On one side of the discussion you have those who say, God is no longer speaking directly to individuals. There is no new revelation after the close of the cannon. On the other side, there are those who hear God speak all of the time.
“God told me to tell you tonight that if you praise, if you praise him like you’ve lost your mind, your deliverance is guaranteed!”
“In the back before the show, God spoke to me. He told me to tell you that if you give $2008 , you will get your breakthrough tonight.”
“God told me that this is your year!”
“God said it’s time to go to a new level!”
“God said go!”
Or did God say, “Stay?”
Special revelation is how utterances given to individuals, supposedly directly from God are referred to. If special revelation is in effect today, how are we to know when it’s a true word from God?
Now some would answer, if a prophet presumes to speak for God and what he says does not come to pass, then he is a false prophet. Based on that, there are so many. Today claiming to be prophet is not a requirement to speak for God; seems everybody is qualified for a direct word from God.
What happens then when the word of God is not measurable? “God said 10 people here need to give $1000, and if they do, their dream will come to pass.” Which dreams? Is everybody’s dreams, going to come to pass? Is it only going to come to pass if I give what is asked for? If twelve people respond, do we select which ten get the promise and send the others back with their monies?
How do you personally judge whether a word is from God or not?
I remember a family in our church back in Trinidad wanted to leave the country. They’d made their decision to leave. They asked the church to come to their house for a prayer meeting. That night the strangest thing happened. God appears to have lost it for a moment. One sister spoke in tongues and then gave the Word of the Lord which was emphatic that God was with them and would bless them like never before in the new land that they were to inhabit. Later on, one of the leaders of the church joined us and, not knowing what was prophesied earlier, said the exact opposite. He came short of predicting their death if they continued in disobedience and even more emphatically declared that God said they should not leave. What followed next was mass confusion and many opinions about who was right and who was wrong. Somebody was wrong and it was not God.
Have you ever received a word that was absolutely inaccurate? What was your response to the messenger? Have you ever received a word that left you in awe, so correct that it was undeniable?
How do we discern what is God and what is not God? When I hear quid pro quo prophecies, I remind myself of the Word of God.
Psalms 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 34:9, 10 Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Have you ever been in a setting where a leader or pastor refuted a word as not from God? What are the checks and balances?
I’m still thinking. If you have an opinion, good book reference, an experience, please feel free to share it.
