spoken into the darkness (both in sending His spiritual message to darkened humanity and in saying "let there be light" in the darkness of Genesis 1) the darkness of humanity has not comprehended His teachings. BUT NOW, John says, God's words have become flesh. God's words, the very essence of God, have become incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth who is the open manifestation of the Shekinah glory—the whole deity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
We have not given sufficient attention to the utterance in the Book of John, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (1:9) God is still speaking—the Word of God affects the hearts of all men as light in the soul. In the hearts of all men the light shines, the Word sounds, and there is no escaping them. Something like this would of necessity be so if God is alive and in His world. John says that it is so. Even those persons who have never heard of the Bible have still been preached to with sufficient clarity to remove every excuse from their hearts forever. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse.” (Rom. 1: 20) This universal Voice of God was by the ancient Hebrews often called Wisdom, and was said to be everywhere sounding and searching throughout the earth, seeking some response from the sons of men. (Proverbs 8: 1-4) The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ear not to hear. Man has explained away the Voice of God to natural causes and is the root of modern science. Man falls to his knees to examine, to search, to find the cause the how of things instead of bowing the knee in worship and praise to the God of all creation who has all wisdom and knowledge. The still Voice of God sounds and searches the hearts of men but they are too busy or too stubborn to give attention. Psalm 46:10 urges us to “Be still, and know that I am God”—to stop opposing God!
Today the phone company has coined a phrase: “Can you hear me now?” This indeed is the question that we need to ask ourselves today in relation to the Voice of God. In John 10:27 we read the words of Jesus: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This scripture tells us that hearing the Voice of God will be a distinguishing factor to those who consider themselves His sheep and under His care. Therefore, the first prerequisite to hearing the Voice of God is that we receive Jesus as Savior so that we become a child of God. This verse speaks of hearing the Voice of God but also a call to follow God’s direction. When we hear God’s voice it will give us clarity. John 16:13 says: “The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own. He will tell you only what He has heard from Me, and He will let you know what is going to happen.” Jesus was encouraging the disciples prior to His final accension letting them know about the gift that would be given to them during Pentecost, a helper we know as the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of all believers. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a permanent presence of God in the body of a believer in Jesus Christ. This is confirmed in the Bible, and no exceptions are made. The indwelling is the mechanism by which the Christian's salvation is accomplished and sealed, and the anointing of the Spirit is the single most important mark distinguishing believers from non-believers. The believer in Christ has become the inner sanctum of God the Holy Spirit, as we have been sanctified and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the indwelling is many-faceted, and it is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit that believers enjoy fellowship with the Father and the Son and are empowered to hear the Voice of God!
I believe this is the challenge God is bringing to us today at such a time as this:
Seek the Voice of God—tune in to Him and His Word—be intentional about quiet time with Him, learn of His ways and seek His purpose. Be obedient in the direction God gives—readily hear His warnings when we get off track. Feel God’s comfort and experience His love as He speaks over us and make praise a lifestyle. Surround yourself with faith-filled friends who distinguish His Voice from the voices of the world. Be an instrument of the Voice of God to others to encourage and point them to Jesus. The benefits and importance of hearing the Voice of God are endless. The bottom line is this, OUR SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS ARE 100% DEPENDENT ON OUR HEARING GOD’S VOICE!
May this prayer from A.W. Tozer be our prayer:
Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.” Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice. Amen.