                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                         Hearing the Voice of God!

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By David Wilkerson
October 17, 1988
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          One of the greatest blessings a true believer has is to
          hear and know the voice of God. It is possible to hear
          God's voice today as certainly and clearly as did
          Abraham and Moses - as clearly as did Samuel and David
          - as clearly as did Paul, Peter, the apostles, and John
          on the isle of Patmos! God has promised to make His
          voice clearly known for one last time during these end
          days. He has given us a promise and a warning about
          hearing His voice. God is going to bring together a
          holy, separated remnant into spiritual Zion and make
          His voice known to them. "But ye are come unto mount
          Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
          Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels"
          (Hebrews 12:22).

          God has this message for all who have been called out:
          The voice of God that has shaken the earth in past
          generations will be heard in power again in one last
          shaking! "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he
          hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the
          earth only, but also heaven. (Hebrews 12:26). Here is
          God's warning to His holy, believing children. "See
          that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they
          escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much
          more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that
          speaketh from heaven" (Hebrews 12:25).

          Why is God gathering together a people out of the dead
          churches? Why is the Spirit crying, "Come out of
          Babylon, my people! Partake not in her sins!"? It is
          because God must have a people (a Zion people) in these
          troubled last days who are not confused of false
          doctrine. These are sheep who do not follow false
          teachers, who know their Master's voice. God speaks to
          them clearly and certainly, and they live by His voice!
          They are directed by His voice, comforted by His voice,
          guided in all things by His voice! This is the one
          great characteristic of a holy people: They are not
          mistaken about God's voice. They know it - they hear it
          - they are governed by it. It is sure, steadfast, and
          unmistakable!

          God has always had a people who were guided only by His
          voice. Adam and Eve "heard the voice of the Lord
          God..." (Genesis 3:8). It was sin that made them fear
          and hide from that voice. "I heard thy voice in the
          garden, and I was afraid..." (Genesis 3:10). Abraham
          became the father of many nations because he heard and
          obeyed the voice of God. "And in thy seed shall all the
          nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast
          obeyed my voice" (Genesis 22:18). "Because that Abraham
          obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments,
          my statutes, and my laws" (Genesis 26:5). Moses did
          nothing without hearing God's voice: "And when the
          voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and
          louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice"
          (Exodus 19:19). "And the Lord said unto Moses..."
          (Exodus 19:21). "And Moses said unto the
          Lord..."(Exodus 19:23). "And the Lord said unto him..."
          (Exodus 19:24). "And God spake..." (Exodus 20:1). Moses
          and God spoke to one another as intimate friends.

          God has always sought for a people who would honor and
          fear His voice. God said to Moses: "...Gather me the
          people together, and I will make them hear my words,
          that they may learn to fear me all the days that they
          shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach
          their children" (Deuteronomy 4:10). "And the Lord spake
          unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the
          voice of the words, but saw no similitude [form]; only
          ye heard a voice" (Deuteronomy 4:12). "Did ever people
          hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the
          fire, as thou hast heard, and live? (Deuteronomy 4:33).
          "Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he
          might instruct thee... thou heardest his words..."
          (Deuteronomy 4:36). "And ye said... we have heard his
          voice...we have seen this day that God doth talk with
          man, and he liveth" (Deuteronomy 5:24).

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                        Many of God's People Do Not
                     Want the Responsibility of Hearing
                        God's Voice for Themselves

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          The children of Israel wanted God's voice filtered
          through a holy servant. "Now therefore why should we
          die? For this great fire will consume us: if we hear
          the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall
          die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the
          voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of
          the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear
          all that the Lord our God shall say; and speak thou
          unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto
          thee; and we will hear it, and do it" (Deuteronomy
          5:25-27). God's people haven't changed much today! They
          are still afraid of the responsibility of being shut in
          with God to hear His voice! But the Lord wanted every
          Israelite to know and hear His voice personally. He
          made them know that He is a talking God: "...We have
          seen this day that God doth talk with man, and liveth."

          It is no wonder that thousands are being led astray.
          They have put their very lives in the hands of a
          teacher or a pastor, who then becomes God to them - and
          whatever he hears or teaches becomes their voice of
          God! But even holy, meek Moses "spoke unadvisedly with
          his lips" (Psalm 106:33) and misrepresented God's
          holiness. Therefore, even if your teacher is as meek
          and holy as Moses, his voice is not infallible. You
          need to know and hear God's voice directly to be able
          to judge what is taught!

          Why are thousands thrilling to new gospels that
          blaspheme the Cross, that teach that the blood of Jesus
          did not atone for sin? It is because they hear only
          man's voice. They don't know the true Master's voice -
          for, if they did, they would be grieving, not shouting,
          over such false doctrines! Oh, the destruction when
          God's voice is not known or obeyed. "As the nations
          which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye
          perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice
          of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 8:20).

          Samuel heard God's voice clearly. What he heard was so
          clear that "none of His words fell to the ground" (I
          Samuel 3:19). "...For the Lord revealed himself to
          Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word
          of Samuel came to all Israel" (I Samuel 3:21-4:1).
          David heard God speak and he, in turn, spoke with God!
          God's voice was his joy and life. David said, "God hath
          spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice..." (Psalm
          60:6). "The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his
          word was in my tongue... the Rock of Israel spake to
          me..." (2 Samuel 23:2-3).

          There are many today who do not believe God still talks
          to men. They say He speaks only through His Word, that
          all God ever wants or needs to say is locked up in the
          canon of the Scriptures. Certainly, God will never
          speak a word contrary to Scripture, but "God...hath in
          these last days spoken unto us by his Son..." (Hebrews
          1:1-2). And His Son is still talking to His children!
          He said His sheep know His voice and that another's
          voice they will not heed. We know God spoke to men in
          old times in the Old Testament. But what of the New
          Testament? What of the last days?

          God spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus: "...Suddenly
          there shined round about him a light from heaven: And
          he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto
          him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts
          9:3-4). For the rest of his life, Paul testified, "I
          heard His voice." Before King Agrippa he said, "...I
          heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the
          Hebrew tongue... And he said... Rise...for I have
          appeared unto thee for this purpose..." (Acts
          26:14-16). Peter heard and obeyed the voice of God. In
          prayer, he heard God speak: "And I heard a voice saying
          unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not
          so, Lord... But the voice answered me again from
          heaven... And this was done three times..."(Acts
          11:7-10).

          Jesus calls the last Laodicean church to hear His voice
          and open up: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
          if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
          come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me"
          (Revelation 3:20). This matter of hearing the voice of
          God is very serious. Let me share with you what I
          believe the Holy Spirit has revealed to me about
          hearing His voice.

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                           Not Everyone Who Says,
                               "God Told Me,"
                     Has Heard The True Voice of God!

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          There is a tragic misunderstanding in the church about
          hearing God's voice. The most common phrase heard in
          religious circles today is "God told me!" Many
          so-called prophets begin their words with "Thus saith
          the Lord!" Paul warns there are many voices clamoring
          to be heard. "There are, it may be, so many kinds of
          voices in the world, and none of them is without
          signification [meaning]" (1 Corinthians 14:10).

          In our hearts are many voices crying out, all of them
          pretending to be the very voice of God! If you trust
          any of these voices without trying them all by God's
          Word, you will be led astray! There is the voice of our
          flesh, the voice of our stubborn will, the voice of the
          enemy, and the voice of the world. All of them are
          sweet, gentle, and promising you "This is God
          speaking!"

          Let me tell you who is sure to be deceived: it is that
          Christian who thinks he can't be deceived - the one who
          once truly heard, but now moves by impressions and
          voices which have not come out of the secret closet. We
          are not infallible and every word we get is not from
          God!

          Many prophets are crying out, "Thus saith the Lord,"
          when God has not spoken to them at all. They are
          speaking their own minds - not God's. "And the word of
          the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy
          against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say
          thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts,
          Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God,
          Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own
          spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets
          are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up
          into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house
          of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the
          Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination,
          saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent
          them: and they have made others to hope that they would
          confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and
          have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say,
          The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore
          thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity,
          and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you,
          saith the Lord God" (Ezekiel 13:1-8).

          Not just prophets, but multitudes of believers do not
          understand that their own desires have spoken. They are
          convinced it was God's voice while all along it was
          vanity, a heart-desire pretending to be God's voice.
          God says, "You've been misled - I have not spoken!"

          God does not speak to anyone hiding sin, such as pride,
          ambition, or lust. "...The prophets prophesy lies in my
          name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them,
          neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false
          vision and divination [revelation], and a thing of
          nought, and the deceit of their heart" (Jeremiah
          14:14). "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran:
          I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied... they
          are prophets of the deceit of their own heart...
          Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that
          use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am
          against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the
          Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by
          their lies... they shall not profit this people at
          all... [they] have perverted the words of the living
          God...I will forsake you...and cast you out of my
          presence" (Jeremiah 23:21-40).

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                        No One Can Hear God's Voice
                      With an Idol or Stumbling Block
                               in the Heart!

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          God's voice will not come to those harboring sin-idols.
          "These men have set up their idols in their heart, and
          put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their
          face: should I be inquired of at all by them? Therefore
          speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
          God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up
          his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block
          of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the
          prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh
          according to the multitude of his idols... I will set
          my face against that man, and will make him a sign and
          a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my
          people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And if
          the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I
          the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch
          out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the
          midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the
          punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the
          prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that
          seeketh unto him" (Ezekiel 14:3-4, 8-10).

          "I the Lord have deceived that prophet." These know
          they are in sin, yet they come seeking to hear God's
          voice. God will let them hear deceptive words. What
          they hear will be punishment; it will add to their
          sorrows. God answers according to your idols! Yes! You
          will hear voices and prophecies. You will be led to
          false prophets who will speak pleasant words of peace
          and prosperity - just what your flesh wants to hear!
          But it will be a total deception because you wouldn't
          lay down your pet sin, your favorite idol. You will
          think God is speaking to you. But it is judgment
          because you are "estranged from me through [your]
          ...idols" (Ezekiel 14:5).

          God's voice is heard only by those shut up with Him is
          secret prayer. God is very careful to whom He speaks.
          It is only to those who value His voice so much they
          shut the whole world out to get alone and wait for Him.
          God's voice came to Moses when he was shut up alone
          with Him. The word came to John the Baptist alone in
          the wilderness. The voice of God came to Jacob in the
          desert of Haran. God spoke to Joshua when he went out
          of the camp, alone, before Jericho. The voice of God
          came to Paul, alone in the desert. The voice of the
          Father came to Jesus, alone on the mountain in prayer.

          God says to us, "If you want my voice, shut yourself up
          in the secret closet of prayer. Pray to me in secret
          and I will reward you. "Busyness, lusts, covetousness,
          and the cares of life choke out the voice of God. Jesus
          gave us a dreadful warning against becoming too busy to
          stop and hear His voice. In the parable of the sower,
          the Word is His voice: "These are they which are sown
          among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of
          this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
          lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and
          it becometh unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19).

          I fear there are some reading this right now who have
          been choking the voice of God. Choke here means "to
          crowd" or to drown out His voice. God once spoke so
          clearly to you. It was such a joy to you. You still
          love Him, but you have less and less time for Him. Your
          busyness now calls you - your riches, your cares, your
          problems, and all the other things consuming your time!
          The voice of God now grows dim. He is calling you,
          wooing you; warning you: "Keep this up, and you will
          totally choke and drown out My voice in you!"

          You can become so busy, so bogged down with problems
          and cares, that it would do you no good to hear His
          voice. Jesus said it would be unfruitful (verse 19).
          You wouldn't listen now. It would be a wasted voice,
          having no effect. This person is not a wayside hearer
          to whom Satan comes and takes away the voice. No! This
          one has spiritual authority; the Word has already taken
          root, meaning that the voice was known! Satan has been
          cast out. But now it is not Satan who is in the way -
          it is self imposed busyness. It is running about,
          rushing here and there, with no quality time left to
          hide with Him to discern His still, small voice. It is
          in this hustle and bustle that God's voice is no longer
          heard. Now, the flesh does all the talking, with human
          desires taking on a voice. What is desired now becomes
          God's will to them; what is presumed now passes for
          discernment. This thorny hearer presumes that every
          voice is of God and because that voice is so loud, so
          clear, and so frequent, he thinks it must be God!

          I tell you it is not of God and it is not Holy Ghost
          discernment - unless it was born in the secret closet,
          out of a deep communion, a broken spirit, and much time
          spent alone in His presence. I am convinced that all
          God's people would be able to hear His still, small
          voice if they simply would lay down sin, idols, and
          would get shut in with Him alone - and not leave until
          He speaks!

                         -------------------------

                            God Is Offering Us a
                          Fresh, Life-Giving Word
                             for Each New Day.

                         -------------------------

          God is speaking a fresh word every day to all who will
          hear; but many cannot hear it because their hearts are
          growing hard. In Hebrews we read, "...Today if ye will
          hear his voice, harden not your hearts..." (Hebrews
          3:7-8). God's voice is a "today" voice. It is an
          up-to-the-minute voice He desires us to hear. Jesus
          warned us about stony-ground hearers: "These are they
          likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they
          have heard the word, immediately receive it with
          gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure
          but for a time: afterward, when affliction or
          persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately
          they are offended" (Mark 4:16-17). This is the one who
          loves to hear, who receives all God says with gladness.
          But the Word does not sink in. God's voice does not
          change them. They remain unbroken with their hearts
          turning to stone. Where are the stony hearts? In
          prison? On the streets? In houses of prostitution? In
          porno theaters? Sadly, the hardest of hearts can be
          found in God's house, among those who don't even know
          they're getting hard!

          Let me tell you how Christians develop hard hearts.
          They refuse to allow God's voice to smash their
          stubborn will. They hear God's voice in His Word, in
          preaching, and sometimes even in the still, small
          voice. Yet, they will not obey it! The Word cannot take
          root. But there is something even worse. Every day God
          is calling all His people to the secret closet of
          prayer because He wants to speak. He wants to talk
          about obedience, about your problems, to give guidance,
          to speak about the future. "...I spake unto you, rising
          up early and speaking, but ye heard not, and I called
          you, but ye answered not" (Jeremiah 7:13). Each time we
          refuse that call - each time we go instead to our own
          interests and business, putting other things ahead of
          God - every time we miss a day of hearing - every day
          we refuse to listen - our hearts grow colder and
          colder. Every time we listen to another voice rather
          than waiting to hear His voice, we grow a little
          harder.

          When we refuse to discipline ourselves to be alone with
          God to hear His voice, we become strangers to that
          voice. It is shameful what is happening in so many
          churches today with so many who can no longer recognize
          God's voice. The Lord sees them getting hard, but He
          cares and loves them still. So He turns His Holy Ghost
          light upon them, bringing a scorching, penetrating word
          - a voice of thunder - to wake them up. But the word
          offends them; the very Word God meant to deliver them
          offends them and they get angry and dry up! "When the
          sun comes up they are scorched and wither."

          On the other hand, a true believer who hears from God,
          who knows His voice, can never be offended by it. He
          knows it is from God and receives it as His very source
          of life and growth. Those not shut in with God, those
          who refuse to obey His voice, soon become irritated and
          afflicted by any strong word demanding even more
          obedience.

          You can grow hard-hearted, wither, and die spiritually
          by simply staying away from the place God is speaking.
          If you just come to church, praise God, be good, and do
          all the right things, you could wither and die even
          though you love the preaching. You must hear from God
          yourself. You must hear His voice and be led by Him in
          a personal way. You must hear His word behind you
          saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isaiah
          30:21).

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                     God's Desire For His Holy Remnant
                         Is That Their Greatest Joy
                         Be the Sound of His Voice

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          "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the
          friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth
          him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's
          voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled" (John 3:29).
          Our greatest joy should be, "I heard His voice! I stood
          alone, waiting, and I heard Him speak to me!" In the
          Song of Solomon, we can hear a last-day bridal-love
          duet. The bridegroom beckons His betrothed to hide away
          secretly with Him: "O my dove, that art in the clefts
          of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
          see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet
          is thy voice" (Song of Solomon 2:14). Then later in the
          Song, she responds, "It is the voice of my beloved that
          knocketh, saying, Open to me...my love, my dove..."
          (Song of Solomon 5:2).

          To those whose hearts have grown cold, who can no
          longer hear His voice, God has promised to give a new
          and tender heart if they will repent and turn to Him in
          faith. A hard heart is not terminal - that is, if you
          want to change! It is not something God did to you;
          rather, you did it to yourself by shutting God's Word
          out. Here is your promise: "And they shall come
          thither, and they shall take away all the detestable
          things thereof and all the abominations thereof from
          thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put
          a new spirit within you/ and I will take the stony
          heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart
          of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep
          mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my
          people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:18-20).
          And, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
          shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all
          your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
          give you, a new spirit will I put within you; and I
          will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
          will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my
          spirit within you; and cause you to walk in my
          statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them"
          (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

                    ------------------------------------

                    When the Voice of God Is Not Heard,
                    Men Go Where God Did Not Send Them

                    ------------------------------------

          When the voice of God is not heard, men run and labor
          for Him without a mandate - they are on their own! I've
          been there: doing good things, taking on challenges,
          believing fully that I was standing up against the
          worker of iniquity! I wound up thousands of dollars in
          debt, weary and disillusioned, crying for help at every
          turn. I had not been sent by God. I couldn't
          understand. I was broken, burdened, willing to give up
          so much. But is was not born out of prayer - it was
          human compassion! It was not God's way!

          But once I said, "No more, Lord! Not a step more,
          unless You command it - not a move until Your voice is
          heard!" then whatever money was needed has been there -
          because God supports what He originates. It is joy with
          no burden, peace with no begging! The begging in
          ministries today is a result of men doing good things
          without being sent by God's voice. Their own desires
          are being mistaken for God's voice.

          Jesus would not make a move except what He heard spoken
          from heaven. "...I do nothing of myself; but as my
          Father hath taught me..." (John 8:28). "...I speak to
          the world those things which I have heard of him" (John
          8:26). "...The Father which sent me, he gave me a
          commandment, what I should say, and what I should
          speak... Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the
          Father said unto me, so I speak."

          Here are four safeguards for hearing correctly the
          voice of God:

            1. His voice always brings you to Jesus and exposes
               all sin and lust. John heard His voice and said,
               "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet" (Revelation
               1:17).

            2. His presence (or countenance) always accompanies
               His voice. You will be overwhelmed and over-joyed
               by the glory of His presence.

            3. His voice will give you the scriptural assurance.
               The Holy Spirit will lead you to confirmation in
               His Word. Everything God speaks must line up with
               Scripture at every point.

            4. Whatever He speaks will stand before the judgment
               seat of Christ in its purity and selflessness.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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