The Bible records God speaking audibly to people many times (Exodus 3:14; Joshua 1:1; Judges 6:18; 1 Samuel 3:11; 2 Samuel 2:1; Job 40:1; Isaiah 7:3; Jeremiah 1:7; Acts 8:26; 9:15—this is just a small sampling). There is no biblical reason why God could not speak to a person audibly today. With the hundreds of times the Bible records God speaking, we have to remember that they occur over the course of 4,000 years of human history. God speaking audibly is the exception, not the rule. Even in the biblically recorded instances of God speaking, it is not always clear whether it was an audible voice, an inner voice, or a mental impression.
God does speak to people today. First, God speaks to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” The Bible is God’s Word, and it contains everything we need to know in order to be saved and live the Christian life. Second Peter 1:3 declares, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
God can also “speak” to us through events—i.e., He can guide us through arranging our circumstances. And God helps us to discern right from wrong through our consciences (1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 3:16). God is in the process of conforming our minds to think His thoughts (Romans 12:2). God allows events to occur in our lives to direct us, change us, and help us to grow spiritually (James 1:2–5; Hebrews 12:5–11). First Peter 1:6–7 reminds us, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
God may sometimes speak audibly to people. It is highly doubtful, though, that this occurs as often as some people claim it does. Again, even in the Bible, God speaking audibly is the exception, not the ordinary. If anyone claims that God has spoken to him or her, always compare what is said with what the Bible says. If God were to speak today, His words would be in full agreement with what He has said in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16–17). God does not contradict Himself.
God does speak to people today. First, God speaks to us through His Word (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” The Bible is God’s Word, and it contains everything we need to know in order to be saved and live the Christian life. Second Peter 1:3 declares, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
God can also “speak” to us through events—i.e., He can guide us through arranging our circumstances. And God helps us to discern right from wrong through our consciences (1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 3:16). God is in the process of conforming our minds to think His thoughts (Romans 12:2). God allows events to occur in our lives to direct us, change us, and help us to grow spiritually (James 1:2–5; Hebrews 12:5–11). First Peter 1:6–7 reminds us, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
God may sometimes speak audibly to people. It is highly doubtful, though, that this occurs as often as some people claim it does. Again, even in the Bible, God speaking audibly is the exception, not the ordinary. If anyone claims that God has spoken to him or her, always compare what is said with what the Bible says. If God were to speak today, His words would be in full agreement with what He has said in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16–17). God does not contradict Himself.
RELATED ARTICLES
What does it mean that God speaks in a still small voice?How do I hear from God?Are there prophets in the church today?Dear viewer: Below is a video of a brother in Christ by the name of Brandon Biggs from Last Days You Tube channel. He posted this video on Jan 23rd, 2024. He admitted that there were some prophetic words that he spoke to church members that turned out to be false/misleading. As a result, some members suffered harm. He came out clean and assumed full
responsibility for his errors. I commend him for his sincere apologies & repentance and for that I truly admire him for that . With that being said listen to these 2 videos below:
Why some people like Brandon Biggs err with the gift of prophesy:
1) Warning: We know in part, and we
prophesy in part.
Scripture says that we know in part and we
prophesy in part (I Corinthians 13:9). It is imperative
not only to realize that we can be wrong, but that
we are seldom completely right. None of us ever
really sees the whole picture, but only in part. If
we possess this humility of heart and mind, we can
avoid many unnecessary errors and mistakes.
Remember that regardless of how accurate we may
be in our revelation and interpretation, we are only
seeing part of the picture. We must realize that
there is also more wisdom and insight for a situation
than what we are seeing. Be open to receiving
additional insight from others and from the Lord.
Some of the most gifted prophetic ministers I know
often misinterpret the revelation they receive. God
allows this for several reasons: 1) to keep those who
are profoundly gifted humble and teachable, 2) to
keep us dependent on Him, and 3) to keep us from
wrongly elevating prophetically gifted people to a
place of infallibility.
2) Warning: Don’t prophesy beyond your
faith.
Many people have such a passion to function in the
higher levels of a word of knowledge that it causes
undue trouble. After seeing someone prophesy
names, birthdays, and intimate details about a
person’s life, some novices attempt to prophesy
beyond their levels of faith.
3) Warning: Just a word of caution about Brandon's Last Days You Tube channel. His channel is monetized and you can see that in his description box where he asks his viewers to donate money through 3 different links as follows:
I am unable to offer tax-deductible donations at this time, but if you would like to bless my family:
PayPal: https://paypal.me/biblebrandon
Venmo: https://venmo.com/lastdays247
CashApp: https://cash.app/$lastdays247
Why am I alerting you to this? Because this raises serious red flags which is questionable and it doesn't align with God's word for the following reasons:
False prophets gather crowds with the intention of manipulating or exploiting them for personal financial gain. Their motives are selfish in order to build their own kingdom rather than advancing the Kingdom of God. They use charisma, clever marketing on social media or emotional appeals to draw people in, but their focus is strictly on themselves rather than serving the needs of the people.
When a false prophet resorts to using so called prophecies as a money making scheme, it not only compromises the integrity of the Gospel of Christ but also preys on the vulnerability and desperation of those seeking divine intervention. It exploits people's faith & emotions for personal gain by profiting from their sufferings. This is a grave misuse of God's divine authority.
True ministers of the Gospel are driven by a genuine desire to serve and minister to people's needs. Their focus should be on leading others to a deeper relationship with God, not enriching themselves through manipulation. The Bible warns against false prophets who peddle God's word for personal profit, and as believers, we should be vigilant in discerning such practices.
The Bible is clear that freely we have received, and freely we should give. Jesus never charged anyone money for the miracles he performed. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and even raised the dead out of love and compassion, and not for the purpose of soliciting money. His ministry was about setting the captives free and bringing them closer to God and not making a profit from their sufferings.
In the Old Testament false prophets were hired for payment or spoke their messages for financial gain: “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say, ‘Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us’” (Micah 3:11; also Nehemiah 6:12–13; Jeremiah 6:13–14; Ezekiel 13:19; 2 Peter 2:1–3).
(Excerpt taken from the book below "From Pulpit to Profit" by Jeremiah T. Zulu chapter 4).
No comments:
Post a Comment