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?
Disclaimer: you might not be ready for this! If you have ever experienced a spiritual high with God, you know that there is nothing in the physical realm that can duplicate that freedom of body and soul. There is no chemical or biological release to compare to a true move of the Spirit of God. Every move of the Spirit is precisely intimate. God knows you better than any human partner could.
What I often see in the charismatic churches is a pursuit of a quick spiritual fix. While that eagerness to feel God’s Spirit is understandable, the lack of it is very evident in the robotic mechanisms of the non-charismatic churches. Again, the Lord wants me to talk about the cameras in the sanctuary. This is a big deal for God. Would you want cameras recording your intimate naked moments with your spouse? (That was intentionally carefully worded. But you get the picture … right?) Will you ever catch a move of the Spirit on camera or will He stay away because your need to record His presence is anticlimactic? Why bother if you miss the point completely?
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:2-4 NIV)
The Biblical encounters with God were obviously never caught on camera. The belief in those moves of the Spirit require faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God doesn’t want disconnected, low-investment voyeurs trolling His activities looking for proof of His existence. But perhaps, that is what the church has become. Or, is it a place where you can momentarily hide yourself from God? Because you are in a corporate gathering, God certainly won’t approach you to open your heart for inspection. He wouldn’t embarrass you that way, would He? Joining in on religious events allows you to fake a more robust pleasure by association with the “saints”. Pretty much anyone can spot a fake orgasm, especially the faker. (Remember the disclaimer in the first paragraph.) Do you know what it is like to be in the Spirit, or not?
“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:10-11 NIV)
Other Scriptures to Consider:
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9 NIV)
“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 NIV)
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25 NIV)
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26 NIV)
“At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.” (Revelation 4:2 NIV)
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.
Let’s look back on where we’ve been over the last two weeks before moving on. It helps to summarize the main strategic points. I always welcome questions but since I don’t regularly receive that kind of feedback, I try to anticipate the areas that might be more difficult to digest easily.
True Doctrine: Repeatedly, I have expressed the need to hear God’s voice in prayer so that you can know true doctrine. All the churches locally teach contrary to each other on some areas of doctrine. For example: 1) Methodist, Church of God, Presbyterian, and some nondenominational churches teach that women are equal partners to men in leadership and ministry. Women can be ordained as preaching pastors in those denominations. But in the Baptist, Church of Christ/Christian, Pentecostal, Apostolic, and some nondenominational churches, women are considered to be subordinate to men in areas of leadership. Also, 2) Some denominations believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit such as healing, speaking in tongues and prophecy can no longer be delivered from the Holy Spirit to His people. (Evidently the Holy Spirit lost His power or permission somewhere along the way.) And finally, 3) Some churches believe that there is a corporation of three gods that make up a god-head while others correctly wholeheartedly love only one God and are in covenant relationship with Him.
If you don’t know where you stand on any of these issues, please go back and read the study pages and articles posted on the previous days. I will continue to build on these topics but having a firm foundation in the Scriptures will be helpful to you as we progress forward.
Discerning God’s Voice: Knowing God and learning to hear His voice in prayer are crucial to being a true disciple. As discussed before: 1) You must be in unbroken/restored covenant relationship with God which means that you must have a sincere forgiveness conversation with Him asking for specific areas of mismanagement (sin) to be evaluated and restored. You must learn from your specific mistakes so that you can prevent repeat occurrences. The conversation should never be “I’m sorry for everything.” Sin and temptations should be intentionally discussed for improvement. 2) You can only have one God, not three. God is Spirit. When God’s Spirit made Himself known in a human-born, flesh and blood frame, He was fully God (as Spirit) and fully man (as flesh). The flesh part was crucified on a cross so that we no longer need a priest to intercede or a blood sacrifice for atonement. Instead God gave us access through the torn veil to approach Him alone in prayer to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness for sin. That is how we restore covenant relationship. 3) We must seek God, not advise God. That will require a major prayer shift for most people who have grown up in the church and heard prayers modeled that inform or advise God. We must learn to shut up and listen to God rather than counsel Him about matters that He intimately knows better than we do. Who wants a God that needs our advice? I don’t. Sure we’re allowed to talk to Him about our concerns, but we’re not supposed to try to convince God that our ways are better than His.
Women in Ministry/Leadership: Too many women seem to be content with being lazy or refusing to accept the anointing and giftedness from God. Yes, I blame some of the false doctrine on the women who sit back and accept it. 1) The Holy Spirit anoints men, women, and children for ministry. He looks for a yielded spirit, right covenant relationship, spiritual maturity, and courage to step out. There is no gender bias from the Holy Spirit. There is no age requirement. There is no seminary degree or college certificate required. An hour spent directly with the Lord is equivalent to about 10 hours of doctorate studies. To repeat, you do not need a secular degree if you are learning at the feet of Jesus. He is the one and only God. There is no authority higher. If He anoints you, He expects you to be bold in that anointing. 2) The Bible clearly records that there were women leaders throughout history that were anointed by God as prophets, judges (deliverers), apostles, deacons, teachers, etc. While the law of the Pharisees prohibited women from leadership, they were also the ones who refused Jesus and crucified Him on a cross. You don’t need permission from a Pharisee to be God’s anointed daughter. 3) Women, we have an advocate who will fight for us and with us against those who perpetuate the lies of the devil about our royal authority as daughters of the King. We must use our voice of truth to speak out against the demonic oppression being delivered through those who don’t know God or true doctrine. You cannot be lazy and indifferent. You must stand up as true Kingdom champions, not little princesses who sit silently by while the devil makes a mockery of your spiritual DNA and heritage.
Attached are two pages about “The Laws of the Pharisees” from The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023, pages 6-7. I hope you will study the Scriptures included on these study sheets and speak with God about them. As I always say … “Don’t believe me. Ask God Yourself!”
Loving God wholeheartedly is the priority. We do that through having true heart relationship with Him, hearing His voice in prayer, and walking in obedience. In case you need to hear that again, the covenant relationship is about knowing God and walking with Him. If you can’t get that right, then why bother with trying to disciple others?
Evangelism is not the priority. Evangelism is not what saves you. Knowing the Savior and obeying Him is what is priority. Please listen, reading the Bible (which the devil knows better than you do), putting money in an offering plate, faithfully attending church, or loving your neighbor is not the criteria for having a heavenly home for all eternity. Your personal relationship with God is what matters. True discipleship is learned at the feet of Jesus. True discipleship must come from learning to hear God’s voice in prayer and obeying Him specifically.
The priority is not in how many souls you win or in loving others. I’m sorry, but it just is not. If you spend your whole life loving others well but ignore the priority relationship with God, you’re still going to hell. Discipleship is about knowing God. If you want to help others to know God, then you must begin with teaching them the importance of knowing God personally and WHOLEHEARTEDLY. It’s not a secondary priority — it is the first thing. You will spend your whole life with that priority. If God leads you to help a neighbor or to evangelize, then it becomes an act of obedience to your priority relationship. I hope I’m making this clear. Everything else should not be on your radar unless God puts it there. That’s how you choose God first every time.
This story is an example of specific obedience. One day I was driving down the road, and my spiritual vision was directed to a woman sitting at a park. I asked the Lord about the woman. He said for me to take $20 (the last $20 that I had until my next pay day several days later) and to tell her that God specifically asked me to give her the money. So, I did exactly that. I confidently (yet discreetly) approached her with the $20 in my outstretched hand and said “God asked me to give this to you.” She immediately began to cry and said that she was sitting there thinking about running into traffic (to end her life). God knew her need and entrusted me to show up exactly when and where He wanted me to. If I didn’t hear His voice, it would have been nearly impossible to be at the right place at the right time to do His work. But the story doesn’t end there. The next week, I was driving by the same area and saw a homeless man holding a sign asking for money. So, I asked the Lord, “Do you want me to help him?”. The Lord firmly and resolutely answered, “No! Do not go near him! I’m doing something in his life. I do not want you to help him.” The tone of God’s voice made it clear, that the young man was being punished by God. If I had not heard God and decided that it was my Christian duty to help the young man, I would have been working contrary to God’s will. That would not be obedience. It would be the opposite of obedience. Charity is not obedience if it works contrary to God’s plans. Too often, we can assume that we know God’s will when we haven’t bothered to have a conversation with Him. How hard is it to take the time to seek God before walking in a direction? Learning His voice is instrumental to following Him.
Attached are two pages describing the covenant relationship. I hope it helps. I want you to learn to seek God and follow Him. Please know that this post is my specific act of obedience to God. He woke me up at 2:00 am to direct me to type this message to you. He spoke every word of it and authorized me to post it. My priority was in obeying Him whether you take the time to study or not. I’m not responsible for you. I’m responsible to obey God. So just like that $20 that I gave the lady in the park, I’m handing this to you. Maybe God knows that it is exactly what you need. I’ve done my part to obey God. Will you?
(Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “The Top 10 False Teachings In The Churches”, June 2021, pages 12-13)
Crossroads Community Church starts a 21-day fast today. Their goal is for God to position 21 souls in their sphere of influence. In an earlier post, I promised to help them in their efforts to be able to hear God. As a deliverance minister, I would not advise anyone to fast from healthy foods. We have an enemy that would love to gain access when we are weak.
Fasting does not force God or make anyone a better Christian. So I often roll my eyes when I see that a church is doing a corporate fast. But that’s where they are so let’s see if I can save them some trouble by prompting them in a few areas:
There is no Biblical command to fast from food. In the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1) we can see that the Spirit was ready to be tempted by the devil when the body had fasted for 40 days. Note: Jesus is the Holy Spirit who was in a human-born, flesh-and-blood frame. We are flesh and spirit. When our flesh is weak, we had better hope to have a strong spirit being protected and led by the Spirit of God.
In deliverance ministry, I often see Christians aimlessly doing spiritual battle because they don’t understand the covenant relationship with God. If we are in unbroken covenant relationship with God, (meaning that we have kept our oath of allegiance to God or had a sincere forgiveness conversation with Him if we have sinned against God’s heart), then God will guard our minds from enemy influence. In other words, if we are right with God, the enemy cannot speak to us because God is present. If we are loyal to God, He is loyal to protect us. If we are not in unbroken covenant with God, then God is not obligated to be our protector.
So for those choosing to fast for 21 days, please be sure that you are in right relationship with God, for every day. Here are two questions that you can ask of God, every morning to be sure that you are in covenant with Him. (1) “Lord, will you please bind the enemy in every way around me?” Listen for His answer. If He answers something like this “I am with you. I will not leave you.” then He is telling you that He is guarding you from enemy access. If you don’t knowingly hear an answer then repeat this question after resolving the next one. (2) “God, is there anything that I need to ask forgiveness for?” Listen for His answer. Lean in to discern exactly what He is saying. If you think that His answer might be your own thoughts then you need to listen carefully to the words being used.* (Example below.) Once you have discerned areas that need discussion with God, apologize and be sure to let Him reveal to you how you could have done things differently; and how you will do them better next time. If you don’t bother to learn from your mistakes, you will likely repeat them. Take the time with God to resolve this so that moving forward you understand the error. If you have had a successful forgiveness conversation with God, then you are in a restored covenant relationship. You will know it because you will feel the burden lifted and you should continue to hear God’s voice in prayer. Remember seek God, not advise God.
*Example of God speaking to you versus your own thoughts. Many years ago when I was first learning to discern God’s voice, I was sitting at my computer playing Solitaire. My mind was focused on winning, of course. But, I heard a silent voice speak to me that was not my own spirit voice or thoughts. The question He asked me was “Who are you competing against?” Suddenly, I was having a conversation and not with myself because my internal conversation would have been subtly different. I might have asked myself “Who am I competing against?” Do you see that the direction of the first question was not coming from within, but outside of myself? (Please if you want to lock me up for explaining spiritual matters, it wouldn’t be the first time. I’m trying to help you, so don’t mock me.) God, will address you with words like “child”, “beloved”, or call you by your name. Listen carefully to the words that He uses in prayer. I encourage you to have a journal to write everything down at least until you recognize God’s voice from a stranger’s voice.
Ok, so I hope that helped. I’m always willing to respond to sincere questions about deliverance. I don’t want to see the enemy having his way with you. I’d rather see you walking obediently with God.
You can privately email me at the contact portion of this website.
Nobody can be trusted to reveal church corruption, deceit, and evil-doers like God can. God knows exactly what is happening inside and outside of the walls of His church. Unless, of course, God isn’t real in which case everything about the church is fake. Maybe a fake God wouldn’t send prophets either. What would convince you that God is real? How would you confirm allegations of corruption or “swampy” creatures in the church (or anywhere)?
What if you actually experienced God’s presence and heard Him tell you what’s going on? How could you be sure it was God and not the devil trying to deceive you? Would you just decide to ignore the situation because you didn’t trust yourself to discern fact from fiction? Maybe you realize that you don’t really know God, but you have rather enjoyed church attendance to the point that you don’t want to rock the boat or raise an eyebrow in suspicion.
Certainly, if God were real and had all the power that sovereign lordship implies, why would He need to send messengers? Couldn’t He just zap out the evil-doers? Couldn’t He just decide that those people don’t deserve a chance to turn away from their injustices? Couldn’t He demand to exact justice without affording a public hearing with a jury of their peers? If He’s God, He doesn’t need to hide for fear of retribution. So is He the ultimate whistleblower and did He try to reason with those doing wrong before making a public spectacle of their deeds? Hmmm?
Yes, I asked a lot of questions there, do you even want the answers? Who could you ask that you would trust? Have you heard of the word “prayer”? Prayer is a two-way conversation with a very real God. However, if you’re only having one-sided communication where you’re doing all the talking, then perhaps your God isn’t real at all or maybe you are actually the real god. That’s scary! However, if perhaps the real sovereign God and creator sent a messenger to teach you how to hear His voice in prayer, you might be able to discern whether or not He is real. Oh boy, are you up for that? Take a minute, decide, …
If the answer is “no”, then see you later. No hard feelings. But if the answer is “yes, I want to learn to hear God’s voice in prayer”, then hallelujah! We’re on a mission!
There are two prerequisite points that need to be clear if you want to hear God’s voice in prayer. The first one oftentimes gets lost in churchy language. 1) You must be in covenant relationship with God (God is His title — Jesus is His name.) Being in covenant relationship means that you have chosen God to be your only God. You can have no other gods. You cannot value anyone’s authority higher than God’s authority. The moment that you choose a secondary god or a counterfeit authority, you have broken covenant. Thankfully, God does afford us all the opportunity to apologize for the foolishness of choosing other “gods”. Sincerely asking for forgiveness, learning how it displeases God, and promising to not do it again is how we can restore the covenant relationship. So … are you in unbroken/restored covenant relationship with God? It is a necessity to hearing God’s voice in prayer.
The second prerequisite is that you are seeking God to know God. 2) Seeking God means the opposite of telling God. It means that you are humbling yourself and asking questions to get to know His will. If you’re only wanting to hear God with the hope of getting winning lottery numbers from Him, He isn’t going to waste your time or His with that nonsense. He is looking at your heart, and knows it better than you do … unless of course, He isn’t real. Then you know best.
Please gauge for yourself … is what I’ve told you here correct? Could you set yourself apart in a distraction-free area and have a candid forgiveness conversation with God? Could you seek Him? If you did and you heard His voice, would you believe that He is real?
This series of church assessments began right where God wanted it to with reviewing a local church, Crossroads Community Church of God. When I first attended the church at the beginning of November last year (two months ago), I had hoped that God was finally bringing me to a church home …
I have missed having a church family. But what God was wanting was for me to evaluate it from a perspective of would I invite others there. I am mature in my faith walk. I have grown to know when there is false doctrine or impure intent. But not everyone has had the benefit of God’s specific direction, shared spiritual experiences and years of study on doctrinal issues as I have. Yes, some can spot a used car salesman better than others just by their tone and insincere gestures, but not many understand how clever manipulators can twist the Scriptures with subtle nuances to fool many. The moment that I’m no longer simply a guest at a church and considering making it my home, it’s going to get a deeper dive of inspection into every aspect, especially if I’m going to invite others into that home church. God wanted me invested.
However, when I asked the church for information via email (in writing so that I was not vague), I was ignored. That makes everything suspect. If you cannot confirm your doctrinal stance, then maybe it’s not clear for a reason. I honestly, at this point, don’t know what the reason is. I don’t have clarity because I can’t get answers or feedback. Unless I see changes to the website or other social media avenues, I’m going to wonder why the coverup.
So, I’m clearly stating. Crossroads Community Church of God, please make your doctrinal stance clear on women in leadership and women in ministry. I can’t be the only one who cares. You have only about 30 regular (adult) attenders at your church and half of them are in the band, working sound and visual, or up on the platform in some way.
Can you not see that your church is dying because you don’t have a strong women’s ministry? If you have good doctrine, you should be standing firm on it. Please also make it clear who is overseeing women’s ministry. Is there a contact person? Is there a regular meeting to invite ladies to? Is there anything at all for a woman to grow in the Kingdom? If not, please just say so. And darling, if you were putting as much energy into this area of your church as you are for community events like chili cookoffs, money-changing marketplaces, and exercise boot camps, you wouldn’t be provoking God to bring a message from me. Just sayin … I’m getting tired of it. He’s not letting me sleep because this is His push to open your eyes. So wake up! I can’t honestly see myself being friendly about this much longer. You may think, well it’s only been two months. So I ask how long do you need? Do you need me to write out your doctrinal stance and post it on your website or Facebook page? Do you not know what it is?
If you can’t be bothered to email me some form of response (TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com), or post something on your public social media on this matter, then I’m going to assume that you have some big secret to hide. God knows that you have read every single one of these posts. You’re not fooling God.
For Kingdom ladies, here are two study pages that you can discuss with God. I hope more than anything that you will find shelter with Him. (Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023)
The Rogue Prophet 