God Speaks In A Variety Of Ways

 In this post, I will use material from the Convergence conference sponsored by Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. Sam Storms was the pastor in 2018 at the time of this conference. Dr. Storms's teaching is similar to Dr. Jack Deere's, Dr. Wayne Grudem's, and Dr. R.T. Kendall's. Storms, Deere, Kendall, Grudem, and Dr. Craig Keener are my 'go-to guys' - when I study spiritual gifts. Some may view the ways God spoke to people in Scripture as something he no longer does. Those who God chose to write Scripture indeed had a high level of gifting. That being the case, God still desires to communicate with his children through personal guidance. As I stated in a previous article - this guidance we receive from the Holy Spirit is not on the same level as sacred Scripture.

Below is an abbreviated list of ways God speaks from, The Convergence: Equip Workbook.

 

The Variety of Ways in which God speaks to His Children The God of the Bible is a speaking, communicative, ever-revealing God.

 1. Scripture – We hear God’s voice preeminently in and through the written Word of the Bible. On occasion we discover the Spirit speaking directly to our circumstances by alerting us to a text in which a biblical character was facing a similar challenge or decision. At other times the Spirit speaks more indirectly. That is, he alerts us to a principle or ethical truth that informs our decision-making process. 

2. Audible voice – Among those who heard the audible voice of God are Abraham (Gen. 22:1-2,10- 12), Moses (Exod. 3:3-6), the nation Israel (Deut. 5:22-24), Samuel (1 Sam. 3:1-10), Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13), John the Baptist (Matt. 3:16-17), Peter, James, and John (Matt. 17:5-6; cf. 2 Pet. 1:17-18), the general public (John 12:27-30), Paul (Acts 9:3-7; 23:11), Peter (Acts 10:9-16), and John (Rev. 1:9-12). 

3. Internal Audible Voice – In such cases we genuinely “hear” a sound in our head, a voice that is decidedly not our own. But in this instance no one else would be able to hear it with their physical ears. 

4. Angelic messengers – God also speaks to us through angelic messengers, as he did to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15), Samson's parents (Judg. 13), Isaiah (Isa. 6:6-13), Daniel (Dan. 9:20-27), Zacharias (Luke 1), Mary (Luke 1), Philip (Acts 8:26), Peter (Acts 5:19-20), and others (see esp. Heb. 13:1). 

5. Dreams – God also communicates through dreams (Gen. 20:3; 37; Dan. 2,4,7; Matt. 1,2; Acts 2,10). Consider especially the overwhelming evidence that many Muslims are coming to faith in Christ by means of his appearance to them in dreams.

6. Visions – See Num. 12:6; Dan. 10:1-9; Acts 2:17; 9:10-12; 10:1-6; 10:9-16; 16:9-10; 18:9-10; 22:17- 18. 

7. Creation – See Ps. 19 and 104 and especially Rom. 1:18ff. 

8. Spiritual Impressions – These are “gracious incursions into our souls” (Willard, In Search of Guidance, 19). God often puts words, phrases, sentences, images and the like into our minds, stamped with the indelible print of his voice. Although undeniably subjective and occasionally slippery, “impressions” are a valid means of divine communication in our heart.  

In spite of the inescapable “subjectivity” of impressions, I believe we may justifiably expect that when God wants to tell us something, he will not be unduly obtuse. His purpose isn’t to mislead or confuse but to guide us clearly and carefully. Whether through thoughts or perceptions that we intuitively recognize could only come from him, he makes his heart known. When God communicates he does so with specific information, often times in propositional utterances.

People in biblical times were not left to wonder about “hunches” or “impulses” or “feelings”. If God’s voice is occasionally “vague” it is to awaken us from slumber or perhaps alert us to our presumptuous attitude, or perhaps challenge us to press into his heart ever more intensely. I agree with Willard who said, “It is to be expected . . . that if there is something He would have us know, He will be both able and willing and will in fact plainly communicate it to us, if we are but open and prepared by our experience to hear and obey” (219). Even in the case of visions, dreams, and trances, there is verbal communication.

 9. Providence – God may also communicate to us through providential guidance or by means of events that clearly reveal his will. 

10. Sympathetic physical pains or sensations – On occasion, God will communicate his desire to heal someone by stirring in your body a pain or sensation that corresponds to the affliction that another is experiencing. 

11. Other, unidentifiable modes of communication in which the Spirit (or an angel) simply “speaks” by some means not otherwise specified. There are numerous texts in Acts where God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or an angel is described as speaking to or saying something to someone – Acts 8:26, 29; 9:10; 10:7; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2; 16:6-7; 18:9; 20:23; 22:21; 27:24. 12. 

The directives of the Holy Spirit are practical, suggesting what to do, where to go, and with whom to speak. They are not ethical principles. The rules and regulations that bind our conscience and carry absolute and universal moral authority for the Christian are provided only in Scripture. 

Whereas the Spirit will often lead us in the daily application of biblical principles or how to wisely navigate the confusing waters of human relationships, he will not dictate new laws of right and wrong. Rather they are words that concern the “here and now” of people and their actions; often divine directives concerning ways in which God’s people are to fulfill the mandate to preach the gospel to all nations (what might be called "divine appointments”

Source: Convergence: Guidebook, page 5.

The Gift Of Prophecy

 

"But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams;

 even on my male servants and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." - Acts 2:16-19 ESV

 

The gift of prophecy, unlike the gift of teaching, is revelatory. God gives the gift of teaching to explain the Bible. It is a spiritual gift that requires knowledge of the Scripture and illumination by the Holy Spirit to understand the text. 

Certain Bible teachers understand the gift of prophecy to be preaching. Preaching can be prophetic (the Gospel itself is prophetic). God can give warnings and revelations about situations and people during a sermon. In this post, we are discussing personal prophecy. 

The New Testament gift of prophecy does not challenge the sufficiency of Scripture as some teach. 

These teachers, for the most part, are cessationists. They believe that prophecy, tongues, and the gifts of healing ceased after the completion of the New Testament canon (The Bible) - this is a poor interpretation of the Biblical text.

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." - (1 Corinthians 14:1  ESV)

"Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." -   (1 Thessalonians 5: 20 - 21 ESV)

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. - (1 Corinthians 14:29 ESV)

Why would the Apostle Paul command believers to weigh or judge prophetic words? Surely he would not tell us to evaluate the accuracy of  Scripture? Personal prophecy is not equal to Scripture. "...for we know in part and we prophesy in part" - (1 Corinthians 13:9 KJV) " ... the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort." - (1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV) - not to add to Scripture. It does not have the same authority.  

Personal prophecy (like other spiritual gifts) can be misused and abused. Well-meaning people can think they are hearing from the Lord, but are not.

I agree with Dr. Wayne Grudem's definition of New Testament prophecy. "Prophecy occurs when a revelation from God is reported in the prophet's own (merely human) words." (1)

Hermeneutics is the method used to interpret the Scriptures. Western scholars around the time of the Enlightenment began to view the Scripture through anti-supernatural lenses. 

Some theologians do not believe that women should preach or teach men (I'm not dealing with that here.) The problem is that according to Joel's prophecy that Peter quotes in Acts chapter 2,  both men and women will prophesy in the last days. Scholars call this the democratization of the Spirit. Unlike the Old Testament, any New Testament believer can prophesy. 

As Jack Deere says, "In the Old Testament, prophetic ministry belonged to the men. But when the Holy Spirit moved into his new temple, the human heart, he no longer enabled observed gender or age distinctions. He enabled men, women, and children to prophesy." (2)

New Testament prophecy is not to establish new doctrines - it is for guidance. 

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." - Romans 15:4 ESV

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence..." (2 Peter 1:3 ESV)

To believe and obey Scripture is the path to live a godly life. All the doctrine (teaching) in the Bible is for our instruction. 

The fact that the Bible commands us to pursue the gift of prophecy is the reason we should.

God never speaks to us in a way that contradicts his written revelation (the Bible).  Jesus said, "his sheep hear his voice," and they do. We hear Him in Scripture and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

If you are a pastor that does not believe God speaks today - how do you know God called you to preach? You know by revelation. 

People who hear God's voice most clearly are grounded in the Word of God. To be a biblical people, we must believe in revelatory gifts. And the authority of Scripture. 

(1) Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem, page 1057.

(2) Why I'm Am Still Suprised By The Voice Of God, Jack Deere, page 17.

The Anvil - A Prophetic Picture

 "I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'" - (Zechariah 13:9 NLT)

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." - (1 Peter 1:7 NLT)

"Anvil - a heavy steel or iron block with a flat top, concave sides, and typically a pointed end, on which metal can be hammered and shaped." - Online Dictionary

During a prayer meeting a few years ago, I had a mental picture of an Anvil. This was a time of intercessory prayer for our Church and our community. We were engaged in spiritual warfare. I believe God communicates through mental images and impressions to encourage us. I don't think every thought or picture that pops into my head is a message from God to the Church!

 But for me, it seems like a good picture of what many believers need to think about, especially in times of intense spiritual attack. God uses the testing of our faith to strengthen us and forge us into vessels for his purposes. Without trials and testing, we become weak and spiritually ineffective. All bodybuilders know that growth comes from resistance. So, spiritual growth requires us to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 

Fire is a metaphor used in various ways in the Bible. God uses the fire of his holiness to purge sin from us. He uses stressful circumstances to purify our hearts and to make us battle-ready. Our battles are not with people but with worldviews and ideologies that clash with the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, God told Israel to drive out enemies from the land he gave them. Some wonder why He didn't destroy all of Israel's enemies for them. But, I believe God wanted his people to grow stronger by obeying his commands and learning how to fight for freedom based on his covenant commitment to them.

As New Testament believers, our enemies are spiritual beings. We must be diligent to drive them (demonic strongholds) out of our lives. We must help others experience freedom, also. The attacks never stop, but our goal is to become stronger as we grow dependent on God. In a sense, we become a weapon forged by the Master's hand that he uses to drive out spiritual darkness.

Jesus is Knocking on The Door of The American Church

 The LORD is trying to get the attention of the American Church. He is speaking clearly. His warning is much like the warning to the Church at Laodicea. His word is clear but are we listening? What I mean by "we" is the Church as a whole. There is always a remnant that self-sacrificially does the LORD's work. I know many that are.

The Church in Laodicea was prosperous and seemed 'self-sufficient.' The city was known to have a problem with its water supply. Unlike some of the surrounding towns, which had an abundance of cold and hot water, they had lukewarm water that was disgusting.

Jesus likened their spiritual condition to their lukewarm water supply. In no uncertain terms, it made Jesus puke! 

Jesus is knocking on the door of the American Church - to reveal our blindspots to us. He loves us and has given us an abundance of resources. Our prosperity has blinded us to our lack of spiritual depth. Many are satisfied with being entertained and have become complacent about the needs of the world around us. I am guilty of this. 

I believe the Church in America is experiencing the discipline of the LORD because he loves us. He is calling us to recognize our spiritual poverty. Political power and excessive materialism cannot be our goal. It's time to wake up and regain our ability to see and hear what Jesus is saying. He desires us to repent so - that - we can bless the world and have intimate fellowship with him. 

Hear His call:

To the Church in Laodicea

 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” - (Revelation 3:14-22 ESV)

It's Reformation Day: Take A Stand

 

  

A monument to Martin Luther in Worms, Germany.

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." -1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV

Many Protestant Christians celebrate Reformation Day on October 31st every year. It recognizes the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany in 1517. Another day that stands out in the Reformation happened on April 17, 1521, in Worms, Germany. Martin Luther stood up against the Church and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

I  don't agree with everything Luther taught and did during his ministry. But, his boldness in the face of the corruption of the Church of his day is something I admire. He spoke truth to power even under the threat of death.

"Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." - Proverbs 29:18 ESV

Christians cannot control our culture, but we should bring a prophetic vision to it. 

Many Churches in our day have lapsed into apostasy. Sexually objectable behavior in our culture is being approved by certain Christian denominations. 

We have a "Woke" culture - we do not need a "Woke" Church.

" For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,

    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” - 1 Peter 4:17-18 ESV

It's time to take a stand against spiritual darkness in the Church. Believers are to love those who do not know Jesus.

 Refusing to speak the truth is not how we love others. 

How can we expect the world to follow Jesus in the path of truth if we walk in darkness?

Scripture for meditation:

"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ..." - Ephesians 4:15 ESV

"If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." - 1 John 1:6 ESV

 "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” - John 11:10 ESV

“...I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6 ESV

Put Your Watch On: A Prophecy

(I received this word on April 25, 2022.)

I believe God spoke a prophetic word to me while I was doing a study on prayer. It seemed “the still small voice,” said, “put your watch on.” I rarely wear it because I usually check the time on my cell phone. So, I put it on.

I shared this impression with a group of prayer warriors. One of these guys had a similar experience the night before. He was ministering on our Church’s altar prayer team and had a vision of watches and calendars. This is the message he felt the Lord gave him, “listen and see now and focus on obedience now. Don’t try to know far out into the future.”

The watch is a reminder to know the times we are living in. And to keep watch over our souls.

Calendars represent seasons. During this time and season of history, we are witnessing the deconstruction of the Christian faith. It’s no longer unusual for pastors to abandon teachings of Scripture to be culturally relevant.

False teachers and prophets have been allowed into the Church to change the clear moral teachings of Scripture. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are teaching false doctrine

Pastors of Churches that allow this teaching in their Churches – will be held accountable.

If you are a follower of Jesus, it’s time to watch and pray for the Church in America.

A Reflection On Revival

 

The Word:

“Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?” – Psalm 85:6 ESV

Reflection:

We live in a day similar to the time just before the first great awakening in America. In the 1700s the Church in New England was declining morally and spiritually. God used men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, and John Wesley to help as instruments for revival. But, unlike present-day America, even during their spiritual decline, the colonies had a much stronger biblical foundation than we do today.

In recent decades the Church in America has been guilty of excessive materialism and prayerlessness. And we have become biblically illiterate and resistant to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Sadly, much of the western world is considered post-Christian. It seems (looking at it through natural eyes) irreversible. Europe has only its great cathedrals to point to their past Christian heritage. We in America can look back to the past when Christianity was acceptable in our society. Despite slavery and other obvious sins, the general population embraced a biblical worldview.

I believe the spiritual renewal of Churches in the west will precede revival. God is calling his people to repentance, to return to the faith of the early apostolic Church. This calling is to a radical commitment to Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus will have no rivals. This is a message to the Church.

It puzzles me that we expect non-believers to act like believers. Maybe it’s time we (the Church) start living the truth we proclaim. The world won’t agree with us, but at least they can’t accuse us of hypocrisy.

God still has a remnant in the western world who has not bowed their knees to cultural idols. We must resist cultural Christianity and return to the faith of the early disciples.

Pray for renewal in our churches so that we might see a spiritual revival in America and the rest of the western world. God uses ordinary people to pray and intercede on behalf of the Nations. It’s time to pray for the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in world history.

Watch and Pray: 

Father, would you open our eyes to see what you are doing on the earth. Open the hearts of your people to embrace the gospel that the early disciples both lived and preached. We ask you for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Your Church. Revive us again so that the world will see the truth of the gospel in our lives. And they will be drawn to the same Jesus that the early Church proclaimed. In Jesus’ name.

Avoiding The Spiritual Cliff: A Prophetic Perspective

 

(I've updated this blog post that I originally wrote in 2017. Since then, we have seen significant acceleration of evil in our society. Without repentance America, as we know it, will cease to exist.)

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 

(2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV) 

The United States and the whole western world are slowly moving to the edge of a spiritual cliff – the love of many seems to be growing cold (Matt.24:12.) We have become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. The sins of pride, materialism, sexual perversion, and self-indulgence have made deep inroads in our nation. And sadly, the Church is not doing much better. 

Paganism has become the main philosophy by which much of the media and our entertainers live. They have become the voice of our culture, replacing the Church. 

And, it seems that much organized or politically motivated religion is presently losing the moral high ground. The nuclear family is under relentless attack by dark spiritual forces. Civil unrest in the streets, drug addiction, abortion, and lawlessness have become the new normal. 

Some of us have felt like giving up on our society, but change is not impossible. 

So, how do we avoid the spiritual cliff? Followers of Jesus must seek the power of the Holy Spirit like the Church in the book of Acts. And make intercessory prayer a priority both individually and corporately. Believers can effectually transform the culture by wholehearted devotion to Christ. Protesting and cursing the darkness will never change our society. 

I have hope for a better future and that God is raising up pastors in the land who are not afraid to proclaim the truth of the gospel. Ministers in the apostate Church have cast doubt on the authority of Scripture. Thankfully there is still a remnant in the believing Church faithfully proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are not condemning people for ungodly lifestyles but are offering hope and freedom in the name of Jesus. Pray that we in the west would turn back to God and avoid the spiritual cliff.

                                    

 A Reason To Be Optimistic: In 2022 we are seeing a resurgence of prayer in the body of Christ. I believe that Jesus is waking up his sleeping Church. Many are starting to realize that government and political figures have become idols in the house of God. It will take more than a political movement to keep the United States going the way of ancient Rome. The Church must return to our first love. The bride of Christ must make herself ready for the Bridegroom. Jesus is not coming back for a harlot Church - he's returning for a spotless bride.

"Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." - Revelation 19:7-9 ESV

How To Hear The Holy Spirit Accurately by Dr. Craig Keener

 

(Dr. Craig Keener is one of the top New Testament scholars in the world. He is a theologian that practices spiritual gifts. He's a good example of what I call "A Word and Spirit" person.) www.craigkeener.com  

The Holy Spirit passes on Jesus’ words as clearly as Jesus passed on the Father’s. We should be able to hear Jesus’ voice as clearly today as his disciples did two thousand years ago and­— since we see things in light of the resurrection— understand his message better. Of course, Christians have often abused the promise of hearing God’s voice, hearing instead only what they wanted or expected to hear. What objective guidelines can help us learn sensitivity to the Spirit and enable us to hear God’s direction accurately?

 

First of all, the Spirit does not come to testify about himself; He comes to testify about Jesus (John 15:26; 16:14).  He brings to our remembrance and explains what Jesus has already said (14:2 6). What the Spirit teaches us is therefore consistent with the character of the biblical Jesus, the Jesus who came in the flesh (1 John 4:2). The more we know about Jesus from the Bible, the more prepared we are to recognize the voice of his Spirit when he speaks to us. Knowing God well enough to recognize what he would say on a given topic can often inform us what God is saying, because God is always true to his character. But be warned: those who take Scripture out of context thereby render themselves susceptible to hearing God’s voice quite wrongly.

Second,  the Spirit does not come merely to show us details such as where to find someone’s lost property, although the Spirit is surely capable of doing such things and sometimes does them (1 Sam. 9:6-20). Nor does the Spirit come just to teach us which sweater to put on (especially when it is obvious which one matches) or which dessert to take in the cafeteria line. The Spirit does, however, guide us in evangelism or in encouraging one another (for example, Acts 8:29; 10:19; 11:12.)  The  Spirit also comes to reveal God’s heart to us,  and  God’s heart is defined in this context as love  (John 13:34-35; 15:9-14, 17). To walk in Christian love is to know God’s heart (1 John 4:7-8; see also Jer. 22:16).

Third, it helps if we have fellowship with others who also are seeking to obey God’s Spirit. In the Old Testament, older prophets mentored younger prophets (1 Sam. 19:20; 2 Kings 2:3-8). And among first-generation prophets in the early church, Paul instructed the prophets to evaluate each others’ prophecies, to keep themselves and the church on target (1 Cor. 14:29). Spiritual mentors or peers who are mature in their relationship with God and whose present walk with  God we can trust can seek God with us and provide us a “safety net” of sorts.

If we feel that the Spirit is leading us to do something, but recognize that much is at stake if we are wrong, we may do well to talk the matter over with other mature Christians. Proverbs advised rulers that wisdom rests in a multitude of counselors, and that advice remains valid for us as well. In the end, we may not always settle on the counsel others have given us— like us, they too are fallible— but if they are diligent students of the Scriptures and persons of prayer, we should humbly consider their counsel. God sometimes shows us things for the church that others may not yet see; at the same time, God may well have shown some of our brothers and sisters things we have not yet seen.  I have a few spiritual mentors and peers whose counsel I especially treasure and whose wisdom time has consistently (though not always) vindicated.

Many of us as young Christians were intrigued by the frequent experience of supernatural guidance from the Holy Spirit. While most of us who have learned to hear the Spirit in that way still experience such guidance regularly today, after a number of years, sensitivity to the Spirit’s guidance in that form becomes almost second nature and thus becomes less of a focus than it once was. Nor is this guidance, exciting as it may be to one discovering it for the first time, always the most important form of guidance God’s Spirit gives us.

By this method of hearing the Spirit, we might help someone in need, because the Spirit specifically directed us to do so. But many of us have also learned to hear God’s Spirit exegetically, as the Spirit has spoken in the Scriptures.  By hearing the Spirit’s voice in Scripture, we might help that same person in need simply because Scripture commands us to do so.  But perhaps the deepest sensitivity to the  Spirit comes when we learn to bear the Spirit’s fruit in our  lives­ when our hearts become so full of God’s heart that we help that person in need because God’s love within us leaves us no alter­ native. All three forms of guidance derive from the Spirit and from Scripture. Yet where needs clearly exist, God’s character that we have discovered by means of Scripture and the Spirit is sufficient to guide us even when we have no other specific leading of the  Spirit or scriptural mandate, provided neither the Spirit nor the  Bible argues against it. It is when the Spirit has written the Bible’s teaching in our heart that we become most truly people of the Spirit.

(Adapted from Three Crucial Questions About the Holy Spirit, published by Baker Books.)

Can These Bones Live?

 

          I took this picture behind a Church in Germany

Can these bones live? Without prayer the Church in the west as we know it will not survive. We (the Church) must recover our prophetic voice. Our prayerlessness has paralyzed us and we have very little spiritual power. As a whole, we have become conformed to the world and we are presently in retreat. Politicians cannot fix our present dilemma so we must rediscover the power of God in prayer. 

During the pandemic, God lead the Church into a forced sabbath. We’ve been given time to reflect on our depth of commitment to the values of the Kingdom. We must ask the question of ourselves; do we value the Kingdom of God more than Church as usual? We can emerge from this season in the power of the Spirit or just go back to a form of godliness that denies God’s transforming power.

God has given us time to reset and reengage the culture with spiritual power. This will require us to return to the ancient paths of prayer and holiness. We can no longer look to the Supreme court or politicians to get us out of the cultural chaos we find ourselves in. Jesus came out of his wilderness testing in the power of the Spirit. The question is, will we? God is going to raise up an “exceedingly great” spiritual army during these chaotic days. Our LORD still has a remnant in the western Church, those who have not bowed to political correctness or to cultural idols. May Jesus restore his Church in our day.

“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2 He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live. 6 I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.

9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.” – (Ezekiel 37:1-10 NET Bible)

Storm Clouds Are Approaching

 

(I originally posted this article on another blog back in 2020. The Storm is upon us now. It's time to wake up and make intercessory prayer a priority.)

Storm clouds are approaching America at a rapid speed. The time is now to allow the LORD to examine our hearts. It’s time to turn from our willful disobedience to God. It’s time to return to Jesus. Much of the Church in America has compromised with spiritual darkness. We have allowed the values of our culture to shape our thinking.

While we must stand up for justice, we must not align ourselves with movements with dark spiritual roots. Riots in our streets, pestilence, and anarchy abound. Civil war seems to be a real possibility as foreign enemies could take advantage of this situation. God is not the author of this chaos.

Those who follow Jesus have a responsibility to seek and pursue peace. But compromising with evil is never the answer. Christians are to live out the gospel and stand in the gap. The gap is an opening in the wall of an ancient city. Walls were to keep out foreign invaders.

The Watchmen were there to fill in the opening caused by an attack by an enemy. And to be lookouts on behalf of the city. We stand in the gap today by praying for the protection of our cities - and God’s mercy. Without repentance in the church, we can do very little to help the world around us.

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” – Ezekiel 22:30