Opening greeting
May mercy, love and peace be yours in full measure. Jude 1:2
Beginning reading
1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. 2 But now, in the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2
Message
The idea of God speaking to anyone tends to raise controversy notwithstanding universal acceptance of the fact of God having spoken to individuals as well as people in the Bible. I will attempt in this article to bring scriptures to shine light on the phenomenon and phenomena of God speaking to somebody or people or of somebody or people hearing from God.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (cited above) declares God speaking to us. This is true. The New Testament is filled with the words of Jesus Christ which are also words he heard from his Father. Per John 12:49, "I have not spoken on my own initiative, but the Father who sent me has given me a command, namely, what to say and how to say it."
In addition to God speaking to humankind through his son, he as well continued to speak to us through his first Holy Apostles and Prophets. See Ephesians 3:5, "5 In past generations it was not made known to mankind, as the Spirit is now revealing it to his apostles and prophets, 6 that in union with the Messiah and through the Good News the Gentiles were to be joint heirs, a joint body and joint sharers with the Jews in what God has promised."
For some people, they have to see/experience to believe. John 20:29, "Jesus said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!” Recognize that not having experienced something does not mean it did not happen or cannot occur.
Let me move quickly to lay out a few more scriptures about God speaking to people. Numbers 12:5, "5 The LORD came down in a column of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent. He summoned Aaron and Miryam, and they both went forward. 6 He said, “Listen to what I say: when there is a prophet among you, I, Adonai, make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. 7 But it isn’t that way with my servant Moses. He is the only one who is faithful in my entire household. 8 With him I speak face to face and clearly, not in riddles; he sees the image of the LORD. So why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
Some implications from the Numbers scripture
1. There are two basic ways God speaks to man, woman, people, or humankind: a) in vision, dreams and riddles (take them all to mean the same in the sense that one has to figure out the message since it is shrouded and hidden); b) face to face communication, in direct, clear messaging with no need for interpretation; 2. Most people hear God in visions, dreams, and not always clearly; 3. Few people, even in scriptures, hear God directly and clearly; 4. Even though cited scripture states God spoke face to face with Moses, note that what Moses saw was a column of cloud (God was inside the cloud) and he heard God's voice from the column of cloud; he saw "God's presence," what people call "the presence of God," and not his personal image. People who argue he did not actually see God would be right to some extent. However, he did see God because God only allows man to see his "glory," "radiance," "Shekhinah," "his presence"- just some aspect of him. See Exodus 33:18, "18 But Moses said, “I beg you to show me your glory!” 19 He replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of the LORD. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will. 20 But my face,” he continued, “you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive;" 5. Moses saw and heard God while awake and alert, in real life and not in the sleep state.
Note: In apostle Paul's list of Spiritual Gifts, "dreams" would fall under prophecy and could also be under word of wisdom and word of knowledge as in 1 Corinthians 12:8 "To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; 10 to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues." If you dream and dream comes true, that could be God speaking to you.
How should one convey/communicate he has heard from God?
When telling people God spoke to you or something of such, it is reasonable to indicate how, specifically, he spoke to you: “If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it as a dream. But someone who has my word should speak my word faithfully." Jeremiah 23:28
Something interesting
There are instances in Scriptures when people saw or heard God but did not immediately know it was him:
A. Exodus 3:1, (iv) ""1 Now Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was aflame with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moses said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.”"
B. 1 Samuel 3:4, 4 The LORD called, “Samuel!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me?” But he said, “I didn’t call you; go back, and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called a second time, “Samuel!” Samuel got up, went to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD; the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called, “Samuel!” again, a third time. He got up, went to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” At last Eli realized it was the LORD calling the child. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, and lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, LORD; your servant is listening.’ Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Note: Just know, it is possible to hear God and not know it is him until he opens your heart, mind, and ears to know. As well, you could hear and know God has spoken to you and yet not understand what it is he has said. Some revelations you may never get to know what they mean. Some may take a while to understand. Yet some others would be understood right away.
Invitation:
May mercy, love and peace be yours in full measure. Jude 1:2
Beginning reading
1 In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. 2 But now, in the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2
Message
The idea of God speaking to anyone tends to raise controversy notwithstanding universal acceptance of the fact of God having spoken to individuals as well as people in the Bible. I will attempt in this article to bring scriptures to shine light on the phenomenon and phenomena of God speaking to somebody or people or of somebody or people hearing from God.
Hebrews 1:1-2 (cited above) declares God speaking to us. This is true. The New Testament is filled with the words of Jesus Christ which are also words he heard from his Father. Per John 12:49, "I have not spoken on my own initiative, but the Father who sent me has given me a command, namely, what to say and how to say it."
In addition to God speaking to humankind through his son, he as well continued to speak to us through his first Holy Apostles and Prophets. See Ephesians 3:5, "5 In past generations it was not made known to mankind, as the Spirit is now revealing it to his apostles and prophets, 6 that in union with the Messiah and through the Good News the Gentiles were to be joint heirs, a joint body and joint sharers with the Jews in what God has promised."
For some people, they have to see/experience to believe. John 20:29, "Jesus said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!” Recognize that not having experienced something does not mean it did not happen or cannot occur.
Let me move quickly to lay out a few more scriptures about God speaking to people. Numbers 12:5, "5 The LORD came down in a column of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent. He summoned Aaron and Miryam, and they both went forward. 6 He said, “Listen to what I say: when there is a prophet among you, I, Adonai, make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. 7 But it isn’t that way with my servant Moses. He is the only one who is faithful in my entire household. 8 With him I speak face to face and clearly, not in riddles; he sees the image of the LORD. So why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”
Some implications from the Numbers scripture
1. There are two basic ways God speaks to man, woman, people, or humankind: a) in vision, dreams and riddles (take them all to mean the same in the sense that one has to figure out the message since it is shrouded and hidden); b) face to face communication, in direct, clear messaging with no need for interpretation; 2. Most people hear God in visions, dreams, and not always clearly; 3. Few people, even in scriptures, hear God directly and clearly; 4. Even though cited scripture states God spoke face to face with Moses, note that what Moses saw was a column of cloud (God was inside the cloud) and he heard God's voice from the column of cloud; he saw "God's presence," what people call "the presence of God," and not his personal image. People who argue he did not actually see God would be right to some extent. However, he did see God because God only allows man to see his "glory," "radiance," "Shekhinah," "his presence"- just some aspect of him. See Exodus 33:18, "18 But Moses said, “I beg you to show me your glory!” 19 He replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of the LORD. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will. 20 But my face,” he continued, “you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive;" 5. Moses saw and heard God while awake and alert, in real life and not in the sleep state.
Note: In apostle Paul's list of Spiritual Gifts, "dreams" would fall under prophecy and could also be under word of wisdom and word of knowledge as in 1 Corinthians 12:8 "To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; 10 to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues." If you dream and dream comes true, that could be God speaking to you.
How should one convey/communicate he has heard from God?
When telling people God spoke to you or something of such, it is reasonable to indicate how, specifically, he spoke to you: “If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it as a dream. But someone who has my word should speak my word faithfully." Jeremiah 23:28
Something interesting
There are instances in Scriptures when people saw or heard God but did not immediately know it was him:
A. Exodus 3:1, (iv) ""1 Now Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was aflame with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moses said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.”"
B. 1 Samuel 3:4, 4 The LORD called, “Samuel!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me?” But he said, “I didn’t call you; go back, and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called a second time, “Samuel!” Samuel got up, went to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD; the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called, “Samuel!” again, a third time. He got up, went to Eli and said, “Here I am — you called me.” At last Eli realized it was the LORD calling the child. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, and lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, LORD; your servant is listening.’ Samuel went and lay down in his place.
Note: Just know, it is possible to hear God and not know it is him until he opens your heart, mind, and ears to know. As well, you could hear and know God has spoken to you and yet not understand what it is he has said. Some revelations you may never get to know what they mean. Some may take a while to understand. Yet some others would be understood right away.
Invitation:
37 ""On hearing this, they were stung in their hearts; and they said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter answered them, “Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed (baptized) on the authority of Jesus the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for those far away — as many as the LORD our God may call!"" Acts 2:37
Doxology:
24 Now,
to the one who can keep you from falling
and set you without defect and full of joy
in the presence of his Shekhinah (glory) —
25 to God alone, our Deliverer,
through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord —
be glory, majesty, power and authority
before all time, now and forever. Jude 1:24-25
and set you without defect and full of joy
in the presence of his Shekhinah (glory) —
25 to God alone, our Deliverer,
through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord —
be glory, majesty, power and authority
before all time, now and forever. Jude 1:24-25
Amen.
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