Fear of hearing

[K2K]

We are supposed to fear God, but that should mean that we are afraid that we might not hear what He has to say to us and not that we should be afraid to hear from Him!!

Yet what often happens is that people get fearing the devil - which is to say they are fearful that if they hear with their spiritual ears that they might be hearing the devil. The result of that fear is that we won't listen to anything with our spiritual ears!! So the devil of course promotes the 'fear of hearing' with our spiritual ears!!

You see this in the Scriptures when the Pharisees were suggest to Jesus that He had a demon. Those religious leaders were so afraid of the devil that they thought that anything heard in the spiritual realm was from Satan.

We are to trust the Lord!! In Jn 3:16 where it is written "Whoever believes in Him" the Greek word translated "believes" is more often translated "trusts". So it could have been written "Whoever trusts in Him". The belief in Him we are suppose to have is a belief which puts trust in Him!

Can you trust God enough to think that if you seek Him you will find Him????

Jesus covered this. If you ask the Father for something good are you going to get something bad? If you ask Him for bread are you going to get a stone? Jesus is the Word of God because He speaks to us via the Holy Spirit, and His word are spirit and are life. So He is the mana 'bread' that comes down from heaven, which is to say we get Him as food to our spirit when we listen to the words we pick up in our spirit. That is why He said you must eat of His flesh, which means you must listen to Him. He said He would never leave you, so you need to listen by faith to the words He has to say via His Holy Spirit to your spirit! You must do that. Men must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!

So, if you don't listen because you are afraid of the devil, then you are not doing what you must do!!

This does not mean you should not test the spirits, because many spirits have gone forth as false prophets! Yet even to test them, you must be hearing what is said in the spiritual realm around you. And you can bind up those spirits that are not from the Lord our God and King of kings, Jesus Christ! You can also simply just resist them and seek the Lord. They are always going to be around somewhere, but that does not mean we fear them only that we need to be aware of them.

So do not let the fear of hearing a demon keep you from seeking and hearing from the Lord your God, Jesus Christ!!!

 

[Joined2krist]

I think one should start from soaking up the Bible, it's still God's voice but safer

 

[Tolworth John]

We are supposed to fear God, but that should mean that we are afraid that we might not hear what He has to say to us and not that we should be afraid to hear from Him!!

The fear of the Lord ISA strange mixture, many people think we should be like Adam and Eve and seek to hide from God.
Yes God is terrifying, he is totally Holy and we don't understand that but rather than be terrified we , who are Christian are his children, we can call him Daddy!

I find that difficult, but I know something of the amazing love he has for me and I strive to recognise his voice for when he speaks.

The fear of the Lord has as much to do with rightous respect and honour as it does for terror and we have nothing to fear from the rightous wrath of God.

 

[tturt]

Also, having the fear of the Lord is vital for believers. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Pro 1:7

The fear of the Lord means holding God in reverence/awe and putting more value/emphasis/surrender to what He says more than any other person's perspective including our own.

The Bible informs us of some of God's thoughts. When we have the fear of the Lord, His Word, not popular opinion, guides us in every aspect of our lives.

 

[K2K]

The fear of the Lord ISA strange mixture, many people think we should be like Adam and Eve and seek to hide from God.
Yes God is terrifying, he is totally Holy and we don't understand that but rather than be terrified we , who are Christian are his children, we can call him Daddy!

I find that difficult, but I know something of the amazing love he has for me and I strive to recognise his voice for when he speaks.

The fear of the Lord has as much to do with rightous respect and honour as it does for terror and we have nothing to fear from the rightous wrath of God.

Absolutely!!!

"The fear of the Lord has as much to do with righteous respect and honor as it does for terror and we have nothing to fear from the righteous wrath of God."

That is soo correct. The terror is for those who will honor the Lord by listening to Him - ever - because they choose not to believe in Him. We need to fear Him like we do a loving Father who wants to help His sons.

I think one should start from soaking up the Bible, it's still God's voice but safer.

The Lord is going to tell you to read your Bible, if you have one and can read of course. Yet the Bible tells us that reading the Bible is not God's voice to us!! Didn't we read that.

Jn 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

If the Scriptures were God's voice the above isn't true. The Scriptures testify about Him, so they are not Him!

Jn 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

The above verse explains that His words are spirit and come from the Holy Spirit not the Bible. Those who wrote the Bible certainly heard from Him but their hearing from Him thousands of years ago is not your hearing from Him. It was their hearing from Him. Do what they did and listen to the Lord.

Gal 3:22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Again we see that the Scriptures are not the promise of faith in Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean we shouldn't read and study the Scriptures. Indeed, if we study the Scriptures they point us to Jesus Christ and explain that they the Scripture do not give us salvation, but faith in Him does. He said He would never leave you, so faith in Him means listening to the word from His voice which is found near you - in your heart and on your lips (not in ink on the pages of a book)

Rm 10:8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

So we are telling people to seek Jesus Christ our Lord and listen to His words which are found in our hearts, and even in our mouth. That is so because He is there putting impressions on us, but we have to believe that to hear from Him.

Rev 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Now He is standing there even if your Bible is left by your favorite chair, or you bed stand, or where ever you leave your Bible. To think that He is not there and can not be trusted so that you have to have your Bible to hear from Him is not having faith in Him. It is searching the Scriptures for eternal life instead of coming to Him. It is being shut up under sin through the Scriptures instead of receiving the promise of faith in Jesus Christ. It is preaching the Word of God is in your Bible instead of in your heart and on your lips. It is thinking that even if you ask the Father for the bread that comes down from heaven that He is going to give you a stone!

Jesus Christ is the Word of God because He has the words of God for you! The Spirit takes from what is His (the words of God) and gives them to your spirit. He is the bread that comes down from heaven because His words to you are spirit and are life to you! But if you don't listen, know that Moses brought down the Law on stone tablets! So if you ask the Father for the bread (the words God has for you personally) He is not going to give you the Law but a relationship! But if like the Israelites in the desert, you say 'Let God not speak to us", then you will get the Law which will so that you are shut up under sin until Jesus Christ is revealed to you.

My friends - the Father said "This My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased, Listen to Him!" So do it. He is not a book but a person! He is standing there speaking to you, hoping that you will hear His voice and open the door. He is not the only spirit, but He is love, He is Wisdom, He is Understanding, and He is there. Start seeking Him and practice listening, and you will learn to discern between His voice and demonic voices.

Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

All that is what you read in your Bible, right? So believe the Bible and seek the Lord Jesus Christ!! Don't be like those who read the writings but didn't believe what they read so as to not believe in Him who speaks to us.

Jn 5:46,47 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

 

[K2K]

Before there were Scriptures Abram heard the word of the Lord and believed in the Lord. That was counted to Him as righteousness. With His voice, God had lead Abraham from beyond the River and through the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. (Jos 24:3, Jn 10:3)

Yet the religious leaders who had the Scriptures did not listen to the instructions of the Lord. They were compared to the rulers of Sodom.

Isaiah 1:10 Hear the words of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God.

The Lord will tell you to study the Scriptures, but understanding comes from His voice not His book. The first words I heard from Him were "Read Your Bible", therefore He was not the Bible. And while asking Him for understanding He told me, "Karl, understanding is understanding the I am God." So I listened to Him and He lead me to many places and had me doing many things. Things which I could not have done without Him. I have seen things that other people simply can not understand, because they don't understand that He is God.

The Holy Spirit is not the only spirit about, but this is easy to understand if you do listen with your spiritual ears. God said He put before you both good and evil, so choose good. So you have some ability to choose God - or not! That snake's first words were "Did God really say?" And so those seeking the Bible without the listening to the Lord have been listening to that snake.

They are fearing that snake in the garden instead of the Lord there God! So when Jesus Christ shows up in their midst, and He still shows up. Like lighting He shows up. Like a gentle wind He shows up. Like flowing water He shows up. And when other proclaim Him those of the snake still say, "Did God really say?" It too often comes across as 'first you must study the Scriptures and soak in them before you attempt to hear from the Lord'. Then they say the you must follow our understanding of the Scriptures and not listen with your spiritual ears. Concerning Jesus they say, He died many years ago and perhaps is in some far off place called heaven, and He left us this book called the Bible. So they search the Scriptures thinking in them they have eternal life instead of listening to the instructions of the Lord.

So they read all that is in the Bible and acted exactly like the rulers of Sodom, exactly like the Pharisees, exactly like the perverter generation who Jesus showed up to but who did not know Him. They do not believe the very Bible that they have put their faith in. So they with the Scriptures did not do what Abraham did without the Scriptures. They did not listen to the voice of the Lord and believe in Him.

To them, the Word of God is a book. To Abram, the Word of God was the one who showed up in a vision and talked to Him. So they will not get a great reward. They can't understand that He who talks to us is the great reward!

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

Mark 16:19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

 

[Joined2krist]

@K2K, read and meditate on psalm 119

Also look up psalm 138:2

 

[K2K]

@K2K, read and meditate on psalm 119

Also look up psalm 138:2

Yes - and it is not even so much that I would meditate on that Psalms but that when I read the verses it is like the things I do think about. I can see that the person who wrote it must know Him who I know.

So if I read (Ps 138:3) "On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul" I instantly think about how 'Today' I will call on the Lord and He will answer me, and when He does answer me it gives me confidence, not in me, but in Him. I hear from the word of God saying things to me and I understand that God is actually talking to me, and that understanding of where I stand with God makes me bold with strength in my soul, so I boldy praise the Lord and speak, or write, of Him.

And if I read (Ps 138:7)"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me", then I realize that person knows who I know, because when I feel in the midst of trouble I turn back to Him who answers me. He answers me and talks to me about my troubles. He tells me what to do and He also tells me that He will take care of it. So I know God's salvation, Jesus, like you know a person. He can and does take care of it, but it might require that I work with Him.

Then of course the next verse makes complete sense to me (138:8) "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me..." From His answers when I call, and I surely call when in the midst of trouble remembering that every day called 'Today' has enough troubles (dark forces) in it, I then find that the Lord will accomplish what concerns me personally!

So the person who wrote that Psalms (David) is like me. He had to be. David must have known that the Lord answer when you call. David knew that God's word (the Christ) was his salvation (Jesus), and sat at the right hand of God. David knew that his Lord who we call Jesus Christ, will accomplish what concerned him, just like I do. He must have known that because He called on his Lord and got answers, just like I do.

I can relate to David and I can might be able relate to someone pointing to what David wrote, but I can not always related to someone quoting a Psalms. When a person says to read it, what do they get out of it. Do they get reminded of the personal relationship with the Lord that they daily have. I don't know if all they do is point to a verse. Now if they pointed to Jesus Christ, in that they hear from Him on the day they called, then I could relate to them.

 

[tturt]

Dont want to put words in your mouth- it's really puzzling - and seen it before on CF several times . What is meant by the last paragraph? For our posts to be considered authentic, do we need to include in every entry some background of our walk, details of our relationship with Him or list our core beliefs or how long we"ve believed in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Or some other qualifying statement? Realize you would be speakng from your perspective- not everyones intent. Would appreciate the input.

 

[K2K]

Dont want to put words in your mouth- it's really puzzling - and seen it before on CF several times . What is meant by the last paragraph? For our posts to be considered authentic, do we need to include in every entry some background of our walk, details of our relationship with Him or list our core beliefs or how long we"ve believed in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Or some other qualifying statement? Realize you would be speakng from your perspective- not everyones intent. Would appreciate the input.

John 3:11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen....

Can a person know the Lord our God, hear from Him, see the things He is doing around them and never talk about what they have seem and speak of what they know????? According to the Scriptures they can't - "we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen"!!!

So for a "posts to be considered authentic, do we need to include in every entry some background of our walk, details of our relationship with Him" - No, I havn't given you every detail. Not even close. It was explained in the Scriptures that if all that Jesus did while in the flesh on earth had been recorded than perhaps the whole earth couldn't hold the records. But what about some speaking of what they know and testifying about what they have seen?

How could someone who really knows the Lord, hears from Him, see the incredible things He does, from the little things to the big things, and still not be zealous for HIM?? Not for the bible, the writings, but literally for HIM who they know??

To me, that doesn't make any sense! It doesn't make any sense because whether He is taking me out of my body so that I am looking at the back of my head, or whether He is telling me what clothes to put on which are the perfect clothes to wear on that day, He is still amazing!!

So why did I write this thread about the little things?

It is because even around "Christians" I rarely hear anyone talking about all the incredible little things He does. It is as if they don't hear from Him through out the day!!! Because everyday He does incredible things in my life. Is it not that way in your life? How can other Christians really know and talk to Him daily and not be amazed with Him even in the little things? How can you not talk about Him?? I don't understand it.

Early yesterday, in the bathroom, I was commenting to Him about how I had not gotten a teaching from Him lately. He always seems to be giving me some teaching or another, but it been at least a week. A couple hours later He sent me two angels (angels of Mercy and Grace) to minister to me while I was working. They were telling me that they were very powerful angels and they were going to show me how. From prior teachings I knew that angels tend to operate with different levels of authority and power. Some are given more power and others are given more authority. For example, a king is given lots of authority from God where as an army is given lots of power. So I would have though Mercy and Grace operated with lots of authority, but they were telling me that they operate with lots of power, like the army not the King. So their ministering to me surprised me.

And they continued to surprise me, because I was told by them "Karl, people have lots of money and we are good at getting it from people to those who need it. We have the power to do that." Now frankly, I don't seek God's mercy or grace all that often. That was why I was working. I was working to sell things to obtain money, and as I talked to them it became clear that part of the reason I didn't seek God's grace and mercy much was that I worked for my money so I didn't need His grace a mercy as much as some do. Of course we all need it to get to heaven, but I don't think about God's grace and mercy in connection with making money. Now minister to me for quite a while and I learned so much more. How many of those angels fell and pervert the purpose of God's grace and mercy. You can find those saying to give just to make themselves rich. They have the wrong spirit.

Never-the-less, yesterday He sent me angels to minister to me and give me understanding. Is that not amazing? I find it amazing, that He would send heavenly host to me because I wondering about getting a teaching.

Yet, if I have found that if I talk about that type of thing with most Christians they look back at me as if I am crazy. Certainly they read there Bible, because they always say to do that, so they must have read concerning angels, - Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who inherit salvation?" - Yet don't they find that amazing, or do they even hear with their ears?

For me, I have to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord or lords and He has made me a part, albeit a very small part of His Kingdom. I have to testify about that, and all the more so because who else is doing that?

Those who know Him do. "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen..."

That is what we do but the last part of that verse says "--- and you do not accept our testimony"

So why does someone ask about "some other qualifying statement?"

Your testimony is that qualifying statement!!! If you have a testimony, and you should have so many that perhaps the whole world can't contain all that you have seen Jesus Christ do in your life, it should come out. You should wonder about what the qualifying statement is! If you truly, truly, know Him you will speak of what you know and have seen!!!

 

[K2K]

If I tell people my testimony one of two things are going to happen. They are either going to think that they should listen to Him or they are going to scoff at it.

To the believer or someone thinking about the Lord, it will get them to seek Him. We people, even believers need to be reminded to seek Him, and my testimony will do that for those thinking about Him.

To the scoffer, even those pretending to serve Him but who are not, my testimony will cause them to scoff at the Lord even more and pretend that they are righteous, not Him. Sadly it will make it even harder for them to seek the Lord, because they do not want to listen to the instructions of the Lord.

Now neither may spend much time reading my testimony, but the believer or person considering will be encouraged, where as the pretender or person unwilling to consider will be upset to some degree. You can tell by their response, or should I say that they could tell by their response if they take an honest look at themselves.

 

[Joined2krist]

You should test those spirits and angels you're listening to.

If you can stop listening and just read your Bible intensively, the Holy Spirit will show you if they are real or not.

 

[K2K]

You should test those spirits and angels you're listening to.

If you can stop listening and just read your Bible intensively, the Holy Spirit will show you if they are real or not.

Absolutely we need to test the spirits!!

Do we know how? And if you do know how can it be done if we don't hear?

1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

The above is the test recorded specifically in the Scriptures!!

Let us take a look at it. To test the spirits you have to know if they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh! To know that you have to be able to ask then and hear their response!

The problem I have seen is that His people don't even listen, and thus don't use that test!

One reason they don't listen is that they don't have ears to hear. Yet there is another reason, and that is what I am covering in this thread - that is that if you are fearing the devil instead of God then a person won't apply the above test simply because they are afraid it might be a demon. In that case they then to tell others to had better test the spirits but they themselves don't listen to apply the test. The Holy Spirit showed us that in the Bible, right? He did me.

There is another test that I see some Christian who do test the spirits use. It also requires listening and hearing to be able to us. I sometime use it also, but I normally use the above test because it is specifically a test for spirits. Anyway, the other test I see some Christian who actually do hear, use is from 2 Cor 12:3

"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit."

So you use that test you ask a spirit to confess that "Jesus is Lord" I personally ask them to confess that "Jesus Christ is their Lord and they are committed to serving Him." I like the little extra because you might find someone named Jesus (many people are) who might be considered a lord by someone. So I want to specifically hear "Jesus Christ" from them and that they actually are serving them.

What I find out from talking to many Christians, even those who hear the Lord Jesus Christ sometimes, is that they don't use the tests so that their definition of testing the spirits is really more based upon their feeling that it is the Holy Spirit who is talking to them. Yet that forgets that the Scriptures specifically mentions that the devil will come like the Holy Spirit; not to mention that is not the test the Bible provides.

The results of all the above is not testing the spirits like the Scriptures say, trusting in your only feelings and knowledge, and your own ability to discern who is the Holy Spirit and who is not though we are warned that the devil will come that way.

It really is a result of not fearing God and putting your trust in yourself, because if you fear the Lord our God then you are going to apply the test recorded in the Scriptures, because you want to do what He says if for no other reason than you fear that if you are not doing what He says things might go wrong.

Look - I don't always get everything right, but if and since the Lord had recorded to use the specific test recorded, then we need to do it. Please, don't just say that you know when it is the Holy Spirit test the spirits. Fear Him enough to do that. Still, Jesus Christ is the King of kings and as such sends angels to minister to you, watch over you, and as a disciple of His with ears to hear and eyes to see you should be seeing the angels of heaven descending and ascending on Him.

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man with a prophet. The man is looking at the enemies army surrounding them and is fearful. The prophet points out the army of God and the Chariots of fire around the opposing army. The prophet then prays that the mans eye will be open so he can see there are more with them than against them. Too often Christian are like that man! They are looking and the army of the enemy and are afraid, but fail to see that there are more with them than against them, and the power available in the Kingdom of God!!

 

[Scott Husted]

Fear in some ways is the beginning of the journey.

 

[K2K]

Fear in some ways is the beginning of the journey.

I was want to get back to you sooner Scott. I always like reading what you have to say.

And yes, in some ways the fear of God is the beginning of the journey!