How do you know that the voice you hear is the voice of the Holy Spirit?
We all hear voices in our heads. We replay conversations that we have had with others. We rehearse in our minds what we desire to communicate to others. We formulate our opinions and work out our beliefs using words to express those opinions and beliefs in our minds before we express them aloud. In fact, we absolutely are not capable of thinking without hearing words in our minds that others can not hear.
We also have, stored in our memory, a tremendous collection of words provided by our parents, teachers, friends and enemies as well as the words taken in from books, movies, songs and the general background of constant noise in our lives.
Many of the words that we take in and store in our minds are deliberate attempts by others to influence our thinking, determine our values and shape our identity. We are each the person that we choose to be but the words of others greatly influence us in that decision. It is as though there are other people living within us, occupying space in our minds. They live there in the form of the words that they have left behind. We hear their voices echoing in the corners of our minds.
So we each live in a sea of thoughts expressed in words, some beneficial and others destructive to our inner self. We must learn to manage these thoughts. We must embrace and cherish the words and thoughts that we find desirable and we must consign to the trash bin those that do us harm.
For those of us who are genuine believers in Yeshua we also have living within us the voice of God’s Holy Spirit. Consider the following:
John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you (in the form of Yeshua in the flesh) and will be in you (as the indwelling Holy Spirit).
Notice that Yeshua promised the Spirit to “whoever believes in me”. Later he conditioned the giving of the Spirit by saying, “If you love me, keep my commands.” How can we believe in Yeshua and not keep his commands? How can we expect to receive the Holy Spirit into our lives if we ignore the teachings of Yeshua?
This is why I say, “For those of us who are genuine believers in Yeshua we also have living within us the voice of God’s Holy Spirit.” He is the Spirit of Truth that the world cannot accept because the world (those of the world) neither sees him nor knows him. But we know him for he lives in us.
So how do we know when we hear a voice that it is the Holy Spirit talking to us? How can we know that another person is hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit when they claim that God has spoken to them? How can we distinguish the words of the Holy Spirit from all the words stored in our minds, heard from others or made up in our imaginations?
There is only one answer. That voice that we or that someone else hears in the mind must convey a message that conforms to the words of Yeshua. That voice must not in any way contradict the words of Yeshua. The Holy Spirit will not give us directions that Yeshua would not have given.
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
This is useful information in identifying the voice of the Holy Spirit but only if we have a comprehensive understanding of what Yeshua taught. To be of the Holy Spirit, words heard from within our mind or from others must conform to the teachings of Yeshua.
Those that are led astray by false teachings are those that do not know the teachings of Yeshua by which all later teachings must be validated. In Matthew 7:15 Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” The teachings of Yeshua must be the standard by which we evaluate what we are told even if the one speaking claims to be “inspired by the Holy Spirit”.
John 1:32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit (the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit) come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Yeshua stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Yeshua had not yet been glorified.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
