The prophet who has had a dream should say it is only a dream, but the prophet who has heard my message should proclaim that message faithfully. (Jeremiah 23:28)
There I sat wrapped in the barber’s jacket as I listened to a fantastic story. The barber was recounting a vision that the “Lord” had sent to him. He waved his straight razor as he explained his story and I wasn’t in a good position to tell him that I thought his whole account nothing but rubbish.
His allegory went like this, “While I was in prison. I was there for ten years you know. While I was in prison I had a vision. I was laying on my bed one night when all of a sudden the ceiling and roof parted. The heavens opened too and an eagle flew down and landed on my stomach. I know that it was an eagle because I’ve seen picture of eagles. Anyway, the eagle bent over and placed its beak in my mouth and the liquid that came out tasted like honey. It was such a distinctive taste that I still remember it to this day.”
“Awhile later I was at a bar and a bearded waiter came to my table asking for my drink order. I ordered a pop. He came back and set the drink on my table. As I lifted it to my lips the taste was exactly the same as the liquid that came from the eagles beak!”
“I turned to see the waiter but he had disappeared into the crowd. So, I went to find him. I asked one of the other waiters where my bearded friend had gone and he looked at me incredulously. ‘We don’t have anyone with a beard who works here!’”
He then looked at me and said, “God gave me this vision and I knew from that point on that I was chosen by God. I knew that He had a mission for me and that my mission was to preach to everyone. One of my prison buddies told me that I would be released from prison in the future. And I was but it took another five years. That too was from God because he gave me a mission inside the prison walls.”
So, what do you think about that one? This guy’s life was touched in such a dramatic way that it will take a miracle to convince him that his “vision” was probably induced by bad prison grub rather than a celestial source. How do you combat “personal experiences” like this one?
Short answer, with the Word of God. This guy was so spiritual that he hasn’t touched a Bible in over a year! He doesn’t want to mess up a good story. He needs no one to tell him anything because he talks directly to God.
Jeremiah had to deal with this type in his day too. There were all sorts of “prophets” with all sorts of messages from “God.” In that story it was God who communicated with these deceivers. Some paid with their lives for their deceptions.
My barber invited me to come back with my Bible and talk some more. Though it was actually he that did most of the talking the first time. So the door is opened for further conversation. I pray that his heart is too.
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