God Told Me . . .

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ClayPot

Puritan Board Sophomore
My wife met with another woman from our church this morning at a coffee shop to encourage and strengthen one another in the Lord. As they're leaving, a man comes up to them, kneels down by the table, looks at my wife's friend and and gently tells her, "God wanted me to tell you that you're not supposed to be with him. I don't know who he is, I don't know what you guys were talking about, but as I was praying over there, I knew God wanted me to tell you that you're not supposed to be with him." My wife and her friend literally sat there awestruck, and didn't say a word as the guy left.

First of all, the woman is married. God's Word clearly says that she shouldn't be divorcing her husband (there are no grounds). Second, her husband is a believer and they were married as believers, so she had Biblical permission to marry him. This made me really angry. First of all, the guy was presuming to reveal God's moral will for this woman outside of his Word. Second, he was implicitly encouraging her to disobey God (even if he didn't know it) since she was in fact married, God clearly indicates that she should stay with her husband, and now by telling her that God says she shouldn't be with him, he is essentially saying she should leave him.

These are the kinds of situations that remind me how terrible it is to say, "God told me . . . " based on some impression a person has.
 
I agree. It should never be done. But that is the sort individualistic tendency that we see in American Christianity, it is also a little bit charismatic.
 
I was at a store eating last night and sitting behind me, were two men who were doing almost the same thing. They were getting words of wisdom about the various shoppers. But the were not bothering anyone at this time. Then one of them had a word from God that there was going to be a revival like what happened in Wales years ago. God told him he would be the start of it, as soon as he relaized that they did not need God, Jesus , or the Holt Spirit to start it. He must just go out and start it. I have this bad habit of when I hear stupid remarks I start to laugh. One of the gentlemen told me that God showed him I have the spirit of joy and laughter. I just about started to cry.

This took me back to my early years in the Christian faith when I met a lot of these God told me this for you. I guess the never go away even though they are always wrong.
 
This is what happens when New Age Mysticism meets Christianity.

I apologize. I actually meant to say CHURCHianity.

I find it so amazing that people want to have a word from God and want to tell people what God has told them, but they won't even bother to pick up the book declaring what God has already said.

It doesn't mean he won't convict someone of sin in such a way it is as if He spoke to them Himself, but everything that is "said from God" must remain true and consistent with Scripture. If it isn't, then God din't say it.

I'm sorry folks, but we do not serve a God that is double-minded, changes His mind, makes exceptions, or simply does this for the thrill of it.

I truly cannot understand for the life of me how anyone can believe that God actually encouraged them to tell a godly couple to divorce each other yet believe themselves saved and firmly grounded in the faith. You might be better off blaspheming the Lord of Hosts Himself than trying to get His children to commit one of the worst sins you can possibly commit when it comes to the covenant of marriage.

How I fear that on the last day we will hear the words "Depart from me, I never knew you" so many times it will be as if the words "Well done, my good and faithful servant" were never uttered by the Lord of Glory.
 
jpfrench81 said:
My wife met with another woman from our church this morning at a coffee shop to encourage and strengthen one another in the Lord. As they're leaving, a man comes up to them, kneels down by the table, looks at my wife's friend and and gently tells her, "God wanted me to tell you that you're not supposed to be with him. I don't know who he is, I don't know what you guys were talking about, but as I was praying over there, I knew God wanted me to tell you that you're not supposed to be with him." My wife and her friend literally sat there awestruck, and didn't say a word as the guy left.
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That might be the worst pick-up line of all time.
 
I find it so amazing that people want to have a word from God and want to tell people what God has told them, but they won't even bother to pick up the book declaring what God has already said.
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very good point.
 
py3ak said:
That might be the worst pick-up line of all time.
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I was thinking the same thing. This guy isn't charismatic. He's just taking a shot in the dark that a woman at a coffee shop might have some doubts about the man in her life (which are decent odds). If his shot hits the mark, he comes away looking pretty good. Perhaps some "spiritual" chicks are into that kind of thing.

---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------

Reminds me of the recent time I was flagged down by a guy in a Kroger parking lot. He said, "I know that you're a Christian. I can tell. I saw you walk by, and God told me that you were a fellow child of God."

Was he right? Yes. Do I believe God told him anything? Of course not. It's Tennessee. The odds are pretty good that a person he flags down in a suburban parking lot is going to profess Christianity.

He went on to explain some problems he was having, and that he needed money. I offered to take him into Kroger to buy him some food instead. He wasn't interested.
 
Ruben and Daniel:

That makes three of us! I was thinking precisely the same thing: that guy's making a move, hoping it works, and throwing a little "holy water" on the whole thing. Maybe not. Maybe he's just a flake. But what presumption and lawlessness under any condition!

Peace,
Alan
 
Tripel said:
He went on to explain some problems he was having, and that he needed money. I offered to take him into Kroger to buy him some food instead. He wasn't interested.
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And that's our cue to start praying for his salvation. If his needs were truly that great, he would've taken aid in whatever form it came in. Clearly this was a thief working.
 
O'GodHowGreatThouArt said:
Tripel said:
He went on to explain some problems he was having, and that he needed money. I offered to take him into Kroger to buy him some food instead. He wasn't interested.
Click to expand...

And that's our cue to start praying for his salvation. If his needs were truly that great, he would've taken aid in whatever form it came in. Clearly this was a thief working.
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More like a drunk or druggy at work.
 
One of the sad things about this is that there are people who really DO believe this, and do so without warrant. I've seen this more times than I care to remembe
 
Putting a charitable construction on the situation in the OP, I assume the man was well-intended but misguided. If he has been taught for years by his church that if you feel an impulse and assurance of something then you are receiving insight from the Spirit, then perhaps he was in love trying to protect the woman from whatever man he thought she was involved with. There is no reason to assume that he was speaking of divorce; maybe he "felt" that she was in an extra-marital relationship. In any case, even if it is well-intended, it's not a practice I'm in favor of. Kind of awkward, in fact. Then again, from his perspective, it was probably awkward for Nathan to confront David...
 
The idea that God speaks to you and tells you things is very common in Evangelical Christianity today--from Mark Driscoll to TBN. For years I participated in church sponsored Beth Moore studies where she relayed stories about God talking to her and telling her things (I realize she's not the only one doing this). Even though it wasn't something I experienced, I thought 'getting a word from God' was a normal part of Christianity until I found the reformed faith. I sat in church for 15 years without knowing that there were creeds, confessions, and catechisms that would help me understand God and the Bible better; these were terms that I associated with the RC church, not Protestant. Christianity has become very individual, private, and mystical; therefore, the continued acceptance of relative, unbiblical experiences is not surprising.
 
She wants to leave him and justify it saying "god" told me to do it.
Sin always needs to be justified right? So we wouldn't feel so guilty when we do it.

They should add a few extra blank pages to the Bible so whenever someone says "God told me I must do . . . . . . ." then I want to go to the back of my Bible and start writing.
When the person asks me what I'm doing I want to explain to Him/Her that its still God's words(New Revelation) that they are giving and I'm adding them to His word. Then I want to read Revelations to Him/Her and explain what will happen if we add or remove from HIS WORD.

Gonna call that bible the "conversion bible", Ultimate study bible for evangelism.(Charismatic/Pentecostal).
Just kidding. :p

---------- Post added at 08:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:42 PM ----------

The Church my friend attends(He is 21 and getting forced to go there by his parents, every time something bad happens to him his dad would say"God told me its because you're Reformed now) this happens once a week, From Pastor(Or his wife) to people in the congregation. God told me you're getting blessed. God told me revival coming to South Africa.(Same as Tod Bentley) Bla Bla Bla.
Scary Business.
 
I was assured by a group of Christians making a DVD that God had "told them" it was OK to have pictures of Jesus in it. Must be nice to have a God that always agrees with you - like a genie in a lamp, though I'll stick to the real one.
 
Besides the harm done to people, this sort of thing is a grievous misuse of God's name. Too many professed believers claim to speak in God's name without realizing the gravity of what they do.

The rule from Deuteronomy, of course, is for such "prophets" to include a varifiable prediction, then "if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously" (Deut. 18:22). Such false prophets were punished with death.

We are not to go back to that system, of course. But I once had a friend tell me a "message from God" about me, and I asked him to apply the principle. Was he so sure the message was from God that he'd bet his life on it? Turns out he wasn't that sure. I suggested (nicely as I could) that this might mean he should refrain from invoking God's name when giving me advice. My friend didn't like that, but I haven't heard any prophesies from him since.
 
Jack K said:
Besides the harm done to people, this sort of thing is a grievous misuse of God's name. Too many professed believers claim to speak in God's name without realizing the gravity of what they do.

The rule from Deuteronomy, of course, is for such "prophets" to include a varifiable prediction, then "if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously" (Deut. 18:22). Such false prophets were punished with death.

We are not to go back to that system, of course. But I once had a friend tell me a "message from God" about me, and I asked him to apply the principle. Was he so sure the message was from God that he'd bet his life on it? Turns out he wasn't that sure. I suggested (nicely as I could) that this might mean he should refrain from invoking God's name when giving me advice. My friend didn't like that, but I haven't heard any prophesies from him since.
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You probably saved his life.
Sometimes I wonder where does this come from?
Pentecostalism?
 
There are lot of assumptions are being made here, e.g. the woman is virtuous, the referenced "him" is her husband, the stranger is a pick-up artist or a "nutcase." While these assumptions may all be true, I try not to judge people in the absence of factual evidence.

More critically, I never want to suggest to people that God doesn't answer prayers; I think we risk giving that impression when we mock someone for delivering a "message from the Lord" when we could simply take the opportunity to reference scripture that illustrates how God speaks in our present age.
 
Sometimes I lead a friend's Bible study and one time a woman started telling me that she prayed about a person in her life, and Jesus appeared to her and told her to never see this person again. I asked her how she knew it wasn't actually Satan.

"Uh..."
 
SW

Since I read your post as taking some of us to task, perhaps you would be willing to expand on it so that I am clear on what you are saying, particularly in the first paragraph. What would you have us make of the encounter? I agree entirely that it's not clear what is going on with the interloper. I do think if you read the post carefully there's warrant for the first two assumptions. To assume the opposite--that the church friend is not virtuous and that the reference to "him" might refer to a relationship that she has with someone not her husband--would be a far bigger assumption, unwarranted by anything in the post, and uncharitable.

Our lack of knowledge and motivation for the interloper is what prompted my jocular agreement with others about a poor pick-up attempt. For me, it's either make light of it a bit or get quite serious about someone accosting them like that (which is exactly what he did) and violating the third commandment by claiming to speak for the Lord.

I agree that one should not respond to the misguided man as if the supernatural were illusory and God does not answer prayer. The ladies were, understandably, shocked and robbed of presence of mind, but a good response might have been, "You misapprehend my situation. God does not. He did not tell you to tell me to do something that violates His will. I appreciate your concern but you need to realize that God makes known His will in His Word and I receive counsel with respect to that from my husband, pastor, elders, et al., not you whom I do not know."

In this day and age, especially, it is remarkable that a man would be foolish enough to go up and speak to two ladies like that. I do not believe, SW, that the good folk on this Board have been unfair at all with this interloper or sent a wrong message about God and prayer.

Peace,
Alan
 
At this point in my life, if someone has a word from God for me, my response will be "chapter & verse, please".
 
I spent some time in a Pentecostal church when I was younger, and the whole "God told me" thing rubs me the wrong way because of that. Most of the ones I heard in that environment were either manipulative or self-serving, and many were downright scriptural (as a young woman who was not even a believer at the time, I had all sort of "prophecies" about my life, who I should marry, and that I would go on to be a pastor - all of which are false and would have been train-wrecks if they had come true). I had something similar happen recently - someone I didn't know came up to me with a "word from the Lord" that was way out of left field. He got really upset when I told him I believed all the words from the Lord I needed were in the Bible.
 
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I watched this type of scenario destroy a marriage about 8 years ago. The woman was led to believe that God was going to give her a new husband. She acted out in ways that she thought would force his hand to divorce her. However, he just kept loving her and stayed patient in prayer. It seems that people with a poor working knowledge of the scriptures can easily be conned by people who try to make themselves look like something important. This was a sad experience for me also. I had assisted with her baptism only a few months before. Shortly after, I was part of the meeting where all of the details came forth. I saw a joyful couple devastated by the flip words of someone who thought they were a counselor.
 
I think that a lot of people who have had experiences with these, "God told me..." people will confirm that almost all of them are wolves posing as a sheep.
 
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