My Sheep Hear My Voice

Yeshua (Jesus) says in John 8:47 "He who is of God hears the words of God…" (Scriptures from NAS unless noted)

Psalm 85:8 (AV) I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Have you ever wondered about those who say they have heard God speak to them? I have and decided to look into scripture about this subject. Maybe you will find something that speaks to you in the following Scriptures.

We know, in the beginning, Adam and Eve walked and talked with their Creator: Genesis 3:8 (AV) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… Was this a daily or weekly occurrence? Regardless it says it happened. However, sin caused a separation, and hearing from the Eternal One was not as common after this.

We read where Enoch and Noah had a close relationship with their Maker. During the time of Abraham a spirit being in the form of a man was sent to communicate with him from time to time.

YHVH spoke with Moses from the burning bush: Exodus 3:2-4 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, ..." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

Moses had an unusual relationship with YHVH and could speak personally with Him: Numbers 12: 6-8 (CJB) 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. But it isn’t that way with my servant Moshe. He is the only one who is faithful in my entire household. With him I speak face to face and clearly, not in riddles; he sees the image of ADONAI. So why weren’t you afraid to criticize my servant Moshe?"

We learn from this that the Creator will communicate with the prophet in visions and speaks to him in dreams. But not just the prophets, for in the latter days: Joel 2: 28-29 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

But what about you and I, can we speak to and hear from the Almighty?

Yeshua promises that we can hear His voice:

John 18:37 "…for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

John 10:16 "I have other sheep… and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

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

Revelation 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. This one sounds like a two way conversation.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. To begin with, there must be nothing standing between us to establish a dialogue.

Jeremiah 32:33 "They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction.

John 8:43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

Matthew 13:13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Strong’s number: 08085
AV-hear 785, hearken 196, obey 81, publish 17, understand 9, obedient 8, diligently 8, shew 6, sound 3, declare 3, discern 2, noise 2, perceive 2, tell 2, reported 2 (1159) v

Romans 2:13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. Not only a willingness to listen but to obey also.

Deuteronomy 11:27-28 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments… and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God.

James gives a clue about having a relationship with the Almighty.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Peter tells us how to re-establish the lost communion:

Acts 3:19-23 "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. "Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

We should not limit our communication to dreams and visions as there are many other ways throughout Scripture that show us how our loving God will speak to us:

Psalm 62: 11 God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times... (NLT)

2 Samuel 23: 2-3 "The Spirit of ADONAI spoke through me, his word was on my tongue. The God of Isra’el spoke; the Rock of Isra’el said to me… (CJB)

Genesis 22:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Acts 7:31 "When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord:

Acts 9:4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Revelation 1:10, 12 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, … Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me...

Judges 13:23 But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time."

John 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

How does He speak to us?

Through His Apostles

1 John 4:6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Luke 10:16 "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me."

Zechariah 8:9 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets...

Romans 10:14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

Ezekiel 3:17 "…I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.

Nehemiah 7: 5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles…

Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

Matthew 10:27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Nehemiah 7: 65 The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.

Numbers 27:21 "Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation."

Job 37: 1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said…

1 Samuel 3:9-10 And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

Zechariah 7:12 "… the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets…

1Peter 1: 10-12 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating ... It was revealed to them …which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven...

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.

John 10:35 "…(and the Scripture cannot be broken),

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

2 Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

See I Corinthians 12-14

And if we think we are hearing the voice of the Almighty what do you suppose He might be saying to us? How can we be sure it is His voice?

Jeremiah 7:23 "But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"

Psalms 81:8 "Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; … listen to Me!

Revelation 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Luke 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies…

Isaiah 28:23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

Matthew 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Exodus 15:26 And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."

Psalms 95:7-11 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts…

Matthew 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

To be sure, what He will say to you will be according to the Word already spoken.

Deuteronomy 4:30 "When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

Psalms 81:11 "But My people did not listen to My voice…

Psalms 106:25 But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

Malachi 2:2 "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already...

Proverbs 28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

Zechariah 7:13 "And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts;

Jeremiah 7:28 "You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

Deuteronomy 8:20 "Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

Remember, to Listen, means to Obey.

Jeremiah 11:4 …saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’

Isaiah 55:2-3 "… Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live…

Isaiah 52: 6-11 "Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’" How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD.

Proverbs 1:33 "But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."

2 Chronicles 20:15 … "Listen… thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Sin has separated us from our Creator. We do not need to remain in that separated state. Do you believe the Savior has ransomed you and restored you to a state that allows you to have a relationship with Him that is similar to what our first parents enjoyed before their separation? Then – Praise YHVH!

Arnold L. Beizer: God communicates with us in many ways, God’s Word tells us to Listen and you too will hear His voice:

"For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and forever. Amen."

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