David Diga Hernandez - How to Hear God's Voice

We’re going to return to Orange, California, in just a moment, where I’ll be finishing that message on the power of the Holy Spirit. Now it’s time for our Moment of Truth segment. This is where I take your questions and do my best to present a biblical answer to them. The question for this episode is from Delano Selar from Dearborn, Michigan, and the question is: How can you tell the difference between your own voice or your own thoughts and the Holy Spirit’s voice? Well, that’s a great question, and this is something that many people want to know the answer to. In fact, it’s probably one of the more frequently asked questions in the Christian world, which is why messages on the voice of God are not in any sort of shortage. For my key verse, I want to go to John 10:27, where Jesus says something quite interesting. John 10:27 states, «My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me,» or «They come to me.» What’s interesting to me is that Jesus says, «My sheep hear my voice,» in other words, not someone who is deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks to us now through the voice of the Holy Spirit, using the Word of God, other people, and various other circumstances, but Jesus will speak to us through the voice of the Holy Spirit, and He’s speaking to you now. The truth is, God is talking to you right at this very moment. God is saying something to you; there’s a word that God has given you, something that God has breathed into your spirit. The issue is not whether or not I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit; the question is, am I a sheep? Because Jesus said, «My sheep hear my voice.» I think of scriptures like 1 Samuel 3, where the prophet is called out by the Lord, and at first the Lord calls him, «Samuel, Samuel,» and he hears it, mistaking the voice of God for the voice of his mentor, Eli. He goes to his mentor and says, «Master, did you call for me?» This happens a couple of other times before the prophet finally is told by his mentor, «Oh, that’s the Lord calling you.» Why do I bring this up? It’s just to illustrate the point I made first by referencing John 10:27, which is that you can hear the voice of God without recognizing it. In fact, I believe you’re hearing the voice of God right now. The question, though— I know Delano, you had a specific question, and I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m dodging it— is not how can I hear the voice of God, because if you’re a believer, you already hear the voice of God. This isn’t just semantics; it’s a very important, though seemingly insignificant shift, that we have to make in our thinking. It’s not that we have to hear God; it’s that we have to recognize God. In other words, we’re already picking Him up; we already know the things He’s telling us. The issue is just discerning which is Him. So, as I like to say, there are three categories, or three voices, that communicate to you in everyday life. Whether that’s through dreams, the Bible, your heart or spirit, other individuals, or circumstances, no matter how God communicates to you, everything He communicates falls under the category of spirit. So, there’s the spirit, the satanic, and the secular. The satanic is very obvious; it will always directly contradict the truth of the Word of God. The secular is a little more difficult to spot because it’s more nuanced; it’s more subtle, and it has more to do with things that are not necessarily God but can be distracting because they seem good. So, the satanic refers to things that are bad, the secular refers to things that may seem good but are distracting, and the spirit is what is the pure voice of the Holy Spirit. Like I said, those are three categories under which you can place any communication that comes your way. The question is: how do you discern between those three? Because it’s not just your own voice you’re trying to decipher; it’s the voice of the world, which is the secular voice, and actually your voice counts as the secular. Then there’s the voice of the demonic, and there’s the voice of the Holy Spirit, which is the truth. The secular contradicts the nature of God, which is why it’s harder to spot— because not many people know His nature. But the satanic contradicts the Word of God. The spirit will always align with both the nature and the Word of God. So, how can you tell the difference? I’ll give you three practical keys real quickly. Number one: silence and stillness. Silence is the putting away of outer distractions. Jesus said that when you pray, go away quietly and privately, and when you pray in private, your Father who sees you in private will reward you openly. So, silence is the putting away of outer distractions. It’s practical; it takes a matter of discipline. Turn off the TV, turn off the phone, and put away those noises that affect you in the outer man, in everyday life. But then stillness is a little deeper. Stillness is the quieting of the inner man. Stillness is the quieting of the soul. So, silence is the putting away of outer distractions; stillness is the quieting of the soul.