God spoke to me

What does it mean when people say "God spoke to me"? In this episode, I explore what's trending in the Christian community and evaluate it against the Scriptures. I also offer a Scriptural explanation of prophecy and how you can hear from God properly.

Transcript

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God spoke to me

Intro (welcome message)

Welcome to the Scripture Talk podcast, where we discuss trending viewpoints, important teachings, and eyewitness testimonials relevant to Christianity today. My name is Jason, and today we’ll be evaluating a trending Christian viewpoint against the light of Scripture.

Cold open (setting the stage)

I was having lunch with a missionary friend of mine a while back, before I moved out to LA. He was sharing his plans for missions and I was sharing mine. He was set to move out of the country, and I was set to move across the country. In the course of our conversation it was practically inevitable for the topic of God’s will to come up. And from there, we arrived at the topic of prophecy. Now this brother conveyed his idea of what prophecy is. He said that prophecy is delivering God’s word, and that since we have the scriptures, we prophesy whenever we share them. Therefore anyone who preaches or teaches is a prophet. He was prophet, I was prophet, a pastor is a prophet, and so on. I was a bit taken aback by this view and pondered it over, not knowing exactly what to say in the moment.

Hook (pointed question)

And it got me to thinking: what does God have to say about prophecy, and does my friend’s view line up?

What’s trending (you’ve heard it said)

Now this view of prophecy is fairly common in many evangelical circles today. It stems from the belief that God stopped direct miraculous activity some short time after the lives and work of the apostles. The logic is, that since they didn’t have the whole Bible, they needed God to intervene directly to give them what they needed. And since we have the Bible, we don’t have a need for direct intervention. The scriptures themselves are all the prophecy we need. Therefore since Scripture is prophecy, sharing scripture must be prophesying. And when someone operating under this perspective says “God spoke to me” or “God told me”, often what they really mean to say is “I read my Bible, prayed, talked to some people I trust, and came to a conclusion based on my own feelings, intellect, and understanding”.

What’s true (but God says)

But that’s not what God says about prophecy. Let’s take a look at a couple of key scriptures where God Himself describes what prophecy is:

Hosea 12:10 - “I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables”

Numbers 12:6 - “And he said, ‘Please hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak to him in a dream.”

The first and most important truth we see is that God communicates directly to a prophet. This happens through spoken word, visions, and dreams. Secondly, through the prophet He delivers His message to a target audience, often through parables. Prophecy is communicated, directed, and delivered in real time by the mind of God, not the mind of the prophet. This is incredibly important, because if you’re relying on your own feelings and understanding to apply the scriptures to a given situation and you’re calling it prophecy, then you’re lying. Let’s take a look at what God spoke through Peter:

2 Peter 1:16 - “For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following ingeniously concocted myths, but by being eyewitnesses of that one’s majesty.”

2 Peter 1:17 - “For he received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice such as this was brought to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

2 Peter 1:18 - “And we ourselves heard this voice brought from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain,”

2 Peter 1:19 - “and we possess as more reliable the prophetic word, to which you do well if you pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,”

2 Peter 1:20 - “recognizing this above all, that every prophecy of scripture does not come about from one’s own interpretation,”

2 Peter 1:21 - “for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Peter, along with the apostles, were eyewitnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ. They heard the prophetic word directly, and being carried along by the Holy Spirit, they spoke from God — not from their own will or interpretation.

Why it matters (our need for Christ’s power)

Now why does this matter? I believe it matters for two main reasons. First, having a clear view of what prophecy is and isn’t ought to sober us against false prophecy and misapplying the scriptures to a situation. As a matter of fact, one of Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, who was part of the trio sharply rebuked by God for darkening counsel by speaking without knowledge, is quoted by Paul, meaning that Eliphaz actually used the word of God when he gave bad advice! Let’s take a look at the direct quote from Eliphaz in Job and Paul’s reference to it in 1 Corinthians.

Job 5:13 - “He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swiftly stopped.”

1 Corinthians 3:19-20 - “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.’”

He catches the wise in their own craftiness. That’s what Eliphaz says, and that’s what Paul repeats. And it’s a true statement. We set a trap for ourselves whenever we rely on our own crafty understanding of the scriptures. And unless God Himself communicates directly with us, we have no right to say that our application of the word of God is prophecy. Let’s make sure we strive for honesty and humility when it comes to His word.

The second main reason this all matters is that a proper understanding of prophecy prepares us to actually receive the spiritual gift of prophecy with honesty and eager desire. First Corinthians chapter fourteen verse one:

1 Corinthians 14:1 - “Pursue love, yet earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy”

Now this command to pursue love and desire the spiritual gifts did not expire, and still applies to us today. Consider first Corinthians thirteen ten:

1 Corinthians 13:10 - But whenever the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

The perfect certainly hasn’t come yet, so prophecy and the spiritual gifts remain. In addition, Peter’s prophetic speech at Pentecost, after the ascension of Jesus, highlights several key details that dispel any doubt about the availability and activity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit today.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon one hundred and twenty of His followers and they spoke in tongues. After a bit of commotion, the apostle Peter addressed the crowds concerning the things that took place. He stated that the prophecy of Joel was being fulfilled:

Acts 2:17 - “your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams”

And we know that this word is for us today by what we read further in Acts chapter two:

Acts 2:39 - “For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself.”

This was spoken by the apostle Peter to a crowd of people from a number of different locations and languages and it applied not only to them, but to their children and all who are called by the Lord, even those who are far away. The spiritual gifts are meant to expand beyond the apostles, beyond where they were located, beyond their ethnic background, and beyond their immediate time frame. These include speaking in tongues and prophecy. And the gifts of the Spirit are meant for us today.

And prophecy is an especially important gift, because it leads people to an immediate and authentic encounter with the Living God, bringing with it conviction and worship. Here’s what the scriptures say:

1 Corinthians 14:24 - “But if all prophesy, and some unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all,”

1 Corinthians 14:25 - “the secret things of his heart become evident, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God, proclaiming, ‘God is truly among you!’”

Takeaway (how to be a doer of the Word)

Now the question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy? It always comes back to the word we’re given here:

James 1:22 - “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,”

I’ll leave you with a testimony from my own walk. When I was a child, I had frequent nightmares. This continued into the beginning of my teen years. At that time, my Dad had been teaching me from the scriptures. And I remember one scripture that stood out: “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”. I thought, if that’s true, then God can stop my nightmares. That week I had a couple of nightmares and a waking hallucination and I kept praying for God to get rid of my nightmares. Then one night, out of nowhere, I had a dream. I was running away from a dragon, wearing only normal clothes. As the dragon was swooping down toward me from behind, I thought to myself, “I’m a Christian!” Then I reached for something at my right hip, though there was nothing there. Then I turned around, and when I did, I was fully clothed in armor with a sword in my right hand and shield in my left, standing in a readied warrior stance. The dragon came to an immediate halt, arching way back away from me, having a completely astonished expression on its face with wide, fearful eyes. And after that prophetic dream and to this day I haven’t had a single nightmare.

Put God’s promises into action into your life. Desire the gifts; yearn for the 20/20 faith that comes when God reveals Himself to you through His word and through His gift of prophecy. And above all and as always:

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6 - In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

Outro (parting words)

Well that’s it for today’s discussion. I’m glad you made it here to Scripture Talk, and I pray that you gained insights that will deepen your faith and love in Jesus Christ. Until next time: God bless you and keep your eyes on Jesus!