How can I know if I am hearing God, hearing Satan, or hearing my own thoughts?

Satan may act on the conscience, as well as the Spirit of God, but you may always detect the difference, as Satan always acts in the way of despair; while the Spirit of God always points to a resource in God, and the soul, however much distressed, feels there is goodness in God if it can only get at it. So the prodigal knew his need, and said, "There is bread enough and to spare in my father's house." Thus the soul knows God's love, and believes in it; and when the Father is on the neck of the prodigal that settles every question; for the son is lost in the testimony of what the Father is. Having peace with God, we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.

286 Do any of you fear when thinking of God? You have torment, for "fear hath torment," when it is connected with the conscience, however man may seek to bury his conscience (and he does succeed in hardening it). Now Satan may even use truth to alarm and make one despair and think there is no love and forgiveness. But where God awakens the conscience, it is always to teach something about His goodness. As in the prodigal son, etc., whatever may be the character of the alarm, the reason for it is in God Himself; and God would have us to know it. If I could get my pardon from any other source than God, I do not learn His love. For instance, if I seek peace in ordinances, it is not love but fear. The effect of true ministry is to put the soul in direct contact with God. False ministry is the bringing in of something between the soul and God. There having been a revelation of God to the soul, it can never get rest until received from God, and until then there is no rest. And you will discern what is of God from what is not of God by this test, that it turns to God. He blesses by the revelation of His love. This delivers from the corruption of the truth - secures the soul from error until there is perfect peace. If I have that, I know Him. What else do I want? The soul, however quickened and secured, must have the blessed consciousness of perfect peace with God. I must, of course, seek to do His will and seek fellowship with Him, and prayer, etc.; but neither as satisfying God, nor quieting myself, or it ceases to be prayer. What God does for your souls is, He is bringing you into the joy of His perfect love in His presence; and oh! what a spring of joy does this bring into the soul. "Who shall separate us"? "More than conquerors."

Josiah a few years earlier had a sensitive conscience concerning the Will of God. When the book of the law was read before him he quietly recognised the divine voice, and obeyed it. Why did he not recognize the same voice speaking to him through Pharaoh Necho? How easy it is, beloved brethren, for any of us to fall into a condition of spiritual dullness, so that the voice of God, although clearly sounding forth through some chosen instrument, or text of scripture, fails to move us! It is true that there are siren voices around us. Even in the religious circle men speak "lies in hypocrisy" (1 Tim. 4:2); "many false prophets have gone out into the world," animated by evil spirits (1 John 4:1). All this calls for spiritual alertness that we be not led astray. But the soul that walks humbly with God, with a heart subject to His Word, will readily distinguish between His voice and the voice of the deceiver.

The question of meeting Satan is a solemn one for everyone of us. It is most important to look at it well, because it brings up the question of temptation. Now the great point presented here is that "the word of God abideth in you." I do not know anything that is more important for young Christians than that — to have the word of God abiding in them; because, let me assure you, if that is not the case, you will not be able to use that word against the devil as occasion demands. The real secret of being able to use the word of God against the devil is this, that the word of God is keeping your own soul. If your own soul is not commanded by the word of God, if it is not abiding in you, you cannot use it offensively against Satan. Now, how is it with you? Does that word govern your ways, your affections, your hearts? Do you ever prayerfully say, "I must search and see what the word of God, as the expression of His mind, says about this or that?" If you do not, how can you meet Satan? Satan will deceive you, because he is wily. He knows exactly how to dress up counterfeits, and I will tell you one of the greatest counterfeits of the devil now. You may often hear it said, "I do not feel that so-and-so is wrong; I do not see that there is any harm in this or that." Now where did they get that thought? What guided them as to that feeling? Where did it come from? You say, "Well, my conscience does not reprove me." Neither did Saul's conscience when he was persecuting the church on earth, and hating Jesus in heaven. Oh, believe it, there is nothing at this present time that is a greater counterfeit, and a more dangerous power of Satan than this, that he makes what people call their conscience the guide of their actions. If you make conscience the umpire to which everything is subjected as to your ways, you will fall into the snare of the devil. There is nothing that can pilot us according to the mind of God except this blessed book, which is the revelation of His mind: conscience is a witness, that which keeps the record, so to speak, as to how far this word acts on me. It is a witness; a true witness if it is divinely informed, a false witness if it is not. It is thus all the more dangerous. Why is that? Because to speak of a person's conscience not condemning this or that sounds exceedingly fair and good, and it is because of this it is to be so carefully guarded and watched. There is nothing so dangerous now as the thing that wears the appearance of truth, but is not the truth; because Satan knows quite well that it is by that saints are most easily caught — the perversion of that which is right in its place. And I say it is a thorough perversion of conscience, and of the place God intended it to occupy, to make it the standard of my actions.

Is then God's purpose and object, my reader, your purpose and object while you walk the earth? Have you accepted God's thoughts and given up all your own? The word of God (Heb. 4) is a "discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," but even so it is as a sword; that is, it executes judgment upon them. This is important, for if a matter is corrected in the thought - that is, in its spring and source - the fruits are not seen, and therefore have not to be dealt with, as otherwise will surely be the case with us all. One may surely say, "Of what use is it to be occupied with anything else but God's thoughts, since every other thought must come to nought?" Well, this is surely the case; but we must not only talk, we must act. You will find that the thoughts you have are not always God's thoughts, that the thoughts of your heart are a frequent cause of loss of communion, trial, and discomfort to you. "Why do thoughts arise in your hearts?" was the question of our risen Saviour to His disciples; and was followed by, "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." And what did these give them? Surely GOD's thoughts of that moment through which they were passing instead of their own! It brought Him before them instead of themselves, and it showed them that God's thoughts were about Him. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF." If God does not occupy your thoughts, Satan will. It may be very subtle, but self is not Christ. "We trusted that it lead been He which should have redeemed Israel" (Luke 24), showed that they were occupied with their own thoughts. Let any Christian sit down, and, unless the Spirit furnishes him with God's thoughts, he will soon find he has thoughts unworthy of a Christian; and these, being not according to the Word, are his continual trial, unless he bring the sword upon them, according to Heb. 4.

Jesus does not reason with Satan. A single text silences when used in the power of the Spirit. The whole secret of strength in conflict is using the word of God in the right way. One may say, I am not like this perfect Man: it might be so with Christ, but how can I expect the same result? True, we are ignorant, and the flesh is in us; but God is always behind, and He is faithful, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able. Temptation may be simply a trial of our obedience, as in Abraham's case, not a snare to lead us astray. Satan presents what has no appearance of evil. The evil would be - doing one's own will. Now it solves every difficulty to ask - not, what harm is there in doing this or that? - but, why am I doing it? Is it for God or myself? What! am I to be always under this restraint? Ah! there the secret of our nature comes out; we do not like the restraint of doing what God will approve. It is restraint to do God's will! We want to do our own will. To act merely because one must is law, and not the guidance of the Spirit. The word of God was the motive of Christ, and such is Christ's guidance. Not fencing the old man, but the new man living on the word is defence against Satan.

Now Satan would not only use such seducing spirits in the streets, but he would seek to bring such into the very midst of the assembly of the saints. And if a man were speaking in a tongue, how would the assembly decide whether he was led by the Spirit of God or by an evil spirit? When it is known what is being spoken, the saints can prove the utterance by the word of God; for every spirit that confesses not Jesus Christ come in the flesh is not of God (1 John 4:1-3). Hence where tongues were used the apostle insisted upon the interpretation of tongues, as at Corinth, so that all might judge whether the utterance in a tongue was from a divine source. Let us not be deceived. Satan can send a lying spirit into the mouth of a man now as of old (1 Kings 22:22-23). And unclean spirits can cry out with a loud voice now as they did in Samaria (Acts 8:7).

There is no such evidence of a true-hearted saint as this holy fear. An unconverted man has, properly speaking, no dread of Satan; but, if not quite hardened, he has great dread of God. The saint of God has no fear (that is, dread) of God, whilst he has great fear of Satan. Jesus, speaking of His sheep (John 10), says, "A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers," v. 5. There is in them the distrust of everything but the known voice of their own shepherd; v. 27. Above all they fear the wolf, because conscious of their weakness. If any were to say, 'the end is sure, never mind the means,' the sheep would know that that was no true shepherd's voice. Everything that would dim our eye as to the glory, or prevent its being single unto God, however precious or valuable it may seem, has to be watched against, for its tendency is to hurry us on in the downward road. Where the eye is single, the whole body is full of light; and therefore every evil is detected, every hindrance to the affections being fixed simply and undividedly on God.

There is no such evidence of a true-hearted saint as this holy fear. An unconverted man has, properly speaking, no dread of Satan; but, if not quite hardened, he has great dread of God. The saint of God has no fear (that is, dread) of God, whilst he has great fear of Satan. Jesus, speaking of His sheep (John 10), says, "A stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." (Ver. 5.) There is in them the distrust of everything but the known voice of their own shepherd. (Ver. 27.) Above all they fear the wolf, because conscious of their weakness. If any were to say, "The end is sure, never mind the means," the sheep would know that that was no true shepherd's voice. Everything that would dim our eye as to the glory, or prevent its being single unto God, however precious or valuable it may seem, has to be watched against, for its tendency is to hurry us on in the downward road. Where the eye is single, the whole body is full of light; and therefore every evil is detected, every hindrance to the affections being fixed simply and undividedly on God.

There are many other passages that plainly teach the same blessed, soul-saving, peace-giving truth; indeed, all scripture does. The Holy Spirit never suggests a doubt as to the believer's perfect security. All doubts and fears flow from the wicked insinuations of Satan. Such as "Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3) This vile insinuation from the serpent suggested a doubt in the mind of Eve, which led to the whole mischief. The tempter tried the same thing with our blessed Lord in the wilderness, when he said, "If thou be the Son of God." But here he was met and vanquished by scripture. "It is written." Nothing but the shield of faith will quench the fiery darts of unbelief. Souls must watch against and ever treat all such evil suggestions as coming from the arch-deceiver. Doubts and fears are the prolific offspring of the wicked insinuations of the beguiling serpent. Faith's stronghold is the word of God, in which it securely rests. But should the enemy seek to invade its peaceful repose, it can triumphantly reply, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) The love of God to me while in my sins, as manifested in the death and resurrection of Christ, satisfies my soul, and settles all for me a sinner. God says it, I believe it, who may question it? Listen to God only. Such is the character of true faith. It is most personal. At the same time, while maintaining its individual place and communion, it rejoices in the common joy of all believers, and glories in the words, "we" and "us."