tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post8330574352483805328..comments2024-03-10T10:40:32.319-07:00Comments on Pyromaniacs: How can Christians hear a word from God? I mean, really?Phil Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00649092052031518426noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-81432579842220038012012-09-06T10:58:47.473-07:002012-09-06T10:58:47.473-07:00Okay, I think I have achieved a level of great spi...Okay, I think I have achieved a level of great spiritual maturity where God speaks to me directly...<br /><br />I think I'm getting a word from God right now... wait... wait... YES! God has spoken to me directly! And He says:<br /><br /><i>"Read the Bible."</i><br /><br />That's it? I feel like Ralphie who just got a decoder in the mail and the secret message said to "DRINK YOUR OVALTINE." I mean, where's the special message just for me? All I get is the same Bible everyone else already has? But I'm supposed to be special and get a different message all for myself.Jim Pembertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446388434272680014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-30660879301751526622012-09-05T20:56:56.816-07:002012-09-05T20:56:56.816-07:00Rick, To be totally honest with you, I do agree wi...Rick, To be totally honest with you, I do agree with you and I have had the Holy Spirit "personally (impression,giving desires etc.)to me (albeit never contradicting or adding to what He has already spoken in His love letters)"----and many here will disagree with me on this which is fine. <br /><br />But it's not objective truth.we have no proof outside of Scripture that it IS for sure God. we have no criterion apart from Scripture.<br /><br />Example: Just before I was saved, God reached down to me one day after a week later from reading his word. I was completely and utterly abject. He said my name not audibly... Is my name in Scripture? no it's not. did I imagine it. No it was the furthest inclination from my mind. God was always so far away somewhere out there. He also said why don't you give my son a chance.. I didn't think this up. Is this in the bible?<br /><br /><br /> "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 <br /><br /><br />Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418337100329537312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-23531928656724495242012-09-05T10:13:27.608-07:002012-09-05T10:13:27.608-07:00Rick, see the follow-up post.Rick, <a href="http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2012/09/untangling-too-terse-word-about.html" rel="nofollow">see the follow-up post</a>.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-9058960366255061112012-09-05T10:11:41.952-07:002012-09-05T10:11:41.952-07:00Linda... not dismissing the need or desire to '...Linda... not dismissing the need or desire to 'read the love letters'(been regularly doing so for the past 30 years) - but if that Person is alive and living and active and indwelling - can't that Person's speak personally (impression,giving desires etc.)to me (albeit never contradicting or adding to what He has already spoken in His love letters)? Why indwell us with His Spirit?Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15123097518664033230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-69565229086472096202012-09-03T08:10:55.353-07:002012-09-03T08:10:55.353-07:00“And how important is it that we even decide?”
I...“And how important is it that we even decide?” <br /><br />I would say it’s important for you, as a pastor to know, so that when you do get a leading from God to contact one of your sheep, you can freely move on it. <br /><br />No, it is not good and sound (according to biblical principles) to exalt a teaching without biblical support. Eric Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789049874227384621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-61000455938821710462012-09-02T09:33:48.469-07:002012-09-02T09:33:48.469-07:00DJP, Great points. it's stepping on a banana p...DJP, Great points. it's stepping on a banana peal for sure<br /><br />I agree wholeheartedly with Calvin when he said, - “we owe to the Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God; because it has proceeded from him alone, and has nothing belonging to man mixed with it”<br /><br />We worship Jesus-a Person and we accept the Bible because it enshrines and embodies that Authority of the Lord Jesus Christ IN Scripture-our supreme treasure.<br /><br />Apart from God's word we have no standard to go by. What we want is the BEST available form of Christ's revelation-"uncovering of Jesus Christ", and we believe we get this ONLY IN the Bible and not in any other way. All ways outside of God's word become aberrant, boring, lame, dead.<br /><br />Rick--Here's an analogy: when you fall in love with a person you want to get to know that person, right? You certainly cannot get to know them apart from spending time WITH them and talking to them. Nor can you get to know them apart from them revealing their love to you and who they are. They are away for a season and you are apart. But they have written love letters they've written specially for and to you because you're so important to them. I don't know about you, but if a person I love has written me letters, I'm going to open them up, read them and cherish and hang on every word what they say because I'm getting to know them. I can choose to let their love letters sit on the table and try and reminisce or figure out that what I'm hearing is them. That's just not the best way at all and some of our thinking could lead us astray. <br /><br />Same with God's word. Open His love letter-the Bible. We have to do what God's word says to get to know Him by letting his word be a "lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" we want to KNOW and WALK with the LORD don't we??- Well, we can't get to know Jesus Christ until He reveals himself to us through his WORD alone. The Holy Spirit is the Author of Scripture and he is the Spirit of TRUTH. He leads and guides us into ALL truth with His word and not apart from it. <br /><br />John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come<br />Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418337100329537312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-39026341340137983442012-09-02T09:23:01.234-07:002012-09-02T09:23:01.234-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418337100329537312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-33067067533974113572012-09-02T05:44:25.259-07:002012-09-02T05:44:25.259-07:00And how important is it that we even decide? And i...And how important is it that we even decide? And is it a good point to preach? Is it good and sound enough to exalt it into a principle to preach from the pulpit, to exalt to an actual "way to get a word from God," without so much as a syllable of Biblical support? Is there so little in the Bible that IS worth preaching and proclaiming, that we need to fill time with stories and anecdotes and counsel others on those bases? And is this how we do Christian thinking, preaching, counseling, ethics? Is it significant that such stories plunge us into the psyche of James MacDonald (or myriads who do the same) instead of the Word of God, and Christ Himself? And if we really believed that Scripture were sufficient, and were <a href="http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2012/08/what-we-confess-as-our-sufficient.html" rel="nofollow">all that it claims to be</a>, would we really be investing so much time and energy in the telling and debating and evaluation of such stories rather than the study and preaching and teaching and practice of the Word of God?DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-36553055832610839472012-09-02T05:09:46.099-07:002012-09-02T05:09:46.099-07:00What about his 'word' (or 'impression&...What about his 'word' (or 'impression') to call the woman who just had the miscarriage? Is that 'fate' or is that God? What about 'the indwelling Spirit of God' who reminds us of truths from scripture?Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15123097518664033230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-50324856130421883222012-09-01T17:29:34.867-07:002012-09-01T17:29:34.867-07:00Morris Brooks said...
"It has been my observa...Morris Brooks said...<br />"It has been my observation that as Christians become more steeped in Scripture, as they become more grounded in the Word, as they become more subservient to the Word, they stop hearing these other voices and no longer confuse indigestion with the Holy Spirit"<br /><br />Exactly and well said! that's my observation as well. Being a baby in Christ is when our Heavenly father has to hold us and nurture and change our diapers. But as we learn to walk God lets go of our hand a bit he weans us off to trust in his WORD more and moreLindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418337100329537312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-91887479671263832702012-09-01T09:54:33.955-07:002012-09-01T09:54:33.955-07:00It has been my observation that as Christians beco...It has been my observation that as Christians become more steeped in Scripture, as they become more grounded in the Word, as they become more subservient to the Word, they stop hearing these other voices and no longer confuse indigestion with the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />You may ask, "Why then would someone is a well known pastor with a large church, who says he believes in the authority of Scripture (name shall not be mentioned, but we have his video) purport that there are other ways to hear a Word from God." My response is that there is a difference in saying you are under the authority of the Scripture and actually putting yourself under its authority in all areas.Morris Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18083884122271855154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-46952679321730510122012-08-31T13:31:00.582-07:002012-08-31T13:31:00.582-07:00"upon what authority"
Good question Dan..."upon what authority"<br /><br />Good question Daniel.<br /><br />And what happened to Paul and Silas after Paul cast this spirit out of the women was horrific. He suffered greatly, and yet God was sovereignly using all this for His glory, wasn't He.<br /><br />Good passage of truth to read and ponder. God's word is there and it is a Word for us all.donsandshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665794015011057098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-28443230382921776382012-08-31T12:30:35.426-07:002012-08-31T12:30:35.426-07:00Gotcha.
And yet, be encouraged. As imperfect as ...Gotcha.<br /><br />And yet, be encouraged. As imperfect as your (and my) understanding may be, if we are pursuing knowledge and understanding in the Word of God, we are doing the very thing God commanded.Tom Chantryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02485908616177111150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-88967297536058073272012-08-31T11:47:44.960-07:002012-08-31T11:47:44.960-07:00Hey Tom, What I so poorly expressed is that my bro...Hey Tom, What I so poorly expressed is that my brokenness prevents me from seeing and understanding as I should. As much as I may search the texts Berean-style (Acts 17:11), my ability to refute wrong teaching is imperfect. Improving day-by-day, yes... but my veil of ignorance and bias persists.Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137758239305541715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-59153001640721106262012-08-31T10:21:54.741-07:002012-08-31T10:21:54.741-07:00I'm not sure I followed that comment. Just to...I'm not sure I followed that comment. Just to be certain, are you saying that Acts 17:11 is a trap?Tom Chantryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02485908616177111150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-13399134459050183092012-08-31T09:19:39.406-07:002012-08-31T09:19:39.406-07:00Tom said "...I need to be humble and check to...Tom said <i>"...I need to be humble and check to make sure Dan is <b>accurately quoting and applying</b> the Word ..."</i><br /><br />And therein lies the trap... because when left to ourselves to determine the breadth of God's Word, we (OK... "me", not necessarily "you") often find ourselves (OK, "myself") limiting the application, or going well beyond what God intended.Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137758239305541715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-552994468320945442012-08-31T07:27:44.436-07:002012-08-31T07:27:44.436-07:00Didn't a demononized slave girl follow Paul ar...Didn't a demononized slave girl follow Paul around in Acts 16 saying (rightly), “<i>These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation</i>”?<br /><br />The fact that she was right does not lead any sober reader to conclude that it was the Holy Spirit speaking through her.<br /><br />The first question we should be asking is why should anyone assume this speaker's anecdotal impression was the work of the Holy Spirit? The second question should be upon what authority to do we assert our answer to the first question.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06734845463331170748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-84528588688742934362012-08-31T00:17:11.663-07:002012-08-31T00:17:11.663-07:00When I read Wiersbe's 'Be Faithful' hi...When I read Wiersbe's 'Be Faithful' his comments on 2 Tim 3:16 stayed with me- 'The Scriptures are profitable for doctrine (what is right), for reproof (what is not right), for correction (how to get right), and for instruction in righteousness (how to stay right)'.<br /><br />If these things make us the "complete man of God" then everything else is nothing, and anything else diminishes the Scriptures.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11280438047874748436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-50571736808141248882012-08-30T21:24:16.157-07:002012-08-30T21:24:16.157-07:00Sir Aaron you reminded me of something Ravi Zachar...Sir Aaron you reminded me of something Ravi Zacharias said about feelings:<br /> <br />He said "Well in some cultures they love their neighbors and in other cultures they eat them -Both on the basis of feelings. So do you have any personal preference on the matter of feelings here?"Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418337100329537312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-75777401685227593762012-08-30T20:43:37.472-07:002012-08-30T20:43:37.472-07:00I get very perturbed when Christians start talking...I get very perturbed when Christians start talking about signs, feelings, or other subjective strong indications that they received a "word from God."<br /><br />I'm craving Cheetos. For some unexplained reason, my wife had bought cheetos and left them on the counter right when I'm craving Cheetos. I have a strong feeling I should splurge on Cheetos. But wait, I can't tell if this is one of those strong feelings that is the "word of God." Is it God or is it my flesh? I don't know now. I better go ask fifty people what they think because nothing in Scripture tells me whether I can have Cheetos. Now I'm stuck in an unending cycle of indecision because I can't be sure if I'm making a decision in the flesh or whether I'm receiving instructions from God. <br /><br />Stupid, right? But it is exactly the same logic that people apply to everything else and it's annoying. Just thank God for the Cheetos and eat them already!Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15285043747501470199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-45851254013327990022012-08-30T19:23:35.855-07:002012-08-30T19:23:35.855-07:00So what you suggest is that all of us are equal in...So what you suggest is that all of us are equal in Christ, but some just happen to be more equal than others?<br /><br />How very Orwellian of youBipolar in Transitionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271045586639632487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-73889549078464075472012-08-30T19:20:07.890-07:002012-08-30T19:20:07.890-07:00This is making Dan's point from the other day....This is making Dan's point from the other day. My little brain keeps churning, not over JMacD's chart, but the post and the comments that follow. I came up with one word:<br /> <br />Evidence. <br /><br />Only the Lord swears on Himself. Only He can. I'm part of my evidence but only one witness to me. I can't rely on experience, the words of someone outside of Scripture and I surely won't consider a dream. He's not a God of confusion. <br /><br />Thanks for all of this. Sola Scriptura!<br />Sonjahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400678595605810974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-52173793928670111792012-08-30T19:01:01.116-07:002012-08-30T19:01:01.116-07:00Wow. It took all day for you to figure out a way ...Wow. It took all day for you to figure out a way to miss the point of the post, but by golly you did.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-26616437534108222002012-08-30T18:56:39.185-07:002012-08-30T18:56:39.185-07:00so tricksey....
but of course if we are limited t...so tricksey....<br /><br />but of course if we are limited to only things that ALL are called to, then no one should be a teacher, n'est pas? (James 3:1)David A. Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00465387359523299616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-75383391618866093832012-08-30T18:42:00.842-07:002012-08-30T18:42:00.842-07:00i came across this quote from John Calvin in my G+...i came across this quote from John Calvin in my G+ feed yesterday, and it ties in very nicely with the discussion here (EHMAHGERD, PROVIDENCE!!!1!)...<br /><br />“Since no daily responses are given from heaven, and the Scriptures are the only record in which God has been pleased to consign His truth to perpetual remembrance, the full authority which they ought to possess with the faithful is not recognized unless they are believed to have come from heaven as directly as if God had been heard giving utterance to them.”<br />Bipolar in Transitionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271045586639632487noreply@blogger.com