Hey there,

I just wanted to say I love chapter 6 of your Father and Son book. It makes so much sense to me and it opened my eyes to a lot. I really meant what I said in the text – without having experiences from God, you are no better than the devil, because he was “by the book” and missed the point, which is the love and mercy of God, which you can only understand and receive through experiences from God. So with that being said, I want to tell you about some experiences I have had this past week.

It started with a conversation I had with Jason, just talking about different things and towards the end of the conversation, I feel like God spoke through me and told me and Jason what we need to be. The three things he spoke through me and said was to be honest, upfront, and to keep a good attitude. It felt wonderful when those things came out of my mouth. The spirit fell, and I knew at that point those things were from God. Little did I know God wasn’t done with me!!!

That was Friday or Saturday when that happened, and on Monday something else happened. My dog Bennie (I have two dogs) somehow got out of my backyard and ran away. My other dog Jacie came back but Bennie was still missing. When Brittany got home we went looking some more for him, and she found him on the side of the road dead. He had been hit by a car. Britt came back to the house and told me, and my heart was crushed. I cried deep, and I had not cried like that for a while. It hurt so bad. I was responsible for the dogs that day, and one got out and got killed. Anyway, I ended up going over dad’s that night to help him with a grill, and you know dad he made me feel better about the situation, but I was still hurting.

The next morning on the way to work, I was talking to God about it and said, “God, why did you take my favorite dog from me?” and before I could even finish, the spirit spoke back and said, “to teach you humility.” God’s response blew me away. I didn’t even really know what it meant until I looked it up. Humility means the quality or condition of being humble, lack of false pride etc. All I could think of is, “Man………….God is real, and more real than I ever knew. He really wants to fix us. He cares about me enough to show me something to fix and to work on. It’s amazing!” and it still is, typing it out now.

I want to know more about God and have more of a relationship with him than just what I read or hear about or hear other people talk about. I feel like my experiences with God is what is going to take me all the way home. It is just wonderful. I have been putting these things into practice and can see the difference. Staying honest with m self. Being upfront with those around me, my wife and everyone, and keeping a good attitude. That’s how to obtain humility or to stay humble. It is really great what the Lord is showing me. Ohhhh, and I can’t wait to get another piece of the Father and Son book it is really doing something for me.

Jeremy

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Hey John,

Jeremy’s email about his experience with his two dogs reminded me of the time when Goldie our golden retriever got hit by a car or truck one morning as we were getting ready for work, and how God used that to teach me about Him.

That morning we heard Goldie yelping and we just knew she had been hit by a car. We figured she was chancing after a squirrel or one of our cats crossing the road. As we ran to the front door to see if we could help her, she came crouching real low having a hard time breathing and with blood dripping from her mouth.

I immediately picked her up and carried her to Bess’ van to take her to the Veterinarian. I could tell she was hurting badly and needed help. I had an appointment scheduled in town that morning so Bess said she would take Goldie to the Vet. As Bess pulled away from the driveway, I began to question myself about letting Goldie out that morning because she was still a puppy. Usually I would go outside with her and she would stay close by. But this morning it just didn’t work out that way.

When Bess arrived at the Veterinarian’s office the staff workers noticed Goldie was going into shock. They started an IV immediately and told Bess the Veterinarian was about 35 minutes from the office. When he did arrive and examined Goldie, he said not to expect her to live through this because, he thought she would be broken up inside and bleeding internally. And usually when he sees a dog in shock like Goldie, they do not make it. He told Bess to just go home and he would do an x-ray to see what kind of damage was done and then let us know.

Bess called me right before my appointment to let me know what the Veterinarian told her about Goldie. She sounded very sad over the phone, and said not to expect her to live. Dr. Allen did not give her much hope.

After my appointment, I begin to drive and think about what Bess had told me. Then I pulled my truck over to the side of the road. I just sat there quietly and began to cry and pray. I said Lord, “I know Goldie is just a dog, I know that. But she is our dog.” Then I started praying in tongues. After a while things got real quiet inside and out. As I started to drive away I heard a voice on the inside make this statement to me. “If I can fix Goldie, I can fix anything!” Wow, did I just hear what I thought I heard? I was not expecting that. So, the rest of the day I was thinking about what I had heard in my spirit.

Later on that afternoon I got a call from Bess. She said, “You will not guess what I’m about to tell you. “She then told me that the Vet called and said Goldie didn’t have any broken bones, but they had to draw a lot of air from her chest cavity which was an indication that she had taken a very hard blow to her side. They also put about 8 staples to close a split to the front of her mouth. We could come pick her up that afternoon. God was making a statement to me. I CAN FIX ANYTHING! TRUST ME! I DIED FOR YOU SO YOU CAN LIVE!

This last Wednesday night I was reminded again through you of what the Spirit is saying: Some of you have things you can not fix. They are too big for you, but Jesus is saying to you if you are born again, He is 100% for you. Just lay your burdens down and let Him fix you.

A burden I have carried around all year is that my work has slowed down from where it was two years ago. But I know that God’s economy is not of this world, and I know if I keep a good attitude and work with all my heart and trust Him, that all things are possible to him that believes. He will provide for our family. After Wednesday night hearing all that was said through you, Jesus has lightened my load. Thank you Jesus! John, thank you for speaking what Jesus tells you. That is our comfort and our hope.

God can use anything to teach us how great He is. I thank Him for every time He has spoken to me and used others to say what I needed to hear. And yes, even using Goldie.

Tim

Good morning, Bro. John!

I love what the Spirit woke me with this a.m.!

“Somebody’s going to be wrong. And somebody’s going to be right. And when it comes to God, He is always right!”

I love the way God keeps us humble. 🙂

Have a good day,
Sandy

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Yes, and we can say, “Somebody’s going to be good. And somebody’s going to be evil. And when it comes to God, He is always good!”

Hows that? 🙂

jdc

Hello,
This is indeed a wonderful chapter….. How does the verse I’m thinking of go? “It is the glory of God to hide a thing and the glory of kings to search it out.” And we are “a peculiar people, a holy nation, kings and priests…” We are to search and ask, seek and knock. And we are in this world but not of it. And He will and does give us these hidden riches and treasures…and there is exceedingly, abundantly more that He wants to give to us. Halleluyah! Great is our God.

I understand how it is for Him to say, “stop and go to sleep.” Glad He did say and you did heed.

Brother John, tonight was exceptionally awesome in His Presence. I am so grateful to be able to be a part of the gatherings and fellowship at your house. Living waters flowed to the point that even through the speakers on my pc the sound was that of gushing waters. Glory.

I went from listening and into His Presence so quickly. From tears of joy, to being plastered to my seat and unable to move, to basking and floating in His Presence, to belly laughing, to lifting my hands in praise, to dancing and smiling and praising Him all the while. Thank You, Lord.

Thank you, again, Brother John, for letting me be present by livestreaming.

Rita

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We are very happy you can join us, Sister Rita! I feel so full and blessed! God is good.

jdc

Hey John,

I was thinking today about last night and how it was said that we don’t know how many things God has saved us from. Well, I have a story about something that I know God saved me from when we were living in Washington.

One morning, Julie took the girls shopping and I was going to go some where by myself. As I was leaving, I had the feeling that I was forgetting something, so I just walked around the house for several minutes trying to remember what it was. After four or five minutes, I decided that it must not have been all that important after all. I got in my car and headed toward the interstate. On the way to the interstate from our house was a long hill. As I started up that hill, two police cars were in front of me with their lights and sirens on. When I got to the top of the hill I could see them stopping off in the distance.

As I got closer, I could see several cars that had been in an accident. It had happened only moments before I got there. They didn’t even have the vehicles blocked yet to hide the bodies. There were two cars facing me that had been hit by someone else. One person was dead, and the other was badly hurt. A police officer flagged me by. I passed by a van with an older man slumped against the steering wheel, dead. I found out later that he had a heart attack while driving. I knew immediately that God had saved me from being involved in that accident by letting me feel like I was forgetting something at home, and I am very thankful to be able to tell that story of God saving me again today.

Darren

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Sometimes, Jesus lets us know what He has saved us from, but most of the time, I believe, he does not. No matter what he chooses to reveal to us, however, it is his nature to save us, and I am sure that is what he is doing all the time. He is, after all, the “Savior”!

jdc

Pastor John,

Today I was in the kitchen doing the dishes. This commercial came on it was an advertisement for a big tent-like meeting place you can rent. I had this thought: “I wish we could fill that place with folks getting the holy ghost.” Then I heard the spirit say, “Then what?” As I was standing there, it was if I was having conversation with God. It wasn’t that the thought was bad, but really “Then what?”

I don’t believe God is expecting any big thing either. I know you have told us what he told you about “neither expect nor desire any big thing, but make your work perfect.” The feelings I was having was that He is not expecting any big thing, but he is going to have perfection. We have seen that lately.

It just did something to me on the inside. His ways are not like we think. We are not going to save the world!! He is not in numbers; never has been. Driving down the road thinking on this today. All the way through, it has never been a big thing!! Only eight people saved in the flood! Only 2 of the 603,550 in the first Numbering that lived to see canaan’s land (Joahua and Caleb). Only 120 on the day of Pentecost!! Tonight I was praying and the spirit said, “Teach this to your children over and over, until it’s like the breath they breathe. It is their life!”

Jammie

Today, in the parking lot of Home Depot, I saw a man pull into a parking space, and his window was down so I heard a fragment of the loud radio show he was listening to: a Christian radio show preaching salvation. The man dashed from his car to run into Home Depot, and I wasn’t going to wait around for him to return so I could give him a tract and a card, so I quickly placed a “What is Salvation?” tract and a Going To Jesus card on his door. When I went back to my car, he reappeared from the store. (He was quicker than I had expected.) I was going to go speak with him, but he was in a rush. I noticed him glance at the tract, as he got into his car, then drove away quickly. As I drove by his parking space, the tract and the card were on the ground.

My heart was crushed.

Oh well.

Here was a guy who was listening to a Xn station, but apparently the title of the tract didn’t make him the least bit curious.

How strange! I was probably expecting too much. People—even so-called religious people—are not what they seem.

So, I picked it up off the ground and will continue to look for another opportunity, as always.

Brad

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A couple of things.

First, it is going to take much more than our telling people the truth for them to “get it”. God Himself will have to do something before the truth is ever even going to be an issue. I believe those things that Sandy said the lord spoke to her because He has made me feel those same things: What He has shown us is not for everybody, and we are not going to save the world.

Secondly, to own a Bible is required in order to be a good Christian; to know what it says and to understand it is not. Over the years, I have had orders from many Christians for gospel tracts that they have not read, nor would ever read. For them, I have returned their money and asked them plead read the tract(s) they were ordering, and if they still wanted them, I would send them the tracts. To this day, I have never heard from a single such Christian. I knew they were ordering those tract only because they had religious-sounding titles and that they would pass those tracts on to others without ever reading them, and I did not want them to do that. One case in point that comes to mind is the Baptist woman who wrote in desperation a few years ago for a bunch of our materials because she was appointed a Sunday school teacher, and she said she didn’t know enough about the Bible to teach. I could not in good conscience send her the tracts she ordered (“Salvation”, “The new Birth”, etc.), knowing that if and when she read them, especially if she waited and read them for the first time in her Sunday School class, she would be embarrassed, if not angered, by what she read. I wrote her a kind letter, with one copy of each of the tracts she wanted, along with her money, and asked her to read them first, and if she still wanted them for her class, I would send them. She never wrote again.

Your story of the man who was listening to the Christian radio program reminded me of these incidences. It was not what he was hearing, but simply that he was hearing, that satisfied him. Just as it is not what is actually in the Bible, but simply owning a Bible, and possibly even carrying it around sometimes, that satisfies very many Christians. You may have interrupted his satisfaction with something real; then again, it may have been that God didn’t want that man to know what you know.

So, I would not call that a trivial incident, at least not altogether. It is an event worth considering.

Thanks for letting me know about it.

jdc

Here’s another quote, this one from Lesslie Newbigin, a missionary bishop in the Church of South India:

“The disunity of the Church is a denial of the promise and a contradiction of the purpose for which the Church is sent into the world. How can the church give to the world the message that Jesus is able to draw all men to Himself, while it continues to say, ‘Neverthless, Jesus is not able to draw us who bear His name together’? How will the world believe a message which we do not appear to believe ourselves? The divisions of the Church are a public denial of the sufficiency of the atonement.”

Back to studying….

Bekah
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Hi Bekah!

Here is an excerpt from the next chapter of the book, God Had a Son Before Mary Did. Just today I added it.

John 17

20. Not only do I pray for these but also for those who believe in me through their word,

21. that they all might be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be one in us, so that the world might believe that you sent me.

22. And the glory you’ve given me, I’ve given them, that they might be one, just as we are one;

23. I in them, and you in me, that they might be perfected in unity, and so that the world may know that you sent me and that you loved them just as you loved me.

Paul said: “We have received the Spirit that is from God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us from God” (1Cor. 2:12). Paul wanted everyone who received the Spirit to take advantage of their gift from God, to learn from the Spirit and come to understand the things of God, but he was forced to admit that such was not always, not even often, the case (e.g., Gal. 4:9). Through the Spirit, the children of God share the Father’s life with Him, with His Son, and with one another. The very purpose for the Spirit being given is so that we who believe in Jesus might call on the name of the Lord together and serve Him as one (Zeph. 3:9), thereby offering a testimony to the world of the love and power of God. The fact that the children of God are divided, that they do not call on His name together or serve Him as one, is a horrible reflection on Jesus, and great reproach on his name.

The disunity of God’s family on earth may be the greatest tragedy that has ever befallen mankind, surpassing even the tragedy of the original fall of man in the garden of Eden. At least, in that case, Adam and Eve did not have God’s kind of life within them. The confusion that reigns now among those who believe is a disgrace. It is a testimony against us, and to the world, against Jesus. We are all less in Christ than we could be because of it, and only God knows how much less. All our praise of God should be mingled with fear, lest on the Day of Judgment, when all things will be made known, the righteous Judge find any of us to the least degree responsible for the divisions that exist in the family of God.

Dad

Hey John,

Token read this psalm a few months which I heard on a cd recently. The psalmist wrote in verse 4 that he “called upon the name of the LORD.”

You’ve mentioned in the past that unless you are born again, you couldn’t call upon the name of the Lord. How does this fit in? Thanks.

Jim K

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Hi Jim.

I think that what I have said is that only God’s people, whether old or new testament, can do what is referred to by the phrase “calling on the name of the Lord”. That is a biblical phrase which refers only to the communication of God’s people with Him. There was an old testament form of it, but the new testament form is in the Spirit (Zeph. 3:9). Unbelievers do not and cannot “call on the name of the Lord”.

jdc

Hi John,

I want to thank you for coming to Louisville this past weekend and the others that also made the trip. How does one describe the feelings from Saturday night’s reading of chapter 3 of your new book, God Had a Son before Mary Did? All I can say is, “Thank you Jesus!’ From the very start of the evening, it felt as if I was feasting on a banquet especially prepared by the Father for His children. I wanted to savor every bite.

It was a privilege to witness Brother Danny’s reaction. I was overcome by what he was saying and feeling. I thought to my self later that this is really why we do what we do — for others’ blessing. This why the work Jesus has given you was created. I feel like what we witnessed through Brother Danny was actually Jesus, saying, “Thank you.”

I feel honored to have any part in this work. It is not to be taken lightly.

Thank you John for all the work and love you have put into this book.

Tom