I have said this before, the biggest fear I have about  going into the ministry someday is to stand before a church and give a message or cast a vision when God has said NOTHING to me!  We run into this all across the Old Testament where God is CHEESED that prophets are prophesying with no revelation from him (Jeremiah 23:16-22).

So how do we know for sure that God is speaking to us?  How do we come to recognize the Holy Spirit’s nudging or voice?

I came across this passage in Luke 2:22-35 during a Christmas message I was listening to.  It is a story about a man named Simeon. 

Simeon is OLD, in fact, I think the only thing keeping Simeon from dying is a promise he got from God.  The promise is that before Simeon dies he’ll get to see the Christ.  So the Holy Spirit tells him to go to the Temple.  It just so happens that Mary, Joseph and Jesus are headed down to the Temple to fulfill one of the Law’s requirements.  Simeon sees Jesus, picks Jesus up and starts worshipping him!  I bet that was strange for Mary and Joseph!

Now keep in mind that this is infant or toddler Jesus. Jesus may not have spoken his first words yet – the Sermon on the Mount, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are decades away!  Yet somehow Simeon recognizes Jesus and worships Jesus as the Christ.  The Birth Narrative is filled with men and women who recognize Jesus as Savior before Jesus does a thing or says a word!

From this I learn that the telltale sign of the Holy Spirit’s speaking is when I come to a place where I can better recognize, adore, and worship Jesus.  The best way to sift through the voices that may be in my head, to know what the Scriptures are saying to me or for a community, or to know whether or not a person has a message from God, is to ask a simple question:  Does this bring clarity to who Jesus is?  Does this thought, does my understanding of this passage, or does this message I am hearing bring me to a place where the face of Christ becomes a bit clearer and my worship of Christ more informed?

Hope this helps someone today!

And I would love to know how you KNOW when God is speaking to you!