“Lord”, I said “I can't cope with this, I mean, really, this Bill Johnson guy has gone too far on into wacky”. I kind of caught a 'glimpse' of the Lord grinning.
I found myself rewinding the CD, back to the heretical bit. I listened again. When he had finished I said again “Lord, I told you, it's heretical (I had to admit though perhaps not as heretical as I thought before).
I waited a bit and then said “Oh, alright Lord”, I'll listen again...” (I stressed 'again', emphasing it a bit in case the Lord didn't hear).

I listened to the heretical bit, and....I got it! It wasn't heretical after all! Well, when I say 'I got it', it was more I was prepared to allow the Spirit to speak to me, and so I got it!

“Got it Dad”, I said and I think He smiled again.

As I was saying, I do love listening to Bill Johnson's teaching. I guess I've had about three episodes like the above now. It's taken the three, and now when I'm faced with something I'm not sure about I don't react in disgust anymore. I just stop, meditate, and wait. Sometimes I have to just leave the teaching for a while, and come back to it later, but I've learnt to listen and meditate, weighing what has been said.

I've learnt that I had defined for myself a set of systems and ideas and I would approach the Lord through these belief structures. I've learnt they're like filters.
At one stage in my life I used to take photos on a lovely 35mm Nikon FA, which I sold a while ag while it had some value left. I used a variety of filters when I took pictures. Under fluorescent light I used a light blue filter which made the light more real, and I used filters to deliberately blur things a bit, to add effect.
The type of filters I've tended to use with the Lord are the latter, ones that blur.
I've noted as I've seen many people wander through life with filters in place, that some really blur their image of God – even Christians.

Bill Johnson commented in one of his teachings that the Church was soon to have to face a huge issue, in his mind this was around the goodness of God. He said no-one really contended whether God was good or not, as there's a verse in the Bible that says He is good; but that the argument was to be more around whether it is God who brings Hurricanes like Katrina to punish, or sickness to teach you how to pray – or whether God doesn't do any of those things, or anything like that, as he is good, all the time.

A while ago I would have said He does bring judgement today, just as He did as I read in the Old Testament. Nowadays I wonder. If I look to Jesus who fulfilled every aspect of the law and thus is able to bring me into relationship with Dad, through Him; I see a Jesus who stilled storms, who healed all who came to Him. i see unconditional love, I see a Jesus who looked on crowds with compassion. Sure it is recorded He displayed righteous anger, once. Most of the time He did lots of excellent things and not everything that Jesus said and did was recorded. John supposed that if everything was recorded that Jesus said and did the world would not be able to contain the volumes. (John 21:25). Now that's a pretty big statement, and a huge amount of things said and done in 3 years! WOW!

So, I used to approach God through my belief structure, a system of beliefs and ideas I had built up for myself, if I did do that, do I do it now? If I don't how do I then approach Him now?
I guess there are two points here:
1.As I look back through my life I can only see a God that is good – period!
2.As I look back through earlier teachings from our DTS days with YWAM, the 4 keys to hearing the voice of God from Mark Virkler, it's quite clear to me now that when I can hear the voice of God for myself I am approaching Him through my heart.
When He talks to me, He relates to me as a dear and kind Papa and I see a God who as Graeme Cook stated “He's the kindest person I know” - and He is!

Chris Ryburn