Do You Hear What I Hear?
There is a breath of hope gushing forth from the voice of the prophet. They say we are standing at the threshold of another Great Awakening. In 2003, Kenneth Hagin, a father of the Charismatic movement, declared that 2006 would be a glorious year of “heaven on earth.” Earlier this year, Dutch Sheets had a profound encounter with the Living God where the Lord proclaimed that 2006 would be “the year that the lid comes off of the youth movement.” But perhaps the most crucial utterance for Boston in this hour is Derek Prince’s prophetic word in 1972: “Boston is the Jericho of America and when the walls of intellectualism come tumbling down, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon the whole land.” A casual approach to these prophetic words could be the undoing of a generation that has grown up only reading and hearing stories of national revival, but never experiencing the in-break of the Holy Spirit for themselves.
---Lou Engle, posted on many blogs
This time last year, I was having a hard time celebrating my birthday when fully aware of how many babies had been aborted on my birthday - 60,500 at the time since 1993. It seemed wrong to celebrate my birth when two thirds of people born on February 26th wouldn't be able to celebrate. This year, I am faced with the same dilemma. I feel a heaviness that I think is from God, telling me to fast on behalf of all of those aborted since then. There are over 65,000 that will have been aborted by my birthday this year, and the way I see it, if I don't stand, I will be ignoring God's voice.
---jacksonbohlender.com
Over the last few weeks before the election, I was continually asked what the Lord had shown me about the election. My answer was that He was telling me to vote! Obviously this is what many of His people heard, and did, as the significant increase in Christians voting this time made the difference in this election…. There is a moral and spiritual awakening now taking place in America. Christians are starting to flex their political muscles again to the degree that the White House will probably not be won again by a candidate that does not appeal to Christians.
---Rick Joyner
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
---Psalm 29:4-9
In my travels I have run across many people who have heard the voice of God. Or so they thought. God tells them what church to attend, God tells them what slate of candidates to vote for… they can’t make a simple decision such as what shoes to wear or what breakfast cereal to eat without consulting the Almighty.
God bless Sam Kinison. The foul-mouthed screaming comedian, who died in 1990, had a great bit concerning Pat Robertson. Pat ran for president in 1988, presumably because God told him to. Kinison thought it was pretty whacked out that God would direct a person’s life in detail like that, so he had God playing practical jokes, telling Pat to get up in the middle of the night to go check the air in his tires and stuff like that. I always wonder if God doesn’t just get fed up sometimes with people taking His name in vain like that (and that’s exactly what it is). How do you know if you’re hearing the voice of God? And in fact, should you be seeking to hear that voice? Can’t we just take the facts, analyze them, and make a decision?
When I look back on my Christian life I can’t say that I’ve ever heard the voice of God giving me specific direction. When I asked my wife to marry me I didn’t have orders from the Almighty to do so. My wife is attractive, I loved her (and still do), and it’s not like the women were beating my doors down to get at me :) I certainly prayed about it, but lacking any sense of direction about it I just went with my gut. To this day I can’t tell you that God told me she was the one, and if I hadn’t picked her I would be SOL.
While I haven’t heard the voice of God, I have certainly felt His presence. That is a situation that is indescribable. I just knew. Mass at Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1990. Mass at the Cleveland Charismatic Conference in 2002 and again in 2004. Alone in the Eucharistic chapel of the Daughters of St. Paul. The prayer meeting of November 18, 1988. On all of these occasions I will swear to my dying day that God was there. So if I can feel the presence of God and “just know” that He is there, why do I have a hard time with people who hear His voice? Why can’t I just accept the fact that they “just know” and leave it at that? Because for every person that genuinely gets direction for their life there are 100 who speak things that are complete and utter crap, or they get (supposed) prophecies that are nothing but their own preferences wrapped in a religious cloak, or they say things that have a direct effect on my life and I can’t do anything about it because “God told them.”
Allow me to quote from my own blog:
Elizabeth had some very definite ideas about where her life was going and who was going to be involved in it, ideas she felt were from the Lord. And the Lord didn’t have me on her things to do list. The “just friends” speech reared its ugly head…. I have frequently heard Christian sisters claim that the Lord wants them in a “season of singleness.” That season usually begins out of dating frustration and ends when the cute guy of the moment finally gives her more than a passing nod.
--- http://seanmacnair.blogspot.com/2005/04/long-strange-trip.html
Do I think Elizabeth really heard from the Lord? No. I didn’t think so then and I don't think so now. I objected to her using the Lord as a “human shield” of sorts to have something to put between me and how she really felt. I would rather have had her tell me point blank that she didn’t share my affection, maybe even tell me that the thought of my body repulsed her or something; that would have been painful but honest. I also feel that there may have been some self-esteem issues going on, and that it was easier to face the rejection of men by saying that the Lord wanted her single until four years after college. And I was proven right when she was dating three months after college.
Discernment, folks. That’s all I’m asking.
There is a whole movement in certain segments of Christendom today of people who believe that they hear the voice of God. Cindy Jacobs. C. Peter Wagner. Jim Goll. Rick Joyner. And although someone might tell me that I don’t have the right to judge these people, I would say that I have every right. Not to judge them personally, not to judge their relationship with the Lord, but to judge whether what comes forth from their lips as being from the Lord Almighty is so.
Let’s look at the third quote at the beginning of this article. Rick Joyner is honestly telling people that he believes many Christians heard the call to vote. Nothing wrong with that. I think people should vote their conscience because it’s the right thing to do, but what makes Rick Joyner’s comments different from my belief is that the proof of God’s voice being utterred, at least for him, was that the voting made the difference in the election. God was whispering in people’s ears “vote Republican…ooohh…ooohhh….” I resent that, not because of my personal political beliefs, but because it so smacks of manipulation. He’s a Republican, he believes that set of beliefs is right, so he projects that on God. And since many people spend beaucoup dollars to get his newsletter and his materials because they believe him to be a prophet, they start believing that to vote any other way is to stand on the wrong side of the line. (Insert eye-rolling smiley here.)
The second quote is from the blog of Jackson Bohlender, an intercessory missionary from Kansas City, Missouri, connected with the International House of Prayer. I appreciate a lot of the things the Bohlenders put on their blogs. Heck, I've even given money to support them, and I don't do that for just anyone. I attempted to comment on his blog back when he made this entry, but my comment was moderated, and any comment I’ve left on any Bohlender family blog since has been moderated. My feeling was (and is) this. If it is wrong to celebrate one birthday because of abortion, then by extension it’s wrong to celebrate any birthdays. And if birthdays are wrong to celebrate, then it must be wrong to celebrate Christmas, or Easter, or Father’s Day. I mean, it’s not like they are going to stop killing unborn children because you want to buy your dad a necktie or a set of monogrammed handkerchiefs. I ended by saying that if he thought he should fast on his birthday, fine, but if he really thought God was telling him to then he had better be consistent about it. And that’s what put me on the “Most (un)Wanted” list.
You also have to understand that the Bohlender family spent some time at the Justice House of Prayer in Washington, DC, founded by Lou Engle, where the anti-abortion message is pounded into their heads from morning to night. Have you ever seen the people with the orange “LIFE” tape on their mouths? That’s their schtick, their gimmick. Makes for a good photo op. Nothing wrong with being anti-abortion, I am anti-abortion myself, but it goes to prove my point that when people feel like they’re hearing from God, those thoughts aren’t formed in a vaccuum. If you are surrounded by people who are vehemently against abortion and will do anything to protest it, then it’s natural to think of ways to show people that you can do radical things to be against abortion too.
Here’s a site to check out- Bishop Mar Elijah Bernard Jordan . “FREE WRITTEN PROPHECY As seen on TV!” I thought “As seen on TV!” was a marketing scheme only used for vegetable peelers and George Foreman grills. Anyway, that free written prophecy is the end of the line for free stuff from Mar Elijah. Tool around his website. He’s doing very well for himself.
Let me reiterate- I do believe that certain people do hear the voice of God and even get direction from said Voice. Pope Benedict. Mike Bickle. Umm… maybe that’s it. Apart from those two I’m entitled to discern. Look over the history of the Christian church just in the past 20-30 years. The highway of holiness is littered with the roadkill from those “prophets” who trampled over people to get to the head of the line. I don’t intend to be one of the trampled.
---Lou Engle, posted on many blogs
This time last year, I was having a hard time celebrating my birthday when fully aware of how many babies had been aborted on my birthday - 60,500 at the time since 1993. It seemed wrong to celebrate my birth when two thirds of people born on February 26th wouldn't be able to celebrate. This year, I am faced with the same dilemma. I feel a heaviness that I think is from God, telling me to fast on behalf of all of those aborted since then. There are over 65,000 that will have been aborted by my birthday this year, and the way I see it, if I don't stand, I will be ignoring God's voice.
---jacksonbohlender.com
Over the last few weeks before the election, I was continually asked what the Lord had shown me about the election. My answer was that He was telling me to vote! Obviously this is what many of His people heard, and did, as the significant increase in Christians voting this time made the difference in this election…. There is a moral and spiritual awakening now taking place in America. Christians are starting to flex their political muscles again to the degree that the White House will probably not be won again by a candidate that does not appeal to Christians.
---Rick Joyner
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars,
Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth,
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”
---Psalm 29:4-9
In my travels I have run across many people who have heard the voice of God. Or so they thought. God tells them what church to attend, God tells them what slate of candidates to vote for… they can’t make a simple decision such as what shoes to wear or what breakfast cereal to eat without consulting the Almighty.
God bless Sam Kinison. The foul-mouthed screaming comedian, who died in 1990, had a great bit concerning Pat Robertson. Pat ran for president in 1988, presumably because God told him to. Kinison thought it was pretty whacked out that God would direct a person’s life in detail like that, so he had God playing practical jokes, telling Pat to get up in the middle of the night to go check the air in his tires and stuff like that. I always wonder if God doesn’t just get fed up sometimes with people taking His name in vain like that (and that’s exactly what it is). How do you know if you’re hearing the voice of God? And in fact, should you be seeking to hear that voice? Can’t we just take the facts, analyze them, and make a decision?
When I look back on my Christian life I can’t say that I’ve ever heard the voice of God giving me specific direction. When I asked my wife to marry me I didn’t have orders from the Almighty to do so. My wife is attractive, I loved her (and still do), and it’s not like the women were beating my doors down to get at me :) I certainly prayed about it, but lacking any sense of direction about it I just went with my gut. To this day I can’t tell you that God told me she was the one, and if I hadn’t picked her I would be SOL.
While I haven’t heard the voice of God, I have certainly felt His presence. That is a situation that is indescribable. I just knew. Mass at Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1990. Mass at the Cleveland Charismatic Conference in 2002 and again in 2004. Alone in the Eucharistic chapel of the Daughters of St. Paul. The prayer meeting of November 18, 1988. On all of these occasions I will swear to my dying day that God was there. So if I can feel the presence of God and “just know” that He is there, why do I have a hard time with people who hear His voice? Why can’t I just accept the fact that they “just know” and leave it at that? Because for every person that genuinely gets direction for their life there are 100 who speak things that are complete and utter crap, or they get (supposed) prophecies that are nothing but their own preferences wrapped in a religious cloak, or they say things that have a direct effect on my life and I can’t do anything about it because “God told them.”
Allow me to quote from my own blog:
Elizabeth had some very definite ideas about where her life was going and who was going to be involved in it, ideas she felt were from the Lord. And the Lord didn’t have me on her things to do list. The “just friends” speech reared its ugly head…. I have frequently heard Christian sisters claim that the Lord wants them in a “season of singleness.” That season usually begins out of dating frustration and ends when the cute guy of the moment finally gives her more than a passing nod.
--- http://seanmacnair.blogspot.com/2005/04/long-strange-trip.html
Do I think Elizabeth really heard from the Lord? No. I didn’t think so then and I don't think so now. I objected to her using the Lord as a “human shield” of sorts to have something to put between me and how she really felt. I would rather have had her tell me point blank that she didn’t share my affection, maybe even tell me that the thought of my body repulsed her or something; that would have been painful but honest. I also feel that there may have been some self-esteem issues going on, and that it was easier to face the rejection of men by saying that the Lord wanted her single until four years after college. And I was proven right when she was dating three months after college.
Discernment, folks. That’s all I’m asking.
There is a whole movement in certain segments of Christendom today of people who believe that they hear the voice of God. Cindy Jacobs. C. Peter Wagner. Jim Goll. Rick Joyner. And although someone might tell me that I don’t have the right to judge these people, I would say that I have every right. Not to judge them personally, not to judge their relationship with the Lord, but to judge whether what comes forth from their lips as being from the Lord Almighty is so.
Let’s look at the third quote at the beginning of this article. Rick Joyner is honestly telling people that he believes many Christians heard the call to vote. Nothing wrong with that. I think people should vote their conscience because it’s the right thing to do, but what makes Rick Joyner’s comments different from my belief is that the proof of God’s voice being utterred, at least for him, was that the voting made the difference in the election. God was whispering in people’s ears “vote Republican…ooohh…ooohhh….” I resent that, not because of my personal political beliefs, but because it so smacks of manipulation. He’s a Republican, he believes that set of beliefs is right, so he projects that on God. And since many people spend beaucoup dollars to get his newsletter and his materials because they believe him to be a prophet, they start believing that to vote any other way is to stand on the wrong side of the line. (Insert eye-rolling smiley here.)
The second quote is from the blog of Jackson Bohlender, an intercessory missionary from Kansas City, Missouri, connected with the International House of Prayer. I appreciate a lot of the things the Bohlenders put on their blogs. Heck, I've even given money to support them, and I don't do that for just anyone. I attempted to comment on his blog back when he made this entry, but my comment was moderated, and any comment I’ve left on any Bohlender family blog since has been moderated. My feeling was (and is) this. If it is wrong to celebrate one birthday because of abortion, then by extension it’s wrong to celebrate any birthdays. And if birthdays are wrong to celebrate, then it must be wrong to celebrate Christmas, or Easter, or Father’s Day. I mean, it’s not like they are going to stop killing unborn children because you want to buy your dad a necktie or a set of monogrammed handkerchiefs. I ended by saying that if he thought he should fast on his birthday, fine, but if he really thought God was telling him to then he had better be consistent about it. And that’s what put me on the “Most (un)Wanted” list.
You also have to understand that the Bohlender family spent some time at the Justice House of Prayer in Washington, DC, founded by Lou Engle, where the anti-abortion message is pounded into their heads from morning to night. Have you ever seen the people with the orange “LIFE” tape on their mouths? That’s their schtick, their gimmick. Makes for a good photo op. Nothing wrong with being anti-abortion, I am anti-abortion myself, but it goes to prove my point that when people feel like they’re hearing from God, those thoughts aren’t formed in a vaccuum. If you are surrounded by people who are vehemently against abortion and will do anything to protest it, then it’s natural to think of ways to show people that you can do radical things to be against abortion too.
Here’s a site to check out- Bishop Mar Elijah Bernard Jordan . “FREE WRITTEN PROPHECY As seen on TV!” I thought “As seen on TV!” was a marketing scheme only used for vegetable peelers and George Foreman grills. Anyway, that free written prophecy is the end of the line for free stuff from Mar Elijah. Tool around his website. He’s doing very well for himself.
Let me reiterate- I do believe that certain people do hear the voice of God and even get direction from said Voice. Pope Benedict. Mike Bickle. Umm… maybe that’s it. Apart from those two I’m entitled to discern. Look over the history of the Christian church just in the past 20-30 years. The highway of holiness is littered with the roadkill from those “prophets” who trampled over people to get to the head of the line. I don’t intend to be one of the trampled.
posted by The Man at 10:08 AM
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