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"We proclaim
Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so
that we may present every man complete in Christ." |
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August 2005Do I Need a Hearing Aid?(Part 1)I want you to know from the start that I once completely embraced the way of thinking that I am about to critique. What I am now convinced from Scripture is error, I once thought was biblical. A crisis moment came at the end of my first year in Bible college which caused me to question all my preconceived notions of how to know God’s will. That incident sparked in me a determination to search the Scriptures in order to ascertain the method by which God directs His people. As first year came drawing quickly to a close I was faced with what can only be described as the most significant decision I was ever to have to make to that point in my Christian life. Would I leave Millar Bible College after one year and pursue my goal of becoming a Certified Public Accountant through a college back home? Or would I come back to college for second year studies. The stakes were high. Back home was family pressure to stop this fooling around at Bible College and get down to pursuing my career so I could earn a living. At the college were all my friends wanting me to return so we could be together in second year. With my first year studies completed I had earned a certificate which would look real good if I ever wanted to teach Sunday School or counsel at a summer camp for a ministry. One year of Bible College had built enough of a spiritual and doctrinal foundation that I could now build on for the rest of my life. However, if I ever decided to go into any form of full time ministry (pastoring a church was never even on my radar screen) a mere one year at Bible College wouldn’t be enough to even get me an interview to be a full time janitor in a church. So I knew that a decision to come back for second year would mean that I was committing to go the full mile and complete my third year as well. If I went for only two years and stopped it would make me look like a quitter who couldn’t finish and get the third year diploma. On top of the normal pressures there was a tuition reduction for those who would commit to return for the following year before the end of the current year. My fellow students seemed to have all made up their minds rather painlessly. Some knew they were coming back. Others knew they were leaving after only one year. What was I going to do? Everyone wanted to know, including me. So I set about to pray. “Lord, if You want me to come back for second year, I need to know that. I don't want to make a bad decision. My whole future hangs in the balance. I just need You to speak to me and tell me ’yes’ or ‘no.’ I need You to give me a supernatural sign of some sort.” I would hear my classmates say things like, “The Lord just told me that I was supposed to come back next year.” and “I know the Lord’s will is for me to be here.” Well, that is what I needed. Days were ticking by. I needed the Lord to tell me what He wanted. “Lord, the end of the school year is approaching fast. I need You tell me. Send me a message of some sort, a sign, whisper it, do something.” Still nothing. Frustration mounted. Why wasn’t the Lord speaking to me? My classmates had all heard from God. He was apparently more real to them than He was to me. Perhaps it was because I was such a new believer. My friends had mostly grown up in Christian homes and gone to church all their lives. I guessed that I had just not figured out how to hear God speak. I decided to give God His “out.” “Lord, if it is Your will for me to return to second year, then I need a sign. If You want me back then cause my whole second year of tuition to be paid in full. Then I will know that that is Your will. That will give me something to go back and show friends and family at home that would convince them that You have supernaturally directed this decision. Amen.” Nothing. “Ok, Lord, just half a year’s tuition. Cause someone to just pay for first semester.” Nothing. “Lord, if someone anonymously steps forward or sends in the money that will just cover my books for second year, then I know that it is Your will.” Nothing. I was distraught. I wanted to come back for second year, but God wasn’t giving me the sign. I wasn’t hearing Him tell me what He wanted me to do! Why was God being so silent? Didn’t He love me? Wasn’t He interested in my future? Can’t the God who spoke and created all things simply give me a little word, a whisper, I would even take some sign language over silence! WHY WASN’T I HEARING FROM GOD? I needed direction and some specific guidance like I had never needed before. Maybe something was wrong with me! Why was I unable to hear when all my friends seemed to be getting their personal messages just fine? Sacred HamburgerThe prevailing wisdom among the student body was that God would give you guidance and personally direct you if you would listen to Him and learn to cultivate the discipline of hearing His voice. Thankfully, I had a teacher who lovingly corrected some of our wrong thinking. It is said that “sacred cows make the best hamburger.” I agree. Especially if those “sacred cows” are ideas, practices, and beliefs that find no basis whatsoever in Scripture . There are few cows as sacred in modern day Christendom as the notion that God is communicating to His children apart from Scripture through visions, dreams, nudging, promptings, impressions, confirmations, signs, a peace, and the “still small voice.” That was once my cow! There are also few sacred cows that are as dangerous to the life and spiritual welfare of believers as this one. For 1800 years of church history this notion was viewed as aberrant and even heretical. Today it is accepted and promoted as something that is essential to the life of the believer. What was once viewed as an attack on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture is now taught from pulpits, in books, and on Christian TV and radio. I have made no bones about addressing this from our pulpit for the past nine years as the exposition of Scripture has allowed, but I have not dealt with it at length and in the detail that it deserves. That is what this next series of articles in the Kootenai Communicator are all about. The Question No One AskedI heard my Christian classmates talk about God leading them through the still small voice, and directing them through nudgings and impressions. I just accepted it without any misgivings. They talked as if God were whispering in their ears certain directions for them. I figured it would only be a matter of time before I could achieve that level of spirituality. Soon, I too would learn the essential discipline of divining the signs and hearing the voice of God. Eventually, I would be able to move forward with my decisions and my day-to-day activities with the confidence that I was being guided by God’s voice. I too could have that real and personal relationship where God converses with me through my thoughts and ideas. The crisis of my first year began the unraveling of this way of thinking. Finally my fourth year professor confronted our class with what should have been the most obvious question of all: “Do we have any reason from Scripture to think that this is indeed the case?” In other words, does Scripture teach that God is leading and directing His people through these subjective means apart from His Word? This should be the only question we are interested in answering, but it seems to be the last one that even comes to the mind of the person who thinks they are the channels of such divine direction. Charting the Course Ahead1In the coming months we’ll be looking at this practice of “hearing the voice of God” and asking ourselves, “Does Scripture teach that we should expect this?” Here is what to expect in coming articles. Is the Bible Enough? In this article we will look at what Scripture says about itself. Is the Bible all I need for life and godliness or do I need some other “word from God” to direct and guide me day to day. Do you believe the essential doctrine of “Scripture Alone?” We’ll find out. If the Fruit is Bad, What About the Tree? This third article will examine some of the practical implications of believing that God is still giving revelation today. Is it really that dangerous to think that God is whispering in my ear? What are logical conclusions of such a view? SHHHH! I’m Trying to Hear God. We will take a look at what the Bible does say about how and when God communicates. What do the Scriptures teach about hearing from God and receiving direct divine guidance? We will answer the question: “Aren’t we putting God in a box if we say that God only communicates in Scripture?” What About. . . ? Here we will answer some specific questions that might be raised. “What about having a peace about something, impressions, nudgings, promptings, feelings, the still small voice, open and closed doors, visions and dreams, and the leading of the Spirit? Decisions, Decisions. We will look at decision making and the will of God. How should I make decisions? Should I wait for a “word from the Lord?” What does the Bible say about God’s will? How can I make big decisions with the confidence that I am making the right decision? Q & A on Hearing God. This article, if it materializes, will result from giving answers to some of your questions. My guess would be that by this point, most if not all of your questions would have been answered either directly or in principle. You may have a specific question that relates to this subject that I haven’t thought of or haven’t planned to cover. Please give it to me. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned or any question unanswered. It Really is CriticalAll of us are faced with hundreds of decisions every single day. These decisions range from the petty, to the pressing, to the profound. “Which shirt should I wear?” would seem to be a petty decision. “Which project should I tackle first today at work?” would be a pressing decision. “Which person should I marry?” would be a profound decision. We all want to make the right decision. We don’t want to go against God’s will. Don’t we all want to be “led by God” on some of these important issues? How can I discern between the petty and the profound? It just may be that the shirt I wear today is not at all a petty decision. Say I choose to wear my red polo with the “Kootenai Community Church” lettering and the emblem of the cross. I then go down to Wal-Mart and while I am standing in line, the person in front of me notices my shirt. He asks me a question about the church which leads to a discussion. That discussion results in him coming to our church where he hears the gospel and gets saved. Was my decision of which shirt to wear a petty decision? If I had chosen my brown polo which has no emblem then none of that would have happened and he would still be lost! Oh, no! What do I do? Should I stand in front of my closet tomorrow looking at all my shirts waiting for the Lord to direct me in deciding which shirt to wear by an ‘impression?’ Or what if that encounter at the checkout didn’t have anything to do with the shirt at all? What if the encounter with man was the result of my turning right when I entered the store to go to the garden section first and then the grocery section instead of the opposite. For if I had gotten groceries first I would have run into an old friend which would have delayed my arrival at checkout and I would have missed my appointment with the man who needed Christ. Maybe next time I go into Wal-Mart I should stop at the entrance and wait for the Lord to whisper in my ear which direction He wants me to turn. Of course, I should probably wait for Him to whisper in my ear which day He wants me to go to Wal-Mart in the first place. Maybe I missed His will and should have gone one day earlier which would have resulted in two people getting saved! Oh my! What if my decisions of what to eat for breakfast, what time to eat breakfast and which route I drive to work end up being no less profound? How do I know when I should wait to hear from God and when I shouldn’t? This kind of convoluted thinking will paralyze you! Let’s just back up, slow down and ask ourselves, “What makes me think I should be hearing from God about any of this in the first place?” The Measure of MaturityIf God is directing people through impressions, nudges, and little mental messages we receive, then there is nothing more important in life than being able to hear them and discern them clearly. No practice, no discipline, no ability would be more crucial than the ability to actually hear God speak! Those who can “tune in” to God’s frequency and learn to unscramble the hidden messages would qualify as the most spiritual among us. Those who can “read the signs” and decipher the code of God’s promptings and leadings are those who are truly close to the Lord. If that is how God leads, then true maturity, true spirituality is being able to hear Him as He speaks to you personally. Those who are unable to hear God’s little personal messages would be those who are less mature and less spiritual. How Dare You BBQ My Sacred Cow!As you can well imagine this whole subject is packed with emotion! Christians who think they are hearing God‘s voice talk to them personally feel like it is their right to hear from God in this manner. To criticize such a practice in any way is seen as attacking their personal lifeline to God. It is like you have cut the cord on the red bat phone! Now they can’t get their messages! Suddenly God is not personal. God is not real. God is not involved in their lives. To suggest that their impressions are just impressions and do not carry the weight and authority of divine fiat is somehow heresy. They respond as if you have taken God from them. In reality, that is not the case at all. Let’s be clear. If Scripture doesn’t teach that you are receiving heavenly messages via your stray thoughts then I won’t be taking anything from you. You never had it to begin with. Let’s say you think you have a million dollars in your savings account and you are living as if it is true. That deeply held belief gives you tremendous comfort and causes you a great sense of well being. You believe with all your heart it is there and so you haven’t bothered to save a penny for retirement, college or vacation. You never have a worry about making ends meet and have quit your job because you are able to live off the interest on the money that you believe to be there. Then your banker comes to you to with your bank statement. It is the final proof of whether the money is really there or not. He shows you the balance and the money is not there. “What did you do with my million dollars?” you ask. “It was never there. You never had a million dollars. This account has never had more than $1,000 in it at any given time,” is his response. By showing you it was never there, you feel like the banker just took a million dollars from you when you never had the million to begin with. Far from hurting you, he actually did you a favor. He divorced you of a false notion that put you in peril. If you think that Christians should be hearing God’s voice echoing through their craniums as they receive direct messages and mental telegrams from heaven, then I hope you will sit up and look at the bank statement. Let’s ask the question that should concern us most: Does Scripture teach that this is how God leads me? Do I believe that God leads us? Certainly I do. The question is not, “Does God lead us?” but “How does God lead us?” We will begin to answer that question next month. Without Wax - Jim Osman Footnotes: 1. This list of articles as it was first purposed to written changed quite a bit as the series developed. These titles do not reflect the series as it was written. For a complete list of the articles in this series, visit the Hearing From God contents page.
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