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Moments ago, I walked into my office, chilled to the bone and soaked through to the skin. You see, I had made the rather “un-wise” decision of taking a long and much needed walk out in the pouring rain. I am now wet, cold, shivering and lusting after a heater of some kind. I am experiencing the somewhat annoying sensation of wet denim clinging to my legs and my fingers are trembling and rigid. Typing these few sentences has taken a little longer than usual, as my fingers feel more like little frozen sausages than warm and useful appendages. The backspace key has come quite in handy to say the least.
So here I am, soaking wet, freezing cold, and yet, I feel absolutely buzzed with the Life of God! I’ve never felt more hopeful concerning my future or my destiny in God, and feel more vital to the Kingdom than I have in months! I feel more loved and pleasing to the Father than I have in recent memory! What is the reason for this blissful, euphoric sensation that now grips my being? Simple. I just got done being disciplined by the Holy Spirit! Hooray! 
Now, my reason for rejoicing may seem quite strange to you. That’s because, for the most part, we view discipline and correction as being a grand and protracted trip to that heavenly wood-shed. We see the Lord, teeth clenched in anger, eye brows furrowed and belt in hand. His voice is harsh, angry and anything but kind and understanding. This, fortunately for us, is a completely false view of divine discipline and bares very little resemblance to our loving Heavenly Father.
His voice, even when it corrects and disciplines, drips with life and grace. The words that roll off of His tongue are sweet and empowering! He never backs His children into a corner with His bony finger, belittling them and leaving them feeling shamed and worthless! When the Lord corrects, you will always feel more full of hope and able to accomplish history-altering supernatural works on the other side!
Any voice that comes in a rebuking or corrective manner that does not produce hope, love, faith and security is not coming from the mouth of the Lord. In 1 Peter 5:8, the scriptures tells us that the devil goes about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour! The implication here is that the enemy roars first and then devours second. His “roar” speaks of his voice, and we know from Jesus’ words in John 8:44, that the only language the enemy of souls speaks is the language of lies and deception. If his lips are moving, you can be sure that he’s lying. Therefore, the roar of the enemy speaks of the lies of the enemy!
Peter also tells us that satan goes about “as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour…”. To say that he goes about as something simply means that he hunts in costume, concealing his true identity and attempting to appear as something, or someone, that he is not. We know that Jesus Christ is the prophesied* Lion of the Tribe of Judah whom the Apostle John encounters in Revelation 5:5. Therefore, the enemy masquerading as a lion, while spewing forth lies is symbolic of satan masquerading as King Jesus whilst attempting to get us to believe that his voice is God’s voice! It is only when we come into agreement with satan’s lies, believing them to be the Lord’s words, that he is able to devour! He can only devour what submits to his roar!
What do these lies sound like and how can we recognize them when we encounter them? Consider the following passage from Proverbs 20:2:
The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
In this Proverb, the anger of a King is compared to the roaring of a lion. The roar of the enemy, posing as the voice of the Lord, can oftentimes be recognized by it’s tone. When the Lord speaks to His sons and daughters, He will always speak to them with dignity and respect. He is not an angry, short-tempered Father! He is infinitely patient and is skilled at speaking only those words that release life and promote improvement! Therefore, when words come to you–whether straight from the spirit world into your mind, from behind a pulpit, or from a flashy new christian book–listen for the sound of life! If it is filled with anger, wrath and venom, spit it out immediately! You most likely just encountered the lying tongue of lucifer, via the hi-jacked tongue of a bitter, frustrated minister. (God bless them.) The enemy wants us to believe God to be an angry, fuming Father with a very, very, very short fuse! If this is how we see Him, we will avoid Him for as long as we can!
However, the Scriptures paint the voice of the Lord in an altogether different manner. The aged Apostle John, upon hearing the voice of the resurrected and glorified Christ, stated the following concerning it’s tone: “…His voice was like the sound of many waters.“ Certainly, this is telling us of the majestic, Niagara-like quality of God’s thunderous voice. However, the picture of God’s voice being like the sound of many waters also tells us one important thing about the way God speaks–His speech, like water, always brings life and promotes healthy growth!
It has been raining off and on for the past week or so–and the long, jungle-like-grass in my “un-mowed” lawn testifies to the life-giving power of water. In the same way, the lovely voice of Jesus will never come in a menacing or belittling way that causes you to shrivel up and die! Many times, when preaching and teaching takes on a “rebuking” tone, it only kills and makes individuals want to run and hide. They feel as if the road back home is too long and arduous, so they had might as well just run in the other direction. They have not heard the sweet, tender, life-giving voice of the Spirit that declares good things over their life–that only wants the best for them! They have not heard that siren-like voice that calls them back to the rock of Jesus Christ–with no strikes on their record and no penalties to pay. The voice of Jesus will always encourage an immediate rebound and recovery! It does not cause one to wallow in self-pity, but encourages and uplifts until we are bursting at the seems with divine joy and contentment! Even the Lords rebukes give life! They do not box you into your present circumstances and leave you hopeless! Rather, His rebuke will identify your situation and then tenderly and gently lead you out of it!
So, dear reader, I tell you, if you feel you have been disciplined by the Lord but are not smiling ear to ear or buzzing with anticipation, perhaps you should reconsider the source. If, after listening to a message, you’ve found yourself wallowing in self-pity and condemnation, maybe you need to spit out that mouth full of bones! God is madly in love with you, and not mad at you! So today, rejoice in the Lord’s discipline and His correction! It has not come to polarize, but to promote you!
Soaked and Happy,
Jeff
good stuff I have already forward to a friend who popped in my mind as I was reading this.
Hi Jeff
I’ve been rebuked once or twice too, in fact I once demanded that the Lord ‘Answer Me!!’ when I was upset, and – I am not kidding – there was the loudest thunderbolt I have ever heard, it almost shook the house and blew the venetian blinds off the window. A storm had just been brewing while I was praying. Thinking I had just incurred God’s anger I ran to my bible (shaking in my boots, lol) and opened it. Right in front of me it said, “I answered you out of a thunderstorm”. (Psalm 81). Then the scripture went on to basically rebuke me, and while I was perturbed about it, I also felt that He was right there, knowing what I was thinking & what I was going through, and I was completely awe-struck.
Anyway something crossed my mind while I was reading your post. What do you think when it comes to Jesus rebuking the churches in Revelation..? I think you’ve probably had quite a bit more insight & revelation than me, but when I read about Him saying that He will ‘remove their lampstand from its place’ and that He will ‘spew (the lukewarm) out of His mouth’, it makes me feel somewhat nervous. Do you think it’s possible that He wants His rebukes to sound threatening when it comes to things like this..? I’m just not sure, I think I’m still dealing with the ‘punishment mentality’ you speak about in your blog, I’ve always felt God was kind & loving, but that it wouldn’t take much to push Him over the edge if I displeased Him enough, if you know what I mean. He’s been awesome to me in my life but I’ve always had lingering worries that I might not make it into heaven if I couldn’t measure up. Anyway, thanks Jeff… still enjoying your podcasts very much. My pastor came up to me yesterday and said he’s also been reading your blogs, which is great! God bless xxx
Leigh,
Long in replying…sorry!
To answer your question, I understand that in passages like Revelation 3:16 and others, God does indeed use seemingly harsh language with the Churches. However, His seeming harshness is always followed up by loving promises. For instance, the same group given the threat of being “vomited from His body”, are also given the opportunity to sit with Him and fellowship as well as rule with Him on His throne! (Rev 3:20-) So I believe that the point still plays out that God will never trap you with His rebukes…rather, they are invitations to simply step into something greater. He didn’t polarize the Laodecians with His threats, but loving steered them towards their true destiny…like any good Daddy would.
Peace,
Jeff
I’ve been listening to you’re “take the red pill” series and it’s been a breath of fresh air, I was deceived by Gnosticism constantly fasting and doing hyper religious activity, and my mum is currently still in those thought patterns and also into witchcraft, (although she either ignorant or feeling to condemned to come clean about it), it affected my life in an adverse way my whole life and now God has started to free me bit by bit, however late last yr she placed a spell or did something of the sort to me (it was disguised as Christian prophesy but my spirit felt so horrendous afterward like a sharp stick was pricking it), I believe about the finished work of the cross but I still feel this feeling and I so want it 2 go away, I have vaguely spoken to my church about it but I was slightly embarassed, it’s so uncomfortable please give me advise on this???
P.s she (my mum) has no idea how what she did made me feel. I dont think it’s right to tell her
Hey my friend, thanks for the comments, and I’m blessed to know that the podcast has been a blessing to you. As for your question, I want to encourage you that in Christ, the only curse that can fall upon you is the one that you have faith in. Galatians 3:13 states that Christ has become a curse for us, freeing us from the curse of the Law…yes this is speaking of the Mosaic Law, but the principle is the same…Christ became cursed so that you could lived under perpetual blessing! In Christ, no witchcraft or divination has any power or authority over you, the enemy simply wants to keep you from believing this. Our acknowledgement of what Christ has done in us makes all of the difference in the world. Begin seeing yourself as blessed and impenetrable in regards to curses and such. The Apostle John says the following: “…the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.” (1 John 5:18) John G. Lake says similarly: “Fear of the devil is nonsense. Fear of demons is foolish. The Spirit of God anointing the Christian heart makes the soul impregnable to the powers of darkness.” You are free from the influence of evil spirits and are seated high above them in the third heaven with Christ (EPH 2:6). Be encouraged and keep drinking deeply of the finished works of Jesus. If you need some extra help, email me @ PastorJeffTurner@yahoo.com. Peace.