Does God Talk to His People?

[b]Job 40:6-14[/b]
Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

Proverbs 1:
23 \tTurn at my rebuke;
\tSurely I will pour out my spirit on you;
\tI will make my words known to you.

In Christ
Jeff

Heb 1:1 ¶ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4 ¶ Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Heb 1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

John 10:3-4
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

John 10:16
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

John 10:27
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, [b]the Holy Ghost said[/b], Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

he who have ears hears

Rev. 10:8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

Rev. 10:9 So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

Rev. 10:10 Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

In Christ
Jeff

I was thinking some, and speaking to us is mostly with words, but does God only speak through words so to speak?

I think he speaks in other ways to, sometimes we say a picture speaks more then a thousand words, sometimes i think a "picture" revelation from God speaks more then thousand words from the good book, even if the book is HIS words also, i am thinking more then that, it ids not the speaking itself, but the communication, God is communicating something to us. Through his written word of course. But also through the Spirit, and maybe in other ways also.

I recently meditated upon these words that blessed me, and i sought out all verses with the same phrase or similar.

Deu 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he [b]shined forth[/b] from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

Psa 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, [b]shine forth.[/b]

Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous [b]shine forth[/b] as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

I dont know, but the shining forth of God to his people, his words, the receiving of His light will result in that we will shine forth his righteousness.

So hearing from God in words, through the spirit, or through another way will change us. If we receive what is communicated.

The danger is i guess when we know so much already God cant tell us or teach us because we know it already.

Through his written word of course. But also through the Spirit, and maybe in other ways also.

Here are some ways Scripture teaches how God speaks to man...

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Job 33:

14 \tFor God may speak in one way, or in another,
\tYet man does not perceive it.
15 \tIn a dream, in a vision of the night,
\tWhen deep sleep falls upon men,
\tWhile slumbering on their beds,
16 \tThen He opens the ears of men,
\tAnd seals their instruction.
17 \tIn order to turn man from his deed,
\tAnd conceal pride from man,
18 \tHe keeps back his soul from the Pit,
\tAnd his life from perishing by the sword.
19 \t“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
\tAnd with strong pain in many of his bones,
20 \tSo that his life abhors bread,
\tAnd his soul succulent food.
21 \tHis flesh wastes away from sight,
\tAnd his bones stick out which once were not seen.
22 \tYes, his soul draws near the Pit,
\tAnd his life to the executioners.
23 \t“If there is a messenger for him,
\tA mediator, one among a thousand,
\tTo show man His uprightness,
24 \tThen He is gracious to him, and says,
\t“Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
\tI have found a ransom’;

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God speaks to man, God gives visions and dreams, God controls man's situation so that he may cry out to Him, and God sends a "mediator."

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Joel 1:
15 \tAlas for the day!
\tFor the day of the LORD is at hand;
\tIt shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 \tIs not the food cut off before our eyes,
\tJoy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 \tThe seed shrivels under the clods,
\tStorehouses are in shambles;
\tBarns are broken down,
\tFor the grain has withered.
18 \tHow the animals groan!
\tThe herds of cattle are restless,
\tBecause they have no pasture;
\tEven the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
19 \tO LORD, to You I cry out;
\tFor fire has devoured the open pastures,
\tAnd a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 \tThe beasts of the field also cry out to You,
\tFor the water brooks are dried up,
\tAnd fire has devoured the open pastures.

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Above we find that God takes away the prosperity so that some might cry out to Him.....we find this statement in Amos....

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Amos 3:
6 \tIf a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
\tIf there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
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God does shine out in the darkness

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Gen. 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Rev. 21:22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

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It is the word of God that enables us through the Spirit of God, to recognize God's ways in men.

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Is. 40:8 \tThe grass withers, the flower fades,
\tBut the word of our God stands forever.”

In Christ
Jeff

John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.

3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Psalm 119:

49 \tRemember the word to Your servant,
\tUpon which You have caused me to hope.

This is the definition of faith.......

I found it interesting that the words "Thus saith the Lord" appears in over 400 verses in the Old Testament, but they do not appear together once in any of the verses in the New Testament.

I found it interesting that the words "Thus saith the Lord" appears in over 400 verses in the Old Testament, but they do not appear together once in any of the verses in the New Testament.

Everytime the Holy Spirit speaks to an individual, is this not the Lord speaking?

Act 21:11 When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his [own] hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver [him] into the hands of the Gentiles.'

Please notice what this Scripture says....

"Thus says the Holy Spirit,"

In Christ
Jeff

Everytime the Holy Spirit speaks to an individual, is this not the Lord speaking?

The other day I was thinking, what kind of a Father would not speak to His children?

Frankly, none of the verses quoted so far prove definitely that any of these instances were [b]inaudible[/b]. In every instance in the Bible, the Lord speaks through an [b]audible[/b] voice or a vision.

If this is true, which I contend it is, it doesn't mean God doesn't speak to His people. We have 66 books worth of God speaking to us.

If you want to contend for continuing revelation, at least contend for it under the mode of an audible voice or vision. Although it makes modern mystics feel warm and fuzzy, the idea that God speaks inaudible "into our hearts" is foreign to the Scripture.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

HeartSong wrote:

Yes, the New Testament seems to be filled with"Jesus said" (or saith). And then after Jesus died, and rose again, it would be the Comforter that comes unto each of us and speaks His word into our hearts and our minds.

This is true, but not the entirety of how God speaks to New Testament believers.
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Act 27:23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,

Act 27:24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.'
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Likewise in another place,

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Hbr 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
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Whether old testament or new, God has not changed the means by which He speaks to men.

In Christ
Jeff

Yes, the angels. :-)

And then there is the cloud of witnesses.

Brother Taylor wrote:

Frankly, none of the verses quoted so far prove definitely that any of these instances were inaudible. In every instance in the Bible, the Lord speaks through an audible voice or a vision.

What does this Scripture say?

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Pro 1:20 Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.

Pro 1:21 She cries out in the chief concourses, [fn] At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:

Pro 1:22 "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.

Pro 1:23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
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please notice the last verse..."Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you."

Whose spirit does this verse refer to?

What is the result of the work of the spirit?

In Christ
Jeff

Making my words known to you could be a variety of things. We know from other places in Scripture that the carnal man cannot understand the things of God, however, the spiritual (regenerated) man can. But, he doesn't necessarily understand them because God "whispered into his heart" inaudibly. He understands them because the Lord has spiritually opened his eyes and understanding to rejoice in and cherish the things revealed and proclaimed by the Lord and His Apostles.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

the idea that God speaks inaudible "into our hearts" is foreign to the Scripture.

Is it not odd that one can hear the enemy speak to our hearts, tempting you but the Holy Spirit does not?

ginnyrose

Is it not odd that one can hear the enemy speak to our hearts, tempting you but the Holy Spirit does not?

Again, nowhere in the Scripture does the enemy "speak to our hearts". Satan spoke audibly to our Lord. Paul says "Satan hindered us" in regard to the Jew's persecution.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

Satan spoke audibly to our Lord.

A few years ago, not long after I was baptized, I was walking "Old Dog" in the park. It was a beautiful winter day and we were walking along the partially frozen river.

As we were neared the swinging bridge I stopped walking and reached down to pet "Old Dog." As I bent over, I found my mind going through the thought process of going into the river. "The water is not that cold - if it is cold, a person would not feel the cold for very long - a person could just easily slip down under the ice."

Stunned at what I was thinking, I became indignant and rebuked Satan. Incredibly, within a few minutes I found my mind had returned to the same line of thinking! I rebuked Satan once again and determinedly walked away from the river.

These thoughts did not come from myself as I was not upset or even mildly depressed at the time - in fact it was a beautiful day. So if these thoughts did not originate from my self, where do you think they came from?

Taylor,

And where does guilt from?

ginnyrose

Does scripture specify that it was audible?

Scripture says that Satan spoke to him, and our Lord responded in an audible fashion.

As to your example from real life - that would move the discussion outside of objective Scriptural examination, and I can really offer no objective comment as to your inward experiences.

And where does guilt from?

Ginny,

Maybe 1st John 3:20 is applicable here? "for whenever [b]our heart[/b] condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything."

With care in Christ,
Taylor

Scripture says that Satan spoke to him

Does it say that he spoke audibly.

HeartSong,

Can you point me to any place in Scripture where one person is described as speaking to another, yet it is in an inaudible voice? My reason for asking is that, as far as I'm aware, the speaking verbs are always used to describe audible voices.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

Hi Taylor,

I need to understand what you are saying when you say "audible voices" - do you mean specifically, and exclusively, sound waves coming from the vocal cords of one person that enter the ear of another person?

Edit: I am really trying to understand where you are coming from, but it is like we are two airplanes, flying at different altitudes, going in the opposite direction.

:-?

However, I really like you. :-)

Good question. I mean that the recipient is hearing with their ears an audible sound.

The only passage I'm aware of that could be construed to seem like God guides I'd with inaudible feelings/voices would be in John 10. However, in context, it seems our Lord is referring to those who "hear his voice" are those who hear the Gospel proclaimed (audibly - and even through His teachers in the church) and respond in faith. Contra the Pharisees.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

Hi everyone,

About the question of if the Lord speaks to our hearts?

I think that He does.

A while back a passage that stood out to me was how the High Priest was to wear the breastplate of judgment with the Urim and Thummim and how he was to 'bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually."

And then how, when Moses asked for a man to lead the people and Joshua was choosen, how he was to recieve counsel from the Priest after the judgment of Urim and Thummim(Numbers 27:15-21).

I think then too how we may see Christ now instead of Joshua and Eleazar, and how Paul prays for the believers to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in their [i]inner man[/i] and that Christ would dwell in their hearts by faith.

And then I think too of the gifts of the Spirit in words of wisdom and of knowledge and how it is said that the one that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself(which I think means his inner man). See 1Co 14:2.

I think it is a very great treasure to be able to be led by God.

Brother Taylor wrote;

Making my words known to you could be a variety of things. We know from other places in Scripture that the carnal man cannot understand the things of God, however, the spiritual (regenerated) man can. But, he doesn't necessarily understand them because God "whispered into his heart" inaudibly. He understands them because the Lord has spiritually opened his eyes and understanding to rejoice in and cherish the things revealed and proclaimed by the Lord and His Apostles.

I had posted this Scripture....

........................................................................................
20 \tWisdom calls aloud outside;
\tShe raises her voice in the open squares.
21 \tShe cries out in the chief concourses,
\tAt the openings of the gates in the city
\tShe speaks her words:
22 \t“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
\tFor scorners delight in their scorning,
\tAnd fools hate knowledge.
23 \tTurn at my rebuke;
\tSurely I will pour out my spirit on you;
\tI will make my words known to you.

..........................................................................................

In verse 23...

Whose spirit is this?

And how does this spirit make known "my words to you."?

In Christ
Jeff

Hi again everyone,

Just now, as I was looking over these things again and looking at the passage in Numbers, it stood out to me how when Moses spoke to the Lord there in asking for someone to lead the people, He addresses the Lord as "the God of the spirits of all flesh"

I thought of how Paul said that he served God with his(that is his own, that is Paul's) spirit(Romans 1:9). And then I thought of Proverbs 20:27.

And then it came to mind how the Lord had told the people to make the borders on their garments after they had presumptously went to battle and how it was so that they would not 'seek after their own heart'(Numbers 15:38-39).

And how, we are to walk in the Spirit.

EDIT And I forgot, I thought of how Moses had said to Joshua,

"Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, [i]and[/i] that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"

- from Numbers 11:29(KJV)

[b]2 Corinthians 6:16[/b]
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

[b]Hebrews 8:10[/b]
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Does God talk to His people?

Yes.