Does Christ speak and how?

[tam]

May you have peace!

A question that continues to be posed to me is with regard to my bearing witness to a living and speaking Christ. How does He speak? What does that mean? How can we test that?

I imagine that one reason the questions are continually posed to me is because I cannot provide the proof that some are asking me to provide. I can only provide evidence in the form of:

a) Personal testimony from having heard Christ
b) The written testimony of or about others who have heard Christ
c) What Christ Himself is written to have said on the matter


If none of the above are acceptable to someone, then I am not sure what more that person and I would have to talk about on this particular matter. We could hopefully discuss respectfully from a point of love, reason, logic. For those who are interested...


Christ said that His sheep would hear His voice.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd." John 10:14-16



Written testimony about/from others who heard His voice, confirming the truth of what He said:

The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Acts 8:29

**
In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"

"Yes Lord," he answered.

The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." (Acts 9:10,11... and it continues)

**
There is Peter's vision telling him that he should eat foods that he considered unclean, and then after his vision:

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit (Christ) said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." (Acts 10: 9-20)

**
There are of course multiple examples from Paul. The entire book of Revelation is from Christ to John. There is a warning against hardening our hearts if we hear His voice.

As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Hebrews 3:15

Then of course there are the examples of Abraham, who heard, Noah, who heard, the prophets, who heard, Joseph, who heard, Daniel, who heard, etc, etc. Their faith is based upon the evidence of what they heard.



My own personal testimony


I did not always know that Christ spoke, and I did not always recognize that voice within me as being His. But someone else bore witness to a living speaking Christ, and it bothered me, lol. I had just ended a two year bible study with a certain denomination, and I did not want to get misled by man ever gain. But here was this person claiming that Christ spoke. If I believed this person, that they were from God, then what was wrong with me that I allowed myself to get misled yet again. On the other hand, what was wrong with me if this person did hear Christ, and I rejected them?

But soon into my dilemma (and my asking how I might know, even though I thought I was just asking myself) I heard:

Test WHAT this person is saying. Test the message. Do not pay attention to the person. Test to see if what this person is saying is true, or not. Then you will know who this person is from.


I still did not know this was Christ speaking to me. I just thought, "Oh, of course... that is what I will do."

So that is what I did. Along the way, I saw all these verses and examples and testimony that Christ does indeed speak, that God spoke also, though now speaks through Christ. In dreams, in visions, in direct words, in reminders, in opening eyes and ears to a truth that one might read, see, or hear. Once I realized that Christ is supposed to speak, I asked for ears to hear as well. Even though I did hear Him; I just did not know I heard Him. I needed to learn His voice and recognize Him.

**

I was asked how does He speak

He speaks in words. He speaks in visions (I have never had a vision that I am aware of). He speaks in dreams. He can also bring to mind something learned, read, or experienced in the past to help me see the truth in something He is teaching me. He has opened my eyes to something that is written, if I am reading the bible. He can and has read to me something that He is written to have said, so that I hear it in His voice. That was enlightening.

Sometimes when I am responding to something that someone else has asked, He will give me the words to say, or reveal something to me (as in open my heart and ears to understanding something) that I had not previously understood.


The language that He speaks is truth. He has never spoken anything to me that was not true, and that was not from love. And everything He teaches me deepens my understanding of love: His love and the love of His Father.



(As for testing the inspired expression... anything that is in conflict with what Christ teaches cannot be true. Also Christ (truth) comes from love (God), so nothing that He says will be in conflict with love. Especially since the law that is written upon our hearts in the new covenant is the law of love.)


**

I do not expect anyone to take my word for these things. I do not take the word of others for what they claim came from Christ. I explained above what I did, what I heard from Christ TO do.

If I have shared anything that helps anyone, then great. If not, then no problem. I am not the one people should be listening to if they are following or desiring to follow Christ... I can only point TO that One: Christ Jaheshua, the Holy One of Israel and Holy Spirit, the Chosen One of Jah. Christ, who is Himself, the faithful and true witness of His Father, Jah.



If one wants to know the truth of this matter themselves... then ask Christ. That is how one can confirm for themselves. Ask for ears to hear, and in the meantime DO what He has said to do, so that you prove yourself to Him. He does not have to prove Himself to us.

"If anyone loves me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with (in) them."


(Please note that He says that they will obey HIS teaching. Not man's teaching. Not religion or religious leaders, not Paul, not the law, or anyone or anything else over Him. If we love HIM... we will obey HIM. If we love someone or something else more, then we will listen to and obey that one/thing. Including if we love our religion more than Him, although we might not realize it at the time. Including if we think the bible is the Word of God, especially when even that book states that Christ is the Word of God; and Christ himself said, "You diligently search the scriptures because you think that by them you have eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about ME, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.")



May anyone who wishes them be given ears to hear, to get a sense of these things, and to hear as the Spirit (Christ) and the bride SAY to you, "Come... take the free gift of the water of life."


Peace again to you,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy

[tam]

Peace to you,

[Replying to tam in post #39]

You called my statement a lie.

The statement was that you refuse to provide verbatim examples of your conversations with the voice you claim is Christ.

I'm not going to go back and forth with you on this William. I'm just going to link to a discussion you and I had which contains the kind of statement you keep claiming I have never made:

viewtopic.php?p=1041703#p1041703

[William]

[Replying to William in post #437]

Nothing you have provided indicates that this voice produces anything better or more reliable than what any Christian with a Bible could claim without an internal voice

Christians, not the self-proclaimed denominational Christians of various classes, do not use the bible in testifying to their Master/Teacher/Pastor, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as in defending their faith in God. The only source of their defenses and testimonies is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to whom they listen and follow everything that they've heard and learned from Him.

Not sure why you quoted me here or what your point is...can you elaborate?

[OneJack]

[Replying to William in post #437]

Nothing you have provided indicates that this voice produces anything better or more reliable than what any Christian with a Bible could claim without an internal voice

Christians, not the self-proclaimed denominational Christians of various classes, do not use the bible in testifying to their Master/Teacher/Pastor, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as in defending their faith in God. The only source of their defenses and testimonies is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to whom they listen and follow everything that they've heard and learned from Him.

Not sure why you quoted me here or what your point is...can you elaborate?

The bold and shaded texts in your quote above are the ones I responded to in particular, e.g., to clarify that Christians never rely on the bible, but only on their Pastor and Teacher across all generations - the real and forever living Christ Jesus. Many people misconceive Christians in their thoughts, deeds, acts, and faith in God. The ones who totally rely on the Bible, and even set their hopes on it, are those who ‘self-proclaim’ themselves as Christians through ‘altar call’ in various denominations now dominating the preaching of the bible globally.

[William]

To the readers,

Tammy has stated that she will not go back and forth with me on this matter. That is her decision - perhaps based on advice from the voice she listens to. The following observations are offered for the record.

She called my statement a lie. My statement was that she refuses to provide verbatim examples of her conversations with the voice she claims is Christ.

She has now pointed to one exchange from 2021. In that exchange, she shared a single brief interaction: the voice she believes is The Christ asked, "Are you ashamed of me?" and she answered, "No, Lord. I am not ashamed of you."

That is not what I requested. I requested ongoing, stenographer-level transcripts of back-and-forth dialogue. I requested testable content. I requested examples that could be examined for internal consistency or predictive value. One short, untestable question and response from years ago does not satisfy that request.

Since 2021, she has provided nothing further. No new verbatim examples. No transcripts. No testable information.

To call me a liar and to do so in the name of Christ doesn't bode well re The Truth.

My original statement stands and is truth. She refuses to provide verbatim examples of her conversations with the voice she claims is Christ. The record supports this observation.

I also note that when the voice she listens to asked her a question, she did not ask "Why do you ask?" She did not seek clarification. She did not explore the premise. She simply answered and changed her behavior.

I would have asked "Why do you ask me that?" not from defensiveness, but from a genuine desire to learn. That difference matters. Just because one does not call themselves a "Christian" does not signify that one is ashamed of The Christ. And The Christ would never ask me such a question which The Christ already knows the answer - unless The Christ wanted to point something out to me that I didn't know - so I wouldn't cut off the exchange and simply assume The Christ wanted me to call myself a Christian and thought that because I didn't that I must be ashamed of The Christ.

Rather I would interact and get to the bottom of why such a question was asked.

tam - on the other hand by her own admission denied being ashamed and yet she changed her behavior as if the question had exposed something true about her.

If she was not ashamed, there was no need to change. Her change in behavior contradicts her denial. The voice did not command her to change. It asked a question. She interpreted the question as an accusation, denied the accusation, and then changed her behavior anyway. That is not obedience to a command. It is submission to an implied judgment she claimed was false.

So, I can see why tam refuses to share verbatim what goes on in that head of hers and the voice she hears and believes is The Christ.

[OneJack]

[Replying to Divine Insight in post #3]

I've never heard any voices in my head other than my own. So for me, there either is no "Christ", or I am my own "Christ".

I can't imagine what it must be like for people to hear voices in their head that aren't their own. I thought that would be considered to be a mental disorder?

You hit the nail right on its head - what you’ve said are exactly the appropriate phrases needed to directly address her testimonies in favor of a ‘small still voice’ within her.