Do We Hear God Today?

The Program’s Theme and Opening Claim About God Speaking

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

My name is Mike Abendroth, and we have a variety of things that we talk about on this show. Try to talk about the one who never compromised, Christ Jesus, as much as I can, and all things related to local churches.

Well, I've got the YouGov in front of me. I talked a little bit about this on Wretched Radio. I was glad to be hosting for Todd. But talk about stress. No wonder Phil Johnson doesn't like to host it. Two hours of live radio, two days in a row.

I don't know how Todd does it every day of the week. I guess he has Witness Wednesday, so then he doesn't have to. But it's great to hang out, talk with the guys. And the only thing I miss about doing Wretched Radio is I miss talking to Todd.

So at least I have a Wretched Radio t-shirt, at least we had a Psalm 119 conference here, so I was glad for that. But I talked a little bit about God telling me things at Wretched Radio two weeks ago.

Survey Data on “God Told Me” Claims

YouGov, the Way the World Thinks website. God Told Me To, Say 38 of Americans. Not God told me to say, but God told me to say 38 of Americans, or 38 of Americans say God told me to. By Peter Moore.

In Front Page and Life, Friday, October 25th, 2013. I think it's funny because hot topics today on the left-hand side of the blog say Terry McAuliffe, Chris Christie, Tom Cruise, Benjamin Netanyahu. God told me to.

Now here's what it says, 38 of Americans say that they have done something because God told them to, while more than half of people who believe in God say that the deity sometimes controls weather and disasters.

New research from YouGov suggests that many Americans believe God plays an active role in their lives. Out of the 76 of Americans who said that they personally believe in the existence of a God, half say that they have at least once before done something because God told them to, including non-believers.

This makes up 38 of the entire country. The group most likely to have acted on God's command are born-again or evangelical Christians who make up about a third of Americans. Really? Now, I'm not going to argue at that point there.

You have to have what's the definition of a Christian, what's the difference of someone who's born again. Notice I'm not stuttering. Theological stuttering is born-again Christian. You must be born again.

It's a necessity that you be born again. By the way, in John chapter 3, that's not a command. It's not an imperative. It's a necessity for you to be born again. Something has to be done to you. And then Jesus goes on to talk about the sovereign wind and why the wind is sovereign and then relates it to the Holy Spirit as he is sovereign and independent and uncontrollable and does whatever he wishes, as he wishes, as often as he wishes to whom he wishes.

Have you often, how often rather, have you done something because God told you to do it? Now, when the Bible says for us to do something, no, then we do it. That's what God is telling us to do. I do find it fascinating that some people hear from God and they don't do it.

Some unbelievers hear from God. How do they know who it is? Well, at least the unbelievers probably have something to their advantage over Christians because Christians hear from their own gizzard, their own subjective thoughts, their own internal person, and then they say it's God and then they do it.

At least the atheists have enough sense to say, well, I'm hearing from the left quadrant of my liver and I'm not going to do it. I guess when atheists hear from God and then don't do it, what would that make them?

Critique of Andrew Wilson’s Approach to Hearing from God

Now, it says on page two, how often have you done something because God told you to do it? And it lists people by demographics. And at the very bottom, of course, is the Northeast. See, how apropos is that here at No Compromise Radio in the central Massachusetts area?

If you go to New England states and put your finger in about the center geographically of New England, that is where we are, Worcester. It's a sign from God, Worcester. The Northeast, 30 that we move up to Midwest, independents, male at 36, Democrats, 40, female, 41, Republicans, 42, and the South, 44.

You hear from God and then you do it. Now, the Gospel Coalition blog, Andrew Wilson, he writes, November 6th, how do we hear from God? And to his credit, he says at the beginning, there's some nonsense out there when people hear from God.

He does say, we serve a speaking God who talks to his people throughout the Bible. We are sons and daughters of a loving father who wants relationship. By the way, I'm just sorry, I know this is nitpicky to Andrew Wilson, I've never met the man.

Well, if you called him at Matthew 18. It says, who wants relationship? Have relationship. I just want some article in front of there. Who wants a relationship? Who wants the relationship? Who wants relationship?

It just sounds so, I don't know, just, it sounds icky to me, gooey. It sounds, I don't know, I just don't go for it. He wants relationship with his children. Now see, what he's doing is he's leading up to there should be communication in a family and there should be in a relationship, conversation.

What kind of conversation does a non-relationship have? In other words, if you have a relationship with your wife, aren't you supposed to converse? We are the bride of Christ and husbands and wives talk to each other.

We aren't employed as slaves or servants, but welcomed as friends and friends talk to each other. We are sheep of our great shepherd and sheep know their master's voice. We are a body in which people prophesy, speak words of wisdom and knowledge and use other spiritual gifts to edify each other.

So we've moved from God talks a lot to people in the Old Testament and new. And it's interesting, how many people does God really talk to in the Bible? You're going to see three clumps of these kind of activities.

You're going to see the clump of time around Moses and Joshua. You're going to see the clump of time around Elijah and Elisha, the prophets, and you'll see the clump of time, Jesus and the apostles. Oh, you're going to see other people like Miriam.

Why can't God speak directly to me? And she usurps authority of Moses and then there's leprosy. But I don't think you're going to see God regularly talking to people all the time. It is not normal occurrence.

Now it is normal occurrence for husbands and wives to talk, for co-workers to talk, for friends to talk. And if you mean God talks to us through Scripture and we talk to him in prayer, I'm all for that.

He talks about primarily we hear the voice of God, later in this article, by encountering the person of Jesus. Okay? Now, I have no idea what that means. I have several theological degrees and educations, I don't know what he means.

He goes on to say, first, we can check what we're hearing against what the Holy Spirit has revealed in Scripture. Second, we can check it against what we know of Jesus. Is it arrogant, lustful, greedy, divisive?

Third, talk to leaders about it. Fourth, Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 14 about prophecy being weighed or judged by the church. I'm trying to think. Oh, finally, we simply consider the effect or fruit of what we think God is saying.

Paul and Moses offer us some common sense, and he goes on to quote Deuteronomy 13, 18, 1 Corinthians 12, 14, and following. He says, abuse does not take away use, so there's a lot of weird silliness and nonsense and oddity, but that doesn't mean we can't still hear God.

His final sentence or two, but despite those examples, we need to remember that a New Testament church is an eschatological, Spirit-filled, prophetic voice of God hearing people, and we get to be a part of it.

God speaks, and we hear. What a privilege. Oh, here it is. Andrew Wilson, pastor, writer of Eastbourne, UK, author of If God Then What?, Wondering Aloud About Truth, Origins, and Redemption. So we hear from God, and then we do what?

See, that's the question now, isn't it? So he gives us a list of things we're to do. Now, just how complicated is this to try to figure out if this is really from God? We listen to ourselves, Jeremiah 17.

It's not a smart thing to do, so how do we understand if it's from God or from ourselves? The Quakers, the mystics, would believe in inner light, and you've got George Fox and company leading that whole deal, and their problem was depravity.

Well, of course, they were depraved, but they didn't really know it. And so depravity is whole. It affects totally the person, mind, will, emotions, thoughts, conscience. Everything is affected. And so we can't trust ourselves, and that's why Christianity is a religion of external revelation, outside of us.

Because once it goes through us, or in us, or from us, or out of us, then we've got to factor in depravity. And so when I hear God speak, according to Andrew, correct me if I'm wrong, we've got to check Scripture.

We've got to check it against what we know about Jesus, talk to leaders about it, talk to the church so they can exercise discernment when people prophesy, and then check the fruit. Okay, for one moment, let's just say I'm uber lazy, and I don't want to do any of those things.

I just want to read the Bible. And I will say to myself, if I hear from a voice in my head, I'll say it's my own head. And if I'm compelled to do something because of Scripture wisdom, and then now desire, Psalm 37, I'll just do it, but I don't need to say God told me to do it.

Why don't I just do it, and then in the future, after I've already done it, I'll look back and then I'll make an assessment. I won't be presumptuous in presuming on God's sovereign grace, untying all the knots I've tied.

But He in fact does do that, and you can look back in your life and you just do something. Just like Kevin DeYoung's excellent book says, just do something. If you have not read that book, you need to read that book.

Sola Scriptura Versus Charismatic “Haves and Have-Nots”

So we turn into again, once again with the charismatic movement, the haves and the have-nots. And so you have the have-nots, the people that are cessationist, and they have the Scriptures alone for guidance, for God's revelation.

And then you have the haves, and they have the Scriptures plus this. But isn't it amazing that when they have God speaking to them, they've got to go back to the Bible anyway. So why don't we just settle with the Bible?

This is sola scriptura. And it is an attack on sola scriptura when you need to have God speak outside the Bible. Talk to the church, talk to the leaders, we have a kind of a counsel about what was said and you know, God told me this.

Do you know how, and this is again pragmatic and this is anecdotal, so it's not really evidence, admitted into court, the no-co-court. Can you imagine elders meetings and we'd have about 15 people a week come in and say, this is what I heard from God and now we weigh it all?

How does that work? Would we use Robert's Rules of Order for that? I guess we would if God told us to do that. Would it have to be five elders to zero? Would it have to be unanimous? This is very complicated.

I think it's easy to say, but it's complicated. We hear from God and then we say, I'll check it against Scripture. Okay. It doesn't say anything about Scripture for that. Hmm. What do I know about Jesus?

Well, Jesus is loving. I want to marry this girl. God told me to marry her. She's a Christian. I found that in Scripture. We check it against Jesus. I want to marry her. I think it'd be best for her if I did that.

It would be a loving thing for her and I'd benefit too. I'll talk to the leaders about it. Let's have the church judge it or weigh it and then let's see the fruit. Well, how do I know the fruit until afterwards?

I already said I do. Friends, I just think this is a charismatic brother of ours who I think is trying to do the right thing. He sees the nonsense. He sees the abuse. He sees the silliness. And so now we've got extra biblical rules to regulate is a prophecy or word from God and from Him or not.

You say, well, Mike, you just want to make it easy and say God sees talking out loud these days and the cannon's closed. And prophecies have stopped and all prophecies are inerrant. You just want to do that so you don't have to work through this hard thing.

Well, I guess I could throw myself back on church history, although I know that's not a determination. I think that Scriptures are sufficient, not deficient. I think I believe in Sola Scriptura and when you need God to talk to you or have God talk to you outside of Scripture, I think it is a functional denial of Sola Scriptura.

We can still be friends. I'm wrong in certain things, but our charismatic friends are wrong on this. Sufficiency of Scripture. People say, well, a cannon's closed. I believe in sufficiency of Scripture.

But then they say, I need more revelation. God's still revealing Himself. If you need more revelation, if you think revelation that you have isn't enough, then you're denying sufficiency of Scripture.

We have all the revelation we need. We either have it all or we don't. I mean, I know I'm not that smart, but I don't get it. So people say, well, you know, God talks to me. I need an external authority.

You need to read B .B. Warfield's article, Evangelical Christianity Interprets All Religious Experience by the Normative Revelation of God Recorded for Us in the Holy Scriptures and Guides, Directs, and Corrects It from These Scriptures and Thus Molds It into Harmony with What God in His Revealed Word Lays Down as the Normal Christian Life.

The mystic, on the other hand, tends to substitute his religious experience for the objective revelation of God recorded in the written word as the source from which he derives his knowledge of God, or at least to subordinate the expressly revealed word as the less direct and convincing source of knowledge of God to his own religious experience.

The result, B .B. Warfield, is that the external revelation is relatively depressed in value if not totally set aside. See you watch what happens to the stepchildren of the modern evangelical Calvinistic charismatic movement.

Warfield, there's nothing more important in the age in which we live than to bear constantly in mind that all the Christianity of Christianity rests precisely on external authority. Revealed religion comes to man from without.

It is imposed upon him from a source superior to his own spirit. The unrevealed religions, on the other hand, flow from no higher source than the human spirit itself. So my name is Mike Evendroth and we're talking about mysticism today in evangelicalism.

Church History, Mysticism, and the Limits of Intuition

And sometimes, and I don't think Andrew is this, I don't think he's lazy, I don't think it's arrogance, I don't think it's manipulation. Some people within the charismatic movement, that's what their, that's what their ended up, you know, that's their default.

They're just too lazy to study the scripture so God told me. I don't think that's Andrew's position. I'm too arrogant and God talks to me, he doesn't talk to you. I don't think that's Andrew's position.

I'm going to say God tells me things to manipulate you and as a pastor I'm trying to lord it over you. I don't think that's the position of Andrew. It's not those. In others it may be, it's not his. He wants to guard.

But I disagree. But this is the strange fire thing, really. Mysticism passes beyond the external forms of religion to an attempted direct knowledge of God. Jeffrey Bromley, Baker Dictionary of Theology.

Hmm. Arthur L. Johnson, evangelical commitment to scripture as sole source of revelation becomes undermined when this stuff happens. Quote, the scriptures nowhere teach that God gives us any knowledge through spiritual experience.

Knowledge of spiritual matters is always linked to God's propositional revelation, the written word. Mysticism and evangelical option, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1991. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 2 Peter 1 .3.

Proverbs 28 .26, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered. That's why I can't determine whether it's God or me. So I just am gonna dump it and then go straight to the scriptures, because then I'll know.

I can't trust my heart. Phil Johnson, maturity has taught me to hold off trusting intuition and try to understand facts and reasons and the potential results of my actions before I act. In fact, I'd say that's what maturity is all about to a very large degree.

If intuition is fallible, it cannot be considered revelation, even when it happens to be uncannily right in an instance or two. And in church history, those who think those moments of intuition are God speaking with a private message invariably become extremely superstitious.

They foolishly order their lives by their feelings. They commit the sin of trusting too much in their own hearts, and they diminish the more sure word of prophecy, the scriptures. No one who knows church history and no one who truly understands the concept of spiritual maturity can deny that Christians who follow the voice in their heads fall into these errors all the time.

And it can be, and often is, spiritually disastrous. So my name's Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. We have to be careful when it comes to scripture, sola scriptura, our own feelings. Does God speak to us directly outside the Word?

What about objective truth? What about theology, as David Wells says, turning into autobiography? I've had this feeling. I've had God speak to me. I believe that Gordon Fee is correct when he said, Pentecostals tend to exegete their experience.

And Fee is a Pentecostal, and he recognizes that in the book Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism, Baker, even back in the day, 1976. You don't need to have God tell you something. You just trust the Lord with all your heart, and you make a decision.

You need to read that book. Actually, God just told me that. Yeah, yeah, he did. God just told me to have you read Kevin DeYoung's book. You don't need to have God right there telling you. I don't ask for God to tell me outside the scripture.

I just try to study the scripture. And you say, see, therefore, you can't make any judgments because it hasn't happened to you. Now, that's not a good argument. You can't make any judgments because it didn't happen to me.

See, that doesn't work either. We don't want to make our feelings, emotions, impressions, or anything else taking the spot of trusting in God. Spurgeon called it, you make them idols and put them into God's place and undeify the deity.

Let's go straight back to the Bible. I think, I say this in all honesty, I think our charismatic friends would say, let's be students of the Bible. Let's just go back to the Bible. Let's understand what the Bible teaches.

And so, that's where I'm going to leave it. I'm glad when they say that. I just wish they wouldn't say, you know, God talks to us and he wants to have relationship with us. And so, I'm not going to argue about the slave-servant thing.

I am a slave of Christ. I am a slave of righteousness. But I'm arguing more, how does God speak? And so, when I look back in church history, when I look at the Bible and the history of the Bible, when I look at reasons why God spoke to people, I am quite confident that the error of the cessationist, if there is one, is going to put me in a better place than the error of God speaking to me today outside Scripture.

Which one is going to yield the greater error? Do I quench the Spirit? Does not the Spirit illumine my mind as I read the Scriptures, illumine the Scriptures? Does not the Spirit save me, sanctify me?

Will not the Spirit glorify me? Does not the Spirit convict me, encourage me, comfort me? Does not the Spirit show his fruit in my life of love, joy, peace? What am I missing? Am I missing something? I'm missing God maybe talking to me, but I don't need to know.

And Andrew doesn't know either because he's got these five things that you've got to check it against. You've got to check it against and I'm going to use my mind and look at Scripture. And so how do I know which one's right?

I've got to use my mind. What about Jesus? I've got to use my mind to talk to the leaders and their minds and then to the church. See where this ends? I know for a fact that the errors of the cessationist movement, if they have such, you know, they do have errors according to the charismatics, are minor compared to the errors of the charismatic movement.

I would much rather say God has done, is done speaking, done having relationship than the other. Well, my name is Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. You gov, does God still speak today? I think if you want to hear God out loud, you should just read your Bible out loud and you could hear him all day long.

Mike Abendroth, info at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

Closing Station Identification and Disclaimer

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's Word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.