I Never Knew You

General Faith
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Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

**22 **On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’…/NLT

Now that is an interesting passage and sort of scary. I sure would not want to hear those words from Jesus. Is there a way to be able to be 100% sure? I think there is, in scripture.

Hebrews 3:15

15 Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”…/NLT

Have you ever had the thought, what a thought, I wonder if God is trying to tell me something? We probably all have. Does God still speak to people? It says yes here. I say yes too. I taught myself how to perceive His voice by paying attention. The Lord told me that He is always talking to you/me/him/her, all day long for the most part. He speaks a lot through our conscience.

Were you ever about to do something not quite right and have your conscience rise up and say, Don’t do it?! All the time, right? Sometimes we don’t do it. Most times we dismiss that thought of dont do it and go ahead and rationalize it and do it anyway…Congratulations, you just ignored God.

When we dismiss our conscience, we are in rebellion to God. (Hebrews 3:15) so do not harden your hearts to your conscience because the Lord has spoken, you just may not realize it.

This is the key to it, right here:

John 10:27

**27 **My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:…/KJV

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me…./NLT

I like how both KJV and the NLT version say it…I know them…I never knew them or I know them? There it is, the key to making sure that the Lord wont say I never knew you to us.

This is not a spiritual gifting of the Spirit or anything of the sort. This is more along the lines of, the Bride has made herself ready. (!!) We must teach ourselves to be sensitive to the Lord’s voice, His, still small voice.

It is hard to do to learn how to learn to perceive His voice within us. I did it and it was not easy. Hearing His voice is easy, learning to perceive is not. I went through all sorts of mental gymnastics to do it. We have 3 voices within us. Us (our Carnal man & mind), the Enemy, and the Lord.

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It started with me one day when I had just left for work and was driving there. I had just finished my morning prayer and almost the last thing I said was, Lord Speak to me! Amen. hen I got up and left for work. It was highly likely that the thought which occurred to me as I drove to work was not even my thought, but the Lord speaking. I thought, hey I just asked for the Lord to speak to me…and then I ended it and didnt give Him a chance to answer me, I got up and left to work, they like us there early. How could I have more time with the Lord?

So I started inviting the Lord to go with me to work! and so I would continue talking to Him as I drove to work and between jobs at Customers for the day. Now my carnal mind tried to ridicule me as stupid and this isnt real da da da. I figured it had to be real so shut up! I know my vocabulary and speech patterns and that I knew was the enemy or my carnal mind and it was carnal.

So how do I continue to talk to the Lord and learn to hear His voice so I don’t ever hear Him say, I never knew you. Scripture says we must become as children to enter the Kingdom of God. What do children do? They play. Ok so I’ll make it a game to shut up my carnal self. Besides, if I become the child of God who never shuts up, then He wont be saying to me, I never knew you!

You ever watch the kids play, the Floor is Lava? The rule is, this is real and true for the extent of the game. Ok so I figured I will ask the Lord a question in prayer and then the very first thing that pops into my head is His answer. It might be a scripture, it might be a thought. It might be that He speaks to me through someone else. So I asked a question, paused and listened. Boom had a thought. Then I took the “answer” and tested it against scripture (He will Never contradict scripture! So is it a viable answer to what I had just asked Him? Actually, it was viable and no problem with scripture, so, the floor is lave, this was real and wrote it down. And I kept doing this day by day between jobs. I’d ask a question and consider the first thought that came to me and that was it. Then a pattern developed. I was getting viable answers. Then the consistency of it developed recognizable characteristics. I don’t think like that or talk like Him so that is the voice of the Lord. I know how I think and talk, not me. It was a very good answer for me so I reached out and believed it, the Lord had spoke to me…and I heard it !! Now I’ll try to ask another good question. And I kid you not Brothers & Sisters, it became a regular conversation between me and Him. One time I asked a question and my mind went blank. Wait, be patient. Still no answer. I asked a couple more times, no answer. Ugh! What’s going on here? I went all day without answer to that question and now work was over, I have et and now ready for bed. Still no answer!

The next morning I reached for my Bible to read a few chapters as is my routine and it fell open to an unpicked spot and my eyes were drawn to the page, and…there is my perfect answer to the unanswered question! Well, praise the Lord He did answer me and showed me where to find it scripture. They call that receiving a Rhema.

So another time I had asked if the Lord would pick out a video for me to watch. I like to watch Pastors giving sermons and teachers and testimonies and all sorts of goodies like that. It was amazing how He didnt pick one out and tell me which one to watch, I would simply be drawn to it. And lo and behold no matter the man’s topic, there was always something in it which spoke to me. And I could recognize it.

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The Bible clearly teaches that God’s communication to humanity has transitioned. For a long time, He spoke through the prophets, but in these final days, He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 1 beautifully lays this out. It says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke in times past to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2). This shows a definitive shift in how God reveals Himself.

While God used prophets, their messages were preparatory, pointing towards the ultimate revelation in Jesus. The prophets themselves often spoke of a coming Messiah, a more complete and final word from God.

Now, in Jesus, we have that complete revelation. He is the Word made flesh, as John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3). Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s will and character.

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit’s role is crucial in helping us understand and receive this revelation given through Jesus. The Scriptures themselves are the inspired word of God, and the Holy Spirit illuminates them for us.

Jesus promised His disciples**, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”** (John 14:26).

This highlights that the Spirit’s work is to guide us into truth through what Jesus has already revealed, primarily recorded in Scripture.

It’s important to distinguish this from direct, audible voices or new revelations outside of Scripture.

The Bible presents itself as the complete and sufficient word of God for faith and life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 assures us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

The Holy Spirit works through the truth contained in God’s Word to speak to our hearts and minds, guiding us into a deeper understanding of Christ and His will.

Taken together, the pattern is consistent. God spoke through prophets in preparatory form, now speaks definitively in the Son, and the Holy Spirit continues that speech by inspiring Scripture and illuminating it to believers. The locus of divine speech is therefore not internal impressions or subjective voices, but the objective revelation of Christ preserved in Scripture and applied by the Spirit to the believer’s understanding and obedience.

J.

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I was making mistakes. I kept leaving Jesus in the truck while I went into houses or buildings where I had to fix something and do my worldy thing, my job. Then we’d talk on the way to the next job. That sounds ridiculous to me now, lol! (So sorry Lord!)

I went in to what was supposed to be a quick fix and…it wasnt a quick fix. It was that 1 in a 1000 job where nothing goes right. Modern furnaces all diagnose themselves with flashing light codes and stuff. But it was giving me mixed signals, so I could not pin the problem down to a specific component. I got frustrated and gave up, started packing up my tools hat don’t happen very often.

Waitaminute Jesus is with me outside and I immediately felt the conviction of not inviting Him inside. Lord, will you please forgive me for leaving you in the truck and come inside and help me?

He didn’t even use the front door, He was just there. Not in person where I could see Him but I felt His presence. Suddenly I knew the problem and it was a quick fix.. (Praise the Lord).

I never left Him in the truck again. He helped me on other jobs too, and my boss! That last company I worked for, they were all hard core Christian Brothers Sisters.

So I had basically taught myself to discern the voice the Lord by Listening to Him. He speaks to me with scriptures, thoughts, through other people and His word. Amazing how sometimes He sounds just like my wife. Two times He has given someone a word of knowledge about me and they brought it me.

I learned a few other things also. Since I could now hear the voice of the Lord I was full of many questions. One time He told me I asked the wrong question. I got a weird seemingly unrelated answer to my question, didn’t make sense to me. “Because you asked the wrong question Son”

So He told me what I should consider before asking that. Yes Lord! One time I asked what TV programs and secular entertainment or secular movies were ok to watch? He said ask yourself if it gives glory to God or does it give glory to sin?. He also said that Documentaries are usually ok, and that shows that He abhors the most are Soap Operas (sorry ladies, He said it, not me, lol!)

He told me that the more secular entertainment that watch, the harder it makes it to hear Him. And sadly I had to test that like a dummy because as it was, now that had learned to perceive His voice, could not get away from it. don’t do that son, wake up now and pray…Just like David described it Psalms, if I go to Heaven you are there, if I make my bed in sheol, you are there. So what can He mean hard to Hear Him. He did speak the truth. It don’t take much secular entertainment and suddenly where are you Lord? I wont do that again!

Can you hear the voice of the Lord? Tell me your experience

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I’ve heard the Lord speak to me although it isn’t often. Nor is it audible, yet it’s words spoken inside me. At other times He’s spoken to me by a strong impression or what I call a download where I know immediately the answer of what I’m asking. I have no problem believing that God speaks to His children today.

There are some Christians who have never heard God speak to them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t Christians. If you don’t believe He speaks, it’s likely not to happen. The Bible is clear that His sheep hear His voice, yet so many things can get in the way of hearing.

Once I was complaining in my heart about others who weren’t coming alongside something I was doing for the church. God said, “Do it to honor Me.” In another time of prayer and a troubled spirit, He said “Divided heart” and I instantly knew that was my problem. When the doctor called me at home asking for direction over my dying friend, God gave the answer. “Release him to me”. These are just a few of the times I’ve heard God speak and no one can convince me that I didn’t hear His voice.

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Audio Transcript

Ryland asks, “Do we need to be listening for God’s voice to speak to us — outside of the Bible? Does he desire to speak to us audibly, like he does to certain people in the Bible?” If so, Pastor John, how do we know if it’s God’s voice we’re hearing?

His Word Shines Forth
I am going to say something positive here, and not just something negative. In fact, most of what I have to say is positive. The first and main thing is to say that God really has spoken, and this word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It is not a dead word.

He really speaks today — through the inspired Scriptures. He really does, Ryland, and not just with information, but with himself by his Spirit: “And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (1 Samuel 3:21). That really happens. God stands forth from his inspired word as we read it prayerfully and dependently.

Test All Words
I would add this: That word in the Bible is surer than anything you can hear outside the Bible. I base that on 1 Corinthians 14:37, which says, “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.” That is amazing.

Paul is saying, “You can call yourself a prophet and get messages from God, and you can call yourself spiritual and be tuned in to God, but if anything you say doesn’t accord with what I say, you are not recognized.” This means that outside the Bible, we have fallible, uncertain impressions and messages.

Treasure the Word
Inside the Bible, we have rock-solid, dependable messages. There are treasures and wonders and glories and dimensions of God to be seen in the Bible that we have scarcely seen. It seems to me to be folly to crave the lesser authority and the lesser riches outside the Bible than the greater riches and the greater authority that we have barely tasted — let alone digested — inside the Bible.

I just love the Bible so much, and I know that after sixty years of reading my Bible, I have barely scratched the surface of its glories. I kind of get ticked, frankly, at myself and others who are craving stuff outside the Bible, as though there is something better to be had out there.

A Public Approach
Having said all that, I don’t see anything in the Bible that would say that God can’t communicate with us in extraordinary ways outside the Bible. He can, and if he does, we should test it by his infinitely authoritative, risen Word, and we should commend it to those whose lives show a deep, long wisdom in Christ.

There is this community dimension to testing all things, like Paul said. “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21). That is just not a private thing. That is something we do with others as well.

Caution for Our Craving
I will close with this: Beware, Ryland. Beware of craving the sensations of a voice. Jesus warned against those who seek a sign. So, here he is. He is standing there in front of the Pharisees and scribes, speaking, and they say, “Give us a sign” (Matthew 12:38).

What does that mean? It means that the voice of Jesus Christ — the Son of God — wasn’t adequate. They needed something more. They needed to feel more, touch more, see more. They wanted more. And Jesus wouldn’t give it to them.

I think we are in a situation today that’s not unlike that. We hear more of the Son of God than anybody in Jesus’s day ever heard because we have all four Gospels, while those people got it in snatches. Therefore, we have the wholeness of the revelation that Jesus meant to communicate, and it is speaking to us every time we read the Bible.

And if we turn away from that and say**, “But I need a sign. I need a voice. I need a tree to fall down in the woods when I am talking. I need something,”** then we are putting ourselves in the position of those who demanded a sign.

Pray for Sight
Instead, I think our hearts should be saying, “O God, this is the way Paul taught the Ephesians to pray: ‘Give my heart’s eyes sight. Open my eyes to your power. Open my eyes to your wisdom. Open my eyes to your inheritance.

“‘You say stunning things that should blow me away — that should give me a sense of your worth beyond anything any message outside should give. So, Father, if I am not seeing, if I am not hearing, have mercy upon me, and open my eyes’” (Ephesians 1:16–23).

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-we-listen-for-the-audible-voice-of-god#:~:text=Spotify-,Audio%20Transcript,-Ryland%20asks%2C%20“Do

J.

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What exactly do you mean here?

Is that what you mean? Like, what I have spoken is not the truth?

I will agree with you fast that, the Lord’s primary way of speaking to us is through Scripture & the HS. But He does speak to us many ways. He has spoken audible to me one single time. That is actually a whole nother thread and dont fit in here so well because I am mainly speaking about learning to hear His still small voice inside of us. And I am pretty good at hearing it and testing it, and I’m sorry to disappoint you but He has told me a few things that, I can’t find in scripture, but it has to be true nonetheless.

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I’m not here to argue re your exeperience @Edward429451.
What I have to say is not important.

Shalom.

J.

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Amen Brother, I couldn’t agree more. (Which is sort of my idea behind the thread). Many many sincere Christian people who do go to church and read and pray and do all sorts of good deeds for their brethren and neighbors, these people are serious and for real, and yet, they never learned to hear the voice of the Lord. Perhaps they think that sort of thing is for Pastors and teachers and so forth but not for them? Maybe Moses could hear God ok, but, I am not a Moses!

And that’s my point. I am nobody. I’m not Billy Graham, I don’t have a congregation, I dont write books or collect donations, and yet, He speaks to me. I read that, I never knew you scripture, and it scared me. So all I did was press into it and spent time at it. Nowadays I am retired but don’t like going out into the world without Him. And if the Lord will speak to Mr. Nobody, Me, then He will speak to everyone. It is not a gift, you must work at it. Afterall, the time is coming and indeed is here, that all people shall worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth… And yes, prayer is a type of worship.

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I agreed with you mostly. I just wasn’t sure if you believed my experience as put forth.

Tell me what’s in your heart about this. I aint arguing, just asking for a wee bit of clarification.

Or we can discuss Pipers views against scripture?

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That would put me in the “spotlight” but I do believe John Piper said it well.

J.

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Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. **27 **But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Cor 1:26-27

Quoting this verse is not meant as an insult to anyone, but just to say one thing. I’ve noticed that those who are simple and pure are often the ones that experience God in ways that others don’t. Sometimes our head gets in the way. He loves us all.

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Divisions in the Church
1Co 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

J.

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Why all the Scripture quotes?

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Remember I did say that it is hard to learn. Very hard, and time consuming.

I am not a prophet that I know of. So it does take much effort and time to learn to discern.

The one time I heard the Lord speak to me audibly, I was recounting that testimony and someone chimed in that it was not real but the enemy disguising himself as an angel of light…Self deception is dangerous and you must test all words against scripture, and the Lord will never contradict any scripture. But the amazing thing was when The Lord walked into my room, even before He spoke I knew He was there. When Jesus walks into the room…everybody knows it and there can be no mistake. The atmosphere changed big time. I felt the power and the love emanating from Him. No evil spirit brings Love to you, lol. Then He spoke and like a pinball machine, I went TILT ! Because I recognized the voice as Jesus. But how could I? I never (??) heard it before. But I marveled I guess you could say, that I recognized Jesus audible voice. And I knew it to my core. Wow.

The one guy said nope that’s an evil spirit. But what the Lord spoke to me, was to pray that a certain Brother in Christ would receive help because he needs help right now. Sorry but evil spirits do not ask people to pray for others to God! Duh.

And scripture says, My sheep know my voice and will not follow another’s.

And I’m nobody. Praise the Lord indeed !!

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I have learned from Utley never to quote isolated proof texts.

J.

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Scripture tells us to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. (What’s that mean?) That means invite Him to always go with you, don’t leave him in the car or truck. It is not hard to keep a background awareness that the Lord is with me right now. So I could stand and talk to the customer and without taking my mind off of Jesus, who is with me, and beside me, and goes before me and is my rear guard! I tell you, those were good days at work. I met so many Christian people. It was weird. I felt like the helper and not the mechanic, He is the Lord so I quickly stand down, even on the job! And when we worked churches, the Lord was the Customer, Lead tech, and Owner all rolled into one! Amazing!

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If you need help, I can suggest some good Bible software that you can download for free on your computer or laptop. We are living in a time where there is really no reason to remain biblically uninformed. Just to be clear, I am not implying that you are.

Shalom.

J.

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Ok, but isn’t that what you did? I don’t see your point in all those quotes. That’s what I’m asking.

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Exactly. I tried to make the point that, I am nobody. No Pastor or teacher or evangelist or Missionary. I’m not even close to most of them. But I do have something, and that is my testimony. That is scripture that we speak of our experiences and testify to them. Some will laugh at me (usually smart people?) Some may think I am insane. He hears voices…lock him up!! and that’s ok as far as that goes, but other may have an ear to hear and by sharing my experiences it might speak to them in ways are helpful to them in helping them to believe.

One time I asked the Lord to give me more discernment and He said for me to practice discernment for me to look for Him in other regular people.

Now I didnt get it at first but I figured it out. I think the Lord is thin on details sometimes because it makes us ask for the details and He just loves the conversation.

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