“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5 NIV)
That part about “having a form of godliness” is the part that God highlighted to me when we were talking just now. (Yes, it’s 4:00 am. That’s when He likes to talk about all the important stuff.) I was asking Him a question that was recently raised by another about what needed to change locally — was it “a church” that needed to change? At the time, the Lord answered right through my mouth that it was “all the churches” that needed change. I knew that already. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They have a form of godliness but deny its power.
What I have witnessed in my trek through the churches locally is that none of the pastors can be bothered to seek God about the false doctrines in their churches. It seems like they deny that God has a right to disagree with their garbage theologies. They can’t ask Him simple questions even though they claim to know His voice. But God, in His grace and mercy, sends His messenger to teach them how to ask Him questions, and they don’t want to learn. Their pride won’t allow them to be taught by a female. They are too wise for their own good.
Oh, but the problem is not limited to the pastors. The congregations are willing to sit silently by rather than raise their voices to disagree with false doctrines. They certainly don’t want to mess with their comfort and stature. It is hard to be the one who will risk their inclusion with the church family to please God especially when that family will surely turn against you for being the one to speak up. But I will just say this: their form of godliness is ugly. I’m not the only one to notice. God sees it clearly. Why won’t they stand up and fight for truth?
This verse has been repeatedly coming to mind over the last few days. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1 NIV)
The prophet Isaiah was grieving when the Lord opened his eyes to a spiritual vision and a throne-room experience which led to the Lord commissioning Isaiah. I’m always inspired by this passage of Scripture where Isaiah says to the Lord “Here am I. Send me!” (That exclamation point speaks volumes.)
This Scripture text (in Isaiah 6) is largely about proclaiming that the people have been wayward from the Lord’s instruction. They have been spiritually deaf and blind. Maybe that’s why these words have often inspired me. Imagine for a moment that I was asked to read this passage aloud in front of a congregation where women were often silenced if men were present. Seriously, I don’t know how the Lord pulled that one off. But it happened. It was the day that the Lord publicly commissioned me to go and speak truth to the nations. It was years later, however, that He told me in prayer that I was His prophet to the nations. Listen, I would NEVER be so brazen as to call myself a prophet if the Lord had not said it (and He continues to call me His prophet). The train of His robe fills the temple. He is Lord! (But don’t believe me … ask Him yourself!)
That exclamation point in Isaiah’s proclamation “Send me!” is often less enthusiastic when persecution comes, and the prophet finds herself weighed down by the mire and muck of dredging through things of this world. It’s hard to constantly be pushed away and ignored by those who God has sent me to at the same time that God commands me to focus in on specific people and doctrines. I want to do the Lord’s work. I really do. But I don’t have the power to open their spiritual eyes or ears. All I can do is keep stepping forward as the Lord directs.
I want to share what I have learned from Him in more than 20 years of hearing His voice. How can I teach people that have no interest in learning? How can I show them God’s heart if they are spiritually blind? How can I hope for their spiritual ears to be opened when they can’t hear me tell them how? I did ask the Lord to “Send me!” all those years ago. So here am I … and the train of His robe fills the temple.
Do you think that the Lord rewards us for our obedience? I do. And I also think that He punishes us when we refuse Him. Rebellion is ugly to the Lord. But when we submit to Him we are rewarded with more intimacy of heart and sometimes tangible blessings.
Let’s talk about obedience first. Recently, the Lord asked me to once again offer a Bible Study to teach about hearing His voice. I already know that most people are too lazy to put in any real effort to show up, study, and seek God. But, my obedience is not contingent on how many people attend the study. My obedience is in walking intentionally on the path that God has for me. I can’t take it personal when there is not as much interest in the Bible study as I might hope. I’m not responsible for how other people respond to the invitation. That’s between them and God. My rewards are tied to pleasing God with my faith. So, even though my expectations may be low for how others will respond, I’m going to keep stepping forward in obedience. Every time that I’ve done this in the past, God has increased the anointing that He delivers through me. I want that.
Now let’s talk about disobedience and ignoring God. What if I instead said to God that I know that nobody is interested and why should I waste the energy? Should God be pleased with that response from me? Should He reward me for thinking that I know better than Him what the outcome should be? Seriously, I don’t need to know the outcome. I just need to know the next step forward. That’s how God does things. So, please don’t think that I’m naive about people wanting to learn to hear God. I know that most don’t want to. It’s up to God how He chooses to discipline or punish those people. I just need to keep stepping forward with a positive goal to please God.
I’m sorry to be so blunt but you CANNOT interpret the Scriptures correctly without hearing the voice of God!
The devil is a liar. His whole scheme is deception. If you’re reading the Bible without God present, you are going to be deceived. When you study the Bible, you must do it while listening to God teach it to you. Ask questions to Him if anything is vague. The reason why there are so many misinterpretations and bogus doctrines is because they have left God out of their study.
Look at all the variations of religions that are out there. Some pray to statues. Some pray to Mary and saints. Some pray to themselves. Listen, Christians pray with God and hear His voice. At least, that’s the expectation. Without it you are lost!
I’ve spent the last 20 years offering to teach Christians to hear God’s voice in prayer. This is the anointing that God has placed on me. I’m not a singer. I’m not a musician. I’m not a historian. I’m a child of God trying to lead others to hear His voice so that they can refute the false doctrines in the churches. It’s not complicated.
We all want Christian community. We are want to be received and loved. But it seems that it becomes all about something else when we can’t agree on doctrine. Why can’t we agree on doctrine? Seriously, God is not going to give us different answers where doctrine is concerned. If we believe different doctrines it can only be because some aren’t submitting to God’s authority and teaching when they study doctrine. It’s frustrating especially when those that teach falsely claim to hear God’s voice. Really, how long does it take to ask a question to God like “Are there three Gods?” “Is the trinity doctrine correct?” “Is there a God sitting next to another God on thrones in Heaven?” It shouldn’t take weeks or months to ask a simple question if you really hear God’s voice. How long does it take to ask “God, do you want me to remove the word ‘trinity’ from the church website?”
I’ve been more than patient, but at some point you have to believe that “they” don’t want to address these issues with God. Their seat of honor is more important than being right with God. He sees it. He’s not naive or gullible. They can fool audiences that don’t know God, but they can’t fool God.
Yesterday, God had me write out a little sticky note reminder. He wanted me to create a belief statement that could replace the trinity (false doctrine) belief statements to model the possibilities for correct doctrinal statements for the local pastors. His hope was to make it easier for them to change their “What We Believe” statements to truth. It seems that most of them don’t really know exactly what they believe.
This morning, I went to Sunrise Bread Company, and sat down to handwrite the result of my discussion with God. While enjoying a hot cup of coffee and a huge cinnamon roll, I penned the words below.
*** We believe that there is only one God. God is invisible Spirit (also known as the Holy Spirit). He made Himself known visibly and audibly to mankind while He walked on Earth, robed in Son-of-Man flesh, 2000+ years ago. Today, He makes Himself known to us individually as we choose Him as our God. As His disciples, we should expect to hear His voice, experience His presence, and walk in His supernatural power when we are yielded to Him in covenant relationship. His name, made known to us, is Jesus. He is the one and only God. He will not compete for lordship.
The attributes of God are: *God is Spirit. (John 4:24) *God is invisible. (John 1:18) *God is Creator. (Genesis 1; Psalm 139) *God is sovereign. (Genesis 15:2) *God is omnipresent: always present. (Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24) *God is omnipotent: all powerful. (Psalm 33:6, Job 11:7-11) *God is omniscient: all knowing. (Isaiah 46:9-10) *God is eternal/Alpha & Omega. (Deuteronomy 33:27, Jeremiah 10:10, Revelation 22:13) *God is infinite. (Colossians 1:17, Psalm 147:5) AND *God is love. (1 John 4:7-8) *God is holy. (Revelation 4:8) *God hates evil. (Zechariah 8:17) *God is just/justice/righteous judge. (Deuteronomy 32:4) *God is good. (Psalm 34:8, 34:22) *God is merciful. (Romans 9:15-16) *God is wisdom. (Romans 11:33, Proverbs 8, Job 9:4) *God is gracious. (Psalm 145:8, Ephesians 2:8, Exodus 33:19, Matthew 5:45) *God is sin-forgiver. (Micah 7:18) *God is faithful. (Deuteronomy 7:9, 2 Timothy 2:13, 1 Corinthians 13:12) *God is jealous. (Exodus 20:3)
*** End of example
A belief statement could also describe how to mend a broken covenant relationship. It could describe how God’s salvation method provided us each individual access to Him to ask for His forgiveness and to hear His response. There are lots of great things that the “What We Believe” sections could include. But know this, trinity false doctrine is NOT one of those things. All it does is show how little the church leadership actually knows God. If you want to advertise that, then go ahead. That’s your choice. But you could instead choose to use your website to equip people for covenant relationship and hearing God. Evangelize to a lost world or further confuse it?
It’s strange that we “celebrate” the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ at Easter. He was beaten, tortured, and crucified on a cross. And He left us! … or did He?
What is the miracle of Easter? Others were crucified on crosses. Lazarus was resurrected from the dead by Jesus before His own resurrection. And Enoch and Elijah are recorded to have ascended bodily to Heaven too. So what is the real Easter miracle? At Christmas, we celebrate the miraculous virgin birth of the Christ child. I wonder with our focus on miracles have we missed the most precious thing to celebrate? God with us! The creator robed Himself in human flesh and walked visibly with our forefathers. He proved Himself to be real. He didn’t have to do any of the things that He did.
God always had the power to forgive sins, He didn’t need the cross for that. God always had the power to remove His own wrath. God always had the power to open the way to covenant restoration conversation without shed blood or a priest. He didn’t need the cross. He didn’t need to be born of man. He didn’t need to perform miracles. He didn’t need any of it. He chose it. Why?
All of this drama after 400 years of silence. Why? Certainly, it wasn’t so that we could have Christmas gift-giving or Easter-bunnies and egg hunts. Maybe He did it so that we would recognize Him. Maybe we needed to have a historical timeline of His human existence. Maybe we needed a tangible God so that we would know how to love Him. Without His voice, presence, and power made known to us, He could be just a far away mythical being. But now we have this place in history where we can come individually to Him in private prayer and know Him. I mean really know Him.
Some do all the talking in prayer and they miss the best part. They miss God making Himself known. They miss hearing His voice. They miss knowing His comfort. They miss learning from Him as His disciple. They miss the dearest parts of our Lord. He didn’t leave us. He didn’t forsake us. He makes Himself known. We get to hear His creation voice. We get to feel His manifest presence. We get to walk in His supernatural power. But some choose to ignore His voice. Some choose to forfeit His presence and power in exchange for material wealth or recognition from men.
How can we show our love to the Lord? We can listen for His voice. We can consult Him on everything. We can choose Him above all else. We can desire to see His face. We can tell others about Him. He can be our God. He is God with us! He is here! Why have we missed that?
But hey, go do the Easter-bunny thing with the churches who teach false doctrine and continue to ignore God. You’re good at that! Make sure you wear your best dress and smile pretty for the camera.
In the Old Testament times, God dwelled among His people in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8-9). The Ark of the Covenant was a place of God’s presence (Exodus 25:22). The New Testament fulfillment was God in flesh, aka Jesus, dwelling among His people (John 1:14).
While we don’t go around calling Jesus “The Tabernacle” or “The Ark of the Covenant” to identify Him as “God with us” or “God’s presence”, those identifiers represent prophecies fulfilled as God made Himself known in human form (Isaiah 9:6, Exodus 25).
God gave exact specifications for how the Tabernacle would be designed. The Tabernacle was a tent of meeting and a precursor to Solomon’s Temple. Both were created to be a place where a sinful people could approach a Holy God. The high priest would enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement. The high priest’s role was to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat atop of the ark of the covenant to atone for the sins of the people. The hope was that the judgment of God would be transformed into mercy from God. I should note that the sprinkling of blood did not obligate God to forgive the rebellion or evil deeds of the people. It was simply an act to signal a hope for covenant restoration from God. Without restoration God could abandon His people as they abandoned Him in their disobedience and sin. (Think of a marriage contract where one betrays the other with infidelity.)
Everything about Christ on the cross was to replace the earlier Tabernacle and Temple. For example: The veil or curtain that divided the Holy Place and the residing place of the Ark of the Covenant (aka the Most Holy Place) was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died. The torn veil at the entrance to the Most Holy Place symbolized our ability to approach God for a private and individual covenant restoration conversation. We don’t need a high priest to approach God on our behalf. Jesus (who is God) was the final priest. He forever fulfilled the need for intercession. We are each responsible to have conversation directly with God. (Read Hebrews 10:10-12.)
The first step to learning to discern God’s voice is to identify the competing voices, both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm. The devil, demons, and evil spirits have a voice in the spiritual realm. Their voices can seem like your own thoughts if you don’t know yourself well enough to assess your unshakeable values. (Read about Adam and Eve talking with the serpent in the Garden in Genesis 3.)
When I first started hearing God’s voice in prayer, I made the mistake of telling those closest to me that God was speaking to me. They jumped to conclusions that I was delusional and that I would hear “god” tell me to kill them. So, for the record, God has never told me to kill anyone. He’s perfectly able to speak it into existence and make it happen without my involvement. So if He wants you dead, well that’s what will happen. He doesn’t need me to do it.
Why did I write that paragraph? Well, it’s unfortunate but even your most trusted friends and family can turn against you for hearing God. Read the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37). Joseph had dreams from God. He made the mistake of telling his family the content of those dreams. Their resulting jealousy made them throw him in a pit, leaving him for dead, and then selling him into slavery. Really, there are not many people that you can trust to talk to about hearing God. Even many pastors will demand that you’re not hearing from God (because they don’t). Secular psychiatry will most certainly condemn you because in their minds God isn’t real.
So, are you courageous enough to step into an unfamiliar realm of listening to God in prayer? Can you shake off all the secular lie-labels of mental illness? Can you stand strong against the giants, like young King David did? What is your faith level? You’re not going to get to a place of hearing God daily if you shrink away every time the devil sends his minions to accuse you.
If you’re ready, then step 1 is to situate yourself in a distraction free area. No phones; No television or music; No panoramic views to draw your attention away. Nothing should compete with your ability to listen to God’s voice. God sees everything. He knows if you have a phone set on vibrate so that you don’t miss an “important” notification or call. If you aren’t all in, then He isn’t either. Earnestly seeking Him means to earnestly seek Him. He’s always looking for wholehearted investment. If you can’t do that, then you aren’t going to hear God. I’m sorry but you are going to have to make God priority. And that might mean that you are going to need to get off your self-made kingdom throne.
When you are positioned to really listen for God in the physical realm, then you are going to need to thwart the enemy’s voice in the spiritual realm. This is a good time to ask the Lord to silence the enemy. It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a spiritual warfare “freak” or a deliverance expert. All you need to do is ask the Lord to bind the enemy so that you can hear from Him. If He truly is your God, then He will silence the enemy for you. Remember God wants you to be able to hear Him so that you can know Him and walk intentionally with Him. The devil doesn’t want you to hear God because he loses all power to deceive you when you can fact-check with God.
In earlier posts, I have talked about the need for covenant relationship with God. If you have pledged on oath to God that He is your only God, then you have initiated the covenant relationship. If you’re not sure if you have asked God to be your God, then do it as you begin the conversation with Him. It never hurts to restate your allegiance. In step 2, we will review how to restore a broken covenant through having a sincere forgiveness conversation.
Did this answer any of your questions? Do you want to privately ask me about this? You can contact me at TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com. I want to help you learn to discern God’s voice. I do know that it can be scary to approach this subject. But listen, I’m not the most courageous person ever, and I did it against all the maneuvers of the enemy. So you can too.
Attached are two pages from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Covenant Voice of God” (pages 29-30, dated August 2024) that outline Step One of Discerning God’s Voice in Prayer.
Trust is the nucleus of valued relationships. Once trust is diminished there is not enough substance to recreate a lasting bond.
For the last two days, I have been focusing our attention on the manifest presence of God and His supernatural giftings. I hope that I have conveyed that God only delivers His power and authority to those who are in covenant relationship. A broken covenant or broken trust removes God’s provision and protection.
God is wise enough to not be in a one-sided relationship … something that I wish I had learned earlier in life. Maybe I have trusted some people more than they deserved. God has much better insight than I do. He knows how to set boundaries and to require a sincere apology for wrongs done against Him. I’m learning to distance myself from half-hearted superficial “friends”. But it has taken too many decades for me to finally get with the program. I know now not to forgive people who aren’t asking to be forgiven. They don’t want to change. They don’t want to admit wrongs. They just want to use me and my giftings. God figured all that out much earlier than I did … because He’s God, and I am not.
These two Scripture texts, recorded in the narrative from Matthew, as red-letter words from Jesus are very telling about how Jesus views those who are not trustworthy with the primary objective.
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)
• “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’” (Matthew 16:23 NIV)
How could God trust pastors who teach falsely to another generation of churchgoers? Why would God want to supernaturally anoint pastors who teach that there are three gods (in a one-God religion), or teach that God doesn’t have the right to anoint women in leadership, or that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are not permissible for this time in history? Have they broken covenant by refusing to seek God and learn from Him on these matters? Will they hear God say those crushing words “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Maybe then, they will realize how loving it was for God to send His prophet with a message of instruction, warning, and rebuke. Will it be too late?
The Cure For The Common Life: Before walking with the Lord, I would not have described my life as common, but that’s only because I didn’t have the anointed walk with Him for comparison. Experiencing the presence and power of God flowing through me has been the highlight of my life. He brings daily animation to my purpose.
Max Lucado wrote a book entitled “Cure for the Common Life”. In the book, the reader was encouraged to explore their spiritual gifts, their “sweet spot” life experiences, and gauge how God had uniquely designed them for His purposes. I love that book. It’s one of my favorites because of the encounter that I had with God through it. It confirmed that God had uniquely made me for His divine purposes. What could be better than that?
In hindsight, I could see how working as an administrative secretary to executives at the space center and as a graphic artist for a strategic consulting group were ordained by God as training to walking in the anointing that He would deliver to me as His prophet. My teenage years, writing for the school newspaper, were when my love for writing began. Nothing was wasted by God. The most valuable training, however, came from being a mother to my two children. That’s when I learned how God loved me. It’s unquenchable love that knows no boundaries that it won’t risk. Hearing God clearly speak to me the first time, at age 40, changed me into a different person. That’s when I knew for certain that God had chosen me to walk with Him on a planned destiny path. Have you inspected your experiences and analyzed your giftedness from God to assess who you are to Him?
• “But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:16 NIV)
• “Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:6-7 NIV)
• “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” (1 John 2:20 NIV)
• “and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (Exodus 31:3 NIV)
Attachment Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Anointing”, August 2022, pages 9 and 21.
The Rogue Prophet 