Knowing this first, that no prophesy of scripture at all is becoming its own explanation. For not by the will of man was prophesy carried on at any time, but, being carried on by the holy spirit, holy men of God speak.
2 Peter 1: 20 - 21 Concordant New Testament
I've encountered it many times. Someone will mention a scripture to me that they found enlightening, yet when I look at the words myself, I come away with a somewhat different interpretation. Now, we need to be careful when it comes to interpreting scripture, because more than a few things can come into play which might affect how it is we see different verses. How we feel about a certain subject and even our attitudes about the church can distort what we see as our interpretation of the word. At the end of the day, it is just that, our own interpretation. So, how is it, then, that the Lord speaks to us if not through the words of the scripture? Well, this is certainly one way that He directs His words into our hearts. Another way the Lord may communicate with His children is through the indwelling Spirit of Christ Jesus who is in us. I refer to this as the indwelling Spirit, but it is actually Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}. This is the Jesus the apostle Paul speaks to in Galatians. For those who have had the revelation of Christ Jesus in them, hearing directly from Jesus is neither a gimmick nor heresy. I count myself among those who have experienced the revelation of Christ in them. I have always thought that hearing directly from the Lord was the easiest way to communicate with Him. It does away with all of the mess of misinterpreting the words of the scripture. We have all been witness to more than a few occurrences of misinterpreting scripture huh? When I was a church goer, on many a Sunday a friend would come up to me with the all too infamous phrase, "God wanted me to tell you something." Many a Sunday I would think to myself, "God, if you wanted so much to mention something to me, why not cut out the middle man and tell me yourself?" I prefer it that way, me and God one on one. No chances for mistakes or lost translation. This is the voice of the Lord.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1: 8 - 12 NKJV
How many of us have at one time or another, looked upon the sermons of a particular pastor or preacher as the be all end all when it comes to the gospel being preached? In fact, many believers base their choice of churches they attend upon who stands behind that pulpit. I get it. I see this as complacency more than anything else. As Christians, we don't like change, we want to wander into the same old church each Sunday. Talk to the same old people. Hear that same old sermon. I don't believe that the apostle John would have agreed with that approach. It is John who instructs us to test the spirits {1 John 4:1}. The apostle Peter warns us of believers who will raise up for themselves teachers who their 'Itching ears' want to hear {2 Timothy 4:3}. So how do we then discern the voice of the Lord? How will we know the voice of the Father? Well, Jesus proclaims to us that His sheep know His voice {John 10:27}. Not only that, as believers we know Jesus and we follow Him. It is difficult to put into words that we will know the Fathers voice when He speaks to us, but we will. As we have known the voice of our own earthly parents, so it is with our heavenly Father. There is much evidence out there that a newborn baby immediately knows the voice of its mother. Why is that? Because for the months leading up to birth, the infant has certainly heard the mother speak. It knows her intimately even before birth. We are told that we have the Spirit of the Lord within us from birth. It is God who has breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}. We will know the voice of the Father when He speaks.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me"
John 10: 27 NKJV
~Scott~
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