Showing posts with label prophecy. Show all posts

3 Reasons We Can Know God Still Speaks Today

By | Published Monday, August 26, 2013

When I was in college, one day I went by myself to a Taco Bell, and while I was there, I noticed an older man across the dining room.

 For some reason, he caught my attention.  I observed him off and on while I was eating, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about him.

 When I was leaving the restaurant, he was standing by the door.  He stopped me and said that God told him to give me twenty dollars and to tell me that He cared for me.

I don't know in what way God spoke to him, whether it was a voice or some other manner, but I do believe that it happened.

It pains me sometimes when I hear people say that God doesn't speak to us today.  Many people say that the Bible has everything in it that we need to know, and I won't disagree that the Bible is complete for the church as a whole, but I believe that sometimes we as individuals need a little more, something a little more specific, a little more direct.

Does God still speak to us today?  I think so, and here are three reasons why.





1.  Paul said that we should seek to prophesy.

"Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. . . . But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation."  1 Corinthians 14:1, 3 (NASB)

What is prophecy other than speaking what God says?  And how do we say what He says without knowing what He is saying?

2.  The Bible doesn't say we shouldn't expect it.  Rather, we see over and over again people in the early church hearing God speak . . . and not just the original apostles.

Paul:  

 "As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'

"And he said, 'Who are you, Lord?'

"And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.'"  Acts 9:3-6 (NASB)


Peter:

"While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Behold, three men are looking for you.  But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.'" Acts 10:19-20 (NASB)
Agabus:

 "As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.  And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, 'This is what the Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" Acts 21:11 (NASB)

I find the Bible to be a book of examples rather than a book of exceptions to the rule, especially since the Bible does not tell us we should not expect to hear from Him in the same way as the early church did.  Some try to argue that the Bible does say prophecy and similar gifts are no longer active, but the burden of proof is on them, and I and many others find their evidence lacking.
3.  It happens.  We never want experience to be our first argument for or against anything, because our experiences can deceive, but without experiences, our other two points are irrelevant.  If no one is hearing from God, what is the point of trying to convince you that it's possible?  

 I have heard story after story about people hearing from God, sometimes for themselves and sometimes to help people around them.  I believe I have heard him as well.  It doesn't happen often for me, but when it does, I hear a thought in the middle of my thoughts.  It feels somehow foreign, like it didn't originate in my own mind but was placed there.  

 Please take a moment and consider these two stories of people hearing from God.

"I was sitting on a plane when the Holy Spirit kept stirring my heart to ask the man next to me if there was anything I could pray for him about.  I was hesitant the entire flight but finally obeyed.  When I asked, he stated that he didn't believe in prayers since he was raised Catholic and didn't believe in the church or anything that went with it.  I felt immediately shot down and thought, 'Oh great, some impact I made!'  But it's when I shared with him my travel plans to see my father who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer that he looked into my eyes with tears streaming down his face and said, 'Pray for your dad for me; that's my prayer!'  Then he said, 'God bless you, child,' and gave me a hug.  With God's plan, He enabled me to either plant, water, or grow a spiritual seed that day!"  - Kristin

 "Many years ago, Bill and I were deciding whether to have more children, and I found out that I was pregnant.  I was upset because we had not made up our minds yet!  In a couple of weeks I had a miscarriage and went through a time where I thought God was punishing me because I wasn't sure I had wanted that baby.  (Bill had two and I had one when we got married, and by this time we had three together, so six total.)  One night I had a dream and the Lord told me I would have one more child, a girl and name her Mary Rose.  At that time, I was already two weeks pregnant and that is how Mary Rose came into our lives.  I am a firm believer that God does speak to us and we better be ready to listen!"  - Teri

Some things to think about:

Most people who hear God do not hear a voice audible to their ears.  Rather, they are listening to God with the Spirit inside them.  They hear God speaking in their thoughts, they get a sort of "impression," or they see a picture in their mind or have a dream while sleeping.  

Some people are able to hear from God more easily than others.  Often that comes by having a close relationship with Him, as well as practicing and testing what you hear.  

Why should you test what you hear?  It is easy for our own minds to get in the way of hearing God.  So when you hear something you think might be from God, you need to confirm it, so far as you can.  

The most important way to do that is to compare it to the Bible.  If what you hear is a contradiction of the scriptures, you either did not hear it from Him at all or you greatly misunderstood.  God will not contradict Himself.

After you have tested what you heard against the Bible, test it against what you know.  If He tells you something about an event or a person, see if it matches up with what you already know or can reasonably discover.  If it doesn't match up, don't dismiss it outright, but set it aside for a time.  As situations progress, you may find that what you heard does prove itself to be true.

You talk:

Has God spoken to you before?

 In what manner did you hear?

 Did you know right away that it was Him or did you discover that later?  What made you realize it was Him? 

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Can Prophecy Be Negative?

By | Published Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Image courtesy of prozac1 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



Several times in the last few years, I have had people tell me that God never tells His prophets to give bad, negative news to people.  For example, "Sarah" had someone give her a very negative message that he said was from God.  She immediately decided that she did not believe that was from God, because "God wouldn't say something like that to me."  Another time, "Andrea" said that when she is trying to prophesy to someone, she never tells them anything negative.  If it's negative, she just keeps it to herself.

Does God never give bad news to His prophets? 

If you say no, I hope you never run across Isaiah, Jeremiah and most, if not all, of the other prophets when we get to heaven.  Because if you do, I'm pretty positive they will set you straight.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah finds himself in the throne room of God where he commits to speak for God. Giving him instructions, God says to him:

"Go and tell this people:
'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.'
Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed."

Then I said, "Lord, how long?"  And He answered,
"Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump."
Isaiah 6:9-13 (NASB)


I don't see that prophecy as very positive, but it was the mission that God gave Isaiah. 


Another prophecy that comes to mind is from the book of Acts:
 
"As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.  And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, 'This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'"  Acts 21:10-11 (NASB)

The people with Paul tried to convince him not to go to Jerusalem, but even with the prophecy, he knew this was the direction he was to go.

I won't say that every negative word or prophecy that comes to our minds is from God, (nor would I say that about every positive one) but I do want to say that we should not be so quick to dismiss the negative.  It certainly needs to be weighed carefully before spoken aloud, but to choose to not deliver what might be a message from God just because it isn't pleasant could be more damaging than keeping silent. 

For example, if Jonah had not gone to Nineveh, the city would not have been saved.  Jonah's message was full of death and destruction, but without the realization of the precarious position they put themselves in, that generation of Ninevites would not have had the chance to take hold of God's grace.


In deciding whether you should share this negative word, I suggest you first spend some more time praying and listening.  Ask God for clarification if you feel like you need it. 

Ask Him if this is something that He does want you to share.  Whether positive or negative, just because you know something doesn't always mean you should share it.  Sometimes there is a time of waiting before you should share, and sometimes it is just something you need to hold on to for yourself. 

Once you feel certain you are hearing the message correctly and that it is something you are supposed to share, ask Him how you should go about it.  For most of us, it is probably our instinct to come along gently and carefully, with a soft tread, in order to soften the blow.  But it is worth recognizing that some people and some situations need more than that, something a little more direct and assertive.  Listen to the Father and learn how He wants you to handle it.

No one likes to hear negative things, whether from God or from other people, but it seems to me that it is unrealistic to immediately dismiss a negative message simply because it is negative.  As God's people, as His mouthpiece, we should be taking seriously everything we hear from Him and weighing it carefully rather than pretending it is nothing important. 



Have you ever been given a negative word from God for someone?  Did you share?  Would you change anything about how you handled the situation if you could?  Or, more personally, have you ever received a negative word from God from someone else?  In the end, was it a positive or negative experience for you?


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Jesus in the Old Testament - Prophecies of Jesus' Death and Resurrection

By | Published Sunday, August 5, 2012








Sometimes it is just easier to let scripture speak for itself.  The 53rd chapter of Isaiah is, in my opinion, the most beautiful bit of prophecy about Jesus' death and resurrection in the Old Testament.  Please read it, and I'll meet you at the bottom.


Isaiah 53 The Suffering Servant


Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.


(NASB)


.
I hope that as you read this chapter of the Bible, several lines stood out to you as clearly pointing toward Jesus' death on a cross, His burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, and then His resurrection.  There are plenty more prophecies of Jesus' death and resurrection, but as this is so extensive, and my favorite,  I chose to focus on this chapter only.  If you have thoughts about other prophecies of Jesus' death and resurrection, I would love to hear what you think.  You can comment below.

 If you want to read more about this passage, I found a short commentary on this chapter.  Please read it, but remember that I did not write it.   I did read it, and I did not find anything I disagreed with it, but if you find something objectionable in it, do not assume that I believe that way as well unless you have heard it from my mouth (fingers).

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Jesus in the Old Testament: Prophecies of Jesus' Life

By | Published Sunday, July 29, 2012



There are many prophecies about Jesus' birth and Jesus' death.  There are also prophecies about Jesus' life, but I feel like those tend to be forgotten by the more spectacular prophecies of His birth and death. 

Though the prophecies about Jesus' birth and death tend to get the most attention, there are also prophecies about Jesus' life.  Today we'll look at five of them.


Read more »

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Jesus in the Old Testament - Prophecies of Jesus' Birth

By | Published Sunday, July 22, 2012



I suspect that Linus gave us the most popular popular reading of the Christmas story.  If you haven't seen it in a while, I hope you enjoy it here.




While all the prophecies of Jesus are significant, one might argue that, when it comes to  validating Jesus' identity, the prophecies of Jesus' birth are most important since these details are much more difficult to manufacture.




One of the things that was prophesied was Jesus' lineage. 



"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:1 (NASB).


Jesse was the father of King David, of the tribe of Judah.  Because Jesus was to be King (though not the kind the Jews were expecting), it was necessary for Jesus to be from this royal line.




Another scripture prophesies the location of His birth.

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."  Micah 5:2 (NASB).

Bethlehem is a small town near Jerusalem, in the land belonging  to the tribe of Judah.  Israel consisted of twelve tribes, named for and descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.  Once the Israelites arrived at the promised land, the land was divided by tribe.   King David was from Bethlehem.

"Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons." 1 Samuel 17:12 (NASB).

Jesus' family was living in Nazareth before Jesus was born, but not long before Jesus was born, the family traveled to Bethlehem.

"Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.  This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And everyone was on hi way to register for the census, each to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.  While they were there, the days were complete for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."  Luke 2:1-7 (NASB).




I've left the most controversial one for last. 

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14 (NASB).

There is quite a bit of debate on the word "virgin" in this scripture.  Some would say that the Hebrew word "almah" simply meant an unmarried young woman.  It was, of course, expected that an unmarried young woman would be a virgin.  And Mary was described as such.

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:  when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:18-20 (NASB).

This is a lengthy debate that I choose not to discuss in detail here, but if you do find that you have any questions, please feel free to ask me, or you can look at a couple sites on the issue I found during my research. 

This page describes the issue without delving very much into Hebrew and Greek.
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/almah-virgin-maiden-isaiah.htm

If you are more interested in the original languages and various word choices, you can check out this page.
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/9_1/almah




Details of Jesus' birth was prophesied in scripture, in several different books of the Bible.  After reading these few examples, if you have any questions, please leave a comment below, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

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Jesus in the Old Testament

By | Published Sunday, July 8, 2012


I am beginning a series on Jesus in the Old Testament.  We are going to look at prophecy in general, and then we are going to look at some of the prophecies and also some of the other places we can find Jesus in the Old Testament.

For clarity, please note that prophecy and prophecies are nouns and prophesy and prophesies are verbs.

I love the Old Testament.  Many people don't understand it or just dismiss it, claiming that it isn't important, but I disagree.  There are many reasons why I find the Old Testament important, but the biggest one is that it prophesies of the coming of Jesus.





Jesus tells us in multiple places that He fulfilled the prophecies listed in the Old Testament. 

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."  Matthew 5:17 (NASB)

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me."  John 5:39 (NASB)

"'Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?' Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."  Luke 24:26-27 (NASB)

"Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'  Luke 24:44 (NASB)

What is the purpose of prophecy?  I believe that there are two main reasons for prophecy.  The first one is to instill hope into the hearers. 

One of my favorite prophecies of hope is Isaiah 9:6.  I find it difficult to temper my joy and hope when I read this verse.

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)

If you've not heard Handel's Messiah, "For Unto Us a Child is Born" you should definitely press play on this video below.  It may not be your cup of tea, but it is one of my favorite songs from The Messiah.  It's long and repetitive, so I don't mind if you don't listen to it in full, but I do hope that you enjoy it enough to listen to the whole thing.  Just don't forget to keep reading below the video!






The second purpose for prophecy is to validate the Messiah.  The Old Testament prophesies the circumstances of Jesus' birth, His lineage, His life, and His death.  The following verses  are a few examples of validating prophecies.

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."  Isaiah 7:14 (NASB)

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."  Micah 5:2 (NASB)

"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."  Isaiah 11:1-2 (NASB)

"Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.  Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy."  Isaiah 35:5-6a (NASB)

"His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth."  Isaiah 53:9 (NASB)

"For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay."  Psalm 16:10 (NASB)

What I have listed so far is a sampling of the prophecies about Jesus.  If you want to see more, follow this link to a chart that lists more (but not all) of the prophecies of Jesus.  Just as a warning, I have not examined this chart in full, so please forgive me if the author of the chart has made any errors.  (Make sure you come back and finish here, though!)



So just how many prophecies did Jesus fulfill?  People tend to have different counts on just how many He fulfilled.  In my research, I've seen 100, 315, 365, and 400.  One reason for the different numbers is that one passage of prophecy may be counted as multiple prophecies in some listings.

You might wonder if it is possible that it is just coincidence that Jesus fulfilled all these prophecies.  I find it very hard to believe that it could have been an accident.  The probability has been figured, and the enormous chance that Jesus would have fulfilled all these prophecies purely by accident is laughable.

"Scientist Peter Stoner estimated that the probability of fulfilling 48 prophecies was one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion!"

That's only 48.  Even at 48, it's hard to imagine that this could be achieved on accident.  When you add another 52, or another 352 prophecies, I can't even begin to think that it could all be by accident.  And many of those prophecies could not have been orchestrated, such as where Jesus was born, where He grew up (both Egypt and Nazareth are included in prophecy), and specific details of His crucifixion (His side was pierced, but no bones were broken).




Over the next several weeks, we are going to look at Jesus in the Old Testament, starting with a little more information about prophecy in general, and then we're going to look at some of the prophecies about Jesus' birth, His life, and His death.  Following that, we will look at some "types" of Jesus and christophanies included in the Old Testament.  Finally, we will tackle a mysterious character in the Old Testament and how he relates to Jesus.

If you have any questions so far, feel free to comment below, and I will try to answer them the best that I can, either with a comment or a post, depending on which is more appropriate and effective.

I hope you come back to see what I have to say on those topics.  If you haven't yet subscribed to my blog, you can click here or click on "Subscribe Here" at the top of the page.  

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