God speaks to his people. Jesus said that we are his sheep, and we will hear his voice (John 10:27). Hearing from God is part of the normal Christian life.
Not every idea we get is from God. Thoughts, feelings, and impressions can be from 4 different sources – from God, from ourselves, from other people, or from evil spirits. We need to be able to discern God’s voice.
To discern means to distinguish or separate. We need to know how to discern God’s voice from other voices.
Samuel once heard God audibly calling his name, but he didn’t know this was the voice of God. Samuel thought a person was calling him (1 Samuel 3:8). Although Samuel was an Old Testament prophet, he was young and didn’t yet know how to discern God’s voice from the voice of people. He needed to grow in this area.
So it is with us. We are not infallible recipients of divine knowledge. We are learning how to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. We are learning to hear from God.
Whenever there is growth, there are challenges. As more people claim to hear from God, there will be increasing challenges, and a higher level of discernment is required. As we grow in our ability to hear from God, we must also grow in discernment.
Two Ditches: Cessationism and Charismania
There are two ditches on either side of the path of hearing from God.
On one side is the ditch of cessationism. Cessationists claim that God does not speak today. Cessationists say there are no spiritual gifts, and that everyone who claims to hear from God should be rejected.
Cessationism is false because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still speaks, and Jesus said we will hear his voice.
On the other side is the ditch of charismania. Charismaniacs believe that any thought a person gets in prayer or in church is from God. They believe that all supernatural activity in church is from God.
Charismania is false because Jesus said many false prophets would come in the church using the name of Jesus, and they would deceive many people.
We need to grow spiritually and take responsibility for our spiritual life to avoid these two ditches.
Discernment takes work and responsibility. It may seem easier to just accept everything or reject everything. But hearing from God is not all or nothing. We are not hearing from God all the time or Satan all the time. There is a mixture. This is why we need to discern. That’s why the Bible says we must test revelations.
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).
The Bible commands us not to despise prophecies. It can be tempting to despise prophecies because prophecies are supernatural and not according to the world’s way of doing things. In addition, those who encounter a false prophecy can become upset and reject all prophecies. But we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are true and false prophecies, and we need to be able to discern the difference.
Two or three prophets were allowed to speak in the NT church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:29). Other believers were commanded to discern if what these prophets were saying was from God or not (1 Corinthians 14:29). This shows that even in the NT church people sometimes spoke false prophecies.
All “words from God” must be tested. When someone tests a word, no one should feel threatened. Testing revelations is a normal part of healthy Christianity.
How will we test prophetic words?
Bible
We need to test everything by the Bible. A word from God will never lead people to disobey the Bible. It will never contradict the Bible. If a revelation from God contradicts the Bible, then it must be rejected. Sometimes Satan will work miracles to lead people away from God’s word (Deuteronomy 13:1-4). We must not be deceived by such false miracles.
Christ’s Teaching
Another test is that a prophet must confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. If a person doesn’t confess this, his prophecies are false (1 John 4:1-4).
To confess means to “say the same things as.” True prophets will say the same things as Jesus – they will have the same doctrine as Jesus. If a person does not have the same doctrine as Jesus, then his prophecies should be rejected.
Reality
If the things a prophet says do not line up with reality, then we can discern that his words are false. For example, if a prophecy says that Bob got drunk last week, but Bob never drinks alcohol, then it’s obvious that this “revelation” is false. A true word from God will line up with reality.
Time
When someone makes a prediction about the future, time will tell whether it is accurate or not. There have been many false prophecies about the end of the world, with popular dates falling in 1988, 2000, 2008, and more. Many predictions about dates are false, and time proves they are false. Furthermore, some prophetic words have built-in time limits. For example, If a prophetic word says someone will be healed and then time passes by and they are not healed, then it can be seen that the word declaring healing was false. But it is not necessary to wait for the passage of time to discern. We can discern before the time passes by the Holy Spirit.
Obedience
A person who speaks a true word from God must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). Confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord means that Jesus Christ is the Lord of that person’s life. When Jesus is Lord of someone’s life, then that person will obey Jesus. If a person doesn’t obey Jesus, then his prophecies are false.
Fruits
Jesus said we would discern prophets by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). The fruits of the Holy Spirit will be manifested in the lives of those who submit to God. In order to discern the fruits of someone’s life, we must be in close fellowship with them. House church is an ideal environment to discern fruit because it is a place where the reality of a person’s life can be more easily seen. We must be cautious with preachers on TV or the internet because we are not able to be in close proximity with them and see their fruits. If a person’s life bears rotten fruit, then his prophecies are not from God.
Church
There is safety in the body of Christ. Some believers are more mature and are better able to discern than others. If we receive a “word from God,” it can be helpful to get discernment from other members in the body of Christ. They can help us recognize whether that word is from God or not.
Specific or General Words from God
There is a difference between specific or general words. Specific prophecies are verifiable, and they are helpful in informing us as to whether someone is hearing from God or not. General prophecies are often not verifiable, and it can be more difficult to discern these prophecies.
For example, Agabus was a true prophet, and he gave specific, verifiable prophecies. Agabus prophesied of a famine in Judea, which came to pass (Acts 11:28). Then Agabus prophesied of Paul being arrested, which also came to pass (Acts 21:10-11). Specific prophecies like this can prove that a person is truly hearing from God.
Paul once prophesied about a sorcerer who was resisting God. Paul said that the man was evil and full of deceit. This was a general statement about the man’s bad character, which it was probably obvious and did not require special revelation. But Paul went on to prophesy that the man would be struck blind. Then the man suddenly became blind (Acts 13:9-11). The accuracy of Paul’s specific word about blindness confirmed that Paul was hearing from God. Specific words are better indications of prophetic accuracy than general words.
We can see something similar in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus once told a paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven (Matthew 9:1-8). Many people did not believe this general statement, for it was an unverifiable statement that almost anyone could make. Jesus himself admitted it was easy to tell someone their sins were forgiven. But Jesus said it was harder to tell a paralyzed man to walk. Then he told the paralyzed man to get up and walk. This was a specific, easily verifiable prophecy. The paralyzed man was healed and stood up, confirming the accuracy of Jesus’ revelation. The fulfillment of the specific word about healing confirmed the general word about the forgiveness of sins, validating Jesus’ ministry.
When we are testing our own or another person’s accuracy in hearing from God, specific words are more helpful than general words. Verifiable words can prove authenticity.General words are not necessary false, but they cannot as easily confirm prophetic ministry as specific words can.
Dangers of Reinterpretation
When prophecies are proven false, they should not be reinterpreted in order to try to save face.
When William Miller prophesied that the world would end in 1844, this proved to be a false prophecy. But Ellen G. White came along and reinterpreted this prophecy to mean that Jesus came into the Holy of Holies in heaven in 1844. This reinterpretation was a further lie from Satan, but it was believed by many people. This false reinterpretation of Miller’s false prophecy is one of the foundations on which the Seventh Day Adventist Church is built. It is sad to see millions of people base their lives on false prophecies.
Patience
We need patience with ourselves and others as we grow in hearing from God. Sometimes mistakes will be made. We are not infallible, and we cannot expect infallibility from each other. We need humility. We need to be merciful to others. We need to keep testing, throwing out the bad, and holding onto the good.
Caution
It is not a light thing to speak in the name of God. We should never become flippant about saying “God said” this or that. We should not be casual about using God’s name, for God does not want his name to be used in vain. He wants his people to grow in precision regarding his word.
To grow into maturity, we need discernment. God will help us discern as we follow these principles and seek his guidance. Then we will hear his voice more clearly.
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