{"id":14140,"date":"2023-08-29T13:02:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T13:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=14140"},"modified":"2023-08-29T13:02:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T13:02:07","slug":"jesus-voice-versus-the-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/14140\/jesus-voice-versus-the-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus\u2019 Voice Versus the Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pastor John,<\/span><\/p>\n

How does one know if they have heard the voice of Jesus versus the Spirit talking?\u00a0 Does it actually sound differently?\u00a0 I have heard audible words before, but how do I know if it was Jesus or the Spirit?<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks,<\/span>
\nAnna<\/span><\/p>\n

========<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Anna,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the time, the litmus test is related to one’s heart.\u00a0 How did Abraham know that it was God who told him to leave his homeland, or to kill his son Isaac, except by having a perfectly clear conscience?\u00a0 And the same may be said about others who obeyed God’s commandment to do something they would rather not do.\u00a0 We can trust Jesus to help us always to know him as long as we are doing our part.\u00a0 In all such cases, this applies:\u00a0 “My sheep know my voice, and another they will not follow.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Concentrate on being righteous, and you will feel where a thought comes from, for, as Solomon said, “The thoughts of the righteous are right.”\u00a0 Even at that, however, it will take some experiences to become confident in how you feel about the thoughts that will certainly come, whether they are from God or not.\u00a0 So, be patient with yourself!\u00a0 God loves you.\u00a0 If you err, He will use that error to make you more like Him.\u00a0 He did that with Abraham when fear made that great man think it was a good idea to lie — twice —\u00a0 about who Sarah really was.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, on those rare occasions when God chooses to speak audibly, there is no mistaking that voice.\u00a0 He is His own witness.\u00a0 No second opinion, or even biblical confirmation, is needed.\u00a0 When the Israelites heard it at Mount Sinai, they ran from the mountain.\u00a0 Even Moses trembled.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s as close to an answer I can come to, based on my own experience and understanding.\u00a0 In sum, as that old hymn says (almost), “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way to be sure it is Jesus, but to Trust and Obey.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for the question, Anna.\u00a0 And as with anything, I — or anyone else — may ever say about anything, God will do whatever He chooses to do — including (if He chooses) keeping us in the dark about a voice that speaks to us or an event that happens to us, to try our heart.\u00a0 Just ask Job.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Pastor John<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

========<\/p>\n

Hi Pastor John,<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for your response.\u00a0 It was so good, and I\u2019ll be referring back to it.\u00a0 I have question, though, just to clarify.\u00a0 You referred to God talking to the Israelites, and how this caused them, as well as Moses, to tremble.\u00a0 If we have truly heard from the Lord, and have no doubt about it, but it was not thunderous or terrifying, should it be assumed that it was not actually the voice of Jesus or God, but rather the Spirit? \u00a0The reason I\u2019m asking is because I think I recall you saying recently in a meeting that few of us have actually heard Jesus\u2019 voice, but rather heard the Spirit.\u00a0 I know, as the song goes, \u201cHis voice makes the difference,\u201d so I\u2019m seeking more clarification if possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you,<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna<\/span><\/p>\n

==========<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Anna.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Aaron pointed out to me that I had misunderstood your question, and I had not had the time yet to get back with you.\u00a0 Thank you for writing back.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Just because the Spirit has spoken to us in our heart does not mean that we have heard the actual voice of Jesus.\u00a0 It is true that when the Spirit speaks within us, it is the Lord talking to us, but he sometimes speaks in an audible voice.\u00a0 That is what I meant by just a few of us having heard the Lord’s voice.\u00a0\u00a0But however Jesus speaks, his voice makes all the difference.\u00a0 We need his guiding hand!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you again for helping clear things up for me.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Pastor John<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastor John, How does one know if they have heard the voice of Jesus versus the Spirit talking?\u00a0 Does it actually sound differently?\u00a0 I have heard audible words before, but how do I know if it was Jesus or the Spirit? Thanks, Anna ======== Hi Anna, Most of the time, the litmus test is related […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14140"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}