Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Mark 1:9-11
9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
John 1:29-34
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that [unless] the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
In none of these accounts are we told who, exactly, heard the voice of God that day. Maybe one specific person heard it. Maybe two. Maybe every one who had an open mind that day; Revelation chapter 1 says not everyone will listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say: “Let he who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches…”
The fact of the matter is, though, that someone heard the message, received the message, documented the message, and shared the message – and now, everyone has access to the message, as it is now contained in God’s Holy Word.
God speaks to His people primarily through His Word… Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”
Sometimes God speaks to His people through supernatural means, as when he spoke to the prophets through a still, small voice, as in 1 Kings 19:12 – “…And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still, small voice,” and in the story of young Samuel in 1 Samuel…
God also speaks to us through experiences we have gone through…and through our memories of the experiences we’ve gone through; sometimes through bad examples that we have been exposed to so we can learn not to emulate bad behavior…
It could also be said that God speaks to us through the experience of Prayer, and through partaking of the Sacraments, and through what are called the Means of Grace – of which the Sacraments is one…Baptism is another…
On the day in which John the Baptist baptized Jesus, God’s voice was plainly heard. The Gospel accounts differ on the details, but – regardless – they agree that God’s voice was made known that day…to someone. He had a message to convey to His people: Jesus is my beloved son. It is he in whom I am well-pleased.
God speaks to us all the time, and in a variety of ways, but are we listening? If we’re not listening to the voice of God, despite our experiences and despite what we’ve been taught - who, or what, are we listening to?
There are only three true powers in the universe: God, the flesh, and the devil – and unless we have submitted to God, we are subject to the whims and desires of the devil, our flesh, or the flesh of others.
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
In Matthew, chapter 7, the famous chapter that opens with the famous comment, “Judge not lest ye be judged,” also states the following:
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
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